My Little Pony: Third Gear

Chapter 7: Thirdson Gearhead and the Artificer’s Will

Gearhead noticed almost immediately that adding Dawn to his staff had an interesting effect – two, if you counted the different effects her manestyle had on the clientele:

When Dawn drew her mane up into a bun of any kind, other ponies tended to hesitate. The tighter the bun, the more likely it was they would just run. Both ponies determined that it was too severe and likely to scare customers away.

On the other hoof, a regular ponytail had the least amount of impact, although the ponies who were more likely to want to come closer to Dawn also seemed wary of being hit by the mass of hair whenever Dawn turned her head. That was ridiculous: Dawn was perfectly aware of where her hair was, so she never would have hit anypony.

Twintails also had in interesting effect on the clientele, but Gearhead did not much care for it: lots of stallions and adolescent colts would come into the shop. They busied themselves by looking like they were looking at the merchandise, but both Gearhead and Dawn herself caught them looking at her most of the time. Worse, the amount of male ponies seemed to be making potiential female clients uncomfortable: they would see who was in the shop and in what numbers, freeze, then run. At one point the stallions became so numerous that Dawn herself was uncomfortable with them, and Gearhead had to come onto the floor to relieve her, sending her upstairs where she could recover. After that, Dawn only wore her main in twintails in private, possibly to tease Gearhead about it.

The best manestyle for Dawn seemed to be her natural one, with her flowing, wavy near-white hair gently framing her face. The softness of her presence then set the shop’s customers at ease. In this more relaxed state, they were more likely to make a rational decision about what they needed or wanted to buy, and they were less likely to make trouble for Dawn. Both males and females responded equally well to Dawn when she was being natural and helping them.

Dawn was a natural at sales, in contrast to Gearhead who had spent years learning how to either get his customers to tell him, in detail, what they wanted him to build and sell, or to read it from their body language. Dawn had grown up with court manners, and they transferred into sales by showing everypony a gentle, quiet respect regardless of their age, tribe, or even their species.

One thing that Gearhead also noticed was that Dawn had retained some of the cute looks she had had when he had been studying with her and Dusk at the Hidden Library. Sometimes just to be looked at in the eye with those big amethyst eyes, and a tilt of the head, which she mostly did whenever she wanted clarification, was enough for a customer to want to satisfy whatever Dawn was asking of him or her.

Most devastating of the weapons at Dawn’s disposal was her smile. Open, genuine, and absurdly bright, watching a customer who was trying to get one out of her was like watching an adult with a child: they would do almost anything for just one smile, and when they did get one they seemed to feel the utmost satisfaction. When Dawn asked about whether or not, and how, she should smile one evening after dinner, Gearhead told her that a sales smile was least well suited for her. She should feel free to smile whenever she felt like it, and to just let it come and go whenever she wanted to. Gearhead said this knowing that many customers could smell a false smile, and one thing he did not want Dawn to be was false.

Word about the new salesmare at Gearhead’s Gadgets spread quickly. Even with her mane down, there were many stallions who seemed to come to the shop just to get a look at her. Gearhead could not completely blame them, because Dawn was a beautiful mare who did everything with practiced grace – in public. In private, or at least with him, she still often slipped back into that wide-eyed puff of cuteness whom Gearhead had met nearly eleven years previously. In moments like those, he had to remind himself of the number of Changelings Dawn had proven herself capable of zapping.

The others quickly grew reacquainted and comfortable with Dawn: Applejack liked her because she did not shirk her duties or go short on her efforts. Pinkie Pie was always happy to make a new friend, especially when she saw how full of heart Dawn’s smiles were. It did not hurt that the Unicorn also had a fair sweet tooth, unlike Gearhead. Rainbow Dash and Rarity always appreciated another set of helping hooves, and Rarity especially appreciated Dawn’s style. She would have wished that Dawn had more of a public persona since the fashionista was always in need of models, however at least Dawn was not so shy she would run away from most things. Twilight enjoyed having somepony else around with whom she could talk magic shop – apparently there was some magic she did not feel free to share with Gearhead around, so maybe it was a matter for filly-talk. The stallion did not press the matter.

Dawn’s relationship with Fluttershy was complicated by their rivalry over Gearhead, despite him being a Black Sheep. They had practically declared war on each other at Cadence’s and Armour’s wedding, and since Prism had recently refocused her efforts on being a Wonderbolt, that gave the two remaining mares more time within which to focus on each other.

Neither mare probably knew that Gearhead knew how they were taking measures for how far each had gone with him, but that was one of the gifts with which Snowbelle had left him before she started her education at Frost Dragonhome: not many other ponies knew or remembered that Snowbelle had been able to speak perfectly well with Gearhead, if not verbally than mind-to-mind. Since they forgot, they often talked about certain relationships in Ponyville, and if Snowbelle had been feeling like sharing it with him, she had. This was how Gearhead knew that Dawn and Fluttershy were actively competing with each other. What he did not know was how far they had gotten, now that Snowbelle could no longer report to him about it. So he took it all with the proverbial grain of salt.

In public and in Gearhead’s presence, Dawn and Fluttershy were companionable enough, but he could not rightly tell what was happening between them behind closed doors. He hoped it was nothing serious or damaging, considering what both mares were capable of doing to themselves and each other. Hopefully they would learn to get along, because Dawn would be in town for the foreseeable future.

