The Machine

by ADRNEL

Chapter XXXIX~The End~

Once daylight dawned across Equestria, Luna and the rest of the palace guards surveyed the ruble that once formed the great castle on the site, all what is left is broken piles of stone, glass and objects. Luckily the gardens and library survived unscathed. As Luna walked around, she saw her sister's pet phoenix calmly perched on top of what was left of her sister's royal throne. The lunar princess just sighed with sadness and guilt. "I feel like I have failed you sister...had I known you were going down the dark path sooner I could've intervened." she said to herself with shame. "You wouldn't be wrongfully taken away from me..." a single tear rolled down her cheek and dropped on the cracked tiled floor.

"Uh, Princess Luna?" asked her guard Gleaming with slight concern. "You okay ma'am?"

Luna turned around and dried her tears, she quickly put on a stoic mask so as to not appear weak during this pivotal time. "Oh yes, I'm fine Gleaming, don't worry." she assured.

"What do we do now? What shall we tell our subjects?" he asked her, he was not sure how to break the news of Celestia's death to her subjects.

"Tell them that she died fighting the changelings and Chrysalis in a glorious last stand." she explained. "I want my sister's legacy to remain untarnished for as long as I am alive, and I will see to it that all evidence of her wrongdoings remain hidden away, I will not be an iconoclast against my own sister." she decreed to Gleaming. "As for what we do now, it's simple," she looked around at the remains of her former home. "we rebuild and start anew."

"How so?" he asked.

Luna just gave him a hopeful smile. "Maybe give our subjects more say in how they should be governed." she stated before she walked away to survey more of the area.

Once the guard was certain that the princess was out of earshot he gave an evil smirk. "And I, Thorax, shall make sure that my drone brothers and sisters' deaths shall not be in vain...and you can count on that." he muttered with venom in his voice as his eyes glowed green.

---

After a long train ride home, Adam, Twilight and their friends quietly returned to Ponyville, hardly any words were spoken along the way, both Adam and Twilight cuddled up to each other and sleep most of the way home, exhausted from a long night.

Adam and Twilight walked back together to Twilight's home at Golden Oaks Library. "Thanks..." began the mare, "...for saving me back there..." she said, unsure what to say next to the human.

"No problem at all." smiled Adam. "I will always be there to save those I care about but..." Twilight's ears perked up when he said that. "...but I think it is best that we remain friends." he sighed. "I just feel like..." he tried his best to explain himself without risking offended the unicorn. "...like I fell in love with you for the wrong reasons." he explained. "What I need in my life right now is to move on away from Mary, and being with you does not help..."

"Because I am Mary incarnate...I understand..." Twilight nodded in agreement, but in reality, she felt as if a knife stabbed her in the heart. The night they made love to each other, the countless lives she has lived for him, have suddenly become pointless and meaningless. But she kept a smile on her face so Adam would not worry about her and probe further. "I completely understand..." she nodded.

Normally the human would suspect something was off about Twilight's reaction, but he had a long day and night, he was completely bruised, battered and sleep deprived. "I'm glad you could understand." said a thankful Adam as he gave the unicorn a tight friendly hug. Twilight hugged him back, but screamed internally in her mind.

After a minute, they both broke the hug and said their goodbyes. Adam was soon on his way back to his house, as Twilight sadly walked inside her home and closed the door. The muffled cries of anguish and hurt soon emanated from inside.

---

Before he decided to go back to his house, Adam decided to make a short visit to the hill overlooking the town, a place he and Fluttershy used to go to be alone. He needed some much put off peace and quiet to clear his mind, he swiftly laid back on the soft grass and looked up at the clear blue sky. He felt guilty for turning down Twilight, but he knew it needed to be done in order to move forward with his new life in Equestria. With his machine completely destroyed, it appeared like he will be spending the rest of his natural life in this new land, but he was glad that he has finally found a place he could be happy in, the only thing that was missing for him however was companionship. But who can possibly fulfill such a role for him?

"Adam...?" said a voice, but it was no ordinary voice, it was a soft and familiar voice that reminded Adam of an angelic choir singing, he voice that sounded like heaven on Earth to his ears, or the sounds of a bright sunny day in a meadow filled with calling birds. A voice the human could not resist in ignoring, he got up from the ground and turned to see the source of such a gentle voice. To him, what he saw next could be described as nothing short of heavenly, her long mane the falls perfectly on her, her angelic face, her turquoise eyes that reminded him of clam and clear ocean waters full of life, plus that smile that would just melt your heart from its sheer sweetness that it generated. It was her, the mare he was honored to have, the mare who showed him how to love again, the mare that finally gave his life new meaning again.

