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Princess Luna      Word has gotten out that this Equestria has something that the more well known Equestria does not. What is that? Magic-based technology! Or magitech as it is often called. And with more and more visitors the royal sisters and their royal magitechnician thought it would be fun to hold a small expo!

     The main yard of Canterlot Castle has had several booths and stages built on it for the show. The center attraction is a train. It looks fairly modern, probably a prototype, and the engine compartment is opened to show just what powers all of these Equestrian machines.

     Large prismatic crystals, mostly left in their natural formations, that have several links to a fairly basic electrical engine. Of course, as this is a train, both are quite large.

     There are other attractions as well. Cars, powered construction equipment, derigibles, appliances...this Equestria seems right on the verge of being fully industrialized. And at the back of the expo on another large stage is a pony-woman who is identified as Crystal Corona, the mother of the modern age. She is a unicorn of medium height, with crystal pink fur and a mane and tail that is as prismatic as the crystals that are the basis of her designs. She is even wearing what seems to be clockwork armor, powered by the crystals she pioneered, several of which are on display and open to be inspected by visitors. But, only very small ones can be held. Although they are fairly stable, apparently being dropped or smashed can cause a sudden discharge of magical energy.

     Princess Luna is currently greeting those that come into the fairgrounds, a cheerful smile on her face. Princess Celestia is across from her, but as it is nearing dusk it is likely that both princesses may be indisposed soon.
Rarity Let's be honest, really the only reason Rarity came is because she heard this involved magic crystals, which is more up her alley of expertise than anything else on display.

That and it was an oppritunity to see the other Equestria for herself, finally.

Emerging from the warpgate, it was pretty evident who this unicorn was even if she did not walk upon her back hooves like so many here. That precisely, perfectly permed purple mane is hard to miss as it bounces lightly beneath the wide brim of a sunhat; as were the designer saddlebags (designed by herself, naturally) draped over her backside. She stops to bow to Luna, even if it is not technically her monarch of the night, she is still royalty and deserved to be respected as such. "It is good to see you, your highness."
A-ko Magami Why is A-ko showing up to something like this?

Why not?

The red-haired schoolgirl arrives within the area, and there's a soft smile on her face as she looks at the general area. "Wow, this place looks like a lot of fun! Too bad I didn't bring C-ko with me." She sighs. "Something had to come up with her. The poor girl." She shrugs a little. "Well, might as well check it out myself!"
Staren     Staren may not get on well with Luna, but he's interested in her world. An Equestria with higher technology might provide insight into how the other Equestria's technology might develop, or methods they could more readily use (such as magic crystals rather than the methods of generating electricity other worlds use). In an attempt to not stick out quite as much, he's wearing his Assassin cloak. Anyone looking at his face or just the lack of a muzzle poking out in profile can tell he's not a pony, but from the back or in the corner of one's eyes, the shape of his ears under his hood would seem normal. Of course, the tail poking out the back of his cloak resembles that of a native of Abyssinia rather than Equestria, but what's he going to do? It's not really that big of a deal anyway... He's not seriously trying to hide, just to attract slightly less attention.

    Staren tries to find an example on display that shows clearly how the crystals are hooked up and their power is channeled. Once he's satisfied he's learned what he can by looking, he asks the attendees if they know where these crystals come from -- if noone knows, he'll make his way to Crystal Corona and ask her directly!
Theurgus     A presence appears in the crowd, a tall, blue-haired woman wearing a large black witch hat, interwoven with gears, a long white coatdress that looks at first glance like a lab coat, a frilly black skirt, and thigh-high stockings leading into black shoes laced up in an archaic style. She does the customary greeting on arriving before moving into the exhibition proper. The Princess Sisters get a bow, with a doffing of that hat, "Greetings to you both. May the Organizations schemes not reach your fair land."

