Chapter 57
The sheer amount of things he was hoping to do was a bit staggering. As we lay there in silence under the cliff, I stared into the fire and mulled it over to myself while he watched the sky. The farm was split into multiple 'fields', labeled by their cardinal directions, it would seem. That much made sense. They usually harvested and planted one field at a time, loaded up larger wagons with the produce, then moved it into the barns for storage until it shipped. I'd upgraded their smallest barn with the lift system and conveyor. It apparently cut their workload and time involved to barely a fifth of what it normally was, and it was so much better that he wanted the larger two barns equipped with them too.
That alone was staggering, but he didn't stop there. Each of the fields was massive, and he was hoping for a better, faster, or easier way to move the produce to the central barn area. That meant a standard track system with larger rail wagons to carry the stuff. It wasn't too fancy, and setting up an enchantment on the wagons themselves, or developing a rune engine to pull and push them, would be reasonably easy. Overall, nothing he had asked for was any more complex than what I'd already done for him, but the sheer volume of work was going to take probably the better part of a summer if I had to do it by myself. That didn't leave much in the way of any time for any other jobs, of course. Maybe advertising my availability wasn't such a good idea?
The only other thing was repairs to the watermill they had down by the large stream nearby. It at least was already made, and apparently powered a decent water pumping system they had used for the farm before, but it fell into disrepair and they switched to several pump wells instead, which were easier to maintain. Those were a lot more work and didn't supply the same volume of water, which made dryer months a lot harder. That much would be simple with the right equipment.
All those things put together would free up a lot of time for the Apple Family. I smiled as I thought of Apple Bloom, and already decided I'd help them out, no matter the volume of work involved. Her being happy and able to spend time with the two would make it all worth it to me. Spike was right. I really did have a soft spot for cuteness. Still, she was an earnest and hardworking filly. She deserved to be happy.
"Ah hah," Big Mac muttered, standing up suddenly next to me. I followed his gaze past the lightly dripping leaves overhead and spotted a dot off in the sky, coming in fast but drifting lightly as it headed towards the lake. It was gray in color, and my eyes rotated lightly as I zoomed my vision in, then smiled.
Her blonde mane blew in the wind behind her as she lowered in altitude, that happy smile adorning her face again as she made a beeline for the beach. Regardless of one eye drifting off to the left, she was an amazingly skilled flier and handled herself gracefully. No doubt years of experience had honed her skills to the point where her eyes didn't bother her in the least.
Big Mac slowly exited the tree line and headed over to the area where Derpy was coming in. Standing, I was careful not to disturb Sweetie Belle, who still slept peacefully next to where I lay before. Relaxing as she stirred lightly but didn't wake, I tucked the flier into my left saddlebag with my mouth, and then trotted out to join the two.
Derpy sneezed a second later as she braced for landing. I winced as her forward momentum didn't halt properly and she flipped after touching down with her hooves. The oscillating sky blue and silver energy danced along the sand in front of me before I raised my left hoof upwards, a burst of the stuff following the motion. The gray mare squeaked lightly as the sand danced up around her and formed a soft cushion as she landed, gently drifting down to the ground as I lowered my hoof. Hey, controlling sand was surprisingly useful!
"Ha ha ha! That was fun! Thanks for the save, Mender!" Derpy managed to squeak out, rolling forwards onto her haunches and wiggling her eyes around until at least one focused on us. The colors of my magic still danced lightly about the sand as I pulled it back into my body and gave her a warm smile and nod, pleased to see the familiar mare again.
"Are ya okay, Miss Derpy?" Big Mac politely asked after the mare managed to recover. I walked up next to him the rest of the way, and then sat down, watching her.
To my surprise, her right eye locked onto him, and both widened afterwards, a light flush dancing across her cheeks suddenly. Oh? She hesitated for a moment before rapidly nodding. "Ah, yeah! I'm okay, Big Mac. Um, I didn't know you'd be the one here meeting me," she muttered, getting a little quiet towards the end. I tilted my head towards her, but Big Mac just chuckled and shook his head.
"Ah'm tha one ta wait 'ere every year, Derpy. Ah notice yer comin' rather than Wind Whistler," he pointed out, snapping her out of her daze.
"Oh, yeah! She was supposed to come, but sprained her wing in a, well, accident. I'm here instead, so," she muttered, looking down towards Big Mac's large hooves and scraping at the sand a bit, the pink tint getting a little worse. Was she embarrassed? That hardly seemed reasonable, as she knew both of us didn't mind her being there. She had been super-nice to me so far, and Big Mac didn’t appear to have a problem with much at all.
I perked up and tried to give her an assuring nod. "Well, I'm glad it's you, Derpy. I was sad I didn't get to see you too, before I left," I added. It was true, of course. She hadn't been anywhere to be seen at the going away event.
The gray mare perked up, then smiled softly in my direction instead, the blush fading a bit. There we go! "Thanks, Mender. I missed you, too. We should hang out more when you get back. I wouldn't mind helping with deliveries for your work either, of course, when I'm not on duty," she offered, her ears popping up and twitching lightly as she gave me a happy nod. Heart of gold, that one. Still, that did get me thinking about getting help.
"Well, I don't have the bits to pay for any extra help right away, of course, but it seems like I'll have a lot of business after all, so maybe hiring ponies to help me might not be such a bad idea," I considered, thinking out loud for the benefit of the two listening.
Derpy seemed sufficiently distracted and much more relaxed now. Big Mac chuckled a little and glanced back over at me instead. "Ah really hope ya aren't gonna try ta do all o' what Ah asked by yerself. AJ and Ah will help, an' Ah already got ah few others, too. Tha small barn was ah risk, but now Ah see what ya can do, so we're goin' all out now," he explained, surprising me on multiple fronts. Oh! Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be as horrifying as I thought? Wait, how was I supposed to pay these ponies?
"Uh, I'm really hoping you're paying them from the funds you were going to give to me," I suggested, averting my eyes from him weakly and bracing myself for heavy bartering if I needed to.
"Oooh, are you upgrading the farm, then?!" Derpy asked excitedly instead, seemingly forgetting about her prior problem.
Big Mac looked between us before snickering softly and nodding. "Yes, Ah am, Derpy. Ah'm also hopin' ta get yer help in movin' stuff around, too. Paid work, o' course," he answered, to her instead. Although that also partially answered me as well. He was assuring the payment, which probably meant he was paying the others as well. That meant they didn't work for me, but for him, and I was just the head designer. That I was okay with, and nodded to myself.
Derpy's problem came back in spades at the same time her eyes widened and she shrunk down a bit. "M-Me? Of course! But, um, you don't have to, well, pay me," she whispered, looking rather intimidated. Eh, was she scared of Big Mac? Well, he was quite a bit larger than she was, so admittedly, I didn't blame her.
"Heh, yer gonna get paid, Derpy. Just like Mender 'ere. Although, yer technically gonna be workin' fer him, just like AJ an' me. He's the boss an' brains. Two o' tha others wanna work directly fer ya, too, Mender. Maybe fer even after tha projects, if ya can pay 'em then." He glanced back towards me as he said it, and my eyes widened even more, my concern for Derpy getting violently switched out by surprise. Wait, what?!
My ears flattened back and I exhaled, lowering myself ever so closer to the ground. "Why am I in charge of everypony? I'm not that great of a leader," I warned honestly, starting to really, really think this job thing was a bad idea. It wasn't too late to flee into the woods and live like a hermit, right?
Big Mac chuckled and shook his head towards me instead, however. "Technically, yer workin' fer AJ and me, yeah. We don't got ah clue how ta make tha stuff, though. Yer more ah supervisor than ah boss, ta make sure it all goes smoothly," he explained. Oh. Well, that made more sense.
Derpy perked up and nodded as well, appending, "Oh, except for after, if you hire other ponies to help you with different jobs! Then you'll be the supervisor and boss!"
I gave her a skeptical glance, and she just grinned at me even more until I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Fine, but if I end up stapling myself to part of the conveyor or something..." I finally acquiesced, biting the bullet if I had to.
"Your loyal helper, Derpy, shall rescue you!" Derpy assured, whipping her right hoof up into a sharp salute. I didn't get to see most of it, however. Sand stuck to the bottom of her hoof, and the arc she used to whip it upwards sprayed me right in the eyes.
Derpy gave a panicked squeak as I yelped and flailed for a second before blindly running past her in the direction I knew the lake was in. "Aaah, water! Need water!" I managed to shout, the sand particles having literally peppered the surface of my eyeballs. Of course, I'd not realized that keeping my balance when I couldn't see anything and pain was beating down from my eyes was a lot harder than normal.
Three meters later, I ended up wiping out and rolling with a magnificent nosedive, inhaling quite a bit of sand as it got into my nose and mouth. I started hacking and coughing to get it out and flailed sideways in my spasms, only to go into the water instead. Damn it.
My eyes finally opened and relaxed against the water, despite hacking sand out of my lungs, water going the other way down my throat. It mixed into a lovely torrent of mud and I gagged instead, trying to get my rebreather to turn on. Then I threw up.
* * * * *
"Ya sure yer fine?" Big Mac asked softly once more, standing next to the larger fire now as he tossed more sticks onto it.
Shivering, I managed to nod to him. "Y-Yeah. Just gotta warm up. Go deliver the stuff," I assured, stuttering as my tongue was still numb. Throwing up underwater wasn't anywhere near as pleasant as throwing up on land, and that really said something. Now my numbed tongue tasted like vomit and sand.
"Fine. Ah'll be back after Ah give Derpy's information ta Nurse Redheart," he announced slowly, turning and heading towards the path back to camp again to the east.
