> The Rise of Iron Mare
>  by Alexstrazsa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep within the basement of the Ponyville library, a mare sat hunched over a work desk, horn glowing with energy. Around her, in a cacophony of production, various books and pieces of stray equipment laid. She was focusing on a cylindrical piece of metal, no bigger than the horn on her head, with a small protrusion on one of the ends. It was split cleanly down the middle, with a small, spherical reservoir in the middle. Straining herself, a small orb of magic began to form in the hole.

After a short period of time, her horn’s glow faded, but the ethereal pool of energy still remained in the middle of the device. Quickly, she snapped the two halves together and held her breath. A second passed, then another.

On the third, the device as a whole began to glow. Dark magenta magic flowed through small lines carved all around the metal, giving the object a uniform glow. Letting out her breath in a sigh, she brought over another tube-like contraption. She slipped the glowing object into the tube, then twisted the tube’s cap. 

There was a button which she tentatively pressed, as if she were unsure of what would happen. To the mare’s surprise, the wider end of the device began to shine brightly, sending out a cone of white light. It took several moments to register, but when it did, she beamed almost as brightly as the flashlight she had just created.

“It works. It actually works!” she exclaimed, jumping up and flashing the light around in triumph. After another few moments of playing with it, a sudden realization hit her. “Oh gosh, I should tell Spike!” With that, she clicked the button again and headed up the stairs.

“Spike!” she called, reaching the main floor of the library. As usual, her assistant was never where she wanted him to be. “Spi~ke!” she called again, eliciting a muffled protest from upstairs. Twilight rolled her eyes as she went up another set of stairs and into her bedroom.

“Spike, how can you be napping at a time like this?”

“Because this is when I always go to bed?” the dragon questioned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He gave an irritated frown and pointed at the window. “In case you didn’t notice, it’s night.”

Twilight blinked several times. “Oh. Well in that case, sorry. But this is important!”

“Can’t it just wait until morning?” Spike asked, flopping back down into a comfortable position.

“Not when it’s a groundbreaking new discovery!” Twilight said, walking over to the dragon. “Here, try this out.” She took the flashlight and floated it into his claw. 

He grabbed it, then sat up again with a groan. Spike looked over the device, turning it in his hands and looking at it in various ways. He then turned to Twilight. “Uh, what is it?”

Twilight giggled. “Push the button, silly.”

“Oh, alright.” He did as instructed, and in a moments notice he was blinded by a stream of light. With a yelp, he dropped the flashlight and covered his eyes. “You could have just told me it was a flashlight!”

The unicorn tapped a hoof in thought. “Well, yes, but that’s not the important part.”

“Then what is?” Spike cracked an eye open slightly, looking up to Twilight.

“It’s not enchanted!” she replied, proudly.

“Huh?”

“It’s not enchanted. Nopony put a spell on this to make it light up.”

Spike picked up the flashlight and looked over it again, clicking the button a few times. “Oh, well that’s kinda neat, I guess.”

A few moments of silence passed between them before Twilight cleared her throat and said “Don’t you want to know how it works?”

“Sure?”

“Excellent!” she exclaimed, clopping her forehooves together in excitement. She took the flashlight and unscrewed the end, allowing the device she had created earlier to fall out. “It works because of this.”

“And uh... what is ‘this’?” Spike asked, taking hold of the contraption.

“That, my dear Spike, is a magical energy containment cell, or, a MECC. It can hold magic to be used with other objects that accept magical energies and charges.”

“So... you can use this magic... thingie...”

“MECC,” Twilight quickly corrected. Spike simply rolled his eyes.

“This MECC to... act like a unicorn? And make things work that normally require magic?”

“Yep! That’s precisely it.” She looked over the device, studying it’s every aspect. “With something like this, pegasi and earth ponies will be able to do anything a unicorn can! Just think about it, Spike. An Equestria where Applejack can levitate the fruits of an entire orchard by herself, or where Rainbow Dash can finally repair her own magic items.”

“That’s pretty great, Twi,” Spike said, with a yawn escaping his mouth. “What are you gonna call... well, the rest of it? Or maybe this kind of stuff as a whole?”

Twilight rubbed her chin momentarily. “Well, it’s like a fusion between magic and technology. Technomagic?” She let the idea hang in the air for a bit. “No, that’s too long... Magicology?”

Spike shook his head and collapsed back down into his bed. “You’re no good with names, Twi.”

“Then what would you call it?”

“Hmm...” He brought his blanket over him and shuffled around in his bed. “I’d call it... Magitech. Yeah, that sounds cool.”

“Magitech? I like that. Magitech it is!” She ruffled Spike’s spines and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Spike.”

Spike grunted. “Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it. Now can I please go to bed?” 

Twilight giggled, then started walking towards the door. “Yes, yes. Goodnight, Spike.” He uttered a reply which Twilight couldn’t catch on her way out. She was too busy focusing on the work she still needed to do. On the way down the stairs, she smiled.

“Heh... Magitech.”
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


20 Years Later


Twilight sat behind her desk, looking over a series of blueprints laid out in front of her. Adorning her was a dark suit, expertly tailored to fit her and complete with a tie. She levitated a pen near her and occasionally made a note here and there or circled a portion of the design. The drawings themselves depicted a large structure with multiple floors, each labelled with a purpose or function. “Hmm... now if we put the generator down here...” she thought out loud, marking a section of the blueprints. She brought a nearby cup to her mouth and took a sip of the drink, her eyes never leaving the pages.

The light hiss of doors opening sounded through the room, and a clearly older dragon strode in, carrying a clipboard and looking over numerous sheets of paper. Twilight glanced up briefly and gave a soft smile before returning to her work. “How are things, Spike?”

“As good as usual,” he replied, flipping through the papers. “Sparkle Industries is up three points from yesterday, a new shipment of MECC casings just came in, and you have lunch with Princess Cadance...” he leaned in to his clipboard, “next Tuesday.”

“All good news,” Twilight replied, switching to another sheet of the blueprints. “How’s the new factory holding up?”

Spike adjusted his necktie and cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh... there was a bit of a... mishap... with one of the trainees, but other than that it’s been smooth sailing.”

Twilight chuckled, rolling up the plans and putting them within a plastic tube. “As long as nothing serious happened.”

The dragon then got a sudden look of realization and pulled out a small envelope that was tucked under the rest of the documents. “Oh, I almost forgot, this came for you in the mail today.” He placed the gold trimmed envelope in front of Twilight, who looked over it momentarily.

“To Miss Twilight Sparkle,” she read out loud as she teared the top off. She then pulled out a small slip, which was heavily decorated in golden trimming and cursive text. “You are hereby invited to a formal charity ball at the private estate of Sir Fancypants, taking place on the 21st of this month.”

“Ooh, sounds... fancy,” Spike said, looking over the invitation. “Are you going?”

“Well, it is for charity,” Twilight said, idly flipping the invitation around. “And since Fancypants is hosting it, I’m sure Rarity will be there. It would be nice to talk with her after all these years.”

The dragon let out a dreamy sigh and leaned against the desk. “Ah... Rarity...”

“Twenty years and you’re still going gaga over her?” Twilight asked, taking her reading glasses off and grinning. “I thought you would’ve found a nice dragoness by now.”

“You know she’s the only girl for me, Twilight,” Spike replied, dismissively waving a hand. “Besides, she’s still single. I have a chance!” He flexed his arm and looked over the less than average bulge.

The mare simply rolled her eyes and smiled, glancing to her computer screen. “Whatever you say, Casanova. But while you’re standing there swooning over Rarity, can you get her on the phone for me? I need to get something nice for the party.”

Spike snapped out of his daydream and shook his head. “Oh, uh, yeah. Sure. I’ll have her over the intercom in a bit.” He picked up his clipboard again and began to walk towards the door. Midway, though, he turned and walked backwards, then said “And after I bring Rarity through, I’m getting lunch, okay?”

“Sure thing, Spike,” Twilight said, focusing on the monitor. With a flick of the hoof, a holographic keyboard appeared in front of her. “Time to send these plans to the architect...” she mumbled to herself, typing at the keyboard. “Then I need to keep working on a more efficient magic unit...” With an exasperated sigh, she put her head on the desk. “Ugh, I have so much to do.”

She enjoyed the cold against the top of her head for several moments before a soft ringing sounded through the room. Not moving her head, she exclaimed “Answer.”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Miss Twilight Sparkle,” a sophisticated voice echoed through the room. “Whatever does the most well known pony in Equestria need of little old me?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Please, Rarity, you can just call me a friend.” 

“I merely jest, Twilight. You know we’ve always been the best of friends. But I digress, what do you need me for?”

Twilight stood up and shook off, then began to pace around the room. “Well, you probably know this, but Fancypants is hosting a charity party this month. Next week, actually.”

“Ah, yes, I received my invitation yesterday. Why do you ask?”

“Well, for once, I’d like to get a new dress for the occasion. I know you’re usually busy these days, with how popular your dress lines have gotten in the last few years. If you don’t have the time, I completely unde-”

“Oh, Twilight, don’t be silly! Of course I can make room in my schedule for you. What sort of pony would I be to take random customers over a dear friend? You can come in whenever you’re free.”

Twilight sighed and smiled. “Thanks a lot, Rarity. That means so much to me. I’ll take a look at my schedule and get back to you, okay?”

“Anytime, darling. I simply can’t wait to see you again. It’s been so long. How are things, anyway? I know that corporation of yours is doing quite well.”

“Yes, Sparkle Industries has only been getting better every day. There’s a lot of investors and a lot of new technology being developed.” Twilight smiled, looking over her office. “But, that’s just what happens when you’re the only developer of portable magic storage.”

“How exciting! And if you don’t mind me being a bit of a nosy mare, just how much is your company worth?” 

“Well... it’s worth a respectable six point two billion bits, if my recent numbers are correct,” Twilight exclaimed, with a proud smile.

“Goodness! You’ve truly done the best out of all of us, Twilight dear. But really, we always knew you would.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that... Rainbow Dash is living out her dream, you know.”

“Right, right. I’m sure she’s been living a good life. Times have certainly changed, Twilight."

“It really has, Rarity. Now, I should probably leave you to your work.”

“Of course, dear. See you soon!” A click signaled the end of the call, leaving Twilight alone in the middle of her office. She moved back behind the desk and flopped unceremoniously into her chair. She floated the cup back to her mouth and took a long drink, finishing its contents.

“How can I be so successful and still feel like I need to accomplish more?” she asked, with a sigh. The question hung in the air, and its presence was almost tangible. Rolling her eyes, she opened her desk drawer and brought out a partially filled bottle of amber liquid, along with a glass. She poured a bit of the liquid and swirled it around the cup, then downed it in one fell swig. “Ugh, I need to cut this out.”

- - -

In a whirlwind of official documents, company meetings and a weekend visiting Rarity, a week had passed and the night of the ball was upon Twilight. She had gotten a private carriage for both her and Rarity, much to the fashion pony’s liking.

“This is simply marvelous, Twilight,” Rarity said, ogling at the interior of the carriage. They both laid upon silk pillows, and were basked in a soft light from the roof. In the background, a radio was playing the news. Twilight sat calmly across from Rarity, looking out the window at the Canterlot scenery.

“It was no trouble, really,” Twilight replied, turning to Rarity. “I rarely use this thing anyway. Teleporting to the office is easier.”

The white unicorn curiously observed the small refreshment bar at the side of them and asked “Surely you could have just teleported us to the ball, couldn’t you?”

Twilight smiled. “I figured you would enjoy the ride. It’s not every day you can ride in an executive carriage, is it?”

“It certainly isn’t, Twilight. Thank you.”

“And thank you for the dress. It’s very lovely,” Twilight replied, looking over her outfit. It had a dark red, frilled neck piece, and covering her body was a deep violet fabric. A similar red cloth composed the top frilled half, leading down to a night sky purple material. Sleeves of the same nature adorned her forehooves.  The creation, as a whole, was expertly tailored and crafted, proving that Rarity’s skills had only improved over the years.

“I always try my best, dear. Oh, it seems we’ve just about arrived.” She looked out the window, where there was a large gathering of carriages and well dressed ponies in front of a luxurious building. It had similar architecture to the rest of Canterlot, but was built as a mansion.

The carriage rolled up to the front of the building, where the driving stallion proceeded to unhitch himself and open the door. “Thank you, sir,” Twilight said, nodding to the stallion. He simply gave an affirmative nod and stepped aside. As she made her way out of the carriage, heads began to turn and cameras started to flash. Twilight rolled her eyes, tiring of the publicity.

“Miss Sparkle, can you answer some questions?”

“Where is Sparkle Industries headed?”

“Can I take you to dinner?!”

The purple mare groaned and made a steady path towards the doors, ignoring the camera flashes and torrents of media questioning. Behind her, Rarity was basking in the limelight, taking every opportunity to pose for the camera. Twilight shook her head and smiled, making her way into the building.

Several moments later, Rarity caught up with her in the entrance hall. “Goodness, Twilight, does that happen everywhere you go?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” she replied, looking out the door. “Well, not everywhere, but a lot of places. I still haven’t gotten entirely used to it.”

“It’s bound to happen to a mare of your status, Twilight,” Rarity said, with a giggle. “I still cannot believe I’m friends with the Twilight Sparkle.”

“I’m not that special,” Twilight replied, with a light frown.

“But you are, dear! Twenty years ago, you revolutionized Equestria, and now everypony knows your name. You truly are the pony everypony should know, Twilight.” She put a hoof to Twilight’s chin and looked into her eyes. “Don’t you let anypony tell you otherwise.”

Twilight let out a sigh, then smiled. “If you say so, Rarity. But sometimes... I just don’t feel... I don’t know, important enough.”

“Miss Twilight Sparkle? Not important enough?” Both Rarity and Twilight turn their heads to find Fancypants himself standing between them. He was certainly older now, with wrinkled beginning to form on his forehead, but the main indicator of his age was his bushy mustache, which was at least twice as large as it had been the last time Twilight saw it. He still wore a monocle, which was attached via gold chain to his tuxedo.

“Oh! Well, hello there, Sir Fancypants,” Twilight said, with a bow.

He smiled, then took her hoof and gave it a light kiss. “It’s an honor to have you here.” He then looked to Rarity. “Ah, Miss Rarity. It is always a pleasure to see you.” She received a kiss on the hoof as well.

“The pleasure is all mine, Sir Fancypants,” Rarity replied, with a delighted smile.

“Have you two been enjoying yourselves thus far?” he asked, looking between them.

“Well, we’ve only been here for a few minutes,” Twilight said.

“Ah, I see. If that’s the case, by all means, go and enjoy the party. We can talk later.” The stallion gave a bow and another grin, and after the two mares said their goodbyes, he took his leave.

Twilight and Rarity made their way into the farther parts of the hall. “He’s still just as charming as always, isn’t he?” Rarity asked, looking to Twilight.

“Yes, he’s a very nice stallion. It’s hard to believe he doesn’t have a wife yet. I wonder why...” 

“He what?” Rarity asked, nearly tripping over her own hooves. She stared at Twilight in disbelief.

“Oh, you didn’t know that?” Twilight asked, eliciting a silent nod from the other unicorn. “While he’s had marefriends in the past, he’s never stayed with any of them.”

“How do you...?”

“It gets brought up too often during lunch hours,” the purple mare replied, recalling hundreds of conversations about the subject. “That’s the price to pay when all of your interns gossip with one another...”

“Well that’s... very interesting news, Twilight,” Rarity said, regaining her composure and proceeding forward. “Perhaps I’ll ask him about it at a later time.” At that moment, a waitress walked near them with a tray of drinks of multiple colors and varieties. Both of the unicorns grabbed a glass as she passed by and continued into the main ballroom, where the majority of guests were gathered together.

Twilight took a sip of her drink, silently wishing it was from the personal stash in her office. It was a fruity mixture, which was far off from what she was used to. Rarity, though, seemed to be enjoying it.

“So, Twilight, how many of these fabulous ponies do you know?” Rarity asked, motioning to the ballroom. “Surely you’ve met with a few of them personally.”

“Oh, uh...” Twilight looked off into the crowd, trying to pick out faces she recognized. “Ah! There’s somepony I know, and you might actually know him too.” She pointed at a brown stallion with slicked back hair and three money bags for a cutie mark. “That’s Filthy Rich. He’s one of the bigger stockholders in Sparkle Industries, and one of the first few ponies to start supporting the company. Oh, and it looks like his daughter is with him.” Sure enough, next to the aging stallion was a pink mare in an elaborate dress, sporting a two-toned mane.

“My, the years certainly haven’t been kind to him, have they?” Rarity commented.

Twilight squinted to get a better look of him. “He’s not too bad for his age, actually, especially in the stressful position he’s in. The Rich Enterprise has expanded quite a bit since he left Ponyville, so he has a lot to manage.” She looked around the ballroom again and found yet another familiar face. “Look, there’s Hoity Toity, but you’re plenty familiar with him, aren’t you?”

Rarity chuckled. “Naturally. I do business with Mister Toity every month.”

Twilight returned the laugh. “Of course you do. And it looks like a few of the Wonderbolts attending tonight,” she added, pointing to several blue-suited ponies talking amongst each other. “If we’re lucky we might catch Rainbow Dash taking a break.”

“It would certainly be a pleasure to see Rainbow again. Ever since she joined the team, we haven’t heard much from her other than the occasional letter or phone call.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I’m sure we’ll talk soon.” She then tapped the bottom of her chin. “Who else do I know...” Her thoughts, however, were cut off by a voice ringing through the room.

“Ahem, good evening everyone.” Fancypants’ voice reverberated throughout the hall, causing those in the room to look to its origin. All different types were attending, from ponies to griffons to donkeys and even several high status dragons. “It is quite a pleasure to see you all here, and I extend my greatest welcomes.”

“And now the speeches start,” Twilight said, with a groan. She downed the rest of her drink and sat the empty glass aside.

Rarity waved a hoof at Twilight as she watched a tall, golden dragon take a place near Fancypants. “Oh, it’s not so bad, Twilight. Once this speech is over, we can mingle with other guests, have some delectable hors d'oeuvres, and enjoy ourselves.”

