//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: An End and a Beginning // Story: A Soul in Steel and Iron // by Cyber V //------------------------------// A/N Well folks Cyber V here, and I have this idea in my head for a while, so I decided to write out it and hope that it becomes a success, that you readers for deciding to read this story and remember to leave your comments and reviews behind. Also before I forget, I don't own any of the MLP franchises expect my OCs. End A/N Hello folks, Jace here, and this is my story of what happened to me right before and after I died, but first let me tell you this; death can happen to anyone, especially to morons like me. Yeah that's right I died because of my stupidity. Now let me tell you all to those that are reading this, the tale of my second chance at life… … "Mom, I am going to the library," I called out to my mom as I stood in the doorframe, while fiddling with my MP3 player looking for a good song to listen on the way there, "and I am going to take my bike," I added as I finally decided to just set the MP3 player on random and clipped it to my belt. "Don't forget about your helmet," my mom called back to me. "Come on mom, the library is only a few blocks away and there is only one highway to cross as well," I pointed out. "Alright fine," my mom finally consented, "but please be careful Jace, okay?" "Don't worry mom, I will," I promised as I put in the earbuds into my ears, "see ya later mom," I said as I stepped outside and shut the door as I heard my mom saying 'goodbye' and 'I love you' as I shut the door, jeez mom, I just going to the library. I made my way to the side of the house to get to my bike so I can ride it to the library. Just as I am about to take off to the library, I played the music player and the song It's My Life by Bon Jovi started playing in my head, getting me into the mood as the piano played the opening measures of the song. I started to pedal my bike in rhythm with the song down the driveway and soon was making my way down the street and towards the library. As the song was coming to end, I looked down at the clip-attached music player to see what was going too played next, but when I saw that the next song was Friday by Rebecca Black, I was disgusted by the horrible music, what is that song doing in there? I questioned as I made a move to delete the horrible music, but the sound of a howling car horn quickly drew my attention and I saw a Buick coming towards me and I realized something; I'm crossing the supposedly safe highway on a red light and a car is coming towards me. I felt my heart stop as the car hit the rear end of my bike, causing me to serve out of control and then to be flung off of it. I closed my eyes as I took to the air and felt the air blow around me and at the moment I remember my mom saying, "Don't forget about your helmet," I don't think my helmet would've helped me in this case anyway, I grimly thought, as I then made contact with the pavement. I felt the burning, piercing pain as the pavement sanded my skin like sandpaper does to paint and my bones breaking and their shards now moving about in my body, piercing my inner organs, but the pain didn't stop there as I am now rolling across the pavement, getting more scrapes and bruises and felt my world become upside down. I felt myself being rolled into the roadside ditch, feeling the grass and other plant life being crushed underneath me as I finally came to a complete stop, and then I felt something started seep from underneath me and into the ground and let out a pain filled scream as my body told me what happened to it. After what seems like a few minutes of screaming in pain, I finally stopped and opened my eyes and saw that I am now staring at clear blue sky above and then I hear the song Bleed it out by Linkin Park playing in my ears, telling me that the music player had somehow survived the accident and was still playing. The feeling of my breathing be restricted, compelled me to take in a deep breath, but I was met with a wave of pain, telling me that my ribs had probably pierced my lungs and possibly other vital organs, oh god, I'm going to die, I thought, frightened by the very idea. I saw a man lean into my vision of view and I saw him started to talk to me, but I couldn't hear him due to the screaming lyrics of the current song in my ears. The man started to panic and he pulls out a cell phone and quickly made a call, I'm guessing 911. I turn my gaze upward and felt the raising fear ascend once more and it made me realized that my life has been safe boring and ordinary with no excitement and that I haven't done much with my life, then the surrounding area of my vision started to fade away to black, but the center of my vision didn't fade away too, but instead became a blinding white light; like that at the end of a tunnel, oh god, I'm really going to die. The song Bring Me Back to Life by Evanescence started to play now, I wish I could've lived more of life, I wished as I heard the music, and I will if I ever make it out of this mess, I added as I closed my eyes and the music abruptly stopped, telling me that my music player has finally stopped working and that I am no longer going to be listening to anymore music. "Then do I have a proposition for you," a voice suddenly echoed