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I could hear movement in the foliage around the trail. It was like a thousand creatures were watching from the shadows. Still, I kept walking, now at the back of the group.
"So, none of you have been in here before?" Twilight asked, from the front.
"Ugh, heavens no! Just look at it - it's dreadful!" Rarity definitely wasn't enjoying herself.
"And it ain't natural. Folks say it don't work the same as Equestria," said Applejack, ignoring the fact that the Everfree Forest was, in fact, completely inside Equestrian territory, with a few unexplained exceptions in the middle of the forest.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked.
"Nopony knows," Rainbow Dash said, in an attempt to scare some of the members of the group. She began walking towards Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, who were gathered together towards the back of the group. "You know why?"
I walked around her, joining Twilight and Applejack behind Rainbow. I noticed that we were standing on the edge of a cliff.
"Rainbow, quit it!" Applejack said, trying to get her to back off. Rainbow ignored her, taking a few small steps towards the trio of ponies in front of her.
"'cause everypony who's ever come in..."
Rainbow took another step towards the three.
"...has never..."
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"...come..."
I heard a slight shift in the ground below us.
"...out!" Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, and at the same time, the ground below us split apart, and soon we were all sliding towards the cliff.
I saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy trying to grab everypony as they fell. They wouldn't get to me in time, given how close I had been standing to the edge. I struck the ground with my hoof, driving it into the rock, suspending me mid-slide. It wasn't the most comfortable position to be in, but I had managed to stop myself a second before flying off the edge of the cliff.
I hung there for a moment, trying to watch the two pegasi as they lowered the rest of the group down. Twilight had just fallen off the cliff but was caught shortly after. Applejack had found a series of small ledges against one side of the cliff wall. The other three flightless ponies were safely on the ground.
I looked at the distance between where I was and the ground. It wasn't really that far; chances are, I'd walk away with a bone fracture at the absolute worst, more likely just some bruises. The cliff face also looked fairly climbable, considering I could make a hoofhold wherever I needed one.
I slid the rest of the way down, using my metal leg to slide down as slow as I could. When I reached the edge, I started trying to climb the cliff. As I expected, it wasn't too difficult. I was on the ground in seconds, jumping down the last few feet.
My legs were a little sore, but aside from that I wasn't injured.
"Oh, goodness, are you okay? Sorry I couldn't make it over to you fast enough."
"No, it's okay, Fluttershy. I understand. We all made it down okay, and that's what matters." I didn't think to speak quieter until after I said it, but it seemed like Fluttershy was familiar enough with me that she didn't mind.
"Come on, girls. We should keep moving," Twilight said, taking charge of the group. Within a moment, the rest of the group was already moving. "Oh, and you too, I guess."
I followed them, walking down a different path from before. I briefly wondered why the ground had collapsed like it did, but put the thought out of my mind to focus on the more important task at hand.
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I picked up on a conversation occurring between Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was retelling the events of earlier, at the cliff, and by the sound of it she was embellishing the facts quite a bit.
"And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, whoosh... Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM! Caught you in the nick of time."
"Yes, Rainbow, I was there, and I'm very grateful, but we gotta-" she stopped abruptly, gasping. I couldn't see what it was from the back of the group, but from the roar I heard not long after I assumed it wasn't something good.
The group moved quickly, fighting the creature blocking the path ahead, which I quickly identified as a manticore. They were putting up quite a fight for a group of ponies who had no combat experience, but the manticore didn't seem to be affected much. I heard Fluttershy trying to get the group's attention, but none of them listened to her.
"Girls, I think Fluttershy is trying to-" I was interrupted by another manticore roar. I realized that it was charging straight at me. I quickly rolled to the side, its scorpion-like tail just barely missing me. It skidded to a stop the moment it realized it had passed me, turned around, and let out another roar.
The others moved to counter its next attack. I had a quick thought.
"Um, girls?"
The manticore roared again, readying for an attack.
"Girls? You know he's not in the way anymore, right?"
