Sins of the Father

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

The California sun was set low in the sky, coating the golden coast in a wet, sticky heat. A lone figure sat atop a hill, respectfully looking down towards the ocean and appreciating the sight before it.

The young man took his helmet off, letting his face feel the salty air clearly. He tucked his goggles against the off-road helmet, the strap stretching all the way around.

“This is why I ride,” the rider thought. A beautiful sunset, reflecting off the crashing waves, with nothing but grass, sand, and nature.
But it was time to head home. He pulled his goggles back over his eyes, and the young rider headed back into the suburbs of San Diego. He rolled his bike down a hill, a mixture of grass, sand and dark dirt. The knobby tires gripping the earth below it and sending him forward.

With the coast on his left, and land on his right, he realized there really was no place he’d rather be: In his homeland, on his bike, happy just to be alive and productive.

His good mood was interrupted by a siren and blue lights behind him. The rider glanced in one of his mirrors, and then down to his speedometer. He pulled to the side of the road and put his feet down.

The sleek, aerodynamic police cruiser tailgated him to the shoulder of the road. A minute went by and a California State trooper stepped out of the vehicle.

“Do you know why I stopped you today?” the officer asked in a demeaning manner.

“I can’t say I do,” said the young man.
“You were doing 15 over back there,” the officer stated.
The rider, his tinted goggles masking his face, simply stared at the officer.
“License,” the trooper demanded. “And take off those goggles.”

The young man reached into his wallet and withdrew two cards, then stretched the goggles over the mouthpiece of his helmet.

“Military?” The trooper raised an eyebrow, checking the first I.D.
“Navy reserve.”
“Eli…”
“That’s affirmative.”
“Related to…”
“Yes, the attorney."
The officer took one look at the rider, then back to the IDs, and then handed them back to him.
“Go, I want no part of this.”

Eli withheld every smartass remark he wanted to make. While his father’s reputation had saved him yet again, that same man taught him that once you’ve won a legal battle, you shut the hell up.

The rider started his bike up and rode off, the sky now nearly black.
Eli pulled into a familiar driveway, downshifting and engine braking into the garage. He dismounted his KTM 690, essentially a street-legal dirtbike.

He parked it amongst a collection of other bikes, about a dozen or so, parked very closely together. The 4-car garage itself was very spacious. It housed two sedans, a pickup truck, and an area that looked to have been expanded to be a motorcycle work area/storage.

The young man pulled his helmet off, his face dripping with sweat from riding all day. He dropped his heavy rucksack on the ground.
A door opened, with a young girl standing in the doorway.

“You’re late,” she crossed her arms and pouted her lip.

“I’m never late, I arrived exactly when I wanted to,” Eli smirked.

His sister smiled, and ran to embrace him. Having last seen him at his graduation from Recruit Training nearly a year ago.
“Come on, let’s go see mom and dad.”

Eli followed Marcella through the spacious living room. The back deck had a porchlight on, and Eli had a hunch his parents would be enjoying their nightly glass of wine.

The porch overlooked the shoreline at a modest distance, and now the moon reflected off the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Eli opened the door, his parents turning around in their chairs.

“Son! Welcome home,” his father stood up and shook his hand. “Please, have a seat. Wine?”
“Whiskey?” Eli said questioningly.
“Sure, coming up,” his father went into the house to fetch him a glass.
“How was your week, mom?” Eli hugged her without her having to stand.

“It’s been a long week. The new gym we opened had a mold problem and a roof leak, zoning has been a nightmare, but its looking good now. But my biggest concern is that your sister has been seeing that Reyes kid from down the block.”

“Ooh,” Eli teased. “Jose’s kid? Marcella’s got a boyfriend!”
“Shut up! Carlos is not my boyfriend,” Marcella shouted. “And besides I’m 13, I can have a boyfriend now if I want.”

“Nope, you’re going to be single forever and you better start getting used to it,” Eli’s father emerged from inside the house with a glass of ice and a bottle of bourbon.
“Your favorite.”
“Dad, you know me too well.”
Eli took a swig of the drink and downed it quickly, mostly trying to impress his father.
“So you’re finished with all that job training now?” Eli’s mother asked.

“Yeah,” Eli replied. “No more of that. All done, I have monthly drills to attend, but that’s it now. No more training. I can go to school now and find a place.”

“Oh, nonsense,” Eli’s father shrugged. “You should stay here. Let us take care of things while you go to school. We’ve never had any military in the family before. I’m sure it’s hard on you.”

“Plus, we actually kind of like having you around now, you know?” Marcella nudged him.
“Well, I guess that’s fine,” Eli scratched his head. “But I need to start looking at colleges this week if I want to start in the fall.
“I don’t understand you, you’re all about going from one place to another, you need to learn to sit back and relax. Go ride your motorcycle or something. Maybe even with your old man.”

“I was raised by a workaholic lawyer and a fitness instructor, it’s hard for me to sit still.”
“Watch your mouth, boy,” Eli’s father snapped. “I’ll whip you in those turns, you know. You may be able to ride dirt, but on the street your old man’s got you beat.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Eli rolled his eyes. “Street is boring, anyway. Too much traffic and cops. Trails and dirt, you can go anywhere.”
“Put your money where you mouth is, boy,” Eli’s father took a sup of wine.

A few weeks had gone by since Eli’s return to civilian life. Sleeping in sometimes as late as 10, he felt guilty knowing what those who were active were going through. But he made his choice. And going active in the military could be done at his leisure.

One thing that always bugged Eli was that his father seemed very aware of things, ever more so then Eli was. He noticed this in the Marines he met at the San Diego Navy base, especially of those that had seen combat. But Eli’s father insisted he had never been in the military.

Eli contemplated all this as his father rode ahead of him on his beloved Ducati. Eli gripped the handlebars of his borrowed bike, his father’s vintage 2010 Honda CBR, as they swerved through the Mulholland highway.

They were playing a game of cat and mouse, trying to overtake each other through the turns, and Eli just couldn’t seem to win. His father had been riding street and track all his life, while Eli had been riding dirt bikes since he could walk, and that was his strong suit. Finally, his father pulled to a scenic overlook, Eli following in suit.

“Well, I guess that’s another week’s work you owe me,” Eli’s father flipped up the visor on his helmet.

“I was going to do it anyway,” Eli shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint.” Eli’s father smiled and flipped down his visor, revving the engine and heading up the winding road with his son in tow.

Eli sat at a local San Diego coffee shop, sitting outside so he could watch his bike. His phone began to vibrate. He picked up immediately.
“Dad?”
“Eli,” his father sounded a bit different. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah… Why wouldn’t it be?” Eli examined his surroundings, seeing nothing suspicious.
“Good. I need you to come to my office at once. I have something very important to discuss with you, and hurry.”
With that, the line went dead.

Eli pocketed his phone. What was going on?

He tossed his coffee into the trash and put on his helmet, starting his bike up and riding through the city.
He took his usual shortcut through a small park, padding across the grass quickly and then returning to pavement.

The security guard to the office building recognized Eli and immediately opened the gate, nodding to son of the man who owned the 20 story building that employed him out of respect.

Eli stepped into the elevator and rode to the top floor, where his father’s legal office was located.
“Hey, Sheila,” Eli said to the receptionist.
“He’s waiting for you, hon. Let yourself in,” she hit a button and unlocked the door to the offices.

Eli strolled through the artistically decorated hallways and lounge areas, where his father often brought high-profile clients. Photos of his father with celebrities or their cases were hung on the walls. It made him proud of his family name.

Eli entered his father’s office. It had a high ceiling, and ornate trim. There were photos of his family everywhere, as well as framed shots of him on motorcycles leaning through a turn on the track. Definitely a conversation point for clients. His father stood up out of his chair at the sight of him.

“Eli, I’m glad you arrived so quickly. Please, shut the door.”
Eli raised an eyebrow, but complied and closed the door. Leaving just the two of them present.
“Dad, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

Eli’s father cupped his hands in front of him, and then came forward and put his hands on his sons shoulders.

“Our family is in danger.”

“What? Why?” Eli asked. “Who did you piss off? Did you put someone in the mafia in jail or something?”
Eli’s father paused.

“I can’t tell you. Well, I would, but you wouldn’t believe me yet. And no, it’s not the mafia. But I have reason to believe we might be threatened.”
“And why don’t you tell the police? Couldn’t we go into witness protection or something?”
“You want me to ruin your military career? They would kick you out,” Eli’s father sighed.
“And how do you know that, Dad?”
“I’ve- Taken military cases similar to that before. Lawsuits against the US Government and that sort of thing.”
Eli could tell he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“And besides, the police wouldn’t be able to protect us from this enemy. Trust me, I know.”
“Okay, so why are you telling me this?” Eli said.
“I need you to take Marcella somewhere safe. The cabin.”
“The Cabin? No one’s been there in years.”
“No one will look for you there. I need you to stay there until you hear from me. I’m going to take your mother somewhere safe.”
“Are you serious? Is this really necessary, are you sure you aren’t over reacting?”
“Eli, I’m sure. And I’d rather overreact than under-react. I want our family to be safe. You and Marcella need to get to the cabin. Take the truck. Make sure you’re not followed. There’s a gun in the glove box.”
Eli’s father handed him a key.
“There’s one more thing. In the glove box there is an envelope. Open it if you know something happens to me or after… Five days.”
“What’s in it?”

“Do not, under any circumstances, open that envelope until you’re sure something’s happened to me or it’s been more than 5 days.”

“Alright, alright, I trust you,” Eli sighed. “Call me when you’ve figured things out, and then tell me what’s going on.”
“I will in due time, I promise. Just go be safe. It might be a few days until you hear from me, but you need to go, and quickly.”
“Okay. When will I see you again?”
“I don’t know, but I promise you will if you follow my instructions. This is all happening for a reason, and you’ll see soon. But trust me when I say we are the men and we need to protect our girls. Understand?”

Eli nodded and opened the door.

“One more thing,” Eli’s father put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Bring your motorcycle. The KTM dual-sport with the off-road tires. Not any of the street bikes. Trust me. That is very important.”

“My bike? Why? Just tell me what’s going on.”
“There’s no time. Just go!” Eli’s father shouted.

Eli briskly walked out of the office and broke into a run to the elevator once he was out of view of the reception.

“Marcella!” Eli burst into the house. “Marcella!”
Eli searched the house frantically for her.
She sat on the couch, watching a movie.
“Don’t you ever go outside anymore?”
“No,” she responded as she sent a text message.

“They grow up so fast,” Eli muttered. “Look, get up. We’ve gotta go.”

“Huh?” Marcella looked up from her phone.
“Um,” Eli paused. “I’m taking my favorite sister to Disneyland! It’s on Dad. Because I’ve missed you so much, you know?”
"Disneyland? That’s for kids. I don’t want to go there. That’s where all the pedophiles go, too.”
“Ugh,” Eli started to walk away, but then turned back around.
“Okay, I wasn’t going to spoil it, but Carlos is going to be there.”
“What!” Marcella gasped. “I mean, okay, I’ll go.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Go upstairs and pack what you need for a few days. Be back down here in 15.”

Marcella packed her essentials in a hurry, and then raced down the stairs to meet her brother. He was in the garage, a steel ramp propped up against the tailgate of the truck. He rolled his Enduro into the back of the truck, and began strapping it down.

“Why are you bringing your bike?” Marcella crossed her arms.

“Um,” Eli tried to think of something. “I was going to ride on the golf course, and maybe do a burnout on Mickey’s face. Don’t tell dad.”
Marcella giggled, and threw her backpack into the back seat.

Marcella took her seat and put on her seat belt, and Eli backed the truck out of the garage. Making sure all the alarm systems were active on his phone, he set it on the dash and headed to the interstate.

After a while, Marcella could tell something was up.
“How long have you been heading North? Shouldn’t we have made it by now?”

Eli opened the glove box and removed a handgun, and then put it in the doorside compartment next to his leg. Just as his father said, there was a white envelope, and he put it in his jacket pocket.

“Oh yeah, I lied. We’re not going to Disneyland.”

“WHAT?” Marcella burst into rage. “You traitor! You lied to me! I bet you lied about Carlos too!”

“Yep,” Eli kept his eyes on the road. “And let me explain.”
“You liar! Stop the truck and let me out. I’m calling dad.”
“Listen!” Eli hissed. “Dad is the one who told me to do this! Just let me explain.”

Marcella became silent.

“Look, dad told me our family is in danger. That I needed to get you somewhere safe. But I don’t know anything else. Based on how he was acting I think he’s serious. I’m taking you to the cabin to protect you.”

“Where’s mom?”

“Dad’s taking her somewhere safe, too. He said we’d be safe at the cabin and he’ll call me in a few days. Maybe less.”
“Aw, a few days at that dump? This is going to be so boring. There’s no wifi there. Why can’t we just get a hotel?”
“I don’t care. It’s what Dad told me to do. He knows something we don’t. We’re going and that’s final. You’ll survive.”
Marcella groaned in dismay.

A few hours later, the truck bounced along down some of the California fire service roads. A gravel driveway extended up into the woods with a tin slot serving as a mailbox. It looked like it hadn’t seen a letter in decades.

Eli pulled the truck to a stop in front of a rustic cabin. End of the line. Eli flipped a switch near the back of the cabin and the generator started up, porch lights illuminating the now California dusk. Eli’s father truly meant for this place to be off the grid.

However, he still had cell service, so when his father needed to contact him he would be ready.

Dad said I would need the bike. Better get it ready. Can’t imagine why.

Eli unstrapped the bike, and wheeled it down the truck, folding the ramp and putting it back in the bed. He parked it next to the behemoth of a vehicle.

Eli opened the door while Marcella unenthusiastically followed behind him.
After cutting on the lights, the entire cabin was laced with cobwebs and several roaches went scurrying under furniture.
“Eli, when was the last time we were here?”

“Um, definitely before you hit puberty.”

“This place sucks. When is Dad going to call you so we can leave?”
“Again, I don’t know,” Eli scratched his neck, fearing a deadly spider had crawled down his shirt in this death trap.

A day went by. Eli hadn’t brought a lot of food, but survived off of canned beans found in the pantry much to Marcella’s protest. He almost made a run for the store he knew was a few dozen miles down the road, but faithfully obeyed his father’s orders.

By the third day, Marcella had effectively driven him crazy, and there was nothing left to quell his appetite. Eli grabbed his phone and dialed his father.

It rang, rang, and rang, and then went straight to voice mail. Eli was about to dial his mother instead, when his phone display lit up with the caller ID of his father calling him back. Eli answered it.

“Dad?”

“…”

“Dad, it’s Eli. Are you there?”

“Eeeeelllliiiii,” an unfamiliar voice spoke. Long and drawn out. “Tell me Eli, where are you hiiiiiddddiiiing?”

Eli ran to the bedroom and grabbed the pistol, keeping an eye on Marcella in the living room.

“Who are you?”

“Where is your father, Eli? It seems I just missed him. It seems he forgot his phone, as well. I’m very disappointed I didn’t get to see him again after so long, but it’s not too late for us to be friends. Tell me where he is, and you and your sister can live long, happy lives.”

“What have you done, you bastard? Who are you, and why are you threatening my family?”

“I’ve done nothing. Nothing yet. But your father and I have some unfinished business. Him being a lawyer, I’m sure he understands that quite well. None of his office staff seemed to know where to find you, and he was smart enough to know I’d probably go after you two first. Alas, you father is a crafty man. I’ll give him that. I’ll bet that he told you nothing about me, or his past life he was too ashamed to share with his family.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. And my father has nothing to be ashamed of. You won’t get me to talk. And if you threaten any of my blood, you’re dead. Mark my words.”

“Powerful talk. You remind me of your old man so much. So proud of his military son and his beautiful daughter. I will find you, though. You can’t hide forever.”

“You don’t scare me,” Eli replied.
The line went dead.

“Oh holy shit, oh fucking shit I’m actually quite terrified right now,” Eli chattered.

“Huh?” Marcella looked over. “Who are you talking to?”

Eli seized his masculinity and collected himself.

“Nobody, my dear sweet sister,” Eli cocked the gun, and looked over to the window.

“Get on the floor, I need to do a sweep of the yard. And take this,” Eli handed her the pistol.
“Won’t you need it?” Marcella looked up to her big brother.
“I’d rather you have it than I. I just need to make sure nothing is out there.”

Eli took a deep breath and exited the cabin, walking out into the cool night air. He looked up, and was greeted with the unfamiliar sight of stars that he saw so little of from living in San Diego’s light pollution. Cautiously, he crept around the porch, shining a flashlight all around the truck, his bike, the back yard, and the woods surrounding the cabin, and then he came back inside.

“Safe,” Eli let out a sigh of relief.

“Eli, this is getting ridiculous. I’m actually getting pretty scared,” Marcella frowned. “Don’t you think its time to call the police?”

“Dad said the police wouldn’t be able to protect us. And when a multi-million dollar lawyer tells me that, I have to trust what he’s saying is true.”

“But we’re out of food, and I heard you on the phone earlier. Someone wants to hurt us. And it’s been 3 days. We haven’t heard from Mom or Dad. This place is terrible, I’m so hungry and I want to go home. I’m scared.”

“Me too, Marcella,” Eli sat on the floor with her and held her in a protective embrace. “Me too.”

Eli pulled the envelope out of his jacket pocket. He felt it up and down, there seemed to be a small bulge. There was definitely a letter inside, as well as something else. But he remembered his father’s instructions. He would open the envelope tomorrow night if he didn’t hear from his father.