While the Azure would be sending a Flight to help out at the shop as well, it was extremely unlikely that Gearhead would become romantically entangled with the female member or members of whichever Flight Windwalker and Aerial ended up sending. That would most probably be Spring Flight. Gearhead knew that Radar was not interested in him in that way, so he would be in the clear.

During the first few days while Dawn adjusted to her new role as an employee, Gearhead would only absent himself by going upstairs where he would monitor the situation from one place’s removal while he studied or went over some information through his glasses.

Once Dawn was comfortable enough that she no longer called upon Gearhead for back-up, he started going to the Workshop more often, and later to the Lab or the Hangar. At first he was worried she would start asking about where he went, but she never did even though she must have known he was no longer in the building. It probably went back to that first day when he had given her a tour of the shop.

“I notice there’s not a single Engine in sight,” Dawn had said.

“That’s one of the safeguards,” Gearhead said, slipping into more casual speech as he had done with Dusk and Dawn as a colt. “And of course, one of the best safeguards is to hide even the other safeguards from view.”

“So... in the floor?” Dawn had tapped the stone floor lightly with a forehoof, and they both chuckled, but Gearhead believed that she knew that she was looking in the right direction – after all, where else could he go? That very train of thought was why Gearhead had so painstakingly dug and reinforced the tunnel system, laying in a network of cable-cars for ease of transport. These tunnels were so much longer than they needed to be, and there were so many false tunnels, all with cable-cars, that they formed their own subterranean maze. It would be simplicity itself to get lost, even if anypony else could find the entrance. And Gearhead made absolutely certain he was not being watched when he opened it up.

Gearhead was in the Hangar when he heard Dawn chiming him a couple days later. The way the bell sounded, she was hitting the button a little harder than usual. Gearhead put the Twin Engine on as quickly as he could and used the Wind’s launch tunnel to get to the surface more quickly before looping around to the top-floor window nearest his own bed. Once inside, with the window shut, he glided downstairs, hoping that there was not any real danger.

Fortunately, he could not see the old stallion who was standing in front of the service desk of being a physical danger. Unfortunately, he did not understand why Dawn had rung the bell so urgently. Gearhead made his way down the stairs and onto the floor at a deliberate pace to find out exactly that. “May I help you, sir?”

“’Sir,’ huh? I’ve certainly been called worse.” Looking at the Unicorn stallion, Gearhead could not even begin to guess at his age. His whole body was bent and knarled and both his hindquarters had been replaced or augmented with prosthetics – it was hard to tell which. He had a dirty grey coat, steel blue eyes, and an armourer’s hammer in a five-star magic circle for a cutie mark.

When Gearhead remained silent and attentive, the elder Unicorn continued. “As you may’ve guessed, I’m looking for something. I’m hoping to find it here.”

“Between the two of us,” Gearhead nodded to Dawn, “I am positive we will be able to find, or make, whatever it is you are seeking.”

“Well, whether or not you can,” the elder said with a sly look, “depends on a great many things. For one thing, are you the owner of this establishment?”

“I am,”

“And you’re the inventor of that cockamamie thing on your back?”

“That is not how I would describe it, but yes. I am Gearhead.”

“There someplace we can talk, in private?”

“If there is something you wish to say that you do not wish my good friend here to overhear, we could go upstairs to my quarters, or downstairs to my Workshop. It is your preference.”

“That your way of saying ‘whichever’s easiest on your legs? ‘Cause these work just fine!” The elder lifted and thumped his hindquarters on the floor for emphasis.

“The choice is still yours, sir.”

“Then ‘up’ it is: lets see how the genius lives.”

“Very well,” Gearhead said, and he led the way upstairs, leaving Dawn to mind the shop, although she clearly wanted to hear what the other Unicorn had to say.

* * *

Gearhead offered his guest the choice between sitting on the bed, and sitting on one of the chairs. “If I sit down on that,” the elder nodded to the bed, “I won’t be able to get back up for hours!” He then plunked himself down, into one of the chairs, and accepted the glass of water that Gearhead offered him. “I’ve a tale to tell, so make yourself comfortable.”

Gearhead thought better of putting the water jug away, and put it on the table in front of the elder instead, before taking his place across from him.

“Name’s Archibald Swift, although I was never particularly swift. The colts called me ‘Bald’ or ‘Baldie,’ even though I never was, and I prefer ‘Archie,’ even though I’m no longer one for arches in general.”

“It is a pleasure to formally meet you, Archie,” Gearhead said.

“Yeah, well, you can judge that for yourself once we’re done here.”

Gearhead inclined his head.

“I was one of the top Artificers of my day. That’s not really saying much, considering I was also one of the only Artificers in the area. I was young, and foolish, though, so I thought I was some sort of genius, just starting to make my mark on the world. I made great inroads, creating devices never before seen. As a young stallion I was in my element and in my prime. I married, and even caught Celestia’s eye. She appointed me Court Artificer, and I couldn’t have been prouder.

“I never achieved the same heights again.

“Sure, I was still inventing, and still making Artifacts, and they were all useful in some way, but none of them had the impact of the ones I made when I was first appointed. Within two years I started questioning whether I deserved that appointment. So I asked Celestia for permission to go on a research quest. If I’d been smart I’d have asked my wife, but if I’d actually been the genius I once claimed to be, I’d never have gone.

“Celestia granted me permission, and I told my wife what I was planning on doing. I should’ve realized her reluctance then, but I was too self-absorbed. Two more years passed, and during my journey throughout Equestria a letter finally caught up with me.

