BiE 78: Aim Low.


                                            =BiE 78=


                                            >Year 353 in Equestria.

                                            >Be some time past midnight.

                                            >This bed was fantastic, there were advantages to being Grand Magister.

                                            >You were soundly, joyously, asleep when a vibrating on your desk awoke you.

                                            >Stupid baby monitor...

                                            >You promise to take care of your great-granddaughter for a weekend and what does she do? Keep you awake.

                                            >"Coming Winter..." You moan out as you roll off the bed.

                                            >You shuffle yourself into the room you set up for Winter Heart and peer into the crib.

                                            >There she was asleep, with her face planted on the crib and her ass in the air.

                                            >Someone was going to be grumpy in the morning...

                                            >Wait, if she was asleep, then what was?...

                                            >Now a bit more aware, you walk back into your room.

                                            >The vibrating was coming from inside your desk.

                                            >You pull open the draw and dig around for the offending noise.

                                            >Your hand wraps around one of the many spell-stones you kept in the desk as various alarms and communication devices.

                                            >The one you pulled out was your direct communication with Princess Celestia.

                                            >It was glowing an angry red.

                                            >After midnight.

                                            >"Oh hell..."


                                            >You got a guard to sit in with Winter as you made your way down to the meeting room.

                                            >Mous was practically hopping up the stairs into the castle.

                                            >"Do you ever sleep?" You asked him once you met up.

                                            >"Sleep means I have to stop doing things." He said.

                                            >You rolled your eyes as the two of you stepped into the meeting room.

                                            >Orbiting around a large map of Equestria was Celestia, Luna, General Silver, and Guard Captain Shimmer.

                                            >"Sorry we're late." You say as you both join the rest of the assembled ponies.

                                            >Grand Magister, the Logician, both Princesses, a General and the City Guard. Whatever this was couldn't be good.

                                            >Celestia nods to the two of you. "Glad you could join us, this is a meeting of dire urgency..."

                                            >Celestia casts a spell and makes a figure of light on the map.

                                            >Mous scoffs. "An Ursa Major?" He looks to Celestia. "Why does an Ursa Major constitute calling us in at this hour?"

                                            >"Were it so simple, Logician." Celestia says. "This is Canterlot as seen to scale against this beast." She says as she casts another spell.

                                            >A small model of Canterlot appeared on the map.

                                            >It only reached up to the bear's stomach.

                                            >"Oh..."

                                            >You look over the Ursa.

                                            >"What is this thing, Princess? And why is it the subject of an emergency meeting?"

                                            >Celestia re-positions the Ursa a bit Northwest of Canterlot. "What you see here is the Ursa Gigantis; an incredibly rare mutation of the Ursa major, thought to have been extinct long ago."

                                            >"Our scouts reported rumors of one's existence inside the Forsaken Forest between the borders of Equestria and the Griffin kingdoms."

                                            >"Tch. Three guesses who pissed it off." Mous says.


                                            >The Griffin Kingdoms had been going downhill in recent years.

                                            >It had all started when some old order of theirs had been ousted as paranoid and was shunned form the society.

                                            >After that started the "Degradation of Honor." as they called it. The Griffin Kingdoms turning on each other in mad grasps for power.

                                            >As of today, the kingdoms were barely trading with anyone and had refugees fleeing by the hundreds.

                                            >That still wouldn't explain why they'd send this thing after you...

                                            >"Regardless of the intent, we estimate that it will reach Canterlot over the Northern mountains within twenty days."

                                            >You begin brainstorming ideas.

                                            >Could another 4-D prison work?

                                            >What about banishing it?

                                            >Maybe-

                                            >"Unfortunately, there may be a complication." Celestia says.

                                            >Celestia and Luna turn to everyp0ny assembled. "The Members of the Ursa genus are composed of star magic. Their outer body is made of the night sky, while their hearts are a micro-sun."

                                            >"Meaning?" Mous asked.

                                            >"Meaning that it'd break out of a prison and cancel out any hit by Sun or Moon magic." You said.

                                            >Damn, that made it harder...

                                            >"Then we hit it with both." Mous said.

                                            >Mous and you exchange glances. "Are you thinking...?"

                                            >"A cannon."

                                            >"Double barreled."

                                            >"With both types of magic in it."

                                            >You put a hand to your chin. "That could work."


                                            >Mous turns to Celestia. "The new city platform construction is hereby suspended. I'm going to need every scrap of metal and every p0ny there to be able to get this done in time."

                                            >Celestia nods. "Anon can you design this cannon in time?"

                                            >"I have a few ideas now."

                                            >"Good. General, Guard Captain, go with the logician and ensure that he gets all the things he requires."

                                            >Mous leads his new entourage out of the room, barking orders as he goes.

                                            >You turn to Celestia and Luna. "In order for this cannon to work, I'm going to need a proper power source. Do you two have any ideas?"

                                            >They both nod. "We do, but will take time to gather."

                                            >Luna trots up to you. "Can we trust that you will complete the cannon in time, Anon?"

                                            >It still messed with you a bit to hear Luna talk like a normal pony.

                                            >You look at the distance Gigantis would have to cross and compare it to the idea in your head.

                                            >You place a hand on Luna's shoulder. "Don't worry Princess, cannons are easy."


