My Little Pony: Third Gear

Chapter 2A: Arrival In the Brilliant City

“Twilight!” The fatigue vanished instantly from Cadence’s face as soon as she saw the younger mare. The two of them rushed together, and started doing some ‘Sunshine Sunshine’ dance. I cannot figure on grown mares doing such a thing, Gearhead thought. It is probably a carry-over from the time when Cadence used to foalsit Twilight. Thinking about it, Gearhead could only imagine older fillies teaching younger fillies the rhyme. He could imagine Big Sister Ivy teaching it to Dawn or Prism, but he could not imagine Dawn doing it now. He chuckled softly at the mental image even as he tried to finish up the visualization for the turbine placement on his glasses.

“We really should get together more when the fate of Equestria isn’t hanging in the balance,” Cadence said, and for a moment she struggled to hold her shield together.

“What is the full situation?” Twilight asked.

“We’re fairly certain that when the Crystal Empire returned, so did King Sombra,” Cadence said. “Princess Celestia probably knew this would happen, and sent us to hold the city until a more permanent means of defence could be found.”

“Unfortunately Sombra has already countered my protection spell,” Armour said. “Cadence seems to be able to keep him at bay by spreading a field of Love and Light, but she barely eats or sleeps, so she won’t be able to keep this up for much longer.”

“If the Crystal Empire’s so important, it must’ve had some sort of protection back in the day,” Applejack said.

“We think so too,” Armour said, “but neither of us have had a real chance to investigate, with Sombra’s roaming siege of the place. As you saw before, he keeps me busy on patrols while Cadence provides the shield. We really couldn’t do much else until the nine of you got here.”

Twilight lit up with an idea. “A research paper!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry, Big Bro, I’m really good at this sort of thing. We’ll find out about the Empire’s ancient defence system for you.”

“Thanks, Twily,”

“In the meantime,” Gearhead said, “Snowbelle and I can see about putting together a new system as backup.”

“I was wondering when that’d come up,” Applejack said.

“Now, while you are looking for clues, is as good a time as any.”

“In that case, we’ll leave you to it,” Twilight said, and she started to lead the others back outside.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Gearhead said, taking out a small case. “If we are going to split up, we will probably want to stay in touch. I made these for situations where a strong telepath would not be available.”

Twilight and Rarity lifted the small, bone white devices out of the cases. “How do they work?” Rarity asked.

“You put them in your ear like so, with this wire tucked above and around. Then your touch your hoof to the piece in your ear or click your tongue to turn it on. If you only want to speak to somepony specific, just say her name first.”

“They may not be the most fashionable accessory, but at least they’re functional.”

“Yes, they should enable faster communication. But let me know if you find any problems.”

“You mean like catching fire?” Pinkie asked. Rarity looked like she wanted to pull hers out of her ear and throw it on the ground.

“Cooling is not a problem, but the signals might get mixed up occasionally. This is still an experimental magic for me.”

“Okay, thanks,” Twilight said, and she led the others off.

“Now, what did you have in mind?” Armour asked.

Gearhead deployed his cores horizontally so they could deploy particles to form a holographic picture. He showed the Crystal Empire, and then placed three circular icons equidistant from each other at the city’s borders, so they formed a triangle. A larger circle appeared just below the main plaza outside the palace.

“The smaller circles are the full-sized turbines that form the backbone of the defensive array. The bigger circle at the center is a combined condenser and control room unit. Neither unit needs to be any larger than a water tower, because they only need to generate and deploy particle fields.”

Gearhead changed the image to show a more simplified picture where he could show the conical turbines and the cylindrical condenser. “After the turbines charge the condenser, they can deploy their particle fields together. Each turbine generates particles at different, high-powered frequencies. The turbines cast their fields in shells from the ground, while the condenser casts its field straight up so it can cascade down and out from directly over the city’s center. As they do so, the particle fields mix, strengthening each other into a more solid and unified shell.” The hologram showed the particles deploying, and how the fields were not solid until they mixed together. “The energies’ resonance between each other allows for them to function without needing more units. This is how my concept for the Alicorn Array stands right now.

“The particles my Alicorn Engine and Alicorn Array generate are varieties of Light energy, so it naturally follows that they are most effective against Dark Magic users. I can also naturally program in exceptions, so members of the Conclave and Luna can enter protected areas. The Array should be effective against Sombra, however I must voice the disclaimer that in practice I have not actually tested it against such a threat.”