    And then off she goes. She's getting close to all the exhibits, gawking like a kid in a candy shop, a bright look of wonder on her face. "Facinating. Truly marvelous."
Mitsu Mirage     Last time Mitsu was here, she was trying to steal Nightsong... and got trounced by the midnight blue pony-woman. Though, defeated, Mitsu was still set on getting that damn scythe somehow, some way... but for now, she'll bide her time. She joins the rest of the group but with her eyes falling on Luna... she backs slightly away. There's two other more regal looking women up there, both she doesn't know but all that's around, it's making her magic senses tingle... and Kratzenfaust chiming in apparent delight.

    Okay Mitsu, don't steal... don't steal... don't steal... "Yo." she blurts out at seemingly random. "Been a while since I've been here, thought I'd check out the new exhibits here." a smirk crosses her face as she looks around, the girl's actually not in her Barrier Jacket this time!
Princess Luna      Princess Luna seems a bit surprised that the fashionista pony has come for a visit, but also quite pleased. "Welcome, Miss Rarity! It is nice to have such an illustrious visitor from another Equestria." she says. She then bows lightly and smiles. "Please, enjoy thyself. If thou hast any question, feel free to ask." Staren is greeted as well. "Ah...Staren. It is...good that thou art able to attend." the night princess says, though her tone is obviously forced pleasantness.

     Those that did not enter through the front gate are greeted instead by vendors, many selling trinkets that use small crystals for power, such as pocket watches, gently glowing necklaces, and even a few very simple flashlights. "Would you care for a lovely necklace? A pretty necklace for a pretty lady!" one pony is saying to A-ko.

     Another comes after Theurgus. "My, what a lovely costume! I am sure that a good timepiece would set it off marvelously." a vendor woman says, holding a small case of watches made of various materials, all analog of course.

     The sudden 'Yo' from Mitsu draws a few stares, but as she mentions she wants to learn about the exhibits, she is sent toward the guided tour that takes visitors along the various displays. It takes visitors past each exhibit, and each exhibit shows how the crystals are tapped by special magic engines which in turn power the device. Cars look like very early model earth vehicles, such as the Model T. Dirigibles range from a more traditional balloon carrying a boat-like hull beneath with propellers on the back to push it along to a prototype of what looks like a helicopter. It runs, but it is far from sky worthy.

     When Staren makes it to Crystal Corona, she smiles happily and explains her crystals. "Well, the crystals themselves start out as normal gems and crystals. They only gain their magic storing properties after I cast the Crystal Empowerment spell on them, which gives them both the ability to gather and store magical power as well as the power to discharge that magic as electrical energy. That energy is then easily converted into other uses, such as lighting, engine power, and even heat for cooking!"
Staren     Luna gets a polite nod. Staren doesn't say more to her because it can only get awkwarder.

    He listens intently to Crystal Corona, his ears perked up and turned forward. He'd be writing down notes if that were a thing he needed to do. "So you can turn any crystal into a power storage device? Does the type or size affect storage capacity or throughput? Are you the only one who can cast the spell or can other unicorns learn it?" It would suck if this equestria lost all its technology because some luddite assassinated her and she never wrote down the spell, after all.
A-ko Magami A necklace? Well, A-ko usually doesn't wear jewelry, but it would look nice on C-ko, and she can't resist being called pretty.

Fishing out her wallet, A-ko purchases the necklace and thanks the pony politely before moving to get a drink from a nearby refreshment stand. Upon doing so, she moves over towards Staren and Crystal Corona, along with anyone else who might be there.

A-ko only gets a glimpse of the conversation, but she seems quite interested in hearing how it all works.
Theurgus     Theurgus doesn't seem to mind the Princesses taking no notice of her. She's far more interested in the exhibits. The vendor gets a pleasant, if a little unhinged grin. "Ah, it would, wouldn't it? But no. I have no need for a timepiece." she replies, leaning in to peer at them regardless. "Are they powered in the same way as the other devices here?" she asks next, lifting her eyes to peer at the vendorpony. There's something 'off' about this woman, she's not dangerous, but is certainly a little unhinged.
Rarity Rarity follows Staren, if only because she has interest in the same thing as he does if not for the same reasons. "How facinating." And for all the nerdist he can be, Staren is asking similar questions as to what she's thinking. "I would hope so. Goodness produce enough of these wonderous gems for all of your Equestria by yourself would be exhausting!"

Trust me, with how often she takes on large projects, Rarity would know. It wasn't until she started opening up more shops in other towns that she started getting help in various forms.
Mitsu Mirage     Well, all eyes are on her for some reason... oh wait, she's the one who tried causing so much trouble.. That's why. She shakes her head a bit, wandering around with the exhibit group, the bunny ear hood bouncing up and down slightly as she looks at all the neat vehicles and such. "Wow, looks like old Earth tech." she ponders a bit, looking at them. "I wonder, do they work? As in , are they drivable and such? Do those crystals actually do anything right now?"
Princess Luna      "Naturally! The size of the crystal affects storage capacity, but not rate of discharge. To increase that, more connections are needed." Crystal Corona explains, then shakes her head at the question of the spell. "I am afraid for now I am the only pony that can cast this spell. The alicorns have tried, but so far even they cannot reproduce it. It is my special talent, after all."

     The necklace vendor thanks A-ko profusely for the purchase and asks her to tell her friends about it! The watch vendor is disappointed - and a bit unnerved - but she doesn't let one no deter her! "Everyone has need of a timepiece! It is the latest in fashion! Perhaps this beautiful silver faced watch with the sleek black band?" she says, holding up the watch to the blue-haired witch.

     When Mitsu approaches, Crystal gets a bit more tense. "Er...yes. I do not know if any of you noticed, but here in Canterlot cars such as that one are not uncommon. Those dirigibles run on crystal engines, and there are a few working train engines, though crystals of that size are hard to come by. I am currently working on ways to run the crystals in series to increase available mechanical energy, which will allow us to build bigger and more dependable engines." It is obvious as she talks that Crystal Corona is very proud of her creations. "In fact, this armor I am wearing is powered by crystal engines. It is mostly decorative, but it is just another example of how the crystal engines might be used in the future! The possibilities are endless! Perhaps we might even put a pony in space through scientific means one day!"
A-ko Magami Fortunately, A-ko is reminded she needs a watch, so she darts back (rather quickly thanks to her superhuman speed) and says, "Oh, I forgot about you! Sorry!" She grins a little but proceeds to buy a watch for herself. "Now where was I? Oh yes!" She takes off again.

Once she's rejoined Crystal Corona, she acts like she never left, nodding her head intently to what she has to say.
Rarity Rarity hmmms, rubbing her chin with a forehoof. "I know Twilight was able to learn my gemfinding magic. But that was a different matter, were my talent is a stronger natural version of a type of spell. Your situation may be more unique." She tilts her head to look at the crystals. "They really are quite pretty though. Just as beautiful as they are useful."
Staren     "You should see if Twilight Sparkle can cast it, too." if there's anyone besides the princesses who can, after all... "I do hope you find a way to pass it on. It must be troublesome, having to make an entire country's batteries by yourself. I wonder if it's possible to make items cast spells? Maybe even crystal-powered ones..." He looks at one of the example crystals."

