Chapters The ebb and flow of magic in the land of Equestria is unpredictable at best and unforgiving at worst. No pony knows this better than Princess Celestia, Solar Monarch, Ruler of these lands she calls home. Whom of which is pacing around her chambers late at night trying her earnest to figure out where this magic storm has risen from. It formed in the blinks of an eye from the coast, quickly moving across her lands. Amount of damages it could be causing is unknown. Yet, she can feel it clear as day since her natural affinity for magic has deep ties to Equestria.
Curious enough, she sees it rest above the Everfree forest. Rather peculiar since magic storms aren't known for just stopping above a specific location. They're commonly known for forming quick, causing mayhem and destruction, then dissipating as fast as they formed. Usually scarring the land in unusual ways while leaving towns and cities in disarray. Some of the more superstitious ponies lend these violent storms of arcane energy as a curse from her banished sister. Leftover dark magic of Nightmare Moon they will claim. Celestia knows better, they never have the mark of her sister. This one, however, has a different mark. One that isn't from Equestria.
From the balcony of her room, she watches. A massive lightning strike near the center of the forest followed by the loudest crash of thunder that it shakes the castle from there. A lone Night Guard gingerly enters shortly after the bellowing rumble of a magic storm now long gone. Leaving no trace that it was ever there. Celestia turns to face her loyal subject, in a silent exchange of words, they leave her be in her chambers. The princess dares not to endanger any of her guard to the power of the arcane storms, no matter how brave they may be. She spreads her wings and launches herself high into the skies.
Her extended knowledge of the arcane makes her the best qualified for the task at hoof. Residual magic tends to hang around for quite a while and the less ponies she can keep out of harm's way, the better. If only her sister were here, she tended to lean more in towards sorcery. Celestia tended to be more of the diplomat, almost a politician really, time has made her quite powerful with magical know-how. Still not as strong with the arcane arts, but still enough to handle most situations.
Celestia is closing in on the Everfree, sounds of something unknown break through the silence. Once. Twice. A fourth. A fifth. They all sound like thunder. Barking and howling come from below the canopy of trees, Timberwolves. On the hunt but it seems their prey is giving up quite the fight. As the alicorn begins her descent, she spots a small green creature dive out of the treeline in to the clearing. It has something in its claws but puts it away just as quick. She watches with mild interest as the creature pulls out a small blade, a dagger by the looks of it. Celestia can sense that its weak now, covered in wounds no doubt caused by the very things that its about to have a showdown with. She has to intervene before it's too late. A silent landing as one of those vile timberwolves lurches forwards, one quick blast from her horn later and it gets blasted to pieces.
"It's alright, little one. I'll bring you to safety." She calls out as the creature seems to just pass out.
Quick thinking and quicker reflexes stop the being from falling to the ground completely. Her wing has reached out in its own and wraps itself around the curious form of the small creature before her. Whatever it may be, it desperately needs help. A further gaze down at its curious choice of attire. A brown trench coat over a plated chest piece, pauldrons adorning the shoulders, and a top hat resting on its head just above a pair of pointed ears. There isn't much time for her to look further, its wounds have put it in a critical state and she must hurry to bring it back to the castle.
A loud pop tears through the silent atmosphere that is the castle's infirmary wing. Surprising many of the nurses and doctors currently looking after recovering guard ponies, staff, or even the random emissary or two. She looks around the room at the wide-eyed gazes of her subjects before coming to rest on a nurse pony nearby, cautiously looking at her wing.
"Where is Dr. Sure Heart. I need her to look after this creature. It's hurt, badly." Celestia asks as the nurse pony takes a timid step forward.
"She's sleeping, Princess... it's late isn't it?" The nurse responds.
"Go get her, this is an emergency."
The nurse pony just gives her a simple nod before trotting away to retrieve Celestia's requested doctor. Sure Heart is more of her personal doctor, but is very knowledgeable about many other species that inhabit these lands. She is hoping that the good doctor would at least know something about their new and unexpected guest. Her eyes fall once more on to the unconscious and shattered form firmly tucked in her wing.
Still breathing.
Excellent.
Celestia is quick to move in one of the private rooms. Gently laying the being down atop the soft sheets and mattress of the infirmary bed. The creature barely took up even half of the space. If she had to judge just how tall this thing is, she'd hazard a guess at its head almost reaching her barrel. Far shorter than any of her little ponies than she is used to. Celestia does what she can to make the small, green creature as cozy as can be before Sure Heart shows up. Taking great care in moving the poor wounded creature now within her walls. Supposing it's now more of a guest than not.
"Is there an emergency, Princess?" The soft voice of a mare grabs her attention.
Celestia turns to meet the pony she fully expected to be in the doorway. "Dr. Sure Heart! Yes, I found this creature in a critical state outside of the Everfree. I would like for you to ensure it makes a full recovery."
The unicorn mare seems stumped at the request made of her. Her eyes flicking from the Princess to the green tinted being now in a hospital bed. "Shouldn't you have called a veterinarian then? That thing looks feral."
"Take a closer look, my dear." Celestia steps off to the side with her clean wing stretched out as if to present her guest to her doctor. "It wears clothes, suggesting a higher form of intelligence than what we normally find out there."
Sure Heart didn't seem to be convinced, but nodded her head just to settle the issue. "Fine. I'll se what I can do."
"That's all I ask."
In the several hours that pass, Celestia managed to clean herself up, raise the sun, and have a delightful breakfast before going back to check on her new guest. The guards have been instructed to keep any staff that isn't her or Sure Heart out of the creature's room. At least until such a time it has been deemed safe. The alicorn had her schedule cleared up for the morning until noon to ensure she has enough time to check in on he doctor and the being. Soon finding herself in front of the door to the creature's room. Her guards standing at attention, almost as if they were waiting for orders or her to say something. Nothing was said as her horn ignites with arcane energy and her glow wraps the handle.
The click of the door catches the doctor's attention and she looks up from her paperwork, peering towards Celestia. "Princess! I didn't think you'd be stopping so early."
"Of course, how is our guest?" Celestia smiles as she strides in, softly closing the door behind her. Her ever gentle gaze falling upon the one in question.
Its clothes had been stripped from the body and folded neatly on the nightstand. Bandages replacing them in kind as they were wrapped around the torso, an arm, and the top of its head. Curious enough is that it not only had a dagger, but another device she didn't quite recognize, but is cradled by the same material used to hold its knife.
"He's stable... but remarkable. Here, look at this." Sure Heart replies, using her magic to give over her clipboard.
"He?" Celestia is curious now, taking the clipboard from the unicorn doctor in to her own magical grasp.
"Well... yes." Sure Heart begins. "He has scars everywhere from whatever did this to him... I found out the hard way about his gender."
Celestia nods, listening while her eyes carefully read over the doctor's notes. What she's reading seems odd to say the least. Accelerated healing? Did his body stabilize itself on the way here? Couldn't have, they teleported. The notes suggest that the scars were nearly closed by the time Sure Heart got the bandages on him. Body Temperature higher than the average pony. To be expected if this thing is from the Everfree. If it is from the Everfree at all. The alicorn hums a little to herself and hands the clipboard back to Sure Heart.
"Have you tested to see if he's magical in any way?" She asks as her eyes fall once more to her guest.
"I.. can't." Sure Heart admits.
"You can't?"
The doctor looks up to the Princess while placing the clipboard on a nearby desk. "I've tried to scan his body for any viruses or contangions, but the spell just backfires as if he's countering me."
A small smile falls upon her lips. "Then I guess we can ask him when he's awake."
Sure Heart had been busy with her work on the strange creature in the nearby bed. Observing a vial of his blood for test she's about to commit herself to at the Princess' request. It was Celestia's idea to magically test the being's blood for any unknown viruses or pathogens along with the potential for the arcane. The doctor has her back turned towards the bed as the being starts to stir awake. His eyes shoot open with a sharp inhale of air before shooting straight up in to a sitting position. He carefully looks around the room, his head turning just as slow, making sure to take in the surroundings as much as possible. They come to a stop on Sure Heat as she's turning back around. She gasps upon seeing that he's awake, nearly dropping the test vial.
"Guards! "
It has been four days. Four long days of court where the highlights of those days making sure her pupil hasn't buried her nose in her books and checking in on her guest currently in the infirmary wing. As far as she knows, he's sound asleep and recovering like he should. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't commited some of his features to memory, using them to guess what he might look like awake. Celestia, happily humming to herself, while she trots to the infirmary to check on her small, green guest. That is until a guard come galloping up to her.
"Princess Celestia! You must come to the infirmary." The guard seemed worried, almost sweating more from his emotion than the run. "The creature is awake."
Celestia's happy demeanor drops a few notches. "Take me to him."
The door swings open to the infirmary and in the frame stands a rather stoic-looking Celestia with two of her guards. Soft lavender eyes fall upon the room as a small smile is forming on her lips when she spots her guest in the corner between the bed and wall. Strange thing is he doesn't look scared but cautious. Red eyes meet hers and she watches him perk up more with some curiosity. Her smile widens as she flares her wings a little.
"Guards, if you would please leave us. I wish to speak to our guest in private."
Both of them nod to retake their posts outside the door as she steps inside the room. Just her, Sure Heart, and the being. Her warm eyes soon falling to the doctor, taking careful nd measured steps towards the bed.
"Doctor Heart, could you get him a glass of water please?"
Sure Heart just simply nods as she quickly retreats to the room's attached bathroom. Celestia herself turned attention back to her guest. Whom of which was intently staring at her from his supposed hiding spot with that same. She would take a step forward, getting closer to the bed and he would back up by one step as well. His eyes never left her even as Sure Heart is returning with that glass of water. Using her magic to give it to the Princess and watching her magic be replaced by the golden glow of the alicorn. Her guest tilts his head a little as the glass is levitated over to him.
They both watch as his stare flicks from the glass to the Princess. The being gingerly reaches out for the cup and takes it in one of its claws. Celestia is quick to note that they're rounded off more than ending in the sharp pointed nails or talons of those such as dragons and griffons. He seems to swirl the clear liquid around some, sniffs it, then some miraculous happens. What looks to be runes appear around his upper foreleg, just above here his claw meets the leg, and runs the unoccupied appendage over the glass.
The water flickers for just a second with strange magic, seeming satisfied with what he did, he drinks up.
"By the Sun, Princess, he does have magic!" Sure Heart nearly squeaked, not sure if out of excitement or terror.
Celestia just nods her head, having made some headway to potentially allying said creature. "I know, Sure Heart. I saw."
The being sets the now empty container on the bed and looks down at himself, seeing the bandages before looking back towards the two ponies. He loos back to the bandages and starts to undo the wrappings around his chest. The sight before them is stark, as the last of his wrappings unravel from his body, the scar doesn't even look like it was made at any recent time. Sure Heart's jaw goes slack at the mere sight of the fading scars the more they're revealed. Seeming to match more scars that the alicorn hadn't noticed until now.
"Doctor, I'd like to commend you on the good work." Celestia breaks the silence as the two stare at the small being unwrap the bandages.
"I didn't do anything, Princess. Just bandaged him up." Sure Heart replies almost dumbfounded.
"I know, I'll be keeping a personal close eye on him from now on." Celestia assures her by wing draping around the unicorn.
