Chapter 3: Old Tricks

In examining the core prototype in his laboratory the day after Discord’s defeat, Gearhead had found several things that changed everything. First, Rings Six and Seven were indeed irrecoverable. The best he could do with them was to compress them into a single unit and seed them in the hopes of getting a new gemstone out of them sometime in the future. Ring Five had somehow recorded the magical signatures of the Elements of Harmony when they had been activated. Gearhead did not know how that had happened, but he removed the ring for study anyway. Rings One through Four were repairable, and Gearhead found that the first one only required minimal reconditioning until it was functional. That left him with four functional rings in the prototype, while the frame and housing were still perfectly functional once the verniers were closed to their original positions again.

Gearhead had decided to create an array of condensers in case he accidentally rendered the core prototype inoperable during the repair process. He took an entire shelving unit set against a wall and filled it with the circular gemstone units, and then hooked them up to the core, running it carefully to avoid overloading it while he charged the condensers. Having them on-hoof would ensure Gearhead had enough power to start a second unit without having to use the Fireheart Gemstone again.

The prototype unit had clearly been insufficient against Discord even in perfect condition. It simply lacked enough power to do much good, and Burst Mode certainly did not help, since pushing it just a bit too far led to instability, and then the clock dropped precipitously.

Gearhead decided that the first change he would make to the core system was to lock Burst Mode so it could not be used. He would find a different way to get a power boost out of the unit.

Unless he found a different way of configuring the rings, Gearhead had already found the limit to how much power a single core could produce, and seven rings was the most a unit could house without overburdening the pony using it. If Gearhead had experienced the limit of one core, then what could two cores produced at a reduced size achieve? Having decided to test his hypothesis, Gearhead decided to only repair the functional rings on the single-core prototype and commit his future pure gemstone and dragonfired adamantine resources to a dual-core prototype.

First, though, Gearhead wanted to make sure he got all the improvement he could from the core he already had. While he went through the repairing process on the remaining four rings, he also integrated the data from everything for which he had used the core so far, from traveling between Ponyville and Canterlot, to flying, to fighting against Discord. Using this data, Gearhead was able to tune the four rings and optimize their operation. He then added a single large condenser to fill the space in the housing that Rings Five through Seven used to fill.

Mathematically speaking, with four out of the seven original rings, Gearhead should have been able to expect to get a maximum of 57% of the previous energy yield, which he got from the operations data. Before optimization, the core returned 52% power, so there was significant loss. After the tuning, however, Gearhead managed to coax 60% power from the core. That would have to do until he could forge the dual-core system. Gearhead still was not comfortable with a 40% power loss, so he modified the harness to accept a condenser on the outside of each knee.

After lunch, Gearhead went to see Twilight to ask her about the Elements of Harmony, and to ask Spike if he could send a letter to Princess Celestia, asking her for permission to study each Element. He was curious, because it seemed he was loyal enough to use one of them, if temporarily and only at partial power. He also wanted to know what the core system had meant by the Element of Loyalty being ‘Omicron-level.’

Twilight told Gearhead about how she and her friends had found the Elements of Harmony at the Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest. Gearhead understood that not only did they only function for the right ponies, but they could only be summoned when the right ponies were in play. If it had been someone else, or if Twilight had gone alone, she would not have been able to get the Elements, and she would have been defeated at the hooves of Nightmare Moon.

“How’s your core system?” Twilight asked.

“It is functional, but parts of it were rendered irrecoverable in the explosion. I feel fortunate that I had realized more of my objective with it than I had thought, and was not harmed myself.”

“Well, I think the green highlight suits you,” Twilight said.

“Coming from one with a purple and pink highlight, I shall accept that,” Gearhead said, bowing slightly.

Twilight blushed. “So, you want to study the Elements?”

“They are intriguing, and very mysterious. I see some minor similarities between them and my gemstone daggers. Very minor ones. So I wonder who or what created the Elements.”

“They are a mystery. I just sort of assumed the Princesses always had them. You’ll let me know what you find out?”

“Certainly. You are the leader, after all.”

“Make any headway with your magic?”

“Hm. I think what Discord did was to overwrite whatever it is that would make an Earth Pony able promote a plant’s growth with the Pegasus and Unicorn bits. That these bits were warped, and probably incomplete due to their combination, would explain why I need to use an activation key and incantation to cast spells.”