“Except for that last stretch of the flight here,” Armour said.

“True, we did see that the particles tend to degrade Sombra’s dark crystal constructs, exactly as Light Magic should.”

“You had a run-in with King Sombra?”

“Yes, but we’re fine, Honey.”

“But this means he could have an idea of what to expect, and try to counter it.”

“He can try, but I doubt he will be any more successful than he was when Princess Celestia and Luna defeated him the last time,” Gearhead said. “But even if he does, I am sure that we can defeat him in battle as long as we fight smart.”

“I don’t suppose you brought the parts needed for your Array with you, by any chance?” Cadence asked hopefully.

“I brought the parts for one turbine, so I could demonstrate the concept to your aunts, but I never got the chance. I can deploy it to one of the three key positions,” Gearhead brought the map from the beginning back up, “but I will need more pure gemstones for the rest of them. If we had more time I could arrange for the new Defence Alliance to send a portion of the parts, but they would never arrive in time for them to matter in our current situation.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the buildings here are kind of all made of gemstones. I think we can manage to provide for our own defence,” Cadence said. “In fact,” she glanced at Armour.

“In fact,” he continued, “you can consider whatever you need at your disposal, on our joint authority as the Empire’s stewards.”

“I am glad you said that, however I would like that on contract,” Gearhead said, pulling one of the rolled parchments from a pouch with his tail. He opened it, and held it out for Armour to take and peruse. “This contract is based on the one that Father and the rest of the D.A. approved. It grants me access to the mineral resources required to complete the Array, even from the treasury if necessary, with compensation from the D.A.’s stores possible afterwards. It is tailor made for high-pressure jobs, so that all you have to do is sign directly onto the contract. I also had Midnight and Nightstar enchant it so it will be magically-binding on me as the one building the Array.”

“Why would you do that?” Cadence asked.

“So there would not be any chances of me ‘misplacing’ any of the gems.”

“You wouldn’t ever do that anyway!”

“Dear, we’re probably going to have to deal with a lot of foreign powers as long as we’re here. We may as well start practising our political savvy on somepony we know we can trust.”

“Yes, fine, but I still don’t like treating a friend like we can’t trust him.”

“Can I make a few changes?” Armour asked.

“Such as?”

“This mentions ‘mineral resources,’ an obvious reference to the gemstones you’ll be using, but what about ponypower? Couldn’t you use some help in putting these things together?”

“Great idea, Shining Armour,” Cadence said, forgetting her anger. “Taking a look at some of the buildings in the city it’s clear they’re specialists at working with gemstones. They could help Gearhead like nopony else could.”

“What do you think?” Armour asked Gearhead.

“Given how we do not know how much longer Cadence can keep the shield up, I do not see any reason to object, although the Crystal Ponies might.”

“They won’t,” Armour said, using a quill to add to the contract. “They don’t want a return to Sombra’s rule any more than we want him to come back. There.”

“There is something else, a possibility I thought of after what Cadence said.”

“Yes?”

“Would it be possible to use a part of the palace tower as the condenser room, rather than trying to build it on the edge of the plaza?”

“Why would you put it at the edge, anyway?” Armour asked.

“It is just an impression, but I think that the plaza might be part of an array for the city’s original defence. If it is, the condenser could end up interfering with it if I tried to place it at the most ideal location, which is the plaza center. But an unused palace room would not get in the way.”

“And it would be a better use of the space,” Cadence said.

“Okay, approved,” Armour said, adding that little detail. He signed the contract, and then passed it to Cadence, who immediately added her own mark. Lastly, Gearhead signed with the hat-wearing gear that served as his shop’s sign.

“Time to get to work,” the Earth Pony said to his Dragon daughter, who trilled her response. But when they reached the door, he stopped and turned back. “Another idea occurs,” he said.

“I’m all for ideas,” Shining Armour said. “What is it?”

“Since both of you are running on part-mana, I believe we could use every boost we can get access to, and there is one that we have not made use of from Spring Onion’s spellbooks.” Like Starswirl the Bearded, Spring Onion the Fieldmaster was a legendary Magister Magi of Equestria’s court. Spring Onion specialized in combat spells, including the unincanted and delayed versions of some of the spells that Gearhead used. He had also trained away from the model of the fragile traditional mage, and toward that of a combat mage, able to hold a combat line without need for a partner to take the melee side of a battle. But most mages were like the princesses, in that they could cast powerful spells, but they were vulnerable to physical attacks, especially while they casted. That was why they often had Attendants to protect them.

