//------------------------------//
// Shadow Venture 
// Story: FoE: Snippet Story 
// by Windrunner 
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'

Somewhere in the unending dimness a shadow unlike all others has been stirred to vile action. A most distressing happenstance. So harrowing its mere appearance enough to strike absolute terror in any unfortunate enough to stand in the way of whatever arcane objective is its want. No mercy, no quarter is to be expected of such miserable power emanating from this void of existence. The existence of such a shadow a terrifying malediction upon reality. Only able to hate and long. Yearning only for an end that has as yet not been forthcoming no matter how far those hoof-steps reach. An unyielding quandary of misery and pain personified, pursued by staunch pretenders to the light or so he would deem them.

He alone holds such power as to turn their hope to despair in less than an instant. His own son now, perhaps, seeking his destruction. This turn of events is the dullest of knife-edges. Reaver, himself a shadowy darkness accompanies his pursuers in possibly a mere act of defiance and little more. Whether he truly desires to perform this action is another question. Traveler and her cohort cannot help but feel trepidation over his presence. In time, maybe. For the moment his is little more than uninvited terror and cold they must suffer at her insistence. She has not been wrong thus far. That may only be sheer luck and little intuition. Despite it all, the real terror of their quarry lay ahead and he has proven true strength.

How did it come to this? Each of them wonder. This was nothing of what they sought. Even the old griffon turns aside from his own self-destruction to pursue this most horrible of all horrors. It cannot be allowed. No matter what it takes, this must be ended before that horrific shadow envelopes all in death. Painful as it is, there must be another path. Turning one such as he to the greater good is likely an impossibility. Destroy him if they can, contain him if nothing more. Somehow. Does the means to do so even exist? The old ponies might have known. Perhaps not. They knew absolute war, but did they know of this? This chasm of despair and yawning horror which they may have helped create in ignorance? Such pain there.

They cannot aid the living. If they did know, there is no telling. The ponies of ages past left only so much dust in their wake and passing. Could they have felt the slightest tremor of wrong in their unknowable actions? This one is different to them as can be. Magnificent, himself one of those ancient ponies is such a polar opposite it is unbelievable they are from the same age of great works and wonder. Through it all, a current of darkness always hid itself away. Is this the result of misunderstanding? A pony so cursed as to wish all that is to end along with him? That one carries the dark as much the other still holds the slightest hint of old light. Somewhere out there, ahead in the gloom. He is there, calculating, acting.

That shadow is not one of quiet desperation but true action. One might say, at least he is doing. What he is about, however, is demented as can be. Can he truly end the entirety of all reality? Possessing that sort of power has ever and always demanded a high price. Whatever it cost, his price seems different on some fundamental level. Traveler wonders, are we allowed to stop him? He has committed acts most foul, but it would seem Boss only true desire is to destroy himself. Where does that leave them in passing judgment? The old griffon does not know what to offer or proffer. There may be no wisdom or indeed any the wiser in this ultimate gamble. They only know shadows lay ahead. Many, dark and hideous.

The state of the world around Traveler has told her it was once great and grand, mystifying even. Wondering how it fell to this destruction and decay burns inside as few pains can while it reveals that once, life was good. In stories and all else she can see it was so, at least for a time. Whatever came crashing down on them was swift and total. Magnificent in their short travels together never told her much of then, and even that was wondrous for her. She pushes forth to once more be near to him. For now she wants only that. To hear him speak of the real wonders their past held. This time she will insist despite his sadness. Her armor being one of those very things, she wishes to know more. So much more than this tiny slice.

First they must overcome an adversary of unimaginable might. Then perhaps, happiness of some measure could be pursued instead. The wastes have proven one thing to her mind, the state of things is wrong and must be righted, somehow. Any amount of effort, any amount of pain exacted in order to do this endured. Otherwise there will be nothing to pursue at all. So Boss claimed. He appeared certain of his ability to make this happen. Perhaps he is only delusional? Driven insane by want and more pain than she could imagine? Traveler though despising it, finds herself almost pitying him even as they seek out that horror in hopes of halting this immense gesture of possible madness. They must hurry forth.

Boss sounded quite ready and willing to end it all for each and every. As she considers, one slight realization strikes and it hurts so badly. His order took her family away, and now she was plying his own son to turn on him. Did that leave her any better a pony than he was? This truth hurts inside in some way she cannot put into words. Hateful as it is she is treading close to a dark path herself at this rate. Now they find themselves rushing across the endless tracks of blasted wilderness in hopefully close pursuit of their quarry. Some pervasive pall falls over these willful pursuers. They know what the stakes are. The obliteration of all that is, nothing less than that. They chase an absolute insanity across the wastes in this desperation.

Every single living thing everywhere feels this invading shudder in their being of something amiss, not knowing what it might be. A great and indescribable terror descending, leading to imagined sights at the corners of vision and imagination. There is little need to imagine danger in the ruins, that has been real enough for all remembered time. This is no slight thing, but an envelopment of everything. A thing not meant to be treads across the world and in its wake comes misgiving and horror. A veritable abomination naming itself the consumer, in trite defiance of any norm. His hoofprints appear normal to the inexperienced eye, but even they lie as to their actual truth.

Time is winding down much like an ancient watch. The rusted springs still somehow managing to tick by the unremembered seconds. The furtive glances that say, help us. Death is coming. Not the slow death of passing time, but a great shadow consuming all it encounters leaving even the bravest aghast in terror. Agape at the evil passing them by, and at worst..noticing them. A rustling horror creeping across the land carrying with it no remorse or pity. The only destination of this creature summoned forth from nightmares stalks the lonely broken lands and crumbling highways once rife with the comings and goings of the living. Now, all is silent. A pervasive silence that little bit too empty. Ringing that much too eerily. 