This was indeed her, this was no illusion, she was there, standing, breathing, smiling, and yearning for him. This was the mare that drew the human towards her, that made the human just want to tackle her to the grass and make love to her all day long to make up for all the opportunities they missed if it wasn't for his need to savor every aspect of this moment. This was the mare that made Adam's heart palpitate with joy every time he heard her name, and that name was; "Fluttershy..." he happily announced as he sprinted towards her with arms wide open to finally embrace her after all this time. He now had everything he ever wanted, his life was now fully and truly complete.

---

Sunday, September 10, 1899

Back in Adam's former home, Mrs Tuppence calmly dusted around the house. Things have been extremely quiet since Adam left nearly a month go, and she started to worry for him. The front doorbell rang loudly, interrupting the silence of the house. She walked to the door and opened it to reveal Adam's only friend, Henry, at the door. "Oh, Mister Wotton, come on in." she invited him inside.

Henry straightened out his business suit. "Thanks, I won't be long though, the wife and kids are expecting me home soon." he explained. "I just wanted to know if you had heard anything from Adam lately?" he asked as he took off his bowler hat.

Tuppence gave a sigh of worry. "No, I haven't heard anything from him in almost a month now. It's like he just disappeared." she explained to him.

"His absence is sure getting worrisome, not like him to just leave without telling someone." he responded with concern. "The university wants me to tell him to come back, but as you said, no word of his whereabouts have surfaced yet." he walked over to Adam's study. Tuppence followed close and flipped the light switch on to reveal the room was still left the exact same way that Adam left it before he disappeared. Henry just looked forlornly around the room. He dearly missed his good friend.

"I still don't know what to do with his horses, or his things." began the old maid. "I'm getting too old to take care of them all by myself." she said.

"Well..." he gave what she said some thought. "...if he doesn't show up for another month, you are free to go work with us again, like old times." he offered the maid.

She looked reluctant, she felt like she would be betraying her employer, plus she was worried that he could still come back any day now. "What if he shows up?" she asked. "And what about the horses?"

Henry gave her a reassuring smile. "I have a cousin down in Kansas that would be willing to take care of them, he runs a horse ranch after all. Besides, in my honest opinion, those mares are too smart to be turned into meat or glue."

The maid nodded in agreement. "Ay Mr. Wotton, those are really smart mares." she agreed. "But what about his things?" she looked around at all of the stuff that was left behind.

"I'll take them, make sure that his legacy survives." he answered as he looked around. "His papers need to be published so everyone can see that he was ahead of his time." he looked over at Adam's desk, exactly the same way it was left.

"Well, that's good to know." the housekeeper stated with relief. "But I'm waiting another month before we discuss possible employment with you, I may be 73 years old now, but I still run a very tight ship you know." she joked around with a stern tone.

"I know, I know, I can believe that, the kids Lizzy and Ed will love to have you back." stated Henry as they both began to walk to the door. "But you know something?" he asked the old woman.

"What is it?"

"I'm actually glad that Adam is gone." Henry said bluntly to her.

"Why would you say such a thing?" she was confused.

"Because wherever he is now...I am sure he's at a place where he can be happy and live the life he always wanted." he smiled, he missed his friend so much, but at the same time, he was proud that his friend found a place to belong. Henry sighed nostalgically before he turned to leave. "Well, I am off before my wife starts to worry, we'll talk more about this later."

"I'll look forward to that." nodded the housekeeper as he lead the man to the front door. "Good night Mr. Wotton."

"The same to you Mrs. Tuppence." he said before the front door closed, once again the housekeeper was alone.

She walked over to the door of the office, sadly scanning the empty room. She also missed him, he may have been very difficult to work with sometimes, but she sure came to see him as almost like a grandson to her. "Godspeed Adam, wherever you are my fine lad, Godspeed." she smiled before she turned off the lights and closed the door. The room was once again shrouded in darkness, the items inside still waiting in vain for the return of their owner.

Outside, Henry looked back one last time at the house and smiled. He felt a sense a pride for his missing friend. Wherever he is, he has finally found happiness and maybe someone to love. Something he always dreamed for him.

He will not be forgotten.

THE END

Comments

[Onepieceking1]

Wow

[Starlight Nova]

If Adam Gray was voiced, what would he sound like?