Angel tinkered with the small subsystem on the glowing device. The Synch emitted a soft blue light as she delicately worked around manually configuring the layout. Her eyes narrowed in concentration and sweat beaded along her brow. After a satisfied sigh she leant back, surveying her work. WIth only a moment's hesitation she ran the program. The indicator light stayed red. She quickly tapped out a few modifications and ran the program again. The indicator light still kept its red hue.

A twinge worked its way up the side of her face.

“Crud”, she growled, throwing the screwdriver behind her back. It clattered against the door as it opened to admit a surprised Dmitri.

“Well, I thought I would be more welcome but I can come back later”, he commented wryly, starting to close the door.

Angel whipped around and held a hand out.

“Wait Dmitri!” She called out. Dmitri stopped and turned around.

“Yes?” He asked mildly. Angel swallowed back a pang of regret.

“I’m sorry, Dmitri it should be time to let go, I know.”

Dmitri’s eyes softened.

“You should never let go. Move on, yes. Letting go… I wouldn’t do that, either.”

Angel gave a grateful smile as Dmitri picked up the screwdriver and handed it back to her.

Dmitri took in the maze of goods on the workbench.

“A new project?” He asked, already knowing the answer. He sighed.

Angel nodded.

“Something I start but won’t be able to finish”, she replied, not meeting his gaze.

“It’ll work a lot faster if you have someone else to help you”, Dmitri commented, leaning against the benchtop.

“I don’t need any help!” Angel snapped, giving Dmitri a hard glare. She held it for a few moment then dropped it, as she hung her head.

“I’m sorry”, she repeated.

Dmitri only grunted.

“Seems like apologies are being thrown around on a regular basis. Only, it is going in one direction”, he grumbled, then straightened up, picking up the prototype that Angel was fiddling with. Angel’s hand shot up halfway then slowly sunk back down.

“I’ll be taking this to the techies down in the main R&D lab.” Dmitri hesitated, wanting to say more but headed towards the door.

“Angel”, he started, then cleared his throat.

“Angel I worry. I’ve already lost one good friend, I don’t want to lose another.”

“Friends?” Angel shot back but instantly regretted it. “No sorry, of course we are but there so very little, few and far between…”

Dmitri dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand.

“Don’t make me the only one”, he growled and headed out the door.

Angel could hear him just before the door clicked closed.

“I just-“ a pause “-don’t want to see you wasting away, here. People worry you know, it’s only human.”

Angel glanced at the screen filled with the multicoloured patterns of code.

“I know”, she whispered, alone. “We just need to remove the humanity, then there will be no worry.”

She glanced at my Synch sitting on the workbench.

“No worries…”

——

Celestia reflected that there was a calm beauty to the movement of the celestial bodies. A kind of soothing balm in the measured pacing of the skies. Magic made all sorts of things possible, some good, some bad but all unique in their own way. This was one of her favourite parts of the day. The first.

Celestia felt a familiar presence beside her.

“Luna, my dear sister, it is rare to see you with me for the sunrise.”

Luna flopped to her side in an undignified sprawl at Celestia’s hooves.

“Oh you would not believe the night I have had!” Luna whined, pounding the balcony floor with her hooves in a way that reminded Celestia of a fish flopping on land. She looked on in amusement as Luna rolled on the floor.

“At first it was all peaceful, like the night should have been, I cleared away a few predators, knocked around a few rowdy subjects and flew among the stars as custom”, she began, stopping her rolling momentarily as she locked gazes with Celestia.

Celestia felt cyan eyes bore straight into her own with unremitting hatred. She felt unnerved by the look of utter animosity and ferocity from her little sister.

“What is it Luna?” She asked her sibling gently.

Luna sunk her head into her hooves and muffled out a reply.

Celestia bent her head down to her sister’s level.

“You may want to try that again, Luna”, she tittered, nudging the midnight coated mare with her hoof.

“I lost a game”, Luna grumbled getting to her hooves. Celestia tilted her head in puzzlement.

“A game?”

“Yes, a noble challenged me to a chess game and I lost!”

Celestia chuckled and shook her head in barely concealed levity.

“Luna my dear, there is no need to get so worked up over a simple game”, she reasoned, patting her sister on the back.

Luna flared her wings and took a step back.

“It is no simple game, dear Tia! This was a fight for my honour! It is a battle of wits and strategy, a contest of wills, a trial of character and fortune an-“

“Just a game”, Celestia chided, pulling in Luna with a wing.

“I’m not a foal, Celestia!” Luna replied, shrugging off the wing in discontentment.

Celestia just looked at Luna with a serene smile.

“…most of the time, but my point still stands, my honour has been tarnished and I will have vengeance!”

Celestia sighed.

“You vengeance may have to wait, for it is soon day time, perhaps you will plot your conniving plans in the dreamscape?” Celestia offered, giving Luna a playful shove.

“What an excellent idea, sister! I will be back with a full report after-“ she yawned widely putting a surprised hoof in front of her muzzle “-perhaps after some sleep…”

Celestia chuckled as Luna dragged her hooves away to her chambers.

Luna is getting quite used to living among the modern times now, she thought with a pleased grin on her face.

Celestia finished setting the course for the sun and headed back into her own chambers, reviewing the documents scattered among her desk. With a quick thought, the documents shifted and ordered themselves into neat stacks revealing a tome she had forgotten about momentarily.

The title read: On the Curious Behaviour of a Extra-Universal Traveller (Volume I) by Twilight Sparkle

Human… She thought to herself, stroking the cover with her hoof.

If only they were a mite faster…

She shook her head. It didn’t do well to live in the past. One must grab the future in one’s own hoof.

——

Gruff placed one of the final stratifications to the mainly underground, multi-layered device. Rings of steel and gems were positioned carefully supporting each other in a complicated stacked tower.

He paused, surveying the results, then nodded to himself.

“Activate it”, he growled leaping into the pit.

A low whine increased in frequency as nodes lit up all over Equestria. Next Chapter: 3 - Covalent Bonding Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes