My Little Pony: Third Gear

Chapter 15: Brain Children

“Ladies and gentlebeings,” Gearhead said from the stage, “welcome to Fillydelphia. Welcome to the first ever Sorcery and Science Symposium!” The audience roared with approval, the Ponies among them stamping their hooves. There were members of different species present, including some Gryphon and even a couple of the smaller species of Dragons. Gearhead smiled and smoothed out his formal blacks.

“I have invited the scientific and magical minds in and around Equestria to assemble to discuss and develop the advancements, both scientific and sorcerous, that will carry us into a new age.

“While many of you may already be enthusiastic about the discussions that are about to commence,” here Gearhead had to pause for more cheering, “in all likelihood there is one subject about which you came to hear. No doubt all of you are eager to have its secrets shared with you as part of these discussions.”

The hall became completely silent.

“The Alicorn Engine magi-tech is most responsible for my desire to create the SorSci Symposium,” Gearhead said, “because I know that its development has prompted many to attempt similar results.”

The loudest cheering and applause yet.

“I am therefore announcing here and now, before you all,” Gearhead said, over the continuing noise, “that all direct Alicorn Engine magi-tech is officially off the table.”

For a moment, the cheering continued unabated, then the assembled beings started to quiet as the words slowly sank in. Somewhere in the back, somepony yelled “WHAT?!” so loudly Gearhead could have sworn the stallion responsible was right in front of him. Then his audience turned from curious to furious, shouting that he was keeping the secret to himself, all so only he would profit and possess the power the Engine magi-tech gave him. Gearhead raised a hoof for silence, and kept it raised until everyone had, if not calmed down, quieted down.

“I freely admit that I cheated and used an outside resource when I created the original prototype, however I was also making it out of curiosity for what it could do. By the time I realized it was weaponizable that was because of threats against Equestria. I quickly realized how dangerous it was, and besides that, the cost of equipping more than a dozen ponies with their own Engines would be prohibitive. By the time we equipped a town the size of Ponyville, we would all be in financial trouble. We would also have hundreds of ponies untrained in their use, capable of flying to, or into, pretty much anywhere. So I adapted the design to defence instead – and indeed, Fillydelphia is protected by its own Alicorn Array, on top of its own extremely capable City Guard.

“While I am not here to give you excuses or reasons why the Alicorn Engine will not be made publicly available, nor its designs open for acquisition, I do believe it is appropriate to address it here: the technology and magic of it is an inspiration for those who wish to transcend their tribal or racial limitations – and I doubt any among you have not seen an Earth Pony fly by now.

“Most appropriately of all, the Alicorn Engine is both the foil and the framing device for the whole of SorSci: what better challenge than to come up with inventions and innovations of a similar order in magnitude and advancement? I charge you all to push each other to go beyond what might have been possible working alone or in your laboratory research and development groups. Compete and advance, just as athletes do, and help to make our world a better place for those advancements.

“I must warn you, though, that if your work seems to be heading in a harmful direction I may have to put a stop to said project for the safety of all. This is why there are so many safeguards layered into the Alicorn Engine magi-tech, so it cannot go out of control or harm anypony. This is also why it is so well protected and sealed. And believe me, with a half dozen attempts to cut through the casings on Arrays across Equestria, seventeen attempts to overtake the Defence Alliance’s escort teams, and no less than thirty-seven attempts to discover the Engine’s location at Gearhead’s Gadgets there is every reason for those safeguards to exist.

“Interest in the science and magic most definitely exists, so what better way to unlock it for others, by means that will make it more available, than to gather our best minds together? And of course, while we are here I think it would be beneficial to pursue other avenues of advancement. So it is here, with permission from Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the Mayor and Council of Fillydelphia, that we have this opportunity to do just that.

“Over the next three months, I encourage everyone to explore, collaborate, and expand our understanding of knowledge within out world – what we know, as well as what we do not know. If this endeavour is deemed successful, we can look forward to further gatherings in the coming years – in Vanhoover in the west and in Dodge Junction in Central Equestria.

“Any questions before you begin?”

“I have one: if you’re going to determine what is and isn’t harmful, how do we know you’re not going to just scrap a project because you’re afraid of what it might do, or because you don’t want someone taking over your territory?”

“Flim, was it? I have to tell you that when I saw your and your brother’s Cider Squeezy there were some aspects of it that I admired, yet I also noticed some flaws in the design. Had I made certain suggestions, do you not think you could have improved it further so that it would not have broken down? That is, of course, assuming an openness to listen to such suggestions.”