“You’re right, you’re right,’ the purple unicorn conceded, sighing and looking to the stallion. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a gryphon take his place next to her, but she gave it no thought. He was just another prestigious guest, probably with multiple stocks in her own company.

She watched as Filthy Rich took his place next to Fancypants, giving the crowd a grin and waving. She also wondered how much she had donated to this event.

“...and none other than Miss Twilight Sparkle!” Fancypants announced, looking through the crowd and finding Twilight. He smiled as he spotted her and motioned for her to come up. “Who has the honor of being our largest donator!”

“Right. A lot,” she said to herself, putting on a smile and walking towards the front. The fifth step she took was when the first explosion went off.

Over the course of ten seconds, several things happened. First, the room became engulfed in smoke, sending most of the attendees into a coughing fit, Twilight included. Second, the screams began, along with the panic. Her ears rang from the blast and she couldn’t see, but she could still hear Rarity’s shrill cries behind her. Third, another explosion went off, and from the shock and the volume, it must have been close. Lastly, she felt a several sharp impacts to her chest.

Twilight looked down, noticing various fragments of metal sticking out of her. A warm sensation began to flow down the front of her body, trailing down her chest and sliding along her legs. When she touched the top of her dress, bright crimson was left on her shaking hoof. As the shock started to wear off, the pain began to set in. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and she opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her legs began to grow weak and she stumbled forward, trying her best to keep her balance.

All she could think was that she was going to die. A million pieces of different thoughts bounced through her mind, but none of them stuck together to make anything coherent. The only thing she could focus on was the pain.

Moments later, Twilight felt a claw grab her neck, then took a heavy blow to the head. The last thing she saw before blacking out were two griffons standing over her.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing only darkness. From the feeling of cloth around her head, she was blindfolded. She made an attempt to levitate the cloth off her head, but was cut off by a sharp pain coming from the base of her horn. “Grr, magic suppressor...” she mumbled, breathing heavily. Twilight’s sense began to come back to her, starting first with a throbbing headache, then a dull, constant pain in her chest. She made an effort to stand, but found her legs bound together by heavy rope.

“Think, Twilight, you can get out of this...” she said, struggling against the ropes, but to no avail. “You’ve gotten through worse. Nightmare Moon...” She ground the material against the floor, hoping to weaken it. “Discord...” The same maneuver was done with her hind legs. “Grr... Queen Chrysalis...” She grit her teeth now, fighting through the pain surging through her chest. It wasn’t long, though, until she wore herself out. Sweat coated her body, and she knew that no significant progress had been made trying to break the rope. She went limp and just laid there, taking deep breaths and thinking about what was to become of her.

Then, her ears perked up as muffled voices began to sound through the walls. She couldn’t identify or understand them, but they were getting closer. The two voices hung outside the room for just a moment before silencing. Then, the click of a lock sounded, followed by a mechanical hiss.  She dared not move a muscle.

“By the King... I told you to capture her, not kill her!” a smooth, masculine voice came. 

“She ain’t dead, but she came close. The doc did all she could, but still couldn’t get all the shrapnel out,” another voice said, deeper than the other.

“Wonderful,” the first voice replied, thick with sarcasm. “Now what does that mean for us?”

“It means, well... she ain’t got more than a week. The bits that are still in there are just gonna keep going until they get to her heart.” A flurry of feathers was heard, followed by dull thud and a cry of pain.

“Get out of my sight!” the first voice yelled, quivering with rage.

“Y-yes boss,” the second voice replied, presumably leaving the room. The remaining creature sighed, then closed the door behind him. “Idiot,” he hissed. His footsteps brought him closer to Twilight, and after a few moments she felt a claw grab the blindfold and take it off.

The bright light above her caused her to squint, but once her eyes adjusted, she looked up to see a dark-feathered griffon with forest green eyes staring back at her. There was a visible scar across his left eye, which forced him to always squint slightly. “Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle.”

She frowned and gave him a cold stare, refusing to say a word. After several seconds of silence, he took a breath. “Not very talkative, I see. That’s fine. It’ll make it easier for me to explain.” He circled around her, the two of them never breaking eye contact. “You might not know, but I’m a very big fan of yours, Miss Sparkle. Always impressed by every new invention your company creates, and every technological advancement that graces Equestria.”

He then paused and shook his head, chuckling. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten my manners. Here I am, praising you, when I haven’t even introduced myself.” He outstretched and a claw near Twilight. She looked at it, then looked back to him and narrowed her eyes. “Oh, my mistake,” he said, leaning down and untying the ropes around her forelegs. Then, he offered his claw again. A few moments passed before he retracted it and shrugged. “No? Fair enough. Anyway, you may call me Garrett,” he said, continuing his pacing.

“What do you want with me?” Twilight croaked, staring daggers into the griffon. He merely gained a look of surprise and smiled.

“Ah, she speaks! Excellent.”

“Answer the question.”

“Fine, fine. In short, Miss Sparkle, I’d like you to share your magnificent technology with us in the Griffon Kingdom.”

Twilight’s look softened a bit as she began to seem curious. “And what do you want my magitech for?”

Garrett reached her hind legs, untying them as he passed. “Well, how do I say this... We’d like your technology for, ah, self protection.”

“Not a chance,” she replied, rubbing her hooves where the ropes had been. “What would you even need ‘self protection’ for? I thought the Griffon Kingdoms had a peace treaty with the other nations.”

The griffon chuckled. “You can never be too careful, Miss Sparkle. Just whatever would we do if you ponies decided you needed more land one day? Surely, you wouldn’t expect us to let you sail on over and start living amongst us, would you?”

“No, I’d expect a diplomatic meeting between your King and Princess Celestia,” Twilight spat, as she started to stand up.

“Conflicts are rarely settled with words, Miss Sparkle,” Garrett stated matter-of-factly. “Even in the business world, you need to take action.”

“I’m still not doing it,” Twilight said, looking into Garrett’s green eyes.

“Hmph. Then perhaps an ultimatum will change your mind.” His smile disappeared, and now he looked upon Twilight with impatience. “You can either build us your technology and be released when you’re done, or we can have you executed. The choice is yours.”

Twilight gulped, her stalwart look faltering. She refused to agree to his demands, but what would she do otherwise? She also knew that he was lying. He would have told her about the shrapnel if he truly meant to release her. No matter what choice she made, she was going to die by the end of it. Twilight needed a plan.

“I’ll do it.”

A sly smile crawled across Garrett’s face. “Now, that’s what I like to hear. Thank you for your cooperation.” He then pointed behind her. “You’ll find supplies on the workbench, and if you need more materials, don’t be afraid to call. The room is monitored, so we’ll hear you.” He pointed to a bulky device on the far wall that was just visible in the light, which panned across the room.

The griffon then turned and walked to the door, opening it. Before exiting, he looked back to Twilight. “Oh, and please, don’t try anything funny. This entire room is magic proof, so the only thing getting in or out are Griffons with passkeys. Now, enjoy your stay.”

Garrett left the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. As he did, the magic suppressor around her horn beeped and the rest of room lights came on. Twilight looked around in awe as piles of materials and blueprints stuck to the walls were revealed. They ranged from commonly available plans to private ones she thought only Sparkle Industries had access to, but those were the least of her problems now.

The truly important issues were lodged deep in her chest.


- - -


Twilight turned to the workbench and walked towards it, ignoring the pain throbbing throughout her body. When she got there, she turned the two overhead lamps on and sat down, observing the bandages wrapping her chest. “At least they were courteous enough to pull the metal out...” she mumbled, peeling the cloth back to reveal the damage.

Her eyes widened as she saw just how much damage had been caused. There were multiple deep cuts and gaping wounds, though they had stopped openly bleeding. Twilight picked up a small mirror and looked through it, trying to see where most of the damage was caused. Just as she feared, it all of the wounds were near her heart. With a gulp, Twilight casted a spell to scan her chest. As she saw the results, she felt herself beginning to hyperventilate as panic swept over her.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “You can save yourself, Twilight. You just need to stop the slowly advancing metal shards from reaching your heart. But how?” She opened her eyes again and looked around for pieces. There was plenty of wiring and metal bits lying around, and in the corner of the room she thought she saw a metalworking station. “An arcanomagnet,” she stated, pulling a long strand of copper wire towards her.

Twilight wrapped the bandages back around her chest before grabbing several scraps of metal and a sheet of paper. She leaned over the desk, hastily scribbling out a collection of diagrams and measurements. “Coil the wires here... attach to a power source...” she mumbled, scratching the lead against the parchment.

Finally, she had a basic design in front of her. It was a simple creation, but it would keep her alive. The only problem was keeping it powered. A MECC with enough energy to sustain the arcanomagnet would be too large to carry around, so she needed to invent something smaller. Something more efficient. Something out of wire and scrap metal.

“Efficiency, Twilight. Small, but powerful. Come on... you can do this...” She took another piece of parchment and began to brainstorm. “Too big,” she said, crossing out her first idea. “That won’t give enough power...” Another was erased from the page. “What if...” she pondered, starting to draw. A circle enclosed several different wiring arrangements, feeding back into the center and through the main power circuit. It was an idea she had briefly pondered, but never had the time to put into practice. Now, she needed it to work.

After a few more notes and adjustments, she floated the design in front of her and looked it over. Her eyes scanned over the notes, looking for any inconsistencies or issues. “If this works... I may have just invented a self sustaining energy source. I hope I’m right.” Pinning the design on the wall, she started to work.

Bits of metal and various wires floated through the air, being bent and twisted into one another. A thin metal circle was crafted and wrapped in sections of wiring, which left off on a thin piece of copper wire. She soldered a plug to the end of it, then added finishing touches to the frame. “That should work,” she said, slowly spinning the new magnet in front of her. All that was left was to test it.

Looking through one of the piles of pieces, she found the casing to one of her smaller MECC units. Quickly inscribing patterns and symbols into it, she made the necessary adjustments to the frame. With a quick burst of magic, she had provided the core of the device and snapped it together. After mere minutes of work, she had a working MECC.

Elsewhere in the building, Garrett patiently watched Twilight work on a small monitor. “Such speed and efficiency...” he mused, looking at the unicorn’s progress. “And with nothing but stolen parts and scrap metal. She certainly is a bright one.”

“What is she doing?” another griffon asked, standing behind Garrett. “That doesn’t look like any weapons I’ve seen.”

“Give her time, Greger. I’m sure she’s concocting something brilliant.”

“Hmph. If you say so, but I don’t trust ‘em. Those ponies, that is,” Greger said, turning away.

Garrett continued staring at the monitor. “Build me something great, Miss Sparkle,” he near whispered.

In the room itself, Twilight had finished wiring the arcanomagnet to the MECC. She brought over a small piece of metal, and to her satisfaction, it skittered across the table and stuck like glue to the magnet. “Now, for the hard part.”

She looked over the plans for her power source and grabbed several pieces of metal. It was going to take a bit of metalwork to get this design work, and she needed all of the precious metals that she could get her hooves own. Digging through the scrap, she pulled out several of the casings for the MECCs and began to disassemble them. At their core was a thin sliver of arcanium, a rare metal that magic flowed through as easily as water through a stream.

After pulling out as much arcanium as she could, she moved to the metalworking station. With a flick of her horn, a fire had started, and was heating the forging plate. Taking a ruler, several pieces of metal and a melting plate, she began to boil down the scrap and alter it into a mold for the power sources frame. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, both from concentration and from the heated metal in front of her.

Moving to the cool bucket, she dipped the mold in for several seconds, then brought it back out and observed it. Twilight took several measurements and filed it down to perfection and set it aside. She then floated the arcanium slices over and dropped them into the melting plate, waiting until they had been completely liquidated. Carefully, she took the molten arcanium and poured it into the mold, watching as it filled the shape out perfectly.

She let it set for several moments before cooling the new piece as well, and soon enough she was floating a precisely structured ring of arcanium in front of her. She brought it back to the work bench and put it against the blueprint for comparison. “A perfect fit.”

Twilight sat down at the bench and started cutting wires into precise lengths. After soldering a ring of supports to the arcanium ring, she began to wrap the wire tightly around each of the supports, then lead the wire to the middle. Twilight repeated the process several times and bound the wires together, then floated a magnifying glass in front of her to do the intricate detail work.

The smell of burning metal hung in the air as she combined the thin wires together and fused them. Finally, after strenuous attachment and precise adjustment, the main core of the source had been completed. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead before embedding the core in a thin casing, then capping off the central coil.

“Alright... here goes nothing.” Twilight leaned forward and shot a small burst of magic at the coils of the reactor. Magic energy sparked through the reactor before blue energy surged between the coiled wires and into the main core. A smile began to slowly spread over Twilight’s face as she observed the power source she just created. “I thought you couldn’t exist,” she whispered. “But now... anything is possible. The Mage Reactor is a complete success!”

Her grin lasted up until the point where she realized that she was going to have to get the arcanomagnet inside of her body and the reactor in place. With a gulp, she looked down at her chest. Slowly, her eyes trailed up to the nearby scalpel. “Oh no...” she said, looking at the blade’s sharp edge. “No, no, no. I can’t.”

She knew, though, that it was the only way.

Twilight breathed heavily, floating the scalpel in front of her. “Remember Twilight... three inches. Too little, it won’t fit. Too much, you’re dead. Three... inches...” She gulped and looked back down at the outline she had drawn on her chest. It was wide, and showed exactly where the reactor would sit. Twilight took a deep breath, and with a burst of magic, sank the blade into it’s target.

She screamed.

Her vision was blurry and her entire body felt numb. Looking down, she saw a slab of flesh on the ground, and a large, bleeding hole in her chest. On the table in front of her laid the arcanomagnet and mage reactor. She reached a hoof out to grab them, but quickly found her head spinning, and before she knew it, she was on the ground.

Through half lidded eyes, she noticed Garrett and two other griffons rush into her cell. Garrett ran over to her and leaned down, lifting her head up slightly.

“What are you doing?!” he yelled, frantically looking between the hole in her chest and the puddle of blood on the ground. He was barely audible to Twilight, who was struggling to stay conscious.  

Her eyes glanced up to the table and she mumbled, “arcanomagnet... has to go in my chest... stop the shrapnel.”

Garrett shouted something to one of his lackeys, and soon found both the arcanomagnet and mage reactor in his talons. “This? You need this in you?” He waved the magnet in front of Twilight’s face.

“Power it... with the reactor,” she said, glancing to the mage reactor.

The griffon looked between both items. The magnet plugged easily into the reactor, but the reactor was unlike anything he had ever seen. Just that technology alone would be useful to him, but she needed it to survive. Then again, it wasn’t a very big device. It was probably just meant to power the magnet, and he had no use for a glorified battery. He needed her mind.

Taking a breath, Garrett stuck the magnet in her chest, followed by the reactor.

Twilight thought she heard something about an emergency room before she passed out.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight awoke to a soft beeping, and when she opened her eyes she found herself in a hospital bed, hooked up to various medical devices. Looking around, she was the only one in the infirmary. She slowly took in her surroundings, observing the pale green walls and the bland, tiled ceiling. Covering her were a set of snow white sheets, which was much more than she had expected, being a prisoner.

She then noticed the soft glow coming from her chest. Pulling the sheet down, she found the mage reactor planted firmly inside her, and all the memories from before came rushing back. Twilight groaned as the soreness began to kick in.

Then, a griffon poked her head through the door. “Finally awake?”

“Ah!” Twilight cried, startled by the sudden voice. “I mean, uh, yes.”

“Right on time for me to check your vitals.” The griffon fully entered the room, revealing soft pink feathers on top of a coat of light fur. Her eyes were accented with pink markings, and she wore a buttoned up shirt with a red cross on the left breast. She made her way to the electronic instruments and looked over them. “You know, this isn’t your first time in here, missy, but to be honest I’m not sure which was the worst.”

“Oh... do you know why I’m here...?” Twilight asked, skeptical of a griffon being this kind to her.

“Of course I do, and I know who you are, Miss Sparkle.” She donned a stethoscope and placed it to the left of the reactor. “But I still have some compassion left in me.” After a few moments, she took the instrument away. “Can’t say the same about the other guys though. Try anything funny and they’ll rough you up real good.”

“Nice to know...” the unicorn said, leaning back into the pillow.

“Now I hate to say it, but Garrett wants you back to work ASAP, so you can’t stick around here too much longer,” the nurse said, unhooking some of the equipment.

Twilight sat up. “But what about my injuries?”

“For the most part, you’ll be okay. The bleeding stopped, mainly because of that gizmo you stuck in your chest. It seemed important, so I didn’t touch it.”

“Thanks,” Twilight replied, putting a hoof on the reactor.

The nurse carefully removed the IV line from Twilight’s foreleg and filled out the clipboard at the foot of her bed. “You’re set, Miss Sparkle. And just as a heads up, there’s two ‘escorts’ outside the door waiting to bring you back to your room,” she said, motioning to the door. “Thought you might want to know.”

“Thanks... for everything,” Twilight replied, giving the nurse a smile. The griffon returned it, then left the room. Twilight sat on the bed for a while, pondering the days past events. It wasn’t until one of the escorts looked into the room and loudly coughed that the unicorn got out of the bed. She felt the magic suppressor firmly attached to her horn, so she had no choice but to let them lead her back to the prison cell.


- - -


The door shut behind her and she heard the suppressor click off. “Time to get to work,” she said, making a beeline to the work bench. As she picked up the pencil, the door to the room opened again. Twilight didn’t move, merely listening.

“The was quite a scare you gave us,” Garrett said, his oily voice slithering through the air. “We thought you had gone and offed yourself!” He approached the desk, standing next to Twilight and looking over. He brought a claw down and traced the outline of her reactor. “But that clearly isn’t the case.”

“What do you want, Garrett?” she snapped, her eyes darting in his direction.

“Just to check up on your and deliver some more supplies.” He made a gesture with his claw and two other griffons came in, carrying palettes of materials. “I’m sure you’ll be able to make use of it.”

