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Harmony Defended

by Starscribe

Chapter 12: Chapter 11: Wings

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"For your benefit-" Alexi looked across the table to King Richard, and nodded very slightly. Her tone was measured, careful not to imply anything about what she said. "And so we might communicate more effectively. We are going to be your allies; and so provide this information freely. Seven years ago, we received the first radio transmissions through the opening designated HR-19-G, and over the course of that year negotiated the 'Unified Resistance Pact.'" She turned back to Luna, and seemed to be doing everything within her power to avoid looking directly at Chance. "We have honored that agreement, which forbade us from providing fission or fusion explosives, self-replicating nanoweapons, bioweapons of any kind, and aerosol weapons."

The android named Tesla snickered. "That doesn't leave you with much, does it? Without a single dirty trick you're no better than the natives!" Samil looked darkly at his hands, as though he agreed completely but didn't want to admit it. Richard put a gentle hand on Tesla's shoulder, looking visibly upset. For their eyes, Chance knew. They were probably conversing privately over the radio constantly, discussing their strategies.

"We're not better than the natives," Alexi agreed, managing not to look smug, even as Luna and Twilight both shifted visibly toward her a degree. Score one for the real humans! "We intend to provide Equestria with the resources it needs to fight its own battles, not win them ourselves. We have had..." the first real sign of hesitation "difficulties stabilizing a rift large enough for the Aegis, which is carrying a significant portion of our troops and military hardware."

"A-gee-iss?" Twilight repeated, struggling a little over the untranslatable human word. If the Tower recognized what the name meant, they showed no sign.

"The interplanetary-class ship we promised. It has been fully outfitted for near-atmospheric combat. We'll discuss the details of getting it here with your scientific team; not my field." There was absolutely no sign of movement from the Steel Tower now, not the slightest shiver, not even the pseudo-breathing they did. So they realized what the Federation having a capital ship here would mean. She wanted to jump on the table and scream, “You jerks can't double-cross us with a capital ship in orbit! You sure you want to help Equestria now?”

But she didn't say anything like that, because to do so would be to say she didn't trust Celestia's judgement. Who was she to tell the nigh-immortal ruler how she should handle her diplomatic relations? Showing her anger with the Tower would only weaken Equestria's position. She couldn't do that.

The conversation had not stopped for her mind to wander. "The expeditionary force arriving over the next few weeks is 80,000 souls strong, all trained in the use of the powered exoskeletons you observed earlier. Unfortunately only a small percentage are actually outfitted, but we hope to source local materials and begin production immediately. A fourth of that number represents the Ares Mechanized Division. An additional 8,000 civilian engineers, architects, doctors, and support staff are ready to transit as their skills are required and housing is available for them here in Normandy."

Luna was quiet as Alexi spoke, waiting until she had entirely finished before voicing a question she seemed to have been holding in. "Please understand I mean no disrespect. But 80,000 seems like such a small force. The reserve of the Royal Guard already accounts for five times as many, to say nothing of all the pony volunteers. How can such numbers influence the course of a war with millions of natives on either side?" There was some scorn in her voice, particularly around the word "native."

Chance was as interested as Luna in Alexi's answer, even if she already knew the facts. She was impressed at how calm her sister looked, even after what amounted to an insult of her troops and her command. "It's true most of the significant hardware was either destroyed in the Great War or stored aboard the Aegis. We intended her to serve as my command post, and the resources she would have provided could easily have ended this war in a few weeks. We devoted every spare resource to getting the field army to its present strength."

"But two in every three soldiers are veterans of actual combat, and all have been trained vigorously." There was a brief pause. "Based on the information you gave us, your world still fights in Napoleonic line formations. Human tactics render this method obsolete." She gestured vaguely at the window, where Canterlot glinted majestically in the sun. "Given a few hours to fortify, a single battalion could hold that city against a force of five hundred thousand or more indefinitely. Every soldier at every level is connected to the battlefield mesh network, controlled by a hyper-intelligent GAI."

