//------------------------------//
// Return to the Neatherealm 
// Story: The Mighty Machines 
// by Epicdiscord214 
//------------------------------//

As soon as Ricky escaped Canterlot, he hid himself deep in the woods, but he was still able to see the city he just escaped from. He managed to find a log to sit on. He also found a puddle where he kept seeing his reflection. He struck the water out of anger and began to sulk. He was so grief-stricken, he didn't notice anyone else until they spoke.
"The Edgeless Atlas." an male, elderly voice said. Ricky looked and saw a hooded pony hold into his map with white hooves.
"What the..." Ricky asked. "Hey, that's mine!"
"Hang on, sonny." the hooded pony said. "I just want to see if the legends are true. Atlas, please, reveal the fastest path to Maretropolis."
Ricky looked at the map and saw red, dotted lines pointing toward a large city that suddenly appeared on the map. Ricky saw the route, but noticed that the lines didn't curve or bend at all.
"See, the thing's broken." Ricky said. "It's not showing you the proper route."
"True, but that doesn't mean it's broken." the hooded pony said. "It's like an old joke. The quickest path between two points is a straight line, which is what the map is trying to show me."
"So what, it has a sense of humor?"
"No, not at all. It's not what you're telling it what you want, it's how you say it. This map follows your every command, word for word."
"Well..." Ricky said before realizing something. "Hold on a second. Why aren't you running away?"
"What's so scary about a map?" the hooded pony asked.
"Not that! I mean me! Why aren't you running from me? I'm a big, mechanical monster with teeth and claws! Are you blind?"
"No, but you are."
Ricky calmed down and looked at the hooded pony closely. "Who are you?"
The hooded pony backed away from Ricky before he could get close.
"Me, I'm just an old oracle who's trying to help a fellow pony."
"You are blind." Ricky said. "I am definitely not a pony."
"Obviously. You seem to have lost your pony touch. Where's the up-beat attitude and the colorful personality?"
Ricky looked back at his reflection. "I lost it. Where I came from, being up-beat and colorful couldn't get me back home? Now that I'm here, I realized I can't show myself to anyone again."
"Do you really think your friends will judge you with just how you changed?" the hooded pony asked. "If they do judge you, then they're not really your friends. I think you should, at least, explain to them who you are rather than worry. Another flaw to your statement: you said there was nothing Equestrian about where you came from. Obviously, on the outside, you are true, but Equestria is more than just ponies and color. Friendship exists in all places, even if it's too small to see. Tell me, did you honestly not make any friends where you were?"
Ricky didn't answer because he was still deep in thought about the other wirewolves he had met. He looked back at the puddle, but instead of seeing his usual self, be started seeing his pony face. He looked at his body, but it was still mechanical.
"Well..." the old pony said, "It looks like there's still some pony in you after all."
Ricky began to smile a bit. Then, he remembered something. "My friends! They're in danger! I... I need to help them! You're right! I need to warn Celestia and..."
"There's no time for that." the old man said. "Kul'as is about to open the portal to here from a mile east. You won't even make it to Celestia's castle without the bad guys getting to Canterlot first. Ricky, you're the only one who knows the situation. Only you can stop it right now."
"Y... You're right." Ricky said. He began to run east to where the oracle said it would be.
Meanwhile, the hooded pony removed his hood revealing his face. The Oracle took a good look at the map he still had in his hooves.
"You seemed to have caused a lot of trouble... but I suppose I should thank you. Maybe now, Ricky will be the same guy in the eyes of his oldest friends. But for now, you're staying with me."





In the Neatherealm, entire armies of mutated Underlings awaited with their claws and teeth prepared. Kul'as stepped out in front with the Golden Apple in his top-right claws and pointed it. The Apple blasted a light that shot at the air. Suddenly, a portal began to open and grow big enough for the whole army.
"I can't look." Marty said closing his eyes.
"Finally, it is an evil dream come true." Kul'as proclaimed. "Equestria, a world full of innocence and harmony, about to be destroyed by its polar opposite. In just a matter of moments, no one will ever again..."
Kul'as was interrupted by a metal punch flying through the portal that struck him in his reptilian face. Ricky flew through the portal connected to the punch and Kul'as fell backward. The Golden Apple flew into the air, but Ricky grabbed it before it could hit the ground. He slid on over to his captured friends and cut their ropes.
"RICKY!" Joe cheered. "YOU'RE BACK!"
"Of course, I did!" Ricky said. "We're friends! Now then..."
Suddenly, the portal closed and the light faded into nothing.
"What happened?" Tartus asked. "I blinked and missed it."
Kul'as grunted as he got up, but he was frustrated at what he didn't see. "MY PORTAL!" He turned to Ricky. "YOU! You dare?"
"More than dare!" Ricky shouted. "I hope somebody got footage of that, because that was awesome!"
"Return that apple to me, Shadow Blot," Kul'as shouted, "And I won't recycle you into a paperweight!"
"You want this?" Ricky asked not noticing the Apple starting to glow. "Come and get it!"
Suddenly, the Underlings began to roar and charge towards them. Suddenly, a bright light escaped from the Golden Apple and it trapped the wirewolves in a bright-yellow dome. When it faded, the wirewolves and the Apple weren't there anymore.
"WHAT?!" Kul'as shouted. "TARTUS, WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"Well, it seems that they were teleported." Tartus said. "He must have triggered the Apple's transport power."
"Well... we don't need it anymore." Kul'as said. "You can open portals."
"Not for an entire army." Tartus said. "Lord Kul'as, we still need the Golden Apple. Luckily, I know where they might have gotten... and I think it's time for an early release."
Tartus pressed something on one of his mechanical arms and grinned.





Back at Tartus' lab, the glass prison that held the Phantom Blot opened and the monster emerged from it. It flew through the doorways and escaped the lab. In the corner, Scimitar rolled his eyes and continued his video game.
"Everyone is such a dunce."