“Well yes, but...”

“And to answer your original question, Flim, I would not be making the decision alone: I will be consulting at all times with either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, who will present the Principality of Equestria. Likewise, Princess Cadence or Prince Shining Armour will represent the Crystal Kingdom, and Prince Blueblood will act as representative for the First Conclave of Shielding Light. Further, Midnight and Nightstar of the Third Conclave of Flowing Shadows, Windwalker and Aerial Azure, and Redwood and Sweet Pepper of Herd Verdant represent the interests of the Defence Alliance. So there are plenty of safeguards in place to ensure I do not become a danger to anyone.”

“Oh sure, safeguards who are all your friends!” Someone shouted.

“Are we friends, Prince Blueblood?” Gearhead asked, cocking his head.

“Not likely,” Blueblood sniffed, “although you are... respectable.”

“Well then, all I can ask for is respect, and that is something each of you should hold for the other, because for the next three months you are, if not companions, then colleagues.”

* * *

“Ah, Doctor Sparks, welcome back. I trust your first few days at the Symposium were properly edifying?” The Unicorn stallion seated at the head of the long table had an impeccably maintained white coat, short blond mane, and bright blue eyes. While Dr. Sparks had met with Steel Blue before, he had never met the eleven other Unicorns who were assembled now.

“It was not as I had hoped, but still fascinating, milord.”

“If you have details pertaining to the project, I would like to ask that you include it in your report. And since there are a number of officials here who are unfamiliar with it, please start from the beginning. Full disclosure of pertinent details is permitted.”

“Of course, milord,” Dr. Sparks said. Steel Blue might act amiably in front of others, but he was extremely strict with his subordinates and his expectations regarding their performance. He allowed only so much failure, and each one came with its own punishment. There were plenty of reasons for the nickname that nopony had dared to use to his face: the subordinates who knew their lord’s true nature called him ‘Steelblood,’ combining his name with that of his better-known son, Prince Blueblood.

‘Full disclosure’ meant that all of the Unicorns in this secret chamber knew about the project of which Dr. Sparks was the chief developer. Naturally that also meant that they were members of the First Conclave of Shielding Light, and thus of the same royal blood as King Bullion and Princess Platinum, the last Unicorns to hold independent rule of the land – although not over Equestria itself, but Unicornia which had preceded it.

Dr. Sparks closed the door and came to stand at the foot of the table, looking down the left side, then the right, before looking right down the middle at Steel Blue again. He used his magic to levitate an imaging crystal onto the table, and then began:

“My lords and ladies, after the Hoofington F1 my research and development group was commissioned to try to obtain similar, if not identical, results to those displayed by Thirdson Gearhead’s Alicorn Engines.” Here the crystal displayed a close-up projection of Gearhead flying his single-core Engine in the aforementioned race.

“While my group continued to encounter problems, some of which I will detail, the public became more aware of the original and its changes over time.” The picture switched, showing the same picture of the shield around Canterlot failing that the newspapers had used, only with another flick of his horn, Sparks switched to an enhanced image that only showed Gearhead and the two-core system.

“The issues which my group encountered centered around the issue of having to guess how the Engine worked without possessing any clues about it. We decided to find out what we could from the original source, however getting close to Gearhead and not asking too many questions without arousing his suspicions proved too difficult. Nor, when we placed agents at Gearhead’s Gadgets, could we locate the Engine’s storage, with only the main floor and the observation area on the top floor being accessible to customers. It was clear, however, that the Engine was not present there at any time. And Gearhead has never made any version of the Engine itself available for purchase.

“What appeared to be a new opportunity arose with the innovation now known as the Alicorn Array.” Sparks changed the picture so that a schematic of Canterlot was visible, the placement of all three turbines and the central condenser clear to all. “With a few exceptions, resources for the Arrays are always shipped from a storage facility that Herd Verdant owns, and operates jointly as a part of the Alliance, or Defence Alliance as it is now called. There are multiple such facilities throughout Equestria, so the DA can choose the one closest to a town or city for which Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have ordered an Alicorn Array for installation. An escort team meets the convoy there, and stays with the materiel until installation is complete.

“There is never an opening to even see what material the turbines are composed of, as the escort forms a wide perimeter during construction. The Unicorns among them even cast anti-scrying spells to keep out any interested eyes, and again asking questions begets suspicions. We even approached raiders asking for the possibility of taking the materiel, but after completing the reconnaissance phase of the mission their leader simply returned the fee they had asked for. One such mission ended as soon as one of the team spotted Gearhead.”