                                            -Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GXjBJbo5FE-

                                            >Fucking hell, why are cannons such a hard concept?

                                            >It had taken you almost the entire twenty days and you probably slept a forth of that time, but Canterlot now had a cannon the size of Wonderbolts stadium attached to it.

                                            >Mous was looking out the window of the control center over the twin cannon barrels.

                                            >Ursa Gigantis could be seen out in the distance by the mountains.

                                            >Luna and Celestia had come through with the power sources, you were actually running the final tests on them now.

                                            >"Moonstone cylinder is ready..."

                                            >Your readouts beep.

                                            >"Fusion cylinder is set."

                                            >The Princesses stood behind you. "Then we are ready."

                                            >Mous took out a spyglass and stared at Gigantis. "Targeting ready?"

                                            >"We're good."

                                            >Mous grins. "Get me a bead on that things heart."

                                            >You adjusted the cannon's targeting. "We're good! I have an angle!"

                                            >Mous collapses his spyglass and holds a thumb out at Gigantis.

                                            >He was coming down the mountain.

                                            >"Mous, we don't have all day!"

                                            >He gets that psychotic grin of his. "HYBRID CANNON: FIRE!"


                                            >You slam your fist on the firing mechanism.

                                            >A low hum rises through the control center as the cannon drew power from Canterlot.

                                            >You looked back and watched as lights across the entire city dimmed.

                                            >The hum stopped for a split second before twin torrents of magic shot out of the cannon.

                                            >They raced over the landscape towards Gigantis, coalescing into a spiral as they drew closer.

                                            >Gigantis seemed intent to let the magic wash over him, sure that his sun heart would revive him.

                                            >You can only imagine his surprise as the twin shots punch him in the chest and throw him back against the mountain behind him.

                                            >A mountain that promptly explodes, sending a rain of dirt and magical residue down over Equestria.

                                            >The control center is silent as the p0nies get their first real glimpse at the power of the cannon.

                                            >Mous forms a gun with his hand and breaks the silence. "Bang, you're dead."


                                            >You and Luna had taken a chariot out to inspect the damage.

                                            >Mous remained behind at the cannon, beginning work on disassembling it.

                                            >You don't even want to begin to think of the political situation having that thing would bring on...

                                            >You let out a low whistle as you landed in the crater the cannon caused.

                                            >You had gotten Gigantis alright, you fucking blew him up.

                                            >Pieces of Ursa corpse were strewn around the area, slowly dissipating as the star magic inside of them seeped out.

                                            >"Well, at least now we know those platinum capacitors work..."

                                            >"Not one of my more peaceful theories." Luna said.

                                            >The Hybrid Cannon had almost been grounded before it could start when you learned that the power draw to fire the damn thing would take more magic than Canterlot had. It was Luna's idea to make up some capacitors to siphon of magic over time to give you the boost you needed.

                                            >You got out your instruments and set up for a preliminary reading.

                                            >"...Is this my fault?" Luna asked.

                                            >You turn and look at the moon Princess."Your fault?"

                                            >She nods. "This Gigantis was a creature born of the stars, my stars. That makes him my responsibility, right? Is it my fault that this creature had to die in such a gruesome way?"

                                            >You put a reassuring hand on Luna's shoulder, getting a smile in return. "Hey, this guy made his own choice and decided to march on Canterlot."

                                            >"Back on my world, we had a saying. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." You can try to save everyone, but there comes a time when you have to just try and save the most people possible."


                                            >Luna looks a bit unconvinced. "So that is how you solve these problems? Arithmetic?"

                                            >"No, no. I'm just saying that you shouldn't feel sorry for something that was going to hurt your subjects."

                                            >Luna looks contemplative.

                                            >"Why are you so regretful over this? Is it just because of the stars he's made of?"

                                            >Luna lets out a deep sigh. "You have to promise never to tell anyp0ny what I'm about to tell you."

                                            >Oh boy...

                                            >You nod.

                                            >Luna shuffles her hooves. "Back when I was Nightmare Moon, and I cast the world into darkness, I released an immense amount of Lunar magic. At the time I thought nothing of it, but when I was restored to my natural form...I noticed something familiar about the "Ursa Major's" that my subjects feared."

                                            >You sit down and listen intently. "I learned that they were mutated into that form by the magic -I- released so long ago! Every Ursa in Equestria is my doing...


                                            >Luna stared down at the ground after her admission.

                                            >You had heard this kind of talk before. "Princess, you weren't in your right mind back then, and you didn't know what the Lunar magic could do."

                                            >Luna glances up at you. "Plus, most Ursa's are relatively peaceful, this one was just big and angry."

                                            >There's a smile. "You're no more responsible for this one's death then you are for the noise Timber Wolves make when they howl at the moon."

                                            >Luna trots up to you. "You're experienced in this regard?"

                                            >Oh yeah..."Let's just say Mous got mope-y with a couple friend of ours way back when and needed to be cheered up."

                                            >Luna grins. "Perhaps I should do what he did."

                                            >You laugh. "What he did got me chased out of Canterlot, I don't think you want to go down that road, Princess."

                                            >Luna gives you a wide smile. "Anon, you've known me for centuries..."

                                            >Your eyes snap open as you feel a pair of lips on your cheek. "Call me Luna, huh?" She says as she trots away.

                                            >...What just happened.