Chapter XII – Registration
Fluttershy was carried off by Thunderlane to the infirmary for some much needed rest. Rather than head through the left door after them however, myself, Vinyl, and Seeker were told to follow Lieutenant Spitfire through the left door and back out into the main hub.
Apparently, many of the DHDF Sub-Branch buildings were set up in much the same fashion as each other. Generally there was the main hub area, which consisted of the main entrance and the front desk where visitors would sign in and Hunters would take missions not directly issued by their superiors.
Strangely enough, at least to me, there was also a vendor selling various goods that ranged from materials used to craft equipment, to different field supplies such as restorative items, grenades, and traps. They even had a few outfits and Daeus Arms on display, something I raised an eyebrow at, but didn't comment on.
At first I wondered why they weren't just issuing all of this to us like they would've in Canterlot. When I'd asked Harshwhinny about it, she informed me that the only reason this type of thing was issued at no cost in Canterlot was because that was where Wendigo HQ was located.
HQ could more than afford to equip the Daeus Hunters of Equestria's Main Branch, but that wasn't the case everywhere else. Outside of Canterlot, and in many other countries, much of the supplies and equipment either had to be bought, or created from materials picked up in the field.
Even then, it still cost bits to create that equipment, and the higher the quality, the more expensive the cost, both for buying and making said equipment. It made me realize once again just how lucky my brother and the rest of the Daeus Hunters back in Canterlot were.
Aside from the vendors, front desk, and main entrance, there were two other doors and an elevator. One door led back to where the waiting room and Daeification Chamber were, and the other was a wide steel door in the back that led to the prep room. The door itself was not unlike that of the entrance to the Daeification Chamber, though this one was more of a double door that slid apart.
The prep room was essentially a massive, heavily fortified garage and storage that housed the Daeus Arms in one section, and the military vehicles in another. Like the name suggested, it was where Hunters made their final preparations before heading out into the field. I was told there was also a hangar on the roof that stored a large aircraft for military transport, but I had yet to see it.
The elevator presumably led to different floors containing the living quarters, laboratory, infirmary, director's office, and of course, the roof. The rightmost door on the otherside of the waiting room where Thunderlane had taken Fluttershy apparently led to the rec room, cafeteria, training room, and another elevator, along with a set of stairs leading to each floor.
As we reached the main hub, I looked around, somewhat familiar with the area, as Vinyl and I had passed through on our way to the waiting room. It was relatively empty, with only a few Hunters hanging around here and there. Aside from them, there was only the vendor at his counter in one corner, and the receptionist at the front desk in the middle of the room just below a small set of stairs on either side.
The vendor was a light blue earth pony stallion with a cobalt blue mane, soft light brown eyes, and an easy smile. The receptionist was an earth pony mare with a cerise coat, a pale rosy mane, and friendly, light green eyes.
I didn't know anything about the vendor, but Director Mare had introduced Vinyl and I to the receptionist when we first arrived. Her name was Cheerilee and, much to my surprise, she worked not only as the receptionist, but also the Ponyville Sub-Branch's mission coordinator and navigator.
She was the 'friendly little voice of encouragement in your ear' whenever you were out there doing what needed to be done... or so she herself told us. She certainly lived up to her name with her reassuring smile and upbeat demeanor, and, having only met her once, I couldn't help but like the mare.
It was a good thing too, because I'd be hearing her voice quite a bit in the coming few weeks.
Off to one side of the main hub, near the entrance to the prep room, were four computer terminals. Each of the terminals were built into thick metal stands that reached to about chest level, and each had a large circular slot that stuck out just below the screen.
Above the screen was a teal orb embedded into another slot. Both additions confounded me, but I didn't dwell on it, figuring I'd find out what these were for soon enough.
There was no keyboard, so I assumed the interface was touch-based, something I found rather annoying. I was familiar with touchscreens, but I always preferred to use a good old fashioned keyboard and mouse for my work.
It was here that Spitfire led each of us and told us we had to wait, giving all of us info on the layout of the building in the meantime. It was an odd sort of set up to say the least, but then again, I'd never been in any of the facilities, and unlike Daeus Arms, Shining never really talked about the DHDF Main Branch building at all.
The explanation took about half an hour, and it was just as Spitfire was finishing up said explanation, that the elevator across the room slid open and out stepped Doctor Whooves. We all turned to see the stallion making his way over to where we were, his eyes glued to a clipboard in front of him and a deep, thoughtful frown on his face.
Spitfire gave a small frown of her own and cleared her throat, catching the scientist's attention. He blinked as he looked up from whatever he was reading, and smiled brightly a moment later when he saw all of us standing there in front of the terminals.