Derpy let out a weak, whimpering noise to my left, trying her hardest to rub the blanket over me more and dry me off. "I'm so sorry, Mender! That was so stupid. I didn't even think about sand in my hoof!" she apologized, far beyond sounding mortified even at this point.
"Eh, Mender's kinda an accident magnet. Even if you accidentally injured him, it's kinda more his luck's fault than anything," Scootaloo muttered, stirring the fire with a stick across from me. I glared over at her, but her eyes widened as her stirring utensil caught fire, distracting her. She dropped it from her mouth rather fast and stepped back as the whole thing ignited ever so slowly.
Apple Bloom bumped her to the side suddenly and kicked the stick back into the fire by the yet unburned end, shaking her head. "Don't be mean ta Mender, Scoots. Ya know he's ah nice stallion," she defended sternly. She took on the 'bodyguard' role really seriously. Still, it was nice to have ponies stick up for me.
"I was just joking, sheesh. You're right. Derpy should feel terrible," she shot back, giving the redhead an equally biting glare.
"Nopony's to blame, really. It was an accident," I corrected, giving both fillies a stern glance while Derpy sighed. Making her feel bad and fighting at the same time was even worse, of course. They shrunk down under my gaze, and Scoots nodded rapidly. My view was obstructed, however, by amber a second later.
Shifting my gaze to the left, I saw Sweetie smiling down at me and holding a glass filled with amber liquid in it, straw included. "Apple juice to get the taste out of your mouth, and a sandwich to fill you back up a little!" she chirped, gesturing to the plate next to my hoof as well.
I smiled at her and sat up slowly, Derpy hopping in to my left and helping me get into a sitting position. "Thank you, Sweetie. You're a little angel. Thanks, Derpy. Mmm, I'm feeling better," I said, glancing at both of them in turn. Sweetie blushed, of course, and gave a sheepish grin, but Derpy still looked amazingly guilty, rapidly averting her eyes from my gaze. This wouldn't do.
My left hoof extended and raised her right ear up from its fallen position, causing it to perk slightly. She glanced curiously back at me, and I gave her a soft smile, shaking my head. "I'm not mad at you, Derpy. I'm also not hurt, and it was an accident. You're my friend and I prefer you smiling, so don't be hard on yourself," I requested softly.
Her features slowly shifted to a timid smile, and she nodded, turning to face me more before leaning forwards and lightly hugging me around the shoulders. "I just don't like hurting the ponies closest to me. And I know what it's like to rarely have things go the way you want," she muttered, backing up again after a few seconds and lifting her head up to meet my gaze.
Wow, did I ever know that feeling. "Yeah, that I know all about. It seems like I'm cursed with perpetually bad luck. It kinda makes me wonder what I did in a past life or something to deserve it. What, did I habitually kick puppies or something?" I reasoned, toying with the 'past life' idea in my head. Well, technically...
"Ah should point out that not everything's goin' badly," Apple Bloom cut in, raising her hoof up to get my attention. I gave her a somewhat skeptical glance, but she just smirked instead and continued with, "Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Nurse Redheart, Sweetie Belle..."
My blush got more and more pronounced the longer she went on, and Sweetie giggled after her name, lowering herself and nuzzling into my left shoulder. "I... Well... Rarity and I have decided not to pursue anything!" I tried to defend, definitely not mentioning anything Keela had said.
Scootaloo retorted almost instantly with, "Rainbow is more than enough to be totally worth all the bad luck just by herself!" I raised an eyebrow at that, but Derpy chipped in before I could get a word in edgewise.
Derpy started snickering and nodded. "You do have a lot of mares interested. At least it turns out that the flower mares were just teasing about adding you to their herd," she offered, giving me a grin.
I blinked slowly. Herd? "Oh! Those three are, uh, together?" I asked, tilting my head towards her. She kept her smile and just nodded twice. My brain whirled into movement again as I considered the sudden new information. I wonder...
"What'cha thinkin' 'bout, Mender?" Apple Bloom inquired curiously after I went quiet for a little bit.
Frowning, I shook my head to myself before looking up at her again. "There's just, well, things I'm not quite sure about considering the whole 'herd' thing. Books don't really go into the dynamics all that well, and I was thinking, maybe, just maybe, I could ask them about how it works in theirs," I reasoned, left ear twitching lightly as I considered it. Assuming they didn't laugh hysterically, of course. Or try to flirt with me more.
"I think it's a good idea. You're sweet for even wanting to do that for your mares," Derpy chirped, nodding twice in approval. I started to turn and smile at her when Sweetie sat up again instead, distracting me with the sudden movement in my peripheral vision.
"Um, do you think I could come, too, Mender? I'm not really experienced with it either and I, well, wouldn't mind learning more. To be better for you, of course!" she asked, frowning to herself before seemingly steeling her resolve and giving me a hopeful smile.
Watching her for a moment, I decided she was more than likely sure that was what she wanted, and nodded to her, earning a happy squeak and hop into the air. She hugged me almost instantly after, as anticipated, and I snickered, holding her closer with my left foreleg. Why did she even ask? She probably knew enough by now that I couldn't say no to her cuteness.
My proximity sensors pinged before the conversation could continue, however. A glance showed me Rainbow's signal zeroing in, in direction and distance, and I sighed. Figures, she was coming in hot. The cyan mare dropped below the tree line like a bolt of lightning, shooting around three trees before touching down along the edge of the camp. Her front legs hit first and she grinned, going with the momentum into a gentle flip through the air, rolling twice before skidding to a soft stop right next to Scootaloo, of all fillies. She was showing off for her sister, I assumed.
"Whoa! Awesome, Rainbow!" Scootaloo spoke up instantly, voice full of awe and eyes rather wide.
Rainbow grinned and wrapped a wing around the little filly an instant later, pulling her tight again. "You know it! I'm feeling more in shape than ever! Tomorrow, I think we're gonna focus on just practicing your flying techniques instead," she revealed, sounding rather confident. Heh, she'd only been practicing the entire time Big Mac and I were talking, even after Derpy got here. I don't think she even noticed my frantic flight into the lake...
Scootaloo's eyes got even bigger somehow, and she squealed happily, her little wings buzzing on her back and shooting little orange sparks everywhere, mixing with the fire. I raised an eyebrow as it momentarily turned the fire bright orange as well. That was interesting.
"Do you mean it, Rainbow? Can we?!" she pleaded, her hooves propping up on Dash's chest as she gave her the nastiest level of 'filly eyes' I'd ever seen. Thankfully I wasn't on the receiving end of it, this time!
Rainbow puffed up and nodded of course, sliding her saddlebag around her barrel a bit and digging into the right side of it. "Of course! But if we're gonna put in an intense amount of training, you'd better eat good! Oh, and healthy, of course," Rainbow added, retrieving a cluster of apples from her bags by the stems and pushing the three into Scootaloo's torso. Eh? Where did she get apples from? I didn't see her leave the lake area, so I doubted she'd shot all the way back to Applejack's farm...
"Uh, isn't it almost supper? You shouldn't ruin your appetite for whatever Big Mac is fixing up, too! I wish I could stay and try it," Derpy pointed out, ears flattening a little. I smiled at her, noticing the light flush appear again, curiously enough. Wait, it was almost supper time. Where was Spike?! I suddenly realized he'd never shown up. Rainbow cut off my thoughts an instant later, though.
"Hey, she needs to eat more anyway, so we might as well start now. Or she can bring them back and eat them after supper, instead!" the cyan pegasus suggested suddenly, perking up at the new idea.
Sweetie tilted her head at the two of them curiously before suggesting, "Won't she be too full to sleep properly then? I know if I eat too much, it gets really uncomfortable on my tummy and I can't get to sleep." Okay, yeah, I just wanted to squeeze her now.
"No way! Apples aren't gonna mess with my sleeping, relax. It's not like they're cafe... Can... Uh..."
"Caffeinated?" Sweetie offered quietly, earning a glare from the orange filly. Caffeinated apples? Could you do that? I didn't think apples even had caffeine in them.
Apple Bloom just sighed and shook her head. "If she wants ta overstuff herself, just let her," she cut in, looking a bit exasperated at this point.
Scootaloo looked downright bristly at that, but Rainbow smirked and slipped both forelegs over the little filly's shoulders, hugging her rather affectionately, to my surprise.
"Scoots can handle herself and stop eating when she's full. My little sis is tough like that, right?" Rainbow assured playfully, causing Scootaloo's eyes to widen drastically, a light blush dancing across her cheeks as her chest swelled up. It was easy enough to see that the mare really did have a soft spot for Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom suddenly smirked a moment later, however. Uh oh. "Well, if yer gonna do all that tomorrow, ya better clear room fer it in yer schedule! Ah guess we'd best get at all our math homework tonight, then!" she chirped, giving me a knowing smile. Oh, low blow, AB!
"Oh, how responsible!" Derpy admitted, smiling at her. Heh, she didn't know the half of it.
"What?! Aww. We have to at least see if your brother will help us," Scootaloo reminded, looking a little dejected now. Well, her mood went downhill fast. Was math really that bad?
"Psh, no we ain't. Ah'll help ya both! Mine's done already," the yellow filly informed, puffing up big and tall while announcing it. Huh, it was kinda like bragging with the way she said it, but I guess she deserved as much.
Sweetie's turn to perk up. "What? Wait, how'd you figure it out, then?!" she asked abruptly, sounding surprised. Wait, there was something about this that was a bad idea again. What was it?
Apple Bloom just grinned and nodded towards me, and I shifted quickly to a sheepish smile and waved at them. Sweetie pouted a moment later, crossing her forelegs together. "Aww! When did you do that, and why just help Apple Bloom?" she asked. Oh. Oh yeah! This was why it was a bad idea.
