//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: The Skies the Limit 
// Story: Of Magic and Clockwork 
// by Midnight_Tempest 
//------------------------------//

In the following years that followed, after Midnight's final sighting, there were several reports of sudden explosions and fires within the Ever-free forest. Excursions would be mounted to discover the source of these explosions, several from the members of House Scientia, but no evidence was brought back from the sites. Each site was thoroughly destroyed, all materials either gone in the explosion or taken by the one that caused them. Sun-rock knew it was his brother, but had no means of tracking him. The forest was very large, with valleys and mountains that have never been charted. It was the ideal place to hide, and for a time Sun-rock believed he was going to catch his brother.

The first few explosions were relatively close to the edge of the forest, as well as some small towns. Unfortunately for Sun-rock, the pattern of the explosions changed shortly after he had discovered the first pattern. Afterwards, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The explosions were now very random, some in the south, several in the north, and some that seemed to happen at the exact same time but at opposite ends of the forest. It was decided at this point that Midnight had left Equestria, leaving devices in the forest to distract from his escape and to reinforce the belief that he was still in there. But Sun-rock knew his brother, knew that this reaction was what he was expecting. While all other search parties left for the lands beyond Equestria, Sun-rock remained to scour the forest with hopes of finding even the smallest evidence that Midnight was still there.

In the deepest reaches of the forest, Midnight stood silently in his final laboratory with a sense of pride and satisfaction. The final adjustments have been made and the objects magic bleeders properly attuned to all forms of magic. It was for that reason he took such a long time in perfecting his final device, there was a magic so powerful in the forest that Midnight could not adjust the bleeders appropriately. Each attempt ended in a catastrophic explosion, which he began to use as cover for his escape to another lab. His travels through the forest had brought him rather close to an ancient ruin, it seemed to have been abandoned almost 1000 years prior and was adorned with the symbol of the Royal Princesses. 'Amazing, this site was to have been lost entirely. Historians could only surmise that its location was in the forest, but to find it.' He set up his final lab only a few miles from the ruin, and quickly discovered that there was a massive magical source in the area. He spent months searching the surrounding forest and the ruins themselves, but could not find the source and this infuriated him. His smaller devices could not withstand the amount of magical power that was in the area, even their magic bleeders couldn't regulate. The only device that was unaffected by the overwhelming amounts of magic, was his clockwork eye. The only logical reason behind this had to be because it was using his body as an extra magic bleeder, or perhaps a magic repository. Every year that Midnight remained in the forest, the stronger his magic had become but he also noticed that he had become more wise to the dangers that his experiments possessed.

It was now the 1000th year of the Summer Sun Celebration, for a full millennium Equestria has been justly ruled by Princess Celestia. Midnight knew of the 'prophecy' that came true that day, the return of Nightmare Moon. He did nothing but watch the events unfold, the trials that Nightmare Moon placed before these six young ponies. He was impressed with how they managed to overcome all the dangers thrown at them, but was a little surprised when one of the ponies burst into song. The surprises just kept coming when he realized that their destination was the ruins he had discovered only a few months prior, and those surprises culminated with the sudden appearance of the legendary Elements of Harmony.

Suddenly, inspiration struck like a bolt from the sky. Midnight hurried to his lab and gathered all the devices he could, when he returned to the ruin it was once again empty. Except for a fragments of Nightmare Moon's armor. This was the break he had been searching for. He spent days studying and experimenting on each fragment, discovering the magical wavelength that was wrecking havoc on his devices. It was almost a year and a half after the Elements had been rediscovered that his final clockwork miracle was finally complete. 'At last... nearly 20 years of excruciating labor, of failed experiments. 20 years of blood and sweat, my Magnum Opus... our Magnum Opus... Matriarch Scientia, I have finished your life's work. Now all will see that you were not as mad as they believed, and neither am I.'

Midnight's lab went up like a meteor had crashed in the forest, the explosion was the largest and most noticeable to date. The magic that was released could be felt across half of Equestria, something that Midnight had counted on. What he didn't count on was getting the attention of not just his brother, Sun-rock, but also the inhabitants of the town of Ponyville and of Princesses, Celestia and Luna. His pride in his work had blinded him to the dangers of what he now possessed, something that could change the face of Equestria forever.