Chapter 14
CHAPTER XIV
“A certain man once lost a diamond cuff-link in the wide blue sea, and twenty years later, on the exact day,
a Friday apparently, he was eating a large fish - but there was no diamond inside.
That’s what I like about coincidence.”
—Vladimir Nabokov, Laughter in the Dark
The rough surface underneath is making the skimmer skittish, and the swirling currents throw the vehicle around when I ease up on the decelerator handle.
“I’ll believe it when I see it!” I quip as I spin back, grinning at the pegasus in front of me.
I stamp down with my feet, the skimmer gleefully pushing off the ground and streaking into the sky, the scream of the exhale nozzles dampened by the speed of my ascension. I can’t help but laugh out loud at the rush of wind, safe from the chill behind thick layers of heat insulation.
“Woo-hoo!”
The altimeter ticks away in front of me: a hundred meters, one hundred and fifty, two hundred... The strain of the rapid climb burns in my thighs, pressing my boots into the footrests. In a matter of seconds I level out at about two hundred and twenty meters and settle into a lazy holding pattern, the rest of the team forming up around me.
Now, where’s that pony?
“Whoa! What the hell was that?” Sabra’s voice breaks into my ear and I wrench around in my seat to see what spooked him. The other pilot’s head is tilted back, and I follow the direction of his gaze to a rainbow-coloured tail flapping in the wind.
I glance at the airspeed meter. Twenty meters per second.
“What the actual fuck?”
The broadcast must be on, because Rainbow Dash turns her head around and laughs. I glance to the closest skimmer pilots. Sabra is still gaping, while Steph just grimaces and shrugs at me.
I laugh out loud. She’s got spirit, this one.
“Well, looks like you weren’t boasting there, Rainbow Dash. Most impressive.”
“Uh, hello? Is this thing on?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“I told you I’m the fastest.” I think I could hear the smirk over the radio even without visual confirmation. I match her expression as she looks back at me.
“Don’t get too cocky. We’re not even close to the limit of what these babies can do.”
Free from the unpredictable ground turbulence, the skimmer is to me all but an extra limb. I flick my wrists to pick up some speed with a tiny nose dip before aggressively twisting the controls to starboard.
I revel in the adrenaline rush as I fall into a rapidly accelerating dive, safety straps around my lower back and thighs jerking taut as the centrifugal motion tries to throw me off my seat.
I whoop with glee as the skimmer plummets, turbine screaming.
You ain’t seen nothing yet, my winged friend.
*
A bright, orange light blinks thrice as the heavy door slowly lifts and folds into the hull. The smallish room inside follows the style of the humans’ other equipment, predominantly sporting sharp angles of metal and smooth surfaces of some unknown, dull material. Ares casually walks into the gloom, leaving the five friends together with captain Hoof, Mountain Gale and a third guard named Glitterstreak nervously peering inside. The human patiently waits for the emissaries to make their move.
Finally Twilight crosses the threshold, closely followed by the poker-faced Diamond Hoof.
One by one, the rest of the group enters the chamber, glancing around as nothing immediate happens.
“Um, is something the matter?”
“Not really. We’re just waiting for the airlock to cycle.”
“Why not just open both doors?”
“It’s built to work this way. Both for security and for operation in hostile environments.”
“Like the Everfree?”
“Oh, much worse than that. Here you have breathable air, at least.”
“Uh...”
The orange light flashes again, and the door re-unfolds itself with the same, even speed. The walls take on a soft, ambient glow to illuminate the room as the entrance seals with a click. The outside sounds of machinery and raised voices disappear, only faint clangs echoing through the walls.
“Don’t be alarmed, but there will be some moisture in the air in a moment. I recommend closing your eyes, it can be slightly irritating to the sensory organs.”
Hidden nozzles expel a fine mist into the room, the ponies fidgeting as the cool droplets drift over them. Somepony sneezes.
“Agh, I got some in my eye...”
“Um, sorry, but what is this?”
“A mild disinfectant. We try to minimise the impact we might have on a new environment as well as keep the ship clean.”
“Oh.”
Narrow slats open up in the floor and a hot gust of wind ruffles fur and wings.