“Whereas most Unicorns can just think and imagine the spells,” Twilight said.

“Exactly. I have only tried spells in Latin, because I am not yet confident in my abilities to venture into the older ones, which I suspect will be more powerful because the languages are older. I have also noted that the spell is more powerful when I sing the incantation, however I was only confident to use the Aria when I was a mare.”

“What are you going to do if we need just that little extra power, turn yourself back into a mare?”

“I just might,”

“I was just joking!”

“But circumstance might prove that the punchline, and does Discord not enjoy such entertainment?”

“As much as he likes popcorn,” Twilight said sourly. “Learn anything from all that residual energy?”

Although the Elements of Harmony had neutralized Discord’s changes to the world, there were still white mists of residual magical energy floating around. Gearhead had started going around with gemstones in order to collect the energy so others could not misuse it for themselves, but his range in this task was limited. If he was truly serious, he would have to go on a journey and be away from Ponyville and Canterlot for months, or at least wait on the mission until he had completed the new system. “I have collected as much as I could within my range, and the crystals are in safe storage. I would prefer to have them studied in a single place.”

“I understand. Have you heard from Fluttershy?”

“She seems not to have left her cottage since we came back. I shall go see her. I think, perhaps, that she is disturbed by the changes she underwent while under Discord’s influence. Seeing her friends supporting her may help.”

“I agree, so maybe I’ll consult Pinkie.”

“Perhaps not loudly, however,” Gearhead suggested. “I will go investigate now, and then return to the shop.”

“Okay. See you later.”

“It really is you,” Fluttershy said upon answering Gearhead’s call and opening the door.

“I thought it was time for me to come and see you,” Gearhead said, smiling.

“Heh. Because I usually come over to your house?”

Gearhead nodded. “May I come in?”

“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy stepped back so Gearhead could enter her cottage. It was as it usually was, although the curtains were drawn. The usual assortment of woodland creatures stood or sat about, keeping Fluttershy company. She guided Gearhead to a seat in the main room. “I wasn’t expecting company. Let me get you some tea,” she said.

“Thank you,” Gearhead said, watching her in silence until she came back with a tray and two cups.

“Do you take it with sugar or milk?”

“Thank you, no.”

“You know, you’re different, but the same.”

“Just a little different, but I choose to see it all positively. And now I know a little more about myself that I did not know before. Like this: Aperite portas quoniam tempor elit. Inveniet tua potentia.” Gearhead held his dagger in his tail, and the energy flowed through him. “Ventus transmutare alas.” A small wind stirred in front of Gearhead, and he willed it to move to his teacup, surrounding it and lifting it so he could drink.

“That’s amazing!”

“I have studied magic theory for many years without any application for the knowledge, or so I thought. It turns out all I needed was the right knowledge, and I can finally make some of the connections I was supposed to all along.”

“The right knowledge and connections?”

“I have only just now begun to understand myself, and in no small part from Discord and his meddling. I know a little more, but Fluttershy, I only know it in relation to you and my family and the rest of our friends.”

“Our friends?”

“That is right. Before I came to Ponyville, I knew few ponies whom I could truly call ‘’friend.’ That is because in my perception of my place in the world, I did not have what is necessary to make friends. I did not fully understand what it means to have them, other than othrs seeing you as a curiosity or a novelty. Now most of my friends are also your friends, so they are our friends.”

“But I hurt them!”

“That was Discord’s doing, not yours. But if it might help you to feel even a little better, perhaps you could try an apology.”

“Would that really make up for all the hurt feelings and hitting?”

“According to Big Sister Ivy it is a good start, at least. And in my own experience, she is correct. Apologies, a sincere smile and embrace, and time to heal. That is Big Sister Ivy’s formula for healing wounds of the heart. But please do not tell anyone else: it is a secret.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Your big sister is very smart,” she said.

“That is what makes her the ‘big sister,’ Fluttershy. You are you, and you have your own way. I, and the others, will always need you for your way of doing things, as well as simply for your friendship.”

“Just that?” Fluttershy said, looking disappointed.

“I apologise. This ‘being friends’ thing is new to me. I shall endeavour to learn all I can, so I can be better.”

“Okay,”

“This tea is delicious, by the way.”

“Thank you. My critter friends help me gather the herbs, and then I’m very careful brewing it.”

