Clipped Wings

by Desrium

Chapter Twenty-Three: In Closing

In Closing

Some endings are just the start of a new beginning.

"Watch your step! The rest of the way down is a tricky thing to handle!" Klaxon called out from the mangled edge of an enormous hole in what was left of the Crystal Empire's library. The wagon-mobile was parked outside and hanging off of his sides were empty saddlebags.

Quite honestly, the building was in surprisingly good shape for something that was so close to the chaos of the tower's destruction. It was in good shape for something that had endured the end of the world, at that. Its exterior was a silvery metal of master quality crafting like the Magimus' anchors. Angular snowflake fixtures were on either side of the building's doors, a tall, gold and black obelisk shaped entrance that was simply grand to behold. As soon as a pony stepped through the doors they were greeted by rows of shelves running across the huge hall and the walls with thousands of books sitting on the shelves, at the bottoms of which icicles pointed to the blue and white floor. After the striking collection of centuries old literature they then saw the skeletons laying on the floor, the cold making their bones hard and brittle.

"Dear Celestia, there are no words..." Falcon Wing said shortly after the group's arrival at the ruins, frowning at the multitude of remains which littered the floor. He could only hope death came quick for the pour souls that spent their last moments inside the library; rather than them waiting out the aftermath of Megaspell detonation within the thick walls of what should have been a sanctuary of learning.

The clicking of the battle saddle's firing mechanism echoed thereafter through the great hall. When the others shot looks at her, Alana said somewhat sheepishly "... There might be zombies running around."

"Well you don't need to tip them off that we're here. If we come across some zombie sons of bitches I can buck them out of undeath into their well deserved afterlife," Klaxon had replied, with Steiner deadpanning, "For somepony who was too tired to stand not too long ago, you're pretty eager to get back into a fight."

In the time after they advanced to the rim of the pit, knowing that the fabled chamber wherein Auburn's writings and Starswirl's final works were held was just below their hooves. Falcon Wing circled about in the air, tracing the gnarled edge of the puncture in the roof. While the majority of the library was shrouded in shadow and its colors were muted, sunlight streamed in through the devastating wound left by a wayward fragment of the formerly standing spire. Said fragment continued down some distance, exposing several levels below. The still burning rubble was bright at the very bottom of the chasm it created. Orange flickered across Klaxon's face and danced in his green eyes as he peered down at the damage. He was joined shortly by Steiner, who regarded the sight with a frown.

"For over a millennia that chamber has gone undisturbed," he began to say. "and then this happens. A flaming piece of a castle crashes into it."

"You're the mystical one here, Steiner. Wouldn't you say it knew it was time to be opened? Since the Sparkle Shiny is gone and all?" Alana asked without looking back at the unicorn. She was on the watch for hostiles, swiveling around the circumference of the crater, peering into the shadows beyond the pillar of light showering down through the smashed roof.

"I am inclined to explain it away as random chance... but I suppose acknowledging that there might be other things at work here is my first step in becoming a proficient wizard," Steiner answered. He snorted afterwards. It sounded so strange to him, actually calling himself a wizard.

"If there was some higher power that wanted to reveal the sanctum, this was one hell of a way to do it. I can smell the burnt pages already," Klaxon said flatly. He had a point; what were the chances that ancient scripture would have survived such a violent unveiling?

"Anyway, you are planning on becoming a... wizard?"

Steiner sighed. "It couldn't be helped after all the Magimus has told me." replied the blue unicorn. Somewhat tentatively, with an air of caution around him, his horn became an overcast of ruby light radiating outwards into the darkened regions of the library. Pulled from the depths of the ruin was the hulking shard of the Crystal Tower, smoke billowing up before the actual rubble itself became visible. Falcon Wing disappeared from sight and Steiner lobbed the smouldering remains out from whence it came. It came down audibly onto the remnants left in the aftermath of decimation.

"There were no shortages of comparisons of myself to Starswirl himself. While such things should be an honor... the Magimus only highlighted my faults with magic using them. It has gotten me thinking... we intend to recover lost knowledge... but we have no one to teach it and very few who could attempt to learn..."

"Aaaand you're taking up the responsibility of that yourself. Without telling anyone," Klaxon stated.

"Well, I did tell you just now, didn't I?" Steiner replied somewhat wryly.

Falcon Wing swooped into the library then, doing several banking passes around the pit before finally coming to a landing beside Alana.

