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// Chapter 18 | Departure 
// Story: A Different World: The Future and Fate of Equestria 
// by Riclo 
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The 'makeshift' camp-out for my clone turned out to be fully complete by the time I was done with it. I had chosen the mountains around Neighagra Falls for the positioning due to the prime location over-looking both Rainbow Falls and Mount Everhoof, and I also tried to make it as hidden as possible since I didn't need Discord finding it. Because of this, I was forced to only pick a spot that viewed those two areas - anything with 360 degrees of range would've been too far out in the open. The clone had radio communication with me, and there were also several cameras located within the small construction that housed him and the controls; this is what I would use to ensure he didn't look brainwashed, and from there I would allow the gun to be able to fire once I told him to do so. Things were looking pretty good, and I couldn't wait to fuck Discord's plans up again.

The time to depart for Rainbow Falls had come faster than I was expecting, and I had decided to go along with Celestia and the gang instead of flying there by myself. We took the same large royal carriage we used for Baltimare and Manehattan, where we had conveniently flown right over Neighagra Falls during our journey - that sure looked familiar. The evening was just starting to approach when we arrived at our destination, where the townsfolk were seemingly already expecting us - Celestia must've let them known ahead of time. The doors of the carriage opened, where me and the ponies began to step out on either side.

"Wow, this place is really pretty!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. I could agree; there were colorful rainbows everywhere, and they even made up rivers that flowed and then descended down below in stunning shimmering waterfalls - or rather, rainbow-falls. The place almost looked like it came out of a dream, and that was surprising considering Equestria already looked pretty fantastical.

"Did we find Rainbow Dash's second home?" Rarity joked, to which the mentioned mare chuckled.

"No kidding. I could totally live here." Rainbow replied as she looked around the village. "Heck, I could probably even be this town's mayor if I was into that kinda thing."

"Rainbow Dash as a mayor?" I remarked. "That sure would be a weird alternative timeline. Nothing says you can't still be a super cool mayor though."

"Heh, I guess so."

We followed Celestia to what appeared to be a large two-story hotel, where she and the presumed owner talked with each other. Celestia was thanking her for letting us all stay there, although as kind of expected, the owner didn't have any problem at all helping out the princess herself. Since it was already pretty late, everyone pretty much agreed to settle in right now - tomorrow was going to be a big day. From what I'd heard, Mount Everhoof wasn't going to be a fun place to be.

'Makes you wonder how Discord does all of this in the first place. How do you even get a tower set up on-top of the highest mountain in Equestria, let alone in four other cities. Where's he getting these things from? I don't know if it's just me, but something's felt different ever since I got out of that cave... like I'm not in the same place I used to be.' I looked around at my surroundings. 'Normally I'd be more skeptical, but I really think that might just be me. I almost died in that ditch and I was stuck totally alone and in pitch darkness for days - that's bound to mess with someone's head. I'm lucky I got out of there as normal as I am right now.'

I walked up a set of stairs along with the group, where it appeared that all of our rooms were on the 2nd floor. Each one of us had our own separate room booked, and we were free to pick and choose which one we wanted. They were probably all pretty similar though, so I didn't even bother scouting everything out, unlike Rarity who was spending her time checking out every single room - I simply picked one at random and walked right in. Unlike all of the colorful rainbows that completely surrounded this place, the room had more of a brown, homey feel to it - probably to contrast it from the rest of the village so guests wouldn't get tired of all the rainbows. I walked over to the bed that was right next to a window, and I looked outside, taking in the view. There really wasn't much I felt like doing though - I couldn't stop thinking about Duston still being alive - so I eventually just laid down and thought over it. I almost felt kind of restless, but after enough dull thinking, I eventually drifted off to sleep.





I was the first one awake the next day, and I was still pretty restless - I wanted to leave. It was probably only around five in the morning, and the sun wasn't even up yet. I found myself pacing back and forth in my room for a short time, before eventually figuring that I might as well take a look around the town - maybe mess around with my magic too. I quietly exited my room and made my way down the stairs of the hotel to the first floor, where I proceeded to exit and head outside. The first thing I was met with was a cold, chilly breeze, and I shivered as I looked around.

'Right, we're pretty high up in Equestria now - things are gonna be cold. Definitely gotta make sure I'm ready for that when we head for Mount Everhoof.' In a way it was pretty crazy how it felt like the cold air was penetrating right through my leather jacket, so for the time being I created another jacket with my magic - this one made of wool. I put it on and put the hoodie up over my head, before beginning my walk through the village.

The town appeared to be just about entirely constructed on-top of mountains, where I could even see houses in the distance that looked like they were right along the edge of the rocky formations. The rivers made entirely of rainbows were definitely weird to look at, and after a short walk around, it quickly became apparent that this was a pretty small village. 'I wonder what it's like going in one of those rainbow rivers. Not about to try that right now though - maybe when there's less things going on I will. Too much shit affecting my head right now.'

Eventually I managed to survive the boredom as the ponies began to wake from their slumbers. I was armed and ready to go, and through the radio contact that I had with my clone, I confirmed that he was ready and over-looking us from the makeshift base. The time was nearing seven in the morning, and it seemed as if we were getting ready to depart. At the moment we were all currently gathered at the front of the hotel, where we looked over our supplies and made sure that we were all ready for the freezing cold challenge ahead. I was still equipped with the usual: two G18s, the Model 1887, the leather jacket, and the two regular handguns from earlier - one of them being non-magical from back on Earth. On-top of all of that though, I had a wool coat, and I had also decided to create more clothing for my legs. Cold weather wasn't exactly something I liked.

"Everypony, please double-check to make sure that you aren't missing anything." Celestia spoke up. "Once we're at Mount Everhoof, we won't be able to return until tomorrow. Our ride can't stay in those kind of conditions, so I have instructed the royal guards to return to what the designated place of arrival will be at nine in the morning tomorrow, and then to re-visit every twelve hours from there on out in-case we haven't returned by then."

"I think I got everything I need." Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "And when I say that, what I mean is that I hope everyone else knows what they're doing, because I sure don't! I'm good getting ready for parties, not sub-zero temperatures!"

"As long as we stick together, we should all be fine." Applejack remarked. "If anypony strays off, ah can't guarantee them coming back safely."

"Yeah, if I wear anymore jackets I'm not gonna be able to move." Rainbow responded. "Is it that cold up there?"

"Yes it is, Rainbow Dash." Celestia replied. With that there was a short silence as the princess overlooked the rest of the group, to which her gaze eventually reached me. "Are you ready as well, Klade?"

After hearing everyone else talk about how cold it was supposedly going to be, I wondered if I was underestimating just what kind of weather I was going to be running into. With that in mind, I decided to be safe by creating yet another wool jacket, putting it on over my other one - at this point I was wearing three jackets at once. "I am now."

"Good. Then let us depart for Mount Everhoof." With that, we all made our way over to the carriage, where we entered one by one until we were all snuggly fitted inside. Everypony seemed eager to leave, as was I - was Duston really going to be there..? Something was telling me that it was just another false flag, but I wanted to believe - he had to still be alive. He just had to. The guard's wings began to flap, and we lifted off into the air shortly afterwards, heading straight in the direction of the peak.