“My mane! Oh dear.”
The enormous inner door chirps cheerfully. With a loud clack its segments separate, the overlapping petals opening, flower-like, and retracting into a cylindrical stump of corridor. Loud noise assaults the visitors: echoing shouts, bursts of laughter and the rattling of footfalls on metal punctuating the ever-present backdrop of idling engines. A very, very quiet bass hum emanates from the inside walls, as if the ship itself acted as an enormous speaker.
Ares stops at the circular entrance and sweeps his arm to encompass the space beyond.
“Well then, ambassadors. As the executive officer of this ship, and on behalf of our captain and crew, it is my honour to welcome you onboard the Trickster.”
Slowly filing out of the small chamber, the group enters the huge hall.
“Oh goodness...”
Craning their necks to grasp the size of the space, the ponies scan level after level of walkways framing wide doorways stencilled with yellow numbers. Large, square doors neatly line the inner wall like the cells of an enormous beehive. Both individuals and groups of humans walk around on the metal shelves or sit by the handrails with their legs hanging over the side.
On the bottom, the hall forms a wide square lined on a side by a series of similarly tubular entrances as the one open behind the group. Following the gentle curve of the hull the room tapers towards the top, terminating in a tight wedge more than a hundred wingspan above.
Ares looks at the gawking ponies with a mildly surprised expression.
“I did not expect you to be so impressed by our hangar. Surely you must have bigger structures in that mountain city in the far distance.”
Twilight excitedly trots around in a wide circle.
“Canterlot? Well, yes, but not by much, and certainly none that fly. Besides clouds, I mean, but this is all built in metal! I can’t even imagine what it would take to process this much iron!”
“There’s actually a lot less steel than you probably think. Much of the hull consists of lighter alloys over carbon superstructures.”
“Carbon? But that’s... I mean, how can it hold?”
“It might be a bit of a long lecture. Let’s talk about that later.”
“Is this a storage space for your flying machines?” Mountain Gale breaks into the conversation.
“Very good. How did you guess?”
“The layout is very similar to pegasus housing in Cloudsdale. I presume there are emergency hatches in the roof?”
“Indeed. You can see it outlined in yellow if you look carefully.”
“Above the topmost level? Yes, it’s clearly visible from here.” The winged pony points with a hoof.
Ares squints at the weak lines of paint half-hidden in the shadows above.
“Huh. You must have remarkable eyesight. Or perceive colours quite differently from us.”
“Hey, check it out! Look!”
Yells and whistles calling for attention sound from above, heads popping over the safety rails or out of open entrances. The sound of excited discussion floats down to the visitors.
“Whoa, that is the cutest thing.”
“They can fly? Awesome!”
“Sir! Will we get to meet the ponies too?”
Ares waves his hand at the closest faces peering down.
“In time. Get back to work.”
“Yes, sir!” The grinning head disappears.
“If you would? This way, please.”
Ares leads the group into a side corridor, metal doors—easily a leg measure thick—easing into the walls like curtains at their approach. Behind, the pathway continues into the distance, light spilling from windows painting the walls and floor in alternating segments of light and dark. Thick lines of colour run across the floor. Diamond Hoof squints at the sunlight as they walk past.
“Strange... These windows seem to be set right at the surface, but I could’ve sworn we didn’t move back towards the entrance.”
“We didn’t. There’s more than thrice your body length in armour and hull layers separating us from the outside.”
The old soldier peers suspiciously at Ares.
“Magic?”
The human smiles over his shoulder.
“If you’d like to call it that.”
A gesture from Ares pans the image of a nearby window to the groups of Guards still waiting outside.
“You seem very fond of scrying magic,” Twilight remarks as the group continues, leaving the oddly angled image hanging on the wall.
“Why waste time? Fast communication is both convenient and life-saving.”
Twilight lapses into silence, eyes tracing shadowy alcoves hidden away from the brilliant sunlight.
Every one of them speaks of life-threatening danger and death with such ease. It feels... dark, somehow.
“Mister Ares. I’m terrible sorry if I appear to be prying, but we only seem to be passing a lot of closed doors. May I ask where this ‘tour’ is headed?”