“It is my experience that while care does not facilitate expedience it is more than worth it. So then, would you care to join me for a walk?”

“As long as it’s not into the Everfree Forest,” Fluttershy said, shivering.

“I can assure you, it is not.”

“I’ll just clean up the tea, and then we can go.”

“I shall lend you a hoof, or horn, as it were. I am, after all, one of your friends.”

Everypony the two ponies met were very glad to see Fluttershy out and about. After the walk, Pinkie Pie dragged them both into Sugar Cube Corner for a 'Welcome Back to Ponyville!' party. That blew away the doldrums any of those who came might have had, although Gummy found his way into the punch once again.

Fluttershy took Gearhead’s (or Ivy’s) advice and apologized to her friends for her abhorrent behaviour when her personality had been reversed. Naturally, they all accepted her apology, and while the mood was good, everypony but Twilight also apologized for their own behaviour, and were forgiven.

The one strange recurring thing was that ponies kept staring at Gearhead, especially when they thought he was not looking. “Is there something on my face?” He asked.

“Oh, ignore it. They’re just not used to your new hair colour. It suits you perfectly, darling,” Rarity said.

“It does seem to be my colour,” Gearhead said.

“Yes,” Fluttershy said. “I like it.”

For the rest of the day, Gearhead’s Gadgets was open for business. This was unusual, as Gearhead usually opened for morning until lunchtime when he only wanted to have a half-day of sales. But since Discord had gotten loose, Gearhead had not done any business at all, so it was time to start making up for being lax.

The next day, Gearhead opened up in the morning as per usual and kept the shop open for as long as possible, with his supplies being almost exhausted from a lack of regular resupply runs. The day after that was the awards ceremony in Canterlot, and with the attendant celebration, Gearhead and the others did not return to Ponyville until the following day.

As more positive news, Princess Celestia had granted Gearhead permission to study the Elements of Harmony one by one, curious as to what the geomancer would find. She and Princess Luna were also looking forward to the progress Gearhead would make as a general magic practitioner, now that the mental block he had had before was removed.

Upon their return to Ponyville, Gearhead loaded up his wagon for a supply run, and headed into the Everfree Forest, where he met Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity on a similar run. On a whim, Gearhead decided to go check whether the Dullihan was still in the area. The ponies found, to their concern, that despite the dark witch being absent, it was still guarding its defined territory. None of them really wanted to engage it in battle as they were, so they left it to its devices and continued with the business of getting more resources.

The run went remarkably quickly with Fluttershy’s ability to stop dangerous animals from attacking, Rarity’s ability to detect gemstones at a distance, and Gearhead’s ability to extract metals and gemstones without disturbing the ground. Applejack helped to guard the group against attacks, and they soon had the wagon piled high, and returned to Ponyville satisfied.

As his shop was closest to the Everfree Forest, Gearhead off-loaded his share of the loot first, before driving to Carousel Boutique and then Sweet Apple Acres. Gearhead then looped around to Fluttershy’s cottage so she could begin preparing for a picnic to occur the following afternoon. From there, Gearhead went straight back to the shop and started the fabrication process so he would have more things to sell the following day. It was already late when he returned to studying Ring Five, but Gearhead was ready for a little mental exercise.

Gearhead’s morning routine now included checking his ice dragon egg and reviewing his spell primer. He might not need to be holding his geargem dagger to cast simple spells, but he still needed to use the incantations aloud. He had read about delayed spells and unincanted spells, but those casting styles were still beyond him. Maybe he could pick them up with help from the Princesses, who were almost certainly old enough to have some experience with incanted magic.

Having been invited to the mares’ picnic, Gearhead spent his morning hours running the shop. He then mixed a thermos of iced tea, packed cups, and went on his way to the park. He was wearing his vest and hat as usual, and of course he took his daggers and the Fireheart Gemstone everywhere he went.

Gearhead was thinking about the core turbine system as he walked. He knew that the single-core version worked, but its yield was far too limited to be applied against an opponent of Discord’s calibre. The prototype remained functional, if at a lower setting. A dual-core version might be able to give the yield Gearhead wanted, but then there was the issue of being able to synchronize the two cores so they would run properly together and not be completely off-set and off balance. He could set up a simulation, using the power stored in his condensers to show the probable results, but he would not know for certain until he built the prototype and turned it on. It could very well overload and explode. Or it could do nothing.