“It was from my wife, asking for a divorce. I thought it was unfair to make her wait when I didn’t know when I’d be coming back. Shoulda thought ‘if’ instead of ‘when.’ Woulda been even smarter if I’d just come running, crawling back to her. Instead, like a complete and utter fool, I agreed. Left her alone, and my son and daughter fatherless until my ex-wife remarried.

“After that, I couldn’t return to Canterlot without something, anything, to show Celestia. But my journey continued, on and on. I went to some of the lands outside of Equestria too, but never found my answer. And then, even though it’s been over a century, even though I hadn’t found an answer, and even though I didn’t have a home to return to, I decided to come back.

“I came back to Canterlot to find that so much had changed: Celestia was happier than I’d ever seen her, undoubtedly in part because of her sister’s return. The Elements of Harmony’d been rediscovered and used to great purpose – yes, I know about them. After all, because they exist I thought it was possible to create other Artifacts of similar power. And then there’s your Alicorn Array. Such wondrous devices, and built expressly for defence. Well, I just had to find the maker. Fortunately from Canterlot it’s not that far at all.”

Archie raised a hoof and pointed it squarely at Gearhead. “After all the decades I spent traveling and researching, I’ve found many pieces of a puzzle, or maybe of multiple puzzles. If you’re the young stallion I think you are, you’ll help me find ways to fit those pieces together. You can be the one who completes the legacy I started building when I turned my back on my family. Don’t do that, by the way, especially if you’re planning on starting something with the pretty young thing downstairs.” The Unicorn tilted his head questioningly.

“I am the Black Sheep of the Verdant. I do not have that right.”

“Selling yourself short, huh? Celestia said you would. But know this: I may have lived a long life, but I’ve made no lasting mark on the world. I can’t possibly live much longer, but I’ve no desire to leave this world without leaving some sort of legacy. Think you can help me with that?”

“I do not see how I could help the greatest Artificer of an era, but I can try.”

“’Try’ nothing: do or don’t! It’s that simple. You in or not?”

“I am an inventor, not an Artificer, however I will help you if I can.”

“’Not an Artificer,’ he says. Lets test that, then. Celestia told me you made a dagger out of gemstones. Show me.”

“Are you certain?”

“Embarrassed? Not any more than I am, I’d wager!”

With a sigh that Archie did not miss, Gearhead drew the Geargem Dagger and, at further request, deployed it at full size.

“See, part of your problem is you can’t recognize your own achievements. This here’s a mid-level Artifact, and nearly as good as my own best. Your little backpack and the Arrays protecting Canterlot and other cities? Also Artifacts.” When Gearhead gave Archie a skeptical look, he merely said, “take it from somepony who’s made them his whole life.”

“Let us say I accepted that,” Gearhead said. “What then? What is it you want me to help you do?”

“I’d have thought that’d be obvious by now: we’re gonna make high-level Artifacts – the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Elements of Harmony themselves. That’s what I was always after, and that’ll be my legacy, whether or not I die in the doing.”

“I think we should avoid that last bit.”

“Not all things’re avoidable, m’boy. You’ll learn that by my age, if you survive that long.”

“Very well. What is our first step?”

“First, I gotta see what we’re working with. Material, not skill-wise: you made that dagger and all that Alicorn stuff, so you’ve obviously got the knack.”

Gearhead grinned. “That is what I called what I can do, before a friend came up with a better name for it.”

“So I’ve heard. So lets get cracking: what d’you have that we can work with? Oh, and you’d better not tell your fillyfriend what we’re up to, at least until we’re done: who can say whether she’ll stick with you otherwise.”

“Is the romance in my life really that much of a concern to you, sir?”

“Just trying to help you avoid making my mistake, Boy.”

“I am a Verdant, and that means that nothing is more important to me than family.”

“Good. Keep it that way.”

* * *

Taking a look at Gearhead’s building materiel would mean going to the Workshop in the basement. Archie merely grinned beneath a raised eyebrow. Before they got started, Gearhead took out a case from a hidden compartment in the wall behind his headboard and placed it in a saddlebag. Then Archie proved that going down stairs was not a problem for him, thanks to his prosthetics and the practice he had gotten in using them.

In the Workshop, Archie carefully inspected everything, from the forge to the full material bins. He inspected the terminal pretty closely too, but could not make sense of it so he moved on. The whole process took just over an hour, during which time Gearhead switched with Dawn to let her get a break.

Once Archie had completed his inventory, and Gearhead was back, he started outlining some possibilities of which he had thought. All of them consisted of at most three pieces, and they were either weapons like Gearhead’s daggers or necklaces like the Elements themselves.

“It’s a shame you used up your Dragonstone finding out how to make dragonfired adamantine, but it can’t be helped – not that a magical Artifact needs to be especially durable on the physical end of things. Even base metals have properties that’d make ‘em useful in a given build: Conductivity, tensile strength and flexibility, durability. If such things could be combined, it’d make the ultimate magical tool.”

That reminded Gearhead of the Fireheart Gemstone. After asking Princess Cadence if she would put a sample of her magic into it, to join those already present from Princess Celestia, Luna, Philomena, and of course the dragon Shadow Wright, Gearhead had put the powerful item away for safekeeping. He no longer carried it around with him wherever he went because, in most cases, his Twin Engine and the Stabilzer gave him enough power. If the princesses sent the group on a mission where he was uncertain, then he would bring the Gemstone. Archie approved of that plan, and said that by its description they could not use it in an Artifact, because it contained so much power.