"Ah, you're all here!" he exclaimed jovially as he tucked the clipboard under one arm, "excellent, excellent. Allow me to congratulate you all on passing such a harrowing trial!"
He took a step forward, arm outstretched to presumably shake our hands, but paused. He frowned in bemusement and looked around a moment before addressing an impatient looking Spitfire.
"It seems not all of us are here after all," he observed, "where is Miss Fluttershy?"
"In the infirmary due to extreme stress and exhaustion," Spitfire replied curtly, "unfortunately we don't have the time to wait around for her to recover, so we're pushing ahead with the registration. We can put her in the system and she can get the rundown from Red Heart later."
With that said, she cracked her neck a couple of times and began making her way over to the elevator.
"Anyway, my job's done here," she called back, "now that you're here, I'm gonna take off," she paused and turned to face all of us, her expression unreadable behind her aviators, "...don't be idiots and get yourselves killed out there, you hear?"
And that was that.
She turned back around and walked away without another word, entering the same elevator the doctor had taken only moments ago. It wasn't exactly a warm goodbye and good luck, but somehow I felt like it was a fitting statement from her.
"Ah, it's a shame about poor Fluttershy," the doctor sighed, catching all of our attention once more, "that mare's got a surprising amount of potential, very surprising indeed..."
He shook his head sadly and turned back to us a moment later, his smile return in an instant.
"Well here's hoping she makes a full recovery soon, eh?" none of us responded and he cleared his throat before adjusting his white coat and standing a bit straighter, "now then, as I most likely have stated before, my name is Time Turner, though you may call me Doctor Whooves. Plenty of ponies already do."
VInyl gave a simple but earnest greeting, whereas I simply gave a half hearted sort of wave to the stallion. Seeker merely gave a small nod of acknowledgement, but this all seemed to be enough for Doctor Whooves who chuckled good-naturedly.
"As much as I'd like to get to know you all personally, I'm afraid Spitfire was right when she said we hadn't much time, so without further ado," he gestured to the computers behind us, "Miss Sparkle, Miss Scratch, Mister Seeker? If you'd all please turn your attention to the terminals before you."
We did as we were told and once we were all standing in front of a terminal, the doctor continued.
"You will be making quite a bit of use out of these terminals you see here," he explained, "this is where you'll access the DHDF Archives. Within the Archives you'll find loads of information we've collected on various avidaeos as well as any other information available in the DHDF public records.
"You'll also receive news and updates relevant to the work we do and you can send and receive mail to and from your superiors and other Hunters. What you'll most likely be using these for most often however, are the management of the items and equipment you'll no doubt receive during your stay here."
"You're referring to data management, right?" I asked, looking for a bit of clarification, "where we can keep stock of what supplies and equipment we collect?"
"That, and more besides," Doctor Whooves replied with a knowing smirk, "you're a scientist of some repute, Miss Sparkle, and from what I've read of your file, you've even delved quite a bit into the field of thaumatology, correct?"
"I've studied more than a little on the subject, yes," I replied, curious as to where the grinning doctor was going, "what of it?"
He let out another hearty chuckle and moved to stand next to the terminal I was at. Resting a hand atop it, he turned and gave me an eager grin, as though he was about to reveal his greatest creation.
For all I knew, he really was.
"If that's the case, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of what I have to show you," his smile widened as he swept his gaze over each of us, "in fact, I think all of you will enjoy this," he nodded towards the terminals, "go on then, insert the armlet into the slot if you would, please."
I looked back down at where the slot was, feeling a bit dumb that I didn't guess at its purpose earlier. In hindsight it was obvious given the size and shape. Ignoring the feeling as best I could, I stuck my arm into the opening up to where the armlet was.
The accessory snapped into place with an audible click and my eyes were drawn to the large oval shaped screen as the machine booted up. Apparently the armlets also acted as a sort of digital key to activate the terminals, something I found rather interesting.
I watched with an odd sort of anticipation as the Wendigo emblem faded into view. It disappeared a few seconds later and was replaced with a loading screen consisting of a single white spinning circle.
A moment later the circle disappeared and a message popped up instructing me to remove the armlet. The message was accompanied by another audible click and I felt the armlet loosen.
As I pulled my arm away, a scroll of white text appeared. It turned out the system was gathering my information from the armlet itself, displaying my name, age, rank, blood type, and a host of other things I didn't remember giving out when I came here.
How in Celestia's name...?
Frowning in bemusement, I glanced over to the others and saw that Vinyl was manually entering her information into the system via a digital on-screen keyboard. Seeker was doing the same over at his terminal.
Confused and slightly indignant, I turned to Doctor Whooves for an explanation. He raised an eyebrow at my look and turned his attention to my screen, giving a small chuckle and a reassuring smile a moment later.
