//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Clipped Wings // by Desrium //------------------------------// Chapter Four The greatest deeds and merits are nullified if one loses the virtue of humility. There were a lot more ponies in Hope than Falcon Wing remembered. He followed Alana through the streets, watching as ponies went about cleaning walls that were covered in graffiti and taking down defiled ministry posters. The ponies he and Alana rescued -- the majority of Hope at the time -- all fit in a cage. Now? It was a bustling place, a place more deserving of the name Ponyville than the Hellhound sanctuary. Earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi all in one place, working together; to Falcon Wing it was like seeing all he read in the archives and books come to life. While ponies were cleaning, others were busy creating. The red pegasus saw a trio of unicorns scampering about the place, a little younger than himself. Their cutie marks were all art related in some way. "Here! Here!" he would hear one of them call out, a colt of a light blue coloration and the others with him would rush over to his side to stare intensely at a wall. Then the magenta filly in the group would pull out a large rolled up canvas from her saddlebag and spread it out on the wall. In unison, they would barrage the sheet with their magic, bringing out vibrant colors and uplifting images to offset the lackluster palette of the city. Art groups like the fillies had their unique impact on the citadel. Store buildings all had their signs redone, most of them colorful and all around silly looking. But as if he needed a reminder that not all was sunshine and rainbows, Falcon Wing saw ponies in reinforced barding patrolling the streets or standing guard at street corners, their battle saddles ranging from various models of high powered rifles, automatic ones and shotguns. For good measure, each of them was equipped with pistol sidearms. When Sea Breeze said 'back at their old place', he meant it as such. Evidently, Alana knew this. She led Falcon to a large vacant lot that was isolated from the busier areas of Hope. It had a carpet of grass spread across it. It would not have been so those years ago. Those years ago, it would have been the flat of dirt and mud with scrap-shacks erected in various positions, littered with trash and rubble. Those years ago it would have been the place where the young Klaxon and Steiner lived... and where their lives were shattered. Falcon knew their story so his first thought was "Why the hell would they come back here of all places!?" He answered his own question with a question. "Wasn't dealing with the unpleasantness of life as opposed to avoiding it a testament to somepony's character and strength?" At the opposite side of the field stood a lone building. A house, one that wasn't a construction of concrete and stone. A lone, wooden house, dwarfed by the ruins that stood spaced out around it. It was rectangular in shape with the roof being half flat on the left side and raised into a sharp triangle on the right. There was another building off to its left, something that looked like a small barn, but it was built out from the wall of the house, connecting the two. Falcon Wing knew they were at the right place; the house had a distinct look to it: the same look as the hideaway in Ponyville. It made sense that the stallions would have sought out something similar to their old home when they left Hope. With their return, they seemed to have given the place of their youth the same restorative treatment, cleaning up the yard in front of their home and repairing the building itself. It was not the first place that came to Falcon's mind when he thought about ponies who were growing in fame and prominence... but the two would never forget their roots it seemed. The young stallion and mare walked across the field and up the small stairs leading up to a porch. Underneath an overhang was the door to the house. Falcon Wing raised a hoof to knock on the door, but then stopped midway as a thought occurred to him. "What's wrong?" Alana asked, raising a brow. "Nothing... well... it's silly... but you know about the business with the basement in Ponyville. Something just tells me Steiner and Klaxon would not be the type to spring for the front door..." Falcon Wing replied, looking over to his left at the other structure. Alana hummed thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it... I don't suppose they'd pass up an opportunity to take advantage of the metro tunnels. They'd be able to travel all across Hope if they found their way into those tunnels." "Brilliant," Falcon Wing replied, "because teleportation takes too much effort!" he added jokingly, nudging Alana in the side. The mare returned to gesture and ended up knocking the air from his lungs. "Sorry!" she said, draping a foreleg over the young stallion when he started to stagger. "No harm... done. I've been through worse... as you know," said Falcon Wing with a weak smile. He then asked "Want to go check that out?" as he motioned towards the extension to the house. "If they're home... and not underground, I'd figure they'd be in there doing whatever it is they do in there." They got off of the porch and walked around to the "barn" where the sounds of activity were unmistakable. Falcon Wing shot Alana a short glance then edged up to the door, knocking against it. The door then glowed red and slid to the side. What the two visitors saw amazed them. "Ah, Falcon Wing, Alana, good to see you both," Steiner greeted them, floating large spans of metal above him. Klaxon poked his head out from underneath another one of his contraptions, this one being particularly large. It was the wagon he pulled from Baltimare... but he had changed it drastically. He was covered in filth. "Well take a look at that. You two here because you caught Steiner on DJ Pon3 earlier?" the bronze stallion asked. "Mm hmm!" Alana chimed. "I think you left an impression on him!" Steiner bowed his head to her. "And everyone listening, I would hope. Rebuilding Equestria is a nationwide effort. We need willing hooves at work to accomplish that goal," he said before looking over to the contraption at the center of the large workspace. The building was far from a barn. It was a blend between a warehouse with all the shelves lining the walls and a wagon garage...but what laid there was no wagon. It wasn't one anymore. For one, there was no place front or back for a pony to pull the assembly of metal. Secondly, the circumference of its wheels were fitted with rubber for some reason; rubber with large ridges and indentations. "What kind of wagon is that?" Falcon Wing inquired "One that pulls itself, boy!" Klaxon replied before disappearing underneath it again. Steiner positioned the bits of metal he had suspended over the frame of the wagon, telekinetically bending them into shape and then fusing them into place. Magical sparks leaped from the construction. "Pulls itself? How?" the young stallion went on to ask, intrigued. He sat down and watched the two ponies tend to their project. Alana joined him in listening to the explanation. "Energy expenditure dampening assembly," Steiner replied simply. Klaxon poked his head out from underneath the chassis and simplified: "Pedal power! Found some old pre-war arcane-tech that works on the same principle." "Pedals?" Alana responded. "Found?" Falcon Wing said flatly. "And chains, gears and magic," Klaxon said to Alana. "Something we... acquired around the New Pegas area," Steiner answered Falcon Wing. "Where did you get the right chains and gears from?" was the caramel mare's next inquiry. Falcon stared at the two stallions blankly. "You guys went to New Pegas?" "Not directly there, no, but near enough," Klaxon replied, "found us some kinda... propeller-bike thing. Must've been a flying machine 200 years ago but when we found it the blades were all messed up and shit..." "So we decided to keep it as salvage until we found a use for its other parts," Steiner added, "and that time came just a few days ago when the ponies from far north started making their way to Hope to start a trade route. After some tales of... interest, Klaxon and I decided to mount a bit of an expedition to the land of ice and snow..." he paused and thought for a short while. "Would you mind if we brought them along, Klaxon?" the blue unicorn asked his comrade. "I don't see why not. What do you two say?" said the bronze earth pony. "Well that depends... what is it that you two are after...?" Falcon Wing asked. It looked like the beginning of another adventure for him and his friends.