“

I could try using my Geomancy to fuse the metals without compromising their properties. They would form internal networks inside the pieces.” He made a crude blueprint on the terminal to illustrate his point, showing a web of colour-coded lines on a necklace.”

“The main part could still be adamantine for strength, but what about the stone?”

“None of these will do?” Gearhead indicated the bins with a sweep of a foreleg.

“Not pure enough, not compared to the Elements. I wish they’d been active in my time so I could’ve studied them.”

“Then you may yet be in luck,” Gearhead said, moving off. He brought back a cluster of three condensers and connected it to the terminal. Then he brought up some information. One at a time, four translucent holographic screens popped up from the small array, populated by information and graphics about each separate Element of Harmony. The last one showed them working together.

“Lets see what you have, then... the shapes are different from the image I had of them, but you have material composition on the bands and settings. Frequencies. Signatures. Harmonics. Magic-type analyses. It may all be from a single sample, but that you got all this at all is pretty darned impressive, Boy. How’s you manage it?”

“My Engine happened to copy the magic signatures onto itself the one time I was around when the Elements were activated. For the rest, well, I had to ask for permission from Princess Celestia.”

“And she let you?!”

“As a student of hers, it is not as though she does not know whether she can trust me,”

“You might think that, but that’s not always the case – depends on the student.”

“Also, I was working on various projects and I think that she hoped seeing the Elements and analyzing them would help. Now that you have counted my Engines and dagger as Artifacts, I believe that that is the only reason she needed to do so.”

“Well, with all this information we could probably create something several orders below, but what about the gems of power?”

“I think we should examine all available options, and besides I do not think we have everything that we need.”

“Oh, but we do, my young student. Because I have the remaining missing pieces up here,” Archie tapped his head. “All but one, that is. But if you don’t have it already, we’ll either go out until we find it, or we’ll have to make do with the best we can find. And I ain’t getting any younger.”

“Maybe we will know for certain once we have all the pieces in front of us,” Gearhead said.

“Yes, of course: I wouldn’t have taken my most precious resources out in front of a stranger either.”

“I believe it is important to know all one can before acting upon the information one has, especially with a limited resource. If I had dragonstone, for example, I would want to ensure I could use it as effectively as possible in the final product, or products.”

“Oh? And how many would that be, then?”

“Six, or maybe even seven. There are six Elements, after all.”

“Six, but they’ve got to be together in order to work, eh?”

“They must also all be in resonance, and within a mindset to embody their elements. If even one is out of step, the activation fails.”

“Sounds rough,”

“True,”

“Also sounds like you’ve seen it,”

“I did say I was around during an activation, so yes.”

“Well, there’s no point in duplicating what’s already available. Why not make ‘em so they can function even alone?”

“And protect them from magical and other outside interference,”

“May as well. Ah, but you know who to give them all to, don’t you?”

“The other reason Princess Celestia knew to trust me is because I am friends with the Elemental Six.”

“And you couldn’t steal from a friend, nevermind six of them.”

“Fortunately, theft is not a possibility for me. I am a businesspony, after all.”

“True, you are. But you’re also a Geomancer and an inventor. And by the time we’re done, maybe you’ll even be an Artificer like me. But unlike me, you won’t be making such mistakes. Now, I wouldn’t mind meeting some of these friends of yours.”

“All but one live a distance from here, in Ponyville proper. I could bring them here sometime.”

“Well, there’s no rush to do it now. Lets get to the designing!”

* * *

“The problem here,” Archie said, “is that we need to know the composition and characteristics of all the pieces in order to draw them together so we can bring out the items’ best abilities. We have most of the materials for the bands, but nothing good enough for the gems. As I said, meeting your friends might give me a better idea of which of my puzzle pieces to use here.”

“All of them,”

“Sorry, I thought you said to use all of them, but –“

“I did say that. We will use all the secrets, otherwise we will never surpass either of our best works.”

“But... all that effort and focus on a single set of works? That’s insane!”

“Looking at the conductivity, harness, flexibility, insulation, magical potential, and connectivity between all of the materials we have available to us, why hold back at this point? Indeed, I cannot see a point to that.” Gearhead took out the case he had brought down with him, and set them on the little table where he was sitting with Archie. The monitor still showed the Elements’ data, as well as some of the tentative designs for the stand-alone versions the two of them were trying to make.

“The question I have been asking over and over again is ‘who made the Elements of Harmony?’ Once that is known, it would be easier to divine his or her methods and how to surpass them.”

“So, the mystery of the Elements’ Artificer, eh?” Archie closed his eyes for a moment. “Sorry, s’far as I know they weren’t made at all.”

“That is not possible! Somepony has to have made such powerful items.”

“But there’s no mark, is there? B’sides, you said it yourself: they’ve changed from their original form, so how can you tell if the Artificer’s mark didn’t change or vanish when their forms changed? Not only that, I’ve never seen any record of an Artifact that can change its form the way these ones have.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. That’s part of the mystery I failed to uncover. Maybe Celestia knows, and maybe she doesn’t. Starswirl might know, but he’s always been a tricky stallion to get ahold of.”

“You talk like he is still alive,”

“Well, given how he messed with time and ageing spells, who knows? But this origin mystery... sorry. I spent much of my life trying to track down an Artificer that might not have ever existed.”

