-Vive Vapeur-
--
Twas a beautiful night in The Kingdom of Equestria, everything perfect and in balance. A cool breeze flowed through Princess Celestia's mane, adding to the already magically induced waving. Standing atop the balcony of Canterlot Castle, the princess enjoyed her sister's magnificent night, her glorious moon looming over the land. Together, they had ruled Equestria for thousands of years, upholding the fundamental laws of Harmony with little plight. After liberating the kingdom from the grasp of Discord, any mishaps have been snuffed out with the help of her faithful student, and friends. The Princess gazed downwards at her kingdom below. Downtown Canterlot could be seen, the streets illuminated by candles and lanterns flickering in the night. So peaceful Celestia thought to herself. Once finished admiring the spectacle, Princess Celestia returned to her royal bed and drifted away to peaceful slumber.
--
Twas the night before Hearth's Warming Eve, and all thought the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a- "SPIKE!"
"Aah! What!? Who!? Where!?" Exclaimed Spike as he hopped to a semi-defensive/semi-sleeping stance, abruptly woken by Twilight.
"Spike, get up! We're leaving." Twilight ordered, dropping two suitcases next to the dragon and trotting out. Spike looked at the luggage and then around the room.
"Wha we going?" Spike struggled to pronounce with partially functional brain power. He was still delirious, occasionally slipping into dream world then back to reality. Eventually, the dragon mustered up enough strength to stand up and stumble down the stairs.
What time is it? Ran though his mind, rubbing his eyes. He didn't care, all he comprehended was immeasurable drowsiness. Reaching the final steps, Spike struggled to lift his eyelids. He gained a glimpse of Twilight speaking with an unfamiliar black stallion with silver mane, but his vision was blurry and short lived. Spike could also make out Rainbow Dash and Rarity next to each other, accompanying them were Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing, Applejack, who looked very sleepy, and Fluttershy, standing quietly in the back. As Spike struggled down the staircase, Rarity noticed him and trotted over. She said something but Spike's hearing was as poor as his vision. Spike tried to respond, instead he mumbled something and passed out in Rarity's hooves.
--
"Mares and gentlecolts, I present to you, a device which will change the face of Equestrian society forever." Proclaimed the charismatic voice of a stallion with gray-blue coat, blond mane, and tail to match. He was wearing a suite and tie with flared collar which eloquently matched his entrepreneurial character. He was standing on a circular stage before a massive crowd. Next to him was a tarp covering some odd contraption. The setting is Central Park, Manehattan, where this inventor is about to reveal his greatest invention to an eager audience of one hundred and seventy three ponies. His name, Veil Noblecolt. "Feast your eyes upon..." He grabbed the tarp. "The Noblecolt Magical Aura Emulator!" With a quick tug the device was revealed. A five foot copper machine with gears and springs enclosing violet crystal at its core. At the ends of this crystal were iron rods, it was surrounded by six circular wires all leading to a separate device, an abstract swivel cannon with several thick black wires flowing from the back and into the heart of the machine. The crowd applauded. Additional spectators joined, curious of the commotion.
"What does it do?" Asked a nearby mare.
"I'm glad you asked m'lady! This device can create immensely powerful magic at the flip of a switch. Its power rivals that of the royal princesses themselves, let me demonstrate." With a dirty sounding Crank Veil pulled a lever on the machine. For a moment nothing happened, then, a noise escalated as gears began to turn and the crystal rotated between the coils. It sounded as if an entire factory were crammed into one single machine. A dark aura was generated around the central crystal. This pure magical power then traveled through wires and focused into the magic cannon. Energy built up inside the cannon's core, growing brighter by the second. Veil aimed the swivel at a nearby tree. He pressed a button on the handle, causing a beam of red aura to burst out towards the tree, spanning the twenty three meter distance almost instantaneously. The tree, now with full attention of the audience, began to levitate. Veil pushed another button and the tree was transformed into a large candy-cane. The crowd went wild. "But that's not all folks! This thing can do much more! Everyone, prepare yourselves." yet another lever was switched and the beam of magic shot skyward, penetrating the clouds. Then, the sky became darker and the sun fell below the horizon, Veil's machine had brought about night with ease. The conglomeration of pony stood in shock for a moment. They were all told that only royal princesses could possess such magical power, which was the reason for their royalty. If any pony with some fancy machine could produce the same result, why were they treated as gods?
The crowds internal question was interrupted by sirens. Moments later, aerial guards swarmed the park. A troop of royal police pegasi landed around Veil and his machine. "Halt!" snapped one of them. Before able to react, he was bucked away from the controls. As the N.M.A.E was powered down, the obvious leader of this strike team trotted over to the inventor. "Sir, you are under arrest for disruption of harmony." he told Veil, as they hoofcuffed him.
"This is madness! My invention can change the world!" Veil cried as he was being dragged.