    "Don't you mean electrically or something? Magic is a branch of science on this world, isn't it?" And technology is any applied science. Staren smiles up at Crystal Corona. "I hope you can reach space, though doing it by electricity could be problematic. Motors turn electrical energy into mechanical energy, which is fine when you have" he gestures at one of the cars, then the helicopter, "ground to push on, or even air. But in space there's nothing! With enough power you could vaporize reaction mass for propulsion, but that's less efficient than using chemical reactions. Although..." he taps his chin. "Since magic can do telekinesis... if you can work out how /that/ moves things, and then do it electrically..."
Mitsu Mirage     Mitsu gives a bit of a hmm, looking at some of the items around, her eyes going to look at the table with some of those crystals around, a grin, however, encompasses her face. If Luna's anywhere nearby she'd probably recognize that grin. It's a grin of 'Mitsu's about to do something stupid and/or amazing.' At least, in this case, it's going to be both. Mitsu reaches for one of the crystals, assuming she's not stopped, she just idly palms it into her hand, looking at it, feeling it, slipping it into her sleeve... before trying to do that with a few more crystals, using both hands!
Theurgus "FASHION!?" bellows Theurgus, grasping the timepiece and lifting it up to peer at it in a different light. "Well... perhaps it could be useful, there is always a time and place for all things." she adds, making a big scene on the opposite side from Mitsu, trying to pull attention away? Maybe that's just how she is. "I am not a mistress of fashion trends, that lays in another DCC's purview."
Princess Luna      Princess Luna actually seems to be gone, and as the sky slowly darkens from dusk to night the reason is clear. The queen of the night is busy bringing the moon and stars out to play! Princess Celestia is still around, but she is busy in conversation near the gate. And with Crystal Corona also distracted with those interested in her spells and inventions, she isn't watching as closly as she should be. The attention that Theurgus draws away with her sudden shout also helps distract what few guards are in the area.

     "Oh! You are right, how silly of me. Yes. Technological means." Crystal says, taking Staren's correction in stride. "Twilight Sparkle is trying to learn the spell as we speak. But, it is my special talent, and that makes it harder to reproduce. She basically has to reverse engineer the spell. Even though I have learned how to use the crystals for magitech, the spell itself just comes naturally to me, and so is hard to explain. I am sure she will figure it out one day, though." Crystal Corona says to Staren, then smiles and nods to Rarity. "They are lovely, are they not? And because they are crystals they can be shaped into beautiful pieces for jewelry and small applications such as the watches you may have seen around. Why, this one right here..."

     Crystal Corona blinks. When she turns to take a crystal she was going to show the others...she notices a certain bunny-hooded mage is just making off with the last of the display crystals. "H-hey! What do you think you are doing?! Put those back! Guards!"

     A few of the nearby guards perk before starting toward Mitsu. Meanwhile, Crystal Corona leaps at Mitsu, trying to detain the sneak thief! But, Corona is no combatant and as she said her armor is mostly ornamental. It offers protection, but no extra strength or agility. The nimble troublemaker is likely to avoid her.

     The watch vendor is all too happy to sell A-ko a watch as well, though she looks a bit freaked out by Theurgus now. Of course, all bargaining comes to a stop when the guards are called and the vendor tries to stretch to see what is going on.
Theurgus     Theurgus returns the watch to the vendor, and summons her staff, only to lean on. It's a total coincidence that the haft happens to get between the running legs of a guard, tripping him up. Total coincidence. Yep.
Mitsu Mirage     Welp, this is /exactly/ the thing that she didn't want to happen, but hey, it was a gamble. She wasn't actually an expert thief... but hey. "Oh hey, hot pony coming through!" she kicks up off the ground to get a bit of distanced from the armored woman, eyes scanning that bit of armor to look for any chink... "Kratzenfaust, gauntlets." There's a quick transform, the gauntlets sealing up her hoodie's sleeves to keep the crystals safe... and to provide a nice striking implement.

    More so, she's going to use the downed pony to snag that armor, even if she has to yank it off Crystal Corona to get it... and RUN. "Hey, to be fair, I /was/ interested in all of this!" she coughs out, grinning
Rarity Rarity too was distracted, by admiring the larger crystals and listening to Corona's explaination of things. "You could make an accent to an esemblem that is both beautiful -and- practica--whah?" Curls sway as she snaps her head in the other direction at the exclaimations. "How uncouth! Come back here, you rapscallion!"