“Gemstones, as we find them, form naturally. Is it possible that some of those might have attracted ambient magic to them for long enough to become Artifacts just as naturally?”

“Who could say what is and isn’t possible in this world? So. Not knowing where the Elements come from, can we still do this, d’you figure?”

Gearhead grinned. “Not having knowledge we did not have in the first place does not change our situation. One must always work with what one has. One of those resources today...” He unlocked the box, then spun it so it would open facing his guest.

When the old stallion did open it, his expression, with his eyes and mouth going wide open at the sight of the objects within, was something Gearhead enjoyed seeing on anypony’s face: childlike awe and fascination. “How’d you ever get your hooves on a full set of Rainbow Gemstones?

“I helped a Dragon, and he agreed not to eat me,”

“You’re a Dragonfriend too?”

“No, I am a Dragonfather, although she is at her ancestral home at the moment.”

“A Dragon, being raised by a Pony? What I wouldn’t give to see that!”

“Oh, that can be arranged.”

“Your daughter?”

“No. Twilight Sparkle. I thought you had spoken with Princess Celestia before coming here?”

“Oh, that’s her current pupil, other than you. I forgot, although Celestia never mentioned a Dragon.”

“She should have. His name is Spike.”

“That’s appropriate for a Dragon,”

“Do you want to go meet them now?”

“Not now. Right now I can feel the possibilities burning a flame in my head. The metals, the ones that lend to flexibility and everything else other than simple strength? They’d be like veins and arteries, running throughout the items.”

“Wrapped around by the harder and tougher stuff,”

“And you wanted the items to have magical protection, so a thin membrane might do the trick. If we’re gonna make Artifacts for life and the living to use through the coming generations, nothing’s better than materials that come alive for the users. And seven it is. Let me teach you the final secrets.”

“Very well,” Gearhead said, nodding.

* * *

When Gearhead insisted on forging the parts that they could, he expected some resistance from Archie, given both his advanced age and his access to Unicorn magic. To the Earth Pony’s surprise, the other stallion grinned enthusiastically as his student turned up the heat.

It was an interesting experience, working with somepony who had more than a half-century of experience with the tools and tricks of a blacksmith. Certainly Gearhead had trained under an experienced tradespony back in Hoofingon, but he had been in his thirties, and Gearhead had worked alone most of the time since. The exception to that had been when he worked with the Crusaders to add an spell stone to Spike’s gemstone lance, and he had done that as Dusty.

Archie was an altogether different pony from those with whom Gearhead had worked before. He was experienced and knowledgeable in ways that made his age seem to vanish. Most of the time Gearhead would be working the hammer while Archie held the piece they were working over steady with the tongs. Occasionally, however, Archie would get a ‘hunch,’ and tell Gearhead to swap with him. The Unicorn’s swings could be rapidfire and gentle, or strong and loud but he was always accurate and sure of those swings.

Gearhead made copious notes about their process because whatever they did to the prototype piece they would have to do, more or less the same, six more times. He marvelled at how his plan to use the special metals as veins and arteries within each piece panned out: each piece had a different pattern of circuits tracing their way through its center to radiate to the edges.

They set the stone after they shaped the secure casing for it, but before they lay the first and second inner shells, that way the gem would be secure inside the piece. Once they attached the front and rear halves, an outer shell went on. Finally Gearhead applied his Geomancy, uniting all of the parts and ensuring everything was in its proper place, with the reinforcing and conducive circuits flowing freely throughout.

It took three days to complete all seven pieces. During this time, Gearhead still operated the shop and collected resources with Dawn. He still went about his normal business in Ponyville, and Archie got to have short conversations with all of his friends. It took awhile for Fluttershy to warm up to him, but Twilight and Rarity were happy to talk shop with him at any time. He even had some lengthy discussions with Spike about the things he did for Twilight, although Gearhead was not privy to the exact content of those conversations.

When the new pieces were complete, they took on an unexpected appearance. All seven of them consisted of short bands with the stones set in circular recesses. What was unexpected, as Gearhead and Archie turned them over and over to inspect them, was that the bands had turned a metallic grey, and the gems showed as either blue, purple, or black themselves. The whole thing gave the items a rather sinister appearance, but that was because of all of the layers of protection. At the same time, the fact that they looked like they were not made of silver or gold, or set with precious gemstones, made them look... cheap. If that meant that fewer thieves would be after them, that was fine with Gearhead.

The all-important question now, though, was whether or not they worked.

* * *

“You want to give us these?” Twilight asked Gearhead as the group sat around a table in Fluttershy’s cottage. He and Archie had brought the untested bracelets in a single case, since they were fairly small.

“They look kind of, well, I’m trying not to be rude here...” Rarity looked sceptical at the least.

“Frightening?” Fluttershy said.

“Sinister?” Twilight added.

“Creepy,” Dash said.

“These things wouldn’t suit us at all,” Applejack said.

“Well, I cannot fault you for thinking so,” Gearhead said. “By the way, those are all excellent ways to describe these bands, given their appearance after applying several lays of protection.”

“If you’re not going to take offence, can I add one more?”

“Go ahead,”

“Tacky,”

“Well, one way or another we were going to ensure no one would try to steal them,” Gearhead said.

“If other ponies thought they were just cheap knick-knacks or children’s toys there’s no way they’d go to any effort to steal ‘em,” Archie said.

“So, what do they do, after all that time and effort you put into them?” Twilight asked.