Four days of hiding, and there was nothing left to eat in the house. Eli searched the cupboards top to bottom but found nothing but rats. Why did his father even own this shit hole of a vacation home? Surely he could afford having some kind of service take care of the place.

Eli brought Marcella a glass of water, which she eagerly gulped down.
“Water suppresses the hunger. Dad told me that once,” Eli sighed.
Marcella wouldn’t even return his gaze. She looked miserable. It made his heart lurch inside to see his sister like this.

“I’m taking us away from this place tomorrow morning. We have no more food. We’re going to go get a hotel on my account, so we can’t be tracked. Whoever they are, they have dad’s phone so they’ll probably track us on his credit card too.”

“Finally,” she gave a relieved huff. “But can we go to Taco Bell tomorrow morning for breakfast?”

“You’re damn skippy we’re going to Taco Bell tomorrow,” Eli smiled.
“Now get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Eli saw Marcella to bed and slept on the couch, gun ready. It would be nice to get a real room with a shower and no bugs crawling all over you. His expensive clothes were already matted with dirt just from being in this place. It didn’t bother him as much as Marcella. His military service had humbled him. Marcella knew only the privilege of wealth.

“Eli?” Marcella rubbed her eyes and walked back into the living room.
Eli lay on the couch with a single lamp lit, cradling his father’s pistol and standing watch.

“Yeah?”

“I think I may have heard something outside.”

“It was probably just an animal. Don’t worry about it. There is coyote and deer up here in the mountains.”
“It sounded like two legs, though. One foot after the other. Like a person.”

Eli was quiet for a moment, and then there was a knock on the door.

The two siblings looked at each other. Eli held the gun close and put a finger to his lips, then turned the lamp off.
“Get in the closet. Don’t make a sound no matter what you hear.”

The knock sounded again, this time with more force. This was going to get ugly.
Eli hid behind the short end of the couch, resting his arms on the cushions and ready to fire the moment the door opened.
The doorknob rattled now. Eli could see the silhouette of a man walking outside the window through the curtains.
Eli heard the hollow steps of dress shoes echo into the hardwood porch outside, and it sounded like whatever man had come to the door was leaving. Eli eased himself up, and began creeping closer to the door.

Big mistake. The door swung open, putting a hole in the wall and breaking it off its hinges.

The black silhouette of a man stood in the doorway. His eyes glowed a turquoise blue, but there was no other feature he could make out in the light. Or maybe, the man was just pure black.

Eli fired the pistol out of reflex. It hit the man in the head, but it passed through like nothing had happened. Eli blinked. He fired again, but the man seemed to be bulletproof.

“Eli, I presume?” the man spoke. The voice was the same he heard on the phone.

Eli held the gun high.

“That’s not going to do you any good, you know,” the man brushed some of the dust off his suit.

“What do you want from me?”
“Answers,” the man said. And then, he turned into a black cloud. It rushed Eli and went up his mouth, entering his mind.
The most indescribable pain Eli had ever experienced over took him. He fell to the floor and blacked out.

Eli awoke, sitting in a chair that had been propped up. The lights were on. And the man who attacked him stood there with no expression, other than a pair of angry, glowing blue eyes.

They made eye contact for a few moments, and then Eli looked him up and down.

He wore a black suit, and a shiny watch. His shoes were very polished. His face had no mouth, no nose, and no ears or hair.

“My masters have commanded me to bring them your father. And I couldn’t search your mind. I’m not sure why that is.”

“You were in my head?” Eli felt sick, violated. “What are you?”
“Nothing you could comprehend. I’m not here to tell you about the past. I am looking for your father. Tell me where he is and I will let the rest of your family live.”

“I don’t know,” Eli said. “He’s missing. You called me from his phone. You know I don’t have any contact with him.”

Eli’s phone floated out of his pocket. The man looked at the screen, and then it floated in front of Eli’s face.
“Unlock it.”

Eli simply stared dumbly at the phone that was literally levitating in the air.
“Unlock it,” the man said. Eli typed his four-digit pin onto the screen and it gave access to the device.
The man searched recent calls and messages. Nothing compromising that would give his location away.
“So, you may not know anything,” the man said. “But then again, you may."

The man hit Eli again.

“I don’t know what he did to you, but I’m sorry.”

Right temple this time.

Eli sat there, shocked by the impacts.

“I can’t help you,” Eli said calmly. “I don’t know what you were hoping to get out of me, but I know nothing of my father’s crime. Neither does my sister.”

If I raise my voice or beg, he will only torture me further.

Oh shit, maybe I should beg. Too late, he’s got a gun.

BANG

Knee cap. Hot. HOT. HOT!!!

Eli pleaded with him now. Stop! No point. Pride! Screaming makes the pain dim.

Eli screamed with pain, he had been shot in the knee. He writhed on the floor with agony.

“I’m going to leave you alive, to deliver a message to your father,” the man said. The man snapped his fingers, and immediately Eli’s knee had healed. When Eli looked back, the man held a kicking and struggling 13-year-old girl draped over his shoulder.

“MARCELLA!”

“ELI!”

“Tell your father I will trade the girl for him. Do not think I will have mercy a second time.”

Eli struggled to stand, but rose to his feet. The pistol was set on a table, and he grabbed it quickly and fired a few more rounds into the man, which accomplished nothing. It only made Marcella scream.

“You know my demands.”

“Eli!!!”

With that, the man summoned a glowing white hole with a flick of his hand, and jumped through. It immediately closed, taking him and Marcella with it.

Eli collapsed to the floor.

“MARCELLA!!!” he roared. He fired the remnants of whatever ammunition he had into the ceiling. The pistol clattered to the floor and he buried his face in his hands.

He pounded at the walls, busting holes in the dry wall.

“No! Nononononono!”

Eli sat against the wall. Cradling his knee. That thing had taken his sister. It wasn’t human. It was not of this world. It had shot him and then healed him right before his eyes. It made his phone float in mid-air. It bust down a door with its mind, and entered Eli’s head.

He sat there for some time, and began to cry. His flesh and blood was taken. His family was broken. And he had no idea why. It was something his father had done to that thing. His father was an honorable man. Surely this was backlash for something honorable.

Eli reached into his jacket and retrieved the envelope his father had given him. He hastily tore it open. Inside was a letter, and a set of keys. One of them was plastic and metal and had the Honda emblem engraved on it. The other looked like a novelty key from the middle ages. It was long, and had two prongs at the end, with what looked to be a horse’s head carved into the handle.

Eli read the note.

“To my Dearest son Eli,

If you are reading this, then I have failed at my task to keep you safe. If my suspicions are correct, Marcella will have been taken and not you. If this is the case, it is up to you to save her.

One of the keys in this envelope will work in any door. The key will take you to where Marcella was taken. Anything that can fit through the door will pass through to the other side. It was given to me by my greatest enemy and my greatest friend, who is one of the leaders of the land. I’m not sure where the key will drop you, but you should seek out the Princess of the Sun when you arrive. She will be able to help you.

However, waste no time. You will need to locate Marcella at once. I guarantee you that I am safe. If it has found you and tried to get my location out of you, then it does not know where your mother and I are. I am working on keeping everyone safe from where I am now.

I regret getting you involved with this, but I found out about the return of this enemy too late. Words cannot express how proud of you I am, my son.

I will join you soon in the other world. But do not wait for me. You need to go now, and quickly.
Be safe. Stay alert. I will be in touch.

-Dad”

Eli looked up to the ceiling, feeling angry and helpless at his situation.

He looked down at the hole in his jeans, where the man had shot him earlier.

“This is crazy,” Eli shook his head. He took the key over to the nearest door he could find that wasn’t kicked down, and stuck the key with the horse carving into the lock. He opened it, and what he saw made his jaw drop.

There was a white void, just like what he had seen the man disappear into with Marcella.

“And bring your motorcycle. That is very important.”

Eli remembered these words, and then began to piece it together.

“He knew this whole time. He knew this was going to happen.”

Eli looked outside. Sure enough, his bright orange KTM 690 dual-sport motorcycle leaned on its kickstand, awaiting orders by its master.

Eli opened the back seat of the truck and retrieved his helmet, jacket, and gloves. He switched his shoes out for his steel-toe riding boots.

His helmet was made for off road use, and instead of a visor, it had gold-tinted goggles strapped around the diameter of the helmet, as was his preference. On the top it featured a sunshade, and with a tilt of his head it would keep the sun out of his eyes, much like a baseball cap. His gloves were light, flexible cloth, and made to breathe at lower speeds and keep in less heat while riding trails.

The last thing he put on was his camelbak. It was a small backpack with a sack of water on the inside, with a hose that protruded outside the top of the bag and hooked to a clamp on his shoulder, allowing him to hydrate easily.

Eli couldn’t thing of anything else he had in the truck he could take. His father stressed in the letter to go as quickly as possible, and find Marcella quickly. As much as he wanted to leave and gather provisions before he followed his father’s crazy instructions, it was not worth risking Marcella to him.

He started the bike and pulled it into the house, riding through the living room and facing the door he had chosen, the bedroom door. The white void illuminated the room like the screen of a TV, bathing it in pale light.

Eli stretched the goggles and then placed them over his face. He had no idea what was going to happen. He could die simply by touching this, for all he knew. But his father seemed to think otherwise. It would be worth it to see his sister again.

Eli eased his bike forward. His handguards dug into the trim of the door slightly, but he would just fit.

Eli pinned the throttle, shooting through the door and into the void. Everything became very bright. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

But then it got dark. Very Dark.

…And nothing happened.

Definitions
KTM: Austrian motorcycle manufacturer. Very popular in the southeast and southwest United States for its high-performance two and four-stroke dirtbikes, enduros, and supermotos.
Enduro: Slang for a street-legal motorcycle originally designed for offroading use.
Dual-Sport: A 4-stroke motorcycle designed to be street legal but still have limited offroading capability.

Author's Note

Any of y'all remember when I said good bye forever? Yeah I lied. This one's gonna be a lot more lighthearted, I promise.

(And already 1 guy's been shot and a girl's been kidnapped. Well, we'll get there I swear.)

Technically, this story is meant to be a sequel to Whiplash, a story I wrote a long time ago. You do not need to read Whiplash to read Sins of the Father, I am writing this as its own standalone story. But between chapter updates, it is something to do. There will be some inconsistencies but they will be minor. I'm not going back to revise anything.

I am in the military and it takes me a long time to write, especially with my current situation. That is all I can say. I haven't seen any of the show for the past two years, the last thing I remember watching was the second season. I really don't have time or ability to watch at the moment, so if someone wants to PM me and briefly run me through the important stuff of what I've missed, it would save me effort and help the story, too. Spoiler's be spoilin'.

Enjoy, you glorious bastards. Yep, I totally lied about never writing anything again or sequels. Just trying to keep you on your toes.

-MC

PS: Petty Officer, if you are reading this... I can explain. Please don't kick me out.

Chapter 2

Bright Mind stacked his papers, another beautiful day he’d spent inside. Already it was nighttime, and he had to finish his work by candle. It was difficult distance learning to the Canterlot Community College.

His finished thesis to his associate’s degree in Theoretical Teleporation Spells sat on the desk.

His assignments were sent to and from his home by spell mail weekly. His family was unable to afford to send him to Canterlot, and he was needed to help in the fields everyday. But he was an ambitious colt. Even as isolated as he was in Appleloosa with little academic or magical resources, he practiced everyday. He was undeniably the strongest unicorn in Appleoosa now.

Bright excelled in his studies. So much so, that Canterlot had begun to take notice. If he were to achieve an associate’s degree, he would achieve a full scholarship to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. It was his life's goal.

Bright Mind put a hoof on top of the stack of papers and let out a fatigued breath. It wasn’t completely done, no, he still had to proof read and fix a few things here and there, but he was at the light at the end of the tunnel. His father would have been proud.

Suddenly, Bright mind heard a rattling. He turned around, and looked around the first floor of his home. It sounded almost like the door.

There it was again. The front door of his home rattled heavily. What was it, now? What could his neighbors possibly want? He made it very clear he just wanted to be left alone. Easy to do when you live somewhere as isolated as Appleloosa. And when everyone thinks you’re a freak.

The door rattled again, this time nearly bursting off the hinges.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Hold it, will you?” Bright Mind yelled.
Before Bright Mind could make it to the door, it burst open in a bright light.

“Gah!” Bright Mind ducked to the floor as a hurtling object burst through his door way and into his home.

BRAAAAAAP

“Shiiiiiiit!” Eli yelled as he flew through the home, applying his brakes hard. The KTM 690 reared backwards and burned rubber on the hardwood floor.

It crashed into a desk, knocking it sideways and throwing the several-inch thick stack of papers into the air. The KTM clattered to the floor and threw the rider against the wall.

“My final paper! What have you done?!” Bright scrambled to try and pick all the papers up. “Do you know how hard I worked on this? I’ve been working on this paper the past five years!”

“Ugh, what?” Eli stood up and brushed himself off. “Where am I?”

Bright backed up. This thing was tall. It walked on two legs… It wore a helmet with goggles over its eyes, but it was easily twice as tall as Bright himself. It was just like the stories said. Down to the helmet and all.

No, it couldn’t be.

Eli turned and looked at the source of all the noise. A small, white horse-like creature cowered below him. There was something odd about it though; it had a horn on its head, and a black mane. It was small, only a few feet high, and it had clearly asked him a question.

“Did you… Just ask me something?” Eli asked.

“Of course I did!” Bright spat. “What are you doing in my house? You just destroyed my entire life’s work!”

Eli unbuckled the helmet off his head and held it to his side.

Bright Mind’s jaw dropped. There was no mistaking it now. It was a living, breathing human in his house.

“You’re a human,” Bright murmured. “A real, live human!”

Eli slapped himself in the face. First lightly, then hard, again, and again, and again.

“I’m not dreaming,” Eli looked at his gloved hands.

Eli pointed his finger right at Bright.

“You talked! Horses don’t talk!”

“You’re human! You don’t exist, but you’re here!” Bright shot back.

“I don’t exist? You don’t exist! You’re a talking freaking unicorn thing!”
“Yeah, what of it?”

Eli took a step back, picking up his bike and putting it on the kickstand.

“Where do you think you’re going? You just destroyed my door and ruined my paper!”

“Look, I have way bigger problems,” Eli put his helmet back on, remembering Marcella taken from him only minutes ago. “Like right now, I gotta go deal with the fact that you talk. And you were writing a paper that’s… On fire, by the way.”

“What?!” Bright Mind looked behind the human. After bursting through the door, the human must have sent the candle flying. It had set a huge stack of papers on fire and now had spread to the curtains.

“What have you done?” Bright cried. “My house! Do something!”

“Uh," Eli stopped. “Yeah, I’m not really a firefighter. Sorry. Good luck, though.”

Eli threw his leg back over his bike and started it up. Bright’s horn began to shine, ready to rush the human, but the bright light from the vehicle it rode broke his concentration and blinded him. A loud roar echoed through Bright’s house as the human rode through the destroyed doorway as a result of his own entry.

He rode out into a cool night, seeing lights about half a mile off into the distance. It was pitch dark, but judging by the cacti and the arid ground surrounding him, he seemed to be in the desert. Much like the California badlands he rode in growing up.

Eli kicked his bike in gear and rode off into the unknown.

The town was small, and looked exactly like a painting of the wild west. Several lines of shops, closed for the day, and a clock tower. Eli continued to think of that little horse that talked to him. Does that mean there’s more of them here?

Apparently, yes. It was night time, and as such there wasn’t a lot of activity in the town square, but clearly he could see towns people. More horses. And they looked right at him.

They kept their distance from him, he was probably just as unknown to them as they were to him.
Eli parked his bike outside of what was unmistakably a tavern, with a pair of saloon doors. He could hear light ragtime music and conversations drifting from inside.

“I could go for a drink. Just sit at the bar and try to ask someone where I am. And figure out my way to the princess of the sun.”

Eli hung his helmet on his handlebars and stuffed his gloves in his jacket pocket, and then stepped through the double doors.

Predictably, all activity stopped the moment he opened the door. Several horse girls in flowing dresses were dancing on stage and paused. The barkeep dropped the glass he was about to serve. Every head in the establishment spun around and stared hard at Eli.
It hit Eli and stopped him in his tracks. He looked all around at all the faces before him. No humans. All little horses. Okay, he was obviously the only human here. He had accepted that now.

“For Marcella,” Eli thought, and took a step forward.

He glanced from side to side as the bar watched his every move. He sat at a stool, and immediately several of the patrons scooted over a few spaces.

Eli pretended not to notice and waited patiently to be served.

The barkeep kept his distance, but then made his way forward.

“Git you anything?” his mustache so thick, Eli couldn’t even see his mouth move.

“Whiskey. On the rocks,” Eli said.

“Ain’t got no rocks, we ain’t no fancy Los Pegasus casino. We got sarsaparilla, cider, and cactus juice. Take your pick.”

“Um, sarsaparilla.”

The bartender filled a glass up fill and set it down his way. He took a sip, and wiped the foam from his mouth. Very sweet. A hint of alcohol near the end.

The bar began to carry on as usual after seeing Eli was just there for a drink. The dancers began prancing again while stallions hooted and hollered. A few fights broke out, but were quickly calmed by other bar staff.

Eli sipped his drink, thinking about the situation ahead of him. He looked for a friendly face, but honestly could not find one. Maybe going to a bar wasn’t the best place to search for hospitality.