Unlike C.C., Rarity -does- have her share of combat experience. Enough to realize that diving right into the fracas would not be very practical. Instead she lowers her head and her horn glows, using her own gemstone magic to summon several spike-shaped ones out of the ground in front of the rabbit-hood girl to try and cut off her escape!
Staren     "See, that term just causes confusion -- Technically, Technology just means applied science, but many people do use the word to mean--" And then all hell breaks lose as the thieves are caught. Staren sighs, watching. He's debating helping to capture them since choosing theft when legal purchasing would have been both easy and convenient is stupid and foolish, but he is just barely inclined to let them get away with it for the sake of not fighting allies... until Mitsu turns to violence. He rushes to stand by Crystal protectively, and pulls a submachinegun from his bag, firing its underbarrel launcher at mitsu -- small rockets that explode into gobs of quick-hardening foam. "Alright, that's ENOUGH!"
A-ko Magami A-ko does know how to fight, even if she wasn't expecting to at a place like this. But when things start to get crazy, A-ko raises her fists and looks around. "What's going on? Who's causing trouble?" She wonders aloud. "I'm gonna find who's doing this and stop them! No one ruins my day off!" She rushes towards the sound of the violence, spotting Staren and Mitsu going at it, or something...
Princess Luna      Crystal Corona crashes into the grass face first thanks to Mitsue's dodge. Then, she is yanked along by Mitsu. "Eeek!" It may be decorative but it doesn't just slip off. Corona looks a bit dazed after the armor is practically ripped from her. She wobbles a bit as Mitsu makes a run for it, then falls back. "S-someone stop her!"

     Rarity's crystal spikes surprise the few ponies who are still around, and with Mitsu attacking Corona and Corona calling for the guards the normal citizens are starting to stampede! It is somewhat helpful to those aiding Corona since that means that the crowd is moving in a general direction toward the main gate, but it also means that Mitsu might be able to disappear in the crowd. And things aren't helped when one of the guards goes down near Theurgus before getting carried away by the crowd.

     Staren's gun causes almost as much panic as Mitsu's attack, and the explosion of foam stickiness gets all over Crystal as well. "Facinating! What is this stuff?" she says even as she uses a magic beam to try and free herself. Princess Celestia remains by the main gate, but it is hard for her to see what is going on from so far away and with the crowd condensing. A few guards are closing in now, but are also having trouble getting through the crowd.
Theurgus     Theurgus moves out of the way of the stampede, moving off to the side, while channeling a little magic into the marble at the head of her staff. It turns a pale green, and the crystal spikes begin to vibrate, quickly rising towards the resonance frequency, trying to make them shatter and become less of an obstacle.
Mitsu Mirage     Stripping that armor away, Mitsu's on the run... at least she would be if it wasn't for those crystal spikes in the ground, and soon, Staren's foam bullets locking her in place. "Nnngh, what the fuck do you think you're doing attacking an ally!" she yells with as much vitrol she can put into it towards Staren. "Kratzenfasut, Shocker Shield, high power." <Overload?> "Yes." there's a sound of cartridges loading up into those gauntlets before a massive burst of lightning encompasses the bunny mage, encompassing her in a ball of thick lightning.

    Mitsu yanks herself from that foam stuff, it was good to stop her for a bit, but she still has the armor, and a few crystals. "You know what I think of you, traitor? Go back the Paladin's before these claws get you." At least with that shield present, she's sort of safe. It's still magic. And, with hope that those crystal spikes were destroyed, she moves to try and hop them. The ball of lightning following every movement. "Theurgus... shall we go? I think we have work to do."
Staren     Staren's mind: ('Go back to the paladins' --> Staren was never in the Paladins --> clearly, this ally is a complete idiot who cannot be trusted in any way)

    "Freezer foam." he asides to Corona. "Here, you can read about it. And here's the solvent." He tosses a tablet and a spraycan to the ground next to her, then returns to tracking Mitsu with his weapon... but now she's surrounded by lightning destroying anything close to her. He suspects it will just fry the foam. He switches to his old phaser... and then realizes he's in a crowded place and might hit innocent ponies if he misses. Even the stun bolts could be construed as a careless attack, and he's already on thin ice with one ruler. Still, he watches Mitsu for any openings until she's out of reach, before helping free Corona if she isn't already. "I'm sorry."
Rarity "Oh bother!" Rarity goes a few more times. Now there's ponies running about, and she can't keep track of Mitsu and so many others. The magic isn't directly aimed at her but when the crystals suddenly shatter she topples over in a bit of surprise. "Who did tha--ack!" The almost outburst is brief as she's getting swept up in the scattering chaos
Princess Luna      The chaos is certainly scattering! A certain spirit of chaos would likely be pleased! Rarity's barricade is shattered, giving Mitsu a clear avenue of escape into the crowd. It is likely the best chance she will have before the guards converge on the booth! They are also held back by the lightning shield, but those spears look dangerous!