Something is beyond wrong. Something lamentable and sick.
"Traveler, I know we are making good time but we still need to stop and rest. You and..well, Reaver are just too fast for the rest of us and we cannot keep up the same pace I'm sorry to say." The old griff was even huffing hard, and right of course. She knew he was, nodding her agreement as Moonlight whirred in that odd way it did when left in defense mode. It could not act entirely of its own accord, but immobile as it was without a wearer it could indeed cover one direction in a fairly wide arc. It felt good having such protection even if it would mean little against the one they sought.

This was a hard slog over rough terrain for a decent distance before evening out somewhat again. They must be nearing. It was to be hoped.
"I'm sorry to be pushing you all so hard. You know what he said would happen and we don't have the slightest idea when or where he is going to do..whatever he is going to do. I still wonder who that weird pony was that went running after them beside Magnificent." The shock of both meeting and fighting off her own deceased parents combined into some hideous beast had been terribly hard for Traveler to truly shake off and it showed.

She was now recovering better having had some time since burying them. A proper goodbye actually helped despite the terrible circumstance surrounding it.
"You speak highly of this..Magnificent you said? Who IS he, really?" Tasket asked, mostly to steer the conversation towards something less dire for a while.
"He is..a great pony from the past." Traveler replied, eliciting a somewhat askew hmph from Reaver who was as usual sitting somewhat away from the rest of them.

Traveler tried to get him involved in their conversations and even asked him to come closer but he remained aloof as ever. Dark, mysterious. Most of all, dangerous. Despite this she tried again and again to find something with which to engage his interest more. So far all such efforts had been simply rebuffed, refused and mostly outright ignored. He revealed little and said as little most of the time. Not that any truly desired to hear that voice. It had the echo of his terrible father. A sire so foreboding and stern that simply thinking of him elicited fear bubbling from deep within.
"He saved my life.. kind of." Tanner said enthusiastically. Traveler smiled at him.

He still held Magnificent in some sort of elevated awe despite his insistence he was just like any other pony. It didn't matter to Tanner. In a way she agreed.
"Magnificent went through a lot of terrible things. Maybe more than all of us combined. He always looked so..hurt when he spoke of the past. I guess..losing a great world like he said is something I do not really understand or how it happened." Traveler spoke sullenly but animatedly about him. Tisket looked puzzled by this. The rest murmured agreement.

"We have all lost something important. I do not think there is anyone that has not." Gunnar unlike usual looked forlorn as well when he spoke.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Traveler sighed a little.
"Daydreaming?" Tisket asked.
"What?" Traveler sort of snapped to at the question.
"What do you mean?" She asked pointedly.

"Whenever you mention him you get all glazed in the eyes, like him that much do you!?" Tasket kinda elbowed her gently.
"I-I..he's like two hundred years old!" Traveler blurted out in response, hoping her blush wasn't really obvious.
"Oh, so he's really experienced then, sounds like fun to me!" Tasket continued to rib her a little in a friendly fashion. Traveler went a little wide-eyed, unexpectedly bolting off to slip behind a large rock out of sight.
"Hey, wait. Traveler, come back!" Tasket yelled after her and went to follow but the griffon waved her to sit back down.

"Aw what's nipping her flanks? She shouldn't be all by herself. It may not be safe around here. There is an old city ahead after all." Tasket intoned a little indignantly. The old griff just finished preening a couple feathers before speaking.
"She'll be fine. Just give her some time. I think she's..afraid of losing anyone else." He made a good point there.
"I have never met anypony like her before. I don't know if she's crazy, lucky, or just reckless for amusement like my crazy brother!" She poked him in the side. 
"Hay!" He went to speak but she didn't let him.

"Have you noticed it? Any of you? Traveler actually seems to...to care about what happens to us. No one ever has..I.. but she acts so strange and walks right into things that would have killed all of us and right back out without a scratch on her!" Tasket looked both concerned and somewhat bemused by that fact. Oddly, Reaver mumbled something quietly.
"I do that too.." He sounded quite indignant but was so far away it was difficult to tell if they heard that correctly.
"What was that, Reaver you say something?" Gunnar stood and stretched out his askew wings as he asked.
"Nothing." Was his only real response. It was so hard to deal with his presence for all of them.

Taking some inspiration from Traveler, the heavy griffon tried to get him to at least talk to the group about something. Anything at all.
"If you have anything to add or wish to speak about you are welcome to do so." Gunnar chose what he said very carefully but tried to pass it off as general conversation. Actually getting a read on Reaver was impossible.
"Such pointless futility and folly." Reaver said in that oddly guttural and disturbingly angering voice he shared with his father.

Despite this they had all witnessed and heard when he actually sounded like he was genuinely enjoying something during the battle with the strange pony things near the forest remnants.
"Look, That is your father talking. We do not expect you to pretend love for our company or like us at all but you are with our group now and if we are to fight side by side I at least want to know the pony I am fighting with." The lilac mare spoke directly. Reaver grunted deeply.
"Fight? The only thing that is going to happen will be father killing us all." Reaver looked off into the distance.

"Well isn't he just a bundle of hope and joy!?" Tisket said loudly on purpose. Reaver did not seem to respond at that.
"Let's all just get rested up. Turn in. There may be.. some kind of battle to join soon." The old griff looked to the distant ancient city ruins ahead apprehensively. He did not like the feeling ahead, or surrounding anymore.
"I don't like the look of that place. It feels wrong and gives me a bad feeling inside somehow." He mentioned as they all got settled and began their usual watch rotation. Reaver was not yet given a watch by himself.
"Do you think we should let him take a watch? Might get him to trust us more." Tanner asked quietly before settling.