"And I thought Ponyville was a mess before!" he joked. "You guys sprucing this place up too any time soon?"

"It's definitely a possibility... depending on your definition of soon. I want to spend some time away from the cold for a while before I commit to rebuilding any cities!" Klaxon replied. "Not to mention, Steiner's decided that he wants to start experimenting with magic. At least it's not drugs, am I right?"

"Well... I know of a few cases where there isn't much of a difference..." Alana chimed in. Falcon Wing really didn't want to know how Alana got to knowing about that, though he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd end up finding out eventually, sooner or later as it may be. Like a collapsing tower, there was a feeling of inevitability.

"Your talents are wasted on being a jokester as well, Klaxon" Steiner deadpanned. "Yours too, Alana. Or at least, I hope you're joking."

"As far as you're concerned, I am." Alana replied, echoing the blue unicorn's closing statement to DJ Pon3. She glanced over to him and winked.

"Good girl," was all Steiner had left to say concerning that subject.

"Fun times aside," Falcon Wing started to say, "you're starting to actually practice magic? Not just learning a few spells here and there when it's convenient?" he asked.

Steiner nodded. "To do anything other would be a waste of my innate talent. The Magimus has taught me that much... as well as serving as a warning as to what happens when one takes it too far. And while I am on the topic of warnings, I must thank you for your intervention during my... confrontation. If you hadn't, I fear that I would have done something that I would either regret for the rest of my life... or I would have become the architect of my own destruction."

"I-it was nothing really! Any pony could have done what I did! Besides, you should be thanking Alana... she was the one who hammered that lesson into my brain. Emphasis on hammer," Falcon Wing said.

"Mister hero, at it again!" Alana teased.

"You have demonstrated a courage and vigor that I have not seen in ponies many years your senior, Falcon Wing. I have seen you at your weakest... and I have seen you at your strongest. This is why I would be honored if you were to accompany me on my journey. I would be honored if you would be my assistant," Steiner told Falcon with a humble bow of his head.

"Me? Become your Auburn --?"

"No," Steiner said, perhaps a bit too quickly. The things the fiendish Magimus had said about Falcon Wing were still fresh in his mind. "If you are to be anything of mine then it would only be my assistant, and it would be you and you alone if you agree to that much."

"I..." Falcon Wing looked over to Alana, as if to ask her for her take on the matter. She had a broad smile on her face and she flicked a hoof at him as if to say "Go on!"

"I... would be glad to be your assi --"

"And I'll be happy to help how ever I can too!" Alana blurted out, her voice carrying through the spacious hall.

"Klaxon?" Steiner inquired without fully forming the inquiry.

"We've been through everything together since we were foals. What the hell makes you think that will change now?"

It was at that moment Steiner felt the onset of something he hadn't felt in... years. His eyes stung, he felt fluid damming up around them. His breath was caught in his throat and its lingering there created a mild discomfort. He cleared his throat and looked down the hot, glowing chasm.

"Right then, I believe our last bit of business is simply retrieving those documents..." he said in an effort to maintain his composure and stony disposition.

"All together?" Falcon Wing asked, prepared to storm into the chamber with his friends at his side.

"Actually, Falcon ...couldn't you just fly in, grab them and fly out?" said Alana.

"... This is true. Gimme your saddlebags Klaxon, this won't take long..."

Epilogue: A Pony's Journal

It's been about... a week since Alana and I finished moving out of our home in Ponyville. I want to say it was such a short time we spent there but since most of my time was spent living in the cellar of the place, my sense of time has been...skewed. As are my memories...it's only now that it has truly hit me; I was living in the place other ponies died in, even if it was a comparatively short period. It's... creepy, to the least. I'm very happy to be living in the citadel as opposed to that house. Maybe a few Hellhounds will fancy it better than myself. Maybe they'll find Steiner's tunnels!

I know Steiner wants me to "refine" my note taking skills -- it's why he had Klaxon put this terminal together for me in the first place -- but I actually find it difficult to sit down and... type. Type about... things, as random as they may be. Steiner thinks working on description and the likes will improve the quality of notes I help him take but honestly, I think he just wants me to have something to do while he works on... well, understanding just what the hell we got from the Crystal City. It's pretty archaic and needs a bit of deciphering. I'm guessing that's where Obscure Unicorn History steps in...