Apple Bloom's face fell and she coughed lightly, looking away from the two of us. Damn it. Sweetie looked momentarily confused, while a sudden look of dawning shifted onto Scootaloo's expression. I finally just sighed and admitted, "It was when Redheart left me in charge of the clinic when she ran after you."
A full three seconds went past with Sweetie staring blankly at me. "Oh," she finally whispered, ears drooping and sinking a bit down on her haunches. Damn it!
Derpy looked between the two of us questioningly before asking, "Uh, what happened, if I can ask?"
"It was just a mix-up. Sweetie just-" I started to explain before the little white filly suddenly lunged and wrapped her forelegs around my barrel. Eh?
"N-No. It's okay, Mender. I was stupid and didn't believe him when I should have. He told me I had to wait to join his herd until I was fourteen, which, well, made sense. He said he'd give me a chance then and I didn't have to worry. But I didn't believe him and thought he was just turning me down, and I panicked. I ran away, and he got stuck watching the clinic while Nurse Redheart chased after me," she elaborated fully, voice low and sounding rather pained the whole time.
Frowning, I suddenly realized I had no idea what to say to make her feel better. Instead, my right foreleg just wrapped around her and I gave her a light squeeze against my torso, causing her to exhale quietly and rest her left cheek against my fur. Derpy smiled, however, and laid down, head closer to Sweetie as she dropped to her level.
"I know emotions are scary sometimes. I'm afraid of them, too, but you just have to trust in your heart, Sweetie. It's letting you know what you want, and Mender's willing to give it to you if you just wait. Trusting the ones you love is just as important," she spoke, surprising me with her level of insight. Admittedly, I didn't know much about 'love'. Everything my original had experienced was a rushed flurry of secret mating sessions and bursts of passion hot enough to scald, all in-between pretending not to know each other. Even as dense as I was, I had gathered it wasn't the best learning experience and that I probably shouldn't base much off it.
This added a new perspective, however. Something I'd sort of known already, but never really saw from this angle before. Sure, I'd mentioned something like love being an 'upgrade' to friendship earlier... Also with sex, as Dash had so affectionately reminded. But Derpy just added another quality to it, hadn't she? Trust. You had to trust those you loved. Maybe that was why Twilight was hurting so badly over what had happened?
Looking back upon all of my interactions with her, I realized there wasn't a lot of trust involved for either of us, which was probably why I felt just a little more strongly for Fluttershy instead. She made me feel comfortable because I trusted her fully. With Twilight, I always had that lingering doubt in the back of my head. What if she was spying on me again, or if this was a lengthy experiment of hers? I was, well, afraid of her for multiple reasons. Not just her magic, but also afraid of being used and discarded after the experiment was over.
My eyes closed as I sighed internally. We had a long ways to go before Twilight and I had anything resembling an 'ideal' relationship. She'd mentioned trust exercises that Rarity had been talking to her about. Maybe the white unicorn was really on to something? Sweetie blew my inner speculation off its rails with her sudden reply an instant later.
"I know that now. I was stupid, like I said! Mender saved my life, and has been super amazing and nice to me, and it feels like I can talk to him about anything. I love him, and now I know enough to trust everything he says! It's not just a crush, either. I'm interested in lots of what he does, and hopefully I can help him, too, in the future, like Twilight and Fluttershy do." I stayed quietly surprised throughout her small speech, and then smiled afterwards. She knew the pitfalls in front of her and was rather savvy going in, unlike her doubts told her earlier. Rarity must have really talked to her about this sort of thing. Derpy looked surprised at the admission, but I just shook my head and gave her another squeeze, drawing her gaze back up to my face instead.
"For what it's worth, I believe you, Sweetie. It was the absolute truth. I promise that you'll get your chance when you're old enough," I promised yet again. Her blush came back a moment later, but she smiled happily up at me. Those eyes. Her eyes were soft and dancing with a happy light. It was downright adorable, and I just wanted to pick her up and squeeze her in my forelegs like a teddy bear. But, uh, that might be a little demeaning if I tried that... Plus she was a little big.
Rainbow, however, could only take so much cuteness saturating the area. "You two lovebirds are hopeless! Scoots and I are gonna fly a few laps before supper and clear out from the mushy atmosphere," she suddenly cut in, giving an exaggerated gagging motion with her right forehoof before shooting into the air again. Scootaloo perked up faster than I thought possible and flew up after her, looking absolutely ecstatic. Actually, she looked like that every time she took off, it would seem.
I watched both of them take off before exhaling and shaking my head. Moving Sweetie to the side again, I eased down and rested against the rock, facing the heat of the fire. Even after being moved, the little filly didn't go very far. Lying down as well, Sweetie simply scooted until her back rested against the front of my barrel, my left foreleg rising up until she settled herself before resting on her shoulder as I relaxed. At this point, I'd gotten rather accustomed to her being near me, or against me whenever I happened to notice. She was starting to get as consistent as Prudentia.
"Well, I think things are looking up. Everything's getting back to normal finally and you chasing away those two mean colts has seriously cut down on the amount of pranks targeting me! Have you made any progress on either the fliers or preventing more attacks?" Derpy asked me curiously, once she settled down next to Sweetie.
"Actually, yes on both. I can't really say much, but the Elements of Harmony, Spike, and I have a meeting with Princess Celestia a few days after I get back. She's made progress on the flier incident, and I think I might have had a breakthrough for defense," I relayed, trying to remain positive about it. Implementing a detection and blocking grid had never been done before over the area of an entire planet, or whatever it was we were on. In theory, it was possible with enough relays, but I had no idea how to go about it with the technology level Equestria had. It was fairly safe to say, as I hadn't even seen a rocket yet, that they were land-locked to this planet. That made an orbital relay system, well, a bit complicated.
To my surprise, Derpy exhaled and visibly relaxed, nodding and smiling over at me. "That makes me feel a lot better! Uh, I didn't want to say anything, but the mayor also asked me to see if I could talk to you and find out if you had any progress. She's, well, I haven't seen her like this in a while. I think she's scared," she whispered, frowning afterwards.
That made sense. A peace-loving race suddenly being introduced to concepts like a dimensional attack and monsters coming through would cause a huge ruckus. Now that I remembered, Shining Armor had mentioned something about other cities getting concerned, too. How widespread was this?
"Well, I can't promise anything yet, but I think I might have an idea as to how to stop anypony from being able to access Equestria from anywhere else. The Princesses will have to help me make it work, but I have high hopes for it," I assured, realizing anything I told her was going to get back to the mayor directly, and thus, all of Ponyville.
Derpy's smile widened, and Apple Bloom giggled as well, curling up half a meter from my head. "Ah'm not all that worried. Especially not right now. Somethin' 'bout Mender makes me relax around him. Ah know he wouldn't let anythin' bad happen to me," she murmured, sliding onto her side and tucking herself into a partial ball with her head aimed at me, still smiling.
Despite cute-induced brain lag, I smiled back at her and nodded. "I wouldn't let anything bad happen to anypony in my charge. Hopefully this will make it so I can protect them without even being there. Oh, and you're probably seeing my aura again," I pointed out, gently closing my eyes and using the top of Sweetie's head as a soft chin pillow.
"Aura?" I heard Derpy ask, reminding me that I hadn't exactly told very many individuals.
Sweetie stirred against my foreleg before tucking herself further under my chin, up against my chest and neck. Thankfully she was careful with her horn this time. That had been awkward on the trip over here in the wagon. "Yeah. Mender's an Earth Pony, so he doesn't have a horn to let the magic out of himself. He uses magic by releasing it from all over instead," Sweetie explained softly, sounding half asleep already.
"Oooh, so his whole body is like a horn?" Derpy asked, sounding even more curious, and oddly closer. What, was she looking to see if I had a spiral pattern in me or something?
"Yeah. Uh, at some point I realized how to use magic without needing a horn. It kinda, well, broke me inside, however, and now it flows out everywhere, close to my skin level," I elaborated, leaving out the fact that it was actually a recent development. Something had happened. When did I remember how to pull the magic through my skin? I frowned against Sweetie, my eyes still closed as I realized it was more a mental thing all along. Had something in my mind changed after Nirru attacked me? That more, well, feral me was the one who discovered I didn't need my hoof carving to push the magic out, and use other body parts. Tongue casting would probably never catch on, however.
Slowly, I relaxed as I let the magic ebb and shift into a basic light spell. I felt it flow gently off my coat and knew that my whole body was now glowing, without needing my other senses to tell me. I heard Derpy gasp, and I smiled gently. "It flows out from everywhere, even when I'm not casting any spells. It turns out that, well, empathic individuals can pick up on it, even if only on a subconscious level. My personality leaks through as well, and it gives them a 'feeling' of what I'm sorta like without even needing to talk to me. As if I were walking around with a giant poster over my head, telling about me," I tried to explain, as much as I understood it, anyway. Of course, I imagine it was rather dual-edged, however. Nothing was stopping perceptive ponies of less reputable intent from taking advantage of it, too.
"That must make it really hard ta lie ta some ponies," Apple Bloom suddenly muttered, surprising me. Huh, I never thought about it maybe relaying, um, other things about me, too. Uh oh. She might be onto something.
"I wasn't very good at lying in the first place, but probably," I muttered, feeling tired myself. Eh, I didn't have to worry about anypony here, anyways. A sneaking suspicion told me that even if Derpy knew about me, she probably wouldn't be fazed in the least.
Speaking of Derpy, I heard her giggle a second later, followed by, "Ooh, my 'gut instinct' about Mender must be spot on, then! You really are a nice stallion." Hum. Sorta, I guess.
