The Rise of Iron Mare - Chapter 6

The dark carriage rolled up to Twilight’s estate, stopping in front of the decorated iron gate. It had been a suggestion from Rarity, who had urged her to ‘move closer to where the action was’ and to live in a protected home. After her business had picked up, she’d had more than enough bits to finally get around to purchasing a Canterlot home.

The carriage door opened and out stepped Spike, who held out a claw to Twilight. She took hold of it and stepped down, then motioned to the driver, who began to trot off. Twilight approached the gate, and as she came within a few steps of it, beams of light shone from small glass orbs in both of the stone pillars the gate was attached to.  The soft blue beams sweeped and cascaded down her body, scanning her several times. “Good evening, Twilight,” a voice said, originating from an unseen speaker system. A click was heard, and then the gate slid open. “And good evening, Spike,” it added, as the dragon followed Twilight through the gate.

“So...” Spike began, keeping pace with Twilight as they made their way towards the door. “What are we going to do about the fallout?”

“Well, I know we’re a bit... tense with each other right now, but I want you to work with Trixie and get things sorted out with the media,” she responded, frowning slightly. “She’s always been better with crowds.”

“That’s for sure,” Spike said, remembering their first few encounters with her. “But yeah, I’ll call her soon and set something up. Now, what are you going to do?” By this point, they had reached the main entrance, a dark oak door with a single clear window and few gold accents. Once they stepped inside, the lights to the foyer faded in, along with a few other rooms.

“I’m going to stay quiet for awhile. I just need some time to myself is all.” Twilight looked at Spike and smiled. “You can handle things for a bit, right?”

Spike crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “I guess I can.” He glanced back to Twilight and returned the sly grin.

Twilight allowed herself a little giggle. “Still my number one assistant,” she chimed, walking into the next room. It was an open area with a coffee table, several luxurious couches and a spiral staircase that both came from below and continued up above. Between the winding steps was a small indoor waterfall–another of Rarity’s ideas–which cascaded down a frosted glass base. “I’m going to head down to my lab, Spike. I’ll call you if I need anything,” she said, beginning to descend the staircase.

“And I’ll be... here,” he replied, motioning to the surrounding area. “Probably on the phone...”

“That’s my dragon!” Twilight called, now halfway down the stairs.

Spike sighed and shook his head, then started up the stairs towards the office. He had a lot of talking to do.

- - -

After hitting several buttons on a touchpad, the glass door to her personal lab opened, revealing everything she truly loved. Wide bookcases bordered the room, piled high with tomes and scrolls of every subject. Many half finished projects were scattered around workbenches, and magitech tools of every variety were neatly aligned and ready for use. Twilight couldn’t help but smile as she walked in and breathed in the familiar smell.

She then approached her pride and joy: the Drawing Board. It was a large table near the middle of the room with a metallic finish and a very fine grid etched into it. As she approached, it hummed to life and glowed with purple energy.

“Back from your surprise vacation, Twilight?” It was the same voice from over the intercom earlier, but this time it seemed to come from everywhere at once. It was masculine but soft at the same time, and with every bit of snark and sarcasm that Twilight possessed.

“Very funny, Dusk Shine,” she replied, waving her hoof across the board. “Now, we have work to do.”

“I don’t suppose it has anything to do with the extremely potent magical device I’ve scanned, does it?”

“Quite observant of you,” Twilight said, as several panes of holographic interface materialized in front of her. “However, it needs to be more efficient for what I have planned.”

“Should I more thoroughly scan you for dimensions and energy outputs?”

Twilight’s horn shone as her jacket and shirt were unbuttoned, removed, and hung up, fully exposing the mage reactor. “Of course. While you’re at it, start up a new personal project. Name it... Generation II.”

“Right away, Twilight. Performing scan.”

She swiped a hoof upwards, producing a holographic mesh of a unicorn. With a flick, it spun around several times, then she lifted a group of virtual parts from the table. The pieces were put together around the model pony, creating a digital replica of the armor she wore while escaping the griffons. Twilight scrutinized the design as it slowly rotated, looking at every nook and cranny of it.

“Scan complete.”

Twilight’s ears perked up, but she continued looking at the model. “What’ve you got for me, Dusk?”

“Current output measures at three gigathaums per second. Scans indicate the current design can be refined to reach twelve gigathaums per second. Further improvement in power output does not appear possible.”

A digital folder popped up, which Twilight pushed the armor designs into, then flicked elsewhere on the board. “I think I’ll leave the impossible one for later. Can you render the new reactor blueprints for me?”

“Of course. They should be digitizing now.” After a few seconds, a rotating model of the new reactor floated in the center of the board, which then untwisted and separated to reveal all of its different parts. Various measurements and notes hovered next to each one, and below it all on the surface was a dedicated blueprint.

