Chapter 54: Hidden Vault
Part 1: The Facility
TIME: 13:44 ERST
DATE: War Day 512/1 Noneus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: 1427 West Highway 3, Coltonville, Ponyland, Republic of Harmonia
As we disembarked from XY-3102, I moved ahead with Lyra and Dr. Allcome. We saw the entrance to the facility.. more, we could distinguish what used to be some kind of a structure, long eroded and collapsed into nature's grasp.
It was a whole campus of buildings, I surmised, with structres long ago eroded into nothingness by the might of Nature's never ending march. Eight thousand years had passed since this civilization existed. That anything recognizable at all was left, was nothing short of a miracle.
I felt like the first European to set eyes on the Great Pyramids of the Mayans, or Macchu Picchu, or Angkor Wat. It was humbling. My eyes, used to 'modern' design, could almost pick up on where the buildings used to be, judging by the flat spaces between stands of trees, or mounds of dirt with trees sticking out of them.
Nature did its work, for sure, and it was clear that this area was NOT within the magical field generated to keep the Avegir asleep.
Lyra: "Ah, fer filly sakes.." She snorted. "..what'd'we do?" She glanced at me.
K: "Look around.." I shook my head. "..if she was smart, she built a bunker. There must be an entrance, even if it's buried. I'd say, start with those three mounds right there. Ten people per mound, then." I looked back. "Girls, plus Norfy and Gaze, with me. Spirit, you take Cosmic, Kiwi, Doc, Sweetheart, Coco, Dusty, Kat, Havoc, and Bella." I looked to Lyra. "You take the others." I shrugged and gestured at the three mounds in the center. "Grab shovels, we're going to have to dig."
Dig. Dig for what? What did I hope to find? I knew what would happen even after a couple thousand years, barring magical preservation. Glass would decompose, lesser cements would shatter and erode, blacktop would be ground up into almost nothing, most metals would decay into oxides (that is, "rust") and be reabsorbed by the planet.. certainly, anything remotely organic would rot away. Plastics? Ehh.. after all this time.. maybe a few slivers a couple inches long or so. Nothing really recognizable.
This wasn't a few centuries, this was thousands of years. This would be the Neolithic age on my Earth, or roughly 6,000 B.C. We had just mastered pottery, wine making, and possibly, cheese. We had archaeological evidence of this. I hoped we could find.. something substantial. Besides baked pottery and stone arrowheads, we didn't have that much from that era of Earth.
Modern materials, as I understood them, broke down far more readily than stone arrowheads and pottery fragments. In fact, some speculated that modern pottery might be the only thing left of OUR civilization in a few thousand years, and our pottery is bereft of fanciful tales of our history, it's all product names and ingredients, now.
TIME: 18:33 ERST
We worked well into the night. Sparky, Lugnut, and a couple of Aero Marine guards that came with us to watch the XY had made a fire more or less "across the Highway" (as near as I could figure - the road itself was long gone) and set up an encampment for us.
Aero Marine Sergeant Ruby Spears: "General! Dinner is ready!" She called across the 'road.'
Sparky: "It's a fine feast, General! Tinned meat and vegetables in a stew!"
K: "I getcha.. I getcha. ALRIGHT, EVERYONE! PUT 'EM DOWN! WASH UP FOR DINNER, WE'RE DONE FOR THE DAY!" I called out.
Being so far up north, relative to Canterlot, it was both cooler and stayed light longer. It was coming to the end of summer, so, realtively, the days would be shorter. The last bits of light were just leaving us as we gathered around the fire.
Applejack: "Mm.. ah'm famished!" She passed her mess kit to Ruby.
Dr. Allcome: "I think we all are. What a fascinating dig! The discoloration of the dirt suggests a very, very high ferrous content.." He looked at me.
K: "Metal, rusted away into nothingness." I shrugged. "Probably some mid-grade steel."
Lyra: "Ah'k'n still feel.. soemthin' here, K. Ah means it - magically, I means." She nodded emphatically.
Bon-Bon: "I get the feeling something's here, too, K. That's just instinct, though." She shrugged.
Forest Spirit: "I agree. I'm getting that old feeling.. something's up." He shrugged.
K: "I agree completely. We're going to find something.. it's just going to take time."
Twilight: "Not to be impractical, here, but should we call in the forces we have and just do a mass excavation?" She tilted her head as the other Aero Marine handed her back her mess kit, with food in it.
K: "I'm afraid that if there's underground chambers, bringing in too many ponies or any heavy equipment, might cause a collapse. I have no idea how structurally sound they might be." I looked at Ambrosia.
Ambrosia: "He has a VERY good point." She nodded. "This would be why you all brought me, too." She rubbed a fetlock on her chin. "I think we should focus our efforts elsewhere, though. The three mounds you set us to? If I'm reading the dirt like a blueprint, they seem like they used to be office towers, not bunkers." She tilted her head at me.
K: "Suggestions?" I asked back.
Ambrosia: "The mound near the front, on the left side from here. If I was to lay out an industrial park with a lab, a factory, offices, and a special area just for myself, I'd have my special section right near the front of the campus, so I wouldn't have to walk very far once I got here." She nodded.
K: "You got it. First light tomorrow."
Aero Marine Lance Corporal Sparkson Ridgefire: "Sergeant Spears and I will pull first watch, General." He nodded to me.
K: "Appreciate it."
Cosmic: "I'll take second watch." He nodded.
Forest Spirit: "Third. Sir." He smirked.
After eating we turned in. The night was cool, and uneventful. Partly for warmth, partly for comfort, I found myself rather surrounded by mares. My pony wife under one arm, Fluttershy under my head kinda, Dusty draped across my lower legs, Twilight protectively on my other side, Rarity next to and below Applejack..
..whatever I'd done to deserve them, I would never feel like I'd earned it.
TIME: 05:34 ESRT
DATE: War Day 513/2 Noneus, 1003 C.S.
I was awake early. Technically, I could have slept another half hour, but my bladder chose otherwise. Spirit moved with me, to give me cover, while Lyra maintained watch until zero-six-hundred.
Forest Spirit: "You think we'll find her, K? Or just some dust?" He tilted his head as I made water.
K: "I have no idea. I want to believe she's not only alive, but has some answers." I said, handling my sidearm.
Forest Spirit: "Alive, how?"
K: "As I said before, I'm thinking some kind of total cryogenic freezing. It's where you freeze something absolutely solid, in such a way that they can be defrosted without damage. Remember, ice expands, this is some pretty precision stuff we're talking, here." I shrugged as I wagged the dog off, and closed my business.
Forest Spirit: "Right, because cells aren't THAT elastic, or something." He nodded.
K: "You get the idea. Bright Eyes was a genius, it seems. We need to hope that she's figured it out REALLY good." I shrugged.
I paced back over to the assembly area, seeing Lyra make morning tea and breakfast. Lugnut was asleep on his back, and Sparky was precariously poised over him in a sling coming off the side of the XY.
I wisely avoided the Potential Comedic Zone, glancing over at Pinkie Pie, who, with Toola Roola, was watching the two mechanics VERY carefully, with Pinkie whispering to Toola. Probably explaining the physics of comedy zones.
I sat by Lyra, who was making a large pot of oats, and some griddle cakes.
K: "Pretty soon, we'll have some answers." I gave her a half-hug.
Lyra: "Aye! An' we'll get what we came fer.." She glanced at the hills that were once buildings. "..one way or 'nother." She smiled a touch, and looked at Gaze, who was passed out on his back. "He's a good Stallion, ye know." She said, almost asking my approval.
K: "You two've been together for over two years." I shrugged. "You don't need to justify." I looked over at her. "Did you tell him what you did with my fingers and toes?" I gave her a grin and nudge.
Lyra: "HESH!" She hissed, and giggled, nudging me back.
I heard a thump, bang, two bodies hit the ground, and...
Lugnut: "SPARKY!"
I looked over, and, indeed, at precisely 5:45AM, Sparky rolled over and landed on Lugnut. My two lovable buffoons.
Sparky: "S-sorry, Luggie!" He tried rolling away, and getting up.
But, he was entangled in the netting he'd used as a hammock. And now, so was Lugnut. They two of them were trying to extricate themselves, and getting MORE tangled.
Lugnut: "Ah! This is ANOTHER fine mess you've gotten us into!" He harumpfed.
Over to the side, Toola and Pinkie were giggling.
Norfy: "..should we help them, K?" He came pacing up, having woken up on his own.
K: "Not unless we want to be part of the joke." I smirked.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: The Discovery
TIME: 09:47 ERST
DATE: War Day 513/2 Noneus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: 1427 West Highway 3, Coltonville, Ponyland, Republic of Harmonia
We'd had breakfast, and we'd started digging exactly where Ambrosia thought was best. It didn't take us more than an hour to find something..