A light smile came to my muzzle, and I opened my eyes to look up at her again. She was a lot closer, but smiling happily down at me regardless, her right eye locked on mine and the left drifting off towards the fire. "I really do try to give everypony the benefit of the doubt. I'm really happy to be where I am, and really adore all the ponies around me. But sometimes, something really does draw my ire, and that's when I'm not so nice anymore," I muttered, fighting back the light chill running up my spine suddenly. The other me was very much not so nice. Homicidal and sadistic were kinda the opposites, after all.
Her smile didn't falter, not that I had expected it to. She struck me as the type of mare to stick with an opinion after her mind was made up, anyways. "Of course! I bet you were really, really not nice to that thing that attacked us. You did so much to protect Ponyville! I know you don't see a lot of it, being with Twilight and the Elements all day, but, um, I hear a lot about the other side of things," she spoke, drawing my attention rather well. Other side of things?
My expression must have asked for me, as she giggled and shook her head. "Nothing bad. Ponies just got really scared, ya know? After hearing the amazing story of how you fought off the creature all by yourself until Princess Luna got there, it really gave a lot of ponies hope. I know you don't like it, but you're kinda like a superhero or something. I think, well, I think Ponyville needed something to make everypony feel safe," she explained, looking contemplative as she looked up into the darkening sky instead. I watched her for a second before my eyes softened a bit, my insides relaxing.
Something to make them feel safe? I didn't want to be a hero. But maybe I could be okay with being sorta like the town's safety blanket. Being afraid wasn't fun, and I suddenly could relate to them all a lot more. Maybe when they said 'hero'...
"It was kinda hard to believe at first. A lot of ponies didn't think it was true, but rumors of your magic shot everywhere, with that barrel incident backing it up," Derpy continued, talking upwards now and more relaxed. Barrel incident? Oh! When I was running away from Applejack, trying to protect Sweetie from a threat that wasn't real. Heh. Not my most stellar idea. Derpy continued regardless, however, with, "Then when Rainbow surprised you and you blew a hole in the side of the hospital, it became a lot easier to believe."
Is that what they were saying happened? Heh. Well, I could go with that. Still, better not agree or disagree with it to remain truthful. "I'm not proud that I know how to fight, and have had to resort to violence before. I've seen a lot of things that I really, really would rather not have, and at the end of the day, I'd rather just enjoy the peace," I muttered, being absolutely honest. I saw more than enough hothead soldiers with battle lust to know that it never ended well. Fighting for 'entertainment' got so many of them killed, even if they were really nice individuals otherwise. No, I'd rather be bored and have things be peaceful, even if that thought did make me feel sorta like a grumpy old dude.
My eyes snapped back to attention with Derpy's movement, me realizing a second later that I'd zoned out again. Sweetie gave a sleepy murmur as the gray pegasus gently hugged both of us, due to proximity. "I know I never said it, but thank you, Mender. Just for being here and protecting us," she whispered, giving me a light, affectionate nuzzle to the forehead before standing up again, smiling still. Being here so nopony else had to face things like Nirru by themselves. That I could stand behind.
Smiling weakly, I gave her a nod back, and she grinned. "Good. Cheer up and take a nap. I've gotta get back with all this news. I see Big Mac coming back the trail anyway, so I'll go say goodbye to him, too," she added, a light whimsical tone drifting into her voice again. I raised my eyebrow to her as that light pink shade came back, but she wasn't looking at me anymore anyways. She shot up into the air and drifted back in the direction of the path a moment later, and I just mentally shrugged it off. It wasn't really my business anyway. Still, she'd given me a lot to think about.
Sweetie breathed slowly and gently against my forelegs, and I watched her for a moment before looking up at the curled up Apple Bloom next to me. I could tell she was just resting, but it really did hit me all at once. Something to protect. It was definitely there that night with Nirru. I would have fought to the very last breath to make sure she didn't get anywhere near the ponies I cared about. It had burned through my veins at that point, becoming almost an armor of conviction.
It was worse than that, however. My urge to protect them all had almost devolved into hatred that night. It had almost shifted to just wanting to kill her so badly that at times, I had tasted it. No, I wanted to protect them. I had to do my best to remember the reason that I had fought that night, lest I let it change into something else. But now, I realized it didn't just apply to that night.
Wasn't my desire to protect them the reason I agreed to this, admittedly surprising, position Tia had tossed my way? I'd not wanted to at first, but if I could take advantage of my own knowledge and better protect them, I'd be crazy to turn down the chance. Plus, she'd set it up so I could just focus on the research aspect of it and not have to deal with publicity, my absolute worst skill. Nopony liked a leader who had to try his absolute hardest to not pee himself in front of large crowds. All I was thankful for was Vinyl's huge stage lights blinding me to the point where I couldn't see most of the audience apart from the first three rows...
Smiling at the awkward memory, I relaxed and squeezed the sleeping filly a bit closer, hearing her give a content sigh. She really was sorta like a teddy bear. She'd probably dislike the comparison, though. Yeah, I knew what I wanted now. I'd never stopped wanting it; everything had just gotten a bit muddled in my head. Even my original had only wanted to protect what was important to him. The horror of realizing nothing really was important was just too much. Species only went so far, so I imagine Keela had made things a bit more personal for him. Heh, in more ways than one. But what about after? Why couldn't I remember...? My memories just stopped.
It dawned on me a moment later. I was cloned. My memories stopped because I was cloned after he was released from Nirru's 'sessions' by Dr. Kyliona. I honestly should have realized that sooner. That's why I had next to no sensation as to what he was like after all that had happened. I don't even remember his release. Sadly, I guess I knew where Kyliona got the DNA samples from.
Pushing that unpleasant thought away, I just focused on the gentle breathing of Sweetie against me. No, I was luckier than he was. I had lots of things that were important to me. I felt stronger than I had been, even a week ago. Even if my luck was horrible, I didn't care. Having things I cared about, and ponies who cared for me, made it worth it. I'd do anything I had to in order to protect them. Maybe that was the sensation Apple Bloom could feel?
Relaxing, I slowly rotated my ears and listened to the dull hoofsteps of Big Mac approaching again. Maybe he could see it, too. Deep down, he struck me as a very observant stallion. He was highly intelligent, even if silent most of the time. But maybe that let him see more than most?
He gave me a soft smile and nod, sitting down next to the fire, positioning his little sister between us. He ran on a lot of the same instincts. I saw it clearly in his eyes when he practically tore the wall down to rush to Applejack's aid. It takes dedication to go from dead sleep to raging defender in less than a half dozen seconds. I could appreciate that.
We stared at each other for a moment before he snickered lightly towards me. I grinned and nodded back, no more really needing to be 'said' between us. With that conversation out of the way, he calmly asked, "Supper?"
"Mmm... Supper," I agreed. Plus, that way I could ask Spike where he'd been all day...
* * * * *
Lying there silently, I enjoyed the warm blankets under me, and the pillow propping my head up as I watched the three Crusaders below me, on the floor. It had taken almost two hours so far, but they'd fought tooth and hoof through four and a half pages of math with very little input from me. Frankly, I thought Apple Bloom was doing an amazing job relaying her knowledge onto her fellow fillies.
The soft sounds of the rain hitting the roof echoed through the room as I gave a halfhearted listen to the three squabble over the 'right' way to do the last three problems. The only other noises were the scratching of Spike's claws against shell as he tried to clean Tank up, and the squeaks Big Mac made occasionally as he adjusted the frame of what appeared to be a rolling platform of sorts. It looked big enough to support one of their apple crates, but its size and low-to-the-ground build indicated it was probably for moving them around inside the barn. There'd been half a dozen of them in the cart with us, and I guessed they all needed repair. Of course, my offer to help had yet again been met with just a silent shake of the head, so I'd given up.
Watching Spike for a moment, I noticed he was still attempting to get the paint off Tank's shell using careful applications of solvent. I forgave him for never showing up, of course. It turns out he got ambushed by Carrot Top on his way out the door, and roped into helping her add new paint to several cabins. It would seem they ran basic maintenance while they were here, too, which did kinda make sense. Still, he should have kept Tank away from the paint. The tortoise himself looked less than fazed, languidly stretching and relaxing there, almost as if Spike were giving him a good massage.
Growing bored, I rolled to my side again and flicked my right projector on, moving another page of data out in front of me to read. Big Mac momentarily looked up curiously at the new light added to the otherwise lamp-lit room, but looked down again a moment later upon discovering it was just me being all weird and cyborg again. Actually, he was just as stoic as Tank, now that I thought about it. Nothing seemed to bother either of them!
Everything was in order still. Notes on every single one of the functions the disks could do, and the full chemical composition of all the things the nanites could inject were detailed. How to make the disks and their composition and enchantments were also there. Details on my nanites' programming were included, with what to expect from the healing capacity and body regulation. If the programming given to the nanites in the mares was similar, it was like a watered down version of my own healing and regeneration capacity. The only things I noticed were different about the specs from the nanite manual I found was that they didn't do blood filtering like mine did. Guess they still had to watch what they ate and drank. Heh.
Everything was compiled into a 'meager' thirty pages of notes. Twilight was going to love this, especially as I had 'printed' them all out. I also had a ton of paper and ink left as well. It turns out an entire tree makes quite a bit of paper. Oh, and the strawberries were just too good to not finish the whole pile. All that was missing was sugar or cream to dip them in.