"It is our intention to allow the primary force to be divided into battalions that should accompany each Equestrian unit. This will provide great strength to those units, as well as adding to their versatility. The Ares Division is fully mechanized. Their entire strength can be deployed to any part of your planet in six hours. We can drop them behind enemy lines, use them to rebuild bridges or assassinate high-value targets."

Was Luna smiling? It was hard to tell. "When we have more time, I would like more detailed information. We can discuss the assignments of your soldiers as they arrive from your planet." Then she turned, eyes fixed on the towering king. "I understand from what my sister told me your assistance would be less conventional. Please explain to me what you explained to Celestia."

Richard's expression remained as calm as ever. Perhaps it was an unfair advantage he enjoyed being entirely cybernetic, but he was as unflappable as Celestia. "We can't offer the same numbers as our biological colleagues," he began, clearing the holographic display with a gesture. "Until a week ago, we thought travel to Equestria would be a purely diplomatic mission. We prepared medicine and farming equipment and other trade goods, which we still intend to transport as soon as possible. Our manufacturing platform is already operational, and we can decide what to produce with as little or as much personal intervention as you wish."

"We can produce soldiers, which individually are stronger and faster than biological troops. They never sleep, never rest, and don't require food or water. Their armor is impervious to all the weapons your enemy ground-troops have used so far, and heavily resistant to their cannons and mounted guns. We have brought with us a server mainframe containing two million human minds, eager to be implanted in a body again."

"Devoting our manufacturing to printing vast numbers of soldiers would be a waste of resources, however. I would instead recommend some of our heavy hardware, which can accomplish tasks no soldiers could." With no visible gesture on his part, the screen filled with the shape of a sleek aircraft, several times larger than the drones. It was like a small building. Chance's first thought was an enlarged orca that had taken to the sky, though the wireframe structure failed to convey what its color might be. "The dragon creatures have already proven themselves to be a problem. We know from the video footage our drones returned with that they are resistant to most weapons. The Darius Heavy Cruiser is armed with a mass-accelerator cannon and ultra-dense tungsten rounds we believe should easily penetrate the scales of these dragon creatures. It carries a three-ton munitions payload and is capable of engaging targets at hypersonic speeds, far faster than any organic mind can react."

The display cleared, and another object took the place of the Darius. Chance recoiled an inch or two, her eyes widening. Twilight glanced at her, but she was already doing her best to calm down. It was just a projection... It wasn't real... It wasn't going to kill anyone. "Our answer to the massive swarm we saw in Typhon is to use the enemy's tactics, only more effectively. These drones can be produced inexpensively and rapidly, and use no exotic materials that have to be brought from Earth. Their primary weapon fires high energy heavy ions, which destroy nerve tissue. A single brief burst causes temporary unconsciousness, a condition fatal to flying enemies. The drones can also be piloted into large groups and exploded, and their bodies are designed to fracture into a wide sphere of shrapnel. These drones are semi-autonomous, and one controller is sufficient per hundred or so in a combat scenario. Once we supplement your satellite network with a few high-bandwidth data relays, we will be able to control them from any distance."

"Our greatest advantage is not numbers, but versatility. The enemy can introduce new tactical problems, and within minutes two million of our finest minds will be working on a solution. For the moment I will not waste your time with every resource at our disposal, and instead make one final suggestion." The screen filled again, this time with what looked like a rugged hovertruck. The vehicle had no cabin for a driver; instead a large humped section rested on the back. As she watched, the animated image touched down, and heavy steel anchors dug deep into the ground. The humped section lifted to reveal a cruise missile launcher with four openings, which inclined upward sharply. One of the missiles lifted up and out, filling the display as it did. "Samson hypersonic intercontinental cruise missiles. Satellite guided, real-time target adjustment, and a range of 4000 miles. At top speed, a Samson missile can reach a target at the edge of its range in half an hour. Numerous payload options, able to penetrate deeply buried targets or airburst for mass destruction of enemy troops." Then he smiled. "We've already prepped the four primary payload options and one launch vehicle, ready for use at your discretion."