“You don’t mean... the Master-Attendant Contract?” Cadence asked.

“Why not? The two of you are already married, so you should not have an issue with being Partners as well.”

“But at our age the Contract will be permanent, and in full effect. What if it’s not as powerful as it could be because we don’t have full mana?” Armour asked.

“And...” Cadence exchanged a glance with Armour, “who would be the Master, and who the Attendant?”

“If I can modify the magic circle to inject some of my mana into the Contract, there should not be a problem with the its level.” After the siege on Canterlot, the princesses had insisted on getting another measure for how large Gearhead’s manapool was. They did this by having him cast Magic Arrows until he ran out of mana. The first time he had done that exercise he topped out at just over 2,400 arrows. That, on its own, was not anything to sneeze at, however after repelling the Changelings, his power seemed to have quadrupled!

Training on its own could not account for such a great amount of growth, and none of the princesses could come up with a reason that was any more logical than his own. The first possible explanation was that all the continuing exposure that Gearhead was taking to his Engines’ particles was the culprit – but blaming that for an increase to 9,600 arrows was more than just a bit of a stretch. The explanation that Gearhead disliked and did not trust was that his time as an Alicorn had permanently grown his manapool. He did not like that because it meant he had gained power by losing control over his magic, and he had spent most of his life learning how to control it. Perhaps it was a combination of these things, and his regular training: Gearhead had not missed a day yet, even if he had to train later in the day.

Gearhead brought his thoughts back to the matter at hoof. “In this situation, we want Cadence to get the mana boost, which means she needs to be the Attendant.”

“Problem,” Armour said, “she’s definitely more powerful than me, and the position of Master usually goes to whoever’s more powerful, right?”

“That is correct, unless I specify who gets what post in the magic circle itself, and fortunately I know how to do that. It would be even more ideal if we could make it a two-way Contract, but if we cannot do that we can still add on the other direction later, when you are at full power.”

“It should work, since we’re the same two ponies,” Cadence said.

“Then should I get started?”

“The sooner the better,” Armour said, nodding.

Gearhead moved down to the floor at the foot of the stairs the led to the throne, where Cadence was sitting. He and Armour moved the carpet out of the way, then Gearhead used his steel dagger, and Snowbelle used her claws, to mark out the magic circle on the floor. They made it oversized so it would be easy to check the details, and then Gearhead used his Geomancy to raise the circle in the form of a fine dust.

Cadence and Shining Armour stepped into the middle of the circle, which contained a six-pointed star made up of two triangles. The one with the point downward was the Shield, representing the Attendant. The triangle with the point upward was the Dagger, representing the Master. Gearhead had inscribed both ponies’ names into both areas, so that when they kissed lip-to-lip and activated the magic, they would get the benefits from both sides of the Contract.

When the warm light finished washing over the couple and faded, the dust and etchings in the floor had disappeared, but now the Unicorn and Alicorn were holding a pair of long cards in their magic. “The Contracts have been successfully completed,” Gearhead said.

“Shall we give it a try?” Cadence asked.

“Definitely. Sis tua mea pars Ministra Magi Cadentiae.” Cadence winced slightly as a portion of Armour’s magic flowed into her, but then she opened her eyes wide and stood straighter.

“This is amazing! Now, your turn. Sis tua mea pars Minister Magi Armatura Nitida.” Even though he had seen what getting the boost was like, it still startled Armour.

“I feel so light,” he marvelled.

“Then the Contracts are doing what they should. And so should we,” Gearhead said. He helped the others put the carpet back in place, and then went outside.

Outside, Gearhead passed the unfurled and completed construction contract for Snowbelle to hold aloft. “Good ponies of the Crystal Empire, I am Thirdson Gearhead, and this is Snowbelle. We are going to build a defensive array for the city, and would like to invite you to help. We are in need of ponies who know how to mine and refine the best pure gemstones, ponies who can work and assemble those gemstones, and ponies who know the city well.

“The contract my daughter is holding grants us access to the gemstones we will need to complete construction and deployment on the array. It also grants me permission to recruit volunteers to help me do this. Actually, you could see this as an invitation not only to help establish a new defence system for the Empire, but also to join me in the Defence Alliance’s employ for the duration of this project, with the option for extension where appropriate.

“Who among you has the skills and knowledge to help? Who has the desire to protect your city, your loved ones, and yourselves?”

