//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Discovery // Story: Ungrounded // by Lucien Chance //------------------------------// *Three days after Lucien received the orders for potions and failed to ask Twilight about the reagents.* Lucien's steps pounded heavy across the ground of the forest. He scrambled to get over roots and to duck under low-hanging branches. His breaths came quick and shallow, causing puffs of smoke to appear in front of his mouth briefly before dissipating into the chilly night air. "Why does it seen that I'm always running from something?" He flinched and ducked instinctively as he heard a loud roar and a crash from close behind him. "Oh yeah . . ." His pack was bouncing against his back with every lunging step he took, beginning to cause him pain. His dagger was still sheathed; he couldn't use it while running this fast. There was a small vial held firmly in his grasp. The contents of the vial were approximately 6.1mL of 142-year-old dragon blood, taken from the dragon that was chasing him. "It's funny how I keep getting myself caught in these situations." he thought while his body told his mind to shut up and focus on running. He was running through the Hayseed Swamps, an area far from his home in Ponyville. In fact, it was the farthest he had been from his house since he first arrived on Eqqis. The place he had just visited wasn't even printed on any map made by Equestrians yet. It was an area populated with dragons. Three hours earlier The land had no trees and blackened ground, but he was certain that it had started out as a grasslands of a sort. Many years had passed since the land had seen any form of growing life, and there was no chance that life would inhabit it any time in the future. The ground gave off a sort of sadness that his heightened senses could pick up, but he was unable to make sense of it. He was, however, able to understand that it held a lament for the life that it had lost. Lucien looked off into the distance as he cleared the edge of the Hayseed Swamps. There were rock formations interspersed throughout the skyline, and his eyes caught the glow from a few active volcanoes. He couldn't hear it from that distance, but he was certain that the cries of dragons were hung throughout the air. He sank to a knee and ran a hand across the blackened soil. He grasped some in his fist and stood up, then let it fall out his hand slowly. It had the feel and consistency of soot. "This definitely is one of the coolest places I have ever seen." he thought as his eyes swept across the darkened ground. The sun could barely penetrate the layer of ash that acted as a cloud-cover over the whole area. He turned around and was unable to see blue sky behind him. "It's almost like I've crossed over into a whole new world." he thought with wonder. But, in some ways, he had. Lucien began to make his way across the bleak landscape, hand resting on the hilt of his dagger. After walking about a mile or so, he shrugged off his backpack and unzipped it, searching for a scrap of parchment that he was using as a sort of grocery list. He was only doing that because he was bored and he wanted to remind himself of what he needed to get. "How many times have I gone through this process?" he thought as he picked down the list of items written on the paper. Most of the various plants and, other, items were crossed out already, but the next one on the list was "5mL: dragon's blood*," upon inspection, the bottom of the paper would reveal a few hastily scrawled footnotes, some of which read, "*caution: do not ask Rarity for this," or, "*watch for the giant rock that seems to reset EVERY TIME," or, "*if a future self tries to warn you about this, do not listen." However, the one that went with the dragon's blood simply read, "*100 years or older." Ironically, the potion that called for this absurd ingredient was only to make the user an inch taller. Nonetheless, he had received the order to brew the potion, and he wasn't about to refuse the large sum of bits that the pony was paying for it. He still wasn't sure how much it was worth, but the sack it was in was pretty heavy. Sighing, he rolled the paper up and stuffed it back into the backpack. He estimated that he was about 30 minutes away from the closest rock formation, and the cries of dragons could be heard over the sounds of the rumbling volcanoes. 