"Right, right, sorry about that," he said, his smile turning apologetic, "unlike the others, you've already been working directly for Wendigo, therefore you're already in the system," he tapped the screen lightly, "getting this was just a matter of pulling the existing information from the mainframe and uploading it into your armlet, along with a few new tidbits regarding your new position."
I blinked.
"Oh, I... guess that makes sense," I replied dumbly as I turned back to the screen. I decided to change the subject as I tapped the 'NEXT' icon on the screen, "so what's this thing I'm supposed to get a kick out of? I mean, the armlets acting as a digital key is neat and all, but it's hardly a groundbreaking feat of technology."
"Ah, but it's not the additional function of the armlets that I wanted to show you," the doctor replied with a child like grin of excitement, "no, what I mean to show all of you is something much more exciting."
After a bit more loading, a list of options appeared, including things like 'INVENTORY (STORE)', 'INVENTORY (WITHDRAW)', 'LOADOUT', 'CRAFT', 'DATABASE', and a few other options that were currently greyed out.
"Now then," Doctor Whooves began, turning to Seeker and Vinyl, "if you two will come over here to Miss Sparkle's terminal, I'd like to show you something both useful and convenient."
The other two, apparently not done with their registration just yet, moved to stand behind or next to me. Vinyl stood by my side, peering at my screen curiously, while Seeker stood behind looking somewhat bored by the whole affair.
"Miss Sparkle, if you'll please hit 'WITHDRAW' for me?"
I did as the doctor asked and tapped the icon. I wasn't sure what to expect, and was rather surprised when 'Satchel' appeared at the top of a nearly empty list of items. Going down the rather short list I could see 'Stun Grenade', 'Restore Pill', 'Restore Pill II', 'Ration', and 'H-Ampule'.
Next to each item was a number, most likely indicating the amount of whatever item was listed. It looked like I had access to no more than five of each item, save for the satchel of which I only had one.
My curiosity overwhelmed me and I hit 'Satchel' without waiting for the doctor's go-ahead, assuming he wouldn't mind given how excited he himself was to show off whatever this was.
I staggered backwards slightly in surprise as the teal orb situated above the screen suddenly flashed to life with a bright teal glow. I saw my own body briefly flash the same color and an instant later I felt a slight weight settle on my waist.
I looked down to see that I was wearing a dark brown, faux-leather satchel that hadn't been there a moment ago, the flap of the bag emblazoned with the Wendigo emblem. I stared at the large bag loosely strapped across my chest in wide eyed shock for a moment before looking over to the others.
Vinyl gave an impressed whistle while Seeker maintained his impassive stare. Doctor Whooves was beaming in delight, and I soon found myself doing the same as I realized what had just happened.
"That's a flash crystal!" I cried, gesturing to the now inert orb in excitement, "you're telling me Wendigo managed to refine multiple ether stones into spell crystals, infuse them with perpetual matrix teleportation spells, stabilize them all to usable levels, and redirect the output of thaumic energy towards specific tasks within the system?"
I was completely stunned.
It was such a beautiful blend of magic and technical engineering that it nearly brought a tear to my eye. I took a step back and stared at the terminal with newfound respect and admiration, only half listening as Doctor Whooves continued his explanation.
"Indeed, and it's all activated with a simple tap of the screen, but It's not just these terminals, Miss Sparkle," Doctor Whooves replied, nodding towards the crystal orb in question, "this is only a small part of a larger network that's only just beginning to span across every active Branch and Sub-Branch in the world. We've already either updated or outfitted the systems of nearly 35% of the worlds major and minor Branches."
"How did I not know about this until now?" I muttered, resting my hand on the satchel as I continued to stare at the screen, "I've worked for Wendigo for well over a year now, and I didn't know anything about this."
"That is rather odd for somepony who works at Wendigo HQ," Doctor Whooves agreed with a puzzled frown, "then again, I'm told you were the kind of mare who shut everything out but her work, so you may very well have missed the memo. Somewhat understandable I suppose. After all, it's still relatively new as far as magitech goes."
I frowned, blushing slightly at his accurate assessment of my work habits. Still though, I felt as though I should've heard something about such a breakthrough.
Spell crystals were already notoriously difficult to make, and integrating them with machinery was almost an impossibility a decade ago. Now we were mass producing them and putting them into computers with no apparent problems.
I really needed to get out more, or at the very least read a general news article every now and then.
"If you'll exit out of this section, you should see that your satchel has been automatically moved to the 'STORE' tab," the doctor continued, getting back on track, "this goes for every item you withdraw, now Miss Sparkle, if you'll please..."