A few NCR ponies popped by to check on progress. Most of them were pretty blown away by the fact we got back ancient relics without us having to tell them about the Magimus. Which is pretty good because none of us are too interested in sharing the details about what happened up north. Klaxon is organizing trade and talking about setting up a hub up there but that's as far as he'll go on the subject of the tundra. I think the ponies like Rego will make the most of the story though. I'm just glad the Shadow Bane won't be the only focus of the tale... the Crimson Explosion's getting a bit of a following of his own.

Alana said she wanted to bake. I told her bullets don't get along well with ovens. We haven't been on speaking terms for a while after that...

She kissed me. I'm not sure why -- and it's pretty damn weird to admit that I don't know why my girlfriend decided to kiss me -- but she kissed me when I went to apologize. She might as well have bucked me square in the gut, or have crushed my lungs with a hug with how stupid I must have looked. All I did was stare at her then she started laughing.

I really am lucky to have a mare who could put up with a pony like me.

Is this what a receptionist does? If so, Alana would not have been able to hold down that job she took in Baltimare. Good thing we really didn't have to stay those two weeks. She might have gone mad.

I'm actually helping Steiner with magic now! I find it really easy to type now after the things we've been trying our hooves at. And by we I mean him, of course. I just watch or fetch a book when he needs me to. Having wings makes navigating his growing study a... breeze. Steiner is right, my talents are wasted on joking around.

He turned it into an orange! What the hell!? We spent the entire afternoon trying to develop a reversal spell! Klaxon came in and promptly had a fit. I didn't know what was going on, Steiner had some idea but clearly did not expect it to turn into an ORANGE! Then Alana comes in and, well, now she won't look at oranges the same way again!

Clack clack cloppity clop. I think I'm pretty good at this writing stuff. Steiner's found some old arcane-chemistry set thingy and now we're exploring the magical world of potion making! I'm keeping extra careful records on the experiments and whatever results we get. Last thing we need is a potion that turns things into fruit! Or worse!

Klaxon went back up north for a while. He's actually gonna help rebuild part of the city! Funny thing -- and by funny I mean "holy fuck" strange -- I think I saw Rego around the marketplace. I can't be sure... maybe I was just seeing things. But I'm a pony who works with magic... a pony who has fought a ghoul that believed dark magic was they way to restore their body... a pony who saw another one embody the will of magic itself. After all the shit I've been through I'm certain something's up with that pony... but he seems like he means well enough.

It's hard to believe time's gone by so fast. When we were up north...it was the same day for hours. When we teleported back, it was...before dawn the day after we left. My feelings now match how I felt then. Steiner and I have come so far yet we're still so very far away from some end goal we don't know...can't visualize, but we know it's there. We'll know when we get there I suppose. Steiner wants to master magic to the point where he can comfortably teach others, though. I'm gonna be there jotting things down as he goes. Alana and Klaxon will be there too. That's a start -a step out of the cellar as it were...

Fallout Equestria: Lifted Hearts

Author's Note:

And the hardhats come off.

Tangential Writings: Short stories after the end.

Comments

[Mr Pones]

Damn son, that's a lot of chapters uploaded in one day.

[Desrium]

2143280

Chapters written months ago. Just transferred them over to the story that started it all.

[Desrium]

2298019

Haven't read other Fallout Equestria stories aside from Guise of Chaos, Shadowfall and The Hooves of Fate. Murky and Pink Eyes are definitely high on my list for when I do have the time to spare, though.

[BlackjackTehSecuritymare]

I am one of thee best Project horizons fans, I shall conquer this fic! and then tell you all how awesome it was!

[Desrium]

2770811

Scumbag S key. Surprised MS word didn't catch that when I was writing it. I could only imagine the chapters I wrote in-browser being rife with typos like that.

Thanks for taking the time to read, I really appreciate it.

[Desrium]

3160065

In the words of a good friend of mine who also writes:

"Disgusting."

It is a sin of mine and I'm not sure if I ever kicked the habit while writing this story, or if I changed the format near the end. I should go fix that some time.

[Desrium]

3544973

Falcon hipster. In this new light, I'm starting to think he deserved his many asskickings.

[Desrium]

4358345

I see your Aerosmith and raise you an ACDC.

[Desrium]

5578937

Good to see you back 'round these parts.

[AlmanacP]

Your book has been advertised on the new facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/foebooks/ :)

[Desrium]

6556370

Danke schoen.

[blue skys]

Loved this story the hole way through! will definitely be reading Tangential Writings: Short stories after the end, next.