None of them seemed to hear me. Rolling my eyes, I started walking down the trail. I tried to get their attention, but they wouldn't listen. Time was precious; every second wasted was another second Nightmare Moon had to prepare for our attack.
I heard the sounds of fighting from behind, then a shout from Fluttershy. The manticore roared, then went silent.
For a moment, the whole group was silent. Then, five pairs of hoofsteps could be heard. It seemed like they had subdued the manticore somehow.
The group quickly caught up with me. "Where were you, Midnight Shadow?" Twilight asked.
I rolled my eyes. "I tried to tell you. When the manticore charged at me, it created an opening. We could've gotten past it then."
Twilight looked away. "Sure. Just abandon us when we really could've used your help. That's a great plan."
I shook my head. "Twilight, I didn't 'abandon' you. I was just taking the most logical and fastest route. When the world is at stake, you don't take time to smell the roses."
Twilight rolled her eyes and kept walking in silence.
I began to wonder if I had made the right choice. Should I have stayed to help, even though it would take longer? How much help would I even be in a fight?
Then again, those six took to it quite easily. Maybe I would be even better at it.
They did completely ignore what I was saying, though. Had they listened, would they have gone with my plan anyway?
They ignored Fluttershy, too, and everything turned out fine. Am I just making a bigger deal out of this than I should be? Or is Twilight the one doing that? This is confusing.
I hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten. We had entered a more heavily covered area of the forest, and barely any of the moon's light reached the ground.
Fluttershy screamed. That time, I could see what she was screaming at. Nearby, there were several trees with faces carved into them. They were probably made to scare ponies off from this part of the forest, and by the sound of the screams coming from the other five, it was working.
Except one of them wasn't screaming. Pinkie Pie was staring straight at the carved faces and laughing, making silly faces back at them. When the others noticed, they were clearly surprised.
"Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!" Twilight shouted.
"Oh girls, don't you see?" Suddenly, music started playing from everywhere around me. Pinkie started to sing along, somehow singing perfectly in tune despite the song being unrehearsed and spontaneous. The song wasn't bad, but it really wasn't my preferred style of music. Pinkie was singing about laughing at the things you're afraid of, and soon she had gotten the whole group laughing. Then, to my surprise, the carvings actually started to disappear. At several points in the song, Pinkie disappeared into thin air, only to reappear in a different spot. There were a few other physically impossible things about the whole situation. Ultimately, I concluded that there was definitely more to Pinkie Pie than an annoyingly friendly mare. I decided that if I ever got the chance, I would attempt to determine the source of the strange events.
The song ended. By that point, the whole group besides me was on the ground, laughing. I wanted to keep moving, but I knew Twilight would just get even angrier at me for it. I waited for them to get back up. After a few minutes, they did get up, still laughing.
I really didn't understand what was so funny.
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We kept going. I resumed my position in the back of the group. The rest of the group was still laughing when Pinkie Pie, now at the front of the group, stopped abruptly. Most of the group failed to notice fast enough and bumped into the pony in front of them. I, however, managed to stop in time.
"How are we gonna cross this?" Pinkie asked.
I immediately began surveying the surroundings. The reason for the sudden stop was the raging river directly ahead. I quickly determined that the river was much more tumultuous than it normally was, and that was due to a serpent-like creature that was just upstream. It was thrashing around, upsetting the river's waters, and making it impossible to cross.
"Girls, maybe if we go upstream, we can cross?" I suggested. The girls didn't listen, instead trying to talk to the serpent.
I rolled my eyes. It looks like I once again have to leave the group to make any progress. I started upstream, staying as close as I could to the river's edge without falling in. By doing so, I had left the path behind, and as such I needed to be very careful.
Sure enough, the water upstream was much calmer. I could tell just by looking at it that it was very shallow. I turned around, heading back to the group.
"Hey, girls, I found a way to-"
"We can cross now! Let's go," Twilight said. Sure enough, the serpent had stopped thrashing.
Twilight had started to cross but was lifted out of the water by the serpent. "Allow me," he said. The serpent then carried all six ponies across, and swam off afterwards. Of course, I was still on the other side.