Rarity: "K, darling! Over here!" She motioned me over to her and Kiwi.
K: "What'cha got?" I said, resting my shovel on my shoulder.
Rarity: "It's an entrance! There's a room down here!" She pointed.
Kiwi: "Lower me." She insisted.
K: "Are you serious?" I looked at her.
Kiwi: "I'm a.. I'm a Pegasus. I weigh the least out of everyone here, now, lower me. Sir. Please." She stomped her hoof a bit.
K: "Alright." I shrugged, and got down on my belly. "HEY, WE NEED SOME ROPE OVER HERE! EVERYONE, ASSEMBLE!" I called out as I grabbed Kiwi's forelegs. "Remember, you can't fly out of there." I said, evenly, getting her into the hole.
Kiwi: "I know." She smiled up at me. "I can probably parkour my way out, though." She nodded to the side as I lowered her down.
K: "Tell me what you see." I nodded. "Keep your radio channel open."
Cosmic: "You okay in there, Kee?" He came up next, and moved to a cover position.
Kiwi: "Just fine, honey!" She called up as I saw her flashlight click on. "General! This is some kind of a lobby! It looks like the building's largely intact down here!"
Ambrosia came up next with a full tripod winch rig, and started assembling it.
Ambrosia: "What do the walls look like? What.. what kind of cracks do you see? Anything deep, or flakey?!" She called in.
Kiwi: "Light cracks! Nothing flaking off! Discolored, green.. a bit brown.. little moisture! It's actually kinda dry down here!"
K: "Good thing?" I looked back at Ambrosia.
Ambrosia: "Very good thing. Moisture is the enemy of cement.. I think this is actually Roaman Concrete! If it is, it'll.. well.. last centuries.." She shrugged as Forest Spirit and Gaze started helping her put the thing together.
K: "That.. that would be interesting, considering even in my world, we hadn't quite figured Roman Concrete out.." I intentionally enunciated 'Roman' differently, to make it clear I was talking about my world's counterpart.
Gaze: "Y'did say she were a genius, suh." He smirked.
Ambrosia: "Alright, it's together. We need to widen the hole." She grabbed her pick and indicated where we needed to dig.
K: C> "Kiwi. How's it looking down there?" I called into the radio.
Kiwi: C> "Dark. My flashlight.. it doesn't seem as bright as it should, for some reason.." She sounded more frustrated than distressed.
Katrina: "Shadow Magic." She shook her head, walking up and hearing that. C> "Kiwi, this is Kat. Head back to the hole. That's the effect of Shadow Magic on the Light Crystals. You're getting in over your head." She warned.
K: C> "You heard her. Get back here." I ordered.
Kiwi: C> "Aw, but.. alright, yes, sir." She sounded, again, more frustrated than anything.
After a few minutes, I could see her.
K: "Get the rope." I nodded to the hole.
Kiwi: "Stuff's moving down here, I can see them in the corner of my eye.." She glanced around the room we had only a small window into.
Katrina: "Jade, throw a Magic Flare down there, that should keep them back." She indicated.
Jade: "Oh, alright." She dug a crystal out, charged it, and chucked it in.
Sure enough, we could hear Creepers scattering away.
Kiwi: "..I guess I WAS getting in over my head!" She gave a sheepish grin.
K: "Don't shoot 'em." I shrugged, sliding the rope down that Forest Spirit handed me. "Grab on."
Once she did, I was able to pull her out by myself. To me, she seemed to weigh about 60-70lbs (27-31kg). Light, even by pony standards.
Kiwi: "I could have parkoured that.." She shook her head. "..but, yeah, thanks. I think the whole building is crawling with them."
Ambrosia: "Exactly what did you see down there?" She came up, talking, adjusting her Engineer Helmet. "Structurally?"
Kiwi: "The walls are greyish.. grey.. with some staining, light cracks, and no serious fissures. I got down a hallway, and I could see several rooms had collapsed on the inside.. so.. like.. either it's stable, or it isn't. No in between, really. The floor felt solid, like, I could click my hooves on it and felt no echo or reverb. There's snakes of wire everywhere, thick cables.. the coatings look very fragile, like, they're just dust that thinks it's holding a shape." She nodded, recalling. "Minimal plant intrusion in most places, but some lichen and mosses in a few spots. The areas that did collapse, have significant vine and root intrusion." She shrugged.