“Young stallion,” an older stallion said, “what did you say your name was?”

“I am Thirdson Gearhead,”

“That’s a Herd designation. Which one? And does your ‘Defence Alliance’ have any relation to the Alliance of old?”

“Indeed, the D.A. is the new iteration of the Alliance, and I am the Black Sheep of Herd Verdant. This is the sort of thing I build,” Gearhead indicated the Silver Wind with a hoof.

“Can it be? A member of the Green here, representing the Azure, Shadow, and Verdant?” Another pony said.

“It is,” Gearhead answered.

“This... this could be our way out of the curse!”

“Curse?”

“I’m sorry,” a mare said, “we can’t remember anything from before King Sombra, and we don’t want to remember anything from his rule!” The whole group grimaced, as though trying to keep a vision back.

“That is a powerful curse. I am sorry I do not have the power to lift it from you all directly. But at least together we can protect each other,” Gearhead said.

“I can’t remember the last time anything sounded so good,” another stallion said, and his coat immediately shimmered, and he lit up, mane at all. Some of the others around him followed suit, but not many.

“I can show ya where the good gemstones are,” a gruff-looking mare who had been restored said.

“And how is that, so suddenly?”

“I couldn’t remember ‘till just now, but I’m a mining supervisor, turns out!” Other ponies chimed in, wanting to sign on and contribute.

“Excellent,” Gearhead said, nodding to Snowbelle who rolled up the contract. “Come aboard the Silver Wind, and I will show you what we are building so you will know for what to look in the mines.” He gave the command to open up the cargo bay doors, and after only a moment’s hesitation, a group of ponies followed him aboard.

Gearhead opened the crates up. They were too large for anyone to see into from the deck, but there was a lattice of mobile catwalks helping to keep them stationary. Gearhead used his Twin Engines to fly up, which caused the gathered Crystal Ponies to ‘ooh’ or ‘aah.’ Some of the more adventurous ones found their own access to the catwalks so they could join Gearhead right away. For the sake of those who did not follow their colleagues, Gearhead drew his dagger with his tail and cast his spell.

“Quattuor Magnae Spiritus invoco. Lux transmutare alas.” The Crystal Ponies exclaimed in awe again when they saw Gearhead lift the large gemstone pieces from the crate in long threads of Light Magic. He guided the pieces around to the different supervisors and foreponies, so they could see the kinds of gemstones he used.

“Okay, no time to waste now,” one of the ponies said. “Lets get a move on!”

“Could I, perhaps, fly us to the mine entrances faster using the ship?” Gearhead asked.

“No offence, sir, but these are secret ways, for Crystal Ponies only.”

“Snowbelle and I will at least need to know where to go to pick the gemstones up,” Gearhead pointed out.

“True enough,” the same mare said. She took out a map, and Gearhead came down to look. The miner took a few moments to think of the ideal location to use, and then she jabbed at the map with a hoof. “Here. This’s where you can pick up all the gems we bring up for this shield.” She looked up at Gearhead, a massive grin on her face. “You just focus on the building, and leave the mining to us!”

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Gearhead said. He followed the other ponies outside to the bottom of the ramp.

“Alright, miners, follow your bosses. We’re gonna provide Mr. Gearhead with the best the Crystal Empire’s mines have to offer, and we’re gonna do it so fast he’ll wonder at our magic!”

The ponies cheered, more of them shining as they regained their spirit, and marched off.

I have to match that? Gearhead thought. “Alright, everypony on the build teams, we are going to take the parts I have to the first site. Who is ready to fly?”

Cheering like the ponies who had already vanished among the crystal buildings, more ponies followed Snowbelle aboard the Wind. Minutes later Gearhead lifted off for the west-most build site.

* * *

During the short flight to the first site, Gearhead decided to call Twilight to let her know about the Crystal Ponies regaining the sheen to their coats. “I wish I was having that sort of luck, but anypony I ask is under a memory curse,” the Unicorn said, her voice tinny in Gearhead’s ear.

“Actually, in the rush to recruit helpers I forgot to ask,” Gearhead said, blushing. He half-turned in his seat to address the Crystal Ponies who had joined him in the cockpit. They were marvelling at the stations about as much as they were the panoramic view of their own city. “Does anypony here remember how the Empire used to protect itself?”

“No, sorry!” That was the general chorus from those who spoke up.

