//------------------------------// // Chapter Six // Story: Clipped Wings // by Desrium //------------------------------// Chapter Six Every search has a beginning, but not all end. Crates. A lot of them, all loaded onto the converted wagon, each one filled with provisions for the journey ahead; saddlebags chock full of supplies.They were lined up into neat, organized sections with food, clothing and the likes all separated into their designated section of the wagon. Underneath the awning at the back of the wagon, Alana and Falcon Wing laid as they did when departing Baltimare. Steiner and Klaxon sat up front, going over the last few details of their creation. They had their coats on, so Falcon Wing started chuckling when Klaxon turned his head to look out of the open rear of the cabin and shouted over the containers: "Brace yourselves! It might be a bit rough!" His face was barely visible but his voice wasn't hindered in any way. Spilling out of the openings in the cabin, red light danced around the garage, reflecting off of the shelves of scrap parts and arrangements of tools. Bolts of energy shot out of them, electrifying the air like a Novasurge rifle's shot. The magical power continued to gather quickly, swirling around the wagon until an almost solid scarlet bubble formed around it. Metal clattered on the shelves, jumping from the massive gathering of raw magical power. "And you said telekinesis was tough for you!?" Alana called out, Falcon Wing in her hooves; the red pegasus burying his face into her coat as he held onto her tightly. There was no reply. Steiner was locked in his focus, tapping into his incredible reserve of magical power. He was no scholar nor expert spell caster, but his latent magical potential was astoundingly high. The energy continued to coalesce, the bolts of electricity running across the chaotic edge of the bubble until everything became a flash of white. A musical sounding chime seemed so far off in the distance. An abrupt coldness swept over the ponies. Falcon Wing raised his head to the see the last of the dark blue unicorn's magic fade away, crimson ripples, sparks and bolts dissipating into thin air. Thin, frigid air. Spanning out for miles around them was white underneath that steely blue sky with nary a cloud in sight. Snow; actual snow and ice. Things the pegasi would have made fall over Equestria when they controlled the winter weather. Things that have not been seen by the average pony for over two centuries. Gigantic rocky spires were blue off in the distance, their peaks obscured by a fog that hung along their snowy caps. Mesas and and columns towered over the landscape all around the ponies, with gigantic glistening icicles hanging off of their edges. An occasional breeze blew powder across the frosty flat land, the sun's light twinkling off of the flakes. It made Falcon Wing's mouth hang agape. The air felt crisp on his tongue. "So that's what teleportation is like!" said Alana to the two stallions, simultaneously stroking the back of Falcon's head for the young pegasus pony was still awestruck and holding onto her. "Yep. Now you know what it's like to be in one place and then explode over to some place else!" Klaxon replied as he started to pedal idly, the large wheels of the carriage carrying the construct over the snowy terrain easily at a respectable speed. The tires dug in for traction and left their patterns in the snow and the carriage moved on. When Falcon Wing finally came to his senses, he was quick to ask: "Where are we heading anyway? The frozen north must be huge!" Shortly after, he realized he was still hugging Alana and he promptly released the caramel mare, who then said to him, "You'd be a lot warmer and a lot happier with hugs mister hero!" and squeezed him much tighter than he could ever do to her. He felt as if she would bend his wings that poked through his pegasus-fitting coat. "The caravan traders talk about a city in the ice that hold many ancient wonders," said Steiner in response, ignoring the young pegasus' plight behind him. "The Crystal Empire is an ancient city in the heart of the tundra. Not quite the empire as the name would have you believe, but the city is expansive. I would imagine you would have more information than I do since you have made the most of your access to the Enclave archives but from what I have been able to gather in recent days, Starswirl the Bearded's very own assistant --" "Auburn!" Falcon Wing managed to rasp from the grips of Alana's cuddling. "Ah, you have read about it. Most fortunate. Like I was saying, Auburn was a prominent pony during his age over a millennia ago. He had relocated to the city from Canterlot after his mentor passed on, taking his entire collection of records and notes with him. Some of these notes he rewrote and left copies of for the Canterlot libraries, which have been republished under the title of 'Obscure Unicorn History' in the years before the Great War. The rest however, are said to still be in the city's depths... untouched by time and hoof alike. This was made so when the city disappeared for 1,000 years and even after the Megaspells, they would remain unharmed... for Auburn left a guardian to protect his and Starswirl's work..." "Y'see, Steiner's plan is to get to the city, get to where the records are held and hand them over to the New Canterlot Republic. To start rebuilding our collective... collection of knowledge after Canterlot was destroyed," Klaxon said. He tapped his hoof on the terminal screen in the dashboard. "That's where this thing comes in. Stable-Tec integrated functions, perfect for treasure hunting!" "We are not treasure hunting, Klaxon. We are knowledge seekers," Steiner said with narrowed eyes. "Doesn't make much difference to me," Klaxon responded, much to Steiner's annoyance. When Alana finally released Falcon Wing, he gasped for breath for a period of time. When he regained his composure, he inquired "And what about the guardian? If something like that exists... something that can protect ancient text for over a thousand years, how are we going to get it to give us Auburn's work?" He heard Klaxon snicker. "Oh. Steiner's got that covered, don't you friend?" said the bronze pony. Falcon could feel the annoyance radiating off of the blue pony sitting ahead of him. "You know I do, Klaxon," Steiner retorted with some manner of spite evident in his voice. "Uh...guys?" Alana asked, her eyes passing in between the two of them somewhat worriedly. "Steiner?" Falcon Wing broached. "How?" he asked simply. He didn't want to seem like he was doubting the Unicorn who had proven himself so thoroughly... but he was not going to be ignorant about how his companion intended to go about this. How were they going to deal with magic that was centuries older than themselves? "I will reason with it. If that does not work I am going to defeat it," Steiner deadpanned. "... Wha --?" Falcon started to say but Steiner cleared his throat forcefully. "I do not act in arrogance, as I have told you before Falcon Wing. I merely act on the basis of my ability, and I happen to be very able, as you will confirm," said the blue Unicorn evenly. "Yes but --" "Then you have no reason to think I am unable to accomplish my task," Steiner said with a voice that brought with it finality. Falcon Wing couldn't do anything but nod, trusting his friend. He was great. He was powerful. He was Steiner. How could he fail? "Yeah. No reason at all," Falcon Wing replied, unable to shake the feeling of worry. "Uuuuhh...guys!?" Alana shouted, watching as the snow stirred all around the carriage. Frost shot into the air, powder blew on the cold wind. Emerging from the blanket of white was a pack of ten Ewes...what had become of them. They were no longer tiny but their bushy coats were still indeed of many hues. Underneath them were bodies packed with bulging muscle and their faces were feral and vicious looking. Two large canines pointed out of their mouths from their lower jaws, which were longer than the top ones. The ponies were surrounded by the multicolored monsters but they were far from defenseless. Falcon Wing rushed out from underneath the wagon's awning, spreading his black wings and taking to the air with crimson trails. He reached into his coat and from his holster drew Klaxon's 10 mm pistol. Alana leaped out of the carriage with the Peashooter in her mouth. Steiner levitated out his assault rifle and combat shotgun, the guns floating over the carriage like turrets. Klaxon threw himself out on the snow, head low. He scraped at the frozen ground and snorted, twin trails of vapor expelled from his nostrils as he stared down his share of the Devil Ewes. He did not need a weapon to handle them.