Regardless, I'd gotten all the information about the nanites and the disks that I could get for her without direct testing and experimentation. I wasn't about to do that by myself, and it was a tad hard anyway without any of the actual subjects here, so I'd reached a dead end along this path. Instead, I shifted to the printouts and data that Keela had tossed me about the link between our two dimensions and how to go about opening a 'hole' through. If I knew how to make one, maybe I could figure out how to stop the process, too? If it was as easy as stopping our Slipstream, then I was set. Well, minus the whole getting into orbit and building massive relay structures around whatever Equestria happened to be. Planet? Dimensional bubble? Eh, I'd just ask Tia.
Sadly, everything detailed in her notes were things I already knew. She activated the quantum field generator, created a static area inside of the field of 'hanging' molecules using an Aegis Barrier, then used a small Slipstream Engine to fire a marble sized crystal into the stuck open Aegis Barrier. With the crystal 'encoded' with Equestria's quantum signature, it popped through and created a small Slipstream 'bridge' between the two dimensions that things could go through.
Well, non-organic things so far. If a living, organic creature tried to go through the Slipstream effect, it kinda microwaved them rather thoroughly. What came through the other side was somewhat crispier and significantly less living, usually. Very much unlike the 'hole' that Rainbow was capable of tearing in the weakened fabric. Ours was essentially an Einstein–Rosen Bridge that we used quantum energy to get through, avoiding that oh so lovely singularity squish that also tended to make things significantly less living, although quite smaller. Then the shield protected us from the quantum energy. Blah blah blah.
Skimming, I noticed it was all things I was already aware of as an engineer. The only things I needed to pay attention to were the quantum signature in the crystal, and the effect it had on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge as it passed through the open Aegis Barrier. Everything I knew about the barriers indicated that, if you passed into an open one, the same thing would happen to you as what happened to the attacks hitting it. Nothing. No, literally nothingness. In theory, it should crush you into a singularity and then jut you away into unattached subspace. That lovely extra-dimensional area we passed through normally when using the Slipstream Engine. It also happened to be where I kept my extra stuff, and where I assumed Pinkie stored most of her party supplies somehow. If you lost the 'link' to your particular space, however, it was lost forever.
So why did, instead of falling away into nothingness, passing through the Aegis Barrier in Slipstream using one of these strange Equestrian crystals make you travel between dimensions instead?! It shouldn't be possible, but it was happening and I couldn't just dismiss it. Damn it. No, all I needed to do was figure out how to stop it, not understand it.
A bit of consideration later, I flipped to the last three pages of her notes instead, detailing the exiting of the object and closing of the link. The shield was dispelled, releasing the chilled object into normal space safely, then the energy was withdrawn from the link, causing the Einstein–Rosen Bridge to collapse back down into its singularity, and then the generation of it failed and it collapsed upon itself, disappearing and 'smoothing out' spacetime again. That was, well, exactly like our Slipstream. There was no difference in the effect. That meant if I knew what 'direction' the Slipstream was going in, which was the same as its destination, and I knew where it originated from, which was my other dimension in this case, I could flip the quantum wavelength at the exit point. The bridge would then double back upon itself, and the traveling party would end up exactly where they'd entered at, negating the effect.
My head hurt a little and I sighed, staring at her calculations. She estimated that instead of spacetime coordinates being used as tracking for the bridge, dimensional ones took their place. That meant she just offset them in order to get the actual coordinates using the Slipstream Engine. The crystal picked what dimension, and the engine told it where at in that dimension. Both were traceable, but only if I knew the encoded coordinates from the crystal. The complexity was starting to make me dizzy, but in theory, my new idea would work. But it would require monitoring the quantum wavelengths of the entire planet. Or whatever Equestria was...
Then, when I saw a distortion, I could zero in on it, read the crystal wavelength as it popped through, and flip it, turning them around before they could even exit the bridge. Simple, right? Heh. No, I wasn't that stupid. Testing first, then came crying, then hopefully a working prototype. Then more testing and more crying, then hopefully a solution!
I finished typing up my own calculations and notes on the possible prototype, including a crystal array that could be stretched out theoretically as large as I needed, and the master idea. It was a large crystal 'engine' that was meant to pick up any number of incoming signals, calculate them and their natural inverse, then use an energy source to flip them as they came in. Okay! Now I just needed to work on that energy source, how to power the whole grid, and how to get the stupid things into orbit in the first place! Cake, right?
Rolling my eyes, I was momentarily amused as the display flickered around with my eyeball motion, and then turned it off. It had taken me a good twenty minutes to draw up the diagram for it and finish my notes on the inverse calculation based off what I knew about stopping Slipstream in the first place. Everything always looked perfect on paper, though. Which scared me, because this didn't look good on paper. That meant it was much, much worse.
I peeked back down again, and then raised my eyebrow at three expectant looking fillies presenting ten more pages of math for me to go over. My muzzle shifted into a smile instead and I nodded. "Done then?" I inquired, even though I already knew the answer.
"Yeah! It was easy!" Scootaloo bragged almost instantly, earning an incredulous stare from Sweetie in the middle.
"It wasn't that easy. But Apple Bloom explained it really, really good! That means you explained it to her really good, too!" Sweetie added whimsically, sounding surprisingly pleased over the whole ordeal. Maybe they were finally seeing the logic behind getting something done within a reasonable time before it was due? I wasn't holding my breath, but it would be nice.
Taking their assignments, I peeked over both while making room for the three fillies on the bed. Spike shot an amused glance my way from the kitchen counter as all three piled up with me, Sweetie tucking into my stomach, Apple Bloom sitting by my head, and Scootaloo lazily flopped over my hip, watching me flip the pages with interest, my magic manipulating the pencil into checking or crossing each problem.
"Scootaloo has two mistakes, one on page two, and another on page five. Sweetie just has one on page five to go over," I finally announced, smiling to both of them. Sweetie gave a happy cheer, while Scootaloo groaned and swatted her forehead with her left forehoof. "Hey, relax. It's only two wrong, and the first one is as simple as missing flipping a sign," I added, reaching down and rubbing the top of her head.
She gave me a weak smile and nod before taking her papers back and sliding down from my side, joining Sweetie tucked in against my curled form. Call me lazy, but this bed was much more comfortable than the rocks earlier, even if Apple Bloom was moving my pillow around uncomfortably with her rump with each shift the filly did.
It didn't take long for me to explain where the two had gone wrong, Apple Bloom feeling guilty that she'd forgotten to mention the silly details involved. Honestly, both of them had made very simple mistakes, probably due to trying to rush through the last page. It was always easier to use shortcuts and hurry when the end was in sight, I noticed.
Resting, I just let my eyes relax, the inside of my eyelids shading them nicely from the harshness of reality. I hadn't done much today, comparatively speaking, but I still felt tired. I chalked it up to still not catching up on my rest from all the other horrible things that had happened. Carrot Top's words stuck with me, however, and I refused to make any predictions about how my rest tonight would go. Heh. Maybe she was on to something?
Sweetie remained tucked lightly into my barrel long after her paper was corrected. That wasn't out of the norm at this point, really. Scootaloo surprised me, however, by staying as well, her face pushed into Sweetie's tummy while her legs tucked into mine. With Apple Bloom at my back with her forelegs lightly wrapped over my shoulders, that made us one big pony pile of laziness on the bed. Not that I was complaining, as they were soft and warm. That, and it would defeat the point of being lazy if I had enough energy to complain about the situation.
Apple Bloom gave a giggle as Scootaloo started snoring, and I felt Sweetie smirk against my foreleg. "That tickles, Scoots," she muttered weakly, but not really trying to move away.
"She practiced long and hard today. Just let her sleep, Miss 'part the clouds over Ponyville with a magic super ray'..." I warned playfully, pulling both fillies closer against my barrel.
"Mmm, I said I was sorry. I just, um, really wanted to feel you in my head again. Last night was nice," she whispered softly. Yeah, that much I admitted to. Having a friend certainly kept my nightmares away.
At that, Apple Bloom stirred a little. "Inside yer head?" she asked quietly, respecting the fact that my ears were practically touching her muzzle when she leaned over like that. Scootaloo shivered lightly as she scooted further up Sweetie, pushing her face into the little filly's neck for warmth. My tail curled around and, with a flick, I covered both of their lower bodies with the bulk of it like a makeshift blanket.
"Yeah. That same thing he does when you run out of energy, but all warm and cozy while sleeping, and without the horrible pain. Plus, he can control his dreams, and you can play and do almost anything you want inside them," Sweetie relayed a moment later, looking up at me and smiling as she tucked my tail-blanket over the snoozing pegasus against her chest.
"Oooh, that sounds neat! Ah wish Ah could try it out," my neck warmer muttered before huffing lightly and blowing my Fluttershy-bestowed braid away from her face. I'd gotten so used to the left part of my bangs being braided that I'd kind of forgotten about it. Not that I was going to remove it anytime soon!
To my surprise, a heavier set of hoofsteps sounded from in front of me somewhere, cutting her off. "Ah-nope. Mender needs his sleep, so ya’all have ta leave him be. One filly per bed or ya all go back ta yer own," Big Mac warned suddenly, causing me to open my eyes and look over at him. He really was standing in front of me, looking a bit tired himself. True, it was almost bedtime now.
Apple Bloom started to groan, but I shook my head wearily. "I'm not a unicorn. I can only do one connection at a time anyway, AB. But, well, it does help, admittedly. When I'm with somepony in my dreams, it does at least keep the nightmares away," I muttered, feeling myself grow a bit more tired with the admission.
Big Mac looked at me for a moment before his eyes softened as well and he nodded. "Maybe Ah should hire ya ta keep AJ company fer ah few nights. She might be able ta get ah full night's rest, then," he muttered a moment later. Somehow, despite the situation and how badly it could have sounded, he managed to convey it in such an absolute manner that I solemnly knew exactly what he was talking about. It wasn't a teasing matter.