Only then did the human king seem to relax. No one else in the room seemed relaxed, Luna least of all. But Chance watched her take a deep breath and make an effort to look it anyway. "I thank you for this information, and for the cooperation we have seen. We understand the difficulty inherent in an alliance of old enemies." Then her voice got colder. "I expect both sides to act peaceably here and on your homeworld until the war is concluded." She rose. "Now, we have a war to win."

* * *

"You're sure you have the time to walk with me all the way back to the ship?" Chance asked, as the gate to Normandy closed behind them. "I know how much there must be to do after that meeting."

In answer, Twilight nudged her apprentice forward bodily, causing her to squeal in protest and stumble for several paces before correcting her normal pace. "It might be months before you're back." She shook her head, her tone becoming somber. "I just don't know how I'll manage without your help around the castle."

"Teach Spike magic?" she suggested, forcing herself to smile. Of course, she was afraid that if she strained her emotions too far in either direction, she was going to end up crying. She had done that enough times today to have no desire to repeat the experience. "Dragons are supposed to be pretty good at it."

"After their third or fourth century," Twilight replied, and they both laughed. It was one way not to cry.

"I hope you haven't told him that." Chance looked away, watching the dirt road go by beneath her. Twilight didn't reply, and there was a long silence as they walked. She felt like every step was harder than the last. Because as eager as she was to see all the changes to the Fury, she might never see Twilight Sparkle again. Might never see the pony that had been both teacher and parent.

Twilight was not a pony who kept silent for long, even if Chance herself was unable to form anything coherent. It wasn't long at all before she heard the voice of her mentor from beside her, so quiet it was nearly a whisper. There was good reason for this of course, since they were back in Ponyville proper by then. It would be unwise to allow other ponies to overhear one of Equestria's princesses acting so grim. "Do you think we have a chance?" she asked, seriously. "Not just against the dragons, either. I mean... Do you think there's a chance this will still be Equestria when the war is over?"

Chance thought about that for some time before answering. "I... think it's possible. Truth and I both do... We've been running simulations of the war each time we get new information about the enemy, and we think that Equestria's victory is still nearly certain. You saw all those interesting ideas humans have to help with the war. When the dragons get to this part of Equestria, we'll be ready for them. Not to mention all those automated defenses we've been building for the last five years or so!"

They had reached the place where the Fury had been moored, though only the ramp seemed to be pressing it down anymore. It was an interesting sight, transformed practically overnight. The propellers had been completely removed, replaced with sleek wings. The mast that had once held a sail had been taken down, and the sides of the ship were covered with sleek interlocking segments of polycarbonate armor. Chance felt her coat lift a little as they got closer, a sign that the Ionization Engine was already active. Since they weren't moving yet though, it was completely silent.

"Good luck out there." Twilight embraced her one last time, pulling her in close and holding her there for nearly a minute. "You've already done so much for Equestria. No matter what happens, I'm proud of you."

Chance returned the embrace, and for once didn't care how embarrassing it was. She didn't squirm to get out prematurely, and only when Twilight released her did she return to her hooves proper, blinking the tears away but keeping her voice from cracking. "When this is all over, we'll finally have the time to figure out how to build those light-speed ships. Exploring the universe, one planet at a time." Twilight nodded, but didn't say anything else. She just mussed up Chance's mane one last time, then turned and walked away.

The young mare waited several seconds, until she had fully collected herself, before walking over to her friends by the side of the ship. They were all there, standing by the prow. Apple Bloom was wearing a respirator and goggles and holding a pressure-sprayer in her mouth, tracing carefully onto a stencil. Everypony else was a few feet away, far enough they wouldn't inhale any of the fumes. It made Chance smile. "Did we really need the name on the side like this?"

Sweetie Belle's answer was matter-of-fact. "It was in the plans."

Scootaloo glanced darkly over her shoulder. "Really, Chance. You think the Equestrian flagship should fly around the battlefield without a name?" She gestured to the sides of the ship, which had been decorated with a large stylized version of Celestia and Luna's cutie marks, the closest thing they had to a national flag.