"Or give him the perfect chance to kill us all without a fight." Tisket replied sourly. Tasket scowled a little.
"If he wanted to try again, wouldn't he have? He's done nothing but help since joining us. Let him his space, I've seen this kind of thing before." The old griff spoke roughly. He had? This was never mentioned to the rest until now.
"Ya did?" Tisket questioned. They all looked at him.
"Not the same. A lone griffon joined my old talon once. He acted the same for a long time, and no I won't say why." With that he closed his eyes.

"Well great. Whatever big guy, so long as he fights for and not against us I don't even care." Tisket mumbled and lay on her side heavily. It was always difficult to sleep with Reaver around. None of them truly trusted his intentions yet, but he did not seem to notice at all or perhaps did not care about them either. It was Taskets turn to take watch right now. He walked towards where Traveler rushed off to earlier to find her sort of gazing mindlessly at her surroundings.
"Traveler, I'm on watch. you should stick with the group. It might not be safe around here you know." He said softly not to startle her. She glanced over at him. She was over whatever that reaction was.

"Uh, yeah. I just..needed a moment. That's all." Traveler stood up and stretched, wordlessly walking back towards their chosen campsite. Hmm. Well that was a little odd of her. Oh well. Unlike the rest of them Traveler appeared to be far more relaxed. Tasket roamed about them in a circle. Nothing particularly stood out about this area. Just some natural rises and the usual bits of worthless junk laying all about in increasing amounts the closer they got to what was left of the ancient city. Ponies and most others generally avoided those places. They were things of the old ones where horrible creatures were said to roam or otherwise occupied by those you wanted to avoid. All manner of unnamed horrors could be abound.

The night was uneventful as they took their watches. None really slept the best, but they were about to begin a faceoff with the most dangerous possible out of all opponents. Who could guess what he might do or have in store ahead? His motivations were supposedly not unclear but his own actions were strange. Why even bother telling them what he was going to do in the first place? If he said nothing about it and simply left they would have no idea and most certainly would not be trying to follow him. Boss or whatever his name really was had been said to be highly intelligent by all accounts. This did not appear to be the action of such an intelligent pony. Did he want them to give chase? Where was Magnificent?

At least if they could find him and the blue pony that took off after him there might be a better chance of surviving. It was already a slim possibility they could stop Boss anyway so any advantage which could be gleaned would mean a great deal for their small groups chances. So few were aware of what Boss was going to do. What was he going to do? Traveler only knew he brought pain and peril with him wherever he went. If he was telling the truth then it could partially be understood why. Was there any real possibility of stopping him? Boss was ridiculously powerful. More than his son. Reaver was even betrayed by him, treated terribly and simply abandoned. Traveler knew the wastes as harsh, but that felt wrong.

As Traveler woke for yet another interminable day of searching for their target, some tense feeling overtook her. Furtively looking around there was nothing obviously amiss. As usual Reaver was apart from the group. She sighed, but that feeling of inner turmoil rose further. It got to the point her expression made it clear something was bothering her. The old griffon spoke.
"Traveler, you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright?" He asked as the others made a small breakfast to share between them. Most of their supplies except for that awful cereal of hers were still relatively low and soon that as well.

The others could not tolerate eating it. Traveler found that a little amusing despite it all and their situation.
"I..don't know. I can't explain it but I feel like something big and terrifying is nearing us. Awful and sickening." Traveler told him. The others except Reaver all looked over in concern.
"What, more terrifying than him?" Tasket motioned with her head towards Reaver, just a little bit in jest. Far off in the distance, Traveler was certain she could feel something coming, but how? She shook her head trying to clear it.
"We are all right here. Whatever you choose to do, we will follow." Gunnar said in hopes of making her feel better.

Traveler slowly nodded her head. This feeling was overwhelming. Surprisingly she stood and walked straight on over to Reaver. If he had eyes she would say he was looking at her suspiciously. What an odd thing to think.
"Do you feel it?" She asked directly.
"I do." He replied tersely in that voice that still made them shiver.
"Doesn't it bother you?" Traveler questioned him, hoping he would engage just a little more.
"No." Was his only response, simply sitting there as though nothing were wrong.

If she was anticipating any further reaction it was not happening. Traveler returned to the others and inspected her armor suit. It brought her so far and helped her survive so much. It was still quite clean thanks to that unusual metal Magnificent said the old ponies made it out of, but it clearly carried battle damage. She worried if it would be able to stand up to much more. She rubbed a hoof across the side of the suit slowly. It still held that oddity of feeling as if friendly. Was it supposed to do that? It almost seemed possessed of some otherworldly intelligence itself, but that was surely her imagination? Magnificent only referred to it as a machine, possibly even a dangerous one for some reason he did not say.

"I hope you're up to this, Moonlight. Something big and dangerous is out there. I'm sure of it." Traveler said as it merely continued to slowly pan back and forth defensively. Perhaps it truly was just a machine, but Traveler felt as though it had intention somehow. A machine as she understood it could only act as it was told, or made to. That was what he said. This just did not seem to fit in regards to this amazing suit. Traveler knew it might be silly, but it did save her life more than once by now just by virtue of existing in the first place. The tense feeling inside was slowly getting worse as they picked up their gear. Out there. She hoped moving from this location might lessen the feeling. She stepped into her armor once again.

As they walked on, all were silent for a while. Occasionally Traveler would look off in one direction or another. It was not reassuring. The few times Traveler ever said something, or simply acted she was proven unusually correct and they all knew this. Reaver was slowly being given more trust and leeway about where he could be in relation to them all. Usually off to one side or the other, but still distanced by his own choice to a much further degree than the rest. Traveler did explain to them why it was not a good idea to bunch up too closely and they did keep a good modicum of distance between them since then. This was a taxing mission they'd set for themselves. Find and face off against Boss? Could they win?