around me, making me to open my eyes, so I can see who said that, but I didn't see anyone there and the sounds of sirens can be heard in the distance. "Huh, who said that? Who are you?" I painfully asked, causing me to cough and hack and make some blood to trickle out of the corner of my mouth, "what's this proposition?" "Before I answer that, what's your name?" the voice asked me. "My name is Jace." "Well Jace, I heard your wish to live and I have to say, I am moved, so I am offering you a second chance at life, but I want something from you though," the voice answered me, "as for whom I am, I am called Karma," he introduced himself, "now will you accept my offer?" "Before I even think-" I started to hack and coughed up some more blood as I felt it started to fill my lungs, "before I even think of accepting any offers; what is it that you want from me?" I wearily asked Karma. "Ah, I see that you're still alert even on the verge of death," Karma observed, "well as you must know, what I am requesting from you is your service." "Service, what service am I going to be doing?" "Oh nothing much, just to come to me when I call for you and such, now I suggest you choose quickly, because I sense that you don't have much time left to live," he pointed out, "and it will be a real shame to see such a promising soul go to waste." I thought what Karma offered over, but just as he said, I saw my vision started to get blurry, telling me that my time is definitely nearing, I'm afraid of what I might be getting myself into, but I am even more afraid of dying, "alright I'll accept your offer." "Excellent, now reach up towards the light so I can make our agreement official," Karma instructed me. I painfully lifted my arm, feeling my shattered bones in my arm grate against each other, but I was only to raise it halfway, "come on now, just a little more," Karma encouraged me. I raised my arm more and into my eyesight and I saw that it was all bloody, with some shattered bone shards sticking out of the skin, I must be really in bad shape if my arm is any indicator. I finally fully raised my mangled arm towards the light and immediately heard Karma respond, "excellent, now hold on." I felt something wrap itself around my arm, causing wince as the pain lanced through me from the pressure being applied on it, and then it was followed by the feeling of something pulling me up and immediately the pain that my broken body was generating, is starting to fade away as I started to raise towards the light, I'm sorry mom, I thought, I promised that I will be careful and I broke it, but don't worry mom, I promise I will come back… someday, I finished the thought as I became surrounded in light as the world around me faded away. ... A robed figure stood there in the middle of a plain of white, holding a light blue spark of light in his upheld hand, "this one is sure interesting," Karma contemplated as he examined the spark that he extracted from Jace's dying body. Karma clenched his hand shut over the spark and gave a small surge of energy and opened his hand, revealing a small crystal in its place. "Of all of those mortals in that world, why did this one move me the most?" he questioned as he placed the crystal deep inside his robes, "well I may not know the answer to that, but I sense that he has a lot of potential," Karma observed about his new… employee, "maybe he's the one I am looking for, but first he'll need a new form and I know the right person who is qualified to do it," he then started to walk off towards the distance, "or I should say, the right unicorn, a special unicorn." … "Oh come on," a silver unicorn with golden hair cried out as she pounded on a set of doors that belongs to a large building and has a picture of a book with set of scrolls crossing each other in front of it, "please let me in Archive, why won't you let me in?" the unicorn questioned as she continues to pound on the door. "No, and I am not going to let you in Clockwork, because you'll just make a big mess like last time," Archive called out to Clockwork, "and I just finally cleaned up the library and I don't need you making anymore." "Oh come on Archive," Clockwork annoyed at what Archive said, "You know perfectly well that it wasn't me that made that precarious stack of books," Clockwork accusingly pointed out. "True, but it wasn't me that made the precarious stack of books to fall and create a large mess all over the place," Archive replied back through the doors, "I mean, why did you have to take a book from the bottom of the pile anyway?" "Because I saw something interesting and I wanted to have a closer look at it," Clockwork explained her side of the story, "and can we stop talking through the door, because it is getting really tiresome," she called out to Archive, but she didn't get a reply back, "look if it helps, I promise I am just going to look through the library, possibly get a book or two and I won't make a big mess and if I do, I'll volunteer myself to clean the library for a week," Clockwork promised and started to wait for an answer. After a few minutes of waiting outside, she heard the door's locks started to finally unlock and then they opened and there, in the middle of the now opened doorway, stood a very hesitant and a slight elderly earth pony, "alright I will let you