“Thank you very much, Dusk,” she said, taking one of the holographic parts in her hoof and looking it over. “Start getting the work area and the parts ready.” A pair of safety goggles floated from one of the workbenches and fit snugly over her eyes, while she pulled her mane back and tied it into a ponytail.  “We’ve got science to do.”

- - -

Several days had passed since Twilight’s public announcement, and Spike was doing his best to keep control over the company. He and Trixie had attempted to calm the shareholders and board of directors with numbers and statistics about other routes of profit for Sparkle Industries, but that was met with a lukewarm response at best. The dragon entered the Sparkle estate with their meeting summary, planning on giving her the news.

Spike walked down the spiral staircase, heading to Twilight’s lab. He was looking down at his clipboard as he tapped the security panel, and continued reading through the papers even as he walked inside. “Hey, Twi–”

“Not now, Spike!” she exclaimed, causing the dragon to look up in surprise. It was then that he saw Twilight sitting in an operating chair, levitating a device in front of her. It wasn’t long before he noticed the hole in her chest, outlined with a metal wall.

Spike cautiously approached Twilight, and up close he noticed the beads of sweat forming on her brow from concentration, along with her shaking. “W... what is that?”

Twilight grunted as the device slide inside the hole and turned, locking it into place. For a few moments after, she continued magically shifting something else that Spike couldn’t see. Finally, her horn stopped glowing and she took a deep breath. “Whew... alright. That’s done with,” she said, sliding off the chair and getting back onto her hooves.

“What the heck was that, Twilight?” Spike asked, motioning to her chest cavity’s newest addition.

“This, Spike, is a mage reactor.” She lightly tapped the reactor with her hoof. Walking around Spike, she came to another metal desk that contained a variety of tools and a similar looking reactor. She floated that one up to Spike. “This is the original, which I built when I was in captivity.”

Spike cocked his head and grabbed it out of the air, flipping it over in his hands several times. “Is this some kind of advanced MECC? It seems like it generates energy.”

Twilight smiled. “You’re right about that. It generates a lot of energy.” She took the reactor back from Spike and dropped it in a cardboard box. “And now that I have this new one, I can get rid of the old one.”

“Okay, it’s good that you have a better power generator now, but that doesn’t explain why one of them is stuck in your chest,” Spike said, frowning.

The unicorn dropped her cheerful demeanor and sat down, then looked at the dragon. “It’s to keep me alive, Spike.”

“Wha... what?” Spike started, his eyes widening. “What happened to you, Twilight?!” He grabbed a nearby chair and took a seat next to, waiting for her reply.

“Well, to put it simply, there’s a hoofful of shrapnel lodged in my chest.” She saw Spike open his mouth and added in “From a grenade,” which stopped him. “So now I have an arcanomagnet in my chest which is stopping the shrapnel from reaching my heart. It’s powered by this little guy.” Twilight smiled softly as she glanced down to her mage reactor. “Without it, I’d be a dead mare.”

She felt Spike’s arms wrap around her as he leaned over for a hug, which she returned in full. After a few silent moments, Spike pulled back and wiped one of his eyes. “I’m glad you’re here, Twi,” he said, doing his best to go back to a professional demeanor.

Twilight grinned, playfully rubbing his spines–something she hadn’t done in years. “I’m glad too, Spike.”

“Hey, I need to keep those straight!” Spike replied, chuckling and backing away slightly.

After the laughter subsided, Twilight sat up and shook herself off, preparing to move on to her next task. She then noticed the clipboard Spike had and paused. “Is that what you came down here for?”

Spike looked at Twilight for a few moments before blinking and realizing what she was referring to. “Oh, right! Yeah, I came down here to show you the meeting summary for this week.” He stood up and flipped through the papers before pulling out a small stack of them. He handed them to the unicorn, who floated them in front of her as she started walking to the drawing board.

Twilight mumbled to herself as she looked through the notes, letting out the occasional sigh or shaking her head in disappointment.

“So, who else knows?” Spike asked, leaning against the board near Twilight and folding his arms. “About... well, you know.” He nodded his head in the Twilight’s direction.

“Just you so far,” she replied, getting through the last of the notes. “I haven’t found a good time to tell anypony yet.” Twilight tapped the papers against the table to organize them, then floated them back to Spike, who plucked them out of the air.

“You should at least tell Celestia about it,” he said, putting the notes back in his clipboard. “I think she’d want to know.”

Twilight glanced down and bit her lip in thought. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. I’ll have to meet with her sometime soon.”

Spike instinctively pulled a pen out of his pocket and clicked it. “Want me to set that up now?”

“No, no, I’ll do it on my own time,” Twilight said, waving a hoof. “Don’t worry about it.”