"Not a world ruled by Princess Celestia." a police pony replied. "This is nothing more than discordance." Veil was thrown into the back of a cage chariot and taken away.
--
The Manehattan Times
____________________________________
Manufacturable Magic!
Yesterday, a stallion by the name of Veil Noblecolt made a public display of a device which harnesses the magical power to perform acts previously exclusive to Celestia and Luna. After using his device, which he called: "The Noblecolt Magical Aura Emulator" to bring about night, he was quickly arrested. Noblecolt is currently being held at the Canterlot Maximum Security Prison. Officials are......
-EQUESTRIA DAILY-
Can The Royal Sisters Be Matched?
Apparently they can be. Yesterday in Manehattan, a demonstration of the N.M.A.E (Noblecolt Magical Aura Emulator) attracted a massive crowd in Central Park. Veil Noblecolt, the inventor, was arrested after he used the N.M.A.E to change educe night without consent of the royal sisters. Some suspect....
"...attempting to inflict discord..."
"...said to be utilizing an unknown element..."
"...What else could that device do?..."
"...Manehattan growing more industrial...", "...money and power..."
"What's next?"
--
Spike opened his eyes. His first sight was a bookshelf several feet from him. Anatomy of Fish stared back at him from the spine of a book.
Spike opened his eyes. His first sight was a bookshelf several feet from him. Anatomy of Fish stared back at him from the spine of a book. He rubbed his eyes, turned over onto his back and stared blankly at the white ceiling. His mind was empty until he realized Wait... Twilight doesn't have white ceilings! This realization quickly sobered him as he jumped to his feet in a flash. Spike looked about the room, trying to recall any reason for his being there. Normally when Spike takes long trips, he wakes up in a panic but soon remembers where he is. This time, however, nothing was coming to the dragon. Was he on vacation? Did he sleepwalk here somehow? Was he-Oh! Spike remembered. Last night Twilight said something like: "Get up Spike, we're leaving." Then I fell down the stairs or something. It was all so blurry, like a dream. Twilight must have moved him here while he was asleep. But the question still remained. Where was here? Spike elected to have a look around.
He made a thorough analysis of this room. Without much inspection, spike was surprised to discover that he was sleeping on his own circular floor bed. It laid in the center of the floor on top of a boring, peach rug. To his left was the bookshelf which previously tricked spike into believing this was the library. It stretched across the entire left wall. In front of him was an awkwardly placed black desk, on it, a simple unlit candle. Spike noted that a window would fit perfectly above the desk, proving a view and natural light, yet, there was none. This made spike a bit uneasy. Behind him was the door, opened. Through it, a beige wall.
Spike approached the door and peeked out, first left, then right. Nothing special, just a regular hallway with doors on either side stretching both ways. However, to the left was what spike assumed to be the end of the hallway two doors down, with a slightly grander door finishing it. Two doors to the right was an entrance to another room. From what spike could peek at, it had royal blue coaches and dark oak table. Spike was relieved to see the far wall was entirely glass, however, nothing was visible through the blinding glare of Celestia's sun. He made up his mind to go right and investigate that other room.
As Spike left the hallway and entered the larger room, he got the full sensation of it's scale, roughly three times the size of the room he woke up in. The couches he saw before, looked pristine, as if brand new. Except, on one side of the "L" shaped sofa were seven spots where it looked ponies had sat. The table stood in the center. On it, a book and.... Um...what is that? Spike took the foreign object into his claws and inspected it. It was a shiny brass cone with a small tube extending from the bottom. Having already lost interest, the dragon put back the object and turned his attention to the epic window.
Looking out the massive window, Spike saw snow, snowflakes softly drifting though the air just past the glass. Past the frozen precipitation, Spike could see windows facing him across a massive gap. Down inside the gap was a street with ponies of all types passing each other on both sides, most sporting jackets and hoodies. In the middle, carriages were backed up as far as the eye could see. All around him were other enormous skyscrapers of various size, shape, and color. Spike immediately recognized that iconic skyline. He was In Manehattan. At first, the dragon was in awe of the mesmerizing power and energy which could only happen in this particular city. However, it was short lived. Soon Spike's excitement morphed into concern. The city was great and all, but why had he been taken here? I just didn't make any sense. The dragon pondered for a minute while he gazed upon the chaos below, considering his next move.
Spike's train of thought was cut off, the sound of drawers being opened and paper being shuffled emanated from an additional door. Walking over, the sound stopped and restarted several times before he reached the slightly open entrance. The dragon peeked inside. A stallion with black coat, silver mane, and matching tail, sat at a desk inspecting some cluster of tiny metal pieces. He was so focused on his work that he had not noticed the dragon peeking snooping around. Suddenly, he glanced over. "Ah!" the startled pony said, dropping the object in his hooves. Spike was equally startled by this, jumping backwards out of view. The stallion now turned his full attention to the dragon. "Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that." Relieved by the non-hostile acknowledgement, Spike revealed himself. "You must be Spike." Said the friendly pony.