browse around," that caused Clockwork to let out a cheer of joy, "BUT, if I find even one scroll out of place, I am going to hold you on to that offer you made, got it?" "Got it, thanks Archive," Clockwork thanked him as she made her way past him, eager to get started to look through the library's shelves, but Archive quickly stopped her with a held up hoof. "Remember even one scroll and I'll even make you clean the rafters as well," he warned her about the promise she made to him, annoying old coop. "Alright I got it; don't leave a mess or I'm cleaning it and much more," Clockwork simplified it, "would you let me inside now?" she asked the uptight librarian and was rewarded with him putting down his hoof and clearing the entrance into the library, "thank you." Clockwork entered the library and immediately she was met with the familiar smell of paper, parchment and slight dust as well and the sight of the main hallway made of bookcases with little signs above to tell what genre lies behind them, with chandeliers hanging from the rafters every few yards and a small checkout counter set off to the side. A smile formed on Clockwork's face as her thoughts are filled with the possibilities of different knowledge to be learned and with that she took off and started to make her way down the hallway of books with a set destination already in mind. Clockwork walked past signs that ranged from classical to drama, but the most noticeable sized genre in the library was the fiction, I wonder why the fiction is the largest of them all, Clockwork pondered as she walked through the small grove of bookcases that makes up the territory between the fiction section and to the next one, well at least a pony is not going to be bored if they are looking for a good fantasy, but I am interested with what lies beyond this section of the library. She soon passed the large section that made up the fiction genre and made her way farther into the library, where is it? Did Archive move the section farther back again? Clockwork questioned as she looked up at the signs, until she saw the sign she was looking for, which hold some meaning for the marking on her flank; Engineering Wonders. "I sometimes wonder why Archive placed this particular genre so far in the back," Clockwork said to herself and then she realized something, "and I'm talking to myself again, jeez I really need to learn to stop talking out loud when there's nopony around," she said to herself again. She made her way down the ally of bookcases and started to examine the scrolls and books that filled them, "let's see here; read that; never built that; horrible results from that one; still feeling the burn from that one; still paying off the damage that one caused," Clockwork listed the failures and their results out loud as she walks down the slight dusty passage filled with knowledge. "Ah, here's one," the silver pony engineer said happily as she spotted a thick, dusty scroll sticking out a bit above her head. Clockwork concentrated and a silvery glow of magic formed around the scroll and took it out of the shelf and towards her, "it's so dusty," she commented as she blew on the scroll, causing a small cloud of dust to fly up into the air, and then unfurled it to see what it contained. "Oh and this is a big one," she happily said as she found that it was multiple sheets of parchment than one giant scroll and there on written on the first page is the title, "The Great Works by Leo-neigh-do da Vinci? Hum, sounds interesting. Now let's see what we have here," she said as she started to rifle through sheets of parchment, "thirty-three barrel organ gun; ah no, a lot of things can go wrong with that one, giant crossbow; a few things can definitely go wrong with that one, a three barrel cannon, okay what is up with this pony and war machines?" Clockwork questioned the pony and the reason for the machines of war. "Ugh I'm not interested in war and such," Clockwork announced as she flipped past through the war machines and into the less violent works of Leo-neigh-do da Vinci, "a process to make a colossus statue; sixty tons of bronze? That is way too much metal, parachute; possibly, flying machine; no point for that one, due to that we already blimps, no, no, no, no," Clockwork getting frustrated as she shuffled through the schematics of useless and unnecessary machines and was about to roll back up the verge of ripping scroll and stuff it back into the shelf where she found it, but as she flipped over the current page, she saw that made her paused, "robotic knight," Clockwork read the title as she sat down and grabbed the scroll of papers out of her magic to take a closer look. The more she read about the complexity of a robot made of levers, pulleys and cable system all assembled inside a suit of armor, the more she became intrigued by this invention, "this is interesting and with a few more… modifications I can probably make it more modernized, how come I didn't find this before?" she questioned herself as she rolled up the scroll and stood from the ground and started to make her way out of the Engineering Wonders section and make her way back to the checkout counter with look of glee on her face. ... "I take it that you found something that interested you," Archive asked Clockwork as the elder pony saw her finally