“They’re like the Elements of Harmony, we hope,” Archie said.

“You mean you’re not sure?” Dash asked.

“Well, we need to test them first, of course,” Archie said.

“Why are there seven?” Pinkie asked, having counted the bracelets several times just to be sure.

“Well, it’d been a waste not to use the complete set,” Archie said.

“Set of what?” Rarity asked.

“The gems, of course,”

Rarity peered more closely at the stones. “Forgive me, but I can’t seem to see anything special about them.”

“Not in their casing, you can’t.”

“You know, this would go much more simply if we went right to the testing. We can use the same field I use when I want to be discrete in testing new equipment,” Gearhead said.

“No offence,” Twilight said, “but I’m not sure I feel comfortable putting something like that on, especially after we saw what the Alicorn Amulet did to Trixie.”

“I agree with Twilight,” Rarity said.

“Me too,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, I certainly cannot make you do it, although I did have an idea of testing them out against a rock golem.”

“I think I’d like to see that, actually,” Rarity said.

Spike came up to the table and pulled himself up to look at the bracelets. “They don’t look that bad,” he said. “I mean, they don’t have any spikes or anything on them, so they could be better, but still: not bad.”

“I suppose we could give it a try, and if things started to go bad we could pull each other out,” Twilight said.

“You could,” Archie said, “if we’d put any dark mana into them, which we didn’t. But yeah, if it’d help you to agree to test ‘em, you could.”

* * *

Gearhead led the way to the field. There were the rocks and other dummy targets, and wooded areas on three sides to insulate the surrounding areas from whatever went on. Some of the ground was still lightly furrowed from when Gearhead had tested the Stabilizer’s railgun setting, and been unable to completely smooth things over, even with his Geomancy. One grouping of three rocks seemed to be darker than the others.

Besides the case with the bracelets, Gearhead was wearing his Twin Engine, complete with the Stabilizer, just in case something did go wrong. He placed the case on the ground and opened it up. “Who would like to go first?”

“Ooh, ooh!” Pinkie reached out for one of the bracelets with a hoof, and everypony watched in surprise when she suddenly seemed to change her mind and aim for another. She picked the item up in her hoof, and then flipped it more fully onto her wrist, the band automatically adjusting to fit snugly without being constricting.

“Well?” Twilight asked, clearly trying to brace for a sudden attack from Pinkie.

“It kinda felt warm for a second, but now it feels normal.” She turned to Gearhead. “What now?”

“Now you need a target,” he said. Gearhead drew his dagger and thrust the extended blade into the ground. The three dark boulders slowly got up, revealing a bipedal, winged gargoyle. It was complete with fangs, claws, a spiked tail, and glowing red eyes.

“Ooh,” Pinkie said as it took a step toward her. “What do I do now?”

“Jus’ do what you normally would with the Elements, but make it snappy,” Archie said.

“But it’s normally all of us using the Elements,” Applejack pointed out, “and all the power usually goes through Twilight. We’ve no idea what we’d do if we had to activate one alone!”

“One shot alone can still be an arrow well-shot,” Gearhead said.

“’Arrow?’ I could take that thing out with a Sonic Rainboom!”

“If that’s what we were trying to do,” Archie said. “By the way, that thing’s gotten much closer now.”

At the reminder, the others grabbed the other bracelets, leaving only the spare, which Gearhead pocketed. They all had to leap or dive in order to avoid the giant gargoyle’s first wild swipe, which left a small crater in the ground. Gearhead had kicked the case as he spun away, grabbing his dagger with his tail.

“It’s not working!” Applejack said, tapping hers against the ground.

“You have to focus,” Gearhead said. The gargoyle turned and started to advance on Twilight. The others regrouped around her, ready to defend her as best they could, but then an indicator light flashed to green on Gearhead’s HUD, and he stopped the test.

“What happened?” Pinkie asked.

“Hold on,” Gearhead said, turning the volume on his communicator up. “Gearhead here,” he said into the pick-up.

“Oh thank Celestia,” a familiar voice said. “This’s Stalwart Shield at Canterlot Central. We have a situation.”

“I can see that the Array is active for myself, but I do not have a detection visible.”

“Well, I can assure you there’s something big out there,” Shield said. “Keeps banging on the barrier so we can’t tell if we should try to get anypony out. Think you could get that thing off of us long enough for us to get a force outside?”

“We could,” Gearhead said, calling on the Wind.

“Oh wait, the Wonderbolts’ve arrived. Lets see...” Gearhead waited several seconds. “Unbelievable,” Shield breathed. “The ‘Bolts just passed right through that thing and then got slapped aside!”

“It sounds like engaging it physically is impossible,”

“And they barely even distracted it for a second. We can’t try a magic force, but at least your shield’s keeping it outside Canterlot,” Stalwart Shield said. “Got any suggestions?”

“You already found out that you cannot fight it with physical power,” Gearhead said. “What else do you have?”

“Not much, not with the princesses trying to keep everyone’s morale high. But if we can’t fight this thing...”

“There may be a way,”

“Yeah, if you could get your Elemental Six in here to get the Elements out there, we could test magic.”

“Well, that is close to what we intend to do. Stay safe and keep us posted,” Gearhead said. The Silver Wind arrived then, sweeping across the field until it could hover, the ramp extended. Gearhead turned to the others. “We are going to use the bracelets to defend Canterlot,” he said.