"Huh?" I asked distractedly before looking back at the terminal, "oh, right, sure."
I tabbed out of 'WITHDRAW' and hit 'STORE'. Sure enough, 'Satchel' was right there in bold black text, the only thing on the list. I tapped the screen and with another flash from the crystal, the bag was gone.
"So like, where does all this stuff go, doc?" Vinyl asked, causing me to jump slightly. We all turned to her and she raised her shades above her horn before jerking a thumb over to the terminal as she spoke again, "I mean, it's gotta come from somewhere, right?"
"An excellent question, Miss Scratch!" Doctor Whooves replied, clapping his hands together cheerfully, "one I'm not at liberty to answer! Company policy and all that, I'm afraid!"
"Wait, what?" Vinyl asked with a bemused frown, "but wh—"
"Now if you and Mister Seeker will finish up your registration, we can all head up to the lab," Doctor Whooves said with a small disarming smile, "I have a few tests I'd like to run. Have to make sure the Daeification process didn't have any unintended side effects after all."
Vinyl and I looked at each other with raised brows and suspicious frowns. When Vinyl asked, I was a bit curious myself, but now I really wanted to know. I idly wondered if my position as both a researcher and Daeus Hunter would allow me access to such 'classified information'.
In the meantime, Vinyl simply shrugged before going back to her own terminal, Seeker doing the same. I watched them for a second before turning to Doctor Whooves with a worried grimace. I hadn't missed what he said before, and with how much pain I went through—how much we all went through, I had to ask.
"You mentioned side effects?" I asked with no small amount of concern, "what kind of 'side effects' are we talking about here? Could they be fatal?"
I watched the doctor carefully, and noticed his ever present smile slip slightly at the question. He was silent for a few seconds as he tapped the side of the clipboard he was now cradling on one arm. It only lasted a few seconds, and his bright smile was back in place soon enough.
"I'd be lying if I said there wouldn't be at least a bit of... unpleasantness involved," he finally answered before raising a placating hand, "but I assure you, if there were any truly fatal side effects from the procedure, they most likely would've manifested back in the chamber."
Not reassured in the slightest, I went to respond, but was cut off by the doctor, who placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Miss Sparkle," he continued in a softer tone, "we've taken every precaution imaginable against such things. There is risk involved certainly, but it only really extends as far as the actual process itself. Once that's over, there shouldn't be anything left to worry about."
I stared at him for a good few seconds before giving a small, hopefully convincing smile of relief. It seemed to do the trick because his smile widened and he patted me on the shoulder before taking a step back and observing the other two.
Once he looked away my smile dropped into a deep, worried frown. I may not have had any real tenure working in my chosen field, but I knew it well nonetheless. There was no real way to completely guarantee a safe injection of Hive Cells into the body.
Even if there were no deadly delayed effects, there were still other things to worry about—things that were much harder to detect until it was far too late to do anything about it. There were things that didn't make themselves apparent until much later.
There were such things as sudden mutations brought about by Hive Cell corruption, and though rare, it was a very real problem. I knew as much because I did the research. I knew it was a possibility, but what I didn't know, was how likely such a thing was to occur in a new-type Daeus Arm user like me.
In that regard, I was completely in the dark, and that was cause for more than a bit of concern.
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If there was romance in this, Twilight and Fluttershy would make a great couple in the future.
Well that's not reassuring. Are we going to get some Attack on Titan-esque shit where the main character is able to transform between their normal self and a monstrous self?
Who and what in the sad fuck is that abomination in the photo? Looks like that fellow has been been chewed up, spit out, and used as a crack snorting whipping post that turned em into something not even his muddah would want to hug.
9332281
Y'know, you re right. Gimme a minute and I'll find a better photo.
EDIT: There, better?
9332301
I've heard of a living train wreck but I'd never thought I'd see an ACTUAL pile walking. But in any case, WTF is the stuff from?
9332305
They're beasties from a game called God Eater. You kill them and use their guts to make weapons and questionably fashionable outfits. Yep, it's that kind of game.
9332206
Nah, if there's any transformation at all, it'll most likely be permanent, and even if it wasn't, it wouldn't reach AoT levels of ridiculousness.
I'm just waiting for Twi to get her staff and adjust to using magic with it.
9332328
Soooooo no sudden op twilicorn mutation also id laugh if her staff was some form of the twilicane images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/a06e2979-726d-41a7-a38a-da00ab82d556/d8nd3q0-b604d3c9-105a-4833-ae28-3f797992c596.png/v1/crop/w_144,h_250,x_0,y_0,scl_0.077586206896552,strp/o_c____the_twilicane_by_insanespyro_d8nd3q0-250t.png