"They made us the flagship?" Chance raised her eyebrows. "But the Fury isn't even a quarter the size of the bigger Air Corps ships."

Sweetie Belle giggled. It was nearly as high-pitched as they had been when they were all fillies, but it was still a refreshing sound to Chance's ears. She was healing. "Chance, if we got into a fight with ten of the biggest ships in Equestria, who would win?" In response, Chance got quiet, and Sweetie Belle only giggled again.

"I would expect that sort of attitude from somepony in the Air Corps, but not from the pony who helped design the Prismatic Fury," Scootaloo continued, indignant. "Now that we have Truth, we could probably take on all the dragons single-hoofed!"

Pipsqueak, who was helping Apple Bloom with the sprayer (mostly by wearing it on his back), glanced over his shoulder in worry. "We're not really going to do that, are we?"

"If we have to!" Scootaloo called over the sound of pressurized paint, her expression serious. "Get back to work, cadet. This is a serious conversation between officers."

Chance and Sweetie Belle spared a sympathetic glance to Pipsqueak, shaking their heads in such a way that Scootaloo couldn't see.

Less than a minute later, Apple Bloom stepped back from the ship, removing her respirator. "Done! You ready with that drying spell, Sweetie Belle?" She carefully peeled the stencil away from the ship, careful not to touch a single one of the still-wet letters.

Sweetie Belle nodded, closing her eyes in intense concentration. The letters began to shimmer just as the unicorn started panting. A few seconds of effort and the task was apparently complete. The letters, all black before, started to shift slowly through the visible spectrum of color, a rainbow that washed along and back again in a steady constant motion.

EAC PRISMATIC FURY

Chance rolled her eyes at the effect, turning toward the ramp. Pipsqueak joined her before she was even halfway onto the deck. The ramp was only built for one pony to walk abreast at any one time, which meant they were very close together. That was nothing new for him, though Chance wasn't much a fan of the saddlebags he was wearing pressing painfully into her side. "You better not have gotten rainbow paint on my coat, or you can sleep by yourself on the deck."

Pipsqueak recoiled in mock horror. "Not that! I'll freeze!" Then he laughed. "Be back in a minute, got to stow this sprayer. Never know when we might need to make something else rainbow-colored." He disappeared under the deck, in time for the rest of the Crusaders to make their way up onto the deck. Sweetie Belle reached the top of the ramp and gave it a dramatic buck with both legs, causing it to fall loudly to the ground.

"I think we were supposed to pull that up," Chance remarked, repressing giggles of her own as Sweetie Belle's satisfied expression turned into one of surprise and barely-repressed panic. "Come on, we'll just levitate it up here." She moved to the edge of the deck. "I'll pick up that end, you pick up the other one, ‘kay?"

Another minute and the ramp was stowed, and all five of the ship's ponies were standing on the deck behind the steering column. Or what was left of it. The wheel was gone, replaced with a holographic interface set into the floor. A miniature of the ship floated in the display. "Here we go." Scootaloo stuck her hooves into the display, and as she did numbers and dials appeared around them, showing the angle and velocity she was configuring. "It won't throw us around like before, right?"

"It shouldn't," Chance answered, bracing herself against the railing anyway. "Not now that we have a real shield dissipating our inertia. They did... put in a real shield, right?"

As if in answer a faintly shimmering barrier extended its way around the ship in a tight bubble. The sound of distant conversation and animals died abruptly, replaced with a slowly growing rumble they felt though the deck more than actually hearing. "Flight vector accepted," Truth said, through the internal speakers. "Cruising altitude of 3000 feet selected." The ship lifted slowly from the ground, inclining slightly upward.

"Hey Truth, could you acess my personal files for me?" she called, having to shout over the growing noise.

"What would you like me to access?"

"Music playback. Artist, Guns N' Roses. Song, Paradise City. Maximum volume." Instead of answering with words, guitar and drums began issuing from every speaker in the ship. Human vocals swiftly joined in, which Truth might or might not be translating for the other Crusaders with their implants.