Ambrosia: "Sounds about as good as I could have hoped for. I'm betting any destroyed rooms or chambers were a result of earthquakes or other geological forces." She looked at Chemical Splash.
Splash: "Reasonable assumption." She shrugged. "Earth Sciences aren't a particular specialty of mine, but I do dabble. Sir." She nodded at me.
K: "Okay, so, we CAN go in there." I nodded as Ambrosia tugged my arm.
Ambrosia: "I think the hole is large enough, now." She nodded.
K: "Alright. Everyone, let's go." I gestured the two Aero Marines over. "Sergeant Spears, we'll try to maintain radio contact. Check-ins every thirty minutes. If it's lost, give us two hours, then call for reinforcements." I instructed.
Sgt. Spears: "Aye, sir."
K: "Alright, everyone, rope up. Time to go spelunking!"
With that, we all got on the ropes and started descending into the darkness. Without a rapelling rig, ponies generally held ropes with their mouths. Since we had rigs, they all leaned back into them, and used their flanks and rear legs to control their descent. Kat, Jade, Gilda, Gorcat, and I all had hands.. so.. no big deal.
Once we were inside, the room was much larger than it seemed from the hole.
K: "Wow. I have a feeling this place is huge. Cosmic, set up a repeater here, so we can contact the Marines on the surface."
Cosmic: "Yes, sir." He'd take a moment to do this.
Forest Spirit: "What now?" He looked at me.
K: "We move, carefully. Everyone keep an eye out. Fan out in fours, start checking to see if these rooms or halls go anywhere."
We were almost there.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: The Clue
TIME: 10:32 ESRT
DATE: War Day 513/2 Noneus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: 1427 West Highway 3, Coltonville, Ponyland, Republic of Harmonia
We paced ahead, and down a long hallway. Initially, it seemed all the side rooms were collapsed. We finally found one that wasn't, and in we went.
K: "Okay, this is beyond me." I shook my head.
It was a local server room, though the terminals and racks had been ruined by a collapsing wall. It was clear that this place was astoundingly high tech.
Havoc: "I'm smelling Creepers." He snorted.
K: "Careful, everyone." I nodded.
Twilight: "K! Over here!" She called out.
I moved in behind her, and suddenly, I almost fell. A very, very long ways. An immense stairwell stretched before me. The gallery was at least fifty feet across, and the depth? At least ten stories.
A long way down.
Going up, we were looking upwards towards the sky. A hole was open, up there. That wasn't a good sign, really, as it meant weather could get in and initiate various geologic processes. But, it was at least another three stories up.
K: "My God.." I was holding on to the edge of an ancient door frame, having almost taken one step too many.
Applejack: "It's byew-tee-full..." She said, with wonderment.
Indeed, the stairwell was its own microclimate. Vines ran along the walls, up and down. We could see insects, small animals.. an ecosystem.
Fluttershy: "Amazing." She was in awe, too.
Ambrosia: "We're not getting anywhere in here. The walls might be terribly unstable. Intrusion of plants? Moisture? Yeah. We need to find another way." She cautioned.
K: "Agreed." I nodded.
Dusty: "K? We found a smaller stairway." She called back to me.
Indeed, back and through a side hall, passing through a room with lab equipment, we found a stair case going down. A clearly high security door was crumpled into dust, right at the doorway.
K: "Rust. Corrosion." I shook my head. "Thousands of years will do this." I shrugged.
Dr. Allcome: "K.. this lab equipment is still somewhat functional. And there's more. There's chemicals stored here. The glass hasn't broken on some of these containers.." He rattled this off, examining the room.
K: "Really?" I paced over to the Doctor, and looked with him.
Dr. Allcome: "Before you ask, I have no idea what they are. It's clear these were set up for a medical purpose, though. I'm just not sure what field - health, sanitation, or what." He shook his head, looking as Nurse Sweetheart came in and looked with him.
Sweetheart: "I've never seen the like!" She was in awe, too.
K: "This place has something for everyone. I kinda wish Well Wishes was here." I shook my head. "He might be a pain, sometimes, but.."
Kiwi: "K! Come here!" Called Kiwi from the left passageway in front of the Chemical Room door.
I moved through the team, over to where she was. Toola, Pinkie, and Blinda were with her.
Kiwi: "I found this huge crystal." She shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it."