arriving at the checkout counter with the gleeful look on her face and the scroll she found in her magic, "and I trust that you didn't make a mess in the back again, because if you did…" "I know, I'm cleaning up the mess," Clockwork interrupted him, "and yes I did find something interesting, but I got to ask, why do you have the Engineering Wonders genre so far in the back?" she asked as she placed the scroll on the counter and slid it across the counter and towards the librarian who then picked it up and unfurled it. "Because it was requested ," Archive answered her and then look towards the scroll, "The Great Works," Archive read the title, "huh, I have forgotten all about this one," he said as he flipped open a binder that was next to him and wrote down the title and then Clockworks name next to the scroll's name. After he wrote down some more information he furled the scroll back up, placed it into a saddlebag and gave it towards to Clockwork, "now remember-" "Return the checked out item and saddlebag back within a week without losing it, as well as no rips, tear, stains or any other form of damage on either of the goods, or I'll be paying a fine of fifteen bits, yeah, yeah I know the drill," Clockwork finished Archive and was rewarded with a look of annoyance from him, "sorry," Clockwork apologized, "but it's just that I know the process and that you keep on repeating it," she explained as she took the saddlebag into her magic. "Sigh, just get going already," Archive told her, "it's getting late and I have to close up soon and I am pretty sure that you want to start making whatever is inside that scroll." "With pleasure," Clockwork happily agreed with him and started to make her way out of the library, while all the while Archive watched her leave with sense of sadness rising from his heart, that mare is becoming just like her mother… I had hoped that she wouldn't for her safety, Archive sadly thought as he moved from behind the counter and towards the door to lock up for the night. … Clockwork stepped out of the library and the scent of fresh, clean, crisp air met her nose, tickling it and telling her that it is indeed getting late and time for her to head back home. She placed the saddlebag on her back just as the set of doors shut behind her and soon followed by the sounds of locks being engaged, she then made her way down the stairs that made up the front entrance of the library and onto the cobblestone streets of her small and boring hometown that is located in the forest to the west; Ironwood Falls. "I sometimes question myself why I still stay in this small town," Clockwork said to herself out loud, "maybe it is because it's my home or maybe it is because I get separation anxiety when I go even ten yards outside of the town, I don't know… and I'm talking to myself again," Clockwork said out loud as she made her way down streets and turning and onto other streets, passing other middle aged ponies with a wave and them waving back to her in response. As the sun was starting to set in the distance, other ponies started to make their way back to their own homes, till the only ponies that remained on the streets was the silver and gold pony. I can't wait to start on that new project, Clockwork happily thought as she blindly turns around a corner and collided with a robed pony that was coming in running from the other direction. Clockwork landed on her haunches and started to moan in pain as she held her head in her hooves, trying to stop the headache that is forming from the collision, unaware that her saddlebag had fallen off of her back from the shock of the collision and landed in a pile beside her. "Oh I'm terribly sorry," the robed pony said as he got up from the ground and helped Clockwork back onto her hooves, "I wasn't looking where I was going," the mystery pony admitted as Clockwork dusted the dirt and dust off of her coat, "are you okay?" "I'm alright mister, "she reassuringly said to the him as she rubbed the pain out of her forehead, "and it was just an honest mistake and it wasn't totally your fault, because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going as well," she confessed as she finally look at the other pony and saw that it was a dark blue unicorn with white hair swept back, but what confused Clockwork the most is the sight of the robe he is wearing, "um, what's up with the robe, if you don't mind me asked that is?" "Well its getting cold isn't it." "Huh, I guess it is," Clockwork agreed with the robed pony as she realized that it is indeed getting colder, telling her that it is getting late and that she needs to get home as well, "well I'm still sorry for crashing into you, but I really need to get home," she apologized. "Of course, sorry for wasting your time," the mystery pony apologized as Clockwork stepped around him and made her way up the street, completely forgetting about her saddlebag she dropped behind, which it is now being approached by the dark blue unicorn as he reached inside his robes and pulled a cylinder shaped object. When Clockwork made it about halfway up the street, she heard the unicorn call out to her, "hold on miss, is this yours?" which caused her to stop in her tracks and look back and saw the robed unicorn walking up to her and with Clockwork's saddlebag in his white magical