There was no better way to fly.

* * *

"I need to know everything you know about those things." Charles only seemed calm because he could manually prevent his body from showing signs of emotion. In reality, he was terrified. There were dozens of those creatures down there. Did his sidearm have enough shots to take down that many? His body was running so low on its power reserves that he couldn't be sure about accurately calculating his shots anymore. His one arm was far less steady than it ought to be. Some of the creatures had bows! It was true that they were unlikely to do much of anything to his body, but his companion wasn't nearly so resilient. One good shot to the gut might be all she could take at this point. "Everything."

"Are you crazy?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Maybe if I could still fly we could take them. But we're both stuck on the ground... We don't stand a chance! Maybe if we hide they'll get bored and leave. I would..."

Charles leaned forward onto the walking stick, drawing his sidearm with his working hand. It was a tiny plastic device, barely larger than his hand, silvery with white lines tracing all over. The opening was small, not large enough for any conventional projectile. The side of the device had a simple warning printed. "NUCLEAR BATTERY - DO NOT BURN, CRUSH, or DISCARD"

The pegasus laughed cruelly. "You're gonna fight them with that?"

"If I have to." He closed his eyes, controlling his frustration. There was so little time. "What do you know about them? They're called goblins, right?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, sounding as exasperated as Charles felt. "They didn't teach us very much, and I didn't pay close attention. Uh... Live in tribes, mostly underground. They eat anything, including ponies. They've got sharp teeth, and usually fight up close. Used to live in tribes in Equestria a long time ago, but not since there have been ponies there." She shook her head, as though dislodging a foul taste from her mouth. "That's all they taught us. We never thought they'd leave their tribes, okay? They're too stupid to ever think about fighting Equestria."

Charles glanced briefly over the ridge, down towards the ship. A breeze rustled his hair as he looked, and he saw the strange animals grunting to each other, in a guttural tongue that sounded far closer to a great ape than a bellowing lizard. Strangely, they also seemed to have irregular tufts of hair on their heads, unlike true reptiles. There was something disturbing about it, but without his sensors working properly there was no way to identify why they disturbed him so. No matter. All enemies of the Steel Tower would die, no matter how gross they were.

"Stay back here," Charles instructed, though he doubted very much the pony would listen to him. "I'll clear them out. Wait for me to call." He adjusted his weight, turning away from her and cresting the hill. The mare looked so absolutely shocked at his actions that she was powerless to move. He could only hope that shock lasted long enough to keep her from danger. His steps were not so quiet as when his body was working properly, so that it took him only a few steps to be noticed. The mob of creatures all looked in his direction, calling out with guttural whooping sounds.

'Translation unavailable. Insufficient sample size,' the program in his head informed him.

'I don't think I need a translator to understand what they're saying,' he thought, stopping about thirty feet down the rise. This put maximum distance between him and the goblins, probably too far to accurately shoot those arrows or sling rocks. He hoped so, anyway. "That ship is property of the Steel Tower!" he shouted, as loudly as he could. "Depart and I spare your lives!" In his agitation, Charles wasn't shouting in the Equestrian that had been downloaded into his brain, but on the slightly-accented English of his birth, a little of south London only slightly tinged with Welsh.

To his great surprise, the monsters grew absolutely silent at his words. Could they... understand him? Did they have translation magic like Equestrians did, maybe? No... Because when he had finished speaking, a roar went up from all of them, and nearly as one the mob began charging up the hill toward him, brandishing their weapons. Time seemed to slow, the two-legged creatures tearing up the hill.

"I will to my lord be true and faithful," Charles muttered, taking careful aim at the first creature and firing. The gun barked in his hand, though didn't jolt with recoil since no projectile had been fired. His aim was absolutely true; the first monster dropped, trailing red blood all the way down. The air began to fizz with the charge of plasma weapons.

"I will love all that he loves." Another shot, and the second of the monsters fell, tumbling. The creatures seemed oblivious to this, so intent on him that all that happened around them blurred to nothing. "I will shun all that he shuns." Another shot, another dead monster. Charles adjusted himself against the walking stick, correcting for the wobbling of his one good arm.