“It seems we can put them in a good mood without having them also recover their memories,” Gearhead said.

“Ah well, thank you telling me about their coats,” Twilight said.

“I shall keep you posted,”

“I’d appreciate that. Twilight out.”

Gearhead clicked the channel closed, then took the Wind in for a gentle landing.

Unloading the crates from the ship was simple, and once that was done Gearhead let Snowbelle fly the Silver Wind to the loading zone: if anything happened at the mines and anypony wanted to contact him, they could use the ship’s communication array to do it. Snowbelle would also be able to fly the ship back out once it was loaded.

Unpacking the turbine components was more difficult: Gearhead had arranged the parts so that if anypony stole them they could not infer how to put the turbine together, but he had also kept them in an order that was logical to him. This meant that while the Crystal Ponies were eager to begin, he had to keep a close eye on them so they did not end up mixing the parts up.

Some of the parts were small enough that several of them could be carried in one hoof. Some were as big around as a pony’s neck, and most of them curved. Gearhead had to carefully direct the Crystal Ponies as they laid out the contents of the three crates.

The manager of a nearby building gave permission for them to construct the turbine on the roof. Normally such a proposal would have made Gearhead nervous, but since the structures in the Empire were all made out of durable gemstones themselves, he did not have to concern himself about things like collapse, and the turbine would protect the building from any direct attacks. Gearhead’s team built a scaffold stair to take the parts up, and watched as he used his magic to levitate the base up, and then secure it to the roof.

Piece by piece, at Gearhead’s direction, they started to assemble the first ring. Each piece clicked together when assembled correctly. Some of the pieces became sandwiched inside others, making them completely invisible. Others wrapped almost entirely around other pieces like sleeves. By the time the ring was assembled, it was as tall as a pony, and Gearhead was the only one who could lift it. He took it up to the base, used his Geomancy to solidify the bonds, and then locked it into the base before turning it both ways to ensure it would turn freely.

The second and third rings went up in similar fashion, Gearhead checking to ensure they would spin in both directions before moving on to a subsequent ring. He had just set the rings spinning counter to each other when nine more Crystal Ponies arrived. They had brought a pair of small, mobile cranes and a forklift. At first Gearhead wondered how they would get their machines to the rooftop, but then he got to watch as they disassembled them into pieces light enough for them to carry.

Thanks to the newest arrivals, the team was able to set up each of the remaining four rings more quickly and more smoothly than before. The ponies with the forklift would carry the large pieces to a staging area close to the partly-assembled turbine, where Gearhead instructed the others in their assembly. Once the ring was complete, Gearhead would use his magic to lift it onto a pallet, which the forklift would then pick up. The Crystal Ponies quickly attached cables to opposite sides of the ring, so the cranes could lift it into position after double-checking the lines’ integrity. The cranes then lowered the ring, moving slowly to ensure they could lock it securely in place. Finally Gearhead, the only one present who was able to spin the rings quickly enough with his flight, spun all the rings again.

The seventh ring, the one that was a cone, was the trickiest to assemble, but due to its relatively small size, it was also the easiest to lift into place. Once the final check was complete, Gearhead spun the rings. The Crystal Ponies cheered, expecting that that was all they had to do. With a loud ‘THUMP!’ Gearhead engaged the turbine’s drivers, causing the rings to stop spinning freely. He then turned his own cores on the turbine, and let his turquoise tornados flow right into its center.

The stacked rings began to glow, and then they started to turn, albeit slowly. The Crystal Ponies watched in silent awe for a moment, and then they broke out in renewed cheers. Most of them now had crystal coats that shone, and in that shine something Gearhead had not been expecting happened: the particles he had used for his demonstration flowed out of the turbine, and jumped from pony to pony, actually moving through each one and causing them to shine a little brighter – and as though in exchange, the particle blast grew in intensity before shooting off across the city.

“I did not expect that,” Gearhead said.

“Considering our lack of memories, we’re full of surprises today,” one of the mares said.

“I will not argue that,” Gearhead said, and then he clicked his communicator active. “Twilight, Gearhead. I just test-fired the first turbine.”

“I hear you, Gearhead. You had the expected results, I hope?”

“And something else unexpected: these Crystal Ponies just reflected and strengthened the energy I used in the test.”

“And nopony got hurt?”

“They seem to be in high spirits, actually.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“I will let you know.”

“I appreciate that. It’s time to wrap up our pony-to-pony investigations. Twilight out.”