     Not to mention Princess Celestia rises above the crowd on her beautiful white wings, making disappearing into the crowd an even more appealing idea. It wouldn't be hard now as the scrambling citizens make their way for the exit as fast as they can. Maintaining that shield might help her escape, but it also paints a target on Mitsu.

     Theurgus is pretty much unnoticed, which seemed to be her plan all along. Crystal Corona takes the offered info and solvent and frees herself before she looks toward Mitsu. "Give me back my crystals! And my armor!" she exclaims before chasing after Mitsu, firing beams of magic at the thief from her horn.
Rarity Rarity gets back on her hooves and shakes off some dust. Lets out a sigh. "Everypony, please! Exit the vicinity in a semi-orderly fashion! Panicing will only make matters more confusing for all." She's lost track of Mitsu and Crystal in the chaos, so she's trying to help the guards get some semblance of structure back into the crowd so they can get clear of whatever is going on before somepony gets hurt!
Staren     Staren stands awkwardly and watches, at this point. He puts the SMG away, but Priscilla said no more fighting eachother in this instance, so his hands are tied. Preventing antagonizing Corona outweighed Mitsu's desire for the armor, and so does not pissing off the First of the Concord outweigh whatever is to be gained here by stopping Mitsu.

    There was so much still to ask, too! Like are the crystals charged by magic, or do they generate the electricity another way before putting it in the crystals? Hopefully this incident won't get the lot of them banned or something.
Mitsu Mirage     A target is something Mitsu's used to being as she hops herself away from the area. She'll probably have to hide out around here in some remote location, but she'll deal with that later. For now, she's just worried about getting out of here. The magic beams from that horn, however, smash right into that shield, making it flicker, with another bolt passing right through the flicker and smashing her right into the back, sending her tumbling down, and possibly down a convinent hill!
Princess Luna      Princess Celestia also focuses on the citizens rather than the thief, and Crystal Corona can't keep up with a superjumping battlemage. She lets out a huff as Mitsu disappears when she tumbles down that hill, which just happens to lead right to the gate and the masses that are steadily pouring out of the expo. "Well...I suppose the good news is that those things are only small crystals and weak engines. Even if they have some sort of terrible plan, I do not think they could cause any real harm." she says to Staren and Rarity once she gets back to her booth.

     As the crowd steadily pours out, the guards go about checking the booths and displays for signs of Mitsu. As they find none they start expanding their search, but there are plenty of places to hide. There's always a convenient abandoned building or a cab that hasn't heard what happened or even a very leafy tree. Who knows what kinds of terrible plots that Mitsu and Theurgus have planned!
Staren     "I'm sorry." Says Staren. "I know I'd be pissed if people stole /my/ personal inventions. Do you need any help rebuilding it?" if Crystal proves willing to discuss further, he asks, "So how are these batteries charged, anyway?"
Rarity Rarity sighs softly. Well that turned out to be a bit of a mess. "At least they didn't harm you." Rarity picks up some things that were knocked over from a stall and sets them back up. Already she's gone into cleaning up mode before her OCD can make her freak out. "If it helps any, dearie, I can help find more crystals for you to enchant."
Princess Luna      Crystal Corona sighs softly as well. "I must admit...I have never had someone steal from me before, much less in such a flashy way. Who was that, anyway?" she says to Staren, then smiles and shakes her head. "Need help? No. But, I would not say no to help. It is always better to work with friends. But, I have to protect the spell and the creation process. Trade secrets and all that." She then starts helping Rarity get things cleaned up. "Thank you both for your help. Even if she got away, it was nice of you to try." Rarity's offer to help find crystals draws a smile. "Thank you. It is not hard to find crystals, but high quality crystals are much harder to find. And I hate to impose on people. I know you Rarities have your fashion businesses to tend to." she says, not seeming to mind at all that this Rarity is a four-legged pony. "As for how they charge, unicorns can charge them directly with a typical magic beam, but they also slowly recharge from the ambient magic of our world. That takes a while, though. It is usually much faster to charge them manually."
Rarity Rarity giggles a bit at 'Rarities'. "Well dahling, if you already know a me, you know well enough I'm going to help anyways."
Staren     She said she let the Princesses and Twilight try to copy it, but now it's a protected secret? Then again, this might be sort of a patent deal -- she gets the profits for a certain amount of time, but ultimately she wants everyone to benefit from it eventually.