“Of course you may, miss Rarity. We’ll be at our destination in a moment. And to answer your unasked question: the doors in this corridor lead to cargo holds. Most of them are simply empty.“
The corridor ends in an identical door to the one at the other end, the metal lightly swishing away. The silence of the empty corridor is replaced with the sounds of life, dozens of voices mingled with the sounds of clinking metal and thumps of feet. The new passage is devoid of windows, instead branching into twisting paths framed by doors and hatches of varying sizes. Raucous laughter, stumps of drunken song and a blanket of loud, overlapping voices drift from an open double door to the immediate right. Pinkie immediately perks up, zooming to the front of the group with surprising speed.
“That sounds like a party! Is it a party, Acey?”
“Ac... Huh. Yeah, you could say that. It’s the mess hall, so there’s probably an off-duty squad or two in there. Want to stop by and say hello?”
In a pink flash Pinkie is across the intervening corridor, bouncing into the middle of the doorway and striking a dramatically pointing pose, precariously balanced on her hind legs.
“I sense a party! Why wasn’t Pinkie invited?”
The mess hall reacts with dumbfounded silence, the song faltering into confused mumbles.
Then the room explodes into cheers.
“Heeey! It’s crazy pink pony!”
“Awesome!”
“Get in here, you badass motherfucker!”
Bouncing with glee, Pinkie disappears into the rowdy room. The rest of the group gathers up by the doorway.
About a dozen humans mill around a square table bearing Pinkie, most of them sporting cups or canteens of varying sizes. A lank man in a long-sleeved jacket, limply leaning against a wood-panelled bar, clears his throat and starts up on another jaunty vocal tune. The words of the song fail to translate. Twilight peers at the out-of-place piece of ornate furniture in the otherwise spartan hall, colourful bottles neatly lined up and fastened to shelves behind the counter.
“Is that a salt bar?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s, uh, something adult ponies consume for enjoyment... Dulls the senses and creates euphoria.”
“'Salt'? Do you mean alcohol?”
“Alcohol?”
“It’s a liquid chemical with a depressant effect on the central nervous system. You can see the effects of small amounts with the crew members present: flushed skin, lessened inhibitions, some balance problems...”
“It sounds a lot like salt, except the liquid part. I mean, salt is sometimes dissolved into liquids, but...”
“Huh. Interesting. It might just be a translation error, but to be on the safe side... Hey, Lin! Don’t give her that until we have greenlight on toxicology.”
Caught red-handed, the dejected technician takes back the canteen from Pinkie before the pony has a chance to drink whatever’s inside. Pinkie shrugs.
The door behind the counter opens and a horror of colours well too small for the frame squeezes through and into the room.
“Govno! Fuuuck!”
Straightening the massive orange feather in his hat, the muscular human gives the counter an angry kick before pulling a bottle out of the bar shelf.
“How can single platoon have so much shit to catalogue, huh? I ask you! Fuck!”
With a deft flick of a thumb the rubber cork clatters into a sink. The human promptly attempts to empty the contents of the bottle in one swig, disregarding the drops escaping into his bright blue beard. Noticing the uncommon guests in the middle of trying to drink and pull a chair out at once, the newcomer almost chokes on his liquor.
“Hey, it’s little horses from outside!” The human grins as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. His cheeks stretch even further as his eyes travel to the table and register Pinkie. “It’s you! I like you!”
Perched on the side of the table, Pinkie giggles and stretches out a foreleg.
“I’m not ‘you’, silly! I’m Pinkie Pie!”
The human bursts into laughter, rapping his fist against the extended hoof, the strength of the gesture almost pushing Pinkie off the edge of the table.
“Okay! I’m Kolya.”
“Hello Kolya! Do you like parties, because I should totally throw all of you a ‘welcome to Equestria’-party since you’ve never been here before and...”
“Pinkie.” Twilight gently chides, doing nothing but adding to the noise of the laughing Kolya, the off-key singing in the background and Pinkie’s excited explanation.
“...and then we could make more cupcakes since Eris dropped the first one and it got all inedible...”
“Pinkie!”