Gearhead did not know how the others were faring, but from Twilight’s tone it seemed she was not having great luck so far.

“Gearhead, Silver Wind. We are now ready to pick you up and make our way to the second site.” It took a moment for Gearhead to recognize the voice of one of the mine’s overseers. It made sense that she would be giving Gearhead the message instead of Snowbelle, considering both the desire to take part and the fact that Snowbelle was still resisting speaking in front of other.

“Silver Wind, Gearhead acknowledges. Thank you, and see you soon, Snowbelle.”

The Dragoness chirped her reply, and then the signal switched off. Gearhead could imagine the overseer and the rest of her team making their way off the ship to return to the mines. Even though they had already gathered what the build team needed for the second turbine, they still had much to do.

Gearhead had one final step for his team to complete as well, but it was an easy one: lowering the assembled housing over the stacked rings, and then securing them in place. From now on, with all systems connected, the turbine could only be activated from the condenser room – as well as remotely by Gearhead’s own command, once the proper relays were all in place.

Minutes later, the Wind arrived. Snowbelle kept it in a holding position above the roof so the Crystal Ponies could board, along with their cranes and forklift. Once everypony was aboard, Gearhead closed the sliding plate and secured the hatch. Instead of moving forward to the cabin, he went to the section of the cargo hold where the miners had dogged down the crates with the new component crystals. Being careful to maintain his balance, Gearhead opened the nearest crate and took a look – after all, if they had too many defective parts they may as well return to the mine’s rallying point instead of moving on to the southern build site.

Gearhead needn’t have worried, since the parts the mining team had capably gathered and refined for him were perfect for the job. In the few minutes of the flight, Gearhead started working through the shaped gemstones in that first crate. The way the mining team had processed them, there were only a few minor changes to make in order to create a perfect match with the components on Turbine-1.

But Gearhead was not building a single match between the three turbines. Not only would some of the components be shaped differently, but they would be in a different configuration as well. This was an integral part of the array’s design, to be able to depend upon three different types of high-potency particles at the same time. Their combination was what would make the defensive field so difficult to penetrate.

Gearhead had already given Snowbelle the coordinates for Turbine-2’s site, so she was able to guide the Wind in for a landing right away. The build team rolled out, taking all of the crates with them, so Snowbelle could return to the rally point. Here again, Gearhead directed his team on where to place each component for the final processing, which he accomplished purely through an application of his Geomancy.

“Sir, can I ask a question?” The sub-boss asked. She had a sky-blue mane, done in that distinctively ornate style that Crystal Mares seemed to favour. Her coat was eggshell-white, and her eyes were the blue of a deep ocean. Her cutie mark was a span of crystal latticework rendered in ruby, emerald, and quartz.

“Certainly you may, and please call me ‘Gearhead.’”

“Jewelled Lattice. You can call me 'Latty.' What are these etchings for? I mean, I know they were in the first set of components, but why mark the parts like this?”

“An excellent question. These topological defects, when properly lined up, allow the core to produce even more energy for that little extra, emergency push. The Crystal Empire may never need so much power, but it will be there and available, rather than having to take the turbines offline to add them in a true crisis.”

“How can a ‘defect’ increase the power?”

“It is about the amount of surface area available. The channels themselves increase the area, and that increases the power.” And what is more, since these turbines are scaled-up versions of my Engines, the channels are smaller by comparison, allowing me to add in more of them. Head-to-head a full-size turbine would be more powerful than an Engine’s core, however these turbines are intended for defensive purposes only.

Jewelled Lattice nodded. “Thank you for your time, Gearhead.”

“Not at all, Lattice: You citizens of the Crystal Empire will be the ones who would be most concerned with the Array’s performance. Any answer I can give that can help to reassure you is one I will be glad to give.” And with that, the work proceeded.

Naturally, as attuned to their gemstones as the Crystal Ponies were, they noticed how these components sometimes differed from those with which they had dealt with. It did not interrupt their flow as they helped Gearhead to assemble the rings, yet he saw the recognition in their eyes: they could not use all of the lessons gleaned at the previous site for the next one.

As with the rings for Turbine-1, the team used the forklift and cranes to lower these rings into position, and they checked for spin the same way Gearhead had done, allowing him to do his thing when the rings got higher. They did not encounter any problems, because Gearhead was painstakingly descriptive in his directions, and the Crystal Ponies were as accurate as he was when dealing with the processing and assembly of the crystal rings.