She handed over a crystal in some kind of aged-to-almost-dust plastic stand, with some kind of plug in it.
K: "It.. is this a hologram projector?"
Everyone looked at me like _I_ was the one who should answer that.
K: "Hey, this is actually beyond my world's technology by a measure." I shook my head. "'Brose, gonna need some of your small tools."
Ambrosia: "Rearmost pouch." She nodded to her hip.
I took her smaller tool kit - the one she uses to fix her larger tools and construction gear. And, combined with my own multitool, I carefully got the disintegrating case open. The silicon inside looked well preserved for eight thousand years, and the circuit board looked intact enough.
Problem? It needs juice. Electricity. And we don't exactly have any, nor a compatible plug. I used some of Ambrosia's tape to cover some of the circuitry, so it wouldn't get damp or oils from my hand on it, being careful not to actually make contact with the leads.
Blinda: "We need to charge it somehow, sir." She shook her head, having been over my shoulder the whole time. "Unicorn magic might work."
K: "Rarity." I nodded for her to come over. "I need your help."
Rarity: "Coming, Darling." She moved over and examined the device. "I'm not sure I know what I'm doing, here, but I might be able to channel some magic right into the crystal." She looked at me.
K: "Go for it." I nodded.
Rarity: "Here goes nothing." She focused her magic into her horn, and gently sent a beam into the crystal itself.
A hologram of Bright Eyes appeared, and was projected on to the ground.
Bright Eyes Hologram: "Greetings. If you've found this, then you've discovered my secret lab. I hope this reaches the human of legend. If so, please.. search for the stasis pods. I knew the apocalypse was coming.. but I hadn't time to save everyone. We may be able to prevent his return-" *Tssrck*
The whole device shorted out in my hands.
K: "OW!" I shook my hand off, the fingers a bit numb.
Rarity: "And that, darlings, is the risk you take using magic to substitute for electricity.."
Blinda: "I thought it would work." She shrugged.
K: "It worked well enough. Let's find those pods. Havoc, Bella, Pinkie, Toola, you go with Kiwi, check to the left of the passage she came up. Jade, Katrina, Rarity, Norfy, Cosmic, Gaze, Blinda - check the lower level. Coco, Fluttershy, you and Dash check up the giant stairwell, but be careful - Gilda, Gorcat, go with them. Twilight, Applejack, Bon-Bon, Lyra, Dusty, Spike, with me. Doc, you stay here with Sweetheart, Splash, Webley, Forest Spirit, and Ambrosia. Commandant? If you see those little bastards, shoot 'em."
Forest Spirit: "You know I will." He nodded.
Dr. Allcome: "Of course, K. I want to study these.. advanced chemicals. See how well any of them have been preserved."
K: "Come on."
Nearly there. We just had to find her. Nearly there. The anticipation I was feeling, rivalled that of Gloom Mountain. This meant answers. This meant a possible fast end to the war with greater technology.
The past, and the future.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Lost Revelation
TIME: 12:37 ERST
DATE: War Day 513/2 Noneus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Bright Eye Corporation Secret Lab, Coltonville, Republic of Harmonia
I went down one level below where I'd sent Jade and The Boys. Down here, things were exceptionally dark and gloomy. The flashlights helped, but not by very much. The Shadow Magic that made the Creepers was still present, and it sapped the Light Crystals of their power.
Applejack: "Y'know, I jes' noticed.. these areas're all marked." She pointed up to the corner we were passing.
Indeed - Section D, Level B-3. Interesting.
K: "It was probably to help.. the human.. find their way. I'm wagering a map was left for them, either in that crystal or elsewhere." I shrugged.
Twilight: "Seems like a likely theory." She nodded to one very large set of doors. "Look, here."
It said "Maintenance Bay."
It took all of us together to wedge the door open. It was a blast door, solid steel, meant to last ages. And it had. Problem was, the hinge mechanism seemed to have degraded over the millenia, making it grindy and gritty.
Inside, we could see a very large number of machines and machinery parts. All of them had been damaged or destroyed. A large cave-in along one wall told the tale - an earthquake or something had done this.
Applejack: "Whole rooms'a mess.." She squinted and sniffed at a tiny glowing gecko-like creature that was resting on one of the machines.
Twilight: "This is amazing.. the whole Lab has built up all these micro ecosystems.." She shook her head, but went to examine some of the shattered machines.
