Mystic Machinery: Industry is Magic

by Conglomerate

Chapter 11: Fabrications

Rainbow Dash touched down just outside of the Golden Oaks Library, taking a moment to stand aside for a passing patrol of guards.

“You should return to your home, ma’am, there was an attack just outside of town.” One of them advised,

“Yeah yeah, in a minute.” She waved them off.

They didn’t stick around to argue, instead choosing to hurry along the road towards town hall. The place where Zecora was being kept prisoner. Rainbow Dash shook her head, and promptly knocked on the door of the library. There was a moment of silence, then a slight shuffling from the other side before it was unlocked and opened.

“Heya, Twilight, can I talk to you about something?” She began,

“Oh, Rainbow Dash? What are you doing outside?” Twilight asked, “Aren’t you worried about the attack?”

“Psh, you think I’m scared of a little explosion in the Everfree? Danger is literally my middle name. I had it changed. Besides, the threat has already left.”

Twilight frowned, tilting her head, “What makes you say that? The guard is still on high alert.”

“Because I personally saw to it that he left.”

“He?” Twilight repeated,

“Which is what I wanted to talk to you about.” Rainbow Dash leaned in close, “It was the guy that was with Tecka.” She whispered,

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she stepped out to peer up and down the street for a moment. “Come in, come in.” She hurried back inside, closing the door behind Rainbow Dash as she followed.

Twilight locked it again, then turned to look at Rainbow Dash, “Tecker’s the one that attacked the town?”

“The castle ruins actually,” Rainbow Dash corrected,

“What? Why?”

“Something about distracting the guard, then he made his way to the town hall.”

“He was in Ponyville?!” Twilight exclaimed,

“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash said slowly, “What’s so shocking about that?”

“Well…” Twilight thought for a moment, “I can think of a couple reasons. Can you tell me exactly what happened?” She pulled out a scroll and quill, “If you were involved then I’m probably going to have to write a report anyway.”

“To the princesses?” Rainbow Dash asked,

Twilight just nodded,

“Uh… Sure I guess.” Rainbow Dashed paused to think, “I mean, it all started when I was just going about my day, doing my job with the weather and whatnot. When all of a sudden! Boom! Bang! Pow! Something’s going down in the Everfree!”

There was a small eye roll from behind the parchment, but Twilight kept writing.

“I rush over to go check it out, only to see one of the castle ruins’ towers fall, and the flying guy, Tecker, hightailing it out of there! I tried to go after him, but he disappeared at the edge of the forest, and I couldn’t find him. I then went back to the Royal Guard camp to see if there was anything I could do to help, and they just told me to go home and that they would handle it. How could they say that to me? Rainbow Dash!”

“Well they are the Royal Guard, civilian assistance isn’t really common.” Twilight explained,

Rainbow Dash just shrugged, “Anyway, I was like ‘fine, whatever, they had already lost their guy anyway.’ So I just went back to Ponyville to keep hanging out, just in time to see the guy break into town hall!”

This time Twilight looked up, “He broke in?”

“Well he did something to the door, I don’t know if it was actually locked or not.” Rainbow Dash answered,

“Huh… What happened next?”

“I decided not to go in after him, rather wait outside and get him when he came out. If he just blew up a tower, I did not want town hall to get wrecked, again.”

“Smart.” Twilight commented,

“So then he came out like ten minutes later, and by then ponies were coming back out.”

“Uh oh, did he…?” Twilight began,

“No, they just screamed and ran, and he didn’t stick around much longer either. He started flying away, and I followed. He’s pretty fast, but I caught up to him before he crossed the forest again.”

“And you drove him off?” Twilight asked, “How?”

“We actually just talked,”

Twilight blinked, her quill falling still in her magic.

“He asked me if there were any casualties, and when I told him ‘no, I don’t think so,’ he shook me off and tried to escape again. When that didn’t work, we stopped on the other side of the Everfree forest and… talked for a bit.”

“What… What did he say?” Twilight asked,

“I asked him why he blew up the tower, and he said he did it so the guard wouldn’t have gotten in the way.”

Twilight grimaced, “Gotten in the way of what?”

“He wanted to talk to…” Rainbow Dash trailed off as she remembered, “Oh my gosh! Did you know Zecora was the one arrested?! They have her locked up in town hall!”

All she got was a blank stare, “I mean yeah.”

“You knew?!”

Twilight nodded, “She’s the only one that lives in the Everfree forest, and when the Royal Guard secured it, they would’ve captured her.”

“But why?”

“Rainbow Dash, she’s wanted for questioning about Tecker himself. In fact, Rarity and I were just helping the guard with those diamond dogs we encountered the other day.”

“Them too?!”

Twilight just shrugged, “They all have information about Tecker and Tecka.”

“But why is Tecker wanted? I mean he did just blow up a ruined tower, but what did he do before that?”

“Tecka attacked the princesses, Rainbow Dash, and has lied to us about almost everything.”

“Right,” Rainbow Dash nodded, “But it was just Tecka that did that, and wasn’t she already-” She gasped, “No wait! She died!”

“What?!”

“Yeah, Tecker said she was destroyed, and that he was getting her affairs in order!”

“That’s not what happened!” Twilight argued, “Tecka was detained in Canterlot after attacking the princesses! Princess Celestia said so.”

“That’s not what Tecker said,” Rainbow Dash continued,

“And you believe him? How do you know he wasn’t lying?”

“I-'' Rainbow Dash paused, “Don’t, but we can check.”

Twilight nodded, pulling up a second piece of parchment, “I’ll send a letter to Princess Celestia.”

“Not just that.” Rainbow Dash said, “Tecker didn’t just want to talk to Zecora.”

“Oh?” Twilight switched back to her report,

“He wanted to talk to you as well.”

“Me? Why would he want to talk to me?”

“He said you knew Tecka, and wants to know what happened to her before she was… destroyed,”

“But she wasn’t destroyed,” Twilight reiterated through clenched teeth,

“He certainly seems to think so. Maybe you can ask him about that.”

Twilight furrowed her brow, “How? Do you know where he went?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head, “He said to meet him on the other side of the Everfree forest in two weeks.”

Twilight stared at her for a moment, “That’s not exactly the safest place. Why not somewhere closer to Ponyville?”

“I think he’s worried about the guard.”

“That… makes sense, and it’s not some sort of trap?”

“There was nothing I could see in the area, and he seemed adamant about not hurting others.”

“I’ll… make a note…” Twilight trailed off, scribbling on both scrolls,

Rainbow Dash just watched for a few moments, “What is the princess going to do with them?”

Twilight didn’t look up from her writing, “Well, since they’re from another country, I can only assume they would be put on trial and either face jail time or be deported.”

“And if Tecka actually was destroyed?”

“She wasn’t.” Twilight affirmed, gritting her teeth, “Tecker is lying just like Tecka, but when we do meet, we should still try to convince him to turn himself in peacefully. Every moment he spends evading the Royal Guard will only make things worse in the long run.”

“But what if-”

“I don’t know!” Twilight interrupted, her quill scratching the parchment. She took a deep breath and sighed, “I don’t know. We’ll ask the princess, and she’ll tell us what happened. From there, we can look into talking to Tecker and getting this whole thing resolved,”

Rainbow Dash stared at her, “Are you okay, Twilight?”

She took in a much shakier breath, “No, not really.”

“Oh… Why?”

Twilight stopped writing and carefully set both scrolls on a nearby desk, “Tecka was a friend, Rainbow Dash, and if she lied to the princesses, then how much did she lie to me?”

Rainbow Dash put a hoof across Twilight’s shoulder, “I’m sure you’ll be able to ask her when this is all over.”

“I hope you’re right.”

---

My dearest, faithful student Twilight,

Thank you for your report on the transgressions that occurred earlier today, I must commend Rainbow Dash on her bravery for confronting the entity known as Tecker. While I lament the further destruction of my sister and I’s old castle, I am glad that there were no serious injuries from the incident, and that there was only minor damage to public property. I hope this highlights the danger that these beings present.

It is good that they wish to talk, doing so could be an excellent opportunity to resolve this peacefully. I recommend following through with the meeting, but I must warn you. Tecka was an excellent liar, and there is no reason to believe that the same will not be for Tecker. I doubt even your friend Applejack could detect such a lie. They are not to be trusted.

Do NOT go alone.

If I understand your report correctly, the entity known as Tecker wishes to speak with you directly. I assume the secluded location is an attempt to avoid interaction with the Royal Guard, but tread carefully, as there can be any number of ulterior motives behind this reasoning. Bring protection, and plan an escape, but try to do so in a manner that will not scare off Tecker, as we might never get a chance to discuss with them like this again. If you wish for any further aid in this endeavor, I will be happy to provide.

In response to your letter. Unfortunately, Tecker is telling the truth, the entity known as Tecka was destroyed. While it is true that they were initially detained after assaulting my sister and I, they managed an escape not long after, and resisted recapture. The resulting conflict ended with their destruction, but not without due reason.

Before their demise, Tecka revealed their true intentions. They are prospectors, looking to scour Equestrian lands for any and all resources to sell back to their Federation for a profit. Their plea of being marooned was merely a ploy to get us to disclose the locations of more profitable resources, and as a result, there is now a permanent encampment on the moon, stealing more Cobalt than a single pony can possibly use in their lifetime.

Keep this in mind when speaking with Tecker. Do not let them manipulate you in any way.

I wish you the best of luck,

Princess Celestia.

Author's Note:

Fabrications, get it?

Anyway, I'm starting to get into the pony side of the story more, so expect to see a few more chapters of that for the rest of this part.

I don't enjoy saying this, but I've fallen a bit behind on my backlog of chapters. With the stress of the holidays and the weather, I haven't been able to do much writing. That's just an excuse though, I merely had trouble with distractions. Now I'm back in school, which means more writing, so hopefully I can keep up with my designated posting time so you guys can enjoy a chapter every week.

Until then, hope you enjoy this chapter and the narrative it develops.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

I wonder if Factorio has an alien Tech mod that allows for mining the sun yet? Super powerful repair bubbles, shields, reflective surfaces, surrounded by all the plasma power you could ever need, mass seperators and nucleonic fusion and neutron condensators etc?

How do you deal with a moon sized mining rig thats a Sundiver?

Sorry, always got sad when reaching Future Tech in Civilisation.

Celestia is holding back on what she replies to Twilight. Now she knows of the meeting, theres gong to be more than mere Guards waiting for Tek there.

Maybe Luna is going to be surveying the region from a high place, accompanied by Mr Choppy?

[Aiwhisper]

11803893
Factorio does have a really nice space exploration mod and it’s creator even got hired on to help with V2.0 for an official space exploration expansion.