grasp. When Clockwork saw the saddlebag in his magic she noticed the lack of weight on her back. She took a quick glance behind her and saw that her saddlebag is not there on her back anymore, "oh scrap, yes it is," Clockwork confirmed as she look back towards the unicorn and took the saddlebag from his magical aura and into hers, "thank you sir, if you haven't found, somepony else would've might have first and return it to the library, and I would be in so much trouble with the librarian there." "No problem, just glad to help," the unicorn said, he then look up to the sky and added, "now I suggest that you should get home now Miss Clockwork, because you don't want to be outside while it is dark, do you?" "No, I don't," Clockwork answered him, "well thank you again," she thanked him as she turned around and resumed her way back home, what a nice pony, glad to know that there are still some ponies like him, she thought as she made her way up the street, passing homes of other ponies and then a thought appeared, wait a minute, how did he know my name? Clockwork then started to speak up while she turned around, "excuse me sir, but how did you know my…" and saw only an empty street with houses on either side, with no exiting side streets for a pony to walk down, "name?" she finished worriedly. Clockwork took a few steps back in shock from the sudden disappearance of the robed pony, "what the hoof? Where did he go?" She asked to the now empty street and was answered with a gust of cold wind through her coat instead, "Okay calm down Clockwork, there's no reason to freak out," she rationalized to herself, calming her beating heart, "he just probably learned your name from one of your neighbors, and as for him disappearing; maybe he just ran ran off to find a place to stay at when you had your back to him, yeah that's it," Clockwork reasoned with herself and was once again responded with another gust of wind, "well whatever the reason is, I'm not staying here," she concluded as she turn around and made her way back home, but this time with a quicken pace. Clockwork hurriedly made her way past houses with neat cut lawns and occasionally passes a house with a few windows that have lights still on behind them, but she ignored them and continues down the street until she reaches a site that at first glance from ponies who didn't live in Ironwood Falls would think it is a junkyard, but for do in the quiet town knows that it is just Clockwork's home with her failed inventions and machines out on display on her front lawn for others to see. As Clockwork walked up the path of her front yard and through the rusting structures of metal, she looked at them and stopped, "I wonder why these inventions never worked, I put so much heart into their designs but then something goes wrong when I built them," Clockwork said sadly as she stood there for a few more minutes, staring at the inventions she remember working on so she can help her town in some way, "well whatever the cause may be, I am never going to give up for I promise that I would create something that would help everypony," Clockwork declared proudly, a few seconds later she let out a moan of frustration, "ah scrap, I really got to learn to stop talking to myself when there's nopony around," she then resumed walking and made her way to the front door of her small home. After she got up to the door and unlocked it with a key hidden underneath a piece of metal from another failed project, she placed the key back into its hiding place and entered her home. Clockwork stepped into her dark home with the only light coming from raising moon through the door, momentary lighting up a path in the shape of the doorway into her home, but she quickly shut the door and the darkness reclaimed the house once again. A silvery glow lit up in the darkness and with a whooshing sound the several lanterns burst aflame, banishing the darkness for now and revealing a large room that is made up by a kitchen, living room and a workstation, with a couple of doors in the back of the room that leads to more of the silver unicorn's home. Clockwork made her way across the room, her hooves clopping across the oil and ink stained wooden floor and towards her workstation, where a large table is set up, filled with small uncompleted or just started projects, and sat down at it while Clockwork removed her saddlebag and placed it in front of her on the table. "Alright let's have one more look on that robot knight schematic," Clockwork said to herself as she opened the saddlebag and pulled out the scroll of engineering works, "huh, is it just me or is this scroll a little more heavier?" she questioned as she weighted the scroll in her hooves, "eh, it is just probably just me, now let's see what supplies I'll need for this project," she concluded as she unfurled the scroll, but as soon as she opened the scroll a tiny package fell out and landed on the table with a clatter. "What the- where did this come from?" she questioned as she place the scroll down and picked up the small parcel in her magic and brought it closer and became confused for there she saw, written in beautiful cursive on one side of the parcel, is her name. Clockwork turned it around and about to see who sent it, but the only name she found was her own and no other, "I wonder who