"I will be a knight of the Steel Tower." Another creature tumbled lifeless to the ground. There was a little trail of them, motionless semi-reptilian monsters growing closer with every passing second.

"I will uphold the honor of my Lord through my actions." Another shot, and the handgun was growing warm in his hand. It was not meant to be used in such rapid succession. Lacking the proper cooling, it would probably overheat after just a few more shots.

"I will strengthen the weak." The seventh monster fell, and now half the distance between him and the diminishing mob had been cleared. They were close enough to smell now, or would've been if his sense of smell still worked after the crash.

"I will comfort the fearful." Charles fired again, thinking about the injured pegasus sheltered just behind the crest of the hill. She had shown no fear at all until the moment she had lost her wing. Now she had been afraid enough to think they couldn't fight these goblins and take back the ship.

"Confidence without arrogance." His arm wasn't shaking anymore, with what little remained of his power reserves poured into the gyroscopic sensors and the accelerometers. He did not miss a single shot.

"Truth without deception." The gun was so hot that a fleshy hand would be suffering from first-degree burns by now. The polymer of his fingers was far more resilient to temperature than that.

"Peace without oppression." One of the goblins had stopped to try and take aim with a bow. He shot it in the head, as he had each and every one of the goblins he had killed so far. There was one more pool of deep red blood sinking into the sandy earth.

"Compassion without restriction." They were nearly upon him now, at least a half dozen that had survived the charge. He fired again. There were now less than a half dozen.

"Until death." That didn't look so far away, and certainly not for the nearest goblin. It had leapt in a high arc with a flint axe ready, but his shot connected with its head in mid-flight. He leaned hard to one side, though that didn't stop the little splattering of red blood. The four remaining goblins charged at him together, only feet away. There was no way he could shoot all of them.

He didn't have to, because a pair of hooves appeared beside him, bucking him violently out of the way of the monsters. He went flying, landing on his back in the sand and sliding, though his grip on the gun never faltered. He suspected it couldn't, and that the plastic of his fingers would be melted to it before too much longer.

Rainbow Dash jumped out of the way of the approaching Goblins, which screeched wildly in frustration. He might be on the ground, but that didn't stop him from firing accurately. Another of the monsters was dead before it realized what had happened. He didn't bother trying to stand up. Another died as it raised a rough-looking sword to attack Rainbow Dash from behind. The last two froze, seeming to finally realize what they had just seen. They looked around, at the trail of dead goblins leading up the mountain, almost evenly spaced in the dirt. They saw the gun in Charles's hand. They turned to run away.

Charles shot them both, one after another. There would be no survivors to call for backup to come and finish the job. He dropped the gun. His hand wasn't stuck after all, but the little patch of grass he had dropped it into began immediately to steam and smoke in protest.

Rainbow Dash was silent for a long time, walking up to him and looking down. Her eyes flicked between the gun and Charles himself, and he wasn't sure if he was seeing admiration or fear in her expression. "You didn't have to kill the ones that were running away," she said, her voice almost completely flat.

"I did." Charles waited a few moments more, then returned his gun to its holster. It would have been uncomfortably warm to the touch, but heat did not cause him pain. Actually, nothing did. "Or else they would have brought more goblins, more than we could fight." He rose to his feet, whole body shaking with the effort. If he didn't make it to the ship soon, he was going to run out of power right next to it. "They were dead the moment they decided to fight instead of run."

He began limping down the hill, as best he could. Despite what he might have expected, he found the pony was suddenly at his side supporting him. "That's cold. How do you live with yourself after killing like this?" They walked slowly toward the ship, past the row of regularly-spaced bodies. Each had a nearly identical wound to the head, small hole going in and much larger exiting, the flesh charred and partly cooked and blood slowly leaking from within.

In answer, he kept his eyes away from each of the monstrous shapes, focusing intently on the ship. "I... give them every opportunity to turn away. Every opportunity to choose peace. But you saw what they were doing; when I told them to leave, they were coming straight at me. They would have killed me, and you too if they found you. When killing becomes a matter of survival, then its the only morally responsible choice. Those who live by the sword perish by the sword."