When Gearhead arrived at the picnic site, the others were already there. In contrast to her calm demeanour from a couple of days ago, Twilight looked extremely frazzled. “What have I missed?”

“Oh, just the end of my world,” Twilight said.

“Pardon?”

“If I don’t solve a friend’s problem and report on it to Princess Celestia by the end of the day, I’ll be tardy! My whole life depends on that report!”

“Miss Twilight, do you truly believe Princess Celestia would give you a major penalty over one late? As a pony whose studies have always had an impact on my ability to control my power, I know what it is like to have something crucial hang on one’s work. Are you certain one late will result in a life-changing penalty?”

“She’s the Princess; of course she can do it!”

Gearhead sighed. “Very well, I have a problem I cannot wrap my mind around at the moment. It has to do with my core system project, so I ask for the utmost discretion on the matter. If you would join me in my workshop, I could really use a fresh set of eyes, and the mind of a pony who can easily understand the math and science of the matter.”

“That’s me!” Twilight said triumphantly. “But we’d better hurry because the clock. Is. Ticking!”

Gearhead had a simulation display set up on the wall opposite the forge in case somepony came to call about any of his more… unique projects. When Gearhead had set it up, he had been thinking more in the line of Princess Celestia or even Shining Armour. Showing his work to Twilight was a huge risk, but he could show her a limited piece of it so she would not be able to assemble her own core system. Besides, it was more important that Gearhead help her keep her own sanity from slipping.

When Gearhead flipped the display on, the gemstones within it fed magical power through the machine’s circuits. The display screen lit up, and then Gearhead started to gesture in front of it with his right hoof. Two wireframe renderings of a single core appeared on the top portion of the screen with some calculations. A wireframe of two cores joined together appeared on the bottom half of the display.

“The top left diagram is the original prototype. It has not been tuned, but all of the gemstone rings are functional, giving it a yield rating of 100%. I have it serving as the baseline and benchmark.

“One hundred percent power, zero percent tuning. Got it.”

“The top right diagram is the prototype in its current condition, more or less. Four of the rings are repaired and functional.” Gearhead waved a hoof, and the top half of the rings vanished. “With the non-functional rings removed, and just with the repairs the yield rating is 52%, which if you have never seen that grade, is just barely a pass. Full tuning and optimization brings the yield to 60%, and in practice I can compensate for part of the 40% loss by using some of the energy storage units, condensers, like a large one to fill the available space in the housing.” He waved a hoof, and the empty space filled with a single cone representing the large condenser. “For all intents, the yield is still 60%, but it can make 100% for a limited amount of operational time.”

“Sixty percent power with one hundred percent tuning. Right?”

“Correct. The bottom diagram represents a hypothesis I have that if I want to get a greater yield out of a core unit while increasing its stability so it does not explode on me again, I could do it with multiple cores working in harmony with each other. With the weight limit for ponies such as us to carry other objects, I am starting with two cores. At full size they would be less than useless, being overweight. Therefore, I decided to reduce their sizes by about 10%, and the power yield loss should be roughly the same because I would have less material in the rings.”

“If you keep your assumption that reducing the size will cost 10% of your yield, each core would run at 90%, but if you tune them the same as the repaired prototype, that brings you up to 98% per core. But can you really make all the components exactly the same?”

“What do you mean?”

“This simulation assumes that the quality and materials for your new core system are the same as the one you used against Discord, doesn’t it? That would mean having to produce the components the same way every time, otherwise all these numbers are…” Twilight swallowed, “meaningless. That is, except for the first one, because you have it acting as a benchmark, so you can tell whether everything else is more or less.”

“Not only do I produce the rings at different times, but I use whatever materials I have on hoof that qualify for being used as materials in the rings. Naturally each one would be different, with unique topological defects. That means that even the order in which they are stacked inside the housing could affect the total yield, but I will not know the order anyway until I have all the rings, and it would mostly be determined by their sizes anyway: I cannot put the smallest one at the bottom, after all.”

“Do they have to be the same?”

“Making them exactly the same may be incredibly difficult and add unnecessary complications to the project, so no. But the two cores will have to balance each other out and work well together, otherwise they would affect the unit’s control, assuming they do not overload or tear themselves apart.”