The week that follows Celestia's taking over observation of her new guest is quite enlightening. She's quickly learned of how nimble he really is, stealthy, and apparently has a knack for tinkering. The Solar Princess has caught the creature playing around with clocks, ovens, toasters, anything with some sort of machinery in it. Sometimes he'll reassemble the items to be better in some small regard, other times it's like he's learning. Understanding. Shame they can't communicate properly, but Celestia has taken to her archives in search of certain spells to conquer that barrier. At times where he isn't tinkering, he's there. Searching the shelves for something. Could be specific but it's always the tomes he picks through.
The inhabitants of this universe are quite interesting here. They seem to be equine in nature and intelligent. Their technology is what really gets me. It's extraordinary as I would call it, a mix of magical gemstones to power what looks to be everyday appliances. Simple in nature, but I have to be careful about what I take apart for I think their leader is watching me. She (I believe it is) seems to always be a short distance away from, watching me from the corner of her eye. I don't blame them, I'd keep an eye on me too. However, when I put something back together, I may upgrade it just a little bit to be more efficient with power consumption or use a little bit of ingenuity to bring out a little flavor for the appliances that cook.
Right now, however, my goal is to learn their language. For all the times this tall horse thing has talked to me, I simply can't understand a thing. She has led me to what I believe is a library and so my search begins for a book. With a library with this vast of a collection of tomes and parchment, finding what I need shouldn't take long. Just something written in a language that binds the worlds together. A language that could be long forgotten here or commonly spoken amongst other species here. The key lies in finding it.
Celestia seems a little more than intrigued at her guest's little find in the archives a few days later. He has found a rather ancient scroll that even she forgot she had and even went as far as to claim a small table in the corner. The being has also claimed several other tomes, quills, parchments and a few inkwells for some unknown purpose. What that may be can wait since she has some preparations to make for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. Especially since her student has been going a little off the rails lately with prophecies of Nightmare Moon's return. As much as she would just love to see what her little green guest is working on, Celestia does have her own duties to take care of.
After a couple of weeks of careful planning, Twilight has been sent on ahead to Ponyville to check on the progress of everything there, and hopefully get her some friends she'll really connect with. Celestia is making her way to the archives with careful and measured steps since the creature has been staying there all hours since his finding of that scroll. When he wasn't relentless scribbling of.... well... gibberish, she would often find him asleep, face against one of his gloves. The alicorn'd be lying if she said she didn't find it adorable. Today is different, for when she reaches the archives there's a voice. Something low, as if it's trying to be quiet and not alert any pony to its presence.
"I... am" The voice calls out.
Celestia slowly peeks around the corner to spy her guest staring at a piece of parchment he has written on. Pacing around the desk.
Then she hears the voice again. "I. Am."
It's coming from the being. Is he teaching himself Ponish? This quickly as well? I seems he is full of surprises.
"It's nice. To..." He then stops himself just to grumble in a different tongue. He then clears his throat to start over. "My name is...."
Celestia didn't quite catch his name, she quickly left to depart towards Ponyville for the Celebration. Shame too since maybe knowing his name would help her understand just who and what that creature is. Another time then when there isn't something in the way. For now she will just leave him to his own studies and teachings of their language, he does seem to be picking it quite well.
It took me a wee bit longer than I initially thought to find what I needed. I was thinking it would be a book, instead it's a scroll older than most of the tomes I've found in this library but it has exactly what I need. The Language of Dragons is the script and base I will be building off of to learn this new language that I've been presented with. The Tongue that Binds is always the same with very little in the regard of variation and it seems these universe's version of it is no different. So my studies will start tonight.
Translating an entire lexicon of language has been... troublesome. It's as though someone or something didn't want this to be discovered. Starting to make me wonder about the dragons here, if there are any after all. That's something I'll have to look into another time when I finally have my bearings in this place. For now I'll just focus on learning what I can as quickly as I can.
I have no idea how long it's been but I'm gaining an understanding of the language here. Pronunciations, spellings, letters, it's all fascinating. Another thing I have found out is that the tall one has been making sure that I eat something. True to their equine nature most of the dishes she brings me are as I expected; vegetarian. They are good, I'll give them that much credit. I've also woken up in early mornings to find a blanket draped around me. Honestly, it's been a while since I had someone look after me this much. Not since... well... that's not important right now.
I think I have it now. After some restless nights, having to translate myself through several tomes, and maybe a bit of my own magic mixed in. I'm now confident enough in testing my linguistic skills. Forging is good and all but only gets you so far without being able to speak a common language to communicate. So, here goes nothing.
"I"
"Am"
No. No. That doesn't sound right, not official enough. Or would it be proper? Matters not I suppose, if I'm about to introduce myself to this land's esteemed leader, I want it to sound right. Trying again, from the top.
"I... am.."
NO! NO! NO! I said to make it sound proper! Opening up with 'I am' makes me sound like a complete fool! Come on, I know I got this, I've had to do this many times before. One more try, from the top. Making it sound proper.
"My name is-"
A noise catches my attention, my eyes darting towards the door to find... nothing? I set the parchment I'm reading from down and walk over to the entryway of the library and peek out. Noone. Nothing. Just marbled halls, lavender rugs, and gold trim as far as I can tell. Maybe it was her checking up on me again, she has been leaving me alone for the past couple of days, must be something important. Soon, my kind and generous acquaintance. We will be able to talk, for I'm sure you have plenty of questions.
Today was exhausting, but something good came of it. Celestia has her sister back thanks to Twilight and her newfound friends. Luna seems to only be at a fraction of who she once was, but she's just happy to be back with her sister. It has been addressed that things have changed since they were last together on the chariot ride over. Celestia has taken liberties in setting Luna up with a room back in Canterlot and that she's more than happy to show her around. Luna had some other ideas however.