32 minutes and 53 seconds later . . . Lucien had arrived at the base of a towering formation of stone and rock. This pile wasn't an active volcano, but he was able to assess that it was active once a long time ago. He placed his hands on it and slowly stretched out his senses. Sure enough, there was a heat coming from deep inside the small mountain. A heat, he reasoned, that wasn't just magma. One: not-so-well-thought-out plan, later . . . Lucien had utilized his magic to tunnel his way into the inactive volcano. He knew that it was dangerous to do that, considering how he could hit a vein of magma at any time on the way in, but he was willing to risk it instead of climbing up into the cloud of ash. Besides, he trusted in his ability to handle something like that in any situation. The earth rumbled again as he pushed the rocks in front of him further down into the volcano. He had been doing this periodically while he made his way down. It allowed him to have a small sight line in front of him while still being able to keep an eye out for danger on the sides. "Wouldn't want any creepers blowing a hole in my nice tunnel, now would I?" he thought jokingly. Lucien's mind wandered during the mindless action of pushing the rocks down further. He started to think about the strange pony he had met in the marketplace back in Canterlot, along with the shard of Arcadium that he had received. Willing to spare a moment, he shrugged off his backpack and opened it up. After feeling around for a moment, he grasped the crystal he was looking for and pulled it out. It was still purple, and he fixed his gaze on its imperfections for a moment before stretching his senses out to see what it really looked like. Lucien instantly had to shield his magical eyesight from the blazing inferno of mana that was in his hands. His magical senses dropped immediately and he simply stared at the purple bar in wonder. "How is it that something so small could hold so much power?" he thought, amazed at the fact. It was giving off so much energy that it was visible. The excess mana gathered at the bottom of the crystal and dripped off like water. It fell to the ground and disappeared instantly, being absorbed into the earth below. There was some at the top that flickered like a flame, pink in hue. "Well, this does explain why I'm able to gather so much mana on this planet. But I do wonder how so much energy could gather inside of this crystal? What did he call it? Arcadium. Nice play on words there, buddy." he chuckled inwardly at how the name was so similar to arcane. "Maybe I'll mess with it later." he decided after turning it over once more. He slipped it into his backpack and continued into the mountain. After a few more pushes, Lucien stretched out his senses and felt around for the source of heat that he felt earlier. Sure enough, it was right in front of him. Not fifty yards away, through rock, was a slumbering dragon. "Alright, let's just take this nice and easy--" With a ear-splitting crumbling noise the entire wall in front of him gave way into a huge cavern. The place was enormous. Lucien's jaw was on the floor the moment he looked inside. But, it wasn't the size that stunned him. There were piles upon piles of gold coins and precious jewels all over the cave, each one lit up by a small pool of lava next to it. It gave off an effect of endlessness, seeming to stretch on forever. But, he noticed that the dragon was sleeping off to the side, just his head was sticking out of a pile of coins. How he got in that position, though, was besides the point. Lucien, using the master stealth that was taught to him by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad while playing Assassin's Creed. He dove around piles of coins, tiptoed around large gems, and rolled between pools of lava. He was humming the "Mission: Impossible" theme the whole entire time. He had just reached the dragon when he noticed something glittering an odd color from across the cavern. After taking a moment to make sure the beast was still asleep, he gently maneuvered around the gold to get to the odd object. "Hey, why did the Lucien cross the cavern?" a sarcastic part of his brain thought. "Not doing this." he thought back sharply. He felt the other part of his mind shrink back a bit. After a few steps, he reached the object embedded in gold. It was a large chunk of some blue metal. The part that was off, though, was that it gave a strange vibe to Lucien's presence. It was releasing a calming mass of arcane energy that confused Lucien's senses. "I should probably keep this with me." he thought before pulling it out and storing it in his backpack. With infinite care, Lucien made his way back to the slumbering dragon. "Now, all this will require it a single prick. It probably won't wake up." He conjured a syringe and a vial with a cork stopper. "It probably won't even notice me." And that's how he got in this situation. Running for his life through the Hayseed Swamp. He took an extra few moments to think of what he did to deserve this fate. "Well, there's the video games I stole, the library I accidentally burnt down, the teeney-tiny-little-major prank I pulled in The Bazaar (and nobody was even hurt!), the bottomless pit I created as a joke, and the fact that I'm not supposed to be allowed to live in the house I have back on Earth. That's not a very good track record for the past month." "Dude, you're supposed to be running for your life." the rational part of Lucien's mind reminded him. In all his thinking he had slowed down quite a bit. His foot caught on a rock and he stumbled a bit before catching himself. "Right, running for my life." His thought was punctuated by an angry roar from behind him. "Okay, I can't take this back into Ponyville, that won't fly with everyone there. Or is it everypony? Nah, it can't be every'pony' because more creatures besides ponies live there-- What am I thinking?! Do I have the attention span of an eight-year-old!?" Lucien had just hit the part of the swamp that was completely waterlogged. Trees were interspersed far and few around him. "I could use a boat . . ." He waved his hand in front of him, visualizing the make and build of a small motor attached to a dinghy. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, he was stunned to see a small boat floating in front of him. Attached to said boat was a small pile of scrap metal, the motor, that seemed to scream, "DEAL WITH IT." Lucien facepalmed. This wouldn't get him anywhere. Pulling on his magic reserves greatly, he envisioned something a bit simpler than a real motor. Since he was so fond of steampunk items online, why couldn't he make something to help him now? "It needs to be simple and easy to use. Not exactly what 'steampunk' is all about." After a few moments he had his build ready. With a huff, he released the pent up mana gathered in his hand. With a flash, another boat appeared, this one with a bronze paint job and a large mechanical . . . thing attached to the back. Lucien hopped into his creation. He grabbed a handle that was sticking out of the improvised motor and started to wind it as fast as he could. The winch spun rapidly in his grip, winding up the giant piece of clockwork that was behind him. The motor that he had designed was nothing more than a large clock with a huge fan instead of hands. The winding would transfer kinetic energy into the springs and coils inside the motor, which would spin the fan at a constant rate. As an added precaution, he allowed it to work in reverse, where he could unwind the coil to make the boat go slower. The fan began to rotate slowly. Another roar came from behind him, this time accompanied by the crashing of falling trees. "Go, go, go, go, go!" he thought desperately. The crashing grew louder, and the water around him vibrated with the stomps of the beast. "Gogogogogogo! Yes!" the boat had built up enough energy and it shot off quickly, still gaining speed. He continued to rotate the winch. "Now, where to go with this?" He knew he had to do some quick thinking. Ponyville wasn't that far away from the Hayseed Swamp, and he estimated that they would arrive there in about 10 minutes going at that fast speed. "I can't just drop this on Twilight. It wouldn't go over very well. Maybe I could . . . eeh, I got nothing." he steered the boat a bit to the left to avoid a tree. "But wait . . ." He put a hand to his chin. "What if I . . ." A smile curled up on his face. "Oh yes, that'll work." he looked up to the left and noticed the large, rocky cliffs that made up the ring around the Badlands. "That'll definitely work." He took a hard left, planning to drive straight towards the mountains. The dragon roared behind him, signaling that it was still managing to keep up. The cliffs seemed to grow larger as Lucien sped up to them. He stood up in the boat and turned to look at the motor. He cracked his knuckles and neck, then he unbent and spun his spine. Sitting like that for a few minutes can really get you stiff. Lucien grabbed the winch with his magic, then spun it as fast as he could. The change in speed happened immediately. The sudden boost made him fall over, almost launching off the boat itself. "That would have hurt." He got even closer to the cliffs. He could see the point where the rocks intersected with the water of the swamp. "Wait for it." The mountains grew larger. "Wait for it." He see that the largest rock stretched up into the sky like the Empire State Building. "Wait for it." He could make out individual cracks on the boulders in his direct path. "Now!" He yanked back on the winch with his magic, immediately draining the clockwork motor of all its energy, and slowing the boat down to a crawl. He didn't have too much mana left. Lucien turned to face the dragon approaching behind him. It gave off a triumphant roar at having caught its prey. "Never have I seen a more prideful and egotistical species." He thought. "Well?" he asked it. "Are you just gonna sit there, lizard-breath? Come and get me! I've seen salamanders with more guts than you!" he taunted. "Perfect." The dragon let the words get to him, just as Lucien had expected. It gave off a cry of rage and stomped its foot into the water, sending up a shower of droplets that rained on Lucien. "Two can play at that game!" he shouted. He lifted his hands and they glowed blue. Right on cue, a huge wave swelled up between him and the dragon. It rose to twice the drake's height, and then it towered over the tops of nearby trees. "How do you like that, huh!" he yelled to the beast. He thrust his hands forward and let them drop. The wave mimicked his motions, pushing forward, then breaking right on top of the