I didn't mind all that much. The water was actually very shallow, and crossing was easy. I reached the other side quickly.
"And where were you, Midnight Shadow?" Twilight asked, noticing me as I reached the shore.
"I was trying to find a way across the river." I was fully out of the water by that point.
Twilight took a step towards me. "And you just so happened to come back the exact moment we had solved the situation? I'm starting to think you just left to make sure that you aren't in harm's way, leaving the rest of us to deal with the problem!"
"Twilight, that's not-"
"Sure it's not. And you were locked in a room for ten years after you ran away. You didn't even try to protect me at the castle back then. You just ran off! I'm lucky to have even survived!"
"Twilight, if it wasn't for me, everypony in that room would have died! It was only because I made a protection charm that any of us were able to make it out alive!" I sighed. "Earlier that day, I got a letter that told me we were all in danger. It told me to make the charm, and it told me to activate it when I heard three knocks. Then, it told me to start running, and not stop for anything. Since the first two parts of the letter came true, I figured-"
"What do you think I am, an idiot? That makes two stories you've made up to cover the fact that you're a coward! You may have saved me once, but every other time since then all you've done is run. So, if you really want to run, then run. Run far away from us!"
I couldn't believe it. Twilight had told me to go away. I had officially lost everything; my life, my work, and now my only friend.
"Now, ah don't know what's goin' on between the two of y'all, but-"
"Fine, then. If you really want me gone, then..." I turned away from the group. "...I'll go. It's clear that you won't ever believe me, so what's the point in trying to convince you? And, if I can't convince you, then..." I trailed off.
"Wait! Midnight Shadow, darling, you can't possibly go off on your own, not in this forest!" Rarity said. "It's far too dangerous. We need to stick together."
I sighed, still facing away. "You're probably right. Chances are, I won't make it out alive if I go alone. But, by this point, all I've really done is hold the group back. I mean, just look at how much time we've wasted just arguing about this!" My head lowered just a bit. "Perhaps you'll have a better chance of saving the world without me."
I started walking into the dense foliage lining the path. The group had gone silent, and soon I couldn't look back at them even if I tried.
I walked for a while. The creatures of the forest were always close by, but for some reason, they avoided me. Perhaps they were afraid, or perhaps they felt sympathetic. Either way, nothing crossed my path. At least, not until I heard something unusual.
It was a muffled set of hoofsteps. Somepony was moving through the brush, trying to remain unheard. I froze, trying to identify where he or she was.
"Hello again, Midnight Shadow." His voice was familiar.
Is that-
Somepony grabbed me from behind, trying to drag me away. I struggled against him, but it was much stronger than I was. I tried to scream, but his hooves were covering my mouth so I couldn't make a sound.
I felt him take one hoof off of me. I still couldn't escape. He tied my front hooves behind my back with a piece of rope, and my back-left hoof was tied to a tree trunk.
He let go of me then. I took a deep breath and screamed at the top of my lungs.
"You might as well save the oxygen. Nopony's close enough to hear you."
I knew that voice.
He had tied me up at the edge of a clearing. He stepped into the pale moonlight, revealing himself. His coat was tan, his mane dark brown, and his eyes were a light blue.
Desert River.
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"You know, I really didn't expect to see you here." Desert River started pacing in front of me. "I was just on my way to the old Castle of the Two Sisters, to ensure that our plans went smoothly, and there you were, walking through the forest alone!" He chuckled. "Of course, you know I couldn't pass up such a marvelous opportunity. And, well, here we are."
I glared at him. "Let. Me. Go." I tried to break the rope, but I wasn't strong enough.
He smiled with a sinister grin. "Do you have any idea the kind of trouble you're in right now? You started off as a symbol of everything my Uprising stands against, then you escape from the most secure facility we have, and now here you are, aimlessly wandering by the entrance to that very facility!"
I looked to my left. Sure enough, there was the shed, its metal door closed to the outside world.
"So, you're sending me back down there?"