K: "Fascinating." I shook my head as I paced in.
Lyra: "All'a them legends were true!" She squealed in joy. "I mean, 'tis a shame 'tis all wrecked up, but.." She shook her head slowly, taking it all in. "This be some real archaeology!"
Bon-Bon: "I'm glad you're so happy, honey." She blush-smiled.
K: "So, been meaning to ask.. you two and Gaze.." I looked aside, having picked up a disintegrating circuit board.
Lyra: "Aye.. ehm.." She looked at Spike.
Spike: "I -AM- a teenager, now." He smirked a little.
K: "He's a solider, he can hear it." I shrugged.
Bon-Bon: "I'm with Lyra, but Lyra's with Gaze.. and I'm kinda.. part of that." She blushed again. "We love each other. All of us. I-It's not THAT unusual in our society, you know.." She had a touch of Tsundere in that last statement.
K: "You don't have to defend yourself, Bon. I'm just making sure everyone's feelings are being respected in all this." I shrugged again, opening a filing cabinet, and finding some small furry creatures had made it their home, and I elected not to disturb the nest. "I don't care if he's the one wearing the Schoolfilly Outfit, or what, as long as you're all happy with the arrangement."
Lyra: "Mm.. once 'er twice!" She giggled like a loon.
Spike: "Oh, my!" He blushed.
K: "It's okay, Spike. Everyone knows you have Mommy issues, but I'm going to leave it at that, since - even if you ARE a soldier, now, sorta, you're still young." I gestured, pulling a cracker out of my mess kit and giving it to the mommy of the nest. "And in MY culture, discussing lewd things with anyone under 18 is considered taboo." She chittered happily and mashed it in her mouth for her little brood to eat.
Spike: "ACK!" He was now beet red. "I-I do not!" He huffed.
K: "Rarity is more than ten years older than you, and Twilight is 28." I looked right at him.
Then, her.
Like, when are you going to tell him?
Twilight: *Whiiiiine* She just lowered herself to the ground. "I know where K's going with this." She looked at me. "Webley talked to me about it some time ago. Before the Herdiet Union." She looked away, then back up to Spike.
Spike, however, looked between me and Twilight.
Spike: "...wait..."
K: "Figure it out, Spike." I nodded to him, suddenly serious.
Dusty looked uncomfortable, and kinda slid back a bit, like she was entering a family conversation she wasn't a part of.
Applejack was the one that put a foreleg over her, as if to say, she DID belong. That made Dusty smile.
Spike: "I'm thirteen.." He looked up at me, and suddenly, his eyes started watering. "K?"
I just nodded to him. I could see the gears clicking in his head.
Spike: "T.." He started to say her name, and looked over at her.
Her eyes were like waterfalls, but she wasn't making a sound. Her lip was like jelly, quivering.
K: "She was afraid if she said anything to anyone, they wouldn't understand." I shrugged. "It was a fan theory in my world." I patted Spike on the back of the head. "She didn't want you to be bullied or treated different, if they knew."
Applejack: *Hmf* "Here, I thought she wuz a virgin." She looked at me, and I knew she was talking about what happened in the Crystal Kingdom.
K: "That's the difficult part." I looked down at Twilight, who was on the ground. "She told me.. you know.. while we did it." I shrugged, and looked down, myself, also a bit ashamed.
Spike: "Did.. my Dad.." He suddenly got hot. Angry.
Twilight: "I.." She looked away. "..can't actually remember. I was drunk. Or-or drugged. I don't.. I don't remember at all. All I know is, he left the Magic Academy almost immediately afterwards." She sniffled. "Then, I laid an egg!"
Spike went over to her, and hugged her. Tightly.
Lyra: "Huh!" She shook her head slowly. "I wasn't 'spectin' that!" She looked up at me.
K: "I did ask Luna if Celestia ever talked to her about it. Celestia was the one that told Spike's seed donor to get out and never come back. Nothing could be conclusively proven. The students were all messing around with potions that day and evening, sort of a free study time with unlimited ingredient access. Someone, not sure who, made something that in my world would be called a Date Rape Drug. Twilight wasn't the only student that walked away from that with her dignity violated. Apparently, when Celestia and the teacher found them the next morning, it looked more like an orgy happened.. but.." I shrugged. "..there were some that felt like it happened without their consent. Problem is, the potions themselves wiped everyone's memories. The only reason he was expelled was because.. well.. he was the only dragon present, and Twilight was the only one he.. ehh.. apparently had been with." I tried being delicate about it. "He already had a disciplinary history that hinted he might've been too aggressive in the situation, and Celestia just didn't want any problems."