Quickly the room devolves back into the ambient chaos of a small but lively party, made all the worse by the addition of the ponies. Ares looks down as a well-trimmed white hoof daintily knocks on his knee.
“Yes?”
“Well, I... Hrm. Most of you seem to prefer rather... let us say pragmatic gear, so I could not help but notice your friend’s...” Fidgeting uncomfortably, Rarity’s gaze lingers on Kolya’s garish outfit before flacking towards the floor, trapped somewhere between scandal and not being able to look away. “...ensemble,” she finishes lamely.
“Ah, yes, the brothers Incorrigible.”
A shudder runs through the unicorn.
“There’s two of them?” She swallows audibly.
“Dreadful, isn’t it?”
Rarity’s shoulders sag in relief. “You think so too? Oh, thank goodness. I must admit I was afraid you would all dress like that out of those drab full-body overalls.”
Ares lets out a small, dismissive laugh.
“Ye gods, no. Sasha and Kolya just have a... slight authority problem. They like to break the rules where they can. Including the rules of fashion.”
“I’m so glad we can agree on that.”
“Really, I was already amazed that they manage to look out of place in every human culture we visit, but to think they’d look awful even across species... Truly the stream is full of wonders.”
The pair observes the play unfolding in the hall, Twilight still working to catch Pinkie’s attention while trying to resist the distractions of the curious crewmembers’ questions. Applejack similarly shares her attention between good-natured conversation and shielding the panicky Fluttershy from inquisitive humans, while the Guards hang back in a tight group of their own.
“They seem to be getting along surprisingly well.”
“Yes. It does feel like an incredible coincidence that we would share so many cultural features.”
Rarity looks up, Ares’ piercing eyes observing her. She holds her gaze on the human as he shifts away, trying to assess the mysterious creature.
He would probably look good in a cape, Rarity muses idly. Or armour. He stands as if suspended over a frame of steel.
Ares claps his hands together, curiously managing to quiet the rowdy crew with the simple gesture.
“Sorry to interrupt, miss Pinkie, but we ought to be going. There will be plenty of time to get to know all of us later.”
“Okies, Acey!”
Subdued giggles from the crew are quickly suppressed by the level stare of dark eyes. Towing the quadrupedal group behind him, Ares leaves the hall and continues down a corridor. Fluttershy quickly nestles close to Rarity in the middle of the formation.
“He’s... a little intimidating, isn’t he?” The pegasus asks in a voice barely audible to her friend.
“Ares? Well, he is a bit hard to read,” Rarity replies.
“It’s, um, I meant the other humans... They obey him very naturally. It’s... respect and, um, a little fear, I think.”
“Fear? I admit he is a little... stiff, but that’s hardly a frightening attribute, dear.”
“Maybe. Um, it’s just what I think. It’s probably wrong.”
Rarity muses over the tall back leading them forward with a thoughtful frown.
“No, don’t play down your intuition, darling. It’s a lady’s most important tool!” She cushions the mild admonition in a smile.
“Well, we’re here.”
Leading the ponies through another oddly contracting door, the shouts, thumps and rustles of vigorous physical activity echo from the corridor up front. Bridging the short distance to another pair of large doors, the ponies step into an entirely different type of room.
Brightly lit by hundreds of spotlights, the rectangular hall aspires to horizontal size rather than height. Though spacious, the front half of the room is entirely occupied by a large crowd of humans spread across its breadth in sparsely spaced pairs. The foremost ponies flinch as one of the closest human voices an aggressive shout, rushing into a wild tackle to grapple her opponent.
“Oh, no! What’s going on? A fight?”
“No,” Mountain Gale states flatly. The three Guards’ eyes are firmly glued to the spectacle. “They’re training.”
Finding leverage, the attacking human lifts her opponent’s legs into the air, using her shoulder to bodily slam him into the thick mat underneath. Quick as a snake, the attacker slithers between her downed quarry’s legs and pins him to the ground, the strike of her free hand stopping just short of his neck. Getting up, the female offers her partner a hand, pulling him to his feet and receiving a nod as thanks. The pair steps apart and both combatants resume their original stances, slowly dancing around each other in search of an opening.
