My Little Fortress: Dawnpick

by Paaaad

30: A tablefull of designs

Flux sat in the dining hall, scribbling various mechanical designs and slowly covering the table in loose paper.

---

Jaxler woke up in his bed after a night of drinking. He got out and grabbed his crossbow when he remembered that the armed forces had the next couple days off. He was a bit disappointed to realize that he could have slept another four hours but decided not to get back in bed and walked out his door. When he got outside he was completely surprised to realize that the sun didn't burn and that the birds chirping didn't make his head ache. With this in mind, he started to think of ways to waste the day when he realized that he never really checked on Falcata. So he walked over to the meeting hall hoping to find her. When he saw her in the building he walked over. "Hay Falcata"

---

One day sometime after Falcata has been released from the hospital, and life has returned to some semblance of normality for our bearded unicorn, Glaive stands in the dinning hall, a mug of ale floating next to him. He looks out but doesn't see Falcata, 'I guess she's training, or on patrol, oh well,' he thinks to himself. He spies a nearly empty table, with an earthpony working over some papers. 'He's the furnace operator right? What's his name again?'
Glaive take a seat at the same table as the earthpony. "Good afternoon." he says as he takes his seat.

Flux starts when he hears the new voice, and starts again when he realizes it's that militia pony with the impressive facial hair who's talking to him.
"Oh! Um, hello? Uh, it's a good afternoon, I guess?"

"Sorry to interrupt your work, I didn't mean to startle you." Glaive takes a sip from his mug. "My name is Glaive by the way. What's yours?"

"Um, Flux."
'Glaive, why does that sound familiar?'
His eyes widen when he realizes where he had heard that name before.
"Wait, Glaive?! You killed one of those huge things underground!"

---

Falcata peers up from her meal, quickly identifying the interruption. "Oh, hey," she offers distractedly, having caught sight of Glaive walking blithely to the other side of the hall. Must be something to do with that facial hair obstructing his vision. She rolls her eyes and returns her attention to Jaxler. She'd go over and interrupt Glaive later after he was finished being all masculine with his man-friends; maybe they'd get drunk and provide a source of free entertainment. Smiling, she finally greets Jaxler properly.
"How'sh yourself?" she mumbles through a mouthful of food.

---

"Ah, yeah, I guess I did. I didn't know that it was common knowledge. It was mostly luck though. Well luck and this good steel."
He clanks his steel boot on his right foreleg against his peytrel.
"You work in the smelters don't you? The militia couldn't have won that fight without the steel you make."

---

Jaxler thought for a second. He was actually doing a lot better today than normal.
"I'm doing fine. How are you?"

---

"Um, thanks," Replied Flux, "But I only make the steel, I don't make the armor or the weapons. It's you militia ponies that keep everypony safe. Um, thanks for, you know, protecting everypony."

---

Falcata shrugs, waving a bandaged forehoof. "Been better, really. Got lucky again, I guess; though I'm beginning to wonder if it wouldn't be better to just get bumped off than end up in that damn hospital bed again." The pegasus chuckles at her own dark humour. "Not going to be much wood left on the headboard if I carve many more tally marks into it. I'll have to get Panacea and Wool something from the traders to thank them."

---

"Nonsense." Retorted Glaive "Does the cook get all the credit for keeping us fed? No. It takes all sorts to do that. Farmers, millers, bakers, and brewers. Protecting the town is the same. I would be next to useless without this axe or this armor. The smiths couldn't forge them without your steel, and you couldn't make steel without the miner's work, and all of us would be dead if not for the farmers. All ponies rely on each other. So I should thank you. So, uh, what are you working on?"

Flux turns slightly and frowns at the undeserved praise, then looks back quickly when he asks about his designs.
"Oh! Um, I'm working on, uh, some more traps. After the, er, thing with those beasts underground, I thought I should try to come up with something. You know, um, multiple lines of, uh, defense?"

Stiletto trots into the dinning hall with a wooden bin full of scrolls and mechanisms on her back.
"Flux are you here?"

---

"Ya, I guess panacea really does deserve some praise for what she does for everypony." Right as Jaxler finishes replying he sees Stiletto enter the room, putting an end to his good mood.

---

"You design traps?" Inquired Glaive "Did you design those ones at the gate? I've seen what they do to Badger ponies, a few more of them would be very useful. But if you're going to try and make something for those cavern monsters, you're going to need something bigger I think."

"Um, ya. Oh, there's Stiletto! Stiletto!"
Flux sits up and waves a hoof, trying to gain her attention.

Glyph walks in beside Stiletto, another bin on his back, practically overflowing.

---

Falcata notices the shift in his facial expression, and follows his gaze to the cause of it. Curious, she decides to venture a question.
"What's your problem with alicorns anyway? I mean, I know a lot of ponies hold their, ah, abundance of ability against them, but you're one of the most outspoken against them I've met."
She peers at the other newcomer as well, the little rookie, wondering what in the world could be in those bins the two ponies were holding.

---

"Quickly Glyph this way."
Stiletto half gallops over to Flux with a manic look in her eyes
"I have been working on some machines that I remembered from my home land, I wanted you to look over them so you can present them to Ms. Virtue. Oh hello Glaive, have you heard if we will be back at duty soon?"

"Hey Flux, I didn't know Stiletto had all these plans... and mechanisms..." Glyph shift the bin he's carrying, trying to make it more comfortable.

'She looks a little... unhinged?'
"Um, hey Glyph." Says Flux "Uh, are you alright, Stiletto?"

---

Jaxler was caught off guard by the question. he wondered if everpony in the fort knew that he hated alicorns. "I'd prefer to keep my reasons for hating alicorns to myself, but if it makes you feel the slightest bit better, I don't hate them out of envy."

---

"Hello Stilleto, Glyph. No, I don't know how much time off we are being given. It's nice to be able to relax, but we can't have our guard down for long." Glaive reaches for his drink, and helps himself to gulp of ale.

"I have had too much of this 'Time off' I need to work to achieve excellence. Glyph has been helping me train, but I needed to something to help the ponies of Dawnpick."
Several scrolls float from the bin and place themselves on the table
"I have some more in Glyphs' bin. Once again I thank you Glyph for being such a help to me these past few days."

"It's no problem Stiletto... are you sure you're okay? You seem... stressed."

"What are all these?" asks Glaive as he continues to sip at his drink while Stiletto floats the scrolls onto the table.

---

Falcata tilts her head in contrition. It's none of my business anyway. She raises an eyebrow before continuing: "Then you've probably got a better reason than most. I don't have a problem with them myself, mind, at least not because of what they are. Horns, wings, neither or both, it's somepony's character that defines them to me, and Stiletto is as noble a warrior as I could hope to meet. Sorry if I was prying a bit, though."
Catching sight of the levitating bits of paper, her inquisitiveness begins to get the better of her. "I really wanna know why everypony's crowding round those little scrolls over there," she mutters. "Should we go over and see?"

---

Flux glances over the designs Stiletto has presented, which range form the simple and useful (like the cistern design), to the pretty dangerous (Magma fall in the dining hall to keep it warm in winter?).
"Um, Stiletto also knows a fair bit about mechanics, Glaive. We, uh, work together on a lot of things."

"I started with a design to make a cistern for the well that has a water wheel for cleaning it. Then I just kept drawing, for eight hours straight."
Looks back to Glyph
"I just have a lot of energy, and you have been very helpful with that."
now she shifts to Flux
"Do you think the dodge course for the training area is viable?"

Glaive looks over one of the scrolls, it's a design for a rather complex trap involving magma and water. "Wunderschön. Did you design all these from scratch Stiletto, or are things like this common in your homeland?"

---

Jaxler looked over and saw Glaive, Flux, Stiletto, and Glyph. there was a bit of commotion going on and it did seem to be worth checking out.
"Sure, but you might wan't to be prepared if I start flinging punches."

---

'Dodge training area? Hmm, I don't get it. Can't they just stay off the parts where the training spear comes up?'
"Maybe, Stiletto. It seems like it'd be easy to just stay off the parts with the spears in the first place. Maybe use swinging bags instead?"
When Flux looks up from the plans to get her opinion, he notices how many ponies are gathered and trys to shrink into his seat to avoid notice.

Falcata treats herself to a little mental eye-roll. Somepony's going to cause a scene. Again. Still, she grunts an acknowledgement and gets up, limping over to the now-crowded table with Jaxler.
"Hi everypony!" she beams enthusiastically while prodding Glaive in the back as she walks up behind him. "And hi especially to you, dozy. Too hard to see out from behind all that hair?" she giggles. "What's all this you're looking at?" Falcata gestures to the stack of papers, in case there was any doubt what "all this" was.

"We'retalkingaboutsomedesignsformechanicalthings..." Wispered Flux

Stilettos' eyes light up
"You really think they are wunderschön! Thank you Glaive. I did rewrite most of them from design I did with others from the academy of science."
Then she see Flux retreating and Jaxler advancing with Falcata, really? two ponies that she would swear want nothing to do with her.
"These are some of my designs for machines I hope will help Dawnpick."
Stiletto opens her wings giving Flux and Glyph both a nice place to settle in.

Glyph moves under one of Stiletto's wings, cuddling against her. "I don't know much about machines, but I'll bet those are good."

"Oh, hello Falcata, I didn't see you come in. Anyway, Stiletto here was just showing us some machines she designed, traps and the like mostly. Though this one here, is supposed to be a training device." Glaive gestures to the design. "Now Stiletto, I know nothing of engineering so take this with a bucket of salt, but have you figured a way to randomize the timing in your dodge training machine? Because if not I fear that you won't be training the recruits how to dodge, but just how to memorize a pattern."

One day Arbalest was on his way to the dining hall. Boo on his head, telling him all about his home back in space with all the other giant space hamsters, who weren't miniature.
When all of a sudden he sees Stiletto and the others are over in a group, along with those two ponies who haven't met Boo yet.
Boo tells Arbalest that he should go over and say hi, so he does. "Hello everypony."

"Hi Arbalest," Falcata responds, not missing a beat. As far as she was concerned, anything was possible with the blue unicorn, and so the fact that he seemed to now be speaking properly didn't really faze on her at all. Stranger things had happened.
Trying her best not to feel self-conscious or intimidating as the small orange forge pony shrank away, she peers at the scrolls, trying to decipher the squiggles and pictures. Only a few really make sense; most of it is gibberish. Still, she nods sagely, as if she were a scholar assessing an arcane tome. "I see. Is that one, uh, designed to poke us with spears?"

Flux quickly and quietly takes the refuge that Stiletto offers with her wing, trying his best to disappear under it.

"Falcata! You haven't met Boo yet, have you?"

Stiletto folds her wing over Glyphs' withers and does her best to cover Flux and comfort them both
"Ah, the random element comes from the duel switch controls, both operators are behind a blinding wall so they do not match movements, but the recruits can see so they can work on timing as well."
Stiletto now sees Arbalast approaching
"Hello, you are looking well this day."
Stiletto looked to Falcata now with her huge eyes almost overshadowing the smile on her face
"Was there any machine that you would like to talk about. Besides the dodge course I mean. The shower is very interesting I think."

Oh gods. Not that bloody hamster stuff again.
"Uh, no. I don't think so?"
She puts her best wise face on as Stiletto queries her again, trying in vain again to figure out which one exactly was the shower.
"Um, is that magma?" she points at the winter heating diagram, wondering why Stiletto apparently wanted to burn them to a crisp. "Wouldn't hot water work better?"

"Oh that is a good Idea Falcata, we can use the Dinning hall heater to heat the water for the shower!"
Stiletto picks up a quill with her magic and begins furiously writing some notes in the margins.

Jaxler sat down and placed his crossbow in front of him. He saw the blueprints for the machines. They were strange, very strange. He started to scan them for the slightest problem or error but he couldn't find anything wrong with it. In fact the more he analyzed it the more he realized they were more peaces of art than blueprints, but his trance was finally broken when he noticed a major problem. "What happens if a foal or pet walks into the training room by accident?"

"That's a good point Jaxler, I know, I can use the water supply for shower to make a small moat around the training area."
Stiletto ups the pace of her writing the pen moving even more frantically.

Arbalast lifts up Boo with his magic so that Falcata can see.
"Here he is! He says he likes you."

Falcata eyes the small furry creature carefully, surprised by Boo's evident existence. Oops. She probably owed Mortar an apology now, damn it. Still, at least Arbalest looked happier nowadays.
"Um, hi, Boo. Tell him I like him too." She flashes the unicorn a smile, ignoring the part of her that was adamant that hamsters didn't speak and certainly couldn't understand being spoken to.

"Oh, he's a miniature giant space hamster. He can understand you. Isn't that right, Boo?" *SQUEAK!*

What? "Um, okay. Well then, delighted to meet you, Boo." Falcata watches the levitating hamster for a moment, torn between genuine interest and skepticism. Can that thing really understand language, or am I just being really really silly?

Glaive continues to ponder over the plans, trying to ignore the strange blue unicorn. Arbalest hadn't even responded the last time he tried to talk to him, and he knew from Falcata that he had...issues.

"You know Stiletto, as much as a training course could help, we already have a decent sized militia, all with steel plate and weapons. Most with combat experience. I think it would be best to focus on the comforts of our civilians first. And I think that shower would be the best place to start. If we run the water by the kitchen's fire we might even be able to have hot water during the day when the cooks are working, and we can tap the moat for the source. Maybe an underground tunnel to the moat, with a grate, or narrow area, to keep out anything we don't want to come inside. Then we just need to figure out where to drain the water to, without causing a big muddy mess, or at least not one inside the walls."

"Those beasts still haunt us, had I been faster..."
Stiletto puts her quill down and closes her eyes
"I finish my redesign. It takes more material but much safer."
Her pen points out the safety features of retractable bridges and door double lock systems.
"We should still use a pump cleaned well for the hospital. Drops infection probability by a wide degree."

Flux peeks his muzzle out from under Stiletto's wing to add his two bits.
"Put a few grates in the pipe to the moat. Fish in well would not be ideal."
The ponies talked for a while about various things to add to Dawnpick, and pointing out problems and solutions to each suggestion. Designs were proposed, dissected, improved, shown to be impractical, improved again and so on. Some friendships were strengthened, and more were perhaps fostered in the frank exchange and discussion of ideas for how to simply improve the quality of life for all of Dawnpick.

Author's Note:

Whoo... Two conversations, one room. Not all that easy to transcribe.

Comments

[TOLLPANZER]

this was one of the most fun scenes to play. I can see how it could be a pain to edit.