Bon-Bon: "Oh, dear!" She held her hoof over her mouth. "Well! That doesn't matter to us, does it, honey?" She gave Lyra a side-head nudge.
Lyra: "Not a'tall! Yer still our Spike, Spike." They both went over and hugged him.
Everyone joined in.
Spike: "Mom." He said, quietly.
The things you find out in the dark reaches of the battlefield...
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Power
TIME: 14:44 ERST
DATE: War Day 513/2 Noneus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Bright Eye Corporation Secret Lab, Coltonville, Republic of Harmonia
The only ones that knew, at this point, was my team. We decided not to advertise. Truth, Twilight had asked this be resolved somehow, but she wasn't sure how to go about it. I merely took advantage of the conversation and isolation to bring it up.
Besides a few vicious Creepers, the danger level was minimal.
We found our way down yet another level, via a back stairway that was past an intact office. Intact in that the furniture hadn't rotted away, a computer terminal (with no power) was on one of the desks, and the rug didn't look like dust on the floor.
Down here, this was the real treat.
Symbols for Radiation Danger.
Applejack: "Kuh.. K!" She pointed.
K: "THAT'S what she's used for power! A nuclear reactor!" I smirked. "Genius." I rubbed my chin. "I wonder what kind?" I looked at my team. "Well, we need to at least try and restore power." I shrugged.
Twilight: "So these stasis pods she mentioned, will work." She said, sounding out the theory.
K: "Right. Come on." I motioned to follow the signs. C> "K to Rarity."
Rarity: C> "Yes, darling? Over."
K: C> "Sit Rep, please. Over."
Rarity: C> "Well, darling.. we've found things on the lower level you wouldn't believe! Katrina thinks this is where they did magical research. There's all kinds of spell components and things down here." She sounded quite chipper. "Over."
K: C> "Examine it all, see what you can find out. K to Havoc."
Havoc: C> "Right here, bud. Over."
K: C> "Status?" I simply asked.
Havoc: C> "Oh, we found some technology, K. Stuff I'd never seen before, but I remember Megan talking about - they have model planes in this room we found! Like, intricately detailed stuff. Over."
K: C> "Roger that. We'll wait for someone from the Crystal Kingdom that knows more about that, to come have a look. Get what answers and information you can. K, out."
Twilight: "Sounds like everyone's finding all sorts of things."
Dusty: "For sure, if we'd let Tirek get here first.." She shook her head.
Lyra: "Utter disaster, fer sher." She harumpfed.
K: "This door says Power Room. Let's have a.." I suddenly realized the danger we might be in. "..okay, I wish Radio Active was here." I shrugged. "Everything around here could be intensely radioactive and we'd never know. I don't have a Geiger Counter."
Applejack: "..which is sum'tin' that measures radiation.." She followed the lead.
K: "Precisely." I felt the door.
It felt VERY sturdy. Many times overbuilt. I ran a hand along it, and it felt like steel. Steel wrapped over lead wouldn't be unexpected - she was a genius, not stupid.
K: "I'm not sure how to proceed. I think we should see if there's any safety equipment in any of these rooms." I shrugged.
Twilight: "Right." She grabbed Spike - her son - and moved to the left, to take that hallway branch.
K: "Applejack, Dusty, go right." I indicated. "Lyra, Bon-Bon, take the path back the way we came. Look for anything that resembles some kind of huge oversuit with a helmet, or a device about the size of an ammo can. Hopefully, some of them still exist and haven't eroded into nothingness."
I ended up following Twilight.
Spike: "So, all this time, you were just worried about me.." He was piecing his life together.
K: "It wasn't my place." I started.
Spike: "It's okay, K." He grinned up at me, then looked to Twilight. "I bet you wanted to incinerate those Griffons when they used me like a punching bag." Second Ponyville.
Twilight: "You have no idea." She shook her head. "I couldn't. I couldn't.. just.." She sighed in frustration. "It was then that I realzied, no matter what I did, I couldn't keep you completely safe." She shrugged a little. "It's why I let you get trained by Mac and the others." She lowered her head and looked up at me. "Does that make me a bad mother?"
