//------------------------------//
// V - The Truth 
// Story: The Artificer Comes 
// by Tower of 0 
//------------------------------//

Celestia delves deeper into the Everfree, the sounds of Anneto's maniacal laughter guiding her. It wasn't constant, but it did feel like a ping or an echo to guide her to his location. Maybe where he is heading. What matters to her is finding that goblin before something else sees him as prey. The alicorn keeps her speed going as her ears direct her whenever he cackles, guffaws, or just plain giggles. This behavior of his is starting to scare her and make her second guess if she should really be following him.

Then it all became clear when she comes upon him in a clearing, trees from all around pushed into leaning away from an impact. Her gaze drifts up; exactly where the opening had formed just minutes earlier. Celestia's eyes come back down from the slowly dissipating storm to fall upon her friend, kneeling beside something with his hand on it. The mass is huge, made from metal, and looked odd. She doesn't recognize it as he just sits there, laughing just a little bit to himself now. The Princess starts to walk up to him, quiet and steady.

"It's here, I can't believe that it's actually here." Anneto remarks as runes light up around his arm. "MY Ox, My Blade."

Celestia tilts her head at him, seeing that the being before is no longer cackling like a mad pony. "What are you talking about?"

He just turns his head to look at her, a sad smile on his features. "This is Ox, my steamjack and my bodyguard of sorts. Though it appears that it got in to quite the scrap." His gaze turns back to the mass of metal before him. "Didn't you, buddy? I'll get you fixed up in no time."

"Who is Ox and what is a 'steam jack?'" Celestia asks once again, getting a few steps closer.

"This is Ox, my steamjack from... well... let's just say I rebuilt it." Anneto stands up to look over at Celestia. "A steampjack is a machine of sorts. Mostly powered by steam boilers and operating with a arcane-powered cortex." A more genuine smile comes to him now, one of fondness for the machinery. "An almost perfect combination of magic and machine."

She can feel the fondness in the words as he spoke of this machine.

"It took me eighteen attempts just to get it working. Eighteen." He rubs the hull as some dents just come out. "Ox's nickname. Answers to it too."

The alicorn took a trepid step forward to examine the mass of machine her goblin friend was going on about. She notices the heavy damage to much of it's frame that hasn't been undone yet. Large craters and even cracks in the heavy-looking plate is imminent accompanied by scorch marks. She finally reaches the thing, raising a leg and softly placing a hoof against it. A thrum of magic fills her ears, like the faint beating of a heart.

"What happened to it?"

Anneto stops what he's doing. "My guess is it fought someone or something powerful enough to cause this much damage." He then looks up to the alicorn. "If I'm going to get t back to functionality, I need my tools."

"I'm sure you can find what you need at-"

"No, these tools are special to repairing steamjacks." He interrupts, an ear twitch as he starts to look around. "I don't think it came alone either, we need to get it moved back to Canterlot."

"I'm sorry but how do you plan we do that?" Celestia peers down at him. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later, get Luna and we'll perform a teleport spell."

Celestia stares at him almost blank, not knowing what to expect other than the smallest spells he has shown thus far. Was he truly capable of such a complex spell? Did he need her and Luna for the spell to work? A protest started to form, opening her maw to say something until he jumps on her and takes her to the ground with surprising strength.

"Get down!" He yells as a ball of fire flies past them both and slams into a nearby tree. Scorching the truck in a spectacular blaze of orange.

When he let her go, rising to his feet, she spies a flash of determination on his face. He just looks at her and they both slowly nod to one another. Celestia wastes no time in getting to her hooves, getting a move on by flying up towards the treeline to be above it. Her goal to get her sister while his was to hold off their strange new attacker. Anneto stands alone once more against this particular foe. He's ready this time, stronger, braver, smarter.

"I know it's you." Anneto calls out as he starts to prepare a ritual in the surrounding area. Then a separate spell on himself that makes his body seem like a blur. "You won't be getting the best of me this time."

"Good." A figure responds with some malice in his tone. "You're lucky I like a challenge, even if it's from a pipsqueak like you."

Celestia hears a crack of lightning from behind her as she flies away, staying above the treeline. She figures the goblin has been engaged in a fight with whatever it is. Her only hope is that he holds out just long enough for her and Luna to come to his aid. The alicorn kicks her speed up a notch to reach the forest's edge just that much faster. What she wasn't expecting is Twilight and her friends being there. Things are about to get interesting if they decide to follow. They may be the Elements of Harmony, but she fears this may be more than they could handle at this time. An explosion goes off behind her, causing her to flinch a little and turn her head to see a billowing pillar of smoke.