"I can't stand this. Her looking all over like that out ahead of us is making me real nervous." Tisket said to one in particular.
"I thought you wanted to be real mercs?" Gunnar joked back at her.
"Very funny. When we started out we were not going to be facing some madpony and who knows what else. That stallion creeps me out worse than his son does! Can we even stop him? I think he is not somepony to mess with!" Tisket said sort of quietly. As best he could Gunnar grimaced and huffed while sort of shaking his head. He clacked his beak solidly.

"We have to try. There is no one else and no time to find more backup. This I'm afraid is on us alone." The old griff rarely did betray his emotions, but it was clear he knew what was at stake with this. The whole world, or whatever was left.
"This is way too much. Why does it fall on us do this all by ourselves? This is just not a fair fight. He's unbelievably strong and dangerous!" Tasket interjected. He wasn't wrong. Reaver by himself could probably have wiped them out by now if he chose that path. Through some nearly random act Traveler managed to convince him to at least give them a chance. This may very well prove fatal if he decided not to fight his own father.

Throughout the day they approached the ancient city ruins. Distances were extremely deceptive around here. By the end of what ponies understood to be daytime it barely looked like they were much closer to the vast city, but closer they were. Traveler felt horribly spooked. With every step she imagined something awful happening which made her perhaps overly cautious and furtive. She knew this was becoming obvious to the others. The strange tension she felt did not cease or lessen at all, only becoming worse as they made their way forward. Something, vile and terrible was seeking them even as they sought their sole target. Stop Boss at any cost. This was their only mission now.

The strange sensation gaining more power all the time was a true strain on her mind. What could it be? She'd never felt like this in all her life. Traveler constantly searched the horizon for some sign of trouble that seemed reluctant to show itself. Each step of hers felt heavy and sluggish though they weren't. Once more they stopped. A single day more and they would surely enter the destroyed city. What might it hold? This feeling was unbearable but could only be endured. The rest were on edge, but did not feel nearly like Traveler did. Alarm bells were ringing in her entire body constantly. Be alert. Be careful. Death is close once more. That was how she felt. She did not tell the others that part of it.

Worrying them further would only distract and depress what little hope they did have of success in this most important of all things. Reaver did not at all appear affected by this feeling surrounding them. By now they did all feel it. A great wrong all about them, but nothing showed or happened, yet. It was tiring feeling this way. Sleep was becoming difficult to come by, only snatched in fits and starts. This night when Traveler finally felt sleeps embrace take her it was also wrong. Inhabited by dark thoughts and feeling. Trembling emotions writhing and rising up inside, twisting their meanings. There she stood amid and directly in the center of a great surrounding ring of stones. They looked imbued with some chaotic fire.

Bursting and blazing forth as dark shadows danced all about beyond. All ablaze with some indescribable language of ever shifting runes and words one could not quite read before twisting into others. All the while danger felt to be ringing her more and more closely. Slithering about just outside the licking flames. This did not seem to be a dream. It both looked and felt like actuality and reality in stark contrast. Traveler heard a horrible cacophony of hoarse throaty noise and guttural hisses and screeches all around which made her shiver in place, not daring to move so much as an inch in fear of what else it may trigger. Why was she here? This was a bad place. A forgotten place.

A place meant to remain abandoned, lost to the depths of time itself forever. Not even the dead should be here. Absolutely none and nothing should be here. She looked up to gasp in horror as a gigantic abomination blotted out the sky and withered all it touched, even the very ground where it strode and all was fiery dust and ash as she burst into flames. Traveler screamed and jumped awake causing the entire party to startle. Panicked cries of what, what is it?; filled the air.
"It's here!" She yelled and ran straight to get into Moonlight fast as she could manage.
"What's going on? Why all the yelling? I don't see anything. What?" Tanner looked around only to find it barely morning.

The sky dark as ever. At this moment he felt that stark terror, they all did. Something was indeed approaching at a rapid pace. Even Reaver almost looked apprehensive for once. What could this be? It was loud. It was huge. They all hid behind what little cover behind the wretched remains of a small storage building or whatever it once was. The ground itself felt like it was shaking from whatever was approaching or passing by. Peeking out just barely to try and see the immense thing grinding by in the distance Traveler could not believe her eyes. Nor could she believe what the suit display was showing. It made no sense in any way she could comprehend. A list of full specs, but something was extremely strange about all of it.

The revving rolling tracked monstrosity was identified, but it was truly senseless to her. The hovering display detailed all sorts of information she never expected her suit to glean or know, but this marvel was tarnished somehow. The list of things being conveyed was so far out of her limited knowledge it nearly hurt to think about. Unexpectedly the suit did something it only did one single time before now. The others were cowering from the noise alone. Traveler was too raptly intent on the info display to even notice currently. Once more a blue colored flicker crossed her floating gauges. What was happening? Moonlight again warbled out in that hefty deep mechanical tone it always held.

“Extreme danger. Condition: Blue.” It made that same odd clicking sound like before as it spoke. This was bad. The only time Moonlight ever made that statement was before they were all nearly killed. All could only hunker and hope to avoid notice by this..thing. A rolling tracked behemoth of a machine that made little or no sense. She read the info display:

Class: Ultra-Heavy Party Tank
Primary Armament : 2 Buck & Slammer Party Howitzer
Secondary Weapon : 4 Glitz & Glam Glitter Launcher
Defensive Capability: 2 Piston Dispersion Hammer
Pinks Defender Fractionite Paints
Aegis Capable

What the? They could not move an inch. If they did they may draw this..things attention. Why would anypony create a monstrous thing like this? It defied belief. Did this have anything to do with Boss? It could, but there was no way to tell. This roving horror trundled by and turned directly towards the tiny bit of cover they were afforded. This was insane. If it did not turn away they would have to move or be crushed beneath this immense mechanical menace. Fortunately for them for whatever reason it pivoted away and trundled on at high speed, while blaring some inane seeming nonsense in a voice much like Moonlight's. Why were these things always so loud!? Were the old ponies obsessed with noise?

