Hyacinth looked at the colossal assemblage of puppet material in front of them, rubbing their chin. Calling it "huge" really didn't do it justice; the "hangar" it was being built in was over 100 feet high, and yet as it was slowly assembled, it looked as through the space wouldn't be enough. The only major piece that had been finished was a single leg, and it stretched nearly end to end in the massive space. "This may be an issue," They murmured.
"Is it too large, mother?" Cardion asked, looking up at Hyacinth.
"At least for this room, it may very well be," Hyacinth expressed. "It does not even have its legs yet, but it is already taller than a standing Perditioner. We may need to assemble it outside..." They rubbed their chin.
"How would it be brought outside?" Cardion asked, looking out at the colossal puppet.
"This room does open out towards the side of Canterlot mountain. We would need a few Barycenters to bring it down gently, but that's not any different from a healthy Titan. My bigger worry is ensuring it stays protected," Hyacinth sighed.
"Could the ponies protect it when these ones are sleeping?" Cardion asked.
"I think we'll have to ask them to," Hyacinth nodded. "I believe the royal guard is beginning to tire of simple castle patrols..."
Shining Armor looked up as Hyacinth entered the castle's command office. "Your highness! This is an unexpected surprise," He expressed, standing up to address them.
Hyacinth smiled awkwardly. "I know, I know. It was never my intent to neglect the royal guard; just a force of habit. I hope you have all been well," They expressed.
"Well, there's not too much to do, but we do our best to keep busy with the castle and such," Shining commented. "Do you need something from us?" He asked.
"Ah, well... Yes, actually. I have a particular request," Hyacinth expressed, looking down at the guard captain. "You are aware of the secure space under the castle that we use for assembling our Titans, yes?" They began.
Shining nodded. "I try not to send too many guards down there to respect your privacy, but we do keep an eye on it," He replied.
"Well... It has recently come to our attention that this newest Titan is... To put it bluntly, too big. At this rate, the room will be too short to finish assembling the Titan's barrel in, nevermind allowing it to stand up and leave when it is completed," Hyacinth explained, watching as Shining's eyes widened at the news. "So, we are going to need to finish it outside. As such, we will need patrols during our sleeping hours," They explained.
Shining Armor rubbed his chin as he pondered that. "Do... Do you know how much space you'll need?" He asked. "We have the base near the foot of the mountain: that's got a fairly large field and isn't too far from here."
"Well, just the pieces we have now are already pushing the limits of the room's size. Height is a bigger concern than width," Hyacinth rubbed their chin. "A large, open field should be suitable for our purposes in that regard."
Shining nodded. "I'll make sure the guard knows to clear the field, then. Give us a couple hours and we'll try to have it open and patrolled for you, your highness," He replied.
"Thank you, Shining," Hyacinth replied with a smile. "I have to collect some of my children to ensure we have everything we need to move the new arrival, so I suppose I will see you soon," They expressed, turning to leave.
Shining was already getting ready to follow them out the door. "I'll see you then, your highness," He replied curtly, mind already racing with hopes that the field would actually be big enough for whatever Hyacinth was spawning.
Hyacinth sat carefully on top of one of the Barycenter they were assuming direct control of as the large puppet began to organize its altered gravity field. They figured it would be good practice for moving continents when that came to fruition, plus it had been a long time since they got to direct a group of puppets to do something.
The movements were befitting of a colossal creature; slow movements, somewhere between lumbering and graceful. Enormous swings of energy carefully working through not just muscle, but something else. Slowly, the incomplete Titan's body began to rise, individual pieces lifted into the air by the Barycenter's awaiting Satellites.
"That's it, my dears... Nice and slowly. There's no rush," Hyacinth murmured gently as they guided the large subtitan along.
Slowly, they made their way out to the edge of the construction room, peering down over the ledge. Satellites pulled themselves out into the open sky, preparing to provide a net of anchors for the subtitan they had come from.
The first step was always the most intimidating, as floor gave way to nothing but a few supportive tendrils. The gravitational manipulation meant this was enough to keep the large puppets aloft, but it was nonetheless a step of faith. As the Barycenter's hooves left the floor entirely, it now hovered in the air, lightly juggled by dozens of tendrils. A couple Satellites swirled around, ensuring the disassembled pieces of the titan didn't stay too far from the field of influence.
From there, it was a slow, gentle decent down. Satellites pushed or pulled, adjusting the Barycenter's velocity to guide it towards the waiting field. Thankfully, it wasn't a precise target; good enough would be good enough in terms of accuracy. The touchdown was similarly delicate, with the Barycenter's hooves only lightly thumping against the dirt, only leaving the faintest of divots.
From there, the Satellites whipped into a frenzy, rapidly reorganizing Titan pieces to arrange them along the field. Pieces were quickly reorganized to match the ways they had initially been laid out in by the constructing puppets, trying to approximate the Titan's body structure to minimize further readjustments.
Lastly, as the Barycenter began to relax its gravitational field, a number of Satellites whirled over to help Hyacinth down from the large height, several sets of tendrils being threaded carefully around them to form a safe net to lift them down where Shining Armor was waiting.
"Phew!" Hyacinth chuckled as they settled back on solid land. "It's been so long since I got to do anything like that with my children; I forgot how nice it was."
"You certainly know how to make an entrance, your highness," Shining commented, watching as the puppets finished their organizational work. "This is all of it?"
"So far, at least," Hyacinth nodded. "Spawning Titans takes time... This one especially. A Perditioner or Cambrian would have been finished by now," They observed, looking out at the field with a sigh.
"Is that a problem, your highness?" Shining asked, looking up at them.
"The Titans are always worth the investment, but while they are spawning, our regular population growth freezes," Hyacinth explained. "For example, if we need more Totems to speed up farming, I'd need to spawn the whole Titan first."
Shining took a moment to process that, rubbing his chin. "I see..." He nodded. "Are there ways to speed up spawning?" He asked.
"Any kind of strong stimulus can make myself spawn," Hyacinth rubbed their chin. "Pain is the easy one, though I must be careful with it... Perhaps I should get a Trickster or two to shadow me. They like to startle the ones who can spawn like me, myself included," They mused.
Shining nodded, a bit uncomfortable with the prospect of attacking the Empress. "That... Sounds like a good plan, your highness," He expressed. "We'll take as good of care of the new Titan as we can."
"Thank you, Shining," Hyacinth replied, smiling gently. "We will figure it out. It is just a lot for us to cope with, particularly with the test-moving of Madergotscar in the coming weeks. I'm considering requesting a delay until this Titan is ready..." They admitted.
"The guard will do its best to support you as much as we are able," Shining expressed. "Just... Don't burn yourself out, your highness. Please," He added sincerely.
"I'll be careful, Shining," Hyacinth promised with a gentle smile. "Thank you."