Rainbow Dash remained silent until they reached the side of the ship. "No wonder humans almost wiped themselves out."

Charles had no reply to that as he flung himself bodily into the cockpit, searching for the power-reception port. He found it, and connected the cable to his chest. The feeling of relief was immediate, though of course the crashed drone had far less power than it ought to. Compared to the little his own reserves had maintained, it felt absolutely wonderful. He found his clarity of thought returning, along with his strength. Perhaps only half his systems were working properly, but at least that half could run again.

Making sure to leave the cable connected, he dug down into the console and removed a fist-sized object, taking it in his one working hand. "Stand close, Rainbow Dash. I need to let the scanner get a good look at you. I have to get your measurements."

The pegasus complied, following his instructions as he told her to open her remaining wing and move it in various ways. "I don't see what good this is supposed to do," she said, her face pale. Probably the dehydration. They would have to venture into the forest in search of water if any of this worked. "I haven't seen any of your people with wings. Why would you have designs for fake ones?"

"We knew we were coming to Equestria for a decade now," he explained, as he ducked into the cockpit and removed equipment piece by piece. Just like the drone carrier had been, the circuitry of most Tower technology was designed to be infinitely modular, able to be separated and combined on-the-fly into almost anything. It was a shame the ship had been so badly damaged, or else he might have been able to make slightly-more-functional replacement limbs for himself too. He probably still could if he was patient enough, but that wouldn't help him fly home. Without flight, there was no way they would cross the vast distances between here and Equestria. There was no way they would escape the swarm that was doubtless still behind them. So it would do him no good, even if he did spend the time. When the swarm got to them, they were both dead.

"We planned to come with all sorts of wonderful technology, so you would want us to say. When we learned that a third of your species could fly and another two-thirds couldn't, that was one of the first things we came up with. Or... We tried to." He glanced briefly back up, careful to look at the pegasus and not at all the corpses. It was so hot that they had already started to stink. "Your wings are too small to support your body-weight, do you know that? I've got an artificial wing design in here that can put out... twice as much force as yours, with half the weight. But that's still not enough. Since we're talking about wings, how is it any of you fly?"

Rainbow Dash leaned closer to him, with an expression that clearly said she thought he was stupid. "Magic, duh. Same way we walk on clouds."

Charles worked furiously with his one hand, removing parts from the inside of his drone and positioning them according to the design in his mental computer. His one hand moved like a precision manufacturing robot, which wasn't far from the truth. "Is it safe to assume that if we give you a wing as strong as your other one, you'll be able to fly again?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "There isn't another wing as strong as this one in all of Equestria!" She raised it proudly, though the pride did not last long. It was soon replaced with renewed pain. "I don't know much about how the magic works, but its not actually in the wings." She tapped her chest with one hoof. "It's in here! Not that you'd know." She narrowed her eyes. "Your people don't have magic."

"I thought this was magic." Charles held up his wrist briefly, so the bracelet reflected the light of the sun high above them.

Rainbow nodded. "Well yeah, but it's somepony else's magic, not yours. Or... Discord's magic. Yeah, I think Discord made those. Twilight said he did, anyway. It's hard to imagine him doing something good, but apparently he's been doing it lots lately."

Charles nodded, though he wasn't really paying attention. Already he had set the basic skeleton of the wing, and was now stealing sections of the drone's outer body for the flexible surface. Not so good as the artificial feathers their lab had designed, but his computer assured him it would still perform well enough to exceed the output of what she already had. He had no idea who Discord was, though something about that name brought him back to the moment he had received the bracelet, and the strange man who assured him he was the only one in Equestria who could remove it.