"SENSORY INPUTS INDICATE NO PARTY WINNER DETECTED. SNAPPING TO BEARING 63.5. SWEEP CONTINUING." It was so loud. It moved off into the distance. They all looked to each other. Even Reaver appeared to do so. Party winner?
"What in all the world was that thing!?" Tisket of all them blurted a little too noisily.
"SHH!" They all responded. He winced as he realized what just did.
"Sorry, Reaver do you know what that was?" He asked more quietly. The strange pony shook his head, somehow almost appearing amused by this turn of events.

"It appeared like one of the field battle robots of old, but something was very strange about it." He looked perplexed as the rest of them. If he did not know, then it truly was strange. This was disturbing. They weren't even in the city proper yet. They very cautiously stepped out from behind their extremely minor bit of cover. The incredibly noisy machine had trundled off into the distance. That was insane. Traveler could only think to herself on why anyone would ever have created such a strangely menacing thing.
"I think we should move ahead now before that thing comes back. hopefully it won't." She urged them all to get going.

Off towards the old city. Beyond that incident nothing else untoward happened. It was otherwise quite dull. A deceptive feeling as they approached. Distantly the city itself was in no better shape than expected. Old and decrepit, but still full of wonder. This was truly dangerous. Some hours later they stopped in what would be considered the true outskirts of the place. Traveler held up an armored hoof and they halted. After taking a good look around they all agreed as night was approaching they should choose somewhere out of sight here to camp. Wandering around an area none of them knew at all could very easily end poorly for all of them. Of them only Reaver had been here before, but not for any lengthy period.

Traveler chose to take first watch as the sky dimmed from endlessly dull to true night. She sighed as she looked up at the sky.  Magnificent told her it did not always look this way. It sounded marvelous the way he described it. Tanner surprised her in her revery.
"Hey, whatcha looking at?" His words startled her a little. She felt glad to still be hidden within her armor suit.
"Tanner, maybe don't sneak up on ponies like that?" He tilted his head as she said that. What?
"Doesn't that fancy armor of yours tell you everything?" Tanner asked, genuinely curious.

She shook her head side to side.
"Not..everything. Sometimes it even seems to be completely wrong. Well, not wrong. It's hard to explain. Say, you wanna try it?" Traveler was feeling a bit devious.
"Try it!? Uh, I don't know about that. It's yours and I have no idea about it and what if I mess it up or something and.." He was stammering. Traveler shushed him.
"Relax. Just relax. It's not going to bite you, I promise." She coaxed.

"Just for a few minutes so you can see what I see, okay?" Traveler exited the suit using the hooftap and spent the next several moments explaining to him how to get in properly.
"Well, alright. You're sure this is okay?" Tanner asked somewhat nervously. Traveler nickered under her breath.
"Did you say something?" He was feeling truly apprehensive about this.
"Just take it easy and get in. I'm right here." Traveler encouraged him as best she could. She uttered nearly the very same command her father once did for her and that hefty mechanical voice acknowledged.

Tanner blinked and nodded then boldly began to awkwardly try and get into Moonlight. Traveler burst out laughing at how ungainly he looked as he fumbled about trying to get in past the closure bars.
"You make this look so easy." She could hear him say a bit muffled as he was not yet in properly. She assisted insofar as helping get positioned correctly. Moonlight sealed around him. It did frighten him some.
"Aah!" Tanner blurted.
"Whoa, what is it?" She asked him calmly.

"All this stuff I'm seeing. What is it? It's dizzying. There's so much!" He was breathing so hard it could be heard in his speech.
"Now calm down. I told you there was a lot didn't I?" Traveler had a bit of a mischievous thought.
"So, Tanner, I am going to stand on the other side of this little pile of junk. When you can get on top of it we will consider another lesson." Traveler moved to the other side of the debris pile there.
"Wait, what? I don't. Traveler..come back here." Tanner promptly landed splayed out on his side with a minor clank.

Traveler smirked. Did she really look like that back when she first tried to maneuver Moonlight herself? For the next hour she giggled and laughed quietly at Tanners rather failing attempts to stand and move properly in the armor.
"Traveler, how do you stand in this thing!? Every time I move it does something else!" He bemoaned his situation and flailed, promptly causing the armor suit to land on it's face, metal horn jabbing into the pile and hind legs in the air. That was too much for Traveler, she bellowed with laughter causing the others to all wake and come running to their location.
"What's going on, is everything..." The old griffon arrived first and upon seeing the upended suit began laughing.

Quite hysterically. The rest arrived in short order and after establishing what was going on all burst into heavy laughter together. Reaver did also come to find out what the commotion was and each could swear they heard him wheezing or something, like he was trying to hide his amusement. Was he finally starting to come around a little?
"Very funny. Why don't you try it? This is not so easy!" Tanner muttered from within the suit as he caused it to once more to slip, flopping onto the side and gathering more laughs from them all.
"Oh come on!" He moaned. Traveler finally got hold of herself, still smirking and gasping for breath at the sight.

"Tanner, follow what I said about it. Do not rush your motions. Try to..sneak. Like you're trying to hide from something really dangerous." That advice was the best she could come up with. It seemed to work. Ever so slowly Tanner managed to stand properly, eliciting some clapping from the others. Gently he maneuvered atop the pile of rubble.
"You're getting it, see?" She told him to back down off the pile. He did so cautiously, almost slipping once or twice.
"Wow. This is..something. I don't know what to say." Tanner finished stepping off the pile cautiously.
"What got all this started?" Gunnar looked to Traveler, paws clutched his chest from laughing so much.