Sparks changed the picture to show Gearhead on the stage at SorSci. The photographer was clearly in the audience. “At the Symposium opening, Gearhead made it clear to all that he does not have any intention of releasing a general-purpose Alicorn Engine, fearing its misuse – and since no one can say who might get their hooves on one if he did, I cannot fully disagree. He framed it as a challenge to create a similar magi-technological jump on the strength of our own minds and cooperation with others. He even admitted to cheating by using some outside resource to create his first Alicorn Engine, but as to what that might be...”

Sparks changed the picture again, and this time it showed a fair close up of a single turbine. The photographer had taken it so that some of the towers from Canterlot Castle were visible behind the cone. “The turbines themselves are not guarded once construction is complete, but then they do not need to be guarded all the time when the outer shells are made with adamantine, they can deploy particle shields around themselves during times of threat, and the City Guard responds to even tapping on the shells in a matter of minutes. All of this means that we still do not know what their material composition is, or how they are arranged within the shells.

“As to how Gearhead might have cheated?” Sparks shrugged even as he changed the display to show a profile on the stallion. “The third-born son of Herd Verdant’s current generation, Gearhead is an accomplished inventor, and a skilled salespony. He left Verdant Fields at the age of eight, and has been supporting himself on his own since, and besides that, sent money back home.

“He has been shown, on many occasions, to be capable of using a more overt style of magic than his tribe is known for, most notably during a duel against Prince Blueblood during the recent Gala, and against the Changelings during their invasion. He has been training, both in magic and in combat, with Prince Shining Armour, Princess Cadence, Captain Stalwart Shield, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. Further, he holds Flight Officer rank with the Wonderbolts as a reserve member, and he has been seen in some places with a small Dragon. This does not leave a lot of possibilities for ‘external resources,’ however he is not known for the ability to outright lie, as that would probably be bad for his business.”

“With the dearth of information, we did not have a choice, other than to proceed on our own. Unfortunately, even with the full group focusing on the project, we could not create a turbine system that would generate its own power as it worked. We can create propeller systems and those that use wind and even water for propulsion, but they always require Unicorn magic as a power source, and eventually deplete the crystal matrix being used as the power source. Since we were not making that much progress while focusing on just one aspect of the project, we decided to separate the project itself into parts, and work on each one separately. Thus did we finally name Project TRINITY.

“The first team of Project TRINITY, Bright Wings, would still cover propulsion and power. The second team, Great Shield, would be responsible for coming up with a better, more comfortable armour. The third team, Inspiring Mind, was to design the system for operating everything.

“While progress was slow or stalled for Bright Wings, Great Shield came up with a way to provide a pilot with a lining that would cushion the force of any blow that landed. Naturally, they recommended adamantine plating until Gearhead released his microscale armour for the Wonderbolts and Guards Corps. This armour is highly customizable, but also purchasable, as long as you can prove it will be used in defence of the Principality.”

“So you bought some,” Silver Mane, who sat to Steel Blue’s right, said.

“No, we were unable to provide sufficient proof for a purchase of our own. We do, however, have access through the Guards, so examining the microscale was never a problem. Unfortunately, we lack the precision to make it ourselves, and I doubt we would be able to steal any without Stalwart Shield or one of the princesses noticing.”

“The principality’s safety is top priority,” Steel Blue said. “What about efforts to co-opt those on the Arrays’ crews?”

“Also not going to happen, considering the tight conditions of their contracts. Princess Luna even places a mental shield on them so their minds cannot be read. Compromising those shields by trying to force our way in would only alert her to our intentions. As to placing an agent, the screening and hiring process is most rigorous. Of all the Arrays already in place, we only have one agent in place, and that in Canterlot. Unfortunately, even while in place this agent does not have access to the information we want.”

“And the Inspiring Mind team? Surely last night’s incident means you’ve made big strides,” Silver Mane asked.

“To understand what happened then, I will provide some background first. In trying to design an effective control system for what we hoped would be as successful an Engine as the originals, we decided that copying a Unicorn’s mind would be the most effective strategy – after all, any being’s mind controls her or his body most precisely.

“The mind scan process had some unintended consequences from the beginning, with medium- and low-intelligence minds being unable to fully control even a simple suit of armour. High-intelligence copies quickly became aware of their new limits as bodiless beings, and wished for a quick death.

“We discovered through trial that by linking the scans together we could compensate for low intelligence, and they would not become aware and suffer. We continued to explore along this avenue, and while we found we had rudimentary control, the interface we created was still too crude for fine control.