Twilight looked back at the the additions, noticing sheets of metal among them, among other things. A small smile slid across her face. “Yes, yes I will.”

“Excellent. I look forward to your results.” The griffon then looked down to her reactor and eyed it curiously. “What exactly is that?”

“An experiment,” she replied, beginning to draw.

“For...?”

“Energy.”

“Hm. Well, you can tell me more about it when you present the rest of your creations. Keep up the work, Miss Sparkle.” With that, he turned and left, taking the other two griffons with him. After they left, Twilight walked over to the palettes of supplies and sifted through them, looking at her new materials.

She picked up a pipe and looked through it, then slipped her hoof through. “Good fit...” she said, observing the piece of metal. She then took it off and went back to her bench, looking over the sheets of parchment. Lifting the pencil up again, she began to scribble plans and notes down.

Every so often she took measuring tape and measured one of her body parts, taking note of the results. This continued until she had a full diagram of her body in front of her, with enough measurements that even  Rarity would be proud of her. Twilight mumbled to herself occasionally, working out calculations for her escape plan. “Attach those, link them here, feed it all into the mage reactor... I can do this! I can make this work. Just need to add some magic enhancement in the frame, spell-proof the plating...” She trailed off, taking notes of both mathematical and arcane in origin.

Finishing several drawings, she stood back and beheld her creation. The paper in front of her held the plans to a suit of armor. It fed directly into her mage reactor and drew magic from her horn. While inefficient and clunky, it looked good enough to fulfill it’s purpose.

“Now, to keep up the magic flow and power the different segments... carry the five... multiply by resistance. Oh dear.” She scanned over the numbers again to double check them, then gulped. “That’s a lot of power.” Twilight looked down to her mage reactor and prodded at it. “I hope you’re strong enough to get me out of here,” she whispered.

With that, she picked up the plans and walked to the supplies.

After a bout of cherry picking wires, pipes and various other pieces of metal, Twilight had a pile of working supplies next to her. At the bench, she strapped on a pair of goggles and quickly tied her hair back. She had a long week ahead of her, and she had to work as fast as she could.


- - -


It was the third day of her capture when she started to piece together the suit. Taking pieces of pipe and cutting them into fitting forms, she started to assemble the leg pieces. She bent metal to form the boots and lined them with thinner metal and padding, then strung wires through and soldered them into place.

Twilight painstakingly attached fuel containers to the sides and ran the lines to the bottom of the boots, right into an awaiting funnel. Then, she connected the upper and lower legs with straps, securing them to herself for a test fit.

They were heavy, but effective. She was able to move her front leg and feel protected, but she hadn’t tested the magical enhancements. With a flash of her horn, light purple energy came from certain points on the boot, signaling power. The sliding of metal on metal was music to her ears as she did a quick yet unbalanced jog around the room.

“Leg one is a success,” she said, marking off a box on her checklist. With a grin, she undid the leg and put it to the side, then grabbed more metal sheets from her pile. “Three more to go.”


- - -


Garrett squinted at the monitor, watching Twilight slave over another leg piece. “What are you up to, Sparkle,” he pondered, scratching at his chin. He watched as she looked between two separate sets of blueprints. Adjusting one of the knobs on the control panel, he zoomed the camera in.

One page showed a diagram of a pony, with various scribblings and notes. The other was a picture of a griffon, with similar markings. “Hmm... comparing species, I see. But what for?”

Twilight then brought a piece of metal onto the table, followed by the leg piece. She slipped her hoof into it and put her goggles on. Moments later, sparks and small bits of smoke began to rise above the workbench.

“Ah... a homemade welding torch. Hmph. I guess the one we provided wasn’t good enough for you, Sparkle,” Garrett mumbled, moving his head back from the monitor. He watched her work for several more minutes before yawning and standing up. “Greger!” he called, turning away from the monitor and looking out the door. “Come watch the pony while i’m gone.”

The other griffon walked into the room and was mid nod when he paused and looked at the monitor. “What was that flash, Garrett?”

“She’s welding! Don’t bother me with trifles, simpleton,” he angrily replied, walking past and out the door.

Gregor shrugged, squinting at the monitor. “If you say so.”


- - -


The next day, she had completed another two legs, and the day after that she had begun work on the chest piece and back plates.

“Can’t test this out or it will raise too much suspicion,” Twilight mumbled, welding two sheets of metal together. A formed piece of padding was bolted into place, followed by the addition of a strap hook. After a few more chunks of metal, it began to resemble an actual casing. “Hopefully you fit without too much trouble.”

Moving to the front, she began filing down the hole for her reactor and routing the wiring from the power source throughout the rest of the armor piece. She slipped a thick glass plate into place as shielding, then bolted it in. Twilight wiped the sweat from her forehead as she set the breastplate to the side, then looked over her plans.

All four legs were crossed out, and various notes about progress had been added to the midsection of her suit. The only section that hadn’t been touched was the helmet section. “Hmm...” Twilight hummed, looking over her design for the helmet. “I’ll work on that tomorrow,” she said, circling the head section. She then folded up the plans and pushed them aside, making room for another batch of scraps she needed to piece together.

The sixth day of Twilight’s capture found her finishing off the body segment of her armor and moving on to the neck and helmet. She only needed to fold a few pieces of armor and attach them for neck protection, but the helmet was significantly harder.

She started with a casing for her horn, which would be able to absorb the magic energies she output and convert them into a usable resource for the suit. This in turn would allow her to cast spells that were amplified by the suit and her mage reactor. It also protected her horn from battle damage and magical interference -- not that she expected much from griffons. Most importantly, it would disrupt the signal controlling her horn suppressor.

After making a casing, she attached it to the frame of the helmet and continued on to make the dome of the head and the back of it, then welding on the side pieces. Before long, she had a sturdy looking helmet which only lacked a faceplate.

Twilight opted to build that later as she began to cast magical enchantments on all of the pieces to bolster their defenses. One protective spell after another was infused into the armor. They weren’t the best they could be, but it was all she could put together with sparse resources and little time.

When she finished, the suit looked less like a bunch of scrap metal welded together and more like the armaments of a runic warrior, engraved with arcane symbols and other magical additions.

“Only one piece left,” Twilight said, filing down three holes in the faceplate until they were smooth. When that was finished, she slid it into the helmet and locked it in place. Taking a step back, she looked over her creation as it laid in structured pieces in front of her.

“Crude, but hopefully effective.” A glance at the clock told her that her time was about spent, so tomorrow she would need to make her move. “Almost time, Twilight,” she mumbled, dimming the lights in the room. Falling into the mattress at the corner of her room, she dragged the light blanket across her and began to snore.


- - -


She didn’t know what time it was, but all she knew was that her room was suddenly filled with light and shouting. Twilight brought a hoof over her eyes as they adjusted. Her senses began to return and the shouts became more audible. Before she knew it, a talon grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the bed. She was met face to face with Garrett.

“What is this?” he hissed, pointing behind him. Another griffon was holding up her chest piece and curiously looking over it, attempting to fit it on his body.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, still tired and not adjusted to the light. “It’s for protection...” she mumbled, finishing off with a yawn.

Garrett growled, shaking her foreleg. “Don’t play games with me, Sparkle! What is it protection for?”

“Magic overexposure and arcane resistance,” she replied, starting to wake up. “I need it to effectively enhance the equipment and produce the power sources.”

The griffon let go of her arm, then called over another who was holding one of her leg pieces. “And just what is this for? Why do you need four of them!?”

“Different prototypes of weapons. Not completed yet.”

“Do you think I’m stupid, Miss Sparkle? Did you think you could plan this without me noticing?”

Twilight looked from the other griffon to Garrett and grimaced. “You asked me to make weapons, so I’m making you weapons. If anything, I need more time.”

Garrett growled and turned away from her. “I gave you a week. It’s been six days and you’ve made no significant progress.” He then looked back to her and scowled. “I may reconsider if you can show me something tomorrow.”

The unicorn gulped, but her gaze never softened. “I’ll have something. You’ll see.”

“I better,” Garrett replied, flicking his tail. He looked to the two other griffons and gave them a hand signal. With a nod, they departed the room, leaving Twilight alone. She waited until their footsteps faded off before letting out a deep breath and feeling her body enveloped in a cold sweat.

“Tomorrow... I’ll find out if it was all worth it.”


- - -


“She’s waking up, Garrett,” said the griffon watching over Twilight’s cell. Next to him, Garrett was laying on a makeshift bed made from blankets and clothing. At the sound of his voice, Garrett slowly opened his eyes and stood up, shaking his feathers out as he did so.

“And what’s she doing?” He grumbled sitting down in front of the monitor and rubbing his eyes. “This is her last day, so I hope she has something  good set up.”

“Well, she’s at the workbench now. Looks like she’s putting on the gun. Oh, she’s putting the second one on, too.” He leaned in and stared at the monitor. “Huh... the third and fourth ones are on as well.”

“Wait, what?” Garrett looked at the monitor as well, watching the unicorn strap on more pieces of metal.

The other griffon sat back, a confused look on his face. “Just what is she doing? Any idea, Ga-” he was cut off as he looked towards the other griffon and found a searing scowl on his face.

“I know exactly what she’s doing,” Garrett growled, watching the unicorn strap on the neck piece, followed by the helmet. “And she isn’t getting away with it!” He then watched as Twilight looked to the camera and raised a foreleg. A blast shot out and the camera screen turned to static. With an enraged yell, Garrett flapped his wings and rushed out of the room.

Twilight breathed heavily as adrenaline pumped through her system. The suit was working, and it was working well. With another surge of energy, she shot a large blast at the door, shattering it to pieces. To her relief, she didn’t feel the magic disruptor change. Moments later, the grinding of metal echoed through the room and hallway as she ran as fast as she could outside.

Yelling could already be heard from down the halls, so Twilight ran the opposite direction they came from. As she did, she charged up a teleport spell to try and escape, but all it did was fizzle out. “Damn, do they have this whole place spell-proof?”

“Hey, stop!” came a yell from behind her. She spun around and shot a blast of energy at the griffon, which hit him square in the chest and sent him to the ground.

Not waiting for more griffons to show up, Twilight continued running, looking for any sign of an exit. Almost like a blessing, she spotted a literal exit sign at the end of the hallway. pointing to the left. She reached it and turned, looking for another sign.

A door in front of her burst open, with several griffons pouring out and wielding electrically crackling spears and swords. She put her head down and charged at them, silently praying that her armor worked. For a brief moment she felt small impacts and jolts against her head and shoulders, followed by several larger hits as she barreled through the small group.

Twilight took another turn, following the next exit sign. It lead her up a series of stairs, then to another long hallway. She recognized this area as being near the infirmary. Far ahead, she saw a set of doors, and her heart skipped a beat at the thought of freedom.

Then, Garrett himself came from one of the connecting hallways, yelling “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

The unicorn shot a burst of magic, but he dodged it easily. The same happened with the next two shots, so Twilight had to resort to a trick up her sleeve. She shielded her eyes and lifted a foreleg as a cartridge popped out from the side and shot a solid beam of magic. It swept through the entire hallway, clipping Garrett’s wing as it reached the end of it’s arc and sending him to the ground.

Twilight ran past him, nearly reaching the doors before an unexpected magic blast came from behind her and knocked her off balance. As she stumbled and tried to regain her footing, she saw Garrett leaning against the wall with a tube shaped object that smoked from the end. Another blast erupted from it, but this time Twilight anticipated it and put up a shield. The blast deflected off of it and shot back into the hall, destroying part of the wall.

The section of building it hit collapsed, filling the hall with rubble and dust. Twilight used this opportunity to crash through the doors and out into the world again.

She gasped as she found herself at the base of a snow covered mountain; an area she recognized as being deep in the griffon lands. From behind her, she heard yelling as Garrett recovered and brought reinforcements.

Twilight gulped, whispering “Please work” over and over as she began to gallop forward. With a spark of magic, the bottoms of her hooves ignited in magnificent plumes of flame, with enough for to send her skyward. She haphazardly took to the air, flailing as she tried to maintain her balance, but the jets seemed to have a mind of their own.

She careened over a large hill in front of the base, reaching the peak of her flight just as the rockets cut out. “Oh no, oh no, no, no!” she cried, trying to get the jets working again. As the ground got closer and closer, she curled her body together and braced for the impact, which came moments later.

With a loud thud and the horrific screech of metal twisting and bending, she hit the snow covered plains and tumbled forward, sailing out of the remnants of her armor and rolling across the ground.

She sputtered and coughed, getting the snow out of her mouth. Every part of her body ached, and she was sure one of her limbs was either broken or sprained, but she pushed herself up and forced herself to walk forward. “Come on... Twilight. Keep going...” she mumbled, pushing her body to keep moving.

Then, in the distance, she saw bright blue and gold, followed by a streak of rainbow.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Here! I’m over here!” Twilight screamed, flailing her forehooves in the air. The colors in the distance began to take shape, turning into a V-formation of pegasi. In their wake were stormy trails which briefly crackled with energy before fading off, except for the pegasus in the middle, who had the seven colors of the rainbow following her.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled again, stumbling over herself and landing in the snow again. She was quick to regain her footing, and by then the Wonderbolts were nearly upon her.

Dash landed a short ways away from Twilight, but that didn’t slow the pegasus down at all. She skirted across the snow, kicking up powder behind her, until she had gotten within several yards. “Twilight!” she called back, flaring her wings in attempt to stop herself. She dug her hooves into the ground and tripped, rolling along the snow. With an athletic kick, she jumped upright just in time to grab Twilight in a hug. “I never thought I’d see you again, egghead!”

Twilight wiped her eyes and returned the hug, ignoring whatever sprains and injuries she had. “I didn’t think I’d see you again either, Dash.”

Dash briefly shook the snow off her wings and flight suit, then pulled her goggles up to reveal her moistened eyes. “Don’t go scaring us like that, Twi. You’re just lucky that we were able to recognize those griffons at the party.”

Twilight smiled, then winced as the pain in her leg came back. “You can tell me all about it on the way, Dash, but can we get out of here?”

The pegasus nodded, then tapped the small device in her ear. “Get that airship over here, stat! We have a unicorn to bring home.”


- - -


The airship landed against the dock with a thud, which woke Twilight from her well-deserved rest. It was a medium-sized craft, meant for holding several ponies, but this time it only contained herself and the pilot. The Wonderbolts guarded the vessel closely during it’s rescue mission, patrolling around the hull. Luckily, they hadn't met any resistance on the return trip; griffon or otherwise.

The mare looked out the window, watching the Equestrian sky. She laid on one of the few sitting cushions in the cargo area of the ship, covered in a military blanket. It was all the had for her, but she appreciated it.

Several moments passed before the door opened, and Rainbow Dash poked her head inside. Her goggles hung limply around her neck, sitting alongside the pulled down head section of her suit. She quickly brushed a lock of messy, multicolored hair away from her eyes before speaking. “Come on, champ. You're back home.”

Twilight sat up, already missing the feel of the soft cushion under her. Instead, she found solace in the fresh suit they had prepared for her. She limped forward, taking care with the cast around her left foreleg. Dash raised a hoof as the unicorn approached, which Twilight took eagerly. “Thanks, Dash,” Twilight said, with a smile.

“No trouble at all, Twi. Just doing my job.” Twilight wrapped her foreleg around Dash's neck and the two of them stepped out of the airship and into the bright sun.

There was a small crowd gathered around the docking platform, who began to stomp their hooves on the ground and cheer as they spotted the purple unicorn. Amongst them were Princess Celestia and Spike, the latter dabbing his eyes with a tissue as he smiled brightly in Twilight's direction.

“Wow, there's a lot of ponies here...” Twilight mumbled, scanning over the crowd.

Dash chuckled, shaking her head and looking over to Twilight. “You're kinda popular, kiddo. You know, richest pony in Equestria, revolutionary of the century? That kinda thing. A lot of ponies care about you.”

Twilight could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and glanced down, attempting to fend off the shower of compliments. “I guess so.”

The two made their way to Celestia and Spike, who stood in front of the same personal carriage that brought Twilight to Fancypants's party. As they approached, Spike made an audible sniffle and ran to Twilight, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

“Gosh, Spike, you really must have missed me.” She put her working hoof around his waist, returning the gesture. After a moment, Spike pulled back and wiped his reddened eyes again.

“More than anything, Twilight!” He then noticed the cast around her leg and stepped back, looking her over. “Jeeze, are you alright?!” More injuries like small cuts and bruises became apparent, and judging by his expression, Twilight could tell he saw them.

“Oh, I'm fine, really Spike. It's just a sprained leg, that's all.” She gave a smile to comfort him, which seemed to work.

“Are... are you sure? I mean, shouldn't we get you to the hospital?”

“We can do that later, Spike,” she said, a new tone of resolve in her voice. “First, everypony needs to know that I'm okay.”

“And I'm more grateful for that than you could ever imagine.”

Twilight and Spike both snapped their heads up to look at Princess Celestia, who had quietly approached them during the conversation. She leaned down and nuzzled against Twilight's neck, and the unicorn returned the affection. “Princess Celestia! I mean, uh, Celestia,“ Twilight said, correcting herself. “Thank you for being here.”

The sun princess merely smiled, looking over her former student. “Think nothing of it, Twilight. Even if you've moved on in life, I still care greatly for you. In fact, I sent out investigations as soon as I heard you went missing.”

Twilight sighed, looking up to Celestia. “I don't know what would have happened if the Wonderbolts hadn’t gotten to me in time...”

Rainbow Dash nudged Twilight's side and grinned. “Good thing we're awesome, huh? Soon as we got the intel, I had the team out in a jiffy. I wasn't gonna let any griffon scumbags make a captive out of one of my friends!”

The four of them chuckled for a moment, then a brief silence fell over them. A few seconds passed before Celestia spoke up. “As much as seeing you safe pleases me, you should get home, Twilight. Get some rest. You've no doubt had a stressful week, so have some personal time.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “I, on the other hoof, need to contact a certain griffon king.”

Twilight nodded, then looked to Spike. “Pr- Celestia is right. I just... need to sit down and have a drink or something.” She then sighed, feeling the exhaustion beginning to wash over her.