"He wanted to know what I saw in there. So I showed him." She grinned at the others a bit coyly. The siblings looked to each other. Off to the side it sounded like even Reaver may have let loose a small chuckle, but it was still hard to tell.
"Wouldn't catch me dead in that." Tasket said directly. If only she knew what that really meant, thought Traveler.
"You wear armor too.." Traveler pointed out, making Tasket look a bit shy for a change.
"Nothing like that. I suppose you really do need some kind of protection no matter who you are." She admitted quietly.
"How do you make sense of all this nonsense it's showing me?" Tanner sounded rather confused.

Traveler tried to explain as much about it as she could as the others listened. They all never really asked about it before. It was simply something they all came to be familiar with being there.
"Well, it does some impressive things. I will just continue to trust my instincts. They've served me well enough." Gunnar mused. It was difficult to keep the mood light despite the very much needed moment of levity. Tanner was helped out of the suit. He shook his head and looked over at Moonlight in awe of the technology within.
"It feels like you could do so much inside that thing, but I wouldn't know where to start." Tanner mused.

They could not afford to spend any more time than necessary resting and recovering, at the same time they could not exhaust themselves completely. It was a difficult balance to maintain, but there was no choice in the matter.
"You realize we are heading straight into a trap, right?" Gunnar stated as a simple fact to everyone. It was true.
"Of course we are. I walk into far too many of those." Traveler said, only half joking. Her expression took on a sullen far away look which Gunnar took note of.
"Traveler, are you alright?" His concern was obvious. She sighed in response heavily.

"No one should have to do this, and nobody should be like Boss. Nothing else either. I..I think I feel sorry for him." She explained. All the others looked quite distressed hearing this from her. Sorry for that monstrous apparition of a pony?
"But, Traveler, he has done horrible awful things to you, and doubtlessly to many others. How can you say that?" Gunnar looked at her pointedly.
"I am not saying any of this is right. He just seemed to be in so much pain. More pain than anybody could possibly take without..losing themself." Traveler sort of sniffled a little and relaxed, shaking her head forlornly.

"Maybe we cannot stand and judge, but we absolutely must do anything we can to stop him. Right?" Tanner said quietly. All nodded in agreement. If it could be told even Reaver looked sad by this fact. Who could blame him? Whatever else was done, they were going to try and stop his own father and he was going to help. If that was truly his aim. He did save them once already. It was clearly not something he needed to do. All they could do was hope.
"To put it bluntly, it might not matter anymore but we have plenty of water and not enough food left. Something horrible is waiting for us in this city and we may not survive." Gunnar pointed out their predicament.

Traveler stood up and stretched, looking to each for a brief moment after he spoke.
"I thought I would never have anyone around me I cared about again. If these are to be our final hours I want you to know I how I feel about all of you. I am happy to be with you, all of you, whatever happens." As she finished the rest of them sort of blanched and looked about awkwardly. Gunnar sort of coughed and stretched.
"I suppose we better start searching. This city isn't going to just offer up their location to us. We should spread out, but do not get out of sight of one another. Our only chance to succeed is as a group, agreed?" Gunnar suggested.

"I think that is the right way to approach this." Traveler commented as she clambered back into Moonlight. The now quite familiar inside of the suit offering some degree of comforting surrounding. It was the only small comfort offered as they set off to explore deeper within the city. She found herself wondering what some of these buildings once were. Some were simple short squat affairs, some with odd rounded stack protruding above, and some were monolithic towering ruins where who knew what happened within ages ago. All seemed to proffer some sense of sad reflection as though housing within them some old memory of happier times. Merely ruins, but also conveying somehow a sense of dread.

"Too bad that armor of yours cannot just tell us where to look." Tanner mused.
"I wish it could, but it can only do so much. Right now it is only showing ourselves." Traveler mumbled as they marched along in a sort of line. They'd determined to simply go straight where they could and work along. Some places she was forced to turn them back from rad warnings ahead. This place was exceedingly dangerous. Traveler felt grateful to her suit for that. Magnificent told her just a few horrible things that warning could mean when they were talking. They all sounded horrible. The old crumbling city seemed to offer little. Perhaps a fleeting figure now and then. Maybe imagination.

Many hours passed as they searched and sought, finding little to nothing.
"When I thought of adventures, they always seemed..less boring." Traveler stated to no one in particular.
"Someone once told me, never speak about things getting worse, or they just might." Gunnar replied at a distance as he looked about. That made Traveler feel a little chilled.
"Guess we will go that way next." He pointed a claw at a bend around some indistinct dilapidated structure. Whatever it once was totally unclear now. Travel called out for a halt as they rounded the corner of the building. Huh?

"Something is ahead, by that smashed building across the road." She said and they approached cautiously into visual range. A very odd thing was hovering by the building. A hovering ball of what looked like crystal, merely floating there.
"What in the world is that?" Tanner motioned towards it, curious but worried.
"It does not appear hostile. I will check it out." Traveler bravely strode towards it. The sphere remained motionless, in a hover about eye level in front of the ancient shattered ruins of something or other. What could this thing be? It did not react to her approach or presence. This was extremely peculiar.

"Now, what could you be?" She wondered aloud. To her astonishment it replied in a childish sounding tone.
"I am ORB." It stated as Traveler scrambled back a little in surprise. It did nothing else. What was this thing?
"W..what are you?" She asked incredulously.
"I am ORB." It said again. It sounded like a kid. What was happening here? Traveler waved the rest to come over.
"This thing is very strange. Anyone have any idea what it is?" Traveler questioned. They all shook their heads, save Reaver who was his usual generally aloof self and just gazed at it. Whatever gazing meant in his case. Gunnar tried asking.

"What are you supposed to be?" He hoped for something useful in response.
"I am ORB." It replied yet again. Ergh. Why was this object so interesting but so annoying and obstinate?
"This thing is already starting to annoy me. Why would anyone make such a thing? This is really dumb." He sighed as he spoke. Tanner tried his luck with it.
"Do you know where are we?" He hoped it would be possible to get more out of it somehow.
"You are before ORB." It never moved from its position, merely kept saying similar things to that. How grating.