“Then, three months, two weeks, and three days ago, a scan cluster suddenly linked to our research and development network and started pulling data. It designed its own body, ordered parts, and created its own work orders for fabrication. We followed along out of simple curiosity, never expecting all that much, and since it did not work immediately our first impression seemed accurate.

“When the cluster’s redesigns started to come together as intended, however, we took note and started inserting safeguards of our own. The cluster rejected most of them, but we managed to slip one in near its core, the heart. Or we think we managed it, because the cluster quickly put in a shielding layer, so we do not actually know if the shut down procedure would work.

“Still, when the cluster’s progress slowed to a crawl, we thought it was safe to proceed with our own plans. I also thought it was safe to make the trip to Fillydelphia, and made it in time for the opening ceremonies three days ago.”

“Lucky for us it was easy to set up a teleportation relay,” Steel Blue said. “Tell us what you found out about last night, Doctor.”

“As you wish, milord. Around midnight last night, the cluster completed transfer of itself into the armoured unit it had designed for itself, and which we obliged in building. Shortly thereafter, it launched from the facility, and we have been unable to detect it since.”

“Should we be worried about it going rogue and killing Ponies?” Silver Mane asked.

“My team and I believe not, milady, primarily because the only thing we know it has been doing since is following its programming. Also, it did not do any damage at all, either on its way out, or since.”

“What programming is it following, then? And how do you know it’s following it?”

“We know what it is doing because it continues to transmit status updates to a terminal in the laboratory. This is part of the integral design that we managed to slip in, or that the cluster did not mind letting us put in.

"As to the programming, we gave the cluster four directives that will guide all of its actions. Each directive is inviolable.

“Directive One: Locate and acquire Alicorn Engine magi-technology.

“Directive Two: Safeguard the origin’s secret.

“Directive Three: Follow conduct according to the rules and laws of the Principality, except where doing so would violate Directive Two.

“Directive Four: If a single action can lead to immediate success in Directive One, disregard Directive Three.”

“So it can use force to bring an Alicorn Engine back to us for study?” Steel Blue asked.

“Only when it comes to interactions with Gearhead himself. But the true test of this will be when it encounters someone else, whether it chooses to engage in combat or retreat.”

“It could end up destroyed,” Silver Mane said. “What’s your plan if it falls into Gearhead’s hooves?”

“If the unit is destroyed, it is programmed to transmit all of the data it has collected to us. Additionally, it carries a significant amount of explosive energy, with which it would carry out Directive Two to avoid capture, if capture was to become inevitable. Either way, it will leave not a screw for Gearhead to examine.”

“What course of action do you recommend, Doctor?”

“None, other than to observe what it does next, because if it does follow its programming as we intend for it to do, we may have achieved a great leap in magic and technology, even beyond the Alicorn Engine. After all, we may have just created an autonomous mechanized unit.”

* * *

“I am impressed,” Gearhead said, watching 8-bit, Gizmo, Gaffer, and Shining Armour as they worked together. They had created a new type of armour that was flexible and lightweight like any other fabric most of the time, but which could absorb and ablate the impact of most hits in much the same way as Gearhead’s own microscale armour. Their new armourweave, on the other hoof, had the advantage that it could be worn just about anywhere. Its one weakness was that when an impact did come, the whole thing hardened to absorb it, restricting movement. The team was now working on a way to minimize what would be a severe weakness for any soldier.

“Have you seen our other work?” Twilight asked from beside Gearhead.

“’Other?’ If you mean the assist system, I am waiting until it is complete enough to be used with a frame in a practical demonstration before looking into it. But I do approve of an ‘assist,’ rather than a ‘control’ system. You would be surprised how many beings mistake one for the other.”

“Yes well, most of us here are at least smart enough to realize the difference. But do you really think this’ll work? I mean, working at these kinds of projects for as short as three months?”

“This is just the kick-start. I fully expect everyone to continue their development after they leave SorSci. Also, considering the rough start after my announcement everyone’s progress is very nice to see.” Gearhead had a complete listing of all the projects every being was working on, and he checked in with them throughout the day to check on their progress, as well as to see if they needed anything. Some of the participants seemed to have vanished, but he had every confidence they would be back to finish what they had started.

“That makes sense,” Twilight said. “Most ponies can’t just finish things in a matter of months. Innovation is a process, and it’s ongoing. As long as we keep chasing the shadow of perfection it’s an infinite process.”