Twilight and her friends breathe out as they reassess the situation.
He’s right, Twilight thinks as she carefully studies the pairs, they’re not really trying to hurt each other.
Academic interest piqued, the unicorn glances at the guardsponies following the “training” with rapt attention.
Seems it’s not far enough removed from Guard training to be completely alien... I guess this is what Shining had to do, too. Or does.
“Protect your head! It doesn’t matter how tough you think you are, a good shot to the chin will drop you in one strike!”
Though the translation only slightly ups the volume, the original exclamation carries clearly across the room. Far from the brute force of a simple shout, the voice carries across the air with the resonance of an instrument. A tall man—even on human standards—steps into view from within the sea of bodies, elegantly side-stepping grappling or toppling fighters with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Balance is everything! Find your center and fight from there!”
The lithe trainer stops to observe a pair on the fringes of the group where a large, blocky man bodily lifts his much smaller opponent into the air and slams him down like a sack of flour, the smaller human shaking his head to clear the shock of the violent impact. The trainer carefully observes a repeat performance, his brows knitted in a slight frown.
“Trent! Leverage. Don’t just use your muscles to throw your partner around.”
The big human looks up as his partner clambers up again and smirks self-assuredly.
“Commandress says strength is a virtue, sir.”
“I know she does, I’ve worked with Elizabeth for years. The difference is that she focuses her considerable power, whilst you just throw it around indiscriminately.”
The man named Trent bristles at the comment, unconsciously lurching into a more intimidating stance. Whatever reply he is about to muster dies on his lips as he notices the mismatched group in the doorway, his eyebrows shooting up. Turning in the direction of the other’s gaze, the trainer notices Ares and the ponies.
“Cease! XO on deck!”
The command stops the frenetic motion in the hall as the combatants help each other up. Far from the polite bow, or the rigid snapping to attention of the guard, the stances of the fighters remain relaxed and haphazard. Nonetheless, the atmosphere of the room subtly shifts into one of attention as curious eyes turn to the new group. Ares steps into the bright light of the hall, holding up a hand to his head.
“Thank you. Carry on.” The ponies remain under the scrutiny of the room as Ares steps up to the trainer, but unlike the crew in the hangar and mess hall, the humans remain in their positions without approaching.
“Good work, Abebe. How far along are you?”
“Almost done for the day, sir. There’s one more lesson we need to go over.”
“I found some day work for the platoons. Do you think blue’d be up for the task?”
“Anything is better than training general combat skills all day.”
“Excellent. Don’t dismiss the crew once you’re done.”
“Yes, sir. All right, gather around!”
The dispersed crew quickly form a rough half-circle, wiping off sweaty foreheads and necks. Beckoning Trent over, the trainer, Abebe, positions himself between the arc of humans and Ares’ group.
“Have you ever sparred with Elizabeth, Trent?”
“Spitfire? Sure.”
“Yeah, he got his ass handed to him in the first week after joining,” an amused voice adds from the crowd.
“Shut up,” Trent growls.
“She fought just like you, in the beginning. Directionless, mindless power.”
Frowning, Trent rolls his shoulders.
“It’s worked for me so far.”
The taunting conversation continues. Ares lowers himself to a knee, speaking from the corner of this mouth.
“Trent there is a fairly fresh crew member, and he’s been something of a troublemaker. Abebe probably wants to teach him a little humility.”
Mountain Gale leans in, but keeps his eyes in front. “I’m not looking to criticise your methods, sir, but big egos often react badly to public shaming...”
“True. But being part of this ship is more than a job. We can’t afford any loose cannons—for all our sakes. Look.” Ares subtly points to a whispering group behind Trent. “The older crew knows what’s going on. Most of them have been out there themselves.” Ares flashes the ponies a lopsided smile. “Big egos are nothing new on this ship. But that doesn’t mean you get to be a bully.”
“—demonstrate, then, if you’d please. Strike me,” Abebe states calmly, tapping his chin.
“You sure? You might get hurt.”
“Are ya sure this’ll be all right?” Applejack whispers. “Ah mean, Big Mac’d probably beat me in a fair tussle just on account’a being bigger an’ stronger...”