predator. And, just as he planned, a reverse wave came off the back of it, propelling Lucien's boat toward the cliffs. He drew his dagger, almost too tired to lift it. He traced a spell in the air then pushed it forward. The spell was nothing more than the symbol for explode, and it used a very small amount of mana as a power source. The glowing symbol flew forward and struck the rocks with a bang and a flash, momentarily blinding Lucien. When he recovered, he looked around and saw that he was passing through the center of the mountain. The water was flooding it, carrying his boat along with it. Just as he had expected, the cliffs were nothing but very thin spires, designed to do nothing more than jut into the air and look imposing. He spun around and lifted a hand weakly. It glowed green and he closed it into a fist. There was a slight rumbling in the rocks above and behind him. With a single motion, he brought it down and watched as the tunnel he had just created collapsed. The water rushed out into the dry air of the Badlands, carrying Lucien's boat along with it. Not like it would be of any use in the new climate though. He was too tired to even care though. He just washed up alongside a large boulder that blocked the sun, so he laid down on the bottom of the boat and took a nap. "Just five minutes." he thought before conking out. When Lucien awoke, it was dark outside. His eyes opened a sliver, then closed shut again. He groaned and tried to lick his lips, but his mouth was completely dry. "Well, that's what happens when you spend a day in the desert." he thought bitterly. He was still laying down in the bottom of the boat he had conjured. The boulder was still there, looming over him in all its rocky splendor. He had to resist the urge to say hello to it. "Alright, that's enough laying about, hop to it!" he mentally chastised himself (what would his mother think?) and then sat up. Slowly. His back popped multiple times during its ascent, and he tilted his head to each side, receiving a rewarding, crack as a result. His whole body ached from expending that much magic at one time. He shot a quick mental glance at his internal, patented, Magic Meter to see how much he had recharged. "Three quarters full? I must have been out for more than five minutes." He stood, and enjoyed a brief symphony played by the master orchestrators, his legs. He took in his surroundings. "Sand. Sand. Sand. More sand. Some rocks. More rocks. That's a lot of rocks. And sand. Hmm . . ." He continued to look. "Ooh! Another rock!" No matter what situation he could be caught in, sarcasm would always be on his side. "I suppose I should get moving." He jumped off the grounded nautical vessel that had served as his bed and stared at it for a moment. "This won't do." He visualized the make of a wheel, and dipped into his newly replenished mana reserves. It drained a bit, but wheels materialized on the bottom corners of the boat. "Much better. If I'm going to defy the laws of physics, I'm going to do it with style." Moments later he was sailing across the dry desert sand. Pushing the vehicle along was nothing other than wind that he himself was creating. "I know that this really shouldn't be possible. It's like the same principle as using two forklifts to lift each other. You can't do that." he tried, and failed, to rationalize his latest feat of magic. He had chosen a random direction after consulting his map (uselessly) and it was promising. The mountains that formed a ring around the Badlands started to grow larger, and he thought he could see an opening between a few of them. "Maybe this will be my way out." He thought hopefully. He reached the gap and traveled through it in a very anti-climactic fashion. "Well that was easier than I thou- . . . WHAT IS THAT." 'THAT,' just so happened to be a very large boulder rolling towards his boat in a very fast manner. Thinking fast, but not logically, he leapt out of the vehicle quickly, sending him tumbling into some bushes. He got up quickly and brushed himself off. "Now, would someone like to inform me as to why a huge freakin' rock just bowled over my brand new car . . . erm . . . boat . . . thing!" he yelled to nobody in particular. Answering his call, the same dragon that he had pissed off earlier sprang out of the underbrush with a snarl. Lucien's eyes widened, then narrowed when he made the connection. "Oh, you again! Can't you just let it go?! Did I really even hurt you that much?!" he yelled at the beast. The creature's eyes narrowed, and it began to pace left as Lucien went to the right. "Alright, analysis and breakdown. 'Vegeta, what does the scouter say about its power lever?' 