The Equestrian Venture

by TheCrimsonDM

Chapter Thirty Two: The Old Windmill

The Equestrian Venture

Chapter Thirty Two: The Old Windmill

Written by TheCrimsonDM

A couple of days after the birthday party Rita managed to convince Fluttershy to take her over to see her new windmill. The road out of town took longer than she had originally planned, but the walk was quite peaceful. A long road stretched from the town, through some woods, and out into an open field where there sat a lonesome windmill upon the top of an old hill.

The windmills blades had long since stopped turning and with all the damage they had received from the ravages of time it wasn’t hard to figure out why. Several bird nests had been built into the blades themselves. The outer walls of the windmill were for the most part intact, with vines growing up them and a few holes here and there. This place might be more of a hassle than I had originally hoped.

As the two approached the front door of the windmill in question Rita stopped and admired the old mailbox that was situated on the side. Covered in rust and full of holes, the mailbox was in its death throes, but there was something special about it.

The front porch was covered in dirt, but an old rug could be seen jutting out from underneath. It read, “Welcome.”

Rita looked over at Fluttershy and smiled. At least I’m walking again.

“Let’s go in,” Rita said. She then pushed against the door, it didn’t budge. The hinges were rusted over, and the door handle itself refused to move. Rita had a solution to this. She took a few steps back, and motioned for Fluttershy to join her. Carefully Rita lifted up her left hand, the purple gem shoved into the back of her palm began to glow dimly. Okay this has to work.

Suddenly an invisible force flew out from her hand and shoved against the door. For a moment the door held fast, groaning as it strained to stay upright, than the hinges snapped and the door went sailing inward before crashing against the far wall. Oops… that might have been a bit too much force.

The inside of the windmill was dark and the smell of mildew wafted out. A thick layer of dust and dirt covered the floor, various plants were growing along the wall, and some grass even grew by one of the boarded up windows. Great, well this explains why she gave it to me for free.

Carefully Rita walked inside and the floorboards creaked underneath her steps. Okay, note to self, be wary of possible basements.

Fluttershy stood nervously at the front door and looked down at the floor with caution. “Um, Rita, are you sure that this is safe?”

“Safe, no. Fun, still no. But mandatory, yes. Celestia gave me this place, so I need to see what I’ll be working on fixing up after all. It’s almost like a tower, so maybe I can do something nice with it,” Rita explained, as she daringly walked further inside.

The first floor of the windmill was virtually empty of furniture, but with a staircase leading to a second floor, and a door under that which looked like a possible entrance to a basement, there was plenty for her to explore. Carefully Rita made her way to the staircase and began walking up it. The steps cried out in agony with each step, but she managed to make it to the top without any mishaps.

The second floor was actually a nice big open loft with most of the windmill’s mechanical parts still here, just broken. The second floor was much brighter than the first floor was, mostly due to the windows not being boarded up. There was also less dust and no plants up here, which was a good sign, but that didn’t mean it was usable just yet. This place still needed renovation before it would good enough to live in.

Back downstairs Rita checked out the door which did indeed lead to a basement. Carefully Rita moved down into it. It was far too dark down here to see properly, but Rita was prepared for this. She quickly swapped out the gem on her left hand gauntlet and brought a light spell to life. With her gauntlet now casting a bright light all around her she moved forward into the darkness.

Downstairs Rita was surprised to say the least. The room down here was well built to stand the test of time, with stone walls, and even a reinforced roof to keep the floor above from collapsing. Little to no damage had been done down here. There was still more to this room that got her excited. Machines, a furnace, anvil, and various other workshop tools were down here. It was like a little secret workshop for metal crafting.

A small desk over in the corner had a few binders and notes on top of it. Rita couldn’t help but to quickly go and check them out. The binders were full of schematics and notes, the names on the sides showed what the contents of each would be. Binders ranging from communications to weapon research were all down here. One particular book actually seemed to be a journal or logbook of some kind. Rita took a look at the first page.

“Day 1.

Today our research begins here in our new safehouse. We are here mostly for research and development. But we also have to keep an eye out on the local monsters coming out of the Everfree Forest. It also doesn’t help that I’ve heard rumor of some kind of bugbear. After the incident at our Canterlot Facility, we’re on thin ropes with Princess Celestia. If we mess this up, we can kiss our career and possibly our old lives away completely.

Sweetie Drops, celebrating a new life.”

Rita skipped forward a few pages.

“Day 20.

As a team of three, it’s been weird being the only one who was moved here under a new name and disguise. The members of my team know my real identity but that doesn’t help very much when I have to go out and pretend to be a different person altogether. I’ve met a cute mare though, and we’ve been going out a lot. Lunches, bench sitting, and just generally talking to her have all been amazing experiences. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have lost my mind with this new identity thing… but she gives me hope that I might be able to live here without trouble.

Sweetie Drops.”

Rita moved to the last written page in the logbook. She had to figure out why they just abandoned this place altogether.

“Day 90.

So today we go the order from Princess Celestia. The bugbear caused enough damage and chaos that there are ponies protesting in her streets. The worst part is that this monster ties back to our group. So Celestia has ordered us to either go into hiding under new names, and lives, or if we were already undercover to stay that way. It could take years before we are allowed to take our old lives back, if ever.

I would be more upset, but recently I’ve been sharing my home with a particular unicorn mare. We actually moved in together, and even if I only have one bedroom and one bed, I’m not complaining. Actually that just makes it all the better if I’m to be honest. I don’t know how she will take it if she ever found out who I really was, but I don’t know if I’ll ever come out of hiding so long as I get to hide away with her.

So we are closing down this safe house, and locking it away. Hopefully it will never have to be used again, but if it does we have our machines just for that occasion. All three of us are staying here in Ponyville for the time being, but since we no longer have our organization we are allowed to leave if we want to. Though I know that I won’t move, I like it here too much.

Sweetie Drops, signing off for the last time.”

“Well then,” Rita said to herself. This has certainly been a discovery and a half. I should probably try and keep this bit of information a secret, after all Celestia must’ve known that I’d discover this place if I came here.

Next to the log book was a key, Rita quickly grabbed it and went back upstairs. She had a feeling that this key went to the basement door, and once she was upstairs she tried the lock and it worked. Now feeling more secure up here Rita turned to face Fluttershy. The pegasus still hadn’t crossed the front doors threshold yet.

“Um, Fluttershy,” Rita said. “Do you want to come in or are we going to be going back home now?”

“Can we go home? I don’t like this place very much.”

Rita looked back at the basement door. Well I for one love it here.

“Yeah we can go home,” Rita said.

Rita couldn’t help but to wonder how long it would take to actually convert the little windmill into a new home. A week, two weeks, even longer? She didn’t know. But she had a feeling that it would be a very busy and tireless time until then. Her little adventures would probably have to be put on halt until it was done, and that was slightly annoying. That being said, this could be a time of information gathering for her. What kinds of things would Rita discover during that time, what rumors and myths could she find out, and what kinds of secrets she could discover were all a mystery to her. A mystery that excited her more and more by the second.