“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.)