"They're not pleasant. I wish she'd never been there to see the things she did, but I also have to thank her for saving me afterwards, when most ponies probably would have given up," I pointed out. It was a bit of a duality again. She'd gotten me into the situation, but she also got me out of it despite all odds.
Apple Bloom giggled softly and sleepily against my back, however, before shaking her head. "Sis ain't one ta give up, Mender. She always does her best ta make things right again no matter what! That's why she's so torn up over it all," the little filly relayed. Yeah, that fit with everything I knew about Applejack so far.
Big Mac sighed and nodded slightly, seeming to think to himself for a moment before adding, "She ain't used ta tha feelin's that night gave her. Betrayin' ah friend, even accidental-like, ain't somethin' that sets good with any Apple, her especially. Just holdin' her while she cries ain't fixin' anything, but it's all Ah can seem ta do. If ya could stop tha nightmares..." There was a pleading tone to his voice that didn't suit him at all, and I had to look away.
"I don't even know how to stop my own," I admitted, but sighed a moment later and added, "But I've been meaning to talk to her more about it anyways. If I can figure out a way to help her, of course I'm going to."
The big guy relaxed at that and gave me a smile again. "Yer definitely all right, Mender. Ya got mah support. But bedtime now, Ah think." Yeah, I felt rather tired at this point, so I wasn't going to argue.
"Can I stay with you again tonight? It's the last night I can for a while," Sweetie Belle asked softly, looking back up at me as she edged a little more firmly into my chest.
Raising an eyebrow, my ears perked and I listened to the rain for a second before shrugging. "It's probably not going to outright thunder tonight, but you just want to cuddle, don't you?" I asked her softly, a little uncertain of myself suddenly. Was it okay, even if I knew she considered me in more than a platonic manner?
"Eh, just go fer it. It's her last day, like she said," Big Mac suggested as he crawled into his own bed. Wait, when had he gotten all the way over there?! For such a large fellow, he certainly moved amazingly silently. Add Snapshot to the mix, and I was starting to wonder if there was some secret Earth Pony Ninja School around here somewhere.
Sweetie grinned and tucked herself into my chest fully, almost as if I'd already said yes. Neither extra filly was moving either, and I started to wonder if I was going to get all three of them tonight. Spike finally finished setting up Tank's water and hopped down from the kitchen counter a moment later, giving us a questioning glance as he walked over.
"Uh, we getting lots of company tonight instead of just Sweetie?" he asked, hopping up onto the end of my bed as usual.
Big Mac let out a stern coughing noise, and Apple Bloom sighed against my back. "Yer ah traitor, Spike," she muttered, before slowly getting back up to her hooves. I gave her an amused stare as she slipped over me, momentarily bounced off Sweetie's face with her rump, and grabbed Scootaloo as she slid past and off the bed. She was coordinated, anyway!
"Ah! No! Warm!" Scootaloo yelped, grabbing onto my tail as she slid away, the combined weight yanking me sideways to the edge of my bed in an instant. Sweetie yelped at the sudden movement and rotated, grabbing onto me as I caught her, stopping her from falling over as well. Big Mac gave an even sterner glare towards our antics, me returning a rather helpless glance as best I could.
"Hey, let go of Mender's tail! That's rude, Scoots," Spike warned, hopping forwards and trying to pry the little pegasus free. Unexpectedly, her ears perked up the second he touched her, and she let go, only to latch onto him an instant later.
My eyes widened as he yelped, going off the side of the bed in an instant, both of them landing on Apple Bloom with a dull thud. Well, so much for coordinated. "Ow!" the yellow filly squeaked, suddenly finding herself flattened onto the floorboards.
"Oooh, even warmer," Scootaloo chirped, wrapping her forelegs around Spike and nuzzling into his neck. Her eyes were still closed, but I kind of assumed she was awake at this point. Or extremely skilled at sleepwalking.
Spike looked less pleased. "Ah, help, Mender!" he called out, popping his claw out from under Scootaloo's iron grasp and reaching out to me. Aww, darn. Now that he called out to me, I was obligated to help him somehow. Hmm, but how to get him away from her? Oh!
"Mmm, now that's something you don't see everyday. Scoots being cute and affectionate. Could it be, she likes Spike?" I inquired to nopony in particular, a little louder than conversation volume.
It had been a while since I'd seen the little filly move so quickly. Her flail away from him was almost instantaneous, and I winced as she stepped on Apple Bloom's back again and slipped over, crashing into the floor on the other side of her now air-less and gasping friend.
"Ah! Ow! No, I don't have a crush on Spike! Ew!" she yelped, recovering rather fast for landing on her rump. I guess she only hurt her dignity.
My magic slid Apple Bloom back over to me a moment later, a barrier being used as a makeshift scoop for both her and Spike, depositing them back on my bed. Spike rolled once and collected his wits, rubbing at his probably numb arms. My other recovered friend just flopped on her stomach and lay there, eyes swirling lightly. Sweetie hopped over to her, but I already had a plan in mind, slipping into a sitting position.
Her massive inhale of air was accompanied by an abrupt squeak as I fired magic off through both hooves touching her back, shooting it straight through her and into the mattress, my fur tingling and standing on edge from the discharge. Cruel? Probably. Effective? Extremely! She coughed for a moment before rolling onto her side and looking back up at us in surprise. Spike, on the other side of her, helped her back up to her hooves, and she smiled back at him warmly. Oh sure, Sweetie and I get bewildered and he gets a smile. For doing nothing but flattening her, I might add!
"What, do I have to sleep by myself again?" Scootaloo asked sharply, giving an annoyed stare at Apple Bloom's back.
"Ya kinda deserve it after ya landed on me! But no, Ah'm ah nice friend," she returned, glaring back over her left shoulder at the pegasus.
Really tired now, I decided to expedite the process a bit. The barrier still being up, I simply tipped it at a forty-five degree angle, sending the surprised Apple Bloom sliding down it and landing on Scootaloo instead. There! Bed cleared.
"Ya better go ta sleep now, lil' sis. Scootaloo, too," Big Mac warned, starting to sound a little less easy going and a little more cranky. I guess he needed his sleep, too.
"We're goin'!" Apple Bloom yelped, picking up the dizzy looking pegasus from under her and dragging her over to the left towards their bed on the other side of the doorway. Taking my subtle cue, I flicked my magic up again and bumped the crystals on the bottoms of all five lamps still lit in the room, sighing peacefully.
Darkness hit an instant later, followed by a yelp and crash over by the fillies' bed. Oops. Maybe I'd turned off the lights a few seconds too soon? Eh, they were probably fine. Sweetie giggled in amusement and Spike shrugged before curling up at the end of my bed. Ugh. Oh, fine. Shifting my eye sensors on, I sent two spotlights of blue directly over both fillies recovering at the side of the bed.
"Ow. We're okay," Apple Bloom groaned, struggling to get to her hooves next to her fallen friend.
"Speak for yourself. I think I pulled a wing muscle. Ow," Scootaloo tacked on, sitting up and sliding to her haunches instead, stretching her left wing out and examining it in the light of my eyes.
At this distance, it wasn't hard to shift to depth scanning and peek into her wing tissue. I did note one of her flight muscles swelling a little bit, and sighed, feeling somewhat responsible for her injury. "You have muscle swelling, Scoots. You also have been overworking them the last few days. Tuck it back up and rest without moving it too much, and it should be fine by morning," I suggested softly, causing the little filly to look up at me curiously.
"You can see all that from there?" The thought seemed almost foreign to her, and I realized she must not fully grasp the concept of me having cybernetic parts. But that didn't really surprise me, considering her age and the general technology level of Equestria.
"Yup. My eyes are fancy and high tech. Now go to bed, you two. Big Mac needs his beauty sleep," I reminded, smirking at the end. Both fillies grinned, and I heard a soft chuckle from his direction as well.
Scootaloo tossed up a salute and Apple Bloom just nodded, returning, "Sure thing! We'll see ya tomorrow. Good night, everypony!"
Big Mac gave a tired sounding confirmation muttering that I couldn't quite make out, but Sweetie added a fully formed, "Good night!" Spike only voiced snoring, which I assumed was similar and earned giggling as the two fillies climbed into their bed. I waited for them to settle before turning off my scanners and settling back down again.
I grabbed my tedd- Er, Sweetie Belle, and pulled her back under the covers with me after he settled, tucking us both back in again. If she didn't want to, she gave little to no noticeable struggle, cooing softly as I pulled her against my torso. She was soft and warm and helped the nightmares stay away. Who was I to argue with hedonism's natural progression? Sure, 'indulging' in dreams with a friend helped me a ton, but she seemed to very much not mind either. So it was all good! Ignoring logic otherwise, I rested my forehead under her horn and pushed my energy gently into her a second later, hearing her mumble as it connected.
"You feel so tired," she whispered a second later. All I could manage was nodding to her, already feeling myself slipping backwards. Sleep would come fast tonight, I realized.
Sweetie fell silent as she slipped from my forehead, nuzzling under my neck instead as I pulled her along the connection. One of the greatest feelings in the world was letting yourself fall asleep after you got really, really tired. Even if the fatigue had suddenly snuck up on me out of nowhere, it still felt good. Relaxing, I just went with the flow and let us go.
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Beautiful!!!
Great chapter! I look forward to the next one.
Good
i.imgur.com/eP8JtwU.png
Teddy Belle.
A beautiful last day before Ponyville
It was not nearly as hectic, actually fairly chill
I can't wait to see Twishy and Mender reunite
The mares that serve as Moon's guiding light
But the stories been slow, and we all know what comes soon
An action packed attack, under the light of the sun or moon
I wonder what will happen when Purdue's finally free
Of the book of power, will she still be able to 'see?'