Spike tucked the pen away. “Whatever you say, Twilight.” He then glanced at his watch, frowning in disapproval. “I’ve gotta do some more paperwork before the day ends, so I’ll see you... soon. I’ll see you soon,” Spike said, moving away from the table.

“No problem, Spike. Thanks for keeping me updated. Oh!” She levitated the box that contained her old mage reactor near Spike, who eyed it curiously. “Can you bring this up on the way?”

Spike grabbed the box and peered inside. “Yeah, sure. What do you want me to do with it?”

“Just put it somewhere safe, alright?” The two nodded at each other before Spike headed off. Twilight watched him go through the door, then listened to him move up the stairs until the sound of his footprints disappeared. As soon as they did, she turned around and floated up the model of the pony she created previously. “Dusk, mark ‘Install Mage Reactor v2’ as complete, then open up all the Generation II files.”

“Your digital checklist has been updated,” Dusk said, as numerous part blueprints digitized on the board. “And I’m happy to say you’ve completed your work for today. Shall I prepare a celebratory drink?”

“Not today, Dusk,” Twilight said, removing a few pieces from the model and dropping them into a virtual trash can. “Because I’m about to add a whole lot more.”

“Wonderful.”

- - -

Twilight dabbed at the frame with her soldering iron several times before backing away and looking over the piece. She floated the iron back into its holder, then pulled off her safety goggles. “That looks like it worked,” she said, picking up the casing and slipping it over her hoof.

She took a quick walk around the table with it on. “Flexibility and comfort is right on target. That’s four for four!”

Twilight levitated the other three boot frames onto the ground and stepped into them, wiggling her hooves to get them to settle in. Once they were secured, she took another walk, this time to the center of the room. Every step made a loud clang which echoed through the lab.

She floated over several electrical wires and a harness, then began to connect the boots to her reactor. “Dusk, get the recorder and the monitors ready. I’m going for the first test fire.”

“Right away,” it replied, as a small orb dropped from the ceiling. Before it hit the ground, small bursts of magic erupted from beneath it and caused it to float. Once it stabilized, it hovered in front of Twilight and erected a camera lens from its middle. A red light indicated it had begun recording.

“Alright,” Twilight said, plugging in the last wire, “All hooked up.” She then cleared her throat and looked at the camera. “Day 4, test one. Attempting to achieve lift and maintain stability with mouth control.” She took a breath, then adjusted herself. “Going to play it safe and start at 1% power output. The power ratios are too unpredictable at the moment to try any higher. Now, on three.”

She cracked her neck and shifted her weight once more. “One... Two... Three.”

Twilight bit down on the control and felt a surge of power in her hooves. She lifted several inches off the ground and stayed in place, steadied by bright orange flame shooting out of the boots. She glanced down, taking care not to lose her grip on the control, and watched her wobbling legs as her body adjusted to the new sensation of flight. After several seconds of this, she let go and dropped to the floor.

As the controller fell out of her mouth, Twilight took a deep breath. “Whew, okay, alright. That... that works,” she said, with a gulp. “It also might take awhile to get used to...” She shook in place, despite the very brief air time. “Dusk, did you get all that?”

“Of course. Total airtime was thirteen point two seconds, at an elevation of five inches. Total force output by thrusters was 549.36 thaums, at 137.34 thaums per thruster.”

“G-good! Great,” Twilight said, cracking a smile. “So thrusters... thrusters work.”

“That would appear so.”

“Alright, good. Yes. Very good. Uh... exoskeleton time!” She exclaimed, taking a step forward. Forgetting that the boots were on, she promptly tripped over the weight and collapsed to the ground in a heap of unicorn. Her face pressed against the cold floor and she had a look of defeat. “...Dusk Shine?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“No more flight tests for tonight.”

“Noted.”

- - -

“Twilight, you have a visitor,” Dusk’s voice echoed throughout the room. The unicorn looked up from the helmet she was piecing together and looked at the door curiously.

“Who is it?” she asked, standing up and bringing the helmet with her. While waiting for a reply, she pressed the faceplate against her head and looked through the eye slits.

“It’s Trixie.”

With a “hmph,” Twilight pulled the helmet away and put the assorted parts on the nearby table, then untied her hair. “Tell her to come in.” She shook her mane out and brushed it back, attempting to make herself presentable. She also walked to a nearby storage closet and took out a white shirt, wasting no time in pulling it on. Hopefully she doesn’t get suspicious, she thought, walking to the doors.

She made her way upstairs to find Trixie sitting on one of the couches, sipping at a glass of water. “Interesting fashion choice, Twilight,” Trixie said, glancing up and down Twilight. “What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight lied, trotting over to the couch perpendicular to Trixie’s and taking a seat. “Just a bit cold is all.”