“Which means that we must know when to stop obsessing over just the one thing and move on to another, because ‘perfect’ does not exist. To that end, we are doing well.”

“Are you worried someone might surpass your Twin Engine because of your challenge?”

“I would be surprised indeed if anyone did, but then that was the challenge. No, as long as it is not dangerous I look forward to seeing such a thing.” Gearhead’s earclip beeped at him, and the call’s information became visible. Since he had the glass set to ‘transparent,’ Twilight saw it too.

“Good news, I hope,” she said.

“Me too. Dawn, Gearhead. Go ahead.”

“Gearhead, we have a situation,” Dawn said, panic evident in her voice.

“Breathe deep, and give me the details, please.”

“This metal I-don’t-know flew in out of I-don’t-know where, and forced his way into the shop. He looked for something upstairs, and now he’s going down, to the basement.”

“Has he attacked anyone?”

“No, but if he tries much more I’m afraid Spring Flight might take exception.”

“Do not engage unless he acts aggressively. Stay out of his way at least until you know what he wants, and even then, only act against him if what he wants is dangerous to you: we can replace and repair items and property, but not lives.”

A moment passed, then Dawn said “understood,” and Gearhead knew that the Pegasi were with her.

* * *

The grey figure in armour had a pony’s head, but it was more lithe and long, like a tiger, and it most certainly had the claws to back that predatory appearance up. It also sported a pair of large wings, now folded, but Dawn and the others had seen the nozzles at the ends, which spouted plasma and hot air as the creature flew.

The creature had simply walked right into the shop, and Dawn and Spring, who had been on duty, had not known how to deal with him. He looked around, and then strode toward the stairs. When Dawn saw that, she tried blocking his path, but the creature merely kept moving, forcing her to get out of the way. Upstairs it had not done more than look around, but now it was heading downstairs, and neither Pony knew what to do, which was why Dawn grabbed her clip to call Gearhead.

Dawn knew that if it came to blows, Gearhead would not be able to get back from Fillydelphia for nearly a day, unless she teleported there, and then teleported back with him. But as long as she could tell him what was going on, he would know if the unknown creature was getting close to something critical, and whether she should step in and stop him. So far, Gearhead just wanted her to observe, and not place herself in peril.

In the basement, the creature looked around again, while advancing into the middle of the room. He didn’t even pause for long at any of the bins, so Dawn concluded that it wasn’t after any of the gems or metals. That pretty much left only one possibility, especially considering how most ponies knew that the Silver Wind was with Gearhead in Fillydelphia: the single-core Alicorn Engine.

The creature turned one complete circuit on the stone floor, and then it unsheathed the claws on all of its paws and started digging. Dawn and Spring watched, fascinated, as it tore through the stone, sinking into the floor. “Now he’s digging into the ground from the basement,” Dawn said.

“Shouldn’t we stop this?” Spring asked.

“I want to try something,” Gearhead said. “Please go find Spike and ask him to send a letter to Princess Celestia asking for an injunction to stop digging and intruding on private and/or commercial property. If this thing stops, we will know, by whatever logic he might possess, that he is law-abiding.”

“Spring, do you want to stay and watch or go?”

“You’re faster,”

“Okay, I’ll be right back. You keep reporting to Gearhead.”

“Done,” Spring adjusted his own clip. Dawn was gone in a flash.

“Don’t start anything without us,” Radar said as she and Torrent were on their way back from a run to the Everfree Forest.

“You don’t have to worry on that count,” Spring said. “I don’t have anything I could attack him with.”

“Fair point,” Torrent said.

As Spring watched, the creature continued to dig, and soon he had created a shaft at least a dozen meters deep that only went straight down. And he was still going.

“It sounds like he is trying to dig deep enough to be able to find a room with certain depth requirements – which would usually translate as height,” Gearhead said.

“Like a place you could house the Wind?”

“That would do it,”

“But we’re not stopping him,” Spring said.

Radar and Torrent came bounding into the room. “That is deep,” Torrent said when he saw the creature’s progress.

“Twenty-seven meters and counting,” Radar said.

“So... did the Array react to him at all?”

“Not that we saw or heard,” Torrent said.

“I could barely sense him, like he’s not all there,” Radar said.

“He must be something new then, like the Jackrabbit spirit was.”

“That’s disturbing,” Spring said.

“At least he hasn’t hurt anyone,” Gearhead said.

“Yes, but now we have a hole in the floor to fill,” Torrent said.