K: "Not at all. I have Starlight, Florale, and Applebloom to think about." I shrugged. "I know.. there's a chance they'll have to fight, too." I shook my head. "I don't want them to, but.." I trailed off.
Twilight: "I wish I'd had a good father for you, Spike." She said, with her head down a bit.
Spike: "It's cool. Last three years, I've had lots of guys doing that, kinda." He shrugged. "K, Mac, Doctor Allcome.." He gave an uneasy chuckle. "They care. They've taught me things."
K: "I sure do, Spike. I hope you won't hold it against me that I did your mom." I was uneasy about that one.
Spike: "Nahh.. you're cool. I know you.. you know.." Treated her properly.
Applejack: C> "Honeybun, we found somethin' better'n safety gear. Come back this way." She called through the radio.
K: C> "Roger that. We hadn't even gotten to the doors, yet.." I glanced at the wall.
Moving back to where AJ was, we found her in some kind of observation deck with instrumentation all around. None of the panels were lit - and they wouldn't be, at eight thousand years old. I was shocked they were still in something resembling one piece.
Now, I've never worked at a nuclear power plant. However, all the gauges and panels were very clearly marked. Any guide not etched in titanium or painted on pottery would be dust at this point, but the labels for the individual gauges HAD been made of some kind of high chromium content steel.
Intended to last perhaps a couple hundred years.
Looking at the gauges, I deduced they were all analogue. Not digital. Smart. One of the banks of gauges showed relative radiation levels - the terminology used wasn't Sieverts (which wouldn't make sense, as it was named for Rolf Sievert), but "REPs" - which, after some thought, I dismissed the idea of them being Roentgens.
It probably meant "Radiation Equivalent Pony."
Or, measured on this gauge, how much radiation dosage a pony would receive.
Two were fairly low on the gauge, one gauge was clearly broken, and a third showed something in the middle. The others were at zero, and I had no idea if that meant they'd stopped working, or if the radiation was at zero.
Twilight: "..I'm totally out of my depth, here.." She trailed on and off.
Applejack: "Ah'nhaw'ya think I feel?" She smirked.
Lyra: "Loster'n the rest've us?" Bon-Bon giggled at that. "K? What'cha got?"
K: "I've never worked at or studied nuclear power facilites. Much of the information regarding them is considered sensitive and not readily available to the public." I started. "From what I can ascertain, though, this nuclear reactor stopped functioning a long time ago. The problem is, no matter what it's using as fissile material, the radioactivity of that fuel hasn't decayed all that much." I shrugged.
Twilight: "So, what do we do?" She tilted her head.
K: "Forget the reactor. I have no idea how to operate it. However, we can scavenge the reactor, later, for fissile material to produce atomic weapons." I shrugged.
Applejack: "Y'all're talkin' like we'll need 'em..." She said with dread in her voice. "..again."
K: "We might. At the very least as a deterrent to the Herdiets, but we might need them to stop Tirek." I shook my head.
Twilight: "I hope not." She frowned. "So, what do we do for power?"
K: "Well, it seems she accounted for this. This entire panel over here." I shone my flashlight on it. "Is dedicated to the back-up power supply - some kind of Carbon-Air Fuel Cell." I nodded to the switches. "It should just turn on.."
I went over to the panel and examined it.
Katrina: C> "Kat to K." She stated simply.
K: C> "Go ahead."
Katrina: C> "This place WAS covered by the time distortion field.. but not forever. If I'm reading this right, that field has gotten a LOT smaller in the last eight thousand years, and it's continuing to shrink. As it does, whatever is not covered, begins to age naturally. As far as I can tell, this place has been uncovered for about a thousand years, in stages, regressing by perhaps a centimeter a month.." She trailed off. "..that's a guess. Something did come along and restabilize that field recently. No more than.." She paused.
Rarity: C> "Cutting in. If my math is right, darling, Gallart Bonebeard and the Hundred-Year War." She said, grimly.
Twilight: "And we never knew who he was..!" She said, distressed.
K: "We're learning, now. I think the history books are going to need rewriting when the war's done." I said, firmly.
Twilight: "Well.. what does that mean for all this technology?"
K: "That it's probably not as degraded as it might be." I shrugged. "Here goes."
I hit the switch to start up the Fuel Cell back-up power unit. In a moment, the entire facility started lighting up. Many bulbs and fixtures short-ciruited, I could hear them, but the power was on.
Bright Eyes was next.
{End of Chapter 54}