"Well, this thing must've had some kind of purpose, right? What could it be? Hey, wait a minute. This thing looks a lot like a much larger version of that ball thing in my cart.." Traveler said. That was rather unusual. It was about the size of her head. Just floating. The two siblings circled around it. It looked the same from every angle. Just a weird hovering sphere. Did the old ponies make such a thing? What could it possibly have been used for? Perhaps Magnificent could answer that question if they ever caught up with him. He must be in the city somewhere along with that super fast blue pony.

If they were still alive was a thought she kept to herself.
"Why are you here?" Tisket tried speaking to it.
"I am.." Tisket stopped it from saying it yet again.
"Yes, you're ORB. We get it, what's wrong with you ya stupid thing!?" Tisket was getting a little overwrought about the weird sphere. Then.. it started crying. Why would such a thing cry?
"I..I am..ORB!" It whined and cried. What in the world?

"Wha.. uhh..we are sorry, alright?" Traveler tried to..calm it down? Why was she even bothering with this thing? It ceased sobbing. What was that all about? This was crazy. They were speaking to a floating ball that cried. Tasket leaned back against the remains of a wall and sighed heavily, looking at it with a glare.
"I think this is a waste of tiii..OOFF!" Somehow from above a pony came crashing down on top of him upside down causing him to crumple to the ground in a poof of dust along with him. What the? Traveler's suit had not picked up anything living in this area. A mare with an oddly clean looking coat of white and yellow. Who? What?

The mare got up and dusted herself off then looked at Tasket with a decidedly odd expression then blinked a couple of times.
"How dare you stop me from dying!?" She yelled at him loudly. What in the world? Dying? What is happening?
"Tasket, are you alright!?" Tisket asked quickly. Here in the remains of an ancient city something truly weird was taking place. Tasket stood up, brushing off his barding and shook his head clear then nodded. The strange mare must have fallen off the roof of this old squat structure? The entire situation was making very little sense. The mare looked around.

"Ho hey, an ORB!" She exclaimed, drawing some irate looks from the entire group she did not seem to notice at all. Was this mare completely insane or something? Almost as if in confirmation of this thought she turned around and bucked the thing so hard it shattered into thousands of pieces, revealing a small item of some kind she picked up in her muzzle marked 'P. Core'.
"What is going on here? Who ARE you, and what are you doing!?" Gunnar questioned harshly as she dropped it and leaned down quite suddenly for some reason and exclaimed jubilantly.

"Oh wow, a bit!" The weird mare said excitedly, as she ducked some kind of projectile was fired past her head, just missing and ricocheting off the building back in the direction it just came from and with a loud PANG somepony yelled out in pain, falling off an opposing rooftop to land in a crumple across what was left of the old roadway. Likely dead.
"Not again! Third time today they missed me! Stop missing me! Darnit!" She said and looked depressed now, sulking.
Were they under attack!? Everyone was thinking in unison. Nothing further seemed to be happening at the moment.
"Traveler, I uh.. I have no idea. Reaver?" Gunnar looked in his direction and he actually shrugged his shoulders.

Just as confused about this as the rest. This was so confusing. They decided to leave this crazy mare alone for now and examine the body, approaching it cautiously. Whoever it was had a rickety looking sniper rifle laying beside them, shattered from the returning bullet. How was that even possible? It was nearly a precision hit. The sheer absurdity of this happening struck all of them. How could anyone be so lucky, or unfortunate? Was this some kind of madness coming over them all?
"My suit is picking up nothing else, but that doesn't seem to mean anything.." Traveler mumbled. It was true. It did not detect either of these ponies. Not so much as a hint of them really.

Was it malfunctioning that badly or was something else interfering? There was no way to tell. Was anything going on right now even real? Who was this mare?
"We need to go. Magnificent must be in this city somewhere, so must Boss. Just standing around here is dangerous after that shot. Someone might have heard that commotion. Just wish we knew where to go." Tanner reminded them. Yes, they had been badly distracted by this and that could have drawn attention from who knew what in such a place.
"Yeah, let's get going." Traveler motioned and they resumed the search of the old immense city.

Tanner peered behind them as they resumed their search. He noted movement.
"I hate to tell you this, but I think that lunatic mare is following us.." He told the rest. They all vaguely looked back. If anything she just appeared to be wandering about at random, yet still keeping within sight range somehow. Her friendly marker on the armor HUD continually flickered in and out. That was so extremely strange. It reminded Traveler of some time ago, when they faced off against a pony who seemed so sad and so horrifying. She could not be similar, right? This mare looked harmless enough to them. As long as she took no offensive action, Traveler suggested just leaving her alone.

Whoever the mare was, how she acted definitely counted as unusual. Harmless seemingly. Moonlight was making no suggestion of her being at all dangerous in any capacity. Traveler knew better than to entirely trust that assessment. It could be flawed. It had been before, possibly. It was extremely difficult to tell and she really knew nothing of how the suit truly operated. Magnificent only knew the specification of his own suit and older armor, and could only relay how to use her suit more effectively to some degree. It did help. If only they could find him. He must have come here as well. Where did he go? Boss was certainly in this city, they were fairly sure of this. Running into him would be a true test of mettle.

What would they really do when coming up against that horror made flesh? For all appearances he was just a pony like her. His mere presence felt utterly deathly and wrong. What happened to him? Magnificent said he was a friend once. Could something really change a pony that drastically? The pony she knew as Boss was seemingly insane, but in some cold and calculating manner that contradicted that description. He absolutely knew what he was doing. This made him epically dangerous. To have so much power and wield it so coolly unnerved her greatly just to think about. A power they must confront and somehow put up a fight against. Traveler knew nothing of this. Only the terror emanating from him.