* * *

The flight to Canterlot was quick and easy, with the Elemental Six putting their weekly practice at the Wind’s controls and instruments to good use. Archie, meanwhile, looked everything in the cockpit over with his inscrutable eye.

Canterlot’s attacker was quickly visible, and Gearhead guided the Wind into a holding position while Twilight put the sensor array to the task of determining its nature. The Wonderbolts remained in position nearby, just in case the creature decided to attack someplace else.

The creature was massive, standing nearly as tall as the barrier the Array projected to protect Canterlot. It seemed to be a solid, purple mass, and while it stood up on its hindquarters, it continuously batted at the shield with its forelegs. Other than those appendages and a pair of short stubs at the top of its head that might be ears, it was an unidentified blob. Each of its strikes reverberated through the shield, but did not do much damage.

Twilight shook her head. “This doesn’t make sense: I’m getting contradictory readings here.”

“Parse it out. Try smaller sections,” Gearhead said, activating the auto-pilot so he could move about and support whoever needed guidance.

“Ah, okay,” Twilight started entering in new instructions.

“Why don’t we just go and kick it?” Dash asked.

“The Wonderbolts already tried that,”

“Magically, then,”

“We still do not know what it is we are facing, but that may be a valid approach, provided magic can hurt it at all.”

“Zero physical response. Minimal magical response. The largest reading is coming from some of the same set of frequencies that the Elements use.”

“But they’re in the vault in Canterlot Tower,” Fluttershy said.

“Maybe we should recommend to Princess Celestia that she put them somewhere else?” Rarity said.

“Wouldn’t matter where they were as long as they were still in Canterlot,” Applejack said. “Meanwhile, we’re still out here.”

“No time like the present to test out those presents,” Archie said.

“You two didn’t set this up, did you?” Dash asked.

“Gotta admit, this looks a little too convenient,” Applejack said.

“Rather elaborate for a set-up, though, don’t ya think?”

“The only thing directly behind that thing is the mountain, and the caverns,” Gearhead said. “I hate to say it, but maybe..?”

“Poor rabbits,” Fluttershy said.

“’Rabbits?’ Of course! But that would mean...”

“Mean what?, Twilight?” Dash asked.

“Well, we did not exactly lay them to rest properly,”

“We did not know how,”

“Who’s that now?” Archie asked.

“The Jackrabbits. They were slaughtered by the Changelings.”

“So then why attack Canterlot?” Applejack asked.

“Maybe they think the Changelings won,” Rarity said.

“Or maybe they’re just lashing out at the closest available target,” Dash said.

“Either way, we may have a chance of putting an end to this,” Gearhead said, returning to his pilot’s seat so he could activate each station’s magic-channelling rod. “Hit it with enough energy from the bracelets, and it should be enough like the real Elements to send them to rest.”

“Hopefully,” Fluttershy said.

“Unless anypony has a better idea,”

“Party?” Pinkie hazarded a guess. “What, you never know until you try!”

“We do not know what the creature might or might not sense, but firing the bracelets’ energies through the ship might do the trick.”

Twilight sighed. “We don’t know how much longer the shield might last, so lets get this started.”

“As long as you put your feeling into it,” Archie said.

“Sorry. It’s hard to be enthusiastic about something so uncertain,” Rarity said.

“And you think I did not worry that my Engine was going to explode the first time I turned it on?” Gearhead asked. “Incidentally we are using two of them to fly right now.”

“True,” Dash said.

“So lets do this!” Pinkie said.

* * *

“Remember, girls, we’re doing this for Canterlot, but we’re also doing this for the Jackrabbits,” Twilight said.

“So they can pass on properly,” Fluttershy said.

“Without regretting what might have been,” Gearhead added from his own station.

“I think we got it,” Dash said.

“In that case, do not hold back. I will be channelling all of the energy through the prow, just like when we rammed through Sombra’s crystal blockade.”

“But we’re not even aiming the right way,” Rarity said.

“And that is why I shall be taking us in, at least part of the way.”

“No pressure, though,” Dash said.

“Well, I doubt that amalgamation of negative energy’ll notice us ‘till you gals get started,” Archie said.

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy said.

“That just means we do it right the first time,” Pinkie said, throwing a hoof into the air.

“Ready? Just like we’re in formation,” Twilight said. “In three. Two. One...”

The fur on the back of Gearhead’s neck stood on end the instant the Elemental Six began to focus their energies through their bracelets, even though that energy was going directly into the Wind’s weapon system. Unlike when Twilight and Armour had been plugged into the turrets, they were sending all their energy forward, past the cockpit and into the blade-like bow.

Gearhead dipped the Wind’s nose slightly, but more than that he brought the ship swooping in low. He brought the nose back up as he dropped his altitude so they were still pointing at the purple mass, and then they were aiming right at its center-mass – if the spirit form had any mass at all.

Set within each bracelet, six gems glowed, first in Gearhead’s signature turquoise, then in each Element’s proper colour. Lines of magic energy spiderwebbed along the bands from each gem, until they connected in the back, and then suddenly the bands changed colour: Applejack’s and Dash’s were gold, Rarity’s and Pinkie’s silver, and Fluttershy’s and Twilight’s were white gold.

Energy flowed freely into the ship through the channelling rods, collecting in the prow before being released in a bright rainbow-coloured bolt that struck the spirit rabbit dead center. It stumbled sideways, away from the shield, and turned toward the source of its pain, but that was when the sustained blast hit.