    Staren takes the opportunity to respond to something else rather than discuss Mitsu further -- not that he knows much about her anyway. "So it converts magic into electricity, as well as acting as a storage device. Handy! Have you considered marketing them to the other Equestria?" Now that he knows more about it, this almost seems similar to what they have in Lazlo... except there, separate gems are needed for storing magic and casting electricity-generation spells. Using techno-wizardry it would be easier to attach a conversion device to a rechargeable battery, really...

    "So how long has it been since you invented this spell, anyway? Seems like the tech is all over the place, at least in Canterlot."
Princess Luna      Crystal smiles at Rarity. "Yes, but...it seemed impolite to ask." she says. It doesn't take long to clean up the mess, and there are still plenty of things left. A prototype for what would basically be a steampunk prosthetic arm, what looks like a beam gun, and an electric fan! That last one probably isn't all that impressive since they have propeller technology.

     To Staren she says, "I came up with the spell about three years ago. Well, came up with is perhaps inaccurate. I was trying to use my magic to build a machine. It was a pedal powered generator so I could do more experiments with electricity. But, the telekinesis I was using somehow...changed. And the gem I was using to measure output somehow changed! It started sending a charge through the generator and the pedals started spinning on their own! I was quite surprised!" She then shakes her head. "The princesses seem to think that we should limit exposure to the other Equestrias. We don't really know where they are in the timelines. I could inadvertently disrupt the work of my otherworldly selves! I would not want to deprive them of their discoveries."
Staren     "I suppose that's a fair point. Some things, though..." Staren waves a hand at the clockwork limb. "...Well, if I find out about anypony who needs that sort of thing and it would work better than my own power sources, I suppose I can let you know and maybe we can come up with something. ...So how much for some of these storage gems, anyway? I'm sure the techno-mages of my own world would love to study some. Judging by the availability of machines powered by them, it's probably cheaper than our current magic storage methods, at least."
Princess Luna      Crystal looks at the limb then blushes a bit. "W-well, that one is a prototype. Just one of those examples of what we could do with these magitech devices. I doubt you'll actually see any in use for quite a while." she says, smiling self-consciously. "But, if you do find someone you think it would work for, I'd be happy to try it. There really is little call for such things in Equestria. I fully expect the first use to be a gryphon or dragon. As for the crystals, those are protected property. I know it might sound silly, and I do want these devices to help people, but if someone finds a way to mass produce these things before I do then I'd be out of business!"
Staren     Staren blinks. "I... thought you were selling them? I swear I saw people trying to sell stuff here..."
Princess Luna      Crystal considers that. "Well, not directly. Usually in some sort of engine other device. But, I see your point. I guess anyone could buy one of the devices and just reverse engineer it." She ponders that for a few moments. "...but at least here in Equestria no one is supposed to reproduce them."
Staren     Staren considers. "'Just' reverse engineer it is understating the difficulty a bit, if even the princesses couldn't manage it. Still... In my home city, we have an interest in switching gas or nuclear-powered vehicles to magic, but it's so expensive the way we do it. There may be a business opportunity here... I doubt they can easily reverse-engineer it, but... Suppose I bring a few home, with at least one vehicle-grade one and instructions, to see if our mages can charge them and see if they can power our vehicles. If so, perhaps we could set up some sort of trade agreement, where we can import them in return for respecting your copyright or patent on them?"
Princess Luna      Crystal thinks about that. "I suppose that might be okay. But...my biggest worry is that the crystal batteries will be used for evil ends. Is there any way you can ensure that the people of your world would not use them to make weapons?" She picks up the beam gun she'd been working on herself. "Yes, I know I have one right here, but again this is a prototype, and Equestria needs to be able to defend itself. Today's incident might be only the beginning, and a typical Equestrian can't stand up to those powerful beings out there. I hope we never have to actually develop these any further. This one is only strong enough to keep someone warm in a blizzard."
Staren     Staren sighs. "Of course we'd use them for weapons too. My world isn't as safe as Equestria. I suppose if it really bothers you that much, there's no helping it." Damn, he sure did misread the situation before. Stealing them doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all.

