I sighed from the back seat of my sister’s jeep as we drove to the convention center. “Do I really have to do this?”
My other sister, Katie, grabbed me by the shoulders and glared into my face. The curly pink wig on her head only barely out matching the mass of pink her outfit contained. “YES! I spent too long on that steampunk suit for you not to wear it! Now stop complaining or I’ll make you wear the full ensemble!”
I sighed and got comfortable again. It’s not that I disliked cosplay, but I prefered to wear what I wanted. Though I do have to admit that the combat boots, tan shirt, brown striped slacks, fingerless gloves, and leather holster are pretty good looking. The top hat and leather coat are pretty snazzy too, probably would be better if I had a cane or something with it all though. “Fine... but I still want a cane or something.”
Jessie, the sister who was driving, yelled back at us. “Would you two shut up?! We’re almost there, so you can buy your stupid cane at one of the booths Zeke.”
I leaned back in my seat and huffed a little as Katie stuck her tongue out at me. “Whatever...”
Equestria
Celestia looked out at the statue garden and felt a cold wave of anxiety wash over her. She shook it off and walked away from the window shortly afterwards though, heading for the throne room and letting out a deep breath. “Too many times have I made enemies. If there are any more incidences like Discord, I’m not sure if my sanity will hold.”
Celestia shook her head and put on the same mask she had worn for millennia as she walked into the throne room. Luna sat on her throne and glanced over at her sister with a smile. “Sister! You’re almost late. Does something trouble you?”
She smiled at her sister and sat down in the throne next to her. “It is nothing you should trouble yourself with Luna. I’ll tell you in a moment.”
Luna would have pressed further, but there were ponies who were requesting their attention. A certain prince had just caused another problem in the kingdom and she didn’t need to be distracted when dealing with the fall out. “Very well then Sister. We shall wait.”
The petitions were soon dealt with, and both sisters were roaming the Statue gardens. They both walked down the rows of statues both carved and, for a very few, enchanted. Luna finally looked over at Celestia and frowned. “What is it that troubles you Sister?”
Celestia sighed and stopped at a small corner in the path. “It is a silly fear to be sure Luna, but since Discord escaped I’ve had the uneasy feeling that eventually one of the other threats we’ve defeated and sealed in stone will break free.
Luna frowned as well, but shook her head. “You needeth not worry sister. The spells on the other times we’ve imprisoned monsters in stone did not require The Elements. We shouldn’t need to worry.”
Celestia smiled softly at her sister as they rounded the corner. “You’re right Luna. I’m just worrying myself over no-” Celestia and Luna both froze as they looked up and down the path. At the very end, where a statue once stood, was now a pile of rubble and a message. On the undamaged pedestal, was the plaque that read the statues name.
Invention
“No.......” Celestia turned to Luna and they both started heading for the castle. When they got inside, they summoned the guard. “Summon the Elements, NOW!”
Back to Zeke
It was the greatest thing I had seen. Ever. Of all time. As I stood next to the booth, I stared at what could only be called a work of art. The blade gleamed, the barrel was well polished, and best of all... it was within my price range and made of actual metal. There was also this really cool little orange gem necklace in the shape of a snaggle tooth that came with it. I looked down at the Steampunk cutlass and grinned like a madman. “How much for both?”
The booth’s vendor looked at it and then at me. “85.”
“Deal.” I handed the guy the cash, snatched the necklace, and grabbed the blade. It was a lot lighter than I expected. “Thanks for doing business.” I chuckled as I walked away towards the concession courts. I mean, I just got a weapon, sharpened even, for what must have been at least thirty percent of the actual price of the blade. That plus an awesome necklace that makes me look a little better in this outfit?
Just. Yes.
I got to the concessions and immediately spotted my sisters. They looked over and waved as they came over. “Hey Jess, Kate, look at what I got!” I sat down next to them and pulled out the sword. “Best part. It’s not foam.”
Jessie stared at me in shock and shook her head before she could respond. “Zeke, are you nuts? Mom would kill you if you brought that thing home.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh like she could do anything about it. I already bought it, and I’m keeping it. Besides, it came with the necklace.”
Katie reached over and poked at the necklace. “Can I see it?”
I snatched up the blade and held it next to me as I leaned back. “Heck no! This thing’s sharp, and I’m keeping this necklace on my person. It’s freaking amazing and-” I was about to put the blade in the holster on my back when it started to vibrate with a small hum. “Um....wut?” The three of us stared at the blade as it started to shake. It suddenly lurched up into the air, dragging me with it. Both it and the necklace were glowing a faint brown as it flew around in a few circles. “What the heck is going on!?”
Jessie and Katie yelled up from below. “Let go!”
I tried to drop the blade and the brown glow started to move towards the barrel of the cutlass’ gun. “I can’t!” The necklace was shining even brighter and was starting to burn. I pulled at my arm, trying to force myself to let go, until the blade lurched up again and flipped me above it. It suddenly shot an orange blast down into the ground and the both of us started to plummet into the hole that had formed.
I was pretty sure that others could hear me scream until the same hole in reality that I had entered sealed itself behind me.
Equestria (1500 years ago)
Discord flossed his teeth as he floated above Celestia. The princess was going over several petitions that had been sent to her and sighed in annoyance. “Discord, what art thou doing here?”
The draconequus kept flossing as he floated upside down over to a chair. “Just seeing if some proper hygiene of my teeth will undo something.” He licked over his teeth and frowned after going over his snaggle tooth.
Celestia sighed. “Yes, We know that Luna and I knocked thine tooth out when we first met and we both give our sincerest apologies. No, we don’t know where it is, nor do we have the time to search.” She looked at Discord in the eye and glared at him slightly. “Now could you please leave our quarters? We have petitions that need to be looked over.”
Discord began to snap his fingers, but froze for a moment. “Well, there seems to be an interesting development.” Before Celestia could ask what, Discord vanished from the room.
Back to Zeke (1500 years ago)
I fell for...okay fell isn’t the right word. Plummeted fits this much better. I still couldn’t let go of this damned sword and the necklace felt like fire. “For the love of god STOP DRAGGING ME!”
It seemed that the necklace had decided to finally listen to me at that moment, because I suddenly lost a great deal of momentum and everything was hit by a sudden blast of color. I stumbled as I landed on the ground and barely kept myself from falling. “Oh... well then.” I looked at the necklace for a moment as it stopped glowing and looked around. “Thank’s for listenIIIHIHIHIHIHNG!”
And it was then that I realized that I was on top of a very, very, very high tower. I pressed myself into the ground and started to crab walk my way around the edge. “Ooooooooh Dear Lord Oh Dear Lord Oh Dear Lord! Please be a hatch somewhere on this thing PLEASE!”
Sadly for me, there was no hatch. I whimpered slightly as I looked over the edge again and suffered a severe sense of vertigo. “Why? Just why me?” I put my cutlass in the holster and it fit a lot better than I thought it would. “Okay... let’s just see if I can find a way to climb down... nice and easy.” I slowly made my way around the edge of the tower and eventually got to a window. “HA! Success! Now all I have to do to get down is...”
I froze at the realization of what I had to do. I looked past the window and saw that it didn’t just end at the ground. No, this particular window had to be facing what could only be a cliff. “Oh god damn it.”