"Princess Celestia!" She hears Twilight's voice call out. "What in Equestria is going on?!"

"I wish there was time for me to explain, but Luna and I need to get going into the Everfree." Celestia gives as the only reply and looks to her own sister, giving her a simple nod.

"Is somepony in danger? Maybe we can help!" Twilight rebuttals with her friends nodding beside her.

"I'm afraid it's too dangerous for all of you." The solar alicorn shoots back with. "I don't want to put you in harm's way."

"We 'ppreciate the concern there, Princess." Applejack was next to speak. "But pretty darn sure we can handle whatever else in there."

Celestia had to bite the inside of her cheek a little just to keep herself from yelling 'no.' All of them are staring at her as much as them. She just wants them to be safe and she has a feeling that if she does deny them, they're going to follow her regardless.

"Fine." She says with some regret. "Stay close and do as I say."


"I've waited so long for this moment!" The voice calls out. "Just to rid your existence from my record!"

A stray ball of fire misses yet again while Anneto stands on top of Ox's chassis. He slings a streak of arcane energy towards where the fireball came from but also misses. If only his enemy were as good of a caster as they are slippery. A sound from behind immediately grabs his attention and he turns around ready to cast another spell only for it to realize it's just Celestia, Luna, and six other ponies he's never seen before.

"Great, there's more..." Anneto grumbles more to himself than at them. "Quick! Get over here so we can get out of here!"

Celestia couldn't believe her eyes. Runes she'd never seen before light up on the ground surrounding this 'Ox' in a display of arcane might she's never seen out of the goblin before. Upon hearing his request, she begins to usher her sister and the Elements over to the circle and getting them inside without so much a fuss. Twilight on the other hoof is quite fascinated, almost bordering on exploding with questions about the type of magic on show right now and the being on the mountain of metal. Her thoughts were quickly put to a stop when a bolt of lightning pings off the plate of the crash.

"Stragglers?" Anneto asks as he starts to move his hands.

"You could say that..."

Anneto only nods at that in response. "Alright everyone! Hold on to your dinner!"

In one swift and fluid motion, the goblin moves his hands in towards eachother to center around his chest. As another ball of fire comes streaking from an unknown source, he flicks their spots around to cause bright light to engulf the surrounding area and the group. The sounds of ticking and gears churning could be briefly heard before the light fades, all of them finding themselves to be in the empty throne room of Canterlot Castle. All the ponies are trying to blink away any leftover brightness while Anneto just sways to and fro on top of Ox. Once Celestia and Luna recover from the sudden light and feeling of displacement, both their eyes fall upon the goblin.

"Anneto?" Luna calls out with a hoof outstreched.

He doesn't say anything as the world around him starts fading to black. The last sounds to fill his ears being his own name.

Anneto comes to after an uncertain amount of time. His head is pounding as the senses come back to him. Light falls upon him, unfiltered by the lenses of his goggles while he blinks to adjust. He's back in his room at the castle, surrounded by a few familiar faces and more he doesn't quite recognize. Dr. Heart is looking over him, not yet realizing he's awake while Celestia and Luna are whispering a conversation to one another. A groan from the goblin catches all their attentions as he slowly sits up in the bed. Both alicorns were at his side in near instant to keep a careful eye on him.

"You gave us quite a scare, Anneto." Celestia tells him with a wing on his back for support. "We were worried we lost you."

Anneto rubs his head a little in an attempt to alleviate some pain to no avail. "Almost... just overworked my magic a bit."

"A bit?" Sure Heart cuts in with her horn alight with magic. "You have been out for a few days in a magic coma!"

His eyes grow wide as he looks to the doctor then the two alicorns. "Really?"

"Really." Celestia affirms. "My student had about a hundred questions she was ready to ask you if had i not sent her home with her friends."

"What about Ox?"

"I took the liberty of moving it to a secure room in the castle." She smiles at him as he breaths a sigh of relief.

Anneto then receives a surprise nuzzle to his cheek from the solar Princess. "I guess I have a bit of explaining to do."

"That you do, my friend. That you do." Celestia chuckles. "But that can wait, you must recover."