'It's over 9000!!1!one!!1'" he snickered at his joke, but this was no time to be referencing the internet, especially when there was nobody around to get his joke. "For real this time, analysis and breakdown." His mind sank a level to observe the dragon through a veil of mana. "Very strong. It doesn't have access to magic directly, and it's anatomy wouldn't allow firebreathing, that's good. The mana it takes in is converted to energy, which would give him a fairly good amount of time before he would get tired. I'll run a step-by-step like Sherlock Holmes." he resolved in the end. "It'll take the opening move." The dragon leapt forward, teeth bared and jaw ready to snap. "Teeth and head will come first, giving me no option for block and parry. I'll dodge to the left, watch for the tail." He dove to the left at the last second, and rolled, but just as he recovered he had to jump over the beast's tail. "Draw my knife and launch brief slice-slice-thrust combination. Most attacks will be dodged by it, so I need to figure out another way." His knife flashed as he missed the dragon several times. "Surroundings. I have the trees of the Hayseed Swamp to my back, and the open desert in front of me. Also in front is my smashed boat and the massive rock that murdered it. I need to create a brief distraction." Lucien's eyes darted about, considering his few options. Seeing its opening, the dragon lunged again, teeth snapping and claws swiping. Lucien sidestepped the teeth and ducked under the claws. What he did not account for, however, was the second set of claws that came whistling toward him. They caught on his arm, tearing the light sheen of fabric covering it, and drawing blood. He winced. It wasn't a very deep wound, not enough to handicap him. With a bit of effort, he recalled a quick healing spell that brought golden light around him. "I should've expected that; sloppy. Draco always said that I wouldn't regret studying up on Restoration a little bit." Feeling refreshed physically, but a bit drained mentally, Lucien continued to work out a plan. "Illusion magic. I'm not very good at it, but I can do enough to get the dragon to stop paying attention to me." The dragon in question happened to be glaring at him warily again. It was a bit more cautious now that Lucien was armed. "What I need is something to take its focus away." He wracked his brain for a moment before mentally snapping his fingers. "Got it." He lowered his arms to his sides and focused for a moment. His hands began to glow a faint gray color, then he raised them to the sky. Right on cue, two small golden sparks shot out and swirled up into the air. They circled around each other, going faster and faster until it was just a ring of color. The ring shortened in on itself and then exploded in a brief flash and large bang! "Modeled after the 'flashbang' grenade used by the military." he recalled. The dragon was awestruck at first, unable to tear its eyes off the fantastic display of golden light, but that just means that it was hit harder when the spell detonated. It roared in anger and stumbler forward, seeking its prey. Claws swiped and teeth gnashed, but all it was getting were mouthfuls of air. Lucien had covered his eyes with his arms before his spell exploded, thus preventing any of its harmful effects from reaching him. While the beast roared, he made his way towards the rock that had destroyed his creation. It was big, brown, and ready to roll. With a little bit of effort, he manipulated the ground below him into acting like a springboard, catapulting him into the air. He hit the top of the boulder hard, but he stuck the landing. The nonexistent judging board gave him scores of 8-9-9. Not bad, but not his best. Once he was situated, he looked down at the dragon. It was still thrashing about in blind agony. "Geez, I didn't think I charged that spell that much. How convenient." he thought. He gathered some more energy in preparation for the next feat of magic he was going to do. The mana pooled in his hands, seeming to drip off into the ground like water. He charged up the arcane power for a few more seconds, then slammed it all down into the boulder. The whole thing lifted off the ground a few feet, carrying Lucien on it. The creature on the ground had stopped squirming and regained its eyesight just in time to see Lucien flying on a rock. His arms were at his sides, and he raised them up, parallel with the ground, his fingers splayed outward. The boulder broke open at the center and shattered like glass. The shards of it flew outward, held in his magical grasp. "The easiest way to win a war is not to beat your opponent into submission, but to frighten him into laying down his weapons." The extremely sharp shards of rock all turned their pointed edge toward the dragon. Utilizing the last bit of his mana, Lucien made his eyes turn bright green. He leaned his head forward, and whispered, "Boo." The dragon let off a very lady-like scream and scampered back off into the swamps, leaving nothing behind but a small pile of wet sand. Lucien let his arms go limp, and he slow let go of the magic keeping him and the rocks airborne. He sank to the ground in exhaustion, but he knew that he couldn't just rest again. He was still in harms way, and it was a long walk back to Ponyville. One thing he decided before leaving though, was that he was gonna need a bigger weapon.