“Can you create two cores that are exactly the same?”

“It would take more time than I probably have, so it is something I could try, but perhaps that should be the second option. Still, if I make the cores different I have to find another way to get them to work well enough together to function as a single unit.”

“You can get different ponies to work together just fine, regardless of their differences. I mean, look at our little group. We even have to work together to get six magic items to work together, but we can do it because we’re friends and we can agree with each other. At the same time, we’re so different that sometimes it’s hard to believe we’re friends at all. So we find ways to meet each other halfway. We compromise, and we believe strongly in each other. So what if, like us, you can get your cores to agree with each other and compromise?”

“I could certainly tweak the settings to adjust the yield on one core to match the other more precisely. If that prevents them from tearing the unit apart, it might be worth trying. Even so, I will not know until I try starting it for the first time, and at that point I will have had to have it already built. I do not even have the materials for it just yet.”

“You will.” Twilight paused in thought for a moment. “How do you plan on starting it up?”

“I still have the repaired single-core prototype, and I have been using that to generate more energy, which I am storing in condenser units.”

“Will you have enough of those?”

“I do not know, but I certainly hope so.”

“Wait, how did you start the first one?”

“I used the Fireheart Gemstone, which you have seen me use against the dark witch, to kick-start the core. I had to design a place for it to sit in the core and interact with the rings, and then be ejected safely without interrupting operations.”

“What about with two cores? No, let me guess: you have to start them up at the same time.”

“Exactly correct.”

“So you’ll be splitting the energy you stored between them, but not evenly if you have to raise or lower the yield on one core to match the other. How can you manage to get them to a high enough rating for a kick-start at the level of the Fireheart Gemstone?”

“I will not, but maybe I can simulate it and get close enough that the difference will not matter. I already know how to get the yield over 100% because of Burst Mode. If I can use a stable version, it might not matter how many full condensers I have ready when it is time to activate the new unit.”

“By the way, where are all these condensers and the prototype you have?”

“Below,” Gearhead said. “You know how I said I was prepared for explosions?”

“Yes,”

“Well, one of those preparations is a suspended test chamber far enough below us that nopony ever notices when I do have an explosion. Mind you, though, the ones I have had have been very small. More like ‘poofs’ than real explosions, but with the safeguards in place I do not have to worry, and neither does anyone else.”

“Unless you’re in the room and you get a big explosion,” Twilight said.

“I have other safeguards in place too, just in case a core does not explode the same way the prototype did.”

“You’re lucky it only damaged itself,”

“That I am,” Gearhead said. He looked at the simulation, which showed spinning turbines when he adjusted the yield numbers a certain way. “That takes care of the theory end of things, but in practice one always encounters the unexpected.” He glanced over at Twilight. “I do so enjoy the practical end of things. Thank you for your assistance, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Glad I could help, although it doesn’t feel like I did much.”

“I am certain it would have taken me a long time to think of tuning the cores to each other. Somehow I was thinking more clearly when Discord was around, and now I am back to normal – for me, anyway. I may need help making some connections in the future, too.”

“You can count on me!”

When Princess Celestia appeared, Gearhead was glad he had decided to follow Twilight instead of returning to his own work right away. There was something forced in the Unicorn’s manner that made him think that she was not quite back to normal yet, even after writing her letter to the Princess.

Twilight’s other five friends were also quick to intercede on her behalf, asking Princess Celestia to reconsider a punishment. But the expression Princess Celestia wore was one that Gearhead had seen on his own mother’s face, as well as on his father’s face, when either wanted to teach any of Gearhead’s siblings a particularly poignant lesson.

“I’ll reconsider Twilight’s punishment on two conditions. One is that from now on, you, as friends, also contribute to her reports on friendship. The other is that you report to me only when these lessons occur.” Naturally, the pony friends were only too glad to comply.

It also turned out that Spike had consulted Princess Celestia on what to do about Twilight’s concerns this time around, making him the only one to really take those same concerns seriously.

“Oh, before I go,” Princess Celestia continued, “Gearhead, regarding your study of the Elements of Harmony, I believe you may first find some valuable material at the castle ruins where Luna and I used to live. Come and see me again when you are done there.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Gearhead said.

“You’re gonna study the Elements?” Applejack asked.