Ares’ eyes twinkle mischievously.
“Fair? Watch.”
“Don’t be frightened, Trent. Strike.”
“Fright— All right, you asked for it, old man.”
The bigger human moves without warning and with surprising speed for his bulk. Trent feints left with a light instep, reverses and levels a vicious hook at Abebe’s slender neck. Applejack grits her teeth in sympathy. Fluttershy covers her eyes and the rest of the friends gasp audibly. Even the Guards flinch in anticipation of the blow to fall.
It doesn’t. With a tiny, relaxed step the slender man barely shifts his weight forward. Barely, but enough.
Trent’s eyes bulge when Abebe’s palm sinks into his torso, just below the ribs. For a long, lazy moment the two figures flow around each other, looking like dancers in the middle of a slow waltz turn.
Abebe almost casually grasps his crumbling opponent and pivots.
The faint rustle of cloth is the only sound indicating that anything physical has actually happened. The room watches in perfect silence as Trent gracefully sails through the air, rotating slowly. The moment shatters as the heavy human unceremoniously impacts with the mat, rolls over and gasps to fill his suddenly uncooperative lungs with air. Quickly stepping up, Abebe turns the big man over on his side and checks for damage with practiced ease.
“Just breathe. Easy does it. Breathe.”
Slowly, Trent’s lungs sort themselves out, the suspended gasp replaced with quick, shallow breaths.
“What— the f— fuck just... h— happened?”
“Redirection. I used your momentum against you. Don’t talk. Breathe.”
Others leave the crowd and help Trent up into a half-sitting position, the grins on their faces earning deathly glares from their unwilling patient. Abebe turns to the assembly.
“Power is useless without control. Remember this. Good work today, everybody, Ares’s got some words for us before you go.”
“Right,” Ares begins while stepping up. “We’ve all been cooped up on this ship for fairly long, and I’m aware you’re probably going a little stir-crazy in here.”
Amused snorts waft from amidst nodding heads.
“R&R restrictions still apply, but at least we’ve found something for you to occupy yourselves with all day. Applejack here needs some help on her farm nearby, and she needs a few pairs of capable hands. Anyone interested?”
A couple of glances and a few whispered sentences pass around the crowd before a small group steps forward as one.
“Red two volunteers.”
In rapid succession more crew steps forward, many at once or as individuals.
“If it gets me out of here? Anything.”
“Blue one volunteers.”
“Sis and me grew up on a hydroponic farm, we’ll help out.”
“Fuck, if everyone else is going... Count me in.”
“I’m in.”
In moments almost the whole crowd has voiced their assent. Ares turns to Abebe.
“Well then. Could you set up a rotation?”
“Of course, though only for my platoon. Reds will have to ask their commandress.”
“Very good. Is tomorrow at sunrise acceptable to you, miss Applejack?”
“Ah reckon’ that sounds mighty good.”
“Excellent. Then you’re all dismissed.”
The crowd breaks up, some staying to chat with the ponies or each other but most heading off through various entrances. The first group of volunteers strikes up conversation with the guardsponies, the topic quickly moving onto the earlier sparring match. Twilight and Ares observe the lively discussion from the sidelines.
“I don’t know why they’re so excited. Trent could’ve gotten badly hurt!”
“I doubt it. Abebe is a master of his craft.”
“At violence?”
“At controlling the situation with the minimum amount of necessary force. Far better than irresponsibly causing collateral damage.”
Twilight furrows her brows in dismay.
“I still think they could’ve tried to talk reason instead of fighting...”
Ares scratches his chin.
“Maybe. The stream is a dangerous place. It’s better to hurt now and learn than to get stabbed in a bar fight on some Gods-forgotten asteroid.”
Twilight uncertainly looks up at the human, shuddering slightly.
“Are all humans this morbid?”
Ares smiles crookedly.
“I’m told I have a very dark outlook on life.”
Listening for a sound only he can hear, Ares stares at empty air for a second.
“Are you expecting more envoys, miss Twilight?”
“No. Why?”