Dash took her foreleg off of Twilight and nodded as well. “I gotta get back to HQ and report our success.” She spread her wings and gave them a light flap. Then, she saluted the three of them. “Princess. Spike. Twi. Catch ya later.” With a powerful flap, she took to the air and sped towards the rest of Canterlot, leaving a multicolored trail in her wake.

After Rainbow had gone, Celestia nuzzled Twilight's neck again. “Be safe, Twilight Sparkle. We'll talk soon.”

“Farewell, Celestia.”

The princess stepped back as her horn lit up, and a moment later, she disappeared with a flash, leaving Twilight and Spike by themselves. Spike held the door of the carriage open and helped Twilight inside. After the two had taken their seats, Spike opened a small panel between themselves and the driver, then said “Bring us to Miss Sparkle's estate.” Twilight cringed at that particular form of her name, thoughts of Garrett coming to mind. Then, she looked down at the very faint blue glow emitting through her suit. Luckily, none of them had noticed it.

The carriage began to move and Spike sat down next to Twilight, taking a deep breath. He opened his mouth to say something, but Twilight spoke before him. “Actually, Spike, take us to Sparkle Industries and call the press. I want to make my announcement now.”

Spike blinked a few times. “Really? I mean, you just got back to Equestria. You don't want to take a nap or something?”

“Not yet. Ponies need to know I'm alright before anything.” A loud gurgle then sounded through the carriage, and Twilight glanced down to her stomach and blushed. “On second thought, go to the nearest fast food place. I need some Equestrian hay fries.”

The dragon shrugged, then told the driver the new instructions. Afterwards, he pulled out his phone and began to make a few calls.


- - -


A crowd had gathered outside of Sparkle Industries, many with notepads, cameras and microphones. Barely held back by the various security ponies, they eagerly looked about for any sign of Twilight. They murmured to each other about her disappearance, with the occasional “how did she escape?” and “is she okay?” It wasn’t long before a gasp and a pointed hoof had them look in the direction of Twilight’s approaching carriage.

As the shiny black vehicle rolled to a stop in front of the building, Spike opened the door and hopped out, then motioned to the security team. “Move it, move it!” he yelled, trying to push the crowd out of the way. “Press ponies, move inside to the meeting room. Sparkle Industries employees, you’re free to greet your boss. Everypony else,” he looked at the remaining ponies, consisting of various passerby and confused onlookers. “Eh, you can stick around I guess. Just don’t cause any trouble!”

Spike then turned back and reached a paw out. Twilight grabbed it and stepped out of the carriage and was met by a round of applause from her coworkers. One of them in particular, the words “Head of R&D” adorning her suit, trotted over to Twilight and wrapped a foreleg around her neck. “Twilight, we were worried sick about you! Thank goodness you’re okay.” She stepped back, looking over the cast and various scrapes. “Well, mostly okay.”

Twilight chuckled, looking back to the blue mare. “Glad to know you cared, Trixie,” she said, with a smile. “How have things been since my capture?” Twilight began to walk forward, Spike and Trixie walking alongside her.

Trixie sighed. “In a word, stressful. However, Spike has been doing a great job covering for you.” She gave Spike a smile, while the dragon merely nodded in agreement. “The R&D sector is running on schedule, and we’ve started assembling prototypes of the self defense units you designed.”

A cold sweat fell over Twilight as she heard ‘self defense.’ It was the same moniker the griffons had given their weapons, and now that she thought on it, she was doing the exactly the same. “Right... about those...” Twilight began, eliciting a curious glance from Trixie.

“Yes, Twilight? Is something the matter?”

The gentle hiss of sliding door came as they walked through, giving Twilight just a moment more to think. “I... Well, you’ll hear in just a bit.”

Trixie nodded. “Right, your sudden press conference. I’m certain the media is just dying to hear what you’ve got to tell them.” They then entered a crowded room full of photographers and journalists, who were quick to start stomping their hooves in applause.

“I don’t think the company will like it...” Twilight muttered under her breath. Neither Spike nor Trixie heard her, so she put on her best smile as the cameras flashed and she was hounded with question after question.

“Twi, I’ll see you after you’re done!” Spike said over the crowd, right before disappearing into it.  Twilight nodded in his direction, then approached the podium with Trixie at her side. Her horn briefly glowed as she levitated her body just enough to lift her working leg up, tap the microphone and gain everypony’s attention.

“Good afternoon, everypony. Now-” She cringed as a spike of pain went through her foreleg. Trixie gave her a concerned glance, yet tried to keep her smile on. Twilight cleared her throat, then continued.

In the back of the room, behind the crowd, stood Spike. He patiently watched Twilight and gave the occasional glance at his wristwatch. It was then that he felt a tap at his shoulder, and glancing over, found an orange maned mare standing next to him. “Sir Spike?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s me,” he answered, fully turning his head to look at her. She wore a black, professional looking suit and an earpiece. Spike felt like he knew this pony from somewhere, and a quick look at her flank revealed it. It was a bundle of three carrots, though the pony standing in front of him looked like she hadn’t worked with farming in years. “Don’t I know you from Ponyville?”

“It’s possible, but it’s been a very long time since I stepped hoof in that town,” she replied. “I’m agent Harvest of the Battle Readiness Intelligence Division of the Lunar Echelons.” She took out her badge and flashed it in front of Spike before tucking it away.

The dragon blinked. “That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?”

“We’re working on it. I’m here to discuss with Miss Sparkle the details of her escape from Griffon territory.”

Spike frowned and crossed his arms. “She’s a pretty busy mare, which I’m sure you can understand.”

The agent didn’t falter. “I understand, but it’s an important issue. Can you make an appointment for when she’s free?”

“I suppose I can,” Spike said, with a sigh. “I’ll write something in and we’ll see what Twi- er, Miss Sparkle can do.

Agent Harvest nodded. “Thank you. I look forward to our meeting.” She reached into her jacket and took out a business card. “You’ll be needing this.” Spike took the card from her outstretched hoof and put it into his own pocket, then nodded. After the brief exchange, the agent turned and walked away, leaving Spike alone. A few moments passed before he looked back to Twilight and started listening.

“...and as you can see, I’ve come out of it a little worse for wear, but am otherwise fine. The offending griffon group is being investigated and will hopefully meet Equestrian justice, sooner rather than later.” Twilight paused, taking a brief glance at Trixie, then looking back to the crowd. “And... because of the circumstances and new information I’ve discovered, Sparkle Industries will be cancelling its self defense division, effective immediately.”

The room ignited into questions, chatter and camera flashes as Twilight stepped back from the podium. She motioned to Trixie, who was doing her best to maintain her composure, and walked off of the small stage, ignoring the torrent of attention aimed at her. The blue mare nodded back and took Twilight’s place, in an effort to diffuse the commotion.


- - -


Twilight sighed as the elevator doors slid open, revealing her untouched office. Spike must have cleaned it while I was away, she thought, looking at the polished surfaces and general cleanliness of the room. As she approached her desk, her horn glowed and the drawer opened, producing her cherished bottle. Pouring a small amount into a glass, she brought it to her lips and downed it instantly. She closed her eyes as the fiery liquid went down her throat and made her hair stand on end.

Eyes still shut, she put the glass down and capped the bottle, then breathed out. After the burning had subsided, she opened her eyes and undid her suit. She looked down at the softly glowing mage reactor and put a hoof over it, feeling the soft warmth it was emitting. The organic tissue around it was still scarred and damaged, but it was working. She was alive.

Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard the elevator doors hiss open. She quickly buttoned her undershirt and jacket up before turning around and finding Trixie entering, with a less than pleased look on her face. “Hello, Trixie,” she said, opening the bottle again without looking. “Drink?”

“Twilight,” Trixie began, the stern look on her face never faltering, “Shouldn’t you have consulted the rest of the board before making your little announcement today? Or at the very least, consulted me?”

“I did what I felt was best for the company, and for Equestria as a whole,” Twilight replied, taking a sip of her drink.

“So you cancel an entire division that thousands of pony-hours and millions of bits has gone into, completely unannounced? Pardon me if I feel you’ve made a mistake, Twilight.” Trixie adjusted her suit, but never took her eyes off of the pony in front of her.

Twilight finished her second drink and set the glass down. “I saw things when I was out there, Trixie. Awful things. My own work was being turned against me. My own designs were being... being cannibalized, and twisted into something they shouldn’t be. I don’t want that sort of thing ever seeing Equestria. Not now. Not ever.” She shook her head and walked behind her desk, then slumped into her chair.

“But Twilight, why aren’t you using this experience as a lesson?” Trixie protested, approaching the desk. “With self defense technology, you wouldn’t have been captured in the first place! And think of all we can accomplish, and the profits we can produce from providing other cou-”

“No!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming a hoof on the table. Trixie stopped speaking and merely looked at the enraged mare with widened eyes. Twilight paused and took a breath, then spoke more softly. “No. That’s exactly what I want to avoid. I don’t want this technology being handed out across the world, where it can be used against us.”

Trixie glanced to the side and quickly levitated a chair over. She pulled it up to the desk and sat down, resting her forelegs on the polished surface. “Look, Twilight... I don’t know what happened over there. Nopony does, really. But you have to take everything into consideration. The company was going in a good direction with this new division, and a lot of investing has been done. If you keep it cancelled, a lot of ponies are going to back out, and Sparkle Industries isn’t going to be reliable. Surely, you can see that?”

“I thought long and hard about this, Trixie,” Twilight began, touching her forehooves together. “I know what can be done with our technology when put into the wrong hooves. I know because I was forced to build it.” She sighed and leaned back in the chair. “If the company needs to take a loss so that the rest of the world is denied this... evil... then so be it.”

“Twilight... I’ll say this one more time...” Trixie began, sitting up. Twilight narrowed her gaze.

“Trixie...”

“You need to consider the options here, and think about the potential...”

“Trixie.”

“And the good of the company, and for all the investors, I’m asking you to reconsider your stance...

“Trixie!” Twilight exclaimed, abruptly standing up. “This decision is final. I’m not changing my mind!” The blue mare furrowed her brow and stood up as well.

“Well who else is going to knock some sense into you, Twilight?!” Trixie yelled back. “Since when does Twilight Sparkle throw thousands of hours of research out the window? Since when does Twilight Sparkle set back Equestria’s technology because it might be harmful? Since when does Twilight Sparkle... give up?!” She sputtered, staring daggers into Twilight. The opposing mare merely leaned back and narrowed her eyes.

“Get out.”

“So that’s it, then?” Trixie asked, stepping back. “That’s how you’re going to handle this?” Her eyes trailed to the bottle on Twilight’s desk, which she pointed a hoof towards. “Your drinks aren’t going to numb the blow this company is about to take, Twilight, and it’s going to be us picking up the pieces.”

“I said, get out,” Twilight snarled, turning away from Trixie. She blew a lock of silver mane out of her face and opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn’t find the words.

“As you wish, Miss Sparkle,” Trixie said, turning around. She walked towards the elevator and stepped in, then silently left.

Twilight shook from sheer rage and did her best not to scream in frustration. Behind her, the cap to the bottle softly squeaked as it twisted open.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dark carriage rolled up to Twilight’s estate, stopping in front of the decorated iron gate. It had been a suggestion from Rarity, who had urged her to ‘move closer to where the action was’ and to live in a protected home. After her business had picked up, she’d had more than enough bits to finally get around to purchasing a Canterlot home.

The carriage door opened and out stepped Spike, who held out a claw to Twilight. She took hold of it and stepped down, then motioned to the driver, who began to trot off. Twilight approached the gate, and as she came within a few steps of it, beams of light shone from small glass orbs in both of the stone pillars the gate was attached to.  The soft blue beams sweeped and cascaded down her body, scanning her several times. “Good evening, Twilight,” a voice said, originating from an unseen speaker system. A click was heard, and then the gate slid open. “And good evening, Spike,” it added, as the dragon followed Twilight through the gate.

“So...” Spike began, keeping pace with Twilight as they made their way towards the door. “What are we going to do about the fallout?”

“Well, I know we’re a bit... tense with each other right now, but I want you to work with Trixie and get things sorted out with the media,” she responded, frowning slightly. “She’s always been better with crowds.”

“That’s for sure,” Spike said, remembering their first few encounters with her. “But yeah, I’ll call her soon and set something up. Now, what are you going to do?” By this point, they had reached the main entrance, a dark oak door with a single clear window and few gold accents. Once they stepped inside, the lights to the foyer faded in, along with a few other rooms.

“I’m going to stay quiet for awhile. I just need some time to myself is all.” Twilight looked at Spike and smiled. “You can handle things for a bit, right?”

Spike crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “I guess I can.” He glanced back to Twilight and returned the sly grin.

Twilight allowed herself a little giggle. “Still my number one assistant,” she chimed, walking into the next room. It was an open area with a coffee table, several luxurious couches and a spiral staircase that both came from below and continued up above. Between the winding steps was a small indoor waterfall–another of Rarity’s ideas–which cascaded down a frosted glass base. “I’m going to head down to my lab, Spike. I’ll call you if I need anything,” she said, beginning to descend the staircase.

“And I’ll be... here,” he replied, motioning to the surrounding area. “Probably on the phone...”

“That’s my dragon!” Twilight called, now halfway down the stairs.

Spike sighed and shook his head, then started up the stairs towards the office. He had a lot of talking to do.


- - -


After hitting several buttons on a touchpad, the glass door to her personal lab opened, revealing everything she truly loved. Wide bookcases bordered the room, piled high with tomes and scrolls of every subject. Many half finished projects were scattered around workbenches, and magitech tools of every variety were neatly aligned and ready for use. Twilight couldn’t help but smile as she walked in and breathed in the familiar smell.

She then approached her pride and joy: the Drawing Board. It was a large table near the middle of the room with a metallic finish and a very fine grid etched into it. As she approached, it hummed to life and glowed with purple energy.

“Back from your surprise vacation, Twilight?” It was the same voice from over the intercom earlier, but this time it seemed to come from everywhere at once. It was masculine but soft at the same time, and with every bit of snark and sarcasm that Twilight possessed.

“Very funny, Dusk Shine,” she replied, waving her hoof across the board. “Now, we have work to do.”

“I don’t suppose it has anything to do with the extremely potent magical device I’ve scanned, does it?”

“Quite observant of you,” Twilight said, as several panes of holographic interface materialized in front of her. “However, it needs to be more efficient for what I have planned.”

“Should I more thoroughly scan you for dimensions and energy outputs?”

Twilight’s horn shone as her jacket and shirt were unbuttoned, removed, and hung up, fully exposing the mage reactor. “Of course. While you’re at it, start up a new personal project. Name it... Generation II.”

“Right away, Twilight. Performing scan.”

She swiped a hoof upwards, producing a holographic mesh of a unicorn. With a flick, it spun around several times, then she lifted a group of virtual parts from the table. The pieces were put together around the model pony, creating a digital replica of the armor she wore while escaping the griffons. Twilight scrutinized the design as it slowly rotated, looking at every nook and cranny of it.

“Scan complete.”

Twilight’s ears perked up, but she continued looking at the model. “What’ve you got for me, Dusk?”

“Current output measures at three gigathaums per second. Scans indicate the current design can be refined to reach twelve gigathaums per second. Further improvement in power output does not appear possible.”

A digital folder popped up, which Twilight pushed the armor designs into, then flicked elsewhere on the board. “I think I’ll leave the impossible one for later. Can you render the new reactor blueprints for me?”

“Of course. They should be digitizing now.” After a few seconds, a rotating model of the new reactor floated in the center of the board, which then untwisted and separated to reveal all of its different parts. Various measurements and notes hovered next to each one, and below it all on the surface was a dedicated blueprint.

“Thank you very much, Dusk,” she said, taking one of the holographic parts in her hoof and looking it over. “Start getting the work area and the parts ready.” A pair of safety goggles floated from one of the workbenches and fit snugly over her eyes, while she pulled her mane back and tied it into a ponytail.  “We’ve got science to do.”


- - -


Several days had passed since Twilight’s public announcement, and Spike was doing his best to keep control over the company. He and Trixie had attempted to calm the shareholders and board of directors with numbers and statistics about other routes of profit for Sparkle Industries, but that was met with a lukewarm response at best. The dragon entered the Sparkle estate with their meeting summary, planning on giving her the news.

Spike walked down the spiral staircase, heading to Twilight’s lab. He was looking down at his clipboard as he tapped the security panel, and continued reading through the papers even as he walked inside. “Hey, Twi–”

“Not now, Spike!” she exclaimed, causing the dragon to look up in surprise. It was then that he saw Twilight sitting in an operating chair, levitating a device in front of her. It wasn’t long before he noticed the hole in her chest, outlined with a metal wall.

Spike cautiously approached Twilight, and up close he noticed the beads of sweat forming on her brow from concentration, along with her shaking. “W... what is that?”

Twilight grunted as the device slide inside the hole and turned, locking it into place. For a few moments after, she continued magically shifting something else that Spike couldn’t see. Finally, her horn stopped glowing and she took a deep breath. “Whew... alright. That’s done with,” she said, sliding off the chair and getting back onto her hooves.

“What the heck was that, Twilight?” Spike asked, motioning to her chest cavity’s newest addition.

“This, Spike, is a mage reactor.” She lightly tapped the reactor with her hoof. Walking around Spike, she came to another metal desk that contained a variety of tools and a similar looking reactor. She floated that one up to Spike. “This is the original, which I built when I was in captivity.”

Spike cocked his head and grabbed it out of the air, flipping it over in his hands several times. “Is this some kind of advanced MECC? It seems like it generates energy.”

Twilight smiled. “You’re right about that. It generates a lot of energy.” She took the reactor back from Spike and dropped it in a cardboard box. “And now that I have this new one, I can get rid of the old one.”

“Okay, it’s good that you have a better power generator now, but that doesn’t explain why one of them is stuck in your chest,” Spike said, frowning.

The unicorn dropped her cheerful demeanor and sat down, then looked at the dragon. “It’s to keep me alive, Spike.”