    Of course, Lazlo is suffering no shortage of ability to defend itself, so it's not like they're /needed/. He can come back when the patent wears out... There are more pressing concerns in his life than cheaper magical storage.
Princess Luna      Crystal Corona frowns at that. "Look, I know that other worlds are different from Equestria. But, yes. It would bother me a lot if I read some news report that said one of my devices was used in a bank robbery. Or an attack. Or if innocent people were hurt by one." She seems pretty upset after that and starts taking apart the beam gun. There is probably more to her refusal than just a conviction that she doesn't want to see people hurt.
Staren     "I mean... it's not that we don't care about that too, but I'm not going to pretend that thefts never happen or that someone like that could never decieve a merchant into believing they're an honest adventurer." Staren continues. "I'm sure our weaponsmiths hate to see techno-wizard weapons they made used in such a way, too, but... It's very hard to contain that sort of thing. And if /they/ don't make such weapons, people in the Federation of Magic will anyway. It's hard to put the genie back in the bottle."

    Staren looks at the pieces of the weapon, then back at Corona. "As you said, someone could buy one of these devices and take the crystal out, and use it for a weapon instead. Although... effective electric weapons are hard to build just from 'having batteries'. It'd probably be easier for them just to buy weapons from other worlds. /We'd/ only use them for weapons because magic weapons are already a thing we... do..." Staren trails off and stares into space for a moment.

    "...Can you get magic back out of them too, or /only/ electricity?"
Princess Luna      "I do not see how making weapons on the premise that they will be made anyway is a legitimate argument, either. Even if someone does manage to reverse engineer the spell from one of the crystals, I can be certain that I did not sell them to some villainous sort, or to someone who would sell them to villains. If your world has those magic weapons already then you do not need more from me." Crystal says resolutely.

     The question about getting magic back draws a shake of the head from Crystal. "Not really. I have had other unicorns cast a spell into a crystal to see if the crystal can then discharge the spell, but it just turns it into electrical energy." she says, taking the crystal battery out of the beam gun. "And these are not just batteries. These are self-sustaining batteries that can also be recharged more directly. But, I do not know if they would absorb the magic of other worlds."
Staren     Staren ahhs and nods. "That does make them less useful for magic weapons. Vehicles though... I still couldn't promise noone would ever misuse them. I wish you the best and hope you never have to see them misused... perhaps in Equestria, such a dream can be realized."
Princess Luna      Crystal nods lightly, then starts gathering up the various devices she brought and putting them into a large suitcase. "Such a dream could be realized everywhere, if people could just see past their own greed and silly differences." she says before she closes up the case and looks at Staren. "Thank you for your interest, but I do not think I am ready to make such business agreements with other places." She then heads through the curtain. Staren can see when she opens the curtain that she has her own car back there, and it looks more sleek and well built than the typical car he might have seen driving around. It is likely another prototype, one she improves as she comes up with ideas.