Until the next week, I must wait once again
To see what happens next, another ten for ten?
A relaxing and d'aww filled chapter, has helped me get my fix
And tide me over til next week, when I see more of Menders tricks
So have a week of awesome, and see you next Friday
When I will come back to this story, to read, comment and play
~Black Sun Eclipse
Huh... so looks like we got some DerpMac on the horizon? Cool.
Hmm... something's going to happen soon. And I don't know if it's going to be good or bad.
Soon...
3801837 Well thanks, bro! Not like I have much else to do than sit here absorbing CO2 and photosynthesizing.
But hey, it's comments like this that make my life so interesting! 
I really can't wait till Mender tries to explain RD and Sweetie 'thing' to Twi and Flutters.
Sounds like a recipe for an awesome disaster.
3802318
Well fluff my fetishes and call me a shingle...
Why is he suddenly tired? That's not good! Something is going to happen.... Soon!
Things are getting back to Ponyville normal.
Im wondering why if Mender has such advanced tech, is he talking about power sources, discriminate signal analysis when using crystals etc.
I thought that given Slipstream is very complicted, it doesn take much disturbance or perturbation for the safeties to trigger and drop the drive in a preset or hopefully known manner than smearing the drive accross space and time. The Equestria resonance trick is a neat idea, cos I remember ooking at it at school as in all oints on a Mandelbrot set the sme colour, are teh same region, and you can have 8 dimentional Mandelbrots, which is the same math used in GR, QM, wormholes and communications etc.
Years ago, a certain class of materials was discovered, called optically active time reversal crystals. Titanium Niobate? Phase Conjugate Crystals? Its been many years
Orbital stuff is goig to be intresting, because theres several ways of doing it. Either finding a pony who has the special ability to enable non atmospheric drive, propulsion, or far easier, get Mender to swallow a lake into hammer space then use mass converson in some tentacles to create a nuclear steam thruster. Also, Wonder if working on his gravity controller, he can reach teh values marked Cavourite, and float up into the sky on a freefall, or rapid accelerating repulsie gravity field?
Annnd.. Derpy happy. and Big Mac want to play with even more toys, and more barns wanting to get back at Mender.
All I can say is.
Beware the Revenge Of The Rakes.
I really don't like Sweetie joining in on Mender's herd. Seeing how she's literally in elementary school, I'm sure two years isn't going to be very much in rates of maturity and puberty.
It's too much pedophilia for me... Sorry, Kiro, I've been skipping Sweetie's attention whoring and sucking up, as you've managed to make me dislike her.
MenderXSweetie shipping... And I like this story so much too...
It's a bit like Princest, come to think of it. That kind of 'Why the fuck would anyone...?' Vibe.
I'm not saying change it, I'm just asking that you let Sweetie break off and go with someone else before two years is up
And also-
Fuck me I am NOT ranting about this for another paragraph!
No brakes. Apologies.
Blah blah blah science stuff blah blah blah crystals blah gems blah space blah blah science
Oh shit, hold on. Just got to re read all of that, didnt understand a bit of it
These last few chapters have been absolutely adorable.
Yay for Derpy appearance. haven't seen her in while. and possible DerpMac shipping. Mender sure did notice her eye problem a lot though. maybe foreshadowing to an eye enhancement? Maybe Derpy should join the herd as she's it just as clumsy as he can be
Cant wait to see what Twi has done to the town in his absence. its either gonna be in complete chaos with stuff blown up everywhere or the whole town is gonna be perfectly organized from her trying to keep her mind distracted. or maybe she will actually be unusually level headed for once and Flutters will be the one to cause all the chaos?
Now I cant remember how Mender realized how to use his magic without his hoof. IIRC I think he figured out he had to cut himself or something to use it through the opening. when his leg was ripped off I think he was able to use it through the wound. but now I draw a blank on how he realized it from there. perfect excuse to reread this story in the future!
I sure made the mistake of reading this when already tired. the FTL stuff went right over my head. and the talk about sleep maybe me soo tired I had reread every paragraph like 3 times. soon as it was done I flopped right in bed to comment in the morning
Keep up the good work!
3802973 NICE!
Also, really good chapter
So... for some reason I had an idea for something funny, figured I'd share it. Tell me what you think;
This just in: Mender is powered by spiral energy, not magic.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Mender
3801807 Nope I just got called a rapist
3806562 I don't care whether or not this happens this will be in a small head canon for this story from now on
Have you been playing borderlands recently?
Oh? Is that some DerpMac I see? That makes me ridiculously pleased, it's also nice to see Mender integrating more into normal Ponyville society. Then there's all that cuddlin' going on. All in all, this chapter was pretty fabulous.
Mender and Derpy. Walking accident and flying accident. Why I am seeing Equestria burning?
No one has commented on this yet?
It's like Mender's suddenly the goddamn (reverse) Batman.
No offense intended, but despite having read the first story and read up to this point on this story, I couldn't bring myself to finish reading the chapter. I didn't even get very far. And I gotta vent. Again, no offense intended. First, a 14 year old is a child. I have a 14 year old sister. She doesn't look like an adult, doesn't act like an adult, and if an 18 or 20 year old tried to date her, I'd kill him. Mender is treading pedophile territory. I was willing to to overlook that, though, because I don't know how old the author of the story is, and being younger can really skew perception of ages. The fact that the Sweetie Belle thing has been mentioned relentlessly ever since has been a bit agitating. What really turned me off to the story, though, was "That's why I probably feel more strongly for Fluttershy." It never once felt like Fluttershy and Mender were close at all. When he first met her, he looked at her butt, and that was the entire source of his attraction to her, originally. [continued]
Twilight and Mender on the other hand became close, and really seemed to be falling in love. Fluttershy's addition to the relationship was a surprise because to me, that was a superficial attraction that I thought Mender would put behind him. However, I was perfectly fine with the Herd thing. It just felt like Fluttershy was more of a 'bonus' for Twilight and Mender rather than an actual love interest. Fluttershy and Mender never bonded like he and Twilight did. It's ridiculous, RIDICULOUS that he should feel more for her than he does for Twilight. It seems all he HAS with Fluttershy is trust, nothing else, and only because she's completly harmless anyway. So what if he's a bit afraid of Twilight's power? And personally, if I was some kind of uknown anomaly from another dimension and my significant other was the protege of the ruler of the land, I really wouldn't bat an eye at finding that she's been secretly keeping tabs on me. As for FluttershyXMender, there's really nothing there of subtance.[continued]
sure, he and Twilight should give her a chance, and there might be something there later, but the real relationship in this story so far has been between Twilight and Mender. They're the ones who had all the heart-the-hearts, the close bonding and the evolving in their relationship. The minor trust issues are so god damned trivial, yet it's treated in a grossly exaggerated way. Twilight and Mender's relationship was also the biggest thing I liked about this story, and now I'm like "Meh." Twilight's personality pertaining to forming a relationship for the first time was done really well here, and it's really going to suck having to try to find something similar, but I can't be reading this anymore. Blegh. [end]
ALL THE THINGS THAT COULD GO WRONG(Probably not actually, I imagine something that I didn't list will go wrong instead):
-Twilight or Fluttershy will flip over Sweetiebelle
-Rainbow Dash will have vivid memories of Mender flirting transfer to Fluttershy and Twilight.
-All the mares will contend to get into Mender's herd, thinking he'll give everyone a chance since he gave Sweetie a chance, who's just a little filly.
-Dream sharing with AJ will make Twilight/Fluttershy jealous. Or worse. (More details for this on the last one.)
-Powering up the cutie mark crusaders made their antics actually dangerous, making the next thing they do get someone seriously hurt.
-He ends up sharing his knowledge of technology with Celestia to make planned barrier, who in turn gives it to one of her brightest scholars. He ends up going mad with power and making weapons, cementing an active villain for the story again that Mender can feel personally responsible for and reasonably angst about.
-whoever is out to ruin his reputation has their headquarters in canterlot and will stir trouble for him somehow. Like maybe kidnapping one of the main six and holding them hostage, blaming him publicly for it or something.
-Here's the big one. Twilight's parents flipped out over her pouring her magic into him. Apparently that's reserved for married people. Memory's fuzzy here, but I think it's also just something married people don't do unless they have complete and total trust. Either way, it was something completely frowned upon. Gave off "You got my daughter pregnant!" vibes from it. Mender just did that Sweetiebelle, a little filly, without thinking. Ignoring how Twilight especially might freak out over this. This potentially could make him look like a sick pedophile to the public. Now assuming the main characters might just treat it as a "Never speak of this, sweep it under the rug." There are people who want to ruin his image snooping around. It would look WAY worse as a "He tried to hide it." scenario than a "He didn't know and had good intentions."
Just to get the ol noodle thinkin.
3816718
it is something that covers the skin, so it may not be physically clothing, but it still is a form of clothing
3806562 Oh You...
3810655 Don't forget the super-powered CMC
3811252 There's a lot of misunderstanding going on here. The first point you bring up, Sweetie, can be easily described by the fact that ponies and humans mature at different rates. Horses are considered "mature" at seven years of age. Obviously, Kiro wasn't wanting to go that rout, but still wasn't wanting to have them age at the same rate as us, either. Fourteen to these ponies is most likely the biological equivalent of eighteen to us.
Your second point, that he shouldn't feel closer to Fluttershy is also not entirely on point. He feels
"safer" with Fluttershy and trusts her more, he doesn't necessarily love her more. You say he's blowing the fact that Twilight was spying on him out of proportion, but he really isn't. Like it was mentioned, trust is an important thing in a relationship and Twilight violated that trust. That doesn't mean he loves her less than Fluttershy, just that the trust has been hurt.