“Wha... what?” Spike started, his eyes widening. “What happened to you, Twilight?!” He grabbed a nearby chair and took a seat next to, waiting for her reply.

“Well, to put it simply, there’s a hoofful of shrapnel lodged in my chest.” She saw Spike open his mouth and added in “From a grenade,” which stopped him. “So now I have an arcanomagnet in my chest which is stopping the shrapnel from reaching my heart. It’s powered by this little guy.” Twilight smiled softly as she glanced down to her mage reactor. “Without it, I’d be a dead mare.”

She felt Spike’s arms wrap around her as he leaned over for a hug, which she returned in full. After a few silent moments, Spike pulled back and wiped one of his eyes. “I’m glad you’re here, Twi,” he said, doing his best to go back to a professional demeanor.

Twilight grinned, playfully rubbing his spines–something she hadn’t done in years. “I’m glad too, Spike.”

“Hey, I need to keep those straight!” Spike replied, chuckling and backing away slightly.

After the laughter subsided, Twilight sat up and shook herself off, preparing to move on to her next task. She then noticed the clipboard Spike had and paused. “Is that what you came down here for?”

Spike looked at Twilight for a few moments before blinking and realizing what she was referring to. “Oh, right! Yeah, I came down here to show you the meeting summary for this week.” He stood up and flipped through the papers before pulling out a small stack of them. He handed them to the unicorn, who floated them in front of her as she started walking to the drawing board.

Twilight mumbled to herself as she looked through the notes, letting out the occasional sigh or shaking her head in disappointment.

“So, who else knows?” Spike asked, leaning against the board near Twilight and folding his arms. “About... well, you know.” He nodded his head in the Twilight’s direction.

“Just you so far,” she replied, getting through the last of the notes. “I haven’t found a good time to tell anypony yet.” Twilight tapped the papers against the table to organize them, then floated them back to Spike, who plucked them out of the air.

“You should at least tell Celestia about it,” he said, putting the notes back in his clipboard. “I think she’d want to know.”

Twilight glanced down and bit her lip in thought. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. I’ll have to meet with her sometime soon.”

Spike instinctively pulled a pen out of his pocket and clicked it. “Want me to set that up now?”

“No, no, I’ll do it on my own time,” Twilight said, waving a hoof. “Don’t worry about it.”

Spike tucked the pen away. “Whatever you say, Twilight.” He then glanced at his watch, frowning in disapproval. “I’ve gotta do some more paperwork before the day ends, so I’ll see you... soon. I’ll see you soon,” Spike said, moving away from the table.

“No problem, Spike. Thanks for keeping me updated. Oh!” She levitated the box that contained her old mage reactor near Spike, who eyed it curiously. “Can you bring this up on the way?”

Spike grabbed the box and peered inside. “Yeah, sure. What do you want me to do with it?”

“Just put it somewhere safe, alright?” The two nodded at each other before Spike headed off. Twilight watched him go through the door, then listened to him move up the stairs until the sound of his footprints disappeared. As soon as they did, she turned around and floated up the model of the pony she created previously. “Dusk, mark ‘Install Mage Reactor v2’ as complete, then open up all the Generation II files.”

“Your digital checklist has been updated,” Dusk said, as numerous part blueprints digitized on the board. “And I’m happy to say you’ve completed your work for today. Shall I prepare a celebratory drink?”

“Not today, Dusk,” Twilight said, removing a few pieces from the model and dropping them into a virtual trash can. “Because I’m about to add a whole lot more.”

“Wonderful.”


- - -


Twilight dabbed at the frame with her soldering iron several times before backing away and looking over the piece. She floated the iron back into its holder, then pulled off her safety goggles. “That looks like it worked,” she said, picking up the casing and slipping it over her hoof.

She took a quick walk around the table with it on. “Flexibility and comfort is right on target. That’s four for four!”

Twilight levitated the other three boot frames onto the ground and stepped into them, wiggling her hooves to get them to settle in. Once they were secured, she took another walk, this time to the center of the room. Every step made a loud clang which echoed through the lab.

She floated over several electrical wires and a harness, then began to connect the boots to her reactor. “Dusk, get the recorder and the monitors ready. I’m going for the first test fire.”

“Right away,” it replied, as a small orb dropped from the ceiling. Before it hit the ground, small bursts of magic erupted from beneath it and caused it to float. Once it stabilized, it hovered in front of Twilight and erected a camera lens from its middle. A red light indicated it had begun recording.

“Alright,” Twilight said, plugging in the last wire, “All hooked up.” She then cleared her throat and looked at the camera. “Day 4, test one. Attempting to achieve lift and maintain stability with mouth control.” She took a breath, then adjusted herself. “Going to play it safe and start at 1% power output. The power ratios are too unpredictable at the moment to try any higher. Now, on three.”

She cracked her neck and shifted her weight once more. “One... Two... Three.”

Twilight bit down on the control and felt a surge of power in her hooves. She lifted several inches off the ground and stayed in place, steadied by bright orange flame shooting out of the boots. She glanced down, taking care not to lose her grip on the control, and watched her wobbling legs as her body adjusted to the new sensation of flight. After several seconds of this, she let go and dropped to the floor.

As the controller fell out of her mouth, Twilight took a deep breath. “Whew, okay, alright. That... that works,” she said, with a gulp. “It also might take awhile to get used to...” She shook in place, despite the very brief air time. “Dusk, did you get all that?”

“Of course. Total airtime was thirteen point two seconds, at an elevation of five inches. Total force output by thrusters was 549.36 thaums, at 137.34 thaums per thruster.”

“G-good! Great,” Twilight said, cracking a smile. “So thrusters... thrusters work.”

“That would appear so.”

“Alright, good. Yes. Very good. Uh... exoskeleton time!” She exclaimed, taking a step forward. Forgetting that the boots were on, she promptly tripped over the weight and collapsed to the ground in a heap of unicorn. Her face pressed against the cold floor and she had a look of defeat. “...Dusk Shine?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“No more flight tests for tonight.”

“Noted.”


- - -


“Twilight, you have a visitor,” Dusk’s voice echoed throughout the room. The unicorn looked up from the helmet she was piecing together and looked at the door curiously.

“Who is it?” she asked, standing up and bringing the helmet with her. While waiting for a reply, she pressed the faceplate against her head and looked through the eye slits.

“It’s Trixie.”

With a “hmph,” Twilight pulled the helmet away and put the assorted parts on the nearby table, then untied her hair. “Tell her to come in.” She shook her mane out and brushed it back, attempting to make herself presentable. She also walked to a nearby storage closet and took out a white shirt, wasting no time in pulling it on. Hopefully she doesn’t get suspicious, she thought, walking to the doors.

She made her way upstairs to find Trixie sitting on one of the couches, sipping at a glass of water. “Interesting fashion choice, Twilight,” Trixie said, glancing up and down Twilight. “What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight lied, trotting over to the couch perpendicular to Trixie’s and taking a seat. “Just a bit cold is all.”

“I see.” Trixie took another sip of her drink, then placed it on the coffee table. “So tell me, Twilight, what are your plans for Sparkle Industries? Have you been working on anything that might be presentable to the board?”

Twilight shifted her weight. “Nothing in particular. I’ve just been looking at some ways to improve on what we currently have.”

“An new generation of MECCs, perhaps?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow. “That would certainly be something they would want to see.” She wiped a stray piece of her mane away. “But at this point, Twilight, showing them anything would be helpful.”

“Nothing like that... just some tweaks here and there,” Twilight replied, with a soft smile. “But I can probably try to develop something! I can look into quicker arcane processors, or a better system for sen–”

“Twilight,” Trixie interrupted, with a stone-faced expression. “Show it to me.”

A cold sweat fell over Twilight, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. “What do you mean, Trixie?”

“You know what I mean. Spike told me. Now come on, let me see it.” She motioned to Twilight’s chest.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Shoulda told him to keep it quiet,” she mumbled, taking off her shirt and tossing it aside. “Here it is.”

Trixie’s eyes widened as the cloth slipped off, revealing the glowing Mage Reactor embedded in Twilight’s chest. She stood up and approached Twilight to get a closer look, staring into the pulsing blue light. “It’s... beautiful,” she said, mouth slightly agape. She reached out a hoof, then glanced up at Twilight. “May I?”

The unicorn nodded and looked away.

Trixie ran her hoof over it, feeling the warmth of the device. “This is really incredible, Twilight,” she said, pulling her foreleg back. “And this keeps you alive?”

“Yeah... stops the shrapnel from getting closer.”

Trixie stepped back and sat down, continuing to look at the reactor. “How did you even... do this?”

Twilight shuddered as the thoughts of her ‘procedure’ flooded back into her head. “I’d rather not talk about the specifics,” she said, frowning. “It was... painful, to say the least.”

“I could only imagine...” Trixie stared at the mage reactor, each electric pulse reflected in her eyes. “Say, Twilight, this might be it.”

The opposing unicorn raised an eyebrow as she levitated her shirt back on. “What do you mean?”

“You know... it! The thing that we’ve been looking for. Something to present to the board for us to start working on.” Trixie put a hoof over the reactor and looked at Twilight. “Just imagine what we could do with this kind of technology. The possibilities are limitless.”

Twilight shook her head and put a hoof up. “I can’t do that.”

The color drained out of Trixie’s face as she recoiled in surprise. “What? Why?”

“It’s not ready for the public yet, Trixie. The power in this little device is...” She traced the outline of the reactor while searching for the words. “It’s too much for Equestria to handle right now. There’s no telling what might happen if this got out there, or if the technology was misused.”

“But Twilight, it’s efficient... it’s... it’s new, it’s powerful... It’s exactly what the company needs right now, and you’re going to deny us that!?” Trixie sputtered in disbelief, staring at Twilight. “You can’t be serious right now!”

“I know it seems awful... and selfish, but you have to understand just how drastic this would be. Revealing the mage reactor would be like revealing MECC technology all over again.”

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing, Twilight?” Trixie stood up and began pacing around the dark coffee table, her soft reflection shimmering on the glass. “If this can advance Equestria as much as you say it can, why would you keep this to yourself?”

“Because I don’t trust them!” Twilight suddenly snapped, her voice and gaze intensifying. “I don’t trust anypony but myself with this technology! Not ponies, not dragons, and not gryphons. Just me. Once I figure out how to make it more accessible to everypony else, or how to develop it so they can all safely benefit, then I’ll publicize it. But until then,” She glanced down at it briefly, then back to Trixie, “it stays with me.”

Trixie sighed, dragging her hoof down her face. “I am trying to work with you here, Twilight. I really am, but you need to give me something. Spike and I can’t keep running the show while you sit here and... do whatever it is you do.” She then got a puzzled expression and tapped her chin. “What do you do all of the time?”

“That’s not important,” Twilight said, standing up and diffusing the issue. “What is important is that I keep developing this technology so that I can help everypony with it, while at the same time securing Equestria’s peace. So, if we’re about done here...” Twilight trailed off, leaning into the couch and looking towards the door.

“Hmph. I see how it is.” Trixie brushed her mane back and turned around. She took several steps towards the door before glancing back. “I really need something from you, Twilight. We can’t keep this up much longer.” She then proceeded forward and took her leave, the door clicking shut behind her.

Twilight stood alone in her living room for countless minutes afterwards, listening to nothing but the waterfall and the hum of her reactor. As the sun set beyond the horizon, she sat up and cracked her neck. Wordlessly, she trotted down the stairs and back into her lab, where the hiss of the door was the only indication that she was there.

“Dusk Shine...”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Set lab to construction mode.”
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Day twelve.” Twilight looked into the camera lens and sighed. “Flight test number four. Attempting mid-air navigation and thrust control. Let’s... let’s get this over with.” She adjusted the mouth control and positioned it in front of her. “On three. One... two... three.”

With a pop, jets at the bottom of each boot flared to life as they were pumped with magical energy. The flames increased in intensity as they lifted Twilight off the ground, and she desperately fought to keep herself stable. It reminded her of the single time she attempted to go ice skating.

Once she was several feet off the ground, her acceleration slowed and she came to a delicate hover. Her limbs wobbled and swayed, but otherwise kept her upright. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she leaned forward and began inching in the same direction. Alright, good, this is working. I am in the air and moving forward. Yes. Good. she thought, beads of sweat beginning to form on her forehead.

After travelling no more than a foot or two, she came to a shaky stop and leaned the opposite way, moving backwards. The movements felt more natural than they had moments before, but she was still shaky. Basic control established... time to do it a bit quicker.

Twilight leaned farther this time, sending her nothing short of zipping through the air, which was met with a panicked resistance and attempt to stop. She lifted one of her forehooves, which sent her off balance and into a spin. “Ah!” she screamed, taking her mouth off the controls. The thrusters immediately cut out and she plummeted to the ground, sliding across the floor as she hit it.

“Should a different test be performed?” Dusk Shine queried.

Twilight groaned and propped herself up on one hoof. “No, I need to learn this.” She stood up the rest of the way and readjusted the controls. “I’m going to get this right.” Biting down, she took to the air with a quick burst of magical energy, a determined look on her face.

Carefully, she moved her legs and body so that she floated in the direction she wanted. She went through forward, backward, and both side motions before moving on to the faster movements again.

She moved to the far end of the lab, until she spun around and had her tail brush the wall. The opposite side had an old poster hanging on it; a Wonderbolts promotional picture that Dash had given her years ago. She was going to reach it in record time.

Twilight cracked her neck and focused on the poster. She felt how each boot lifted her, and how the force changed as she tilted and angled her hooves. She felt how the rest of her body reacted to the movements, and how certain motions caused her to move. Once she had broken it down into math and science, it became nothing more than another problem to solve.

And I know the answer, she thought, lowering her head. With one last breath, she bit down harder on the controls and leaned sharply forward, sending her shooting across the room. While her path was wobbly, she remained on target, and just before hitting the wall she twisted herself so that her boots made contact. A loud metallic clang echoed through the room as she connected, and Twilight could’ve sworn she made several dents. Then, before she fell, she kicked off the wall and landed on the lab floor with a thud.

Twilight spit out the controls and looked upwards, breathing heavily from both adrenaline and exertion. “Yeah, I can fly.”

She allowed herself a few moments to soak in the victory before shaking herself off and unstrapping the boots. “How’s that plating coming, Dusk?” she asked, stepping out and levitating the heavy, metal hoofware over to her workbench.

Sitting upon it was a rough helmet that looked like it conformed perfectly for Twilight’s head. It had no paint and no polish, it even had some hastily taped exposed wiring, yet the two slits in the faceplate managed to make it seem imposing. The only feature it had that looked semi-complete was the gleaming horn on the top, which had an engraved spiral twirling from the base to the rounded tip.

“The designs are 97% finished processing, and a virtual walkaround will be available shortly.”

“Good,” she replied, picking up the helmet. Twilight pulled the faceplate off and slipped the rest of it over her head, patting it down and shifting it until it was snug. “Hmm... how about a bit of magic amplification testing?”

“I wouldn’t recommend that in an enclosed area, Twilight.”

“I’ll be careful with it,” Twilight retorted, waving a dismissive hoof in no particular direction. She took one of the wires from the helmet it and plugged it into the same adapter the boots used, drawing power from the mage reactor. The sudden influx of power caused the spiral on the horn to light up and pulse with energy.

Twilight walked to the same testing area used for the flight and readied herself. Then, she glanced upwards. “Are you getting this, Dusk?”

The AI sighed. “Unfortunately.”

“Hey, don’t get smart with me,” Twilight retorted, with a smile. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Of course you do.”

Ignoring Dusk Shine, Twilight spaced her legs apart and braced herself slightly. “Day 12. Magic Amplification Test #1. Firing a fairly simple magic bolt to gauge enhancement capabilities of the mage reactor. Going on three. One...”

Under the helmet, her horn lit up in preparation of the spell, and the newly introduced magic flowed through the helmet’s metallic horn, giving it a deep magenta glow.

“Two...”

The magic intensified, causing the light running through the spiral to flood with an almost blood red magic color. The energy hissed and crackled, threatening to escape its container like an untamed bolt of lightning.

“Three...”

A dull hum filled the air as the energy built up within the horn compartment, fueled by both Twilight’s natural magic and the limitless power of the mage reactor. Small arcs of crimson electricity danced across the surface, occasionally bolting off and fizzling in an instant. Twilight glanced upwards briefly, having a fleeting moment of doubt which was quickly expelled from her mind.

She let the energy unleash as the spell fired off. Twilight quickly found herself flying backwards as a massive bolt of energy erupted from the top of her head, surging through the lab and burning the air around it with its white hot intensity. The unicorn tumbled across the ground, similar to a stone skipping across a pond, until she smashed into the opposing cabinet. She soon found herself covered in a pile of discarded boxes and manuals with the thick smell of burning in the air.

“Performing fire safety measures.” Dusk Shine’s voice echoed through the room, followed by the telltale sound of a fire extinguisher shooting off. Twilight stumbled out of the pile of junk, only to lose her balance and fall over again. After a moment of rubbing her head, she shakily stood up and looked over the aftermath.

The wall she was aiming at was nothing short of annihilated, with chunks of crumbled stone scattered everywhere in front of it. Dirt from outside the walls leaked into the lab, while the few things that were around the area were charred and smoking. Fire extinguisher foam was splattered all about from Dusk Shine’s efforts.

Twilight blinked several times and tried to open her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t find anything to say. She merely took the helmet off, noticing the horn was smoking and red hot. Finally, she gulped and croaked out, “Magic Amplification... successful.”


- - -


Explaining the large hole in the wall to Spike wasn’t the easiest thing Twilight had ever done, but with a bit of a story and a teeny tiny lie, he wrote it off as another one of the mare’s crazy scientific exploits. Once the suspicion was off of her and she had her typical privacy back, Twilight went straight back to work on her armor. In the several days it took to repair the wall, she had pieced together most of the prototype plating and was ready to try it on for the first time.

All around her laid various pieces of metal, all shaped and conformed to different parts of her body. They all held a dull grey color, for they were still crude and merely meant to fit together. “This was calculated all to fit, right?” Twilight asked, her eyes scanning over the numerous bits and parts.