Luna breaks away from Celestia when she thinks she isn't looking. Her sister knows, she always knows. The younger alicorn goes to peek in to the archives to see of something that may be from the old castle. What she wasn't expecting is a small green creature sitting at a table in the corner, furiously scribbling. Before Celestia could get her own sister's attention, Luna's voice suddenly reverberated throughout the entire castle.
"BEGONE FOUL BEAST! "
It sounds like Luna has found her guest.
Celestia opens her mouth to say something to stop her sister from doing anything rash. Far too late as the next sound is arcane energy ripping through the open air. She watches in slight horror as the attack on the creature comes quite close to taking him out. Celestia needs to act quick before her sister kills him. The Solar Princess charges up a spell of her own while Luna goes for a second blast. Both their spells go off, with Celestia's being just a second too late. A beam of magic hits her guest square in his chest and knock him against the wall.
"Sister!" Luna yells with some more restrained fury towards the eldest sibling. "What are thou doing? There is a wild beast in the castle!"
"He's not a beast, my dear sister, he is my guest here." Celestia calmly replies as she strides in front of her sister. "I expect you to treat him as much."
An audible groan can be heard from said guest as he step away from the wall. Celestia takes a step towards him, a little surprised that he is even still standing after a blast like that. She continues a careful walks towards the being. One of her wings stretched out to steady him in case he needs it. She watches as he steps away from the wall, dusting himself off and grunting at the new hole in his shirt.
"Luna! You blew a hole in his shirt!" Celestia leans in to get a closer at the damaged garment. "I'm sure one of the staff can fix it."
"I wouldn't worry about it." He says, taking the alicorn by surprise and causing her to take a few steps back from him.
He looks up noticing the ever increasing quiet that has fallen up the room. Two pairs of wide eyed stares are trained on him and two slack jawed ponies staring at him. He lifts his goggles above his his eyes and lets them rest on his forehead. A big, toothy grin that shows off two rows of sharp enamel on display.
"This isn't how I wanted our introduction to be... but greetings. My name is Anneto, how may I help?"
Celestia's spell breaks as Luna faints, her body hitting the ground. Neither expected him to just suddenly talk to them, but it all now makes sense as to why he spent so long in the archives. He has been self-teaching himself Ponish. Quite exciting yet oddly terrifying. The Sun Princess' wings flap a single time. Unsure how to actually approach such a sudden change in dynamic.
She clears her throat after realizing she may have been staring a little too long. "Celestia. Princess Celestia."
Celestia delves deeper into the Everfree, the sounds of Anneto's maniacal laughter guiding her. It wasn't constant, but it did feel like a ping or an echo to guide her to his location. Maybe where he is heading. What matters to her is finding that goblin before something else sees him as prey. The alicorn keeps her speed going as her ears direct her whenever he cackles, guffaws, or just plain giggles. This behavior of his is starting to scare her and make her second guess if she should really be following him.
Then it all became clear when she comes upon him in a clearing, trees from all around pushed into leaning away from an impact. Her gaze drifts up; exactly where the opening had formed just minutes earlier. Celestia's eyes come back down from the slowly dissipating storm to fall upon her friend, kneeling beside something with his hand on it. The mass is huge, made from metal, and looked odd. She doesn't recognize it as he just sits there, laughing just a little bit to himself now. The Princess starts to walk up to him, quiet and steady.
"It's here, I can't believe that it's actually here." Anneto remarks as runes light up around his arm. "MY Ox, My Blade."
Celestia tilts her head at him, seeing that the being before is no longer cackling like a mad pony. "What are you talking about?"
He just turns his head to look at her, a sad smile on his features. "This is Ox, my steamjack and my bodyguard of sorts. Though it appears that it got in to quite the scrap." His gaze turns back to the mass of metal before him. "Didn't you, buddy? I'll get you fixed up in no time."
"Who is Ox and what is a 'steam jack?'" Celestia asks once again, getting a few steps closer.
"This is Ox, my steamjack from... well... let's just say I rebuilt it." Anneto stands up to look over at Celestia. "A steampjack is a machine of sorts. Mostly powered by steam boilers and operating with a arcane-powered cortex." A more genuine smile comes to him now, one of fondness for the machinery. "An almost perfect combination of magic and machine."
She can feel the fondness in the words as he spoke of this machine.
"It took me eighteen attempts just to get it working. Eighteen." He rubs the hull as some dents just come out. "Ox's nickname. Answers to it too."
The alicorn took a trepid step forward to examine the mass of machine her goblin friend was going on about. She notices the heavy damage to much of it's frame that hasn't been undone yet. Large craters and even cracks in the heavy-looking plate is imminent accompanied by scorch marks. She finally reaches the thing, raising a leg and softly placing a hoof against it. A thrum of magic fills her ears, like the faint beating of a heart.
"What happened to it?"
Anneto stops what he's doing. "My guess is it fought someone or something powerful enough to cause this much damage." He then looks up to the alicorn. "If I'm going to get t back to functionality, I need my tools."
"I'm sure you can find what you need at-"
"No, these tools are special to repairing steamjacks." He interrupts, an ear twitch as he starts to look around. "I don't think it came alone either, we need to get it moved back to Canterlot."
"I'm sorry but how do you plan we do that?" Celestia peers down at him. "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you later, get Luna and we'll perform a teleport spell."
Celestia stares at him almost blank, not knowing what to expect other than the smallest spells he has shown thus far. Was he truly capable of such a complex spell? Did he need her and Luna for the spell to work? A protest started to form, opening her maw to say something until he jumps on her and takes her to the ground with surprising strength.
"Get down!" He yells as a ball of fire flies past them both and slams into a nearby tree. Scorching the truck in a spectacular blaze of orange.
When he let her go, rising to his feet, she spies a flash of determination on his face. He just looks at her and they both slowly nod to one another. Celestia wastes no time in getting to her hooves, getting a move on by flying up towards the treeline to be above it. Her goal to get her sister while his was to hold off their strange new attacker. Anneto stands alone once more against this particular foe. He's ready this time, stronger, braver, smarter.
"I know it's you." Anneto calls out as he starts to prepare a ritual in the surrounding area. Then a separate spell on himself that makes his body seem like a blur. "You won't be getting the best of me this time."
"Good." A figure responds with some malice in his tone. "You're lucky I like a challenge, even if it's from a pipsqueak like you."
Celestia hears a crack of lightning from behind her as she flies away, staying above the treeline. She figures the goblin has been engaged in a fight with whatever it is. Her only hope is that he holds out just long enough for her and Luna to come to his aid. The alicorn kicks her speed up a notch to reach the forest's edge just that much faster. What she wasn't expecting is Twilight and her friends being there. Things are about to get interesting if they decide to follow. They may be the Elements of Harmony, but she fears this may be more than they could handle at this time. An explosion goes off behind her, causing her to flinch a little and turn her head to see a billowing pillar of smoke.
"Princess Celestia!" She hears Twilight's voice call out. "What in Equestria is going on?!"
"I wish there was time for me to explain, but Luna and I need to get going into the Everfree." Celestia gives as the only reply and looks to her own sister, giving her a simple nod.
"Is somepony in danger? Maybe we can help!" Twilight rebuttals with her friends nodding beside her.
"I'm afraid it's too dangerous for all of you." The solar alicorn shoots back with. "I don't want to put you in harm's way."
"We 'ppreciate the concern there, Princess." Applejack was next to speak. "But pretty darn sure we can handle whatever else in there."
Celestia had to bite the inside of her cheek a little just to keep herself from yelling 'no.' All of them are staring at her as much as them. She just wants them to be safe and she has a feeling that if she does deny them, they're going to follow her regardless.
"Fine." She says with some regret. "Stay close and do as I say."
"I've waited so long for this moment!" The voice calls out. "Just to rid your existence from my record!"
A stray ball of fire misses yet again while Anneto stands on top of Ox's chassis. He slings a streak of arcane energy towards where the fireball came from but also misses. If only his enemy were as good of a caster as they are slippery. A sound from behind immediately grabs his attention and he turns around ready to cast another spell only for it to realize it's just Celestia, Luna, and six other ponies he's never seen before.
"Great, there's more..." Anneto grumbles more to himself than at them. "Quick! Get over here so we can get out of here!"
Celestia couldn't believe her eyes. Runes she'd never seen before light up on the ground surrounding this 'Ox' in a display of arcane might she's never seen out of the goblin before. Upon hearing his request, she begins to usher her sister and the Elements over to the circle and getting them inside without so much a fuss. Twilight on the other hoof is quite fascinated, almost bordering on exploding with questions about the type of magic on show right now and the being on the mountain of metal. Her thoughts were quickly put to a stop when a bolt of lightning pings off the plate of the crash.
"Stragglers?" Anneto asks as he starts to move his hands.
"You could say that..."
Anneto only nods at that in response. "Alright everyone! Hold on to your dinner!"
In one swift and fluid motion, the goblin moves his hands in towards eachother to center around his chest. As another ball of fire comes streaking from an unknown source, he flicks their spots around to cause bright light to engulf the surrounding area and the group. The sounds of ticking and gears churning could be briefly heard before the light fades, all of them finding themselves to be in the empty throne room of Canterlot Castle. All the ponies are trying to blink away any leftover brightness while Anneto just sways to and fro on top of Ox. Once Celestia and Luna recover from the sudden light and feeling of displacement, both their eyes fall upon the goblin.
"Anneto?" Luna calls out with a hoof outstreched.
He doesn't say anything as the world around him starts fading to black. The last sounds to fill his ears being his own name.
Anneto comes to after an uncertain amount of time. His head is pounding as the senses come back to him. Light falls upon him, unfiltered by the lenses of his goggles while he blinks to adjust. He's back in his room at the castle, surrounded by a few familiar faces and more he doesn't quite recognize. Dr. Heart is looking over him, not yet realizing he's awake while Celestia and Luna are whispering a conversation to one another. A groan from the goblin catches all their attentions as he slowly sits up in the bed. Both alicorns were at his side in near instant to keep a careful eye on him.
"You gave us quite a scare, Anneto." Celestia tells him with a wing on his back for support. "We were worried we lost you."
Anneto rubs his head a little in an attempt to alleviate some pain to no avail. "Almost... just overworked my magic a bit."
"A bit?" Sure Heart cuts in with her horn alight with magic. "You have been out for a few days in a magic coma!"
His eyes grow wide as he looks to the doctor then the two alicorns. "Really?"
"Really." Celestia affirms. "My student had about a hundred questions she was ready to ask you if had i not sent her home with her friends."
"What about Ox?"
"I took the liberty of moving it to a secure room in the castle." She smiles at him as he breaths a sigh of relief.
Anneto then receives a surprise nuzzle to his cheek from the solar Princess. "I guess I have a bit of explaining to do."
"That you do, my friend. That you do." Celestia chuckles. "But that can wait, you must recover."
A few days have passed since the whole storm incident and Anneto sits at his desk with his jar of untamed magic. He may have recovered much of his strength, he still wasn't ready to study the strange lightning in the jar before him, even if it was oddly attracted to him. No, instead a new idea in the form of a previous one that he is working on. So much focus that he doesn't notice when the door to his room opens with a certain cream colored alicorn making her way in. Carefully striding up to his desk to peek over his shoulder.
"Busy already are we?" She speaks in a rather soft tone.
He doesn't even flinch much less budge while calmly putting down the pencil. "Just something to keep me busy."
"Certainly looks like it." Celestia responds as she smiles at him. "Got your message, said you had something special for me?"
"Erm.. in a way.. yes." Anneto slides the chair away from the desk to face the alicorn. "I figured you should get to know more about who you're harboring in your castle."
"You know I will always make time to talk with you."
"No words." He retorts as runes light up in a ring around his forearm. "Instead... I'll show you."
Before Celestia could ask just what he means, Anneto presses two fingers to her forehead, right under her horn. What comes next she doesn't really have words for. She sees memories, his memories are being shown to her. They start at the most recent; the stand-off, interactions with her, Sure Heart, several servants. Eventually getting to how he got here, a strange device that she doesn't quite recognize, but she does see Ox. It only stops for a moment before yanking her away from the memory. Delving further into some of the darker moments of his past. Death, destruction, and chaos usually caused by him or he's somehow involved in. Another sudden shift starts to show faces of creatures he knows or once knew, usually also saying one thing: 'Yeeticus.' She doesn't quite understand why that word echoes within her skull. It must hold some kind of importance to him. Even experiencing his multiple deaths.
Suddenly the guiding comes to rest on something, a moment she wasn't expecting to see. Yet, she felt like it was being shown to her for a purpose. The feeling of familiarity comes over her as she witnesses four figures talking from a vantage point that's on the ground. Celestia doesn't understand a word of it but she doesn't need to as the talking turns into a heated argument then... the figure that has its back turned is slain on the spot. Fear fills her, it isn't her own, but it carries her through what looks to be streets. Passing by crates, barrels, and other passerby's as it's becoming clear she's head for the docks.
The door to the mind opens two way however.
Anneto is looking through Celestia's memories as much a she's looking at his. Seeing all she's accomplished and the different foes she's had to face. He is looking for a specific one, something he calls a 'Moment of Weakness.' Where she was brought to her lowest, no doubt she has found his at this point and is watching it. Now it's his turn to see hers and understand a little more about his newfound ally and friend. He finds what he's looking for, her moment where everything changes. He's read about this event in history books; the night Luna turns into Nightmare Moon. Anneto wastes no time in assimilating himself in the memory to feel everything Celestia feels. The fight being short yet destructive enough to nearly level their old home. The pain, sorrow, and eventual grief are all felt to his very core. He feels sorry for her at the time of this happening, now having a firsthand account of that fateful night.
Celestia falls to her haunches as she comes up from the shared experience. Tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "Anneto... wh-what did you just show me..?"
"My past and present." He responds with as he wathes her. "The monster I can be and the hero I refuse to become."
"What about all the faces?" She continues as she stares at him. "Who it 'Yeeticus?'"
"Technically speaking, Yeeticus is my first name..." He admits while starting to look away. "As for the faces, my friends, some of them I consider family."
Celestia starts to get up on shaking legs, trying to process all that was shown. "Wh-what are you..?"
"Many things, as you saw. Mainly the goblin you see before you. I prefer to stay away from the spotlight." Yeeticus/Anneto starts to explain. "I've started wars. Been caught in the middle of, and even ended them when I didn't start them. As a result, I've claimed many titles. Though I only recognize two-"
"The Artificer or The Mad." Celestia interrupts.
"Yes." The goblin nods. "I've accidently discovered the wider multiverse. Now travelling through it whether I want to or not. I couldn't dictate or control where I went, until recently."
The alicorn remains silent, now listening to him.
"I didn't think it would work, but whatever I did spit me out right in the middle of your Everfree forest, and now I may know how to get back to reclaim what's mine." Anneto looks determined all of a sudden when his eyes meets hers. "First we have to track down Weylan and put a stop to him."
"Weylan? Who's Weylan?" Celestia tilts her head at the unfamiliar name.
"That fireball didn't come out of nowhere. Weylan is a human caster, slings spells but he isn't as good of a sorcerer as he is a slippery weasel." A smile soon comes to his face. "I have the perfect bait."
Over the coming weeks has seen Yeeticus at his busiest. One part of it is building a trap for Weylan while the other part is finding a way back home. The first part is easy once he built the bait he wants to use to lure the sorcerer out of wherever he could be hiding. Celestia has been forwarding any information that could be of interest to him. A lot of is just junk really. It seems his old enemy has been keeping a low profile, but not quite low enough. Ponyville has been having reports of a 'hairless minotaur' roaming on the outskirts of town late at night. To Yeeticus, this means that Weylan is still hanging around the Everfree. Which also means it will be a perfect bait area to draw him out.
The second part has been proving rather difficult however. The bait is just the malfunctioning prototype of a portal device that he had brought plans with him to keep protected. Plans that have now been shared with Celestia, Luna, and eventually one Twilight Sparkle after a rough round of her asking one thousand questions in one minute. After answering each and everyone the best he could, he settled to show her how his little pet project works. Since then they've been exchanging letters with ideas, formulae, and schematics for all sorts of inner workings for the machine from arcane matrices to using specific gemstones to power the gate itself.
It's almost perfect, but Yeeticus is feeling like something is missing.
His room is currently in a state of mess that only a mad being to comprehend. Plans, schematics, formulae, theories, ideas, blueprints all lay sprawled across his floor and up his walls. It's organized in a way only the goblin knows how to decipher. He's getting a little more than frustrated that whatever he does isn't helping to make the gate work, instead opting to stare at the jar of Wild Magic on his desk from the floor, on his back, upside down. His brain is chugging hard at any prospect of ideas to get his project working.
A knock at his door draws him from his daze, figuring it's Celestia coming to check on him.
"Yeeticus? Are you in here?"
Right on cue it would seem. "Yes."
The door opens wider as the Princess lets herself in. "You haven't eaten yet today." She comes in with a tray of food floating beside her.
Admittedly, the goblin has been so focused on his portal that he would forget to eat. If it weren't for his friend coming to make sure that he was fed, he'd have wasted away. "Regrettably, yes. I apologize for causing you any worry."
"It's quite all right." She has a warm smile when he sits up to face her, setting the tray down in front of him. Curiously there's two plates instead of the one. "I think you should take a break, you've been at this for weeks."
Yeeticus just nods a little while looking down at the plates of two very similar meals. Pasta of a sorts, something he's never seen served in the castle. Gently taking the utensil up in his fingers before his eyes flick up to her after staring at the meal for a full minute. "What time is it?"
"One in the afternoon, thought you'd like some lunch I made myself." Celestia smiles as she settles on the floor across from him. "And some company. You've been cooped up in here for weeks with your work."
"I suppose so... Guess a small break couldn't hurt." He replies as he takes a fork full of pasta and shoves it into his mouth.
"A 'small break?' Anneto, you deserve a vacation with months or years of progress condensed down into just a few weeks." She retorts as her magic engulfs the other utensil and mimicking her small green friend.
Flavor exploded in his mouth that he wasn't quite expecting. It's (for lack of a better term) really really good. So good in fact that he just had to vocalize it. "By the gods, Celestia, this is delicious!" He eagerly takes another forkful and shovels it into his mouth.
Celestia giggles to herself at how eager he's eating the food she made for the both of them to share. "Thank you so much. I did receive a letter from Twilight Sparkle today."
"How wonderful, how is she doing since I last saw her?"
"She's doing just fine. She's planning to come visit with her friends to see how you're doing."
He stops eating to look at her, a brow slowly raising. "Has it really been that long since my last letter?"
"No, no. Of course not." Celestia smiles at him with her usual award-winning grin. "I may have told her it might be good for you to get out after all the work you've been doing."
Anneto just simply nods as he chews, recalling the brief encounter with the Elements after waking up. Each one being more than a little weary of the strange creature that had just teleported their entire group. Understandably keeping their distance for the most part, save for Twilight Sparkle who was a little more than ecstatic at learning about possible other universes. Getting a promise of being shown his view on top of whatever answers she got seemed to have curbed anything further. Her friends may not be as on board about that idea.
"I see, this should be interesting since I don't think any of her friends have warmed up to me." He responds.
"Give them time. Maybe you should take time to get to know them, they are wonderful mares." The alicorn shoots back at him.
"The orange one called me a 'varmint' as soon as she seen me." Anneto seems to mimic the tone of the apple farmer with unusual accuracy. "Not to mention the rainbow one was ready to kick me through one of the stained glass windows in the hall."
Celestia chokes a little on her own words. "Yes... well... they're lovely when you get to know them. I promise."
"They said that before it came to light I understood them and could speak." He dryly states. "The only three to have no reacted as negatively were Twilight, the yellow one, and that hyperactive pink one.... who of which I'm convinced is some kinda reality warping being."
The Princess is left speechless. Her smile fading just a bit. "I hadn't realized." Her tone is quiet, almost regrettably so.
"It's nothing new with my kind. We always face some kind of prejudice." He remarks, twirling the fork in the air. "Twilight also did reprimand them for their outbursts before it was revealed I could speak ponish."
The rest of their lunch would have gone the rest of its way in silence were it not for the goblin making faces at the Princess like some sort of child. It does what he intended it to do and raises her spirits up while getting her chatting again. They joke, jab, and chat with one another about the minor things. Her plans when she's away from the throne. The weather plans. All that cool stuff just to keep her going. She is his friend afterall is said and done, crown or no, doesn't seem to matter that she's the reason he's even still here. Alas, their lunch does have to come to an end. Celestia gathers up the dirtied dishes on to the tray, giving her little green friend a parting hug and nuzzle for his efforts. Then leaves him to his things.
Anneto turns around to his desk, glancing at the jar of lightning as an idea starts to form. "I think I got it..."
The door to the chamber swings open, the sounds of boots hitting stone fills the void as torches begin to ignite on their own and driving the dark away. Slowly the contents of the chamber are revealed; the wreckage of a steamjack piled in a far corner and a strange device built by hand that resembles a circular gate. Anneto, or Yeeticus as is his true name, approaches the gate with something renewed inside him. As if the forge that's in his core is burning brighter than before. His eyes stay focused on the gate before him, going over all the necessary upgrades made to it in his time here. Runes activate around his wrists this time before shooting out around the room and slowing time to a crawl.
Tonight is the night his Multiverse Gate will work.
The gate itself has been upgraded and improved from it's original, admittedly bulky, design to something a little more sleek and slim to take up less space. Improved magical circuits, more powerful arcane matrices, gems that Twilight Sparkle recommended. There's even a mix of Equestrian magic and his own to get it up and running, but he felt something was missing. No matter what upgrades he made, how much he improved it, even changing the gems, the gate always shorted out. He feels he found the missing piece. With careful and precise movements, he reaches for the jar of otherworldly lightning strapped to his hip.
The goblin starts to approach the device, going over to one side and flipping a lever. The machine comes to life with a low thrum as power courses through it. He takes a few steps back as the hum of energy starts to light each gem one by one. His hand wraps around the jar, pulling it from his side and laying ready fingers on the lid. He continues to watch as the last gem comes to life, arcane power being focused towards the center of open space, forming a ball of energy. The lid comes off with a rather audible pop and the lightning surges forward from its confines, cascading at high speeds until it crashes with the current mix of magic inside the gate. Anneto sees the orb of pure energy collapse in on itself after about a minute of the wild magic intertwining.
"Son of a-"
A burst of the mixed magics comes rushing out in a gloriously loud explosion that sends him flying a few feet back before landing on the cold stone floor. Thankfully the explosion doesn't knock him out but does leave him with a bit of pain. A low groan leaves his lungs as he starts to sit up, rubbing the back of his head. When his eyes open and looks towards the device, the sight before him is stark from just seconds before.
It's beautiful.
The portal is stable, more stable then it ever was since he started this whole project here. It's a shimmering pool of iridescent light displayed as though it were a mirror. Anneto rolls on to his side to push himself up off the ground, his eyes never leaving the gate. Once he is back on his feet, the goblin slowly approaches the glowing gate as it hums with life. A quick flick of his wrist and the time dilatating spell ends to bring him back to speed. Hours of work usually done in minutes, now minutes done in seconds. one of his hands raises as he gets closer, brushing against the surface. It moves and bows under his touch much like water would. The he pushes his hand forward causing his arm to sink more in, watching it be engulfed by the soothing energy. With one step of finality, he disappears to the other side of the gate.
Celestia is trotting down the hall at an increased pace. It's been a quite a while since she last went to see Anneto for lunch. She figures that he wouldn't mind accompanying her to the dining hall but when she arrived at his room, he wasn't there. When the Princess went to see if he might already be in the kitchen with no such luck. Her next step was to ask if any of the castle staff had seen him. Again, nothing. Nopony has seen him or heard from him since. So her worry got the best of her as questions and what if run through her head.
Would he leave them?
Would he leave her ?
What about Weylan? He still needed to catch them afterall.
He didn't say goodbye...
All sorts of thoughts run through her head as she closes in her destination. She has to shake these thoughts before she gets to the door. A feat easier said then done when she finally arrives at said door. Without so much as a single ounce of hesitation she bursts right into the dimly lit room. A device sits at the far end, not even active. The unmoving mass of metal not too far from it, but no other signs of life in the chamber. Strange that the wall scones are lit already. Celestia takes a few steady steps in before hearing a clang of metal and something come flying over the wreck that is Ox.
"There ya are ya pesky lil.." The rest gets garbled as the familiar voice speaks in a different dialect.
"Anneto?" The alicorn calls out.
She watches as a little green head pops up from behind Ox, even though his eyes are hiding behind a pair of goggles, his eyes fall upon her. The goblin quickly scrambles over the mountain of steel. She sees that his clothes are stained with dark splotches, thick gloves adorn his hands, and wrench held on one of them. He didn't leave after all, instead he was here. Working. She does feel a little silly about worrying now.
"Celestia!" He calls out with possibly the biggest smile she's seen on him. "So glad you're here! There's something I want to show you." He fall on her quick as silver, wrapping his arms around her neck as he gives her a hug.
There might be some gunk on her coat now, but Celestia doesn't care. She only watches him as he approaches the device next to Ox and flips something on it. The machine thrums to life and the low hum energy reaches her as a portal forms at it's core. All her worries and doubt come to a sudden halt as she watches the display before her. Somehow, someway, this goblin did what she might as well told him was impossible. Yet, here he is, with the biggest grin ever as he just stares at her with glee.
"Anneto... how did you..."
"Accomplish this?" He chuckles as he walks back to her. "That jar of lightning is magic untamed. Neither Equestrian controlled or mine."
"A magic that isn't here or there..." Celestia finishes.
"Bingo." A clap fills the room from his gloved hands. "Figured it out after our little lunch meet. Went through and got my tools."
"I thought..."
"That's I just up n' leave you? Not without a proper goodbye." He starts heading back over to Ox after powering the gate down. "We also have a rogue caster running around the Everfree to catch too... sooo... work's kinda cut out for us."
Her eyes go a bit wide at his words. "We? What do you mean we ?"
Anneto stops. "How long do you think it will be until Weylan grows tired of waiting in that forest? If I know him, he will grow impatient of waiting and force us to come to him by any means."
"Why would you believe such a thing?" She asks as he goes back to work on Ox.
"That's what e lives for." She can feel his smile despite him not facing her. "To have all eyes on him. You might want to get the girls here as soon as possible."
"I'll... see what I can do... Is there any way I can help you?"
"Just wait til I get Ox running. We're going to have a wonderous fight."
Ox is a marvel of technology. Celestia is amazed at it as she watches it with daily tasks and just how careful it concerning anything delicate. It's hard to believe that such a passion project this large can be so dexterous. The machine is far bigger than any minotaur, each step a testament to its weight as it shakes the very ground beneath it. Yet there's an almost invisible connection between it and Anneto, like they are communicating on a whole other level than would be perceptible to anypony on the outside. Somehow she could sense it. It's in the way they moved together, how closely the goblin would pay mind to damages that still remained, even tuning up whatever powered Ox to such a degree. Strangely enough the repairs only took him a few days, claiming that most of the damage was minor.
Right now, Ox is busy entertaining Twilight Sparkle while she examines it. Anneto stands next to Celestia while the rest of the Elements are looking at the steamjack with amazement. It kind of reminds him of children when they see a cool toy. It brings a smile to his face in a pride he wasn't aware he could feel. Ox is being rather gentle, all things considered, just letting the odd purple pony prod at it with nary a care in the world. The warm orange eyes just watching her. A cream colored wing brushes across Anneto's back, causing him to look up at Celestia, being greeted with a smile.
"I think she's excited."
He scoffs as a joke. "Wouldn't you around some new tech?"
"Well... no." She answers "Yours I do trust however."
He slowly nods, smile staying as he gazes back towards Ox. Overhearing a bit of the comments.
"I do say, this thing may look brutish but it's so gentle." A refined tone says as a pristine white hoof gets wrapped in a steel-clad hand.
"I bet this thing could take on at least a dozen Timber Wolves! OR maybe a