"Humans don't need magic to do good," Charles said, disconnecting the power-transfer cable and climbing from the aircraft. He had a full hour's charge now at full power, which he didn't think he would need. Once the wing was installed, he would either give his recorder to Rainbow Dash, or if she pressed him as he thought she would, use the so-called "magic" bracelet. Probably nothing would happen and he would still end up giving her his recorder, but who could be sure? It was hard to be certain of anything when you were living in a world of talking rainbow-colored horses. His present companion more rainbow-looking than most.

He held up the wing with his good hand, leaning backward against the body of the drone. It was nearly exactly the size and shape of Rainbow's existing wing, aside from the root-structure that was meant to embed itself within her back. How long would it take to integrate with her existing muscles, three hours? Four? Too long for him to delay for long. The wing itself was silvery-gray, slightly reflective, with an almost fragile look to it. That was an illusion, since like the material of the drone it could withstand bone-crushing force with ease.

Rainbow looked dubious. "I'm going to fly with that? You've only been working for... what, ten minutes? No way you're done that fast."

"I'm an android," he reminded her, dropping to his knees so he would be at her level. "The designs were already saved, I just had to adapt a few of the parts to what we had on-hand. The swarm is probably still coming, we can't wait around and argue. Turn sideways, so the side without a wing is next to me." He broke off a piece of the stick he had been using and held it out towards her mouth. "And bite on this. It's gonna hurt like a bitch when I put it in, and we don't want you to bite your tongue off."

Rainbow did not turn sideways, though she did take the stick from him in her mouth and set it down in front of her. "Promise me." She fixed his eyes with the most intent expression he had ever seen there. "Truth, you were saying before. Promise me that if I do this, you'll use the bracelet. Otherwise, no deal. Either we both get out of here, or neither of us do. Got it?" Since Charles was on his knees (or one knee, with one leg stuck out awkwardly to the side), it wasn't hard for her to put her face right up to his, growling faintly at him. That was a new one. Ponies could growl.

He nodded, and only then did she pull away from him. The gesture seemed to be universal between their species. "Good. Because if you try and break your promise then Celestia knows I'm gonna kick your butt so far you'll beg me to let the swarm get you." She picked up the stick in her teeth and stood beside him, letting him face the injury. She spread her legs a little, bracing herself.

Charles wasn't about to give the pony captain any more time to think about what was coming than was absolutely necessary. He positioned the artificial wing in the correct location, and sent the activation command wirelessly to its servos. Rainbow Dash did not scream, though her whole body went rigid with pain and Charles heard the stick groaning under the pressure her jaw was applying to it. It took perhaps five minutes, five minutes of what he could only imagine was absolute agony for her. Were it not for the UBR in her chest, it was possible she would have gone into shock from the pain alone. As it was, the pain-mitigation from that device would make it possible for her to remain conscious, if only just.

Charles had never seen anyone face pain so well or so fearlessly. Only when the process was finished did she collapse onto the ground, chest heaving as she looked up at him, expectant. "Your turn."

He wanted to say no, he really did. Imagined the face of his king, and tried to predict what he might say had he been here. What would King Richard see as more important, the effectiveness of the captain of his guard or the success of this Equestrian diplomacy mission? For that matter, what good would he be if he was killed out here, as was likely to happen if this plan didn't work? It was impossible to imagine this stupid bracelet would actually do anything. What did he have to lose, anyway? In the likely event that absolutely nothing happened Rainbow Dash could fly home with his Cortical Recorder and the knowledge that knights kept their word no matter what.

"If this doesn't work, you go back without me, okay?" Charles waited for the nod before he lifted the chain to his teeth and gripped it there, pulling away forcefully. As he had expected, the links came away easily under the force of the gesture, falling to a little pile on the ground. He thought he saw a spark of blue light the second the chain broke.

Charles wasn't exactly sure what he expected from the first spell he had ever felt. The truth was there was very little to feel at all. The full prosthesis lacked the sensing organs that would have allowed him to perceive what was happening to him. What physical senses he had simply failed one by one, a strange numbness his mind could not explain spreading through his entire body. He remained conscious just long enough to be aware of his brain telling him "Complete System Failure, Service Immediately" before the world faded to black.

Next Chapter: Chapter 12: Lies Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 46 Minutes
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