it is from," she questioned, "in fact, why was it in The Great Works anyway?" she added as she placed the parcel down and looked towards the scroll, but instead of the title and name of the pony who wrote it, there was a letter in its place. Feeling more confused and a bit scared, Clockwork picked up the letter and started to read it: Dear Miss Clockwork I am sure that you are feeling confused and a bit afraid of the current situation you are in, but I know of your special talent with mechanical engineering and in need of it, so I am placing a task in your hooves, but first you must have by now found the little parcel that came with the scroll... Clockwork's gaze turns towards the parcel and then back at the letter. … Inside the parcel is a crystal that holds a unique life that had I saved at the last moment, but unfortunately his body was damaged beyond repair, so this is where you come in; I want you to make him a new body. The contents of the scroll that this letter came in, holds schematics to very special mechanical wonder that has the ability to help others, but as well as to destroy. There is no other I trust for this task, for I have heard your promise to help others, so that's a reason why I am placing this task in your hooves, but I would like you to try to keep this project a secret. There's also another reason why I am placing this lost soul in your care, for he isn't from this world, so he's in need a educator and caretaker for this world. "This is nuts, just completely nuts," Clockwork said as she put down the letter, "this just has to be a joke, it has to be," She declared as she shook her head in disbelief, "what kind of pony would go this far just to prank on another pony?" and then she remembered the pony that she collided earlier, "oh I am going to get back at him for messing with my stuff and listening on my promise and as well as this prank," she vowed and then her gaze shifted back to the little parcel and then she became unsure, "but what if this wasn't a joke, because this seems a bit too complicated for a mere joke." Clockwork stared at the parcel for a while until her curiosity got the best of her, causing her to pick up the parcel and started to carefully unwrap it. "Oh wow," Clockwork said in amazement when she finally opened the parcel and is now holding a shimmering light blue crystal that seems to be pulsating like a heartbeat would the more she stared it. The more she started to feel sad for it, if what the letter said is true, then he died and somepony just wanted to help him, and then she remember the promise she made tonight and on other nights before, well I do want to help others… fine I'll continue reading the letter, but if it does end up being a joke, then I am serious going to hurt that pony, Clockwork set the crystal and picked up the letter and resumed reading. Now there's one final thing you should know about the lost soul I am placing in your care Miss Clockwork, his name is Jace and I trust that you'll take good care of him Miss Clockwork, because he'll be confused at first, so try to not give him a big of surprise. Now please take care and may we all meet again properly some day. -Karma "Who's Karma?" Clockwork questioned as she saw the name that is signed on the bottom of the letter, and then she looked towards the crystal resting on the table, "so Jace huh, interesting name, odd but interesting name," she commented as she pushed the crystal to the side and brought the rest of the scroll towards her, "now let's see what we have here," she said as she started to flip through the pieces of parchments that is supposedly to contain an engineering wonder. As soon as Clockwork examined the first page she was amazed to see a complex-looking mathematical equations and engineering schematics, "okay, either somepony had wasted a lot of time just to prank one pony or whoever this Karma character is, he's telling the truth," she said as went back to the beginning and started to read some of the schematics. "Wait this thing is going to be how big?" Clockwork asked out loud after she read some of the schematics. She looked at the table and then to the scroll in front of her and back to the table, "am I going to need a bigger table," she observed and then her gaze settled on her saddlebag, "what a minute, what happened to The Great Works that was in the bag in the first place?" she panicky questioned as she quickly went for the saddlebag and started to rummage through and soon found a hastily written note: P.S. I took the scroll that was originally in this bag and replaced it with the other one, and I am sorry about that. "Ah scrap!" Clockwork exclaimed after she read the letter that Karma left behind, "now I have to pay Archive for the scroll... I'll be getting my fifteen bits back later from this Karma character." A/N Well folks, tell me what you think about this story, because I had this story idea floating around my head and won't leave me alone until I wrote it, so I did and I have to say it flowed from my head, into my fingers and into the keyboard, and I add, this came out pretty well. So I want you readers to leave your comment, reviews and congrats for getting this story out of my head and out into the world, and very successful might I add. I sense a lot of potential coming from this story. End A/N