Dawn came trotting down the stairs, and ran up to the hole. “Hey, I have something here you have to see,” she shouted down at the creature. “Are you coming up, or am I coming down?” She took a scroll out of the saddlebag she had not been wearing earlier, and it was clear from Twilight’s cutie mark on the flap that she was just borrowing it.

The creature’s eyes glowed bright blue as he seemed to look up and consider, and then there was a different tone to his activities. Soon he came up over the lip of the hole. “Present for scanning,” he said, his voice oddly flat as it echoed, not in the room but in his own head, or so it seemed.

Dawn cracked the scroll’s seal and unrolled it with her magic.

“Scanning... authenticating... verified as 100% authentic writ. Ceasing activities at this location. Procede to alternate location to carry out Directive One.” The creature started up the stairs.

“Hey, who’s going to clean all this up?!” Spring called.

“And what is ‘Directive One?’” Dawn asked.

But the creature had lost interest in them all. After a moment of stunned silence, Dawn led the way back upstairs, but even when they went outside, the creature was nowhere to be seen.

“What did you bring back to stop him anyway?” Radar asked.

Dawn turned the scroll over to read it. “An injunction, like Gearhead asked. Signed by Princess Celestia...”

“... and Princess Luna?” Torrent asked.

“How does one stallion get approval from both princesses?” Spring asked.

“And on short notice,” Spring said.

“Well,” Gearhead said, still listening through his own comm, “I am one of their students. Now, if only we knew what it was after.”

“What happened to ‘he?’” Spring asked.

“It got knocked off the table when it spoke like a computer, or at least with less personality than mine,” Gearhead said. “Now, Radar, can you track it?”

“I can try. I mean, it appeared very suddenly, and I felt something was wrong. That’s how we knew to come back.”

“I do not like that the Array did not detect it. That means we may not know where it will appear next until it is already there.”

“At least its range should be limited,” Dawn said.

“Should be,” Torrent agreed, looking at Dawn.

“Right. We need to be able to respond to it quickly if this is not a one-time occurrence.”

“If I talk to Mom and Dad we could set up a teleportation relay that’ll take us wherever we need to be.”

“And use up lots of mana,” Gearhead said. “It may not be the smartest set-up, but it may be necessary instead. Okay, but close the store first.”

“We’d better fix the hole, too,” Spring said. “I wonder how close it got?”

Dawn teleported to the bottom of the shaft, and used her horn to summon a light. Once she was back in the Workshop, she explained: “It started digging in a spiral.”

“That’s a good search pattern,” Spring said.

“And still it would not have gotten close. Okay, can we fill it back in before we go anywhere else?”

“You got it, Boss.”

* * *

“Good morning,” Gearhead said to those who had answered his call. He had taken over one of the side conference rooms for this short meeting of the minds. “A situation has come up with an unknown entity who appears to be targeting Alicorn Engine magi-tech. I would like to ask for your assistance in stopping it.”

“Why and how?” One stallion asked.

“Why: because this magi-tech in the wrong hooves can be extremely dangerous. How: separately many of your projects are impressive enough. Assembled together, you could create something akin to an Engine.”

“And we’re just supposed to pull it all together like we know what we’re doing, and we’re okay with others using our stuff?”

“SorSci is all about collaboration, and the only reason we do not know ‘what we are doing’ is because we have yet to do it. But that also means that our potential thief will not know what to expect, and given what it has already displayed it knows, I would appreciate having a wild card.”

“’It?’ This isn’t a pony we’re dealing with?”

“I do not yet know its nature, however it behaves like one my computers, like a machine. If it is, then it is simply following its programming or orders. Just knowing that could lead to the ones behind this trouble.”

“What will you be doing all this time?”

“I will go back to Ponyville, where a chain has been established to get me where I will need to go to have a talk with the thief. I want to ascertain its purpose, so hopefully it will not directly develop into a fight. However, since it knows about the Engine it probably has countermeasures prepared for it. I will try to do things it does not expect, and buy you the time you would need if you are prepared to fight beside me. If not, I will find a way to deal with it.”

“How can you expect us to build something we haven’t even designed yet?”

“I will be leaving the Silver Wind in its hangar. It has a small fabricator aboard. You will be able to use that.”

“You sure it’s smart, leaving one of your biggest guns behind when you’re probably heading into a fight?”

“The Wind is more exploratory vessel than ‘gun.’ The Engine is my ‘big gun,’ as you describe it, but if this creatures has countermeasures against it specifically, I will need to have alternates available. You are one of those, if you want to be. But I can improvise.”

“You’re a planner; you hate improvising.”

“That said, are you with me?”