The dragon was not entirely sure of the situation yet, and he wasn't about to let his guard down. Any number of situations could be transpiring, some good, some bad, but until everything was figured out, Spike was determined to stay vigilant. "Mabye! Who are you!? What's going on?!" He questioned.
"Whoa, calm down. You don't know what's going on?"
"No, I don't!"
"They never told you?"
"I wasn't told anything!"
"Well, I think it was suppose to be a surprise or something, so I don't want to spoil anymore than needed." The black stallion sighed. "Well, my name's Ed. It's a pleasure to meet you, Spike." Said the pony, extending a hoof to shake Spike's claw. Spike was hesitant to shake Ed's hoof, visually examining it before getting close. Eventually, the dragon extended his claw and- SLAM! The front door opened, fallowed by exuberant mare voices.
"Marvelous, darling! The city is even better than I remember!"
"I'll say! What with all them newfangled contraptions for moving ponies. What were they called again?"
"Auto Carriages."
"Oh yeah!"
"Eh, I still like flying better..."
"Well not all of us can fly, Dash! Us Earth ponies need to get around quick too ya' know."
"What are you talking about, silly? I can get around just as quick, maybe even quicker!"
"I um... they were... cool."
"I agree with Fluttershy, despite the lack of practicality, they were very cool. I just hope- *gasp*" A purple unicorn dressed in thick clothing and scarf turned the corner to make direct eye contact with Spike. "Spike! You're awake!"
Spike was quick to respond, ticked off. "Yes I am! Why didn't you tell me we were going on vacation?!" The rest of the mane 6 also turned the corner to see Spike.
"Now calm down, Spike, Let me explain." Twilight levitated her saddle pack and scarf to the couch. "First of all, this was supposed to be a surprise gift for Hearth Warming Eve, which is why I never told you. Second, this is partially a vacation, and partially work related. It's possible that we could be moving here, Spike."
Spike was in shock, he understood the reasons for him never being told. But, "What are you talking about, Twilight? Moving? Here? Why?" The rest of the mane six stood watching the confrontation in awkward silence, trying to occupy themselves but couldn't help but listen to the argument. Ed peeked through the door at the commotion.
"Alright..." Twilight did that breathing thing to calm down. "It's like this. The pony who lives here is a scientist, his name is Ed." Twilight looked up at Ed, who was watching. She then quickly looked back at Spike. "Ed requested my knowledge of magic to assist his research into the nature of Xyphorium. In return, we get to stay in his magnificent apartment in the center of Manehattan."
"Then why are they here?" Spike motioned to the ponies behind Twilight.
Applejack trotted forth. "We're here because a pony always needs a friend." She said.
"And Twilight demanded us to come." Rarity chimed in.
"Yeah." Pinkie Pie added.
"Does that all make sense, Spike?" Asked Twilight.
"I guess so..."
"Good enough." She Concluded. One the conversation ended, all the ponies split up and went their separate ways. Rainbow Dash softly flew to her room, Applejack jumped onto the couch and stretched herself out, Rarity began admiring all the clothes she had purchased in the city, Pinkie Pie sprinted to the restroom, Fluttershy was speaking with Angel Bunny, whom Spike had not noticed earlier, and Twilight began speaking with Ed.
"Hey, Ed."
"Yes, Mrs. Sparkle?"
"We stumbled upon a copy of the Manehattan Times, you're brother is on the front page." Said Twilight while she levitated the newspaper in front of Ed.
"Well whatta ya' know, he's the cause of that time shift ruckus. That crazy bastard actually did it."
"Did what?" Spike Asked
"My brother used Harmonium to change day to night."
"What's Harmonium?"
"Well, Spike, It's actually a very rare crystal found only is the remotest locations of Equestria. It's the same crystal that the Elements of Harmony are made of. Not only that, but when used a certain way, it can generate an incredibly powerful magical aura." Ed explained.
"Wow, that's awesome! But, aren't you doing something with.. 'Ziforus' or something?"
"Ah, you mean Xyphorium. Yes, well, Xyphorium and Harmonium are actually the reasons why he and I are not working together. About a year ago, me and my brother, Veil, were working on a means of extracting the magical properties from certain substances, we discovered that both Harmonium and Xyphorium possessed raw aura. The difference, however, is that Harmonium was very powerful but rare, while Xyphorium was less rare but weak. My brother became obsessed with the notion of being able to overpower the Royal Princesses and insisted we continue our study of Harmonium. I would not fallow in his villainous quest for power, I was in it for the science."
"So.. now you need Twilight's help to study Xypirium, Sizypiu-"
"Xyphorium."
"Yeah, That."
"Precisely."