Reaver was bad enough. His father was all but otherworldly. Why was he so set on this course of action? It really made no sense when considered in full. Was there something else driving his actions? It was almost like his decisions were made by consensus or something. Did someone else hold sway over Boss of all ponies? That was an even more unnerving thought.
"Has anyone else thought, what if Boss is being directed by others? Remember those weird like, voices before?" Traveler asked aloud as they searched. Still nothing useful. Tanner replied immediately.

"Oh good heavens no, something more powerful than Boss!? No thank you! Don't even suggest such a thing, Traveler, this is bad enough as it is!" Tanner curtly responded. This got a little chuckle out of her.
"What? Hay! He's dangerous, we all know that. I cannot even think about there being..more." Tanner exclaimed.
"Alright, alright. It was just me thinking out loud. Relax. We aren't in it for our lives just yet." Traveler apologized.
"Well, Tisket, ready to die?" Her brother asked. She harumphed at that.
"Oh, come on. If it is like that I am giving it everything I've got, and so are you! Got it?" Tisket glared at her brother.

They both started laughing. That was nice to hear. They were all ready as could ever be for the confrontation that was certainly coming soon. What would happen? Boss was not some minor slaver or raider with no aspirations other than survival. If anything he was a mystery of the complete opposite somehow. So dead set on destruction it was not logical. Most were just trying to survive. Going against that was painful to consider. Yes, some did end themselves in this harsh world left to them. Usually without choice or other options. He could do so much with his kind of power. Why so evil?
"This pony, he makes me shiver. Everything he does is..wrong. Spiteful. Hurtful. For no reason.." Tisket trailed off.

"Huh? What's this?" Traveler halted garnering curious expressions from the group.
"My armor is picking up a very weak radio broadcast on a channel I do not recognize. It is too broken up to make sense of, but I can tell it repeats. Might clear up if we get closer if I understood what I was told about that type of thing." What could that be? Traveler wondered. She'd explained what radio really meant to the others much earlier on in their travels. Something the old ponies came up with during the war. Similar to something unicorns used to do regularly, but with machines instead. She understood Magnificent meant they were trying to mimic unicorn magic. Could machines do that?

Maybe not fully. She barely understood magic herself. Even the unicorns they'd met were not all that powerful in general. Tisket was great at wielding her weapons with it, but knew few other kinds of spells or uses for it. Traveler imagined many things it might do, but did not truly know its limits. She did now know magic was involved in the complete devastation of the world. It could be that powerful? Why did the ancient ones do this to themselves? They seemed so powerful, so sure and confident from what she knew of them. What happened? Where precisely did everything go wrong and set itself on this irrevocable path of death and uncertainty? Some terrific mistake was made, irreparably.

Whoever or whatever truly brought it to that was long gone. Did they know? Who did?
"If..if only we knew more. Knew how he became so strong. What made Boss so..angry. I know he lost somepony he loved, but It does not seem right. He has a heart or he could not love, right? He's a pony like the rest of us." Traveler mused. Reaver snorted indignantly.
"A heart? Father only ever smiled around her. I even thought he cared about me, once. If he had a heart it left with her. He is invincible. Immortal. Do you not understand this yet?" Reaver's voice always chilled. Felt angering like Boss.

"So he kept saying and insisting. Why though? What does it matter? If he cannot die or be killed why doesn't he help the world instead of making things worse? He could..make things better for all of us! He has that much will and he uses it only to cause death and pain like some demented child. What's wrong with him? I'm sorry he could not save your mother. It sounds like she was all he actually cared about." Traveller sort of ranted. Reaver almost looked taken aback. A rare sight.
"He..made allies after she... Not friends. Just underlings. Minions. Playthings to order around. Never did anything but give me orders after that either." Was Reaver opening up about something at last? He almost sounded ready to cry, wavery.

A palled silence fell on them for a while until Traveler could regather her nerve to speak.
"Reaver, I want to be your friend. I cannot speak for all of us, but I know you've gone through something terrible and it was not even your own choice to make. I am so sorry." Traveler felt a desire to comfort him, somehow.
"Oh, you're sorry. That just makes it all okay doesn't it!? That father hates me, lied to me, and wants everything to die!" Whoa. He actually sounded emotional for a change. Could it be? Reaver truly opening up? Dangerously perhaps.
"Reaver, we never wanted to hurt you. Your father chose that path and it disgusts me he did that to you." Traveler chose her words cautiously.

Traveler faced Reaver, just in case, but he seemed to calm a little by those word. That was perhaps the first time they ever got more than mere response out him, but real emotion. Almost too much. None wanted to make him angry now.
"We are..your friends. None of us would hurt anyone. Not that way. Never like that. Boss has gone too far. That is why we are here. He must be stopped. I will die for that if I must. Will you follow me to that end, my friend?" She raised an armored hoof and waved it to point across the ruins.
"All this. Even as it is, it is ours. It belongs to us! It is not his right to choose the end for us." Traveler said calmly.

Reaver held a hoof over his muzzle and almost looked like he was shaking for a moment before putting it down slowly and taking a deep breath.
"If you can find some way. I will help end him. I never desired the complete destruction of the world. It is not what I was promised. He did show me caring, once, a long time ago. I almost forgot he ever did. So long ago.." Reaver just stood there looking down a little. At last she'd gotten just a little something more out of him. Finally. After hundreds of miles across the trackless wastes, finally.

"I know this must be very difficult for you, Reaver, but we are here. If you need to speak we will listen. Alright?" Traveler said and the others murmured agreement. If she had truly gotten through to him it must be held onto.
"Whatever. Let's go." Reaver replied in that tone that sent shivers across them all. Already so empty seemingly of feeling, but just for a moment that façade cracked. Another day gone, but perhaps something good at last.

---

That stirring in the darkest most hidden of places begins to rise to a damning crescendo