A few days have passed since the whole storm incident and Anneto sits at his desk with his jar of untamed magic. He may have recovered much of his strength, he still wasn't ready to study the strange lightning in the jar before him, even if it was oddly attracted to him. No, instead a new idea in the form of a previous one that he is working on. So much focus that he doesn't notice when the door to his room opens with a certain cream colored alicorn making her way in. Carefully striding up to his desk to peek over his shoulder.

"Busy already are we?" She speaks in a rather soft tone.

He doesn't even flinch much less budge while calmly putting down the pencil. "Just something to keep me busy."

"Certainly looks like it." Celestia responds as she smiles at him. "Got your message, said you had something special for me?"

"Erm.. in a way.. yes." Anneto slides the chair away from the desk to face the alicorn. "I figured you should get to know more about who you're harboring in your castle."

"You know I will always make time to talk with you."

"No words." He retorts as runes light up in a ring around his forearm. "Instead... I'll show you."

Before Celestia could ask just what he means, Anneto presses two fingers to her forehead, right under her horn. What comes next she doesn't really have words for. She sees memories, his memories are being shown to her. They start at the most recent; the stand-off, interactions with her, Sure Heart, several servants. Eventually getting to how he got here, a strange device that she doesn't quite recognize, but she does see Ox. It only stops for a moment before yanking her away from the memory. Delving further into some of the darker moments of his past. Death, destruction, and chaos usually caused by him or he's somehow involved in. Another sudden shift starts to show faces of creatures he knows or once knew, usually also saying one thing: 'Yeeticus.' She doesn't quite understand why that word echoes within her skull. It must hold some kind of importance to him. Even experiencing his multiple deaths.

Suddenly the guiding comes to rest on something, a moment she wasn't expecting to see. Yet, she felt like it was being shown to her for a purpose. The feeling of familiarity comes over her as she witnesses four figures talking from a vantage point that's on the ground. Celestia doesn't understand a word of it but she doesn't need to as the talking turns into a heated argument then... the figure that has its back turned is slain on the spot. Fear fills her, it isn't her own, but it carries her through what looks to be streets. Passing by crates, barrels, and other passerby's as it's becoming clear she's head for the docks.

The door to the mind opens two way however.

Anneto is looking through Celestia's memories as much a she's looking at his. Seeing all she's accomplished and the different foes she's had to face. He is looking for a specific one, something he calls a 'Moment of Weakness.' Where she was brought to her lowest, no doubt she has found his at this point and is watching it. Now it's his turn to see hers and understand a little more about his newfound ally and friend. He finds what he's looking for, her moment where everything changes. He's read about this event in history books; the night Luna turns into Nightmare Moon. Anneto wastes no time in assimilating himself in the memory to feel everything Celestia feels. The fight being short yet destructive enough to nearly level their old home. The pain, sorrow, and eventual grief are all felt to his very core. He feels sorry for her at the time of this happening, now having a firsthand account of that fateful night.

Celestia falls to her haunches as she comes up from the shared experience. Tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "Anneto... wh-what did you just show me..?"

"My past and present." He responds with as he wathes her. "The monster I can be and the hero I refuse to become."

"What about all the faces?" She continues as she stares at him. "Who it 'Yeeticus?'"

"Technically speaking, Yeeticus is my first name..." He admits while starting to look away. "As for the faces, my friends, some of them I consider family."

Celestia starts to get up on shaking legs, trying to process all that was shown. "Wh-what are you..?"

"Many things, as you saw. Mainly the goblin you see before you. I prefer to stay away from the spotlight." Yeeticus/Anneto starts to explain. "I've started wars. Been caught in the middle of, and even ended them when I didn't start them. As a result, I've claimed many titles. Though I only recognize two-"

"The Artificer or The Mad." Celestia interrupts.

"Yes." The goblin nods. "I've accidently discovered the wider multiverse. Now travelling through it whether I want to or not. I couldn't dictate or control where I went, until recently."

The alicorn remains silent, now listening to him.

"I didn't think it would work, but whatever I did spit me out right in the middle of your Everfree forest, and now I may know how to get back to reclaim what's mine." Anneto looks determined all of a sudden when his eyes meets hers. "First we have to track down Weylan and put a stop to him."

"Weylan? Who's Weylan?" Celestia tilts her head at the unfamiliar name.

"That fireball didn't come out of nowhere. Weylan is a human caster, slings spells but he isn't as good of a sorcerer as he is a slippery weasel." A smile soon comes to his face. "I have the perfect bait."