"Ha! Don't make me laugh. No, I'm not going to show you that kind of mercy." He smiled. "I think I'll just kill you here and now, yes. That way, there's no possibility of you escaping to ruin our plans. The public execution of Celestia will occur just as we have planned it, crushing any remnant of hope left in the citizens. They will be forced to obey Nightmare Moon, and we will rebuild Equestria into the glorious empire it could have been."
"You won't succeed. Somepony will stop you."
Desert River walked up to me, staring me right in the face.
"By the time anypony gets the chance, there'll be nopony left who can even try."
So he doesn't know about the others. Maybe I did help the group by leaving them after all.
"There's one more reason I hate you so much. I figured you should know, seeing as it's one of the reasons why you're about to die. Not only are you a symbol of everything I stand against, but you're also a searing reminder of my prior failure. You see, I tried this once before, but I was stopped. And now, whenever I see you, I am reminded of the pony who put an end to my plans before."
He reached into the saddlebag he was wearing. "Now, normally I don't like having to do things myself-" He took out a familiar object; my horn. "-but this, I'm going to enjoy."
He put the horn on, flipping the switch. Sure enough, I could hear the light hum of the Arcanium as magic flowed through it.
The rope around my hind leg suddenly came undone. I tried to run away, but I was stopped by an invisible force. A blue aura had surrounded my entire body, and it was lifting me up into the air.
"It's ironic, really. Your invention will be what ultimately strikes the killing blow. After that, I can use your designs to make my army stronger than any other in the world. Without your help, I might not have been able to pull all of this off. So, thanks."
He threw me on the ground, the impact sending waves of pain through my whole body. I heard a few cracks.
Then, he lifted me up into the air again, and threw me against a large tree on the edge of the clearing.
"Oh, this is too fun," Desert River said. "But, I'm getting bored already. I think I'll just finish you off and move on to ruling the world."
He raised me back up into the air, but instead of throwing me back down, he used magic to crush me. I felt incredible pain, unlike anything I had experienced before, as his magic crushed my body from all directions. I knew that it would kill me very soon.
Come on, girls. You're Equestria's last hope. That would've been my last thought, just before everything faded into darkness.
Suddenly, there was a shockwave that sent both of us flying. Desert River lost his magical grip on me, and was very disoriented as he tried to recover. I recovered much faster, using one of the branches of the tree to break the rope. I then pulled the horn off of Desert River's head, who was still too dazed to notice.
In the distance, a rainbow light illuminated the sky. It was then that I knew.
The girls had done it.
"No, no! This isn't possible, how-" Desert River had stood up, and was looking at me.
"You planned this, didn't you?"
I shook my head. "Nope. It was just dumb luck, really. Had you kept going, not stopping for me, you might've been able to stop the other six ponies who had entered the forest in search of the only objects that can defeat Nightmare Moon. I'm guessing by the light show that they found the Elements of Harmony, and are currently using them to defeat your 'princess of the Night,' as you call her."
He charged at me, trying to hit me with his hoof. I simply levitated him up into the air, out of reach.
"Like I said; somepony will stop you. There will always be somepony to stop any threat to Equestria. Remember that, Desert River. You won't be so lucky coming out of your next attempt."
I set him down. He quickly ran off, disappearing from view. By the sound of his hoofsteps, he was running fast. He was out of earshot in seconds.
It was then that the full pain of my injuries hit me. Several broken bones, some ruptured blood vessels, a few other internal problems, none of it was good. The pain was so bad, I instantly collapsed.
Well, at least the world is safe, I thought. I was starting to go unconscious. The pain gave way to numbness, and I slowly closed my eyes...
Then, a single burst of green light filled my vision. Suddenly, all of the pain went away. It was as if I had never encountered Desert River.
I looked up just in time to see a streak of orange disappear into the foliage.
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The sun had risen not too long after the rainbow lights went off. I assumed that meant the girls were successful in defeating Nightmare Moon.
It was over. The world was safe, and I had made it out alive. There only remained the question of what to do next.
It was one of many questions I had no answer for.