“An object approaches the ship. It seems to be a—” Ares listens again, eyebrows rising. “A... flying chariot?”
Twilight’s eyes widen.
“The princess is coming here?”
The guardsponies stop in mid-sentence, turning around at the exclamation.
“What?”
Ares follows the rapidly panicking unicorn, pinching his ear with a hand.
“Eris, it’s Ace. Go escort them in. Looks like we’re about to receive royal guests.”
*
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HA! Can't wait to see the princesses reaction to the Trickster and her crew. Dis gon' be good!!
I think what I'm expecting the most now is the ponies reaction to the more violent nature of Humanity. Can they accept that humans are an overal good and harmonious race even being more violent or not? that's what this chapter made me ask.
Merry Christmas Everyone, and a Happy New Year!
Thankfully they didn't open up with flak first
This story seems interesting. I'll check it out later today after I wake up.
1846783
THAT woulda been interesting.
1846783
1848830
Are you actually tempting me to go full grimdark with no warning whatsoever?
1849312
nooo... just musing.
1849312
Or dark comedy
1851180
I'm glad you like it, the confusion of the second chapter notwithstanding. I hope you'll stick around for the rest of the story as well.
Remember when I said I would get the story back on track in January?
I LIED.
I have
some retroactive editing I'd like to get done on the first few chapters anda draft for chapter 15 on the table, though. Here's to hoping I'll get that into the pipeline before the month is out, but life's pretty crazy right now. Thanks for sticking around, y'all!Edit: I've felt for some time that the first chapter might've been the thing to scare off a bunch of potential readers, so—after considering some sound critique I got—I axed about a third of it and switched it with the previous chapter 2. The essential content of the chapters have not changed, so there's no impact on later chapters, but if any of my older readers go back and wonder what the heck happened there... that's what.
Ive been thouroughly enjoying this story so far i hope soon there can be more chapters fave and like from me!
I like this!^_^
It's really great!^_^
A good fanfiction!^_^
Welp. I guess I'm going to have to get off my butt and start writing again at some point. Thanks for the kind words.
So awesome... gosh I want to find out what happens next =) It still has so much to offer: Sonic Rainboom, cutie marks explanation, study of magic (teleportation, flying abilities, etc) and the whole interlopers situation handling...
Damn, I can't wait, my life will never be complete unless I learn how it ends 
=P
=)
I absolutely love sci-fi stories: spaceships, implants, aliens, damn, so awesome!
Please write more, it is simply gorgeous!
2333302
You should. This story is an example of why HiEs are not always bad. In fact, some are great. Like this one. Upload more before I send the ninjas to your house, just to spy on you and leave random notes to write more.
Update this please?^_^
Ho... what is this? It's summer, you say? And I have no pressing duties outside of my day job?
Intriguing.
3097281
Sorry to hear that. I hope I can at least inspire a feeling that it wasn't a complete waste of your time. In hindsight (20/20 and all that...) I would perhaps have written the world a bit differently, but I don't know if I'd go as far as entirely discarding the basic premise – everything besides sailing is pointless, after all.
WHY ARE THERE NOT MORE STORIES LIKE THIS?
GAH!
/minirant
But seriously.Too many fics take magic for granted, even if supposed 'scientists' are involved, and they either deny it, then believe it when seen, and that's the end of it. If they try to figure it out, its immune to science. As in, none of their instruments can pick up anything, aside from visual. But then there are these rare stories, where you actually treat it like you would any other unknown phenomenon in real life, and figure out how it works. Not to mention that it can interact, if imperfectly, with the holographic... Library... Pseudo-space Field thing (I can't actually recall the name now)
Damn, every new chapter reminds me of how AMAZING this story is =D
Great job!
I really, REALLY hope you update this soon. This is excellent!
5298246
Can't say I've ever heard of it, but ok.
I hope to see an update to this sometime.^_^
I just discovered this entertaining little story. Sucha shame I have to immediately relegate it to me "Dead Fics" folder.
8818948
I'm just going through the "also liked" and being sad at all the interesting stories that are incomplete and haven't updated in years, or are on hiatus, or cancelled...
Nice Story. too bad it's dead.
10176190
Yeah.