Factory of the Magical Variety

by Conglomerate

Chapter 14: Upgrades

I wanted to see what I could make with Erudite, while I had enough cabins, and I couldn't make any A.I. modules yet, a multitude of new recipes were revealed to me. Looking through both the Component Factory and the Fabricator, I could make some advanced circuit boards from Erudite and plenty of Cuprite wire.

These advanced circuit boards could be used to increase the effectiveness of a lot of different things. Mainly accessory blocks, I could add them to my collectors so they could hold a bit more. Or I could add them to my Radar for added range and distinct icons for certain things. I also could add them to my lights, allowing them to change color. I could even add them to my speakers so I could have a much clearer voice, something I immediately did.

With the new circuit board installed, the speakers were able to output a much smoother voice, it still sounded a bit robotic, but I could actually change the pitch to make it sound like different voices. I could even to an extent mimic sounds and other voices, though you could clearly tell it came from my speakers.

I found I could also upgrade my inserter, it no longer had such jerky movements and actually moved a bit faster. I only had enough Erudite for five circuit boards, so I made three to upgrade my inserter, my speaker, and my radar, the most important things to upgrade.

There was still no way to transfer power to the end of the inserter however, but I could see I could fabricate an even higher tier circuit board later on with the right dongle.

I also found I could fabricate large motors, able to rotate whole techs like a rotating anchor, only free to move whenever. I could make something like a giant inserter or something. It was pretty cool.

With my now upgraded equipment, I could communicate better, I could manipulate better, and I could even identify things better. You could say I was a bit excited, maybe a lot excited, but definitely not super excited, that was too much. Please ignore my driving around in circles for about five minutes.

Normally techs don't get this 'advanced', there really isn't any need. I had the need for it though, so I get to add more to my tech than ever thought before. It was great, I had to show someone, luckily I knew of a certain zebra.

Driving out into the morning sun, I made my way to Zecora's home. It didn't take long, the path even more well worn than before. It looked like every time I drove through, the forest would yield a little more, creating a clear path for me to traverse with ease.

Arriving at the house, I knocked on the door with my inserter, much faster than I was able too before. Zecora was inside thankfully, she opened the door and looked out at my tech. She smiled before speaking.

"Hello Teck, how was your trek? She asked.

"Just fine Zecora, though I have something to show you." I said in a new voice, no longer monotone, but sounding robotic, it was smoother as well.

Zecora looked surprised, then smiled again.

"I assume you are showing me your voice? Is this a time for rejoice?" Zecora asked.

"Indeed it is Zecora, though I have done more than just upgrade my voice" I said, waving my inserter around.

"My my, that seems rather sly, though I did not know you were a guy." Zecora commented.

"Who said I have to be male?" I said, pitching the voice up so it sounded more feminine.

Zecora looked surprised again, then she spoke up again.

"What else can you do? This is very different from what I once knew." She asked.

"That is because I can convey emotion to an extent," I said, accurately mimicking Zecora's voice, it still sounded robotic though.

"Emotion can be a powerful tool, though I take it you are no fool." Zecora said.

"Yes, I know how it can affect communication." I said, going completely monotone.

"Well, what's next? I would like some context" Zecora asked.

"I would like to get into contact with the ponies, can you help me with that?" I asked.

Zecora looked uncertain before speaking again.

"I am the wrong person to ask, I am not up for the task. Most ponies don't take kindly to outsiders, they fear the unknown." Zecora answered.

"I see, well thank you anyway, I'll just have to find some other way to get on their good side" I said, before continuing "It's great to be able to talk to you semi-normally, goodbye for now Zecora"

"Goodbye Teck, I wish you luck" Zecora said.

I turned to leave, disappointed, turns out I was right about Zecora not having very many contacts. Looks like I was doing this solo, at least I had a semi-defensible position right now. I would like to prepare more though, Zecora's words didn't give me much hope for a successful meeting.

At least the Luxite was growing, I'd be able to do more with it. It was then that I realized I had forgotten to take the night covers off. Not wanting to spend another moment waiting for Luxite, I raced back to the base.

Thankfully it was still in the early morning, there wasn't much sunlight making it into the chamber's anyway. I could see a little growth on the crystals though, that was good. At least some things were looking up. Back at base I refueled the generators and took a look at what I still needed to do.

I still needed to find a source of Titanite, and I needed to find some Ignite and Celestite or good substitutes if I wanted to be fully operational. Titanite must exist somewhere on this world right? I mean I had an ingot of it and Zecora knew what it was, so it had to come from somewhere.

The only solution to my resource problems was to travel further. Most of the environment I'd explored so far was either grassland, forest, or mountain. While Titanite could be found in those, Ignite and Celestite couldn't. Ignite was similar to Luxite, though was more volatile and emitted heat instead of light. Most of the time it is found in dry, arid places, like a desert or mesa.

Celestite though, was a more of an anomaly, it wasn't similar to any of the other crystals. All I knew what that it had anti-gravitational properties, and could be found in biomes devoid of life. Maybe organic compounds interrupted it's growth? I'd have to find a desolate wasteland if I wanted to find Celestite.

With three new tasks ahead of me, I had to travel further, longer, and faster than I have before. With the Luxite growing though, I could make another fuel tank, allowing me to do such things. I would have to go on quite the Venture...

Wait a minute... I just had an idea!

To Be Continued...

Author's Note:

Chapter 14 done, sorry for it being a little short. I had a longer segment of dialogue with Zecora written, but it didn't fit well with my story plans, so I had to shorten it. I also felt I couldn't really add anything else to this chapter. Don't worry though, I do not plan on writing a lot of chapters this short. Also some very obvious foreshadowing there.

Comments

[MurderP0n7]

Wait a minute... I just had an idea!

Is it time to use... trains? Because absolutely trains are the third best thing there is, only after the autonomous bots and these after the space rocket