In Pursuit of...

Chapter 5: Mecha

For the second time that day, the ponies found themselves out in the crowded, bustling town square of Canterlot.

“So this Mecha pony-“ Nimbus said, “he’s around here somewhere, right?”

“Oh yes,” said Pinkie, bouncing again, “he owns a blacksmithing shop right around here!” She looked around every which way. “At least, it’s somewhere around here.” She scratched her head and shrugged. “Oh well! We’ll find him eventually!”

“Eventually?” said Nimbus, “but Equestria’s in danger! We need to find him now!”

“Put a horseshoe in it, alarmist!” Rainbow Dash said, plugging Nimbus’s mouth with her hoof, “do you want everyone to know?!”

Nimbus spat out the hoof. “Hey! What’s the big idea?” He stepped backwards, and, not looking where he was going, ran into a fruit stand, which collapsed. Nimbus cringed as the wreckage settled into a cloud of dust.

“Whoops,” he said. He turned to the others. “You go on ahead to Mecha’s. I’m sure I can find some directions later. Right now, I need to help clean this up.”

“Well, okay then,” said Twilight.

“Serves you right, flypony!” Rainbow Dash said, sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry his way.

Nimbus shook his head and turned around to speak with the owner. Just then, another voice sounded from behind.

“Looks like trouble. Need any help?”

Nimbus turned to the source. Standing amidst the rubble was a black, male pony with a dark red mane. His cutie mark was that of a toolbox.

“Well sir, yes- that is, if it isn’t any trouble.”

The pony smiled. “No trouble at all. I was just on my way out of town, but if you need some assistance, I’d be more than happy to lend a hoof.” The pony stepped forward and examined the fallen planks of wood.

“Hmm,” he said, “in all honesty, this isn’t the best constructed stand I’ve seen. You’re using wooden pegs to hold it together? Embrace the future,” he said, looking at the stand’s owner. “I could fix this now, but if you give me about a week, I could rebuild it. It’d be stronger, sturdier, and it’d probably look cooler, too.”

The owner shrugged. “Sure thing!”

“Great,” the black pony said, “I’ll just get this wreckage out of the way. You might wanna stand back.”

Nimbus heard a whirring sound, and looked down. It was then that he noticed the pony’s left leg, or rather his absence of one. In its place was a shiny, mechanical counterpart. A hatch on the leg opened, and the pony took out what appeared to be a small bag with a fuse leading out of it.

“Ground Hydra Scales,” the pony said, carefully placing the bag under the wreckage, “unconventional? Maybe. Unorthodox? Definitely, but they do get the job done.”

He grabbed a nearby torch and lit the fuse. “Everyone get down!” he yelled with a grin.

Nimbus took cover behind a nearby wagon. This was going to be interesting.

“Fire in the hole!” the black pony yelled. Suddenly, there was a tremendous, earth-shaking explosion, and the remnants of the fruit stand were thrown into the air and vaporized. The black pony stood up, laughing.

“Now that’s what I call speedy removal!” he quipped, approaching Nimbus. “Don’t worry about this stand, I’ve got it covered. Just be a little more careful next time, okay?”

“Sure!” Nimbus said. Then he remembered something. “Sir!” he called as the pony began to walk away. He turned his head back to acknowledge Nimbus. “Sir, do you happen to know where the home of somepony called ‘Mecha’ is?”

The pony looked thoughtful, then grinned slightly. “Why yes I do,” he said slowly, “and I can take you there, if you want.”

“You can?” Nimbus said, “great!”

“Right this way,” said the pony, turning and heading down a side street, “follow me!”

Nimbus tagged along, following the pony closely. Upon closer examination, he could see the pony had a muscular physique, almost a military build. “Do you know Mecha?” he asked.

“Well, actually I do. We go way back,” the pony said.

“I heard he was a Corporal in the Scouting Division. Is that true?”

The pony smiled. “Yes it is. He did his duty and got out when he could.”

Nimbus raised an eyebrow. For some reason, it seemed like this pony was hiding something from him. He dismissed the thought and continued on. The pony looked back at Nimbus and spoke.

“Looks like you’ve had your share of military time, too.”

Nimbus nearly puffed up with pride. “Yes sir, I’m a flyer in the Equestrian Defense Force.”

“Ah,” said the pony, “and that would explain the lightning cutie mark.”

“Yep, I got that when I was commissioned.”

“Let me see,” said the pony, hanging a left onto another, less-busy street, “so that would make you… probably a 1st Lieutenant now, right?”

“Yes sir,” said Nimbus.

“Well you must be really proud to serve your country,” the pony said. “I know Mecha was when he was in.”

They continued on in silence for a little while until Nimbus finally spoke again. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get the- the-“

“The leg?” the pony said, chuckling. “Don’t be afraid to call it what it is. I won’t be offended. I got it in… a Manticore attack a few years ago.”

Nimbus’s virtual liar alarms were going nuts in his head right now. This pony was definitely lying to him. He decided to play along, however.

“Okay, I see,” he said. The pony suddenly stopped.

“Well, this is it,” he said, “Mecha’s place.”

“I don’t see anypony around, though,” Nimbus said, “are you sure he’s in?”

“Well, I know he is, actually- more or less. I mean, he’s standing right in front of you.”

It took a moment for Nimbus to comprehend what the pony was saying. Then it hit him.

“Wait a moment- you’re Corporal Mecha?”

“The one and only,” said Mecha, “now let’s get inside. I don’t have a lot of time, but I can listen if you have a problem.”

“I have a problem, alright,” said Nimbus.

“How big?” Mecha asked.

“On a scale of one to ten… try 20% worse than ten.”

Mecha frowned. “You’d better come in, then.”

…

Mecha opened the door to his shop slowly. Nimbus couldn’t help but notice how flawlessly it moved. There was no trace of any metallic squeaks, and the metal itself was polished to perfection. Had Mecha done this himself?

“Twenty percent,” Mecha chuckled, “you’ve been hanging out with Rainbow Dash, haven’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” Nimbus said, “I have, but how does-“

“Don’t worry about it,” said Mecha. “Hang around that pony for long enough and you’ll understand.”

“Well, okay,” said Nimbus, “now can we get down to business?”

The impatience in his tone was unmistakable, and Mecha picked up on it. “Well sure,” he said. “Have a seat.”

Nimbus walked over to a seat in Mecha’s kitchen, but he didn’t sit down. Things had to be done.

“Sir, I really need you to help me,” said Nimbus, “it’s a pretty serious problem.’

“Oh yeah?” said Mecha, looking through his pantry, “more serious than what I’m doing?”

Nimbus was confused. “Uh, looking through a pantry?”

“No,” said Mecha, starting to get annoyed by this flyer, “the little problem I’m currently trying to follow up on.” He looked at Nimbus by the seat. “Didn’t they teach you any courtesy at that academy of yours?”

“Hey,” Nimbus said, suddenly losing his formalities, “you can’t insult the Academy.”

“Actually, I can,” said Mecha, “I’m retired.”

“Retired already?” Nimbus mumbled under his breath, “typical Army type.”

“What did you just say?” Mecha roared, lunging and pinning Nimbus to the wall.

“Er, nothing…”

“That’s what I thought. I’ve been through a lot- more than you will ever know. Now we have two options here: the first is that you can sit down, shut up, and we’ll talk. The second-“ he raised his mechanical leg, “is me devising a really quick and painful way of sending you out of here.”

Nimbus looked at the leg, then back at Mecha’s face. The pony wasn’t kidding.

“I’ll go with option number one,” he said, “no offense meant to you,” he quickly added.

“None taken,” said Mecha, “just have a seat and calm down.”

This time, Nimbus sat as Mecha rummaged through the pantry. He looked around at the table. It was well-crafted, and made of solid metal. There were a few poker chips scattered across its surface, and one or two empty bottles present as well.

“You play poker?” he asked.

“Sure do,” Mecha responded, “you should swing by sometime.”

“Yeah,” said Nimbus, “I’ll see what my work schedule’s like.”

“Fair enough,” said Mecha, “but you really shouldn’t let your work dominate your life. Take it from a pony who’s been there.” He suddenly did a double take.

“What the hay? My chocolate’s gone!” He began to pace the room, then suddenly looked up at the ceiling. “Alright, Pinkie Pie, show yourself!”

Inexplicably, Pinkie Pie dropped down from the ceiling behind Mecha, chowing down on a chocolate bar. “Hi, Mecha!” she said between bites, then “come out, gals!”

Slowly, the other ponies began to reveal themselves, stepping out of closets, from under desks, and even from the refrigerator, in Rarity’s case. Mecha’s jaw dropped.

“Well, I do believe I’ve been ambushed,” he said with a grin. “What are you all doing here?”

“We’re with Nimbus,” Twilight said, “and we’re on a mission we’d like your help with.”

“You know I’d love to help you,” Mecha said, “but I’m right in the middle of my own mission right now, as I was just explaining to your friend.”

“Acquaintance,” Rainbow Dash growled. Mecha stared at her.

“Oookay, then. Anyway, I’m afraid I probably can’t assist you. You see, I’m trying to find out the whereabouts of-“

“Princess Luna?” Rarity asked, “so are we.”

“Well,” said Mecha, “that changes things, then. All of you’d better sit down.”

The ponies took seats near Nimbus at the poker table as Mecha explained the situation.

“When Luna was stolen by Eclipse, I naturally decided to act. Unfortunately, I’ve found out nothing that explains him. Have any of you got a lead?”

“Well, as a matter of fact,” Twilight said, “we have, and it’s because of you.”

“Me?” Mecha asked, surprised, “what did I do?”

“You wrote a book,” Applejack said, “a book about something older than the Elements of Harmony.

“Well yes, I did, but-“

“And that’s where I think we can find the answer,” Twilight finished. “You see, in your book, you proposed that the Elements of Harmony, without the presence of a sort of ‘Unifier’, might be imperfect, and therefore, any spell cast by them might be rendered incomplete.”

“Yes,” Mecha said, intrigued, “go on.”

“Well, what if the spell used to finally separate Luna from Nightmare Moon was also incomplete?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Mecha asked.

“First, the resemblance between Nightmare Moon and Eclipse is unmistakable,” said Twilight, “and Eclipse actually called Luna his sister, but Luna’s only known sibling is Celestia, so there must be another explanation. I believe that-“

“That Eclipse is a part of Nightmare Moon, somehow separated by the spell that freed Luna,” Mecha finished for her. “I see.” He paused for a moment, and Twilight was convinced he thought she was crazy. Then Mecha lifted a hoof and cried out in triumph.

“Of course! It all makes sense! Twilight, you are a genius!”

“Well, thanks!” Twilight said as Mecha hugged her, practically squeezing the air out of her lungs.

“There’s something else, too,” Nimbus said, “and I don’t know exactly what it means yet, but the image on the Unifier is identical to one my family’s passed down for generations. If I had to guess, Eclipse is probably very interested in something that powerful, and he’s either looking for the Unifier or already has it. In any case, my family may know where we should start looking.”

“Good,” said Mecha, “then let’s hit the road. We have no time to waste.”

Mecha stood and exited the room, with the other ponies following, Pinkie Pie still finishing her chocolate. As they walked outside, they could see dark clouds gathering on the horizon. None of them knew exactly what was to come, but from the looks of things, Eclipse was getting ready to make his next move. Time was running out, and the ponies knew that if they didn’t act fast, things could get a lot worse.

In fact, they already were.

Once again, thank you very much to Itchy for letting me use his OC, Mecha.