You also say he only likes Fluttershy because her butt, but he listed several things he likes about her a while ago. Not to mention the main reason she joined was for Twilight.
I'm not ranting at you, I just don't want you to drop this story based on misunderstandings.
3819640
I don't want to give up on the story...I like it, I really do, though mainly for Mender's relationship with Twilight, which he's been downplaying and underminding lately with thoughts I can't agree with at all. I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you, that the opinion that he shouldn't feel closer fluttershy isn't on point. He shouldn't, he really shouldn't. I don't really care if he had a list of things he liked about her. Almost from the moment that Mender and Twilight began talking to each other in the hospital in the begining of the first story, I knew they were falling in love, and I loved how close they were becoming that way. I don't feel that he's nearly as close to Fluttershy at all. I have no problems with him having feelings for her, and Twilight and himself involving her in their relationship. I reject, however, the notion that he's closer to Fluttershy than Twilight. Twilight and Mender ALWAYS came off as closer than Mender and Fluttershy. [continued]
3819640 Mender really should feel more close to Twilight. I agree that his feeling safer with Fluttershy makes perfect sense, and I get that trust is important, but I have to disagree that Twilight keeping tabs on Mender is THAT big a deal. It's outweighed by their closeness, which I just don't believe he shares with Fluttershy nearly to the same extent yet. I'll happily eat up your point about Sweetie Belle (though I'm not telling anyone in real life that I read this story.) I don't WANT to give up on this story. So your attempts at persuasion are very welcome.[end]
3821844 Though I feel Twi's spying was a bit bigger of a deal than you, I do agree that Mender is making a bigger deal about it than he should. But if you think about it, that's something that makes him believable, he has faults. He has a tendency to over react or blow things out of proportions. It makes him a realistic character.
3825909 It's that he thought to himself that he felt more strongly for Fluttershy that killed it for me outright, however he may feel about Twilight's secret letters to Celestia is secondary. I just really wish that had never been said. :/
Caffeinated apples? What a preposterous idea!... Maybe just crazy enough to work. :D
Adding enchanted rails to Sweet Apple Acres for enhanced apple mobility, huh? Makes me wonder if Mender could find some way to merge his two varieties of magic together into a single complex effect. Earth pony growing magic mixed together with some Keldarian spell to create trees that grow mechanical apples, or weightless fruit, or something like that. Or maybe he'd even figure out a way to create a merged-effect harvesting spell to knock the fruit off all the trees in one synchronized act, and turn the entire orchard into one big assembly line. I wonder where the Apples draw the line at what's too much automation, because at some point it'd reach the same sort of situation they criticized Flim and Flam for, taking the caring touch out of the equation to make efficiency the only concern.
Mender definitely needs to take up Derpy's offer to hang out some time once they get back to Ponyville. They'd make a good team, I bet. Especially as a two-pony demolition team. All someone would have to do is set up a free lunch for the two of them in the target building, and let nature take its course. Those two being near each other probably creates some sort of elemental rift of destruction in space that would inevitably lead to a successful demolition every time, without those two even knowing they were completing a job for someone. Not to mention, they'd provide a nice entertaining spectacle for other ponies in town. Or even if none of that is true, it'd still be nice for Mender to have a new pony he can hang out with sometimes with no romantic undertones or lingering tensions like with Applejack, since Derpy seems to have her eye(s) set on Big Mac to some degree. For a long time, I liked how Rainbow filled that role pretty well, with them thinking of each other in a platonic way as teammates, but now that's pretty much out. Of course, to be honest, the way I see Rainbow, she was the last one I would've expected to develop any romantic feelings for Mender, so I got comfortable in thinking of her as that safe platonic friend, or almost like a partnership between cops or something.
So, Mender's decided he needs to launch some satellites into orbit, huh? I wonder if that's something Luna can help out with. It's really hard to know exactly what her limits are regarding her abilities to interact with space and such. And I've always had doubts that Equestria's moon is even a normal physical object, so who knows how helpful it might be for such an endeavor. Mender's idea for reversing the coordinates of incoming dimensional interlopers makes me wonder, though. Somehow he'll probably get probably flip process affecting the wrong aspect and just turn them inside out instead of turning them around. Some new alien race will send a peace ambassador who will pop into Equestria in front of Celestia as a mangled pile of goo, then when the aliens don't hear back from their ambassador, they'll declare war. Of course that will result in thousands and thousands more inside-out corpses popping up everywhere as a gigantic mess to clean up, and it'll be all Mender's fault.
Good job, Mender. Way to reinforce that Sweetie's supposed to be waiting until she's older, by letting her sleep in your bed and doing the shared dream thing again that you know she considers really intimate. Actually, that even seemed downright mean that time, in a way. Apple Bloom says she'd like to try the shared dream thing once, then Mender pretty much just shrugs her off because Sweetie Belle gets priority, even though she's gotten to try it before, and Apple Bloom wouldn't think of it as such a romantic gesture. At this rate, once they go back home, Sweetie Belle's gonna turn into a little stalker and start trying to sneak into the library at night to hop into Mender's bed, or inserting herself into every situation where he's with Twilight and/or Fluttershy. "Hey, what are you three doing on the bed? Let me help! I'm totally big enough! Whoa, Mender, that thing's bigger than my leg!" Really, though, what's the point of having a minimum age at all if everyone keeps encouraging Sweetie to keep pushing it, and it's essentially just ignored so much that they're still snuggling at every turn, and Sweetie's even going to accompany him to learn about how herds work, "to be better for him"? That part really made me uncomfortable, and I was seriously hoping he'd tell her to sit that one out. She sure as hell isn't mature enough to join their herd yet, so that minimum age ought to be the earliest they even start thinking about the possibility, not constantly treating it as the magic date when she can stop waiting, and everything until then is preparation.
I don't know, I'm definitely going to be glad when they get back to Ponyville, where hopefully the focus will recenter back on the two mares who are actually in his herd. I've gotta be honest, this whole stretch of intense focus on Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash for so long has sorta been wearing on my interest in the romance aspect of this story a little bit, as much as I don't want to say it, and hope you don't take the opinion too harshly, because it's more about my preferences regarding romance stories in general than criticism about your story specifically. It's just, it already took some bending to accept a three-pony herd, and any more than that I just don't think I can be comfortable with, at least not in the main chunk of the story. After the entirety of the story so gradually built up his relationships with Twilight and Fluttershy to the point that they were just finally getting somewhere, completely sidestepping to entirely different romantic interests so suddenly and intensely for 15 chapters or so is really hard for me to be enthusiastic about. Those first couple chapters to introduce the notion were okay, but I mean, even if technically neither of them are in yet, Sweetie Belle has gotten like half a dozen chapters recently that were focused predominantly on her, and Rainbow almost as many, while I don't remember the last time Fluttershy got even one to such a degree. Saying Sweetie might join later on is one thing, and I can accept that possibility, but it pretty much feels like she's already there now, even moreso than Fluttershy, with the amount of attention she's getting, just a couple notches lower on the potential intimacy scale for now. Honestly, Fluttershy is supposed to be one of the two most important ponies to him, but at this point she feels like #4 at best, since it seems like he's barely even thought about her the entire time he's been away. Plus he still hasn't even talked to Twilight and Fluttershy yet about the idea of Sweetie joining them eventually, so already encouraging her so strongly seems really inconsiderate to them, almost bordering on disloyalty occasionally. He's just about promised her a spot without even mentioning the idea to them yet. So yeah, I just really hope things with Sweetie and Rainbow calm down after this whole estrus stretch, because Fluttershy and Twilight are where my enthusiasm sits for Mender's romantic interests, and his relationships with them are going to suffer if his attention drifts too much for too long.
Still playing catch up on these chapters. I'm confused though... He says he doesn't have any memories of what happened after his past self was tortured, but I specifically remember him having memories about seeing his planet being destroyed and defending a bunker before he died. And while on the subject, what ever happened to that whole thing about his past self's life force being connected to his own at the end of Memory Pending? I don't see how this could havr been the case if he's just a clone.
4043531 I think that might have actually been "real time" interference due to the connection with his original self rather than flashbacks of memories. From what I understood, time flowed differently between Equestria and the other dimension. So he was experiencing his original's last moments in glimpses over several days.
4888409 well actually not quite true different dimensions may have different times lines but some dimensions have parallel time lines as a result play metal gear solid every game over is a paradox of the parallel time line so if one dimension is dream and the other is real time lines are synced so paradoxes are void if synced.
The part where Moon Mender is helping the CMC with their homework is very much the sort of thing that really makes me like this story. One moment, our friendly cyborg semi-death machine is up to his ears in the theory and math behind inter-dimensional travel; the next, he's helping kids with their Algebra homework. It's these kind of moments that I really like about this story.
On the subject of Sweetie Bell, while I have my own issues with this particular tangent for structural reasons, I actually don't have a big problem with Mender's approach to the situation. Sweetie Bell is very clingy, but she did almost die a few days ago. That kind of trauma would shake anyone up, much less a child. Her actions, while immature, are desperate, rather than malicious. She would need distance eventually, but what she needs first and foremost is reassurance.
And as far as age is concerned, I can understand some having issues with it. That having been said, considering the level of maturity shown by the show's adults, she could be doing much worse.
Teddy-Belle!
First, given the wording of this, it sounds like you're saying homicidal and sadistic are opposites of each other, rather than complements. Of course, you're saying they're the opposite of nice, but the opposite of homicidal is pacifistic and the opposite of sadistic is empathetic. You can be both pacifistic and empathetic without being nice, it's just hard.