I decided that there was only one thing I could do; return to Ponyville. I doubted I'd ever be able to live my life the same way as before. The only thing that was left for me to do was to salvage what I could and move on.
First off, I needed to reorient myself. I had no idea where I was relative to the town. The trees around the clearing looked tall enough, so I picked the tallest one and climbed it.
Climbing a tree was a lot easier than climbing a cliff with nothing but a metal hoof to make handholds. When I reached the top, I looked around.
The tree I had chosen was taller than most of the other ones around, giving me a wide view of the Everfree Forest. From up there, it looked like any other forest. The green leaves stretched out in every direction, in most places completely covering the understory beneath. There were a few clearings here and there, and one such clearing had a stone structure jutting out from it, clearly many centuries old. I wondered if that was the place where the girls were going.
Looking further, I identified the edge of the forest, with the town just beyond. I climbed back down the tall tree, and upon reaching the ground I set out for Ponyville. Every so often I would climb another tree to make sure I was going in the right direction, and every time I saw that I was. I didn't encounter any creatures, although I could hear them moving just out of view. They were avoiding me, but it seemed almost like it was out of respect instead of fear. They didn't seem afraid of me, but rather it seemed like they avoided me because they knew that I didn't belong. I didn't belong there, and at that moment, I didn't belong anywhere else. They had their world, the ponies outside the Forest had another, and I belonged to neither. I wasn't an intruder, nor was I one of them. I was just there, slowly walking through the Forest. I didn't bother them, and they didn't bother me.
I soon reached the edge of the forest. The bright light of the sun was blinding, as it was the first time in a long time I had been out in the open in its warm glow. My eyes soon adjusted to the light, and I could see Ponyville.
There was some sort of celebration going on in the town. I guessed it was because of Nightmare Moon's defeat. I knew I couldn't go into town while it was still going on, as I would draw too much attention. Desert River was still out there, and he knew I was still alive. The Uprising would be looking for me, likely around Ponyville, and if I drew that kind of attention to myself I would be in danger.
I looked around. There was a small path that led out of the town, leading to an abandoned house on the edge of the Forest. One could argue that it was actually inside the Forest, seeing as it was overgrown with vines, and was almost completely surrounded by trees. Only the front wall of the structure was exposed to the sun; the other walls were covered by the treetops. It was a simple two-story home, made of the same materials as the other buildings in the town. The windows were boarded over, as well as the front door. Despite its old appearance, it appeared structurally sound, and the walls were still completely intact. It was clear that nopony had been there in years.
Which made it perfect for a fugitive to hide out in for a while.
Since I had no other choice, I walked over to the old house. Reaching the door, I looked over my shoulder to make sure nopony was around. Sure enough, I was alone. I broke the boards off of the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. Turning the handle of the now exposed door, I went inside.
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It looked almost as if somepony lived there.
Everything was neat and in place. In the kitchen, all of the plates and silverware were neatly put away in a cabinet. In the living room, the sofa looked untouched, and the fireplace was completely clear of ash. Upstairs, there were four bedrooms. Each one was clean, and the beds were neatly made. In terms of furniture and decorations, the house was bare, only having simple pieces of furniture such as chairs and beds. Over every window, a curtain was neatly drawn. Whoever lived there before, they hadn't left in a hurry.
There was an empty room towards the back of the house. It had two doors, one that led back out to the rest of the house, and another that was locked. I assumed it led to the back of the house.
Despite the house's neat appearance, it was clear nopony had been there in quite a while. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and quite often I found myself in a coughing fit because of it. However, since I had nowhere else to go, I decided to stay there for a while. I could figure out something for food, and besides that, I would be fine.
I took a table and chair from the dining room and put them in the empty room in the back. I figured I'd turn it into a workshop of sorts. I didn't have any tools, or resources, to work with, but I was sure that I could figure something out. The electric lights still worked, much to my surprise. I didn't think there would be electricity anywhere in the whole town, much less this abandoned house. Does this town have its own power plant?