“I see.” Trixie took another sip of her drink, then placed it on the coffee table. “So tell me, Twilight, what are your plans for Sparkle Industries? Have you been working on anything that might be presentable to the board?”

Twilight shifted her weight. “Nothing in particular. I’ve just been looking at some ways to improve on what we currently have.”

“An new generation of MECCs, perhaps?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow. “That would certainly be something they would want to see.” She wiped a stray piece of her mane away. “But at this point, Twilight, showing them anything would be helpful.”

“Nothing like that... just some tweaks here and there,” Twilight replied, with a soft smile. “But I can probably try to develop something! I can look into quicker arcane processors, or a better system for sen–”

“Twilight,” Trixie interrupted, with a stone-faced expression. “Show it to me.”

A cold sweat fell over Twilight, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. “What do you mean, Trixie?”

“You know what I mean. Spike told me. Now come on, let me see it.” She motioned to Twilight’s chest.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Shoulda told him to keep it quiet,” she mumbled, taking off her shirt and tossing it aside. “Here it is.”

Trixie’s eyes widened as the cloth slipped off, revealing the glowing Mage Reactor embedded in Twilight’s chest. She stood up and approached Twilight to get a closer look, staring into the pulsing blue light. “It’s... beautiful,” she said, mouth slightly agape. She reached out a hoof, then glanced up at Twilight. “May I?”

The unicorn nodded and looked away.

Trixie ran her hoof over it, feeling the warmth of the device. “This is really incredible, Twilight,” she said, pulling her foreleg back. “And this keeps you alive?”

“Yeah... stops the shrapnel from getting closer.”

Trixie stepped back and sat down, continuing to look at the reactor. “How did you even... do this?”

Twilight shuddered as the thoughts of her ‘procedure’ flooded back into her head. “I’d rather not talk about the specifics,” she said, frowning. “It was... painful, to say the least.”

“I could only imagine...” Trixie stared at the mage reactor, each electric pulse reflected in her eyes. “Say, Twilight, this might be it.”

The opposing unicorn raised an eyebrow as she levitated her shirt back on. “What do you mean?”

“You know... it! The thing that we’ve been looking for. Something to present to the board for us to start working on.” Trixie put a hoof over the reactor and looked at Twilight. “Just imagine what we could do with this kind of technology. The possibilities are limitless.”

Twilight shook her head and put a hoof up. “I can’t do that.”

The color drained out of Trixie’s face as she recoiled in surprise. “What? Why?”

“It’s not ready for the public yet, Trixie. The power in this little device is...” She traced the outline of the reactor while searching for the words. “It’s too much for Equestria to handle right now. There’s no telling what might happen if this got out there, or if the technology was misused.”

“But Twilight, it’s efficient... it’s... it’s new, it’s powerful... It’s exactly what the company needs right now, and you’re going to deny us that!?” Trixie sputtered in disbelief, staring at Twilight. “You can’t be serious right now!”

“I know it seems awful... and selfish, but you have to understand just how drastic this would be. Revealing the mage reactor would be like revealing MECC technology all over again.”

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing, Twilight?” Trixie stood up and began pacing around the dark coffee table, her soft reflection shimmering on the glass. “If this can advance Equestria as much as you say it can, why would you keep this to yourself?”

“Because I don’t trust them!” Twilight suddenly snapped, her voice and gaze intensifying. “I don’t trust anypony but myself with this technology! Not ponies, not dragons, and not gryphons. Just me. Once I figure out how to make it more accessible to everypony else, or how to develop it so they can all safely benefit, then I’ll publicize it. But until then,” She glanced down at it briefly, then back to Trixie, “it stays with me.”

Trixie sighed, dragging her hoof down her face. “I am trying to work with you here, Twilight. I really am, but you need to give me something. Spike and I can’t keep running the show while you sit here and... do whatever it is you do.” She then got a puzzled expression and tapped her chin. “What do you do all of the time?”

“That’s not important,” Twilight said, standing up and diffusing the issue. “What is important is that I keep developing this technology so that I can help everypony with it, while at the same time securing Equestria’s peace. So, if we’re about done here...” Twilight trailed off, leaning into the couch and looking towards the door.

“Hmph. I see how it is.” Trixie brushed her mane back and turned around. She took several steps towards the door before glancing back. “I really need something from you, Twilight. We can’t keep this up much longer.” She then proceeded forward and took her leave, the door clicking shut behind her.

Twilight stood alone in her living room for countless minutes afterwards, listening to nothing but the waterfall and the hum of her reactor. As the sun set beyond the horizon, she sat up and cracked her neck. Wordlessly, she trotted down the stairs and back into her lab, where the hiss of the door was the only indication that she was there.

“Dusk Shine...”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Set lab to construction mode.”