“Of course, Twilight,” Dusk Shine replied, bringing up a scale model on a nearby monitor. Twilight watched the model spin around as the pieces lined up with it. After a few seconds of watching the animation, she smiled, then looked back to the parts with a more determined gaze.

“Help me out with this, Dusk,” she said, horn lighting up. Wordlessly, a light, semi-transparent monitor hovered over to her and showed a picture of one of the parts, pointing to an area on a pony. It was a setup as a construction manual, with each step adding a new part.

“Step one: Fasten boots,” the AI began, shining a beam of light onto the set of boots. Twilight slid them over with her magic and stepped inside, then tightened the straps and secured them to her hooves.

“Check!” she said, smiling. Dusk announced the next part and pointed at the corresponding piece, waiting until Twilight had stated she was ready. This process continued for some time, slowly coating the unicorn in a layer of metal armor. Finally, she attached both helmet pieces around the sides of her head, taking care to tuck in her mane, then latched the faceplate over the remaining hole.

Her face was surrounded by darkness for a moment, with only a small bit of light seeping in through the slits on the front. Then, the inside came to life and one by one, filled her vision with charts, graphs, and a much clearer view of the world around her. “Support systems are working as intended! Dusk, get in here.”

After a few seconds, Dusk’s voice reverberated through the inside of the helmet. “At your side, milady.” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the chivalrous display, but quickly got down to business.

“Alright, first things first. Import the settings from the lab. Everything should function relatively the same in here.”

“Settings successfully loaded.”

Twilight noticed various preferences and adjustments happening to the hovering interface around her. “Good! Now, let’s do a quick walk around to make sure everything’s working.” She stepped forward, feeling the suit match her movements and walk with her. The motions were smooth, responsive, and most importantly, natural. She made an effortless lap around her drawing board, then trotted another one. “No clunkiness, no metal grinding together, fairly non-restrictive... It’s perfect!”

“I’m thrilled that you think so, Twilight.”

“Why, is something wrong?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“First run scans indicate movement efficiency is only at 47%, with power efficiency even lower at 32%.”

“Oh, of course. That’s to be expected,” Twilight replied, turning to face the drawing board. “This was only a test fit, after all.” She lifted a hoof up, finding it wasn’t quite as non-restrictive as she thought, and managed to bring up the model. “I can already see some problem areas in the shoulders and knees, not to mention the tightness on the hock if I were to stand on my hind legs. Think you can do something about that?”

“Beginning armor optimization.” Before Twilight’s eyes, the plates on the model began to shift and mold. Some parts shrank while others bent and stretched. Others disappeared entirely as they were replaced by surrounding ones. When the model went through its second rotation, Dusk announced that the optimization was complete. The armor was much more refined and sleek, with certain areas broken down into strips of metal that could fold into each other and conform.

Twilight spun the model around and smiled. “Now, that’s what I’m looking for. What are the numbers?”

“Movement efficiency has increased to 70% while power efficiency has increased to 65%. In its current state, these are the highest the suit can achieve without sacrificing protection or utility.”

The unicorn nodded, picking some of the holographic pieces off and inspecting them. “Very good. Get a blueprint and switch systems to production mode. I want to get this finished, calibrated and tested ASAP.” She placed the parts back and hid the model, then trotted over to her desk. Her horn lit and produced a pencil and paper from the desk, which she placed in front of her. “While you’re doing that, I have some planning to do. I need to get this thing on and off somehow...”


- - -


Evening light flooded through the windows of Twilight’s home as the sun descended below the horizon. Twilight herself sat on the living room couch, wearing a thin, white shirt filled with various burn marks and grease stains. Her mane was unkempt, with various strands sticking every which way. She quietly sipped at a cup of tea while watching the news, which was still focused on the state of her company.

Twilight could only sigh as it went over stock drops and falling percentages everywhere, followed by business-type ponies explaining their reasons for why the company would shortly go under. I’ll be back soon. I’ll show them what Twilight Sparkle is made of.

A knock then came from the door, calling Twilight’s attention. She turned her head in the direction of her foyer and set the tea down.

As she walked to the door, she made a vain attempt to tidy up her mane, which probably ended up making it worse. Taking a breath, she opened the door. At first she only saw Trixie, but opening the door further revealed that Filthy Rich was there as well. Twilight couldn’t help but notice Trixie avoiding eye contact and shuffling about in place, while Filthy seemed calm. There was even a small trace of a smile on his aged face.

“Twilight, so good to see you,” he said, extending a hoof. She returned the hoof shake, all while having a curious look on her face. “You look surprised,” Filthy added, his expression softening.

“Well, I sort of am,” she admitted, looking between the two of them. “What brings you two here?”

Filthy grinned and reached a foreleg around Trixie, pulling her next to him. “Ms. Lulamoon here told me something very interesting about you, Twilight! Something you apparently haven’t shared with anypony yet.”

Twilight gulped, quickly flashing a glance to Trixie.

“So, how about we talk about that reactor?” Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed Trixie shudder at the last word. Twilight herself, though, could only smile and nod. Her secret had been revealed to yet another pony, so there was no use hiding it from them.

“I... Sure. Come in,” Twilight said, stepping back for the two of them. As they passed by, Twilight closed the door and gave the blue unicorn a heated glare, which went unnoticed.  The three of them stepped into the living room, where Twilight quickly turned off the television. Filthy and Trixie sat on one of the soft couches while Twilight sat on the side couch, not much differently from when Trixie had asked about the device. “So, what do you want to know?” she asked.

“I’d like to see it, if you don’t mind,” Filthy said, glancing to the glowing section that hid under a thin veil of cloth. Twilight nodded, levitating the shirt off her body and setting it aside. Even though it was the third time she’d revealed the reactor to anypony, her heart still beat nervously within her chest.

Filthy Rich craned his neck forward to get a better look at the device. “Very curious indeed,” he said, tapping at the prickly hairs under his chin. “And you were able to build this in captivity?”

“With a box of scraps, no less,” Twilight answered, her eyes shifting downward briefly. “This isn’t the original, though. I was able to use my personal lab to refine it.”

His eyes narrowed as he nodded. “Interesting... Now, Trixie has told me she’s been having some difficulty getting you to present this to the board. I feel they, and the company, would be very interested in something like this.” He then chuckled, looking up at her face. “And I’m pretty interested myself. It’s very advanced.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you, but it’s not perfect by any means. It’s far too inefficient to be mass produced yet, and I’m not even sure if it’s completely safe.”

Filthy nodded once more, this time in understanding. “It’s always like you to keep safety a priority, Twilight. Been like that from day one, hasn’t it?” He settled into his seat and wistfully sighed. “It’s still hard to believe how much of an impact you’ve made on Equestria.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be here without the generous investments from the Rich Corporation,” Twilight added, with a sly smile. She then blinked and looked around her home, then to the reactor. “None of this would be here, really.”

“I know a promising idea when I see one, Twilight.” Filthy then motioned towards the reactor. “And that’s what I see when I look at that glowing cylinder. Are you sure you don’t want to present it? I’m sure Trixie could get some of her team to help with it. She’s a smart mare.”

His request was met with a frown and a shaking head. “I appreciate the offer, but this is a personal project of mine. It stays with me.”

Filthy cleared his throat and then stood up. He gave himself a brief shake and a stretch before turning to Twilight. “If that’s how it is, then that’s how it is. I can appreciate a mare who sticks to her guns.” He then extended his hoof and shook with Twilight. “I’ll be taking my leave now, but it was nice to see you. Hope you’re feeling better.”

“Much, thank you,” Twilight replied. “Here, I’ll see you out.” The two of them walked to the door, where Twilight said her goodbyes and let the old stallion out. She waved as he departed to his carriage, then closed the door, a scowl on her face. As soon as it clicked shut, she stormed into the living room.

“Just what are you thinking?!” she yelled, pointing at Trixie. “Are you trying to let all of Equestria know that I have this?!”

“No, it’s not like that,” Trixie protested, standing up and getting eye level with Twilight. “It was just an accident, I swear!” She gently put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.  “We were talking about the direction the company was going in and it just slipped out. After that, I figured... well... you might listen to him.”

Twilight’s furious look softened as the anger subsided. The irritation, however, did not, and she shrugged the hoof off her. “...Fine. But don’t let it happen again. You know how I feel.” She stepped over to the couch and floated the shirt to her back, draping it over her.

“I wish you would’ve listened to him.”

“I’m not having this conversation again, Trixie,” Twilight said, with a sigh and glance in the other mares direction.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be heading in early tonight.” With a flick of her tail, she made her way to the stairs. “You know where the door is. Dusk Shine will take care of the security.”

“If you insist, Twilight,” Trixie mumbled, defeated. “Are you at least coming back to the company soon?”

“Soon,” Twilight replied, making her way up the stairs. “Goodnight, Trixie.”

Trixie snorted. “Hmph. Goodnight.” With a sigh, she trudged towards the front door.


- - -


Filthy Rich sat in his dim office, staring at the bright computer screen in front of him and tapping his forehooves together. A smoldering cigar laid in an ashtray, nearly snuffed out from neglect. The old, leather chair creaked under his weight as he rocked back and forth, watching the numbers and charts on his monitor. Every few seconds it would update, always declining. With a snort, he closed the page.

After a few moments of silence, he typed a few words and hit the enter key, bringing up numerous results related to Twilight’s capture. “Hmm...” he hummed to himself, looking through some of the entries. Filthy stumbled on a particular article and opened it up, mumbling its contents as he skimmed through. His eyes briefly widened as he caught several details, and once he reached the end, he picked up the earpiece to his phone and put it on.

He typed several numbers into the keypad and waited as the phone played off its typical dial tone. He tapped his hoof against the wooden desk impatiently as it rang, but it eventually hit the answering machine. With a grumble, he dialed another number.

The owner of this one picked up rather quickly. His voice was hushed and quick, as if he was in a hurry to end the call.

“It’s me, Filthy Rich,” the old stallion said, leaning back. “I see you’ve gotten into some very interesting business recently.” The other wasn’t pleased, and urged him to get to his point. “Fine, fine, I need some things from you. Mainly, some documents.”

Filthy frowned as he was met with disagreement. “In that case, put your superior on the line. He might know who I am.” After a moment, the caller agreed and told him to wait. Then, he hung up. Filthy merely closed his eyes and waited, taking in the silence around him.

Several minutes later, his phone rang, and looking at the number, it was who he originally tried to call. “I’m glad you called. Yes, this line is secure. No, I’m not with the royal guard. Look, I have to ask you for some things. I’ll make it worth your while if you consider.” The other caller tentatively agreed to hear him out.

“I need blueprints,” Filthy stated, spinning his chair to look out the window. “Everything that was left behind. If you can do that, I’ll send you everything you need to reproduce them.” The caller was justifiably skeptical of the offer. “Look at who I am. Look at what I’m the single largest shareholder of. I’m helping you help me out, you hear? And in return, you’ll get the technology you need. I’ll wire you the specifics if you’re interested.”

A careful moment of consideration was taken, before the caller finally agreed. A smile slid across Filthy’s face as the deal was struck. “I’m glad to hear it. You’ll be getting your info soon. Oh, and who should I be addressing?” He paused, taking a pen and paper out, then wrote a name down.

“Well then, pleasure to start doing business with you, Garrett. You won’t regret it.” With that, he hung the phone up and leaned back in his seat, which let out a shrill creak. “You certainly know a good investment when you see it, Filthy.” He then picked up the cigar and a lighter, relighting it with the skill and precision only a practiced earth pony could accomplish. He took a puff of it and let it out, smoke hovering around him. “And you are not going to have Sparkle Industries let you down.”
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight’s eyes slowly opened as the morning sunlight glinted through the shutters and onto her face. With a yawn, she sat up and rubbed her face, waiting for the tiredness to wear off. “Daily... daily routine,” she mumbled, beginning a chain reaction in the room.

As her hooves swung off the bed and landed on the floor, the shutters flipped open, allowing the light to flood in. On the far side side of her bedroom, the television switched on, displaying the daily news channel. The smell of coffee made its way to her nostrils. She took a breath, and sighed happily. “Today’s the day,” she said, trotting over to her dresser and looking into the mirror.

She brushed her hair as she usually did, humming as she gently stroked through it with the comb. Twilight wanted to look her best for her first day back since she’d  been captured, and right now she was looking better than ever. After she was satisfied with her mane, she walked to her closet. As she approached the dark door, almost reflective from the amount polish on it, it slid open to reveal it was big enough to walk in, and full of various attire.

To her left was an ensemble of business suits, all very similar: Black, single-breasted jackets, white undershirts with black and dark grey crosshatched ties that had just a touch of shine to their patterns. They hadn’t become standard for her until Rarity insisted that she get professional attire and look the part of a pony in an executive position. While once stuffy and uncomfortable, she had grown to tolerate the feeling, but never quite got used to it. Twilight always preferred to disregard clothing entirely.

She took the nearest suit and looked it over, checking for any imperfections or dirtiness. Once she verified it was in its prime, she pulled it over her back and slipped her hooves through the arms, buttoned it up, then wrapped the tie around her neck. After it was tightened, she slipped on the jacket and buttoned it up as well. Once she was done, Twilight stepped out of the closet and back in front of the mirror, observing herself.

“Looking good, Twi,” she said, with a smile. Just for fun, she brought out a pair of sunglasses from the dresser and slipped them on. “How do I look, Dusk?”

“Wonderful, Twilight.”

“Good! I think I’ll go without the shades, though. Those have never looked good on me.” With that, Twilight took the glasses off and put them back where she found them.

“A wise choice.”

“Coffee done?” Twilight asked, leaving the room and making her way downstairs.

“Just how you prefer it.”

She reached the bottom of the steps and turned left, heading through the entryway and into the kitchen. A coffee pot was bubbling as it dripped its dark liquid into a white mug which had the Sparkle Industries logo wrapped around it. Twilight levitated the mug over to her as she sat down at the table, where the days paper already lay. Taking a sip of her coffee, she flipped open to an article. “Not bad, Dusk. There might be a teensy bit too much milk, though.”

“Noted.”

“Hmm... let’s see...” Twilight began, going through the paper. “Blah blah... market down... Griffon captors still at large... Celestia honors new city... pretty standard stuff today.” Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard a commotion from upstairs, which she assumed to be Spike. Sure enough, the young dragon scurried down the stairs and into the kitchen, still buttoning his shirt up as he entered.

“Morning, dragon boy,” Twilight said, looking at him over the rim of her mug.

“Twilight!” the dragon replied, his eyes wide. “What uh... What are you doing up so early?” He asked, opening the refrigerator and rummaging through it.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m coming back into the office today.”

Spike’s movements halted for a moment, before he leaned away from the refrigerator and looked to Twilight. Several seconds passed in silence, and then he walked to Twilight and, without a word, gave her a hug.

With a laugh, Twilight asked “What’s this for?”

Spike looked up to her with pleading eyes. “It’s unbearable, Twilight. The meetings, the requests, the media harassment... I can’t take it! Please let me go back to being a secretary!” By this point his claws were digging into her suit, sending soft wrinkles through the fabric. Once he realized this, he gave an embarrassed grin and brushed her suit off, getting it back to its prim and proper look.

Twilight patted him on the shoulder and smiled. “I wouldn’t want anypony else taking your job.” She began to say something else before the telltale sound of a rumbling stomach interrupted her. Her cheeks went crimson as she glanced up at Spike. “Wanna start by putting together breakfast quick? Celestia knows you’re better at cooking than I am.”

“Would I ever!” Spike chirped, spinning around and going right back to the refrigerator. “Oh, it’ll be great to not have to sign anything anymore or look over any charts...”

Twilight chuckled as she looked back to her paper, pleased with her morning thus far.


- - -


As Spike and Twilight stepped through the sliding doors into Sparkle Industries’ head office, they were greeted with a mix of gasps and excited greetings. “She’s back!” some exclaimed, as the two walked to the front desk. The pony who sat behind it was a young stallion Twilight had never seen before. He stared at her in awe.

“M-Miss Sparkle!” he exclaimed, the typing he was doing coming to a halt.

Twilight merely smiled and nodded, “Yes, it’s me.” She then looked around at all of the happy and surprised faces. “I’m back, everypony. Sorry for being away so long.” She was met with a round of applause as the ponies around her stomped their hooves and whistled, some even coming over to her and thanking her.

After she exchanged a few words with a few employees, she and Spike approached the elevator that went up to her office. The two stepped in and Twilight pressed the top button.

The main Sparkle Industries building was situated in the business district of Canterlot, which had changed heavily over the years. As the city grew, they began building along the side of the mountain, until the structures had gone all the way down and reached the base. There, the residential areas began to flourish as the upper reaches of the city were reserved for the wealthiest of industries. Thus, the view from the elevator looked out along the expanses of Equestria and down into the city below, where rich and famous ponies were going about their days.

The elevator let out a soft ding as the door opened to Twilight’s office, which was untouched since she had last seen it. As she stepped in, she took a breath of the familiar air and let out a sigh. “I didn’t realize how much I missed the office,” Twilight said, walking inside.

She reached her desk and traced a hoof over the smooth, polished wood, walking around the side of it as she did so. Twilight then sat in her chair and gave it a spin, ending facing towards the desk. After a brief moment of taking in the familiar scenery, she tapped a button on her computer and booted it up, listening to the fans spin up. Everything was just the way she liked it.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Spike standing in front of her, clipboard already in hand. “Alright, Spike. First things first. I need reports, statistics, and everything else I may have missed while I was gone.”

Spike gave a mock salute and grinned. “On it!” he exclaimed, turning around and heading towards the elevator. He hummed an unfamiliar tune as he stepped inside and pressed one of the buttons, then disappeared behind the silver doors.

Twilight logged into her computer and went through her basic motions. She checked her email, looked at current company standings, then went to her favorite news site. It was the digital version of The Daily paper, but she still preferred a physical copy, even after all of these years and advancements she had helped develop. There was just something about having printed paper in her hooves that felt right.