Eli stood up, taking out his wallet and leaving a $20 bill on the counter. He began to exit the bar.

“Hold it!” The Barkeep shouted. “What in tarnation are you tryin’ ta' pay with?”
Eli blinked.

Of course. They probably don’t take human money here.

“Uh…” Eli was about to speak up.

“Now hold it there, stranger!” A bright, yellow mini-horse with a vest and Stetson hat jumped inbetween him and the bar keeper. He looked aged from blue-collar work, and definitely older than most of the younger patrons there. And had a lot more enthusiasm.

“I’ll get his drink. In fact, get us two more, please!” he tossed a dozen gold coins out on the counter.

“Well, that’s more like it than. You fellers enjoy,” the barkeep whipped up two sarsaparillas and slid them down the Eli and his companion.

“Name’s Braeburn, good to meet ya!” the yellow pony extended his hoof forward.

“Eli,” he shook his hoof. “Thanks for the save back there.”

“Don’t mention it. Y’all are lookin’ pretty lost for a… Human?”

“Yeah,” Eli nodded.

"Been many a year since any humans have come to Equestria. Y'all are okay by me, though. Never met one m'self, but mah' cousin did."

"So, what are you?"

Braeburn laughed heartily, and wiped a tear out of his eye.

“That’s a good one, stranger! Ah mean, Eli.”

“No, I’m serious. I've only been here for an hour. What are you, a horse?”

“You are serious,” Braeburn shot him a sympathetic look. “Bless your heart, y’all ain’t got no idea where you are, do ya’ poor fellar?”

“No,” Eli shook his head. “And I was hoping you could tell me that.”

Braeburn explained to Eli he was in a town called Appleloosa, in a country named Equestria, populated by ponies.

“Uh huh,” Eli thought it over. “I was told to look for somebody. Somebody called the Princess of the Sun. Know anything about that?"

“Darn tootin', that’s Princess Celestia. She rules over Equestria with her sister, Princess Luna. But they live far up north in Canterlot. It’s a three day train ride, or a week’s journey north. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Braeburn,” Eli said. “I’m looking for my sister.”

“Your sister? She here on vacation?"

“No,” Eli looked away. “She was kidnapped. I came here to try and bring her back. But I don't even know where to start."

“Oh,” Braeburn sunk his head a little bit. “Well look here, partner, Ah’m mighty sorry to hear that. Ah’m guessin’ you’re probably headed to Canterlot to ask Celestia to help you find her then.”

“Do you think she’d help me?’ Eli shrugged.

“She sure would! If anypony knows about sisters, its Celestia. She’ll help you out, partner.”

“That’s good to hear,” Eli finished the last of his drink. Suddenly, the bar doors opened, and a sheriff pony entered the bar, with an appropriate silver star on his vest and Stetson hat. A few deputies trailed behind him.

“Well howdy, Sheriff!” said Braeburn. “How's the misses?"

Sheriff Silverstar took one look at Eli and pointed.

“Got a report that some human had committed an act of arson. And Ah believe y’all might be the only human round these parts. Ah’m gonna need y’all to come with me, Ah got a few questions fer’ you.”

“Shit,” Eli said. “I forgot about that.”

“Y’all did what?” Braeburn asked.

“It’s a misunderstanding, I promise.”

Eli sat in the cell of the town jail, lying back on a hard mattress. He had managed to sleep for a while, but now morning had broken and he was just waiting for something to happen. Finally, the Sheriff came back and unlocked the cell.

“Rise and shine, yer' free to go, son,” Sheriff Silverstar rasped through his mustache.

Eli stretched and stood up.

“And I was just getting comfy,” Eli yawned. “Thanks, old timer. Why the change of heart?”

“Braeburn came by this morning and explained to me what happened. Ah know y’all didn’t mean to set that house on fire, but y'all need to head up to the Mind household and see what you can do to bury the hatchet. If it ain’t money, y’all gotta make it up to em’ some other way somehow.”

“Alright, I'll see what I can do, Sheriff," Eli nodded and began to walk away.

Eli was about to leave the sheriff’s office, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“And good luck finding your sister, son. Before you leave, come let me know if there’s anything Ah can do to help ya get there.”

“Ah, much appreciated, I will.”

Eli walked out of the Sheriff’s office, and to his surprise, Braeburn and his KTM were waiting for him right outside.

“Sleep well?” Braeburn asked.

“Not bad, actually,” Eli replied. “Thanks for getting me out of that. Did you push that all the way over here?"

"Sure did, the thing is incredibly light. It's a fine machine you got there."

"Wow, thanks Braeburn. I really owe you one."

“You ain’t obligated to me for nothin', partner.”

“Well, I am obligated to the 'Mind' household. Apparently I set their house on fire when I knocked over a candle.”

“Eeyup, Ah heard. Volunteer fire brigade put it out last night. Not nearly as bad as it could have been. Ah’ve explained to the townsponies it was all a misunderstanding and it should have cleared your name.”

“I need to go talk to them, see if there’s something I can do.”

“It’s just the younger one, Bright Mind, who I assume is about your age. Then his mother, Merry.”

“Sounds like I should pay them a visit,” Eli began to step on his motorcycle.

“Now hold up partner,” Braeburn warned. “There’s something y’all should know about Bright Mind. He can be a little… Eccentric. Stopped coming into town so much in recent years, poor little foal got bullied a lot in school. Now he’s fully-grown, and he still don’t come out too much. It’s hard on him bein' in the only unicorn family in Appleloosa. This town was brought up by generations of Earth Ponies, and some folks are less than hospitable to those they don't know."

“I’ll let you know how it goes, appreciate all the help.”

Eli shook Braeburn’s hoof and then got on the enduro. With his helmet fastened, he headed up the road, retracing his tire track from last night.

The surroundings around him were vast. He could see plateaus off in the distance, and miles of cacti, hill, and sand dunes. A train track stretched off into the distance in two ways. Whichever way was north would be his guess.

Eli stopped at the house, taking off his helmet. He cringed, seeing the outside of the house was blackened. He could only imagine what the inside looked like.

The door was hastily nailed against two hinges on two by fours. Hesitantly, Eli knocked on the door. It slowly opened, and then the small white unicorn he’d first met last night answered.

“You!” Bright Mind hissed. “Get off my property!” the door slammed right in Eli’s face.

“Now hold on!” Eli pounded on the door. “I know why you're upset, I just wanted to come by and see if I could make this up to you somehow."

“You can make this up to me by going away and never coming back! All you humans do is cause trouble everywhere you go, and last night was proof of that!”

“I really didn’t mean for that to happen!” Eli shouted through the door. “Just come out and talk to me!"

“Bright mind, what’s all that yelling? Is someone at the door?” a female voice asked from the second floor.

“No, mom! It’s nothing! Just ignore it, it’ll go away!”

The door opened again swiftly, and this time there was another white pony, obviously female in a gown this time. Just like her son, she had a horn. Unicorns, like Braeburn said.

Eli immediately noticed the lack of country accent, noticing more city in her voice like he was used to in California.

“Well Celestia in heaven, Bright wasn't spinning yarn. You really are a human! Well, don’t stand out there in the heat, please come on in. Care for a lemonade?”

“Um, sure. Thank you, m’am,” Eli entered the house.

“Mooooom!” Bright Mind pouted. It was starting to really annoy Eli.

“You’re just gonna let him in?!”

Eli took a look around the house. The writing desk was cinders, and it looked like boards had been nailed up to replace part of the back wall that burned through. Thankfully, the damage didn’t look as bad as it could have been. But it had definitely ruined half of the first floor.
“There you are, hon,” Merry levitated a glass down and filled it with Ice, dumping lemonade from a pitcher inside.
Eli simply stared.

“Did you just- Move that with your mind?”

“Sweetie, I only used magic to move that glass."

Eli laughed.

“Wait, were you serious?”

“Of course. My son and I are unicorns, we possess the ability to summon magic through our horns.”

“Magic," Eli said, and took the glass from mid air, and the outline stopped glowing. “And thank you, kindly."

“Don’t mention it, hon. Now, my son, Bright Mind, seems a little upset with you. Seems like you burned up one of his school assignments along with the first floor.”

“Yeah,” Eli frowned. “That’s what I came here to talk to you about. I didn’t mean for that to happen. Let me explain.”

Eli explained to Merry about how his father’s key had somehow opened the door from his cabin to Merry and Bright’s house.

“And my sister needs to be rescued. Braeburn told me that Celestia could help me, but it’s a far journey north.”

“If there's anypony that could help you find your sister, it would be her. Listen, maybe we can help each other out here,” Merry said.
“Bright mind has been very troubled. He’s never had a lot of friends, since we’re some of the only unicorns out this way, and the other foals didn’t take to him too kindly. When his father died, it only got worse. He shut the whole world out. He wanted to go to magic school in Canterlot, but I couldn’t afford to send him. So he’s been distance learning to the Canterlot Community College.”

“I see,” Eli took a sip of the lemonade. “And where are you going with this?”

"How exactly do you plan on getting to Canterlot, Eli?

Eli was quiet for a moment.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I was just going to figure it out as I went. My sister's life is depending on it."

“You’ll need a guide to get you to Canterlot. Whether you go on foot, train, or that vehicle you have outside.”

“Yeah,” Eli said. “I do need a guide. But what does that have to do with Bright Mind?”

“He needs to get out more. It’s time he leaves the nest, and you look like you can take care of yourself. Take him with you. He needs a friend.”

Eli thought about this for a few moments. Someone who knew the land would be very useful right now. And it would get him to Marcella quicker.

“Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

Eli went upstairs, and knocked on Bright Mind’s bedroom door. No answer.

“Hey man,” Eli put his hands in his pockets. “My name is Eli. I know you’re in there. Come on, let’s talk.”

Bright mind opened the door, his eyes looking like he had been crying.

“Oh, god,” Eli thought.

“Hey, don’t... Cry, please. Come on, you and me. Let’s go take a walk.”

“I talked to your mom a little bit,” Eli walked along the desert sand. Bright Mind trotted along next to him, not looking at him.
“She told me you were going to school, a pretty prestigious one.”

“I was, until you showed up,” Bright grumbled. “That paper you burned took me five years to write. It would have only taken two had I been in actual school. That paper was going to get me a full scholarship and move me to Canterlot, where I could get a master’s degree.”

“Oh,” Eli sighed. “So, I ruined your dream.”

“I’ve been dreaming about studying under Celestia herself since I was a foal. Now, I have no chance. I may as well stay here and be a farmer."

“Wait,” Eli stopped. “Did you say Celestia?”

Bright nodded.

“I'm actually headed to Canterlot to go see her. Me and her go waaay back," Eli lied.

"You know the Princess?!" Bright raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Eli said. "She was... Um... A friend of my dad's! She came over for dinner once."

"Get real. I don't buy it," Bright rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so I was lying. I am going to see her, though. And you know what, you should totally come with me!"

"What? Me, go with the only human who's been here in the past 20 years? You guys are crazy as hell."

“Who was the last human? What happened when he was here?”

“Oh, you really don’t know,” Bright Mind sighed.

“No, I’ve only been here since last night. I came from the human world where nothing else talks but humans.”

“Okay, Eli,” Bright Mind started. “The last time a human was here, two major cities were destroyed."

“Oh,” Eli kicked a rock on the ground. “Was it… Was it us?”

“No,” Bright Mind said. “There was something called the Nightmare. Twenty years ago, it used a human to do bad things, and then used human technology to destroy two cities using incredible power. It was humans using the Elements of Harmony that stopped Nightmare and saved us all. It was the same Nightmare that overtook Celestia’s sister, Luna, and got her banished for a thousand years before that happened.”

“Sounds like Nightmare has a history of kidnapping sisters. Do you think that’s what took her?”

“I don’t know,” Bright replied. “I wish I could tell you, I really do. But Celestia would know.”

“And now you see why I have to get there.”

“I do,” Bright Mind sighed.

“And, I need you. I need your help to guide me there.”

“Eli, I can’t just leave here. This is my home. I have… A life here," Bright Mind said incredibly insincerely.

“No, you really don’t,” Eli crossed his arms. “And you’re not even fooling yourself talking like that. It’s time for you to get out of this town. That’s how I’m going to make it up to you, for ruining your chance at a future. I'm going to give you a new one."

Bright looked up at Eli, thinking intently.

“And,” Eli said. “When we get to Celestia, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure she makes you a scholar. You have my word.”

“You- You mean it?” Bright smiled.

“Let’s shake on it, partner,” Eli stuck out his hand. “Friends?”

Bright hesitated, thinking it over.

“Maybe not friends. Not at first. For now, partners,” Bright shook his hand, and sat back on his haunches.

“Partners,” Eli repeated. “I can live with that.”

Chapter 3

Marcella struggled against the man, but he would not relent his grip.

The only thing in her mind was the face of her big brother, watching helplessly as the man in the black suit stole her from the cabin.

“Where are you taking me?”

They were in a white void now. The man’s footsteps echoed off an invisible floor in the white abyss. And then, he knocked.

Knock, Knock, Knock, it echoed.

The man looked at Marcella, tucked under his arm. He raised his free hand, and it turned into a black gas.

Marcella shuddered as the black cloud that was the suited man’s hand seeped into her head. She went limp and lost consciousness.

The young girl woke with a start. She was in a cold, dim room. It was sparsely lit by a torch outside a strong, iron-barred door. It looked like she was in a cave, or a room carved directly out of rock.

She shivered, still only in her pajamas from the night she was taken.

“Hello?” she coughed.

Something moved outside the door. It was a large, hunched figure clutching a spear. It looked at her, and then cleared its throat.

“Be quiet,” it barked.

Marcella backed up against the wall in fear. Her dungeon was spacious, and lacked any necessities. There was nothing but rocks and a dripping sound in the corner, as well as a torch by the door.

“Where am I?” Marcella asked the figure outside the door. “Who are you? What do you want with me? Dad! Mom! Someone get me out of here!”

The figure came closer to the torch, and Marcella could make it out now. It wasn’t human, it looked canine in appearance. A giant dog that stood on two legs clutching a primitive looking spear.

“I said be quiet. I don’t want to have to come in there…”

Marcella simply stared in shock. The canine guard didn’t seem to care, and turned back around.

Marcella checked her pockets. She still had her phone and her watch, all that was on her when she was kidnapped. She didn’t even have shoes, as she was wearing her pajamas.

Marcella had so much racing through her mind, but was too afraid to ask the figure outside.

Another figure came into view, and then the iron-bar door swung open. A canine figure walked into the small cavern dungeon. He wore a vest with a diamond-studded-collar and a jewel hanging from its neck. It had pointier ears than its colleagues. The vested canine was trailed by two guards in armor, both clutching sticks with arrowheads on the end of them.

Marcella could smell body odor wafting off him. They definitely seemed primitive.

“Wellllll,” the dog hissed. His voice reminded Marcella of nails on a chalkboard. “What have we here? A human girl? Nightmare wasn’t lying then. We have been entrusted with a most important task.”

“Who are you?” Marcella asked. “And where am I?”

“We are diamond dogs,” the vested dog spoke. “I am Rover, the pack leader. You are in our mines. We are instructed to hold you until a higher power knows what to do with you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“We have been paid generously. We will do whatever our master commands of us. One girl, or thousands of gems. We’ll take the gems. Sorry.”

“What if you let me go? Just keep your payment, I’m not useful to you in any way.”

“You do not realize who we are dealing with, he is more powerful than even the ones that raise the sun and moon.”

“What does that even mean?”

Rover didn’t care to answer that.

“You will stay quiet, and do what you are told,” Rover said. “And I’m sure you will be allowed to go free when the ransom is paid. Or maybe not, but this isn’t diamond dogs’ concern. If you try to escape, we will only make your stay that much more miserable.”

Marcella nodded. She just wanted to get out of this as painlessly as possible. Whatever was going on, her father was surely already on it. A ransom, they wanted money or gems or something. And father has plenty of money, she would be freed soon.

The diamond dog leader and its guards turned and left the cavern, leaving the young girl alone.

As soon as she felt no eyes upon her, Marcella withdrew her phone. She frantically waved it around to get a signal, but found none. She groaned, realizing that being far underground would probably not be in cell service.

But where on earth was she? The man who had taken her took her through a white void. This was someplace else entirely. She must traveled very far.

Some time had gone by now. Marcella flipped through pictures on her phone. Photos with her friends back home in California. But mostly, she looked at the photos of her with her brother who had recently returned from military service. And her parents, lounging with her on the beach. It gave her a small amount of comfort.

She turned the phone off to save its battery, and nestled up against a softer patch of dirt on the ground.

“Eli. Mom. Dad. I want to go home…”

Bright Mind huffed, shakily coming down the stairs with his heavy saddlebags. Eli had told him to pack lightly, so he brought only the essentials. A bedroll, a tooth brush, and his entire encylopedia set of magic from his curriculum. His saddlebags were bursting at the seams.

Bright turned to his mother, realizing this would be the last time he’d see her for a while. The one pony in his life who had cared for him the most.

Merry used her magic to lay a few sandwiches on the counter, adding some daisies and hay, and then put them in a paper bag.

“For the road, Bright,” Merry smiled.

Bright frowned and looked to his hooves.

“I don’t know if I can do this, mom.”

Merry set down the bag and trotted over to her son.

“You know your father would want you to do this. And I want you to do this. Eli needs you and you know that, too. He wants to make this up to you."

Bright Mind sighed.

“Okay. I’ll give this a try. Goodbye, mom.”

The mother and son hugged for one last time. Bright’s first time really leaving home, and it was on a complete whim. Bright felt something new: Adventure.

But he feared it, too. He longed for the comforts of his books and studies, without the potential for outlaws or monsters to be chasing him through the badlands of rural Equestria with a member of an extinct race.

Bright opened the poorly rebuilt front door, barely squeezing through with his giant saddlebags on both sides of him.

The human was busy bolting something to the back of his vehicle. Bright mind could hear metal clinking.

“Oh, hey!” Eli waved. “Come help me. Just making something. You’re gonna love this.”

“Okay…” Bright Mind said. He dropped his saddlebags to the ground and used his magic to steady the object, a medium sized wooden box.

Bright could see Eli had taken the seat off. A small bag was laid out on the ground, with a few assorted tools laying on the ground.

“Where did you get this? Why are you bolting this box on the back of this thing?”

“I found it in your house. And, well, where else are you gonna ride?” Eli asked, tightening a few screws on the bottom of the box.

“What?!” Bright gasped. “I’m not riding on this death trap! It can’t even stand up on its own!” He gestured to the kickstand. “What if we fall over?”

“Oh come on,” Eli rolled his eyes. “I’m the one who’s going to be doing all the work. You get to just kick back behind me and be my GPS.”
“Isn’t there somewhere else I could ride? Do I have to ride in the box?”

“Well, I usually don’t ride nuts to butts with dudes,” Eli shrugged. “Especially when they don’t wear pants. So you could sit behind me and hold on. That’s the only alternative.”

“We really can’t just take the train?”

“I don’t know, can we? You tell me, you’re the mastermind here. I’m just the wheels.”

“My family isn’t very wealthy, Eli,” Bright sighed. “Two tickets to Canterlot, that would be more than five hundred bits. Maybe close to a thousand.”

“Three tickets,” Eli added, putting the tools into the small bag.

“Three? Who’s the third one for?”

Eli pointed to the motorcycle.

“You can’t leave this behind?”

“Hell no,” Eli shook his head. “Before I came here, my father said I would need this. We either get that cash, and put this on board as freight or buy it a seat if we have to. Otherwise, this is how we’re getting there.”

“Seriously though, what if we crash?” Bright asked.

“I’m wearing a helmet. I’ll probably be okay,” Eli shrugged.

“Ugh! Do you care about anything other than yourself?”

“Yeah, my sister. And I’ll owe you for this. Remember our deal, I’m going to use a favor from Celestia to put you in whatever school you want.”

“And why would Celestia owe you a favor? If anything, you’d owe her for her helping you to find your sister.”

Eli put the tool kit in the compartment under the seat.

“I think my father has been here before, and he was one of the humans that saved you from the Nightmare. And that’s why my sister was kidnapped, as retribution. Because the guy that took my sister didn’t want her or me. He very specifically wanted my father.”

Eli held up an envelope, which still had the two keys and the letter.

“Before my father went missing, he left me a letter. He knew this was going to happen, and told me to go find the princess of the sun. I don’t know anything else. But clearly, he’s been here before.”

“That- Makes a lot of sense. We all thought that the humans that saved us were dead, because they sacrificed themselves. But the fact you’re standing here means that may not be true,” Bright reasoned.

“We’ll talk more about this later,” Eli said. “We need to get on the road today, before it gets too late. Alright, let’s see your saddlebags.”

Bright struggled to lift them to Eli with his magic, who also struggled to hold them with just his hands.

“Jesus! What’s in these things, rocks?” Eli let the bags crumple to the ground. He opened the bags, and shook his head.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Eli shook his head. “You’re not bringing a library on this trip.“

“It’s only a few spellbooks,” Bright insisted. “So I can keep up my studies while we’re on the way to Canterlot.”

“I told you to pack light,” Eli said and turned his back to show Bright Mind. The slim, compact Camelbak backpack had a rolled up sleeping pad strapped to the bottom, and some food Merry had given him, along with a notebook and a map and the water pouch, the hose and nozzle tucked neatly on his shoulder.

“What am I going to do the whole time, then?” Bright groaned.

“I don’t know. Talk to me. Think about life. But you’re not bringing all this stuff. Bring one book.”
“Fine,” Bright sighed. “I pick this one.”

Eli took it from Bright’s levitation grip and thumbed through a few pages. It featured illustrations and instructions for very specific teleportation spells.

“Preferred method of pineapple teleportation… Preferred method of marsupial teleportation… There’s a different one for everything?”

“Teleportation is the most difficult and painstaking spell to learn.”

“Can you really teleport?” Eli asked. “That’s one of the most badass things I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh, no. Not really,” Bright looked away, secretly feeling cool.

“I still need a lot of work. It takes years of practice to be able to teleport. And those that can usually get hired as a mage for the crown, or a wealthy businesspony’s personal transport.”

Eli strapped the now much lighter saddlebags on the bike, just behind him on the seat. He was able to have one saddlebag on both sides of the bike, fitting perfectly.

“That works. And it won’t get in the way of anything,” Eli nodded contentedly, and took a step back to look at the bike.

“Yeah. This will totally work.”

Eli turned the key, and his dashboard HUD lit up. The KTM logo flashed on his screen, and then an image of a speedometer and other instruments appeared. He checked his gas gauge, remembering he had filled up before bringing the bike to the cabin. Very smart.
Eli started the bike, allowing the engine to warm up. The sound made Bright Mind jump. He didn’t like loud noises.

“What, too loud?!” Eli shouted as he revved the engine.

BRAAAAAP!

It echoed across the desert that stretched to Appleloosa and beyond.

Bright Mind held two hooves over his sensitive ears. Eli just laughed at his misery.

“I would much rather be taking the train!” Bright yelled over the noise.

Suddenly the bike’s motor quieted considerably. It turned into more of a whirring sound than the loud brapping Bright had heard so far.

“I’ll keep the revs down when I can so it’s quieter. Its more energy efficient, too.”

Bright shakily climbed into the wooden box, sitting down uncomfortably on the back of the bike.

“Ready?” Eli turned around, his helmet and goggles already strapped.

“I suppose,” Bright sighed. His chest was bursting with excitement, and regret. His mother watched from the window, and gave him one last wave.

Bright waved back, and Eli brought up the kickstand and began riding slowly at first.

Bright Mind was terrified, and began to scream.

“Stop this thing! This isn’t stable at all! I could break my neck if I fall out of this thing!”

Eli only began going faster. The rubber tires, spiked with square blocks dug into the soft ground and ensured safe travel. But Bright Mind was new to the world of human off-roading, and continued freaking out all the way into town.

“I’ve gotta make a stop real quick,” Eli cut the enduro to a stop in front of the sheriff’s office.

“Just wait here, okay? Watch the bike,” Eli hung his helmet on one of the handlebars.

Bright Mind retched and puked over the side of the bike.

“Oh. Oh, man. Of course, you get motion sickness. Just… Drink some water or something. I’ll be right back.”

Eli turned away and let out a fatigued sigh.

“What am I going to do with this guy?”

Eli opened the door and stepped into the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff sat in a chair, leaning up against the wall.

“Hm?” the sheriff opened an eye. “Oh, its just you. What can ah do ya’ fer’?”

“Hey, Sheriff Silverstar,” Eli said. “Just wanted to let you know I made things right with Bright and Merry. Bright is coming with me to Canterlot.”

“Is that so?” The Sheriff yawned. “Good on ya. How are y’all getting there?”

“My vehicle. We’re gonna take the direct route. I can’t really afford the train. Too expensive to bring everything.”

“It is a long way to Canterlot, son. You sure you’re up for that kinda’ journey? These deserts can be ruthless.”

“I’m sure. Bright will be my guide.”

“He’s a little soft. Roughin’ it will be good for the boy, Ah reckon. Won’t get that on the train. But there be’ outlaws in these here badlands. Sometimes we even get a stray hydra from the Everfree Forest. Y’all armed?”

“No,” Eli shook his head.

“Bright Mind might not be much help if y’all find yourselves in a bad situation. Wait here.”

The sheriff opened a closet, and pushed a large trunk out of it. He pushed it before Eli and opened the trunk.

A suit of armor, with a helmet shaped in the head and neck of a pony, and a red thistle Mohawk was loosely thrown into the large trunk.
“Hold on, Ah know it’s in here somewhere,” the sheriff dug through the box, clanging the metalwork around.

“Yep, here it is.”

With his mouth, the sheriff pulled a sword out of the trunk by the hilt. It was long, polished steel, and the handle was made of a shinier, yellow metal, with thread spun on the handle to give it a softer grip.

“Not gold, maybe Brass?” Eli thought.

“Might be a little small for ya, bein’ as it was made for us ponies, not humans,” the sheriff nodded. I want y’all to take it.”

Eli held the sword, sliding it out of the sheathe. It was very light, and he could wield it in one hand with relative ease. He carefully ran a finger across the double-edged blade. Very fine, very sharp. Amazing craftsmanship.

“Used to be my service weapon. Really ain’t got much use for it no more. Hope it serves y’all well. Just promise me you’ll send it back to me if y’all can.”

“I’ve never held a sword before. No offense, this is a very fine sword, but this is outdated to my people. I’ve only held weapons you don’t seem to have here.”

“Take time and practice with it. It’ll come to ya. Ya’ve got a demeanor to ya, Ah think you might find the basics of swordplay in focused practice.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. I’ll take good care of it. And I’ll bring it back to you, I promise. Thank you.”

Eli ran the straps from the sheathe through his belt loops, holstering the sword to his left side. It went down to just above his knee. Sheriff Silverstar briefly showed him how to draw the sword, but that was about all there was time for.

Eli said his goodbyes to the sheriff, and returned back outside to his bike and Bright Mind. The moment he stepped outside, Eli nearly snapped at what he saw.

A larger earth pony around Bright Mind’s age, with three others, were holding Bright Mind upside down. Another was sitting on his bike. All had their backs to him.

Eli looked at the small, helpless white unicorn dangling upside down by his tail.

“Look who came outside! So nice to see you again, nerd,” the larger pony dangling Bright Mind chuckled. He sounded young and snotty, like a lot of the kids Eli had gone to private school with.

“What’s the matter, your mom can’t protect you anymore? Use some magic on us, see how much good that does you, freeloader. While we’re all working, you sit in your house and read books all day.”

“Leave me alone, please! I’m leaving. Just let me go!”

Eli’s blood began to boil. He stomped towards the pony on his bike. He ripped him from the seat and threw him onto the ground, drawing his sword.

“Put the little guy down! He’s mine,” Eli growled.

The bully stopped, dropping Bright on his head. Bright scurried to his feet and stood behind Eli who protectively stepped in front of him.

“You’re the human!” the bully gasped. “The one in the bar last night!”

“And I’m gonna be the human that kills you if you don’t fuck off.”

The bully let out a whimper and ran off, the others doing the same.

“Pansies,” Eli put the sword in his sheathe and got on the bike, fixing his helmet and goggles on his head.

“Thanks,” Bright let out a sigh of relief.

“Don’t mention it, it’s what partners do.”

“Where did you get a sword?” Bright asked, incredulous.

“Sheriff gave it to me,” Eli said. “Coming?”

“Eli, I can’t do this,” Bright Mind sat back on his haunches. “If I can’t even defend myself from a few bullies, what good am I to you? I won’t last out there.”

Eli looked at Bright Mind questioningly.

“I’ve always been weak my whole life. My magic has gotten much stronger lately, but I get too scared to use it.”

“Bright, I’ll protect you, I promise. Just stick with me til’ Canterlot. You know it’s worth your while. I need you. My sister needs you. Please.”
“Not if I get seriously hurt, lost, or worse.”

“You’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?”

“I want to,” Bright said.

“Then come on.”

Bright begrudgingly climbed into the back of the box.

“Okay, ride through the town. We’re going to follow the railroad tracks for a while.”

Eli started the bike up once more, and rode through Appleloosa’s town square. Bright Mind took one last look at his hometown, where he had grown up. So many memories, some pleasant, some not. Actually, most not. Now that he thought about it, he was quite ready to leave.

“Hey! Slow down, Eli! Hey!” Braeburn came hollering out of a building. Eli locked the back tire, sliding the bike to a stop. Bright Mind nearly vomited.

“Not even gonna say goodbye? Oh Ah see how you are,” Braeburn slapped Eli on the shoulder.

“I should be the one offended, you never saw me off," Eli took off his goggles and crossed his arms indignantly.

“Ah’m kiddin, y’all know Ah’m kiddin,” Braeburn laughed. “Ah see y’all are headed out. Bright Mind, I’m real happy you made a friend. I think you’re going to have a great time there out in the world. Your father would be mighty proud of you, ya know.”

“Yeah,” Bright nodded. “I hope he would be.”

“Ah won’t hold y’all up anymore. Eli, you take care of Bright. Bright, you guide him well. Good luck to the both of you. Go save that girl! Come see us before you leave, Eli. Bring Bright home safe, ya' hear?"

Braeburn shook Eli’s hand, and patted Bright Mind on the back.

Eli spun his tire, creating a huge dust cloud. He passed the train depot and began riding on a trail going parallel to the railroad tracks off into the desert.

“No turning back now,” Bright Mind watched as Appleloosa became only a speck off into the distance.

Eli and Bright took their first stop in the shade of a giant mesa. The rider decided it would be best to take frequent breaks at first until Bright got control of his motion sickness.

Eli sucked on the hose protruding from his backpack, drinking clean water from the Camelbak.

“What’s that?” Bright gestured to the hose.

“Water,” Eli hooked it back on his shoulder. “There’s a bag in my backpack holding it.”

“That’s ingenious, actually,” Bright remarked.

“I’ve got a question for you too. Something I’ve noticed,” Eli sipped on his water.

“Sure.”

“You don’t really seem like somebody who would get a tattoo, but I’ve noticed everyone has one. What’s yours mean?”

“My… Tattoo?” Bright Mind looked around himself in confusion.

“Oh, my mark!” Bright turned his side towards Eli so he could see it clearly. “This is something ponies get when they find the one thing that defines them in life. Its kind of a coming of age thing. Girls usually refer to it as a cutie mark.”

Eli looked at Bright’s mark. It was a sword crossed with a feather quill, and two stars with eight points on either side of it.

“When I decided I wanted to be a scholar, and a teleporter, this appeared. That was already many years ago.”

“Will it come off?”

“Of course not,” Bright said rather as-a-matter-of-factly. “Only very strong magic can remove a pony’s mark.”

“Sorry, humans don’t get a magically appearing tramp stamp,” Eli shot back to Bright’s attitude.

“Also, I have a question about your machine, here.” He gestured to the bright orange enduro.

“Sure,” Eli said. “Shoot.”

“How does it work exactly? What powers it? We have farm equipment and train engines, but yours seems much more advanced.”

“It’s a hybrid enduro. It’s part electric, part gasoline powered. And I can use other forms of fuel, too.”

Eli unclipped the seat off the bike, and withdrew a small white square from a slot. He re-fastened the seat and handed the square to Bright.
“Here, you like to read. Here’s something for you to study while we’re on the road. It’s the owner’s manual to my bike.”

“This… Isn’t a book,” Bright levitated the square and studied it top to bottom. It had a few buttons on it, a square with two small circles next to it on each side.

“Sure it is!” Eli pressed the square. All of the sudden, words appeared on the screen. Eli pushed a button, showing that the screen could be backlit or not, for optimum viewing in sunlight just like paper and ink. And it could even be read in the dark! Sliding out from the bottom was another small square with the alphabet arranged in a peculiar order.

“This is called a Kindle, they replaced a lot of paper documents where I’m from. The battery in them lasts a long time, you can leave them for years and still read what’s in them.”

“This is cool,” Bright nodded, impressed already with what little human technology he’d seen.

Soon enough, it was time for them to keep moving. The pair continued on through Buffalo territory.

On the back of the bike, in the wooden box Eli had fixed for his passenger, Bright tucked the map and compass under his arm, occasionally poking his head up to check the landscape and advise Eli accordingly. In his other hoof, he held the kindle.

Fascinated with how perfectly it had been constructed and designed, Bright admired the work of human hands in something he could directly appreciate: Literature. Even it was only an owner’s manual.

Bright turned on the kindle and began to read.

Thank you for purchasing your 2048 model KTM Hybrid 690CA Enduro 'R' Dual-Purpose/Enduro motorcycle California Model. At any time, you can enter a subject into the searchbar of this interactive Kindle Manual to learn more. Your manual can be charged with an included MICRO USB 5.0 cable, and a USB outlet can be found near the dashboard. A complete manual may also be downloaded from the KTM Motors USA website free of charge.

Your KTM 690 Duke meets the standards as regulated by the United States Environmental Standard Act of 2029. Your KTM Hybrid Dual-Purpose motorcycle is designed to be multi-fuel capable. The electric motor is capable of traveling approximately 80 miles at 8,000 RPM until depleting and relying exclusively on the main engine. It will be able to combust unleaded gasoline, propane, biofuel, hydrogen, diesel, and natural gas. Please set the fuel petcock appropriately to avoid internal damage and for your safety, do not mix different forms of fuel. Please specify on your dashboard computer which fuel type you are taking advantage of to achieve optimum performance.

By default your KTM 690 Duke is set to run off the gasoline injector. You may manually toggle this option on or off, and regulate use of the electric motor and battery by selecting the “Drive” menu on your heads-up display located on your dashboard computer.

If your battery is depleted, you may use the kickstart to manually turn the engine over. If both fuel and battery are depleted, you may manually charge the hyrbrid-electric motor by turning the kickstart counter-clockwise. You will restore an estimated 30% battery life per hour of manual-labor charging. This option is only recommended in emergency situations as it takes much physical labor to charge the battery and should only be used when fuel is utterly unavailable.

Suddenly the ground dropped out from beneath Bright Mind.

“Ah-Ah-AHHHHH!” Bright screamed.

“Whoooo!” Eli stood on the pegs and jumped a dune, launching off the slope and sending a wave of grit into the air behind him.

Upon landing, Bright smacked his head against the side of the box hard. Eli stomped on the rear brake and slid to a stop.

“You okay back there?”

“No, of course not! What were you thinking?” Bright rubbed his head. “Why would you do that? I could have been knocked off!”

“Oh, you would have been fine. The ground is soft here. Besides, I didn't see it in time. That jump was nothing if I was actually ready for it."

Bright realized there was no reasoning with him, so he compromised.

“Whatever, just warn me before you do that again.”

“Okay, I’m going to do it again,” Eli turned back around and kicked the bike in gear.

“No, wait- Gah!” Bright held on the box for dear life now.

“GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH!” Eli yelled.

Eli jumped another dune, getting much higher that time. Now that Bright was ready for it, he took the landing fine.

“See, that wasn’t so bad!” Eli turned around, giving bright a thumbs up. “Let’s do another one!”

“I’m gonna be sick!” Bright shouted. “Don’t do it, Eli!’

Too late.

“You threw up on me,” Eli washed his jacket in a creek.

“You had it coming,” Bright dunked his face in the cool water, and filtered the bile out of his mouth. “I told you not to jump the dune.”

“You told me to warn you. So, I did.”

Eli stood up, swinging his sword around slowly and practicing like the sheriff had suggested. He alternated between one-handed and two-handed use and cut a few small, withered plants.

“Yeah I’m kinda being an asshole, sorry. But hey, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?”

“If you say so,” Bright mind trotted up and down the riverbed, searching for something.

“Here,” Bright pointed. “Gather these plants. These are edible.”

Eli nodded appreciatively.

“You were definitely a useful one to bring along. Also, this seems like a pretty good place to set up camp. What do you say? Ready to call it a day?”

Bright collapsed, all hooves splayed out in separate directions.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

With their bedrolls set, a fire going, and the babbling of clean water next to them, it was enough to make Bright’s eyes heavy. It brought thoughts of home. He missed his mother, he missed his safe room.

Now that Celestia had set her sun, Bright gazed up at Luna’s beautiful night. The stars twinkling bright and the half-moon casting a pale light on the desert landscape around them.

Bright Mind saw the human doing the same. He looked at the stars like he’d never seen them before.

“Hey Eli, don’t they have stars where you’re from?”

“Yeah,” Eli replied. “But I never see them. I live in the city, too much light pollution. The constellations are different here, I don't recognize anything up there.”

Eli went back to what he was doing; cranking the kickstart in the opposite direction to charge his hybrid motor.

“So,” Eli said, looking over to Bright. “Tell me something about yourself.”

“What?” Bright asked.

“I don’t know. I’m just… Trying to be friendly, you know. Your family, tell me about them.”

“My mom and dad used to live in a town called Ponyville, it’s not too far from Canterlot. My mother was a baker, and my father was in the Royal Guard.”

“Your father was a soldier?” Eli asked. Bright nodded.

“My father was sent to Manehattan after it was destroyed two decades ago. He helped with the relief efforts while it was being rebuilt. But he spent a lot of time around the sick ponies. There was a sickness going around, leftover from the bomb that Nightmare used to destroy Manehattan. It stuck around the area for a while until they cleaned it all up.”

This piqued Eli’s interest. Something was starting to sound familiar.

“My father was perfectly healthy for years. Then he retired from the guard, and he moved my mother and him to a farm in Appleloosa, where I was born.”

“My dad died when I was ten. He started having bad health problems a year before that. It just showed up out of nowhere. There was no treating it, and he died of that contamination. Many others still suffer the same fate, too. But it’s not contagious anymore.”

“Rad poisoning,” Eli murmured.

“What?” Bright asked.

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Your father died helping people-ponies. He sounds like a good man.”

Bright looked at him in confusion.

“Pony. He sounded like a good pony. Sorry. I’m gonna have to get used to the differences in our language.”

“What about your father?” Bright asked. “You talk about him a lot. Tell me about him.”

“Well,” Eli continued cranking. “I came from a pretty wealthy family. My dad was a lawyer. And a damn good one, too. He was really into motorcycles, and as soon as I could walk he had me riding dirt bikes on training wheels.”

“So you’ve been riding your whole life?” Bright asked.

Eli nodded.

“It’s just a hobby, really. For my father, it was an obsession. You think my bike is advanced? You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my father’s Ducati. Hell, even a car would blow your mind. But my dad was obsessed with motorcycles to the point where my mother had to ban him from riding one day a week just so they could do a date night. My mother did like to ride on the back, though. Much like how you’re riding with me. No homo, of course.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“Your dad seems like a pretty incredible guy. Maybe he was one of the humans that saved us. He raised you well,” Bright yawned.

“Yeah, I think yours did alright with you, too," Eli scratched his head. "It must have been hard on you, growing up without a dad. Maybe… I don’t know, I can teach you some of the things he wasn’t able to.”

Bright let out a snore, snoozing peacefully on his bedroll.

The battery in his motorcycle was nearly full, and he had plenty of gas left. Bright insisted he could find fuel at the next town, they had more than enough to cross the desert for now.

Eli laid back on his bedroll and closed his eyes. Marcella was still out there, and she was probably scared as hell.

“I’m coming for you, little sister. Just hold on a little bit longer.”

Eli woke just before dawn. He stretched on his bedroll, and then turned himself over. He looked to his left, the fire was still just barely smoking, but it looked to have gone out hours ago.

He looked to his right, expecting to see Bright Mind still sleeping peacefully.

There was a bedroll with a blanket on it, the kindle that contained his motorcycle’s manual, and his one book. But no teenaged white unicorn.

“Bright?” Eli dusted himself off and stood up. “Bright! You just taking a piss somewhere?”

Silence. The creek babbled, but there was no sign of any other activity.

Eli pulled out his phone and used the flashlight to illuminate the dim morning. There. A pair of hoof-prints led away from the campsite.
Carefully he followed them. They led him nearly a quarter mile away.

It led Eli to the top of a dune which offered an amazing view of the surrounding desert. On one side, Eli could see where they had set up camp by the small embankment and creek. On the other side, more breathtaking, endless mesas and sand dunes.

There were other footprints here though. Eli examined them a bit closer, They were paw prints. Not like Bright Mind’s hoof-prints, that was certain. Then a number of paw prints led down into the valley, but no hoof-prints followed.

Eli cursed. He took a photo of one of the paw prints, storing it on his phone so he could compare it later.

“Of course. He goes and gets himself picked up by something. Sheriff warned me about this. Outlaws."

Eli raced back down to the campsite and packed everything in a hurry. Once the bike was loaded up, and the fire's smoldering remains doused, he slipped on his helmet and charged up the dune, following the trail that had taken him ten minutes to walk in less than a minute.

He launched over the gigantic dune, and came down on the other side. The paw prints were getting harder and harder to follow. Eventually, Eli was just going in one aimless direction.

Lights off in the distance. Little fires burning, and pointy structures. Tents.

Eli jammed the rear tire and slid to a stop in the sand.

There was a civilization ahead. He could see figures on all fours moving around, starting their day.

Eli killed the bike, leaving the helmet and goggles strapped to his head. He parked the bike behind a pillar of rocks and snuck as closely as he could.

They were buffalo, wearing headdresses of feathers with bright blues, reds and greens adorning their heads.

The young man crept forward. This village was still mostly asleep. He could sneak from tent to tent and see if there was any sign of Bright Mind.

Carefully walking across the dusty ground, Eli peeped his head through each tent flap. But there was nothing but sleeping buffalo.

“Hey! What are you doing sneaking around here?” A voice boomed behind him.

Eli spun around. An angry and bewildered buffalo stared him down. Eli decided to take the calm, diplomatic approach. So he drew his sword that he had no experience with whatsoever.

“Back off!” Eli yelled, holding the sword defensively. “I know you guys kidnapped my friend! You picked the wrong day to piss off a master swordsman!”

Eli swung the sword around to attempt to look skilled. Instead it went flying through the air, out of his grip, and into the sand near the buffalo’s hooves.

The Buffalo gave Eli an unimpressed snort.

"I tried,” Eli shrugged, and then turned tail and ran. “Bright! Are you here? Bright!” Eli called as he was chased by one buffalo, then two, then three. Eventually, he found himself surrounded.

The buffalo were gigantic. A wall of brown, furry, horned, and angry heads encircled him.

A net was tossed over him, and swept him off his feet. Then a cloth was thrown over his head. Eli thrashed about, but they had completely tied him head to toe.

Someone was cutting the cloth off his head so he could see. Eli could see light, and took in a loud breath of air.

An agile-looking buffalo stood over him. The buffalo wore a golden necklace, with colorful beads and a magnificent feather headdress. He was on his knees, still tied up and wrapped tightly in a cloth.

“Who are you, and why do you burst into my village at the crack of dawn?” she asked in a feminine, yet commanding tone.

Eli weighed his options. Unarmed, maybe he could bluff his way out of this.

“Who am I? I am Captain America, destroyer of worlds!” Eli shouted through his helmet and goggles. “And you have made a dire mistake to kidnap my companion. Release me and I will call off the hordes of undead coming to consume your flesh!”

The buffalo managed to undo the chinstrap keeping his helmet on and lifted it off his head.

“No, you’re a human,” the buffalo looked him over. “And I am Chiefess Strongheart. You have trespassed in our village, sneaking around tents and probably looking to steal something. Look, I’ve never had to deal with a human before, so I’m going to be easy on you. Just leave my village in peace, and no harm will come to you.”

“Look, I’m going to be easy on you. If you give me my friend back. That’s why I’m here. Give me the little white unicorn you kidnapped in the dead of night and I’ll be on my way.”

“Little… White Unicorn? What are you talking about? We didn’t-“

“There’s no one else around! Who else could have done it? I found tracks all around. They looked like…”

Eli looked at her hooves.

“Oh. Whoops. Yeah, they looked like paw prints. I’m sorry. My name's not Captain America, by the way.”

“You came here because you thought we kidnapped your companion, and you were just trying to rescue her?”

“Well, him, but yeah. He’s my partner.”

“Oh, is that what they’re calling it now?”

“What? No! No, that’s not what I meant!” Eli sputtered. “I would never, certainly not with a- Look he’s just my guide! He’s showing me the way to Canterlot!”

The buffalo chiefess smiled and raised her eyebrow.

“I’m not gay! Not that I discriminate against them or anything. Stop giving me that look! Untie me or something.”

The buffalo and one of her guards untied the self-proclaimed heterosexual human and let him stand.

“Ugh, thank you. Now look,” Eli took his phone out of his pocket. He went into his photos, and pinched the screen to zoom in on a picture he had taken of the ground.

“What is this paw print? The one next to the hoofprints. That’s the last sign I saw of my friend.”

Eli held the phone up to Chiefess Strongheart.

“Diamond dogs,” Chiefess Strongheart growled. “Diamond dogs are the ones who kidnapped your friend.”

“Diamond what?”

“Diamond Dogs are a scourge in these parts. They act only as bandits, stealing from our tribe and robbing strangers in the dead of night. They tend to enslave unicorns due to their abilities to find gems underground, and it seems your friend has been taken.”

“Where would they have taken him?” Eli asked.

“The mines of the nearest diamond dogs are not far. We can take you there, and help you find your friend.”

“Really?” Eli said.

A buffalo brought Eli his sword. Eli took it with a smile, and sheathed it on his hip.

“Sounds good to me. What do you have in mind?"

Bright Mind Kicked and thrashed. All his hooves were tied. He had been blindfolded and gagged.

Eventually he felt himself tossed to the ground. He wheezed in and out on the ground, struggling to breathe through the cloth gagging his mouth. He chewed, and using his tongue he managed to breathe through the gag. Bright inhaled heavily, sucking in large lungfuls of air.
“What’s going on?” Bright Mind whimpered. “Where am I?”

There was only silence.

“Hello? Somebody?”

There was a cough about a dozen feet away. Bright Mind pricked up his ears.

“Hello? Who else is in here with me?”

They had tossed the thing into the dungeon with her. It was a small, white horse. But the most distinguishing feature was that it had a horn. A unicorn!

It had a brilliant work of art on each side of its hide legs, and its coat was incredibly white. It had a black mane and tail, looking a little unkempt, but probably due to its entrapment by the same canines as Marcella herself.

It thrashed on the ground, its hooves bound, mouth gagged, and eyes blindfolded.

It calmed, and managed to free its mouth from the gag.

“What’s going on?” it whimpered. “Where am I?’

Marcella was silent. She was too bewildered at the sight before her. First, talking canines with spears, now a unicorn? This was all too weird.

“Hello? Somebody?”

Marcella attempted to stifle a cough, but couldn’t. The unicorn’s head spun in her direction.

“Who’s there? Hello? Somebody?”

Marcella was afraid to answer. But the unicorn seemed to be in the same situation as her. A prisoner in this mine.

“Who’s here?” the unicorn asked. “I can’t see anything, they have me blindfolded and tied up. Where are you?”

Marcella began to crawl closer, determined to remove the poor thing's blindfold.

Before she could, the metal door swung open. Rover stormed in, causing Marcella to yelp and she backed up against the wall. Two Diamond Dog guards picked up the unicorn and and took it away.

“Well, interested in the same get-up as him? Rover crossed his arms. He held a blindfold and another cloth in his paw, along with some rope.

“Hold her down,” Rover instructed his last remaining guard.

Marcella’s hands bound, her eyes blindfolded, and mouth gagged, just like the unicorn that had been brought it.

“Let this remind you what I do to those that try to escape, or help prisoners escape my mines.”

With that, Rover left.

Marcella cried in her blind fold, soaking the cloth. She screamed into the cloth rover had tied around her mouth.

She sat there for hours, until she started to hear the echo of many steps. She could feel it through the walls and the floors of the dungeon she sat in. The rumbling of the walls was soon accompanied with a very familiar sound. At first it was quiet, but then it began to echo louder and louder. Marcella’s eyes went wide inside her blindfold. Her brother’s motorcycle! It was unmistakable! She was sure of that sound!

Brap.

BRAAAP.

BRAAAAAAAAP

It was so close, it boomed through the dungeon. Then, it started to fade away.

Braaap.

Brap…

And then it was gone.

“Mmmph!” Marcella cried through her the cloth gag. But her words couldn’t come out loud enough to spook a mouse.

“Mmph! Mmph! Eli! Eli!”

Bright Mind feverishly worked for his Diamond Dog captors. He had been up all night at this point. After waking up early, he took a short walk and tried to practice some teleportation spells. Far away from the campsite to avoid waking Eli, who was sleeping like a log.

He heard a rustling in the bushes, then quick footsteps. He was blindsided, and quickly tied up and brought back to this horrible place. This was exactly what Bright was afraid of, being captured by bandits, and now for the rest of his life he was a slave.

After they found out he was not useful as a gem finder, they put him to work hauling carts back and forth.

It had only been a few hours since his capture, but already his back ached. The metal girdle that pulled the cart behind him dug into his ribs.

Bright glanced the guards in armor, watching his every move.

Suddenly it felt like there was an earthquake.

The whole, cavernous mine began to shake. Stalactites fell to the ground, and several of the guards had to jump and roll to avoid getting struck with them.

BRAAAAAAAAAAAAP

And then, riding a bright orange motorcycle, Eli came shooting out of one of the tunnels in the mine followed by a dozen charging buffalo. The diamond dogs panicked and dropped their spears, but they were mowed over by the stampeding buffalo.

Eli slid to a stop just in front of Bright Mind.

Bright looked up at the human in disbelief.

“Eli!” Bright gasped. “How did you know to find me here?”

Chiefess Strongheart skidded to a halt right next to them.

“Oh, he had some help,” she panted. “So, this is your partner, hmmmm?”

“Fuck off,” Eli rolled his eyes.

Strongheart brushed off his curse, and introduced herself to Bright Mind.

“Sorry to meet you under these circumstances, but I am Chiefess Strongheart. Eli said you might need our help. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Hey, introductions can wait,” Eli removed the metal harness around Bright’s ribcage and tossed it aside.

“Wow, these look shiny,” Eli said. A collection of colorful gemstones were overflowing from the minecart Bright Mind was pulling. Eli scooped a handful of gems out of the cart and stuffed them in his backpack.

“And so can looting,” Strongheart rolled her eyes. “I’m going to get my herd out of here. I suggest you do the same.”

Chiefess Strongheart bounded away with speed Eli never had seen before from something without a motor.

“Damn, she’s quick,” Eli nodded, impressed. “Alright, come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“Thanks, Eli,” Bright pulled himself into the box on the back of the bike.

“Remember, I promised you. I wouldn't let anything happen to you,” Eli patted him on the back.

As soon as Bright Mind was situated, he tore off through the tunnels, searching for a way out. Several of the diamond dog guards were running from chasing buffalo. Eli rode through tunnels, his headlight illuminating everything in his path.

There was a fork in the mineshaft. One lead into an ironclad gate. The other had a distant light at the end. Daylight. He had found a way out of this confusing mess of tunnels.

Eli stared down the other tunnel, the one with the iron gate at the end of it. Something in his mind was driving him towards it. There was something odd about that gate. Something in the back of his mind was whispering for him to go that way and open it.

“Eli? What are you waiting for?” Bright asked from behind.

Suddenly, several diamond dogs appeared in the tunnel behind him, one getting ready to chuck his spear right at the rider and his passenger.

“Nothing, let’s get out of here!” Eli slammed on the throttle and took off, heading towards the light of day.

Outside the mine, Eli rejoined the buffalo herd that had helped him free Bright.

“Thanks, to all of you,” Eli removed his helmet and bowed his head.

“And from me,” Bright said. “I would have probably been a slave until I dropped if it weren’t for you all. Thank you. Especially you, Strongheart.”

“Don’t mention it, little one,” Strongheart smiled.

Strongheart nodded to the group of buffalo, and they turned and headed back to their villiage.

“Eli tells me you still have a long journey to make,” Strongheart looked off towards the horizon. “Many years ago, before I became the chief of my tribe, there were a group of ponies that helped us put away our differences with the settlers in this area. Your friendship reminds me of them.”

“Well, I’ve only known this guy for a day,” Eli said. “Yesterday I set his house on fire.”

“And burned my paper,” Bright Mind added.

“And burned his paper,” Eli nodded.

“There is a bond between the two of you, I can sense it, Eli and Bright Mind. I wish you the best and that you bring your sister home to safety.”

With that, the buffalo bounded away, heading back to her tribe.

“You okay?” Eli asked with a hint of concern.

“Yeah, thanks. This is exactly what I was afraid of happening though.”

“But didn’t it work out?”

“Yeah, but the odds weren’t exactly in our favor,” Bright Mind grumbled.

“And yet, we’re still okay!” Eli laughed.

Bright only looked away. Eli could see a misery and fear in his face over this whole journey. It was an incredibly new experience for him, a shut-in and an introvert.

“You want me to take you home? I will if you want to. We’re still within reasonable distance of Appleloosa.”

Bright Mind seriously considered his offer.

“But, how are you going to find your way to Canterlot? And what about your sister?”

“Look, I’m not going to force you to go with me. I’m not going to sugar coat it anymore: Based on what I’ve seen of this land so far, there’s quite a bit of a risk we’re taking here to be traveling like this. And I didn’t really count on that when we started. I don’t want you to continue risking yourself like this just because I want you to. I’ll figure something out without you if I have to.”

Bright looked at the human. He had just risked his life and heroically recruited the assistance of buffalo to save him.

“Although, I’d really rather not have to,” Eli shrugged.

“No, I’ll stay,” Bright Mind smiled. “Just please, ride this thing easy. My stomach can’t take it."

“Ha ha! That’s what I like to hear,” Eli grinned. “Where are we headed now?”

Bright pulled the map out of one of the saddlebags.

"We still have a ways to go, but we'll at least be out of the desert in a day's journey," Bright examined the map closely.

“Well, no reason to stick around this hot desert any longer,” Eli put his goggles back on. “Show me the way, el capítan.”

Bright directed Eli until he found a suitable landmark, and using a compass, headed him off towards the Everfree Forest.
Bright finally realized, he had a friend. Someone who would stand up for him when he himself was unable to. And that was worth the journey more than the future Eli had promised him.

Eli's mind was still on the tunnel he didn't turn down. His heart literally lurched in that direction when he sat there at the fork in the Diamond Dog tunnels. Eli hit a button on the side of his helmet, which linked to the dashboard on his motorcycle. Eli ran his fingers across the screen mounted above his handlebars and navigated through different menus.

He selected the music player and began listening to music inside his helmet to try and take his mind off of things.

Something really didn't feel right.

Marcella’s blindfold was ripped off, but it wasn’t a diamond dog this time standing above her. It was the man in the black suit again, with the piercing blue eyes and completely black skin.

“That was too close. Clearly, it was foolish of me to have trusted diamond dogs with a matter this important,” the man in the suit said to Rover, who looked like he was about to blow a fuse.

“He brought buffalo! What am I supposed to do when a herd of buffalo stampede my mines?”

“You got incredibly lucky. Because if he found her, this all would have been over. I haven’t been granted my power back. Not yet. Celestia and Luna cannot know that I’m still here.”

“And what if the human makes it to Canterlot before that happens?”

“I’m working on that,” the man in the suit spoke, and his hand turned to a black gas much like before. Consciousness drained from Marcella no matter how hard she fought, and it was back to the deep sleep she was so used to now. But in her heart she felt hope.

Her brother was here. And he was going to save her.

Author's Note

I had fun writing this one. I wanted to have this one out a lot sooner, but I've been busy lately and its hard to write from a phone. Half of this chapter was written with my thumbs, then emailed to myself, and then edited later on the lappy. Yep, I always find a way! (Auto correct is a bitch.)

I'm looking forward to where this story goes and having more shenanigans in this story than the last one.

Write drunk, edit sober y'all.

Chapter 4

“Okay, the left one is the clutch,” Eli instructed Bright.

“The right one is the front brake, right?” Bright sat upon the motorcycle, touching both handgrips with his hooves.

“Yeah, but don’t use that one here. You’ll fall. Use the rear brake, the pedal down there on the right.”

Bright Mind could just barely manage to tap it with his back hoof. He could see the trees behind him light up as the brake triggered his rear lights.

“Okay, the shifter is on your left foot. Um… Hoof. No, that’s the clutch again. Other left hoof. There you go,” Eli patiently made sure he knew what each control did. Bright may have read the manual on his bike several times, but reading about something rarely compares to experiencing it for yourself.

“Okay, start it up,” Eli said.

Bright hit the ignition on his handlebars. The screen before him changed into a speedometer and tachometer. Tentatively, he revved the throttle like he’d seen Eli do. The tachometer responded accordingly and the engine let out a bit more sound.

“Okay, you’re in neutral,” Eli pointed to the dashboard. “That down there will show what gear you’re in. If you shift all the way down, you go into first gear. Half up is back to neutral, and full up is to second, and third, and so on.”

“So, should I start in first?” Bright asked.

“Yeah,” Eli replied. “I do most of the time. For now just do that. When you let out the clutch, give it a little gas at the same time so it doesn’t stall.”

Bright gripped the handlebars with his hooves the best he could. The ergonomics of the bike was not designed for his hooves, but his magic would make up for it. Bright’s horn began to glow as he felt the bike beneath him. While Eli insisted this was a very simple vehicle, his magic coursed through it and found much complexity and engineering that was miles above any of ponykind. And supposedly, they mass-produced these things.

The clutch lever glowed as Bright pulled it in with his magic. Nothing seemed to change so far. He grabbed the gear shifter with his magic and pushed it down with one click, as Eli said.

“Okay, here goes,” Bright nodded to Eli. He let out the clutch a bit, and the enduro began to move forward slowly over the grass of the clearing.

“Woah, woah, it’s moving!” Bright wobbled the bike with a combination of his physical grip and magic. After moving a few feet it jerked to a stop, the engine silencing. Bright’s hooves were too short to reach the ground, so he balanced the bike on his magic.

“See, it’ll die if you don’t keep the RPM’s up. The piston in there needs to keep moving, otherwise the bike will turn off. That’s what the clutch is for. If you run out of RPM’s you can squeeze the clutch and it will idle. Try it again, give it a little gas so it doesn’t die.”

Bright determinedly hit the ignition again, squeezing the clutch. It took a few more tries, but Bright Mind finally grasped what Eli was teaching him. He rode the bike around the clearing and Eli in slow, controlled circles.

“Okay, shift into second. Let out the clutch nice and slow.”

“Oh Celestia, I’m going pretty fast. I hope this doesn’t kill me. I’m going… 11 mph, however fast that is. May the royal sisters have mercy on me.”

Bright shifted into second, the speedometer reading even higher now. 25 mph.

“Hey, you know what, this isn’t so bad!” Bright laughed. “This is actually kinda fun!”

“Hey, don’t get over confident! Take it slow!” Eli called. Too late.

Bright spotted a tree stump in his path. Panicking, he squeezed the front brake. With the weight ratio of the bike, it took the enduro and Bright straight to the ground. Bright tumbled away, and the KTM stalled out.

“Ow! Oh, my head,” Bright rubbed a spot on his head that had hit the soft Earth.

“Oh no, Eli, the bike! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I know you told me not to use the front brake, and I used the front brake! I forgot which was which ! I’m sorry!”

Eli simply walked over to Bright Mind and helped him up. He looked at the bike, not saying a word.

“Is it- Is it... Broken?”

Eli began to laugh. Then he laughed even harder.

“Oh man, that’s a good one,” Eli picked the bike up and set it on its kickstand. “No man, it’s pretty much a dirt bike. It was made for this. I’ve crashed it going way harder and faster than that.”

“But, it looks fine.”

“Yeah, when they made these bikes they knew we would be riding them and crashing them in the dirt, they’re tough as nails. Don’t worry about it.”

Eli coached Bright until he was riding the bike all around the clearing, starting and stopping with ease.

“See, you’ve got it. It’s not so hard, right?”

“I think I see how you do this now. Everything is like an extension of your body. Using the clutch and the brakes you can make this thing do whatever you want.”

“Exactly. Here, I’m going to show you something,” Eli ushered Bright off the Enduro. He put his helmet on and then rode down the path out of view to gain speed.

“What is he doing now?” Bright rolled his eyes.

Eli didn’t keep him waiting long.

BRAAAAP

Eli popped the clutch, bringing the front end of the bike in the air. He leaned back and balanced the wheelie for a bit, then tapped the rear brake and brought it down with control.

“And just HOW do you do that?” Bright cried.

“That takes a while to learn. Maybe I’ll teach you later,” Eli slipped back into the jacket.

“How long can you balance that for?”

“Pretty far. I think I did one for a mile once on the street. I got tired so I let it down. It just takes good balance.”

“What if you fall?”

“I’ll probably get butthurt then.”

Eli checked the sky, realizing it was probably starting to get later than he wanted it to.

“We still have at least a day traveling through the forest,” Bright checked the map.

The two continued on through the mysterious Everfree.

The next morning, the little white unicorn checked to make sure the human was still sleeping peacefully. Normally, when he practiced his magic on the journey, he did it at a distance to avoid waking Eli. But after what happened last time, he stayed within earshot of his protective presence. Especially in the unknowns of the Everfree Forest.

Bright Mind channeled the magic through his horn. He let his magic search around the area, like a third eye he could throw across the world. He sat in front of a small stream.

“Just a little bit that way. Just let me move over there just a bit. Just five measly feet.”

Bright panted now, focusing this much of his magic was beginning to be not only a mental burden but also a physical one.

The energy coming from the unicorn’s horn was something he was very familiar with. Something he had practiced for almost ten years of his life on. To teleport just five feet would make him jump for joy.

Bright strained once more, now starting to sweat. It wasn’t going to happen. Of course, he would still need more practice.

Bright Mind sighed heavily, looking into the cool water. The Everfree forest’s cool, humid climate was much preferable to the dry, cracked desert landscape he was used to. It was their second day in the forest, and already with a close encounter with a chimera.

Bright looked across to the other side of the stream. Almost turning around, he had to do a double take. Eli snored deeply on the other side of the stream, his enduro parked right next to him.

“How did he get on the other side of the-“

Wait. Eli didn’t get on the other side of the river.

“I did. I’m on the other side of the river. That means…”

“I did it!” Bright jumped into the air. “I did it! I teleported! I can teleport! Ha! Ha ha ha!!”

“Huh?” Eli rubbed his eyes. He sat up from his bedroll. “What’s going on?”

“Eli! I teleported! I finally did it! All on my own! I can teleport!”

“Really?” Eli perked up. “Do it again. Teleport back over here so I can see.”

“Okay, hold on.”

Bright closed his eyes again, focusing and doing exactly what he had done before.

Eli looked on. There was a bright flash of light. Bright disappeared before his very eyes, and then reappeared in a flash a few feet above the stream.

“Gah!” Bright fell face first into the water.

Eli laughed a bit at his misfortune.

Bright came back to the surface and gasped for air, glaring at Eli’s laughs.

“I don’t care what you think!” Bright came out of the water and shook himself like a dog, a lot of the water landing on Eli.

“I’ve spent the last ten years of my life trying to do this, and now I can! This is amazing! I’m going to be a teleporting mage!”

Eli watched the blissful unicorn hop around on all fours. In a few bright flashes, he teleported a few feet apart several more times, then dropped to his knees.

“Ugh, that’s exhausting. No more of that for a little while,” Bright panted. “I don’t understand. Why now? I’ve been practicing this for such a long time, and I suddenly found my magic balancing point out here.”

Eli stood up and stretched.

“Maybe because you got out of your comfort zone,” Eli reasoned. “Maybe because you’re traveling, and something is different about you now.”

Bright thought about what Eli said for a few minutes. The human slapped him on the back.

“I’m proud of you, man. I knew you had it in you,” Eli smiled. He took a handful of the clear water from the river and rinsed his face off, drying it on his shirt.

“Damn,” Eli looked at his reflection. “I’m really going against protocol here. I need to shave.”

“Hm?” Bright looked over to him. “What’s that?”

“Oh, it was just part of my job. There were very strict grooming standards I had to adhere to, otherwise I would get beat.”

“They would beat you for not shaving?”

“Oh, not like that. Getting beat just meant that they would smoke me. Make me do a lot of push ups or sit ups to wear myself out since they can’t actually hit us.”

“What line of work were you in? That sounds like a terrible job.”

“Haha, yeah. I’m in the military as a reservist.”

“You’re a soldier?” Bright asked. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“You never asked,” Eli shrugged. “And I’m not a soldier by any means. I’ve had combat training, but not much. I’m more of a technician.”

It made Bright feel safer knowing Eli was trained. He insisted he was terrible with a sword, and demonstrated it by now. But he was getting better and making due progress where he could.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to make it seem like I’m only concerned about myself here.”

“Save it. You’re on this journey with me, if I felt you were too self-centered I’d have left you in the diamond dog mines.”

“How old is your sister, by the way?”

“Thirteen. Don’t get any funny ideas,” Eli glared at Bright Mind.

“I’m not!” Bright cried. “I just wanted to know a little more about her! She’s the whole point you’re here. I’m just curious.”

“You want to see want she looks like?” Eli asked.

Bright nodded.

Eli took his phone out of his pocket, hitting the power button. The small device came to life as Bright watched it before his eyes.

Battery 24%, the phone indicated. He could charge it from his motorcycle while riding if he had to.

Eli went into his photos and swiped through a few random shots he had taken around Equestria since he arrived here. He had taken a photo with his sister at the beach the day before they fled to the cabin.

“Here,” Eli offered the phone to Bright. He took it with his levitation and held it infront of his face.

“It’s like the kindle, but… Smaller. There’s color on this one. Everything is so bright. This-“

There was a photo on screen; A young, pretty human girl that greatly resembled Eli. Same eyes, same nose, same mouth. Her hair was long and wavy. Eli’s face was clean-shaven unlike his current appearance. The two looked to be bursting with excitement to just be around each other.

“She’s beautiful,” Bright murmured.

“That’s my sister. That’s the innocent little girl that was kidnapped from her loving family by a man in a black suit.”

Bright nodded.

“Oh hey, check this out,” Eli pressed another button on the phone. Instantly, Bright could their reflection, like an electronic mirror on the small screen of the device.

“Smile, dude, I want to show my sister who helped rescue her,” Eli said.

The human pressed a button on the side of the device and snapped a photo. Eli let bright hold the phone in his hooves.

“You can take a picture just like that? No developing?”

“Yep,” Eli nodded.

“How many can you take on this thing?” Bright levitated the phone in the air and examined every detail, crevice, button, and plug.

“A lot,” Eli pulled up the sleeve of his jacket. He ran a hand across his arm, and what Bright Mind saw next made his eyes go wide.

The human’s arm lit up in a display of green and blue panels. A number pad was present, along with a few messages displayed in illuminated letters in his skin. He tapped a circle with a line protruding from the top, and then tapped it once more. The screen on the phone went dark instantly.

“Phone battery’s dying, I’ll charge it while we ride.” Eli reached into his camelbak and pulled out a black cable. He plugged one end into his dashboard on the KTM and the other into the bottom end of the phone. The panels and letters illuminating from the human’s arm dimmed until they disappeared, leaving Bright Mind’s jaw dropped.

“You told me you don’t have magic!”

“Yeah, I don’t,” Eli rolled up his bedroll.

“Well, what the hell was that?!” Bright cried.

“Implants. It lets me control certain devices and access machines and vehicles with no key.“

“Your arm LIT up! And you’re telling me that’s not magic?”

“No, there’s a screen implanted just under the first layer of my skin, and its powered by a small solar-powered battery. It’s a pretty common thing where I’m from, it’s not too expensive to get done now.”

“Wha- Why would anyone want that?” Bright asked. “Implanting machines in their body? That seems painful.”
Eli’s arm lit up yet again. He tapped an icon that looked like the rough shape of a motorcycle. Tapping it again, the words “2048 KTM 690 in range” appeared. He tapped it a third time.

Bright jumped, the bike coming to life behind him unexpectedly. Eli slid his hand across his arm and the motorcycle went back to sleep.

“I can change the channel without getting up, I can start my bike or car with no key if I need to, get into my house, access my bank account, check the weather, send a message, call the police, or search for a funny picture of a cat. But there’s no cell service, so a lot of that I can’t do here. For military its mandatory, we use our implants for a number of things on the job.”

“And you didn’t show me this before?”

“Never really had a use for it here so far. It only really works when connected to the network, which doesn’t seem to exist here. Hey, want to see what my heart rate is?”

Eli pointed to a panel on his arm that showed an image of a heart, with a green line moving forward followed by “64 BPM.”

“Humans are insane. Absolutely insane.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Eli tapped an icon near his wrist, dimming the lights in his arm.

“Okay, time to get on the road, guy. I want to be in Canterlot day after tomorrow. Let’s make it happen, captain.”

Bright teleported himself onto the back of the bike, but ended up upside-down again.

“I’ll get the hang of it,” Bright Mind straightened himself up.

Eli strapped on his helmet and put on his goggles. One hand at a time, he slipped into his gloves again and hit the starter. The two ventured off further into the Everfree forest.

It felt like nighttime in some parts of the forest. The dense canopy absorbed the daylight in a lot of areas, making the motorcycle’s headlight necessary to travel safely.

Bright Mind kept an eye out through the forest for any sign of movement. Every so often, he could swear there was the outline of eyes staring back at him through the brush.

Eli didn’t seem to be worried at all, and nodded his head inside his helmet. The faint thrum of the motorcycle using a combination of the electric motor and engine was muffled by the sounds of life. Many creatures called out through the forest with exotic-sounds.

Eli pushed the button on the side of his helmet again, fast-forwarding to another song in his playlist.

Bright looked back at the brush again. A blur of movement. Brown and green. Something was definitely following them.

“Eli!” Bright turned around. The human continued to bob his head back and forth, occasionally drumming his hand along the grips to the rhythm of something.

“ELI!” Bright called again. Then, whatever had been following them jumped out of the brush and gave chase.

Bright watched the green eyes of the best, racing behind the bike as it came closer and closer.

Bright turned around and slapped Eli in the back. The human turned around, and then saw the pursuer. Eli hit a button on the side of his helmet and silenced the music.

“What the fuck is that?!” Eli called out.

“Timberwolves! Get out of here, they usually travel in packs!”

Eli opened up the throttle and continued down the path, leaving the timberwolf in the dust. It didn’t take much struggle for it to keep pace with Eli.

Two pairs of glowing eyes blocked the path ahead. The trees were too dense to go around them. Eli locked the back wheel and tried to flip the bike around. The momentum threw Bright Mind from the back of the bike. He tumbled away and a timberwolf went after him. Eli stopped the bike, getting off and going after Bright.

The timberwolves were massive. With glowing green eyes, and their entire body looking like someone had glued a bushel of tree branches together.

One of the timberwolves lunged at Eli. The human jumped off the bike and rolled away, and the other managed to pin him to the ground.
Eli struggled with one arm to keep the maw snapping above his face from digging into his flesh, and the other arm was trying to reach for the sword.

Suddenly there was a flash of light. A focused beam of blue light struck the timberwolf on top of Eli, igniting flames into the wooden spines on its back. It howled running around in circles in pain. Eli managed to draw the sword and strike it once, sending it howling and running down the path.

Bright mind stood offensively, with his horn blowing a bright blue. He shot another burst of magic at a timberwolf, igniting it as well. The pack yipped and howled like frightened puppies and ran away.

Eli took his helmet off, wiping some of the sweat off his forehead.

“What did you do?” Eli asked.

“Self defense spell. I was always too scared to use this, but if I can teleport, then I’d better get used to it.”

“And… You never thought of using that in the diamond dog mines?”

“I was afraid, Eli… I’m not brave or quick on my hooves. When I get scared, I can’t really use my magic a lot of times.”

“Well, I thought that was pretty brave. You definitely saved my ass, partner,” Eli picked up his sword and returned it to the sheathe.

“Someone needs to teach me how to use this.”

“Yeah,” Bright teleported into the box again. “I can’t really guarantee I can use my magic like I just did.

“Well you did,” Eli slipped his helmet back on. “Which means, you overcame your fear. Embrace that. You’re getting somewhere.”

Eli started the bike and continued through the forest.

The human was on edge now. Trusted with being the muscle of the journey, Bright being the navigator and the brains, Eli was now convinced this forest was one big death trap.

“Maybe I should have just robbed somebody and taken the train,” Eli thought.

The son of a millionaire, reduced to living this way. He knew he probably smelled terrible. His riding gear and clothing were getting filthy and torn. His boots were scuffed, his helmet had many scratches from use. He wanted a shower and new clothes.

Eli brought the bike to a halt in another clearing; the sunlight dancing down from above was such a welcome sight.

He kept a hand on his sword while Bright levitated water into his mouth through the water hose of the camelbak.

“Germaphobe,” Eli teased.

Bright raised his eyebrows and lowered them to indicate he didn’t care.

“What, you don’t want to suck on my nipple?” Eli twirled the water hose around in circles.

“Oh, shut up,” Bright grumbled and trotted over to the saddlebags.

Eli began to take a few steps away from the bike, examining the forest around him. Still having a hand on his sword.

Bright was ruffling through the saddlebags, looking for one of the plants he had collected earlier to be his lunch. The good thing about being an herbivore was it wasn’t terribly difficult to survive in the wild here. Meanwhile, Eli did suffer nutritionally. He was going to need meat sooner or later.

A bit of movement above grabbed the young man’s attention. Something was hovering not terribly far away in the sky. The human squinted, the sun making it hard to make out the details of the figure in the sky. Eli saw the flash first, then a fragment of metal whizzed past his head, then came the sound.

BANG

Eli took a step back, now beginning to run. The figure flew closer to draw a better bead on the human scrambling for cover.

“Bright!” Eli screamed. “Get behind the bike! Now!”

Bright was already leaping for cover.

Eli slid on his knees and dropped for cover behind the motorcycle. Looking through a gap in the engine, he saw a dark colored pony fluttering twenty feet in the air, aiming a long, wooden weapon at the two hiding behind the motorcycle. Its wings were webbed and bat-like, and it wore a sort of black armor.

“You guys have guns?! And you can FLY?!” Eli cried.

“Shootsticks. They’re relatively new, the technology was capitalized on quickly after the humans came before,” Bright Mind said. “And yes, pegasi are a kind of pony that can fly. But that looks a bit like a bat-pony. Interesting fact, they are usually exclusively members of the night guard and-“

BANG

Another round fired, firing through the gas tank. A puddle of strong smelling liquid began to leak between Eli and Bright Mind.

“And he has a repeater,” Bright groaned. “Great.”

“Well, fuck,” Eli watched his precious gasoline leak down the engine case and into the ground.

“Human!” The bat pony yelled. “I have no business with your companion. Give yourself up! My employer has paid me handsomely to take only you in alive!”

“If he’s paid you so handsomely to take me alive, why are you shooting at me?!” Eli shouted back.

“I’ll give you one last chance!” The assassin called back. “Give yourself up! A sword won’t do you much good here!”

“He’s going to kill me if I come out of cover,” Eli whispered to Bright. “Can you zap him?”

“If you give me a few seconds. I’ll try.”

“Great. Get ready.”

Eli stood up and unsheathed his sword. He flung it as hard as he could into the air towards the bat-pony assassin. It made it about ten feet and then lodged itself into the ground.

“What are you doing?” The bat pony raised its eyebrow.

“I’m distracting you, you big turd blossom!” Eli smirked.

“Huh?”

The little white unicorn had come out of hiding, his horn glowing a brilliant blue. There was a flash and a burst of light hit the bat-pegasus in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

Eli retrieved the sword and approached the pegasus, ready to swing the forged metal down upon it. There was another flash of light, the Bat-Pony’s eyes went wide when he realized what was going on. Then, he disappeared.

Eli stabbed the sword into the ground where the bat-pony was only a moment before. Then his vision was overloaded with the flash.

Eli’s ears rang, and he blinked until his vision returned. “Bright, what did you do! I was going to kill him!”

He looked back behind him, sparks were shooting out of Bright Mind’s horn.

He laid on his side in intense pain.

“You okay?” Eli asked Bright.

“Ugh, that was a lot of magic I just used. I can’t believe that worked,” Bright panted.

“What did you do?” Eli asked.

“Shot him,” Bright said between breaths. “With a self defense spell. Then teleported him somewhere. Sorry you didn’t get to kill him.”

“Where did you send him? He’ll be back, you know.”

“I’m really not sure.”

Meanwhile…

With a flash, the bat-pony popped back into existence. He landed with a plop and a splash into a puddle of mud.

“Wait, this… Isn’t mud,” the Bat-Pony thought. He examined his surroundings, a few cows were grazing near to him, chewing their cud. He looked at his hooves, covered in the foul substance, the flies buzzing everywhere.

A cow looked up and stared at him blankly.

“Oh mister, you might not want to play in there, dontcha’ know. Might catch something.”

The Bat Pony groaned, picking himself and his shootstick up out of the manure. Nightmare would need to give him a raise.

Eli helped Bright up.

“I should be thanking you, really. You did great back there again.”

Bright wobbled to his hooves.

“I want out of this forest, for Celestia’s sake,” Bright said. “This place is an absolute death trap.”

Eli approached the motorcycle and inspected the hole in the metal gas tank.

“Well, hopefully we aren’t too far away from the next town,” Eli shrugged. “Because on top of monsters wanting to tear us limb from limb, we’re out of gas. There’s a flying assassin with a gun trying to kill me, and I’m not properly armed. Seriously though, you guys have guns? I need one.”

“Shootsticks are very hard to come by, Eli,” Bright explained. “After one of the humans that appeared used one, it didn’t take long for a few engineers to figure out how to replicate that technology. They’re highly restricted, though. It’s a capital offense to illegally possess one, and it’s mostly reserved for military use by the guard.”

“Well, I’m not too concerned about the laws of this land. I’m just here to get my sister. A gun I know how to use, a sword- Not so much. I should be better armed with something I’m more familiar with. As long as I apparently have this bounty-hunter after me.”

“Well Eli, I can’t help you there. Good luck finding one, I’m not even sure how that bat-pony got one. Maybe he was a former member of the Night Guard. But there is one more thing I’ve been meaning to tell you, Eli.”

“Which is?”

“If you ever do that one wheel thing while I’m riding on the back of your bike, I’m going to zap you and teleport you somewhere very unpleasant.”

“Yeah, five feet away will be very unpleasant. Also it’s called a wheelie.”

“Ugh!” Bright rolled his eyes, climbing into the box. “Just go!”

Chirpchirpchirpchirp… Chirpchirpchirpchirp…

“Uh oh,” Eli looked around in confusion. “Come on…”

Chirp chirp chirp. Chirp Chirp chirp…

Eli checked the fuel gauge, seeing that it was all the way at the bottom. The leak had completely emptied his gas tank.

“Well, that’s not good,” Eli shrugged. He swept his hand across the dashboard of the bike, going through a few menus and tapped the screen a few more times.

“How do I do this again?” Eli murmured. “Drive, then fuel, then fuel type, No, that’s not it. Its somewhere in here. Oh, there. Electric. Sweet.”

The low rumble of the enduro Bright was used to hearing was instead a soft whirring.

“Okay, we don’t have a whole lot of distance on the battery. We need to make it to the next town. No more stops.”

At the edge of the forest, two lone figures emerged pushing the enduro. After running out of gas, Eli had ridden the hybrid-electric motor to its limit and depleted the battery. They traveled quite a distance today alone, though. It was late in the afternoon now.

Bright sweated as he helped Eli push the motorcycle ahead. Luckily, it was quite light considering what it was and not terribly difficult to roll on the dirt road they found themselves on. He took a break from pushing and used his magic to help move the enduro along.

Eli was smiling, and even started to laugh at his situation.

“What’s so funny?” Bright asked indignantly.

“Oh nothing,” Eli stifled a laugh. “This just sucks.”

Bright looked at him like he was crazy as always, and went back to helping him move the bike.

“Are those buildings up ahead?”

“Yep,” Bright nodded, trotting along as his horn glowed. Gradually pulling the bike began to wear on him, and felt the normal headache of magic fatigue start to set in.

Eventually, the dirt trails began to be replaced by cobblestone walkways. Next to a few buildings, Eli flipped down the kickstand and took a breather for a moment. Both him and Bright took a rest, covered in sweat and looking and smelling like they had just spent the last few days traveling. Eli removed his jacket and left it on the seat, and tied his helmet to one of the handlebars. He put on his camelbak over his t-shirt and took a few sips of water.

“Alright, I need to find some way to plug the gas tank and find some fuel for this thing,” Eli looked around the town ahead of him. “Otherwise, I’m not really sure how we’re going to keep going. I can’t rely on the electric motor, it takes too much time to charge it manually if I have to.”

“Agreed,” Bright mind answered. “What are you looking for, exactly?”

“Diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, ethanol. Any of those will work. It would be a pain in the ass to charge this thing by hand with the crank every few hours. Worst case scenario we do that.”

Eli looked throughout the plaza they were in. There were lamps lining some of the streets. Natural gas definitely seemed to be abundant. A few ponies walking by the street long-necked at the human, but hid it respectfully and kept walking.

“Wait, Eli, do you have any money?”

“Um…” Eli reached into his wallet. There were a few $20 bills, a few blank checks, and his credit card.

“Do they take American Express here?” Eli asked, holding up the credit card linked to his father’s account.

“You know, I don’t think that’s going to get you anywhere here. Do you have any bits?”

“No, do you?”

Bright pulled a small bag out of the saddlebags and opened it so Eli could see.

“Not much. It’s all my savings and all my mom could give me. It might be enough for fuel. I’ve never really needed to buy any before.”

Bright’s stomach began to growl.

“Hungry?” Eli asked.

“Yeah, pushing that thing around is enough to work up an appetite,” Bright nodded.

“Tell you what, you go get something to eat. I’m going to go see if I can find any fuel. Meet back here in an hour.”

“Okay,” Bright gave Eli the bag with most of the money. “I’m so starving. See you in a bit.”

Bright trotted off in the direction of shops with fruit stands and tables set up outside restaurants.

The human reached into the bag and withdrew a gold coin. On one side was a beautifully etched sun, and the other side an incredibly detailed moon. The currency here was interesting to say the least.

Eli began to walk in the other direction. He nodded to a few ponies passing on the street. At first they looked surprised, but most returned his smile.

A little filly walked by with her mother, staring up at Eli as he walked by.

“Hello,” Eli smiled.

“Hi!” The Filly said excitedly.

“Wow, mommy, what’s he doing here?” Eli heard her ask as he walked away.

He found himself in a different part of the market. Looking all around, he couldn’t find any place that looked to sell any kind of fuel. As he walked through the village, a large monument caught his eye. It was in the middle of a giant brick circle with a hundred foot diameter.
Eli came closer to examine the monument.

Six human figures, not terribly detailed, were seen wearing what were unmistakably dog tags around their necks. One had his fist held in the air, and the others all seemed to be following behind him into battle based on the facial expressions of the bronze statues.
“Um, excuse me sir?”

Eli turned around. Two Pegasus ponies stood in front of him, a mare and a stallion. Not bat-ponies, clearly just another race of pony and no cause for alarm.

“Well, we couldn’t help but notice you as we were wandering by, and I was wondering if we might be able to get a picture with you.”

“Oh? Sure. I don’t mind,” Eli shrugged.

The mare flagged down another pony to hold the camera. Eli smiled for the photo with the two pegasi.

“Thank you,” the stallion shook his hand. Eli had to take a knee to do it comfortably.

“Yeah, no problem,” Eli said, bit confused but not uncomfortable with the situation.

“Did you know any of them?” the mare asked him pointing to the statues.

“Um…” Eli examined the faces a bit more closely. The statues’ faces themselves weren’t too detailed.

“Maybe.”

“Oh, don’t bother the guy with questions, dear,” the male Pegasus said. “He looks busy enough.”

Eli parted ways with the Pegasus couple and continued in the market. When he realized he wasn’t getting anywhere, he realized he would need to ask someone.

The human found himself outside of a two story building looking to be of Victorian design. The door iron grated, with a glass doorknob shaped to look like a diamond.

“Fine Timepieces, Gems & Jewels- Sales and Repair,” Eli read the sign mentally. He just need directions, maybe a local could help him out.

A bell above the door rang as he entered the shop. Before him were many glass cases filled with sparkling assortments of gold and silver, with magnificently mounted gems fixed in. But what took up the dominating display cases were many rows of wristwatches and pocket watches upon chains.

“Just a moment,” an aged, brown Earth Pony stallion was carefully maneuvering a small screwdriver inside a golden pocket watch with his hooves.

“Yes, yes can I-“

He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at his customer.

Eli looked back, then looked behind him, as if there was something more interesting going on back there.
He looked back to the earth pony jeweler.

“Um, hi. I can leave if you’d like.”

“No, no, sorry I just- wasn’t really expecting someone of your- stature. Hello, please do come in. The name is Quartz, Quartz Prism. How can I be of service to you, sir?”

“Well, I was wondering-“

“My goodness! Sorry to interrupt, but that watch you wear. May I take a look at it?”

“Um, sure,” Eli extended his wrist. He let the Earth Pony examine the steel watch he wore. Nothing terribly flashy, just a stainless steel watch that had sentimental value.

“Skagen,” Quartz examined the watch with a magnifying glass. “Can’t say I’ve heard of that brand. Has a few scratches here and there, Quite a nice time piece, though. Since you’re here, I assume you’ve come to sell, yes?”

“Um, not exactly. This watch was given to me by my father, and supposedly worn by my grandfather. I can’t part with it.”

“Ah, I see. Would you care for me to clean it for you? It looks as though you’ve been traveling, it could use a shine.”

“Sure, if you don’t mind.”

Eli unclipped the watchstrap and handed it to the pony, who began expertly cleaning it with cloths and a bottle of paste. As Quartz Prism turned around, Eli could see this ones mark, as he noticed in all of the other grown ponies: A gold time piece with a diamond in the middle.

By the time he was done cleaning the watch, the cloth was almost completely black.

“All done,” Quartz held the watch out to the human. Eli slipped it back on his wrist and clicked the lock, marveling at the shine it had now.

“Looks brand new,” Eli nodded in approval. Eli set his camelbak on the table, reaching inside to withdraw a few coins to give the old pony.

“Oh, no, its a service from me to you, friend. Wait a moment, what are those gemstones in your bag?”

“Oh, these?” Eli pulled them out of his camelbak and set them on the counter.

“Dear Celestia,” Quartz rushed to grab his magnifying glass. He spent a few minutes with his eyes glued to the handful of multicolored gems.

“Sir, these gems are impeccable. Their clarity is second to none. I see almost zero imperfections! Wherever did you find these, a diamond dog mine?”

“Haha, yeah, now that would be ridiculous,” Eli scratched the back of his head.

“Sir,” Quartz put down his magnifying glass.

“I’m prepared to give you a generous offer for your gemstones.”

Bright Mind sat outside at the table of a café. He wolfed down his daisy sandwich and hayfries quickly. He realized it had been near to the end of an hour, and Bright began making his way back towards where Eli had parked the Enduro.

Eli sat there, licking an ice cream cone and playing a game on his phone.

“God damn it,” Eli muttered, frustrated with running out of moves in his game again. “At least no one can send me Candy Crush requests from here.”

“Eli, we really don’t have a lot of money. You wasted it on an ice cream cone instead of real food?”

“Well,” Eli paused his game. “I don’t think that’s really going to be a problem anymore.”

Eli gestured for bright to come closer. Indiscreetly, he opened one of the saddlebags on the bike. It was completely full of bits.

“Woah! Where did you get all that mon-“

Eli stuck a hand over Bright’s mouth.

“Just tell the whole world, why don’t you?” Eli rolled his eyes.

“Okay,” Bright sat on his haunches and whispered. “How did you get all that money?”

“I sold the gems I swiped in the mines. Good thing you were kidnapped, right?”

“But, gems aren’t worth that much!”

“The ones I looted were apparently. It’s the least the diamond dogs could do for us, right?”

“Eli do you know what this means now? We can afford train tickets! We don’t have to ride the rest of the way!”

Eli shrugged.

“Well, I was okay with riding the whole way.”

“Eli, if we take the train, we get to Canterlot quicker. Which means we get to your sister quicker. And what with that bounty-hunter after you…”

“I know, I know. Alright, go get us some train tickets,” Eli plucked the saddlebags full of money off the motorcycle and put it on Bright Mind’s back. He promptly collapsed under the weight.

“I’ve still gotta find fuel for this thing. And get the gas tank fixed somehow.”

Bright Mind wobbled to his hooves struggling with every step.

“Okay,” Bright balanced on his hooves. “Meet me at the train station, it’s not too hard to find.

Bright Mind watched Eli push his bike off into the distance. Struggling every step with his heavy bags, he trudged towards the train station, admiring the large castle growing out of a crystal tree. He was happy to be out of Appleloosa, there was actually a future in magic even here.

“And how’d this happen?” The blacksmith pony inspected the hole in the gas tank. There was an identical one on the otherside to match from the bullet that shot through.

“Um,” Eli shrugged. “Guess I hit a rock.”

“No rock could bust a hole through metal like that. Are you an outlaw? Someone shooting at you?”

“No. I'm not,” Eli said. “I guess it was an outlaw that shot at me. In the forest back a ways.”

“Now look, I don’t like getting involved with-“

Eli held a bag of coins in the air, not really knowing how much it was but there was still plenty left in the saddlebags.

“Ah. Well, I got foals to feed. You’re probably telling the truth.”

Eli held a hand over his eyes as the unicorn wearing a welding mask carefully traced the holes with a torch levitated in his magical grip. He cut a small metal plate for each side and welded them over the bullet holes. A spray bottle floated over, and steam hissed off of the welded areas as it cooled.

“There you go, son. Should be good to go.”

Eli inspected the gas tank, placing the back of his hand near the welded areas to make sure they were cool before he touched. He ran a hand over them, feeling the new metal above the old. It looked as though someone had glued two black squares onto the orange gas tank.

“Yeah, this is fine. Thanks. One more thing, do you sell fuel?” Eli asked the blacksmith.

“As a matter a fact I do. Only natural gas, though.”

The Blacksmith held up a hose attached to a large tank. The nozzle of the hose didn’t quite match up with Eli’s gas tank, but the blacksmith was able to fashion a new one quickly and they improvised.

“Alright, I’m going to shut it off. Close it quick,” Eli instructed the pony.

The dirty grey pony, his mane matted with dust and grease from his line of blue-collar work nodded to the human.

Eli pulled the hose out of his fuel tank and screwed the lid on quickly before too much of the gas could escape. The hose’s nozzle was not compatible with his fuel tank so they had to improvise.

“That should do it,” the dirty pony in an apron shut off a valve. “You sure this thing will take that?”

“Let’s find out,” Eli turned the ignition and swept his hand across the dashboard, navigating through menus.

>Speedo/Tach
>Navigation
>Weather
>Connectivity/Bluetooth
>Dyno
>Settings
>Drive

Eli selected Drive.
Select fuel type:
>Unleaded
>Diesel
>Electric
>Ethanol
>Hydrogen
>Biofuel
>Propane
>CNP (Natural Gas)
“Please don’t explode.”

Eli selected the option for CNP and hit the ignition.

Chirp Chirp Chirp. Chirp Chirp Chirp

Then the engine turned over and it idled as normal. Eli gave the throttle a twist, and the engine let out a bit more sound.

“Yeah,” Eli smiled. “This will totally work. Thanks,” Eli paid the pony for the fuel and sat upon the bike, strapping his helmet.

“Hey, stranger?” the pony asked.

“Yes?” Eli asked.

“Is there something going on? The last time we had humans in this town… We almost lost everything. Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” Eli smiled. “I’m just visiting is all.”

Eli rode the bike slowly and carefully through the town, avoiding pedestrians and market stands. They seemed to understand his intentions and stay out of his path.

“Weird. They all act like they’ve seen me before.”

Bright struggled with the heavy bags on his back, taking step after step. Using his magic to help him steady the bags, he trotted towards the ticketing window of the train station. He felt lucky somepony was even still there, the sun was nearly about to set.

“Just a little bit farther,” Bright panted. The bags were too much. He dropped to his knees for a moment and let them slide off his back, the coins inside clinking around.

“Y’all need a hoof?” a yellow Earth Pony mare grabbed the bags and heaved them atop his back, and helped Bright up. A few coins jingled as the bags were jostled on the stranger’s back.

Bright’s eyes went wide, seeing the bag of money on the stranger’s back.

“Something wrong there, stranger? You just looked like y’all were struggling. Where ya headed?”

“Um,” Bright stammered. “T-Train Station.”

“Well that ain’t far, y’all take a breather I’ll bring your bags there.”

“No, I’m fine. Really- I insist-“

The mare began to start heading towards the train station, not taking no for an answer. Nervously, he followed her.

“Ah haven’t seen you around here a’fore. Traveling? Where ya headed?”

“Um, Canterlot, miss. Thank you,” Bright kept pace with her.

“Canterlot, eh? Sounds like you’re on important business then. What’s in these bags, gold bars?”

“What? No! That would be ridiculous. There’s nothing of any value in those bags. Nothing- Nothing at all,” Bright rambled.

“…Okay then,” the mare shrugged. “You movin’ to Canterlot?”

“I hope so. There’s a few schools I’m hoping to attend once I get there. Say, what’s with that castle over there? Is that-“

“Darn tootin’, that’s Princess Twilight’s castle. When Ah was but filly, it used to be a big tree house before she was coronated.

“Yeah,” Bright nodded. “I know the stories.”

“Well, here you are, stranger, this is the train station. Oh, mah’ name’s Apple Bloom. Pleasure to meet you…?”

“Bright Mind,” he said. “Call me Bright.”

“Well Bright, Ah’m pleased to make your acquaintance. Y’all have a safe trip and good luck!”

Applebloom waved as she left him to the ticket counter.

“Um, hello,” Bright approached the teller.

“Two- Uh- Two tickets to Canterlot. And one freight.”

“Seven hundred fifty bits,” the pasty mare running the window said unenthusiastically.

Bright winced. Such a large amount of money was unimaginable to him. He opened a saddlebag carefully and began to count.

Eli rode through a crowd of ponies carefully, all giving him right of way. Some even waved to him. He nodded back, returning the wave of one smaller filly. He spied Bright sitting on a bench. Eli pulled up next to him, bringing his goggles down over the mouthpiece of his helmet.

“Why does everyone act like they’ve seen me before? And no one seems to be alarmed or surprised from my presence here.”

“This is the town where the humans made their last stand against Nightmare. Also where they supposedly died. The monument in the middle of town is where they last stood. Your kind has a good reputation here.”

“Okay, that’s starting to make a bit more sense now.”

“You fixed it,” Bright looked at the gas tank.

“Yeah,” Eli said. “Wasn’t too hard to find someone to do it. Found fuel, too. You got the tickets?”

“Yep,” Bright levitated to slips of paper. “These were not cheap. We’re taking a night train, though. It leaves in an hour, you should go ahead and load your bike onto the freight car. We’ll be getting into Canterlot in the early morning.”

“And yet,” Eli opened one of the saddlebags. It looked like they hadn’t even taken a dent out of their personal funds yet. “I’d say we’re doing okay.”

Eli found his way to the train they’d be taking. The train car had a large wooden ramp, making it easy for him to ride straight up into the cargo car and tie the bike down with rope.

He tugged on it tentatively; the bike was tied firmly to the wall of the car. It wasn’t going anywhere.

Eli hung his helmet and gloves on one of the handlebars and sighed. It would actually be nice not having to risk his life like he had been the last few days. He could just kick back, relax, and think.

A conductor shower Eli and Bright to their compartment. The conductor pony slid the door open, revealing a small bed on each side, a desk, and a window.

“Well, it’s a little small, but better than what we’re used to traveling like. Right?” Eli looked to Bright.

“This is a lot better. I really wish we could have just done this from the beginning.”

Eli dropped his camelbak on the desk between the beds and stretched out onto the bed. It was much too small for him, and his legs hung off the end.

Bright sat on his bed, watching as the train began to move. The sun hadn’t even set yet, but after the past few days of traveling through the Everfree Forest and the desert, he realized just how tired he really was.

“Hey Bright?” Eli asked.

“Yes, Eli?”

“What was the name of that town we were just in?”

“Ponyville. Why?”

“Just curious.”

Bright awoke to an empty compartment. The window before him was pitch black. It must be late in the night. Bright yawned, ruffling his mane and slid open the door to the hallway.

Bright Mind checked the freight car, expecting Eli to be tinkering with something to the Enduro. It sat there tied to the wall, moving back and forth slightly on its kickstand as the train rocked back and forth. There was no sign of the human.

“Eli?” Bright poked his head into another train car. The car was empty minus sleeping ponies in coach class. Bright opened the door and went through the passageway onto the next car. Same situation, still full of sleepy ponies, no crazy human.

Bright moved almost all the way forward on the train and found the dining car. He could hear a loud laughter and conversation, then it all went quiet. Bright slid open the door.

Eli sat at the bar, with a crowd of ponies gathered around. A mix of posh, well dressed diplomats, business ponies, and then working class ponies all crowded the car. All seemed to be interested in what he had to say, even the bartender.

Eli took a swig of the frothing beverage in his hand.

“So then the Chief, my commanding officer, comes over and grabs him by the collar and lifts him up. He asks Larry, What in god’s name are you looking at outside?”

Eli changed his voice to sound a bit more like a dumbass.

“Uh-Uh-Well Chief, I was lookin’ at that squirrel in the tree out there.”

Eli went back to his normal voice.

“We all were like, god damn it, Larry! You know, every division has a fuck up. And our fuck up was Larry.”

“Its true, you know,” a pony dressed in full royal guard attire added, and sipped on his cider.

“See? Right. Anyway, the chief grabs Larry by the collar and pulls him outside. Motherfucker had to salute the tree with the squirrel in it for an hour.”

“Eli!”

“Huh?” Eli swayed his head in Bright’s direction. “Oh bey bud- hic- Hey buddy!”

“Eli, are you drunk?” Bright raised an eyebrow.

“Whaaat? I am oh-ffended,” Eli said completely soberly. “Hey, I know- I know what’ll pull that stick out of your… Ass.”

He put another bit on the counter.

“Get a –hic- Cider for my friend, please. He needs to lighten up.”

“Is he even old enough?” The barkeeper asked.

“Sure he is,” Eli nodded. “Hey I’m a human, I probably know what I’m talkin’ about. We invented the internet and gravity. Haha.”

“Well, you’re money’s good at least, sir,” the barkeep put a glass on the counter and filled it up for Bright.

Bright took a seat at the bar next to Eli and simply stared at the drink.

“What?” Eli said.

“I don’t drink, Eli.”

“What? Come on, loosen up a little. We’re going to Canterlot, you’re so excited. We don’t have to ride through a forest full of killing machines or a desert full of diamond dogs. Let’s celebrate a little.”

“Eli, I think you need to stay focused. I hate to bring it up, but your sister is still missing. That’s the whole point of this trip. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be getting drunk the night before we are supposed to go see the Princesses of Equestria.”

“I’ll totally be sober by then, fuck. Just have this one glass, I’ll get off your ass after that.”

Bright rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed huff. He was really sick of going out of his comfort zone. The human had peer pressured him into leaving his entire life behind, and now was compromising his own values.

He sipped the alcoholic cider, chasing it quickly with a glass of water brought by the bar tender.

“Ugh, it stings,” Bright coughed.

“That means it’s working,” Eli nodded. Then he turned to the guard sitting at the stool on his right.

“I’m such a good influence,” Eli whispered to him. The guard smiled a bit, clearly enjoying his first encounter with the human race, then went back to his drink.

“Hey, you know, this isn’t bad,” Bright took a bigger gulp.

Before he knew it, he had an empty glass. Eli was happy to order him another.
Pretty soon, the clock said it was three in the morning. Another bartender had come to relieve the tired, second shift server. Most of the passengers had already gone to bed. Soon enough, it was only Eli, Bright Mind, the bartender, and a few other ponies left in the dining car.

More than a dozen glasses sat next to Bright, with about the same set next to Eli. They laughed and sang, but Bright’s liquor tolerance got the better of him. The last thing he could remember was a blue-colored earth pony mare talking to him. Bright nodded and pretended to pay attention. Eventually though, he blacked out and his head smacked the counter.

Bright awoke in the bed of the compartment as the train jolted to a stop.

“End of the line, end of the line!” A conductor walked the hallway outside his closed compartment door.

“Ughhhh, my head.”

Bright stood to his hooves, desperately trying not to vomit. It felt like he was having a migraine brought on by using too much of his magic quickly.

“Eli? Bright checked the bed next to him. Gone again. Great. Through the window he caught a glimpse of the outside train station. Ponies were beginning to file off the train.

Bright grabbed his saddlebags and the human’s camelbak and stumbled to the door, sliding it open again.

“Eli?” Bright slurred. He was sober now, but his teeth and his mouth hurt. He must have passed out and hit something.

A door to another compartment was slightly ajar Bright Mind slid it open, and then his eyes went wide with what he saw.

Eli laid in a bed with his shirt off, his clothes thrown to the floor and several cider mugs and wine glasses sat on the nightstand next to the bed.

Clinging its hooves around the shirtless human was a pink Pegasus mare. Eli slowly opened his eyes, seeing Bright stare at him in terror. Then he looked to his side, with the Pegasus clinging loosely to him, still snoozing.

Eli put his face in his hands.

“Oh, fuck. I didn’t… Please tell me I didn’t… Oh fuck, I totally did.”

The mare stirred a little, but remained asleep.

Eli motioned for Bright to shut the door. Bright slid it closed, turning red. He heard shuffling, a belt jingling, and then Eli appeared fully dressed in the blink of an eye, shutting the door quietly.

“Okay,” Eli exhaled. “Um… We will never speak of this again. And no more alcohol.”

“Agreed,” Bright nodded quickly. The two headed for the freight car and untied the motorcycle, heading out into the capital city of Canterlot.

Author's Note

Song for this chapter. I'm making this a thing.

Reference on shootsticks.

I didn't come up with the idea of them, but Equestria Prevails made some amazing art that inspired me to use the idea, and definitely deserves some credit for it. I plan on using his concept of "shootsticks" later in the story. I'm not trying to claim that I came up with it, he's an amazing artist, go check his stuff out!

Yeah this one took longer than I originally planned to write. I got in a motorcycle accident and took a car to the face, so that kinda delayed things. I'm okay, the bike isn't. Whoops. Well, thats what insurance is for, right?

So watch out for idiots who think its a good idea to turn out in front of you. I'm on medical leave for a bit now so we'll see how soon I can update for the next one.

Thank you to Cheese Bread Eddy (Or CBE whatever his username is now) for helping me with some editing.)