While the Elemental Six concentrated on sustaining their attack, Gearhead struggled to keep the ship level and stable against all the power that was coming off of its nose. He angled the wing turbines forty-five degrees back to counteract the thrust the forward stream was generating, and even increased the thrust on the main engines slightly. The mares started to pant with exertion, and just when it seemed their efforts would be in vain and they would collapse without a positive result, the spirit rabbit fell back, dissolving in a wave of blue-white energy.

Without a target upon which to fix their energies, the bracelets immediately shut down, returning to their dormant states. Gearhead returned the throttles and turbines to normal and climbed gently to scan the area. Before he even finished, however, the Array returned to Standby Mode, answering the question for him: the threat had been dealt with.

* * *

“Based on these readings,” Gearhead said as he finished scrolling through the report, “the Array performed perfectly, even holding up against a significant and unyielding barrage.” He was using the terminal he had installed in Princess Celestia’s personal office. Luna had one just like it, so both princesses could monitor the situation without having to go all the way to the Central Condenser Room.

“While that’s true, shouldn’t it have detected the spirit much sooner, as it did when Trixie tried to take Ponyville?” Princess Celestia asked from over Gearhead’s shoulder, where she had watched to see what readings he was using to judge the Alicorn Array’s performance.

“True, it could have detected the threat sooner. I shall make adjustments to maximize the sensors’ effectiveness, especially now that we have a sample reading from a spirit other than Discord.”

“Well, since you say that, I guess we are fortunate the spirit was detected at all.”

“I hate to think of the damage it could have done if it had gotten into Canterlot,” Rarity said.

“But why did it attack?” Fluttershy asked.

“Clearly our guess at Jackrabbit burial rites was wrong,” Twilight said.

“Unfortunately we still don’t know enough about their culture to do more than guess,” Princess Celestia said.

“Ain’t that what we did the first time?” Applejack asked.

“Pretty sure it is,” Dash said.

“We can’t ask, so... what do we do?” Pinkie asked. “Guess again?”

“Do yer own version, but make the memorial obvious,” Archie said. “B’sides, it’s unlikely... to get a repeat performance... after that blast.”

“Are you okay?” Gearhead asked.

“Me? I’m old, Boy. Happens to most of the best of us.”

“You should rest, Arcing Light,” Princess Celestia said.

“’Arcing Light?’” The others chorused.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re back to using that other name, my old friend.”

“’Course I am,”

“You’ve nothing to be ashamed of, especially today.”

“Aye, I’ve finally done... what I set out to... but didn’t do what... I most wanted. And what I did, was only with help.”

“Then it is good that you finally recognized the need for help.”

“And right now, I’ve the need... for rest,” Arcing Light wheezed.

* * *

A week passed, and Gearhead made his modifications, to all of the Alicorn Arrays he had already installed, so the sensor array network could detect malicious spiritual energies from longer ranges. He also added a subroutine that would allow an Array to contain single threats, or a single threat group, in a sphere of particles. This would contain the problem while also allowing ponies and materiel to pass into and out of the besieged city – or even eliminate siege conditions altogether. But one thing it guaranteed was the successful containment of most threats, until somepony powerful enough could arrive and deal with it more directly.

The ones who came to deal with those threats were more likely to be a mixed team like the escort groups who guarded the array components on their way to a new city, or like the Elemental Six and Gearhead – especially now that they had high-class Artifacts that could function like the Elements of Harmony.

Princess Celestia had wanted a demonstration that they did work independent of each other, but only in the right hooves. Kibitz gave it a try with the Magic Bracelet, to no avail, but then Twilight was able to make it shift to its active appearance and produce a globe of light.

“So they do work,” Princess Celestia said.

“Of course,” Arc said. “They’re worthy of being... a legacy.”

“And what shall you call them?”

“I haven’t the foggiest,” Arc grinned.

“Then let us ask your protégé,”

Gearhead shrugged. “As it may have begun to occur to you, I am not much for names on my own.”

“Do you mind if I give it a try then, Darling?”

“Please be my guest, Miss Rarity,” Gearhead said, giving her a courtly bow.

“Then how about ‘Elemental Anklet?”

“Not ‘bracelet?’” Twilight asked.

“They’re more of the former, don’t you think? Also, it just rolls off  the tongue better.”

“Oh, I agree,” Pinkie said, and then she proceeded to say it ten times fast.

“Then you have a name for your Artifact,” Princess Celestia said to Arcing Light and Gearhead.

Gearhead was also working on applying his experiments with conductive technologies into a power network. Connected to the Central Condenser in any city or town with an Alicorn Array installed and running, the network could theoretically supply the entire city with renewable, clean power that was not limited to what Unicorns had – and without the hazards inherent in a hydro-magical dam, like the one outside of Ponyville.

While the fire of pursuit quickly faded from Arcing Light, he was not so weak an old stallion that he would die simply from having one of his lifelong pursuits fulfilled. When he decided to retire, Princess Celestia invited him to stay at a residence for those who had faithfully served Equestria in their lifetime. While Arcing Light expressed doubt that he was worthy of such treatment, the princess would not allow him to refuse the offer.

With the Elemental Anklets now available, the royal sisters no longer felt so pressed to find a solution for having the Elements of Harmony locked in Canterlot, however they told the Six and Gearhead that they wanted to review their options: even the Anklets could not measure up to the originals’ power, yet they did not do any good where the Six could not use them, just like during the Changeling Invasion.