I began rearranging the furniture, moving everything to where I needed it. There wasn't much to work with, but there was just enough to give me hope that I could make it work. After a few hours, I decided to check and see if the celebration was over. I climbed the stairs and went into the bedroom closest to the front of the house.
The window was boarded from the inside, as I expected. It wouldn't be worthwhile to board the windows up from the outside. I broke the boards covering the window and looked out at the town. Sure enough, the celebration had already ended. It was late in the afternoon, bordering on evening. After all, Celestia had to make sure the calendar wasn't completely thrown off somehow.
I yawned. There was a lot to do, but it could wait for the next day. I walked over to the bed. Brushing the dust off of the covers, I lifted them off the bed. They felt like they were brand new, and yet they had clearly been left alone for Celestia knows how long. Nevertheless, I climbed under them, proceeding to shift around until I was comfortable. The bed itself wasn't bad. Soon, I found myself drifting off to sleep.
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I woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed despite my current situation. Sunlight was shining through the window, illuminating a section of the floor. I got out of bed, making sure the covers were placed back perfectly. It just felt wrong to leave them messy. Then, I noticed the nightstand beside the bed. Somehow, I had missed it. On top of the stand was a blue book.
Method to the Madness: a Detailed Exploration of the Underlying Physics of Magic, by Starswirl the Bearded.
It was here this whole time? How did it get here? It was just as dusty as anything else there, and yet it clearly felt like it didn't belong. I opened it, flipping through the pages. Sure enough, it was all there. From the chemical formula for Arcanium, to the exact dimensions of the node finder, not a single page was missing.
I wondered if it was a sign that my luck was changing. After all, what were the odds that I would just happen to, by accident, stumble across the book I had lost ten years ago?
If I could find a source of Arcanium crystal, and a way to get the rest of the materials I'd need, I could start building machines again. There were just a few problems with that.
First, the book said that the Canterlot caves were the only known source of Arcanium crystal. There was no way I was going to go to the capital city of Equestria, not while the Lunar Uprising was still looking for me. That meant I would have to find another source, or else I wouldn't have any Arcanium.
Second, the other materials. Some of the materials I used were fairly cheap, but they still cost money. I didn't have a single bit to my name, so I couldn't buy anything.
Third, food. Since I couldn't buy anything, and I couldn't risk getting a job for fear of discovery, I would need another source of food.
Then again, how much attention would I really draw to myself just by getting a simple job? The townsfolk would likely see me as a strange traveler who happened to walk into town one day. Despite the fact that one of the Lunar Uprising's prison facilities was right next door, I doubted they had a large presence in such a small town. After all, it was likely they chose this location solely because it was so remote. They wanted to avoid capture, just as I did, only they had to hide from everypony, while I only had to hide from them.
I still wouldn't risk going to Canterlot, but I figured I could get a job to pay for the basic things I needed.
That left only one issue; where to look for a job. I needed something I would be good at, but it couldn't be too close to my actual profession, since there weren't many magical-mechanical engineers out there.
I thought about it for a moment. It's a fairly small town, so many of the townsfolk probably get their living from growing crops or making products from unique local materials. I wouldn't really be good at the former, which leaves the latter. But what did Ponyville have that other places didn't?
I remembered something I had read a while ago.
Common gems can be found in many places, but the largest concentration of them is near the small town of Ponyville. Because of their frequency, not many ponies find it worthwhile to extract them, although some locals have made a living off of finding them, using a special gem-finding spell unique to certain occupations. Most Equestrian citizens accept gems as currency, and as such a pony can use the gems they gather to cover all of the expenses of their daily life.
That's it! I'll just harvest gems. I can learn the gem-finding spell the book mentions and use that to dig some gems up. I should be able to use it, despite the fact that my Cutie Mark isn't related to gem-finding. It seems like, since my horn is artificial instead of natural, it allows for a wide variety of spells beyond that of most unicorns. Plus, I won't have to be employed by anypony else, and I can even do it at night if I feel like I'm drawing too much attention to myself.
Well, that only leaves one thing to do; find that gem locating spell.
I opened the door, and stepped outside.
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