“They are very interesting Artefacts,” Gearhead said. “I know something about you as their Bearers, but next to nothing about them as magical items. I wish to rectify that oversight.”

“Well then, I hope you don’t think you’ll be going in alone, because the Everfree Forest is always dangerous. You never know what you’ll find near that old castle.”

“I will be in need of a guide anyway,” Gearhead said.

It was past the lunch hour when Fluttershy, Spike, and Twilight Sparkle departed on Gearhead’s cyclic wagon for the Everfree Forest. It was now habit for Gearhead to check the dragon egg and open the shop for at least half a day. The others had joined him for lunch in order to plan their exploratory journey – after all, none of the Bearers had returned to the Castle of the Two Sisters since they had gone there to recover the Elements of Harmony.

It was Gearhead’s idea to take the wagon so they could conserve their strength. Much of the path was fairly easy to follow, and since they were traveling during the day, they could see trouble spots well before coming upon them. When the sight of the odd wagon would not ward animals away, Fluttershy was sometimes able to gently guide the critters away, in the process making friends. She use her Stare to ward the more dangerous animals away. Gearhead forded the river where the friends had encountered the serpent the first time around, but this time he used his geomancy to find a crossing shallow enough for the wagon to make it and keep his passengers dry.

When they arrived at the rope bridge, still secure and even repaired, Gearhead swung the wagon around to the left side and parked with enough space for three ponies standing behind each other before they would have started to block the bridge. Twilight used her magic to get everypony their saddlebags, one of them being filled with supplies just in case they needed them, and then Gearhead helped everyone get out of the wagon. Finally, he put on his harness, and Twilight lowered the core into its slot, giving it a twist to lock it into place. The small group was ready.

The four explorers were in awe as they entered the castle ruins. Fluttershy and Twilight recognized the ornamental stand that had held representations of the Elements. Gearhead held a cursory examination over it, and determined that it was able to hold the Elements safely within itself.

“Okay, let us begin with the preliminary search. The library will certainly hold more material, however I believe that if the Princesses were reading any worthwhile material before abandoning this place, they would have left them in their own chambers.”

“Are you sure we should be barging into their rooms?” Fluttershy asked.

“Princess Celestia practically told Gearhead to come here,” Twilight said. “This place hasn’t been used for a long time, probably even since Luna was banished to the moon as Nightmare Moon. If either of them minded, I’m sure the Princess would have told us.”

“Miss Twilight, please take Fluttershy and, if you would not mind, check Princess Celestia’s chambers. You may collect anything that seems interesting, but please focus on volumes about artefacts, law, and genealogy.”

“Gotcha. I take it you’ll take Spike and go look in Princess Luna’s chambers?”

“That is correct,” Gearhead said. “If there is any remnant of the darkness that created Nightmare Moon, I may be able to purify it using the particles my core generates.”

“You really need to come up with a name for that,” Twilight said.

‘'’The darkness’ seems fine to me,” Spike said.

“No, I meant the core.”

“Oh. ‘Fleck System?”’

“That makes it sound smaller than it is. Anyway, we’d better get started before we lose all our daylight.”

“Good idea,” Fluttershy said.

They moved together as they examined the passageways, looking for the residential wing. They soon found it, and followed the curving lines around to a section where there were two doors opposite each other. Each was marked with one of the princesses’ cutie marks. “Oh, they’re across from each other,” Twilight said.

“What a relief,” Fluttershy said. “We can easily get to each other now if there’s a problem.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Spike said, nervously fingering his gemstone lance.

“The faster we explore, the faster we can move on,” Gearhead said, opening the door to Luna’s chambers and then guiding Spike through. Opposite him, Twilight did likewise with Fluttershy.

Naturally, Princess Luna’s chambers showed 1,000 years of disuse. Thick wooden timbers had become rotten and splintered, shattered, or collapsed. There was dust everywhere, and not a single intact fabric. A mirror occupied a wall opposite what was once a canopy bed, and on a shelf many books or scrolls had turned to dust. By the position of the rings on the curtain rod in front of the window, the drapes had once been drawn. Now what was left of them was on the floor.

As he walked about the room, Spike made the wooden floorboards creak and moan slightly, but once he managed to scare himself without anything happening for the tenth time, he became braver and went to check a set of dresser drawers. Gearhead, watching the baby dragon out of the corner of his eye, began to check the parchment flakes to see if anything could be restored. He collected what he could in a smooth metal case for later examination, then turned to the bedside table, which was small enough not to have collapsed itself, and covered in dust.

As Spike disappeared into a closet to look around, using his dragon-beam vision for light, Gearhead drew himself up to the table and looked at the cover of the volume still placed there. Since it looked perfectly intact and the layer of dust resting on it was easily removed with a breath, Gearhead had little doubt of the item’s title.

It was indeed The Codex Verdante, and its preservation magic was certainly intact. When Gearhead went to open it, however, he felt a chill right through his shoe, so he slid his visor and hood into place. The core was fully charged and at his command, all five condensers ready. Still, Gearhead took it slow, taking off gently and then positioning himself above the book. He rotated so the cone was pointed directly at the volume’s center and focused.

“Condeser-5, emergency purge,” he whispered. The HUD put a white outline around the circle representing the condenser on his right knee, and then a deluge of blue-green particles sprayed out and bathed the book. For fifteen second, the core’s output reached 110%, then it faded back to 60% after the condenser went dark. Gearhead landed to try opening the book again.

Experimentally he opened the volume and held one hoof above it, focusing on his great-grandfather. The pages responded immediately, turning themselves until the right page was open. Gearhead thought again of his first ancestor to be declared a Black Sheep, and again the book responded. He thought of the Successor Clauses, which determined the eligibility of ponies to earn the Patriarch Title. The book went into the legislature section, and flipped to the correct page. Gearhead closed the book and slid it into his saddlebag, nodding once.

“What’cha doin’ all secrety-like?”

Gearhead turned at the sunny-sounding female voice. “I am checking for materials, as Princess Celestia recommended, Pinkie Pie. When did you get here?”

“Oh, I was secretly following you the whole time! What did you do with that book?”

“You remember Nightmare Moon, correct?”

“Of course I do,” then Pinkie gasped. “You don’t think she went into that book after Twilight and the rest of us zapped her with the Elements, do you?”

“Perhaps not an aspect of Nightmare Moon herself, but perhaps a sliver of darkness instead. It is gone now. But the point is, I was prepared for that.”

“Hey Gearhead, look at what I found!” Spike ran out of the closet bearing a pair of night-blue dresses, each sporting a sash with Princess Luna’s cutie mark on it. “Don’t you think Rarity would look great in these? Hey, what’s Pinkie Pie doing here?”

“It seems we had a tail straight out of Ponyville,” Gearhead said, poking at the rubble that had once been a bed. It certainly would make searching under it for a lockbox more challenging, at least for a normal pony.

Pinkie grabbed the end of Gearhead’s tail and lifted it up a bit. “Where did you think your tail was? I hope you don’t think I’d steal it for Pin the Tail on the Pony!”

“I am certain you only use your own tail for that, if the mood strikes you.”

“Oh,” Pinkie snorted, “you’re right!”

Gearhead, meanwhile, had finished zipping his shoes up. He set his mind to repair work, and gently tapped both front hooves on the floor near the pieces of the bed. His geomancy shot out in all directions, strengthening the floor back to its original specs. But it also reassembled the bed, purging it of the rot of a millennium – or at least the bed and frames. The sheets and canopy were still ruined from too much exposure to the sun after the drapes had failed. “Ooh,” Pinkie said appreciatively.

“Hey, what about the dresses? I’m sure Princess Luna wouldn’t mind, or she’d have come back for them.” Spike fussed while Gearhead went fishing under the bed.

“Maybe you’re right,” Pinkie said. “If they were important, I’m sure she’d have at least had the Royal Guards pick them up.”

“The Canterlot Royal Guards have duties in and around Canterlot, and cannot always be bothered to venture so far from the princesses they are supposed to keep safe,” Gearhead said. “Besides, I doubt either princess has fond memories of this place in light of the fight that happened between them.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Pinkie said.

“Oh, so maybe that’s why Princess Celestia told you about the castle,” Spike said.

“And perhaps, because you are all able to help me, we can recover a number of important items and return them to the princesses,” Gearhead said, pulling a locked box out from under the bed. It was midnight blue, with gold trim and heavy lock.

“Ooh, what’s in there?” Pinkie said.

“I do not know, but it is bound to be important. Fortunately I do not sense any darkness about it.”

“You could open it with your dagger,” Spike said.

“No doubt this lock would give way as though it was hot butter –“

“Mm, butter!”

“—however I believe it is important to respect Princess Luna’s privacy. And who knows whether the box is trapped against thievery, or perhaps just a simple prank.”

“A prank?” Pinkie the Prankster asked.

“Princess Celestia seems to enjoy them, so maybe Princess Luna does as well. We will take the box back using the wagon, contents and all.”

“Okay,” Pinkie said, picking it up and balancing it on her nose.

“Could you please be more careful with that?”

“Of course I can,” Pinkie slipped the box down onto her back. Sighing, Gearhead returned to searching the room.

At first Twilight had been hesitant to root around in a room once used by her mentor, but she got into the mood to search as soon as she noted the titles of some of the books that were still in good shape on the shelves. She clapped her hooves together in joy, and started to flip through them, dropping as many of those books as she could into her saddlebags, and then into Fluttershy’s saddlebags. There were a lot of books.

Too nervous to get too far from Twilight, Fluttershy checked the dresser drawer and found a variety of hairclips and a pair of brushes, one plated in gold and the other made of gold. Fluttershy noticed that Twilight was lying down to read. “Um, Twilight? I don’t want to interrupt your reading, but I think we should keep checking over here before we get distracted. If you don’t mind.”

“Oh, there’s a closet. You can go check it out, can’t you?”

“But it’s so… dark,”

“I had a feeling you were going to say something like that,” Twilight said, getting back up to walk over. She lit up her horn and walked into the closet ahead of Fluttershy. There were horseshoe boxes up on shelves, and hangers on rods, although most of those were empty, the clothes having been taken a long time ago, or dissolved. But there was a pair of intact dresses that looked really nice. Fluttershy rushed over to examine them thoroughly, and Twilight remembered how the Pegasus had been instrumental in finishing the design for Rarity’s dress for the Gala. “What do you think, should we take them back to Princess Celestia?”

“Oh yes! I’m sure she’ll be pleased to have these classical-period dresses back.” Fluttershy took them down from their hangers. “Oh, but we mustn’t let them wrinkle; we’ll never find material like this if we let them get ruined.”

“In that case, lets take them down to the wagon,”

“But what if they got stolen. Or eaten?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ll carry them,” and she demonstrated with her magic. “Just please don’t tell me you’re worried about dirt or chocolate stains: you’re starting to sound like Rarity.”

“Rarity would be furious if we let anything happen to these,” Fluttershy said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep them way out of reach of anything that could ruin them,” Twilight said. “Lets finish checking these boxes, and then we can meet up again with the others.”

“We have so many books already,”

“We really do. I guess we’ll get to the library another day.” Twilight sighed at the thought of what she was missing out on. Searching through the boxes took another ten minutes, which added some more trinkets to the pair’s recovery collection. They decided to use one of the boxes as a carrying case, and then went out to the bedroom.

Where the ruins of the bed had been replaced by the frame, springs, and box of said bed. The floor was similarly in peak shape, as was the rest of the furniture. Once Fluttershy and Twilight finished gawking, Twilight decided to look under the bed while her partner held the dresses. The Unicorn found a locked chest in white with silver trim. She used her magic to detect any traps set, and saw by the complex aura that there were. Without knowing what exact traps Celestia had set, Twilight decided it was safer not to try to untangle them herself. She used her magic to set the chest on her back and took the dresses back from Fluttershy. Then they did a final circuit of the room to try to see if they had missed anything.

The two ponies were surprised, when they exited the room, to find that Pinkie was there, and also to find that Gearhead and Spike had also found two dresses and a treasure chest. “We’re all full up on treasure!” Pinkie said.

“I can settle with this for today,” Gearhead said.

“I’d be glad to settle for this period,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, but I was so hoping to check the library,” Twilight said.

“Perhaps another time,” Gearhead said as he watched Fluttershy squirming. She quieted down a bit. “Why not see what the Princesses have to say first?”

“Sounds good to me,” Fluttershy said.

“By the way, the bed and floors being fixed – that was you, wasn’t it?”

“It spread that far?” Gearhead asked, surprised.

“It did,”

“I guess I did not focus on ‘how much’ when I was focusing on ‘fix.’ This could be better, though.” Next Chapter: 4. Taking Inventory Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 22 Minutes