By the time she was finished checking everything over, she heard the elevator coming back up. It was Spike, as she had expected, with a small stack of papers in his hands. Twilight preemptively took out her reading glasses and slipped them on.

“Here you go, Twi,” Spike said, pushing the papers in front of her. “Every invoice, progress report, and corporate filing since you’ve been gone. I’ve obviously already gone through them, but I’m sure you’re going to double check them anyway.”

“You bet I am,” Twilight said, pulling the first paper toward her. Without looking at the screen, she opened a spreadsheet and began to input. She then glanced up at Spike, still working despite not looking at what she was doing. “While I’m doing this, wanna go check on how other sectors are doing with their projects? I could use a frame of reference.”

Spike nodded. “Sure. I’ll get you those reports within the hour.”

“Good!” Twilight looked back to what she was doing, glancing between the paper and her spreadsheet several times. “See you in a bit, Spike. I have plenty of work to do.”

The dragon gave another nodded and turned around, heading off to take care of his own business.


- - -


The rest of the day progressed smoothly, with Twilight meeting with the board for the first time in weeks and figuring out where the company was. As she expected, it wasn’t doing great. Investors had backed out, money had been lost, and projects had been cancelled. To her, it was unfortunate but unavoidable.

She also took time to meet with team leaders in other sectors and worked out what they were up to. After receiving the reports from Spike, there were several things she needed to personally look into, including a batch of ‘defective’ MECC units. Upon closer inspection, she could only sigh as she realized they simply hadn’t been infused with the right amount of magic energy.

By the time her rounds and meetings had concluded, it was early afternoon. She was left sitting at her desk, eating a late lunch of hay fries and iced tea, which Spike had insisted she get. Twilight had a tendency to forget to eat when she was deeply invested with something, and her first day back to work in weeks had been no exception.

As she sat there, munching on a hoofful of fries and idly playing a game of compute solitaire, Spike entered the office with a curious look on his face. Twilight looked over to him as she finished another suit in her game, which played a little fanfare. “What’s up, Spike?”

“Uh... it’s about this invoice I just got. The mailpony gave it to me just before I was about to come up here, and, well...” he looked over it again, narrowing his eyes as he leaned in and tried to make sense of it, “I just don’t recognize it at all.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side. There weren’t any significant orders that she knew of, and the major ones only happened at the beginning of each month.

Spike looked it over again before shrugging and handing it to her. “Here, you look over it. Maybe it’ll make sense to you.”

Twilight took the sheet of paper and began to skim it, looking for any important details. “Lets see... shipment set for later today... bulk batch of parts... Hmm...” As she looked over the parts, a realization began to dawn over here. “Hold on... these are...” Her eyes widened the more she read. “No. It can’t...”

“What? What is it?” Spike asked, beginning to grow concerned.

The unicorn gulped, slowly looking up to him. “These are all the parts it took to build the mage reactor.”

It took a few moments for it to finally click, but once it did, the dragon stepped back in horror. “What?”

“Oh no, oh no, no, no, this isn’t good,” Twilight sputtered, flipping the sheet over hastily to see if there was any more. “Just where are these getting sent?!” She went back to the front and her eyes darted across the sheet, until they found what she needed. “Oh no,” she whispered, staring at the paper.

“Who’s getting these, Twilight?”

Twilight stood up, feeling her heart pounding within her chest. Frowning, she looked back to Spike. “They’re going to the Griffon Kingdom.” She took a deep breath before looking at the clock, then back to the paper. “I can still make it in time!”

“Make it where?” Spike asked, not sure of what to do, if he could do anything at all.

“The air dock,” Twilight answered, hurrying around her desk. She then pointed a hoof at the dragon. “Spike, I hate to ask this, but I need you to stay here and look over things. I need to stop this shipment.”

“How are you going to do that?” he sputtered, watching Twilight get ready to leave.

“Don’t worry about that!” She yelled, galloping to the elevator. Ugh, no, this’ll take too long. Looking back at Spike, her horn began to glow. “Just keep things running here, got it?”

Spike opened his mouth to protest, or try to get Twilight to elaborate more, but ultimately ended up shrugging and sighing. “Yeah, I’ll handle it.”

“Good.” Twilight then disappeared in a flash, leaving Spike to pick up the order form and look it over with worried eyes.


- - -


A loud pop resonated through Twilight’s living room as she teleported in, falling to the ground with a thud. Wasting no time, she hurried down the stairs and began unbuttoning her suit. Her jacket was thrown aside as she entered the lab, followed by her undershirt. By the time she reached the main computer, she was naked.

“Dusk, it’s go time,” she said, frantically typing commands into the device.

“Are you sure? We haven’t even begun to field test it yet.”

Twilight shook her head. “Kinda in a hurry here, Dusk! Just initiate the boot sequence.” She punctuated the last word with a hard stroke to the enter key, which prompted a progress bar to pop up on the monitor. Once it did, she hurried over to the test floor and stood in the middle of it.

Throughout the lab, mechanical whirring and grinding gears sounded, growing in intensity with every passing second. From the ceiling protruded an array of mechanical arms with racks of metal parts attached to the sides of them. Under her, the floor hissed and vibrated, then began to slide apart as a twisting mass of mechanical parts and machinery revealed itself under the floor.

A set of boots slipped onto her hooves and locked in placed, self bolting themselves together. The arms lowered down and started to work, first attaching leg pieces above the boots and securing them in place. Following those were the multiple body plates that wrapped around her and locked together. Her tail was folded and tucked into a small compartment as the metal covered her rear and thighs.

Two of the arms swung down and clipped a neck guard on, which bolted itself together, leaving only her head exposed. Another set of arms spun around and attached the side of her helmet, along with the back plate. Similar to her tail, her mane was tucked in so that none of her hair stuck out. Finally, the top of the helmet slipped over her horn, followed by the faceplate, which secured itself with a mechanical whir.

Twilight took a breath as the arms pulled away from her and folded themselves up within the ceiling. Her HUD hummed to life as the interface began popping up in front of her, displaying numerous bits of vital data.

“You in, Dusk?” Twilight asked, looking at the surroundings. She then looked down at her hooves and noticed they were a gleaming purple color, painted over gold. “Ah, so you went with purple after all.”

“It matches, and the dark color provides a marginal decrease in visibility at night.”

“Yeah, I’m sure nopony will see the shining gold. Anyway, get a diagnostic up, stat. Skip the unimportant stuff, we’re on a deadline.”

“Right away.” After Dusk’s voice left her head, she felt various parts of the suit shifting and moving. Air flaps fanned themselves up while armor plates shifted in direction. Every part of the suit seemed to be getting tested. After a few seconds of this, the pieces slid back to their original positions. “Diagnostics complete. Systems functioning.”

“Alright, good. Time to move!” Twilight’s horn began to glow, sending spirals of energy cascading around it.

“Twilight, I would advise against using a tele-”

With a bright flash and a pop, Twilight and her armor disappeared.


- - -


The next thing the unicorn felt was weightlessness and a rush of air. She held back the urge to scream as she got her bearings, frantically looking and twisting in every direction. The flight jets in her suit sputtered to life while the air flaps pushed outwards in an attempt to stabilize her. Looking down, Twilight saw the familiar peaks of Canterlot Castle far below her.

Her wild spin rounded out as she took control, coming to a more restrained fall. “Okay, okay!” she yelled, still not quite used to the speeding freefall. “Air docks... air docks... where are- there!” She looked over to a large platform jutting out of the mountain, which had an array of airships docked at them. “Now which one has my parts?”

Small digital circles appeared on the overlay, hovering over each airship. After several moments, they displayed a small bit of information detailing who they belonged to. Many of them turned red and fizzled away, leaving one at the edge of the dock which turned a bright green. “Gotcha!” Twilight said, adjusting her legs. The fall quickly turned into a flight aimed straight at the airship, which started to leave the dock the moment she went after it.

“I’m gonna stop this ship one way or another,” she growled, her thrusters burning brighter as she sped up. While the airship was a current model with advanced engines and cargo space, it was still no match for Twilight’s suit. The unicorn had caught up with the ship before it was half a mile away from the city and now she hovered alongside it, contemplating her next move.

Now, how am I going to stop this thing? It’s not like I can just ask the pilot to- Her thoughts stalled as she looked to the door right next to her. Rolling her eyes, she guided her hoof to the latch and opened the door, landing inside the cabin with a clank. When Twilight looked up, she found three reasonably confused stallions, one of them the pilot.

The four ponies paused for several moments, contemplating what to do. Twilight broke the silence, commanding “You need to turn this ship around, now. This is unauthorized cargo.” Her voice came out electronic and tuned, a small tweak made to protect her identity.

“Unauthorized by who?” The pale green pilot asked, his voice coming out from under a bushy, straw colored mustache.

“Uh... unauthorized by me!” Twilight snapped back, holding her ground. The two guards looked at each other for a moment and nodded, then brought out their nightsticks and charged forward. One of them lunged at her and slammed his weapon against her snout, where it proceeded to snap in half, spraying wooden shards around them. He stared at the broken wood hanging out of his mouth, before a mechanical whirring got his attention. As he looked back to Twilight, he was met with a metal hoof to his face, which sent him sprawling backwards and to the ground.

Twilight winced as she made contact with the guard. “Sorry!” she yelled, as the guard came to a stop on the floor. She then looked to the other guard, who was rushing towards her. With a step to the side, and another “sorry,” she lowered herself and tripped the second guard as he passed, sending him into a heap as well. As she stood back up, her glance shifted from the two prone guards to the pilot, where she noticed he was on his radio.

“This is Air Carrier #25, I repeat, there is an intruder onboard and we require air assistance, over!” he shouted, before grabbing a small nightstick of his own.

“Shoot!” Twilight spat out, her thrusters igniting. She made her way to the door and quickly opened it, then jumped outside, flying to the back of the ship. “Dusk, can I get some internals?” she asked, looking over the metal. Before long, an overlay appeared, showing her an x-ray view of the inside of the craft. Boxes upon boxes were stacked together, all filled with different parts and accessories. Grunting, she punched against the back of the cargo bay, making small dents in the metal, but making no progress towards opening it. She cocked her arm back for another blow when she heard the rumbling of thunder and the harsh crackling of lightning behind her.

She spun around to see several ponies in the distance, all but one leaving a billowing trail of thunderclouds behind them. Her visor zoomed in, revealing the Wonderbolts and...

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, her eyes widening. “Not good, Dusk. Not good. We need to crack this hull open and get out of here, stat!”

Before Dusk Shine could respond, her helmet radio hummed to life.

“This is Wonderbolt Captain Rainbow Dash,” the mare’s rough voice resounded around Twilight. “You have fifteen seconds to respond or we will engage. I repeat, you have fifteen seconds to respond.”

Twilight gulped, but didn’t answer the incoming transmission. Instead, she flew several yards away from the ship and looked over the back, studying the structure and design of the cargo hold. The internal view was still active, so she was able to find several key areas.

“This is your final warning. Respond or we will engage!”

Not more than three seconds passed before a whirling set of lightning charged bolas flew past Twilight, just barely missing her snout. She gasped and stumbled backwards in midair, but quickly regained her positioning. Raising her hoof, she aimed it at the cargo hold and grit her teeth.

Her horn and the end of her boot surged with purple energy and a beam erupted from the opening, piercing through the hull of the airship like a hot knife through butter. The force of the beam pushed her backwards, but she maintained her aim and guided it through the bottom of the cargo hold. Once the laser reached the other side of the cargo bay, she stopped it and pulled back her smoking boot, just in time to watch the fruits of her labor.

With a heavy groan, molten metal and a huge slab of the cargo bay peeled off the bottom of the ship, swinging downwards and snapping off like a twig. Hundreds of boxes followed suit, plummeting down to the forest with an assortment of faint crashes. They disappeared below the canopy, leaving only holes in the otherwise smooth ocean of leaves below to show they were there.

Inside her suit, Twilight shook, sweating from both exertion and excitement. While one threat had been dealt with, the other made itself apparent as another group of bolas whizzed by, one pair knocking against her left ear and making her head spin. Right, gotta go! Her thrusters erupted as she made a beeline towards Canterlot, with the aerial team hot on her trail.

“I’ll just teleport us back, and it’ll be fine!” Twilight said, her horn lighting up.

“Not so fast, Twilight,” Dusk Shine responded, his voice cutting off Twilight’s magic. “The suit is not fully synchronized to your magic signature or the surrounding environment. Attempting a teleport may severely damage both you and the suit.”

Twilight groaned, speeding towards the city. “Fine, fine. We’ll just have to lose them!”

“I think you’ll find that’s far easier said than done, Twilight,” Dusk added.

Sure enough, the Wonderbolts were right behind her, with Rainbow Dash in the lead by a heavy margin. Twilight looked back ahead at the rapidly approaching spires and towers of Canterlot, looking for ways she could maneuver through them. “There!” she said, spotting an area near the Castle. Shifting her body, she sped towards that area, continuing to swerve and dodge the various projectiles coming after her.

She dove between the towers, weaving between the buildings as they passed. Directly in front of her was the main hall of the castle, which she quickly spun off to the side to avoid hitting. The windows of the great hall shook as she rocketed by them, alerting all of the ponies inside. Most hadn’t been quick enough to notice what had caused the racket, and even the princess of the sun had almost missed it. Out of the corner of her eye, though, she had seen the purple and gold pony-shaped object interrupting her day court session.

Meanwhile, Twilight took a hard turn around the back of the castle, sweeping under one of the bridges and pulling up to go over another one. Behind her, the Wonderbolts followed closely, never getting any farther away.

“This isn’t working, Dusk. They’re too fast for us!” She veered between another two buildings and went through an alley, catching the attention of the few ponies there. Quickly realizing that she was heading to the trade district - the most populated part of Canterlot - Twilight spun around and changed course, flying past another few buildings. “Dusk, call Rainbow Dash, now!”

The number rang several times before being picked up, answering with a very out of breath sounding Dash. “Kinda busy now, Twilight! What is it?”

“It’s me! You’re chasing me! Call it off!”

Dash shook her head, still in pursuit of the metal pony in front of her. “What? What are you talking about?”

Twilight groaned. “The thing you’re chasing, it’s me! I’m inside of that suit! Now call off the chase!”

Her magenta eyes grew wide as the realization kicked in, and she began to slow down. “You owe me an explanation, Twi. A big explanation.”

“Yes, fine! Meet me at my place in an hour, okay!? I’ll tell you everything there!”

Dash then slowed to a halt, pulling her goggles off and letting her teammates catch up to her. She watched the purple suit dip out of sight behind one of the various buildings and sighed. Next to her, a dark stallion looked at her with curious golden eyes. “What’s wrong, Captain?”

The mare spat as she hovered lightly in the air, looking at where ‘Twilight’ had been just moments before. She looked to the stallion and shook her head. “Nothin’, Thunder... turns out it was just some sorta training they forgot to tell us about.”

“What about the airship?” he asked, looking at the speck of an aircraft that was in the distance, still letting out smoke from the previous encounter.

“All part of the exercise,” Dash replied. She then spun around and looked to the rest of the team, pointing a hoof to the city. “Everypony, let’s get back to HQ. I have some things to sort out.”

Sliding the flight goggles back over her eyes, she made a quick glance in the direction of Twilight’s estate.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A light hiss echoed throughout Twilight’s lab as a hatch on the ceiling slid open, allowing Twilight to land. The landing ended up being more of a fall, as she hit the ground forcefully and stumbled a bit. She shook her head, regaining her composure, then let out an exhaustive sigh.

“That did not go as planned,” she mumbled, stepping over to the platform that acted as her test area. Once again, the floor slid open as she lined herself up with the grid and the mechanical process of removing the suit began.

The visor to her helmet slid upwards, allowing the cool air to wash over her face. She took a deep breath, now noticing the sweat that had formed on her brow and dampened her mane. “But at the very least, we stopped the shipment.”

“And caused approximately three hundred and—”

Twilight was quick to shake her head and quickly blurt out “No! No. I don’t want to know the financial damage we just caused. Just let me enjoy this victory.” She attempted to hang her head in a mix of fatigue and shame, but  was jerked back up by mechanical arms that began working around her.

“As you wish, Twilight,” Dusk said.

The plating around her ears and head was unbolted and pulled off, several times provoking a yelp of pain as the metal pulled at her hair. Her tail was a far less painful ordeal, and she gave it a few flicks as it was released from its armor casing. Slowly but surely, the spidery arms weaved around her and removed bolts and plates, until eventually she was down to just the boots. With a click, all four of them unlocked, allowing her to step out.

As her hooves touched the floor, she realized just how sweaty she really was. While walking towards the lab door, she said, “Dusk, remind me to work on the internal cooling, will you? Also, get the shower going. I want to at least look presentable for when Dash storms in here.”

“Right away.”

Twilight stepped through the lab door and made her way upstairs, where she could faintly hear the water running from her bathroom. Once she reached the living room, she continued up the spiral stairs until she was on the balcony overlooking the lower floor. From there, it was just a quick walk to the bathroom, which was located right next to her bedroom.

She slid the glass door to the shower open and stepped inside, not even bothering to check the temperature. Dusk usually got it right, and this time was no exception. As the water splashed over her face and ran down her body, she felt her tiredness wash away, only to be replaced with anxiousness. How would she explain things to Dash? How would the pegasus respond? These questions and more ran through her head as she stood under the stream of hot water, getting no closer to an answer by the time she turned the shower off.

As she stepped into the main area of the bathroom, small slits opened on the ceiling above her and the floor beneath her, then began to blow hot air out. She levitated a comb over and brushed her hair as she gradually dried off, and after several minutes the air ceased and the vents closed off, leaving the unicorn looking as good as ever.

Twilight glanced at the clock while making her way back to the lab, and found it was already five minutes to the hour. Knowing the urgency of the situation, Twilight figured Dash was already on her way, if not outside the gates at that very moment. She took the smallest glance outside as she entered the living room, but didn’t find any hints of sky blue feathers.

Once she was in the lab, Twilight began to use her brief free time to tidy things up. She swept many of the discarded prototypes and parts off of the various workbenches and into junk boxes, then pushed around some of the furniture with magic. Once things had been arranged to her liking, she set up a small area with two chairs and a short table. “Well, now we wait...” she said, looking over the renewed work area. Another look at the clock said it was now two past the hour.

Not three seconds after she had taken her eyes off the clock did the doorbell go off.

“Rainbow Dash is at the gate, Twilight,” Dusk Shine said, bringing up the gate’s security camera. Dash stood there, tapping her hoof and looking none too happy.

Twilight frowned. “Let her in.” She then quickly trotted through the lab entrance and up the stairs, hoping to meet Dash at the door. A few seconds passed before a furious pounding came from the front of the house. With a gulp, Twilight approached the door and lifted a hoof tentatively towards the handle. A second passed before she opened it and was met with a very angry Wonderbolt captain.

“Hi, Dash. Did you want some coff—”

“Cut the small talk, Twi. I want answers,” Dash interrupted, barging into the entry hall and past Twilight. The unicorn let out a sigh and closed the door, then turned to face Dash. She was met with a hoof to the face, which sent her stumbling backwards.

“Hey!” Twilight yelled, bringing a hoof to her cheek and rubbing it. “What was that for?!”

“One, for endangering me and my crew, and two, for putting all of Canterlot’s defenses in a panic. What the hay is wrong with you, Twilight?!” Dash snorted in fury, staring daggers at Twilight.

“Look, I can explain everythin—”

“You better,” Dash interrupted, turning around and flicking her tail in Twilight’s face before entering the living room.

Twilight un-scrunched her snout before following Dash. The pegasus looked around the room for a moment before walking to the nearest couch and flopping down on it. While more comfortable, she was no less irritated. “Go on,” she said, glaring at Twilight.

“Alright... what do you want explained first? The suit or the airship?” Twilight asked, sitting in the couch perpendicular to Rainbow.

“The airship,” Dash flatly replied.

The unicorn took a breath. “Okay. The airship contained a shipment of supplies heading for the Griffon Kingdoms. That in itself seems normal, but the catch is that the supplies were sent from my corporation, Sparkle Industries.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, but her frown did not falter. “So you destroyed your own shipment. Consider me interested.”

Twilight continued. “However, the shipment was unauthorized, and it contained the parts necessary to construct my mage reactor.” She punctuated the end of her sentence with a tap to her chest, which gave off a hollow tick.

“Okay, besides the whole ‘unauthorized’ thing, I don’t see much of a problem there...” Dash said, shifting in place. For a moment, Twilight thought she seemed a little less upset.

“The problem is the Gryphons know how to put together my mage reactor, but they don’t have the parts. This shipment would have allowed them to build it.”

Dash cocked her head to the side, quizically.

“That’s bad,” Twilight added.

“Oh,” Dash replied, with a slight nod. She looked towards her hooves in a moment of contemplation before glancing back to Twilight. “Was destroying the cargo the only thing you could do?”

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded. “By that point, the shipment and transaction was already finalized. Short of hijacking the ship myself, there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

“Hmm...” Dash hummed, looking away from Twilight. “For any other pony, I’d call them crazy, then haul them off to the slammer.” She then glanced back to the unicorn. “But for you, Twilight... I’ll take it. Just this once.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Dash, I knew you-”

“You aren’t done yet, though. The suit. Explain it,” Dash commanded, crossing her forelegs together.

“The suit is... an advanced version of the suit I used to escape the gryphons,” Twilight said, standing up. “Come to my lab. I’ll show you more.”

Dash gave her a curious glance before getting up and following her. The two made their way down the stairs, where Twilight tapped in the code to her lab and allowed Dash to enter. Upon going inside, Dash let out a whistle.

“Snazzy setup you got here, Twi. This is more high-tech than most of the stuff we got at HQ.” She flapped her wings a few times, lifting her across the floor and over to Twilight’s drawing board. She looked around the room before spotting the Wonderbolts poster hanging on the far wall. “And you still have my poster. Nice.”

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Twilight said, with a giggle. “But here we go.” She waved a hoof over the drawing board, prompting the interface to materialized over it. She flipped through various folders and files before accessing one that required a password. After typing it in on the small virtual keyboard that popped up, it opened to reveal a slew of files depicting 3D models. Twilight waved her hoof over all of them, then pushed forward. One by one, the models compiled themselves to make a virtual version of her suit. “This is Generation II,” she said, looking at the models with pride.

Dash could only look on with awe and mutter a “Whoa.”

“The armor can resist magic and powerful blows, whilst enhancing magic and allowing flight. It also comes equipped with a variety of magical weapons. It’s all a pony needs when it comes to self defense and preservation.” Twilight spun the model around, then pulled a few parts off and observed them.

“Somehow, I’m not surprised you put this together, egghead,” Dash said, elbowing Twilight in the side. “But isn’t it a bit, uh...” She scratched her head, looking for the right word, then motioned to the loadout of weapons. “Excessive?”

“You can never be too prepared,” Twilight said, swiping the weapons away. “Besides, most of the focus is on the defensive side.”

“Huh.” Dash silently looked over the still rotating model. The two of them said nothing, merely listening to the hum of technology that permeated the room. It remained like that for many seconds, before Dash coughed and spoke up. “So... where does this leave us?”

Twilight put the model back in its virtual folder, then powered the whole system down. “What do you mean?” She asked, glancing to Dash.

“Well, I mean, what are you doing with this? We can’t have you flying around and blowing stuff up because you can, Twi,” Dash said, leaning against the table. “What’s your game plan?”

“My first order of business is to find out who ordered that shipment and deal with them.” Twilight turned away from the drawing board and glanced to her personal computer. “After that... I don’t know. I can promise you nothing like today will happen again, though,” she added, looking back to Dash.

“Hmph. It better not, and I mean that. I won’t be able to bail you out next time.” Dash pushed herself away from the table and paced around, unsure of what to do next. 

Twilight nodded in understanding. “I know, I know.” More silent moments passed between the two. “Are you satisfied with the answers you got?”

“I guess I am.” Dash looked at the clock, then snorted. “Since this is as... handled... as I can probably get it, I need to head back to HQ. I’ll need to make up a good lie for the people of Canterlot, I hope you know that.”

“How about I owe you one?” Twilight said, walking to Dash and putting a foreleg around her neck.

Dash growled, but smiled as she did so. “You know that always gets me, Twi. So, fine, yeah, you owe me one. Don’t forget it.” She shrugged Twilight’s hoof off herself and began walking towards the lab door.

“I won’t!” Twilight exclaimed, trotting alongside the pegasus. “Here, let me walk you out.” Twilight opened the lab door and let Dash pass by before following her up the stairs and to the front door. Dash opened it and looked outside, but didn’t step outside just yet. She turned her head to look at Twilight. This time, her expression was much more stern.

“I’m serious, Twi. Nothing else like what happened today, got it? It was tough enough getting you out of this one.” Her stare was unwavering.

Twilight’s face became solemn. “I understand. Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash nodded before turning and stepping outside. She spread her wings out and turned her head back slightly. “Seeya, Twi.” With a powerful flap, the Wonderbolt captain rocketed off the ground and into the sky, leaving the signature rainbow trail in her wake. Still slightly frowning, Twilight closed the door. As it clicked shut, her pensive gaze was replaced with that of determination.

“Time to get to the bottom of this.”


- - -


If there was one thing that set him on edge, it was when something went wrong and he’d have to answer for it. It happened as a colt, it happened as a young stallion, and it was happening now. Filthy Rich paced in the center of his office, a frown on his face that threatened to be there permanently.

On his desk laid the days newspaper, with the big, bold headline: AIRSHIP DESTROYED OUTSIDE CANTERLOT. Other article clippings were strewn about, and even his computer displayed an online recount of the event.

Filthy had been out of town on other business when it happened, so the news came as a shock. It wasn’t the best way to start his morning, and as soon as he had read it, he knew what was coming for him. Every few seconds he glanced towards the phone, as if it was going to change into a poisonous viper at any moment and strike. He’d rather have that, for the poison would at least put him out of his misery.

Around his hundreth trip to the opposite side of the room, his fears finally manifested. With a shrill ring that sent him jumping back, the phone went off. Gulping, he walked around his desk and sat down, staring at the earpiece with wide eyes. He reached a hoof forward, but pulled it back a bit as it touched the device. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he took a deep breath and picked it up, putting it into his ear. Then, he tapped a button on the keypad.

“Filthy Rich speaking,” he answered, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Tell me what went wrong with your shipment, Mr. Rich.”

The voice sent a chill down the stallion’s spine. He’d never heard it laced with such malice before, and the fact that it was meant for him in particular made it that much worse. Mustering up his courage, Filthy answered as best he could. “I... can’t say for sure what happened, Garrett. I just know that something attacked the airship being used.”

“Well, Mr. Rich, I would suggest using whatever necessary to find out what that something is. As it stands now, we are on bad terms.”

“I-I apologize, Garrett,” Filthy stammered, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prick up. “I’ll get you the parts, I swear. Tomorrow, no, today, I’ll call for another shipment, okay? How does that sound?” Nervously, his hoof tapped against the desk.

“It sounds like a poor apology, and an even poorer attempt at appeasing me. Alas, I don’t suppose I have much of a choice, for I’ve already held up my end of the deal.”

The old stallion glanced to the bottom drawer of his desk, where the blueprints he had gotten were safely tucked away. They were more valuable than any stockpile of bits or precious gems, and both he and the gryphon knew that. “Again, I apologize.”

“Hmph. You’ll get one more chance to make up for this loss, Mr. Rich. And I don’t just want the parts, I want whoever was responsible for the destruction of that shipment as well. In fact, I have a feeling I may already be acquainted.”

Filthy didn’t quite understand, but he dared not interrupt.

“Get me the parts and get me the culprit, and we’ll be right as rain. You have a week. If not, well...” he paused, as if thinking of a proper punishment, “It would certainly be a shame if something were to happen to that daughter of yours, no?”

The stallion’s blood ran cold. What had originally been an underhooved business proposal turned into threats against his family, and there was nothing he could do about it. The fear froze him up, barely allowing him to respond. “I’ll... get it right...” he croaked, his eyes staring off.

“Good. Two of my best gryphons will assist you, and keep me up to speed with your progress. Make them comfortable, will you?” A dull click sounded, followed by silence.

Filthy sat there, blankly looking at the opposite side of the room. The only sounds filling the room were that of his breathing and his thumping heart. He sank back into his chair, listening to how it creaked. Seconds and minutes passed in near silence, only being interrupted by his soft rocking. It was all he could do to stop himself from breaking down right then and there.

Finally, and with a great effort, he pulled his mind out of its mental shock. The gryphon’s demands burned all too brightly at the front of his mind, prompting him to start doing some research. With slow but purposeful typing, he searched for more information about the airship attack.

Several articles came and went, all reiterating the same general ideas. One, however, caught his attention, because it had a video attached at the end of it. Opening it, it looked to be a video from a random passerby that had caught a decent portion of the attack. After waiting a few seconds for the video to load, Filthy clicked the play button.

The video was shaky at first, as the filmer had haphazardly took it out of their bags and began recording. Several seconds in it stabilized, showing the airship in the distance with the bottom of it glowing a bright orange. The Wonderbolts then rocketed overhead, towards the ship, and the camera followed them. That was when Filthy saw his first look at what had caused all of the panic. Near the airship was what looked like a metallic pony, floating without wings. As the pegasi drew near, it avoided several attacks before its hooves lit up and propelled it towards the camerapony. With a thunderous roar, the metal pony shot overhead and the footage shook and tumbled as it tried to follow its path. The Wonderbolts flew overhead again before chasing the pony into a part of the city that the filmer couldn’t hope to reach on foot. After a few words of amazement, the footage ended.

As it finished, Filthy couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something familiar about the metal pony. Rewinding the video, he went back to the part where it flew towards the camera. He then slowed the video down and played it.

The figure came towards the screen, adorned with gleaming purple and gold accents. It was certainly metal, and very robotic. Looking closer, though, Filthy spotted a hint of blue. Leaning towards the monitor, he slowed the footage even more as the figure got even closer to the camera. Just as it was about to pass overhead, he paused the tape.

His eyes slowly widened as he recognized the unmistakable shape of the mage reactor, embedded within the pony’s chest.

Gritting his teeth, he growled out, “Twilight Sparkle.”


- - -


Quick hoofsteps echoed throughout the main hallway of Sparkle Industries as Ms. Sparkle herself trotted through. Her pace was quick and determined, while her expression was cold. She only focused on what was ahead of her, and at the moment it was an overhead sign directing her towards the R&D Department.

Twilight approached an elevator, with an ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ banner printed across the doors. Pushing her hoof to the button, a small panel opened on the side to reveal a small light emitter. Standing in front of it, the emitter shot out a web of light that scanned over her body. Once it had made its second pass, the light faded and a bell chimed, then the doors opened. Wordlessly, she stepped into the elevator and all but punched the descend button.

It was short and smooth ride to the bottom floor, and Twilight could feel the temperature drop as she descended. The lower levels of the facility were home to the data servers and the R&D Department, which required the coolness for their technology to run at its peak. By the time Twilight reached the bottom, it was as if she had walked into a refrigerator.

Ignoring the chill, she stepped out of the elevator and immediately turned right down the hallway, heading towards the primary lab. It was by far the largest room the facility had, filled with a plethora of equipment for testing and designing new magitech, while several smaller labs had specialized devices for specific applications. If Trixie wasn’t in the primary lab, she would most certainly be in one of the secondary ones.

After several minutes of walking, Twilight had reached the large door merely labeled ‘Primary’. This one quickly scanned her body as she approached, and opened in time for her to step through unhindered. She was now on a railing that followed the entire perimeter of the room and had several sets of stairs to move down to the working area. Putting her forehooves on the railing, Twilight peered down.

The lab was as busy as ever, with ponies of all colors and races working with various technologies. The majority of them were unicorns, but the odd pegasus and earth pony stepped here and there, manipulating the devices in their own ways.

Scanning over the numerous workers, it wasn’t long before Twilight found who she was looking for. The blue unicorn stood at the far end of the room, next to a large table that wasn’t so different from the Drawing Board in Twilight’s personal lab. Levitating a clipboard to her left and manipulating 3D models to her right, she was as absorbed in her task as Twilight ever was with a project, thus she didn’t hear the distinct pop of a teleportation spell mere yards behind her.

For a moment, everypony in the room save for Trixie stopped what they were doing and looked towards Twilight. Some looked confused, while others stared in awe. Twilight gave a quick nod, prompting them to all return to what they were doing, albeit slowly. It wasn’t often she visited the R&D labs personally, so her presence naturally piqued their curiosity.

The purple unicorn approached Trixie, stopping a foot or so behind her. Then, loudly, she cleared her throat. The models on the table ceased movement and the clipboard fell to the ground with a loud clatter, but Trixie herself did not move. After several moments, she let a barely audible gulp and slowly turned her head, looking back towards Twilight.

“Um, Twilight,” she started, her voice shaky, “What a surprise to see you!” The smile she put on almost caused Twilight to cringe due to how forced it was.

“Somehow, I don’t think that surprise is very sincere,” Twilight answered, her hard gaze never faltering. “Why don’t we go somewhere a little more private, Trixie.”

The opposing unicorn gave a trembling nod before collapsing the 3D model and levitating the clipboard back onto the table. She walked near Twilight, expecting them to walk off, but instead the unicorn’s horn glowed its deep magenta, and in a flash, the two of them had disappeared from the lab floor. 

Trixie barely had time to adjust to the sudden change of environment before the yelling started.

“Just what the hay were you thinking?!” Twilight roared, slamming her hoof on the ground. 

Out of fear, Trixie stepped back and tripped, landing on her behind. Stumbling back on her hooves, a quick glance around the room told her she was in her own office. It would have been more comfortable if her employer wasn’t tearing her apart in the middle of it.

“Who said you could order that shipment, and why didn’t it go through me?!” Twilight added hitting her hoof against her chest for emphasis. “Do you even realize what you almost did?!”

“I-I’m sorry, I just thought—” she stuttered, but was quickly cut off.

“Thought what?” the unicorn growled, through clenched teeth. Her breathing was harsh and heavy, and her body was beginning to feel abnormally warm. Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened as she realized what was happening, so she took a step back from Trixie and took a breath, extending her hoof in a versed motion of calming, which she had known since she had a foalsitter. Once Twilight calmed herself, she looked back to Trixie. “Thought what?”

Trixie let out a sigh of relief, having had the unfortunace of seeing Twilight truly angry once before. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and a fair bit of scorching had been done to everything present. “I... thought it would be a good business decision,” she admitted, glancing down as she finished the sentence.

Twilight brought her hoof to her face and let out a sigh. “And you did it without my approval... why?” she asked, eyes closed and hoof still firmly in place.

“To be honest, Twilight, I was told to make the order without you. He said that you wouldn’t approve it, but it would be a good move for the company.” Trixie tugged at her collar and shifted her tie, doing what she could to avoid direct eye contact with the unicorn.

One word stuck out from the rest. “He... He... who is ‘He,’ Trixie?” Twilight asked, putting her hoof back down. “Who told you to do this without telling, or even asking me?”

“I... I don’t know if I’m at liberty to say.”

Twilight stepped forward and put her hoof on Trixie’s shoulder, forcing the unicorn to look up at her. “Trixie. If there’s one thing you need to tell me, it’s this, right now. Who told you to make the order?”

Trixie gulped again and glanced away. “It was... it was Filthy Rich.”

“What?” Twilight whispered, mainly to herself. She glanced down in thought and stepped back, putting together pieces of the puzzle in her head. “But that means... Is he in contact with...” she mumbled under her breath. Finally, seemed to come to a realization. “I-I need to go.”

“What’s wrong?” Trixie asked, noticing the urgency in Twilight’s voice.

Instead of answering immediately, Twilight headed to the door, pausing as it slid open to her. “I need to have a talk with Mr. Rich.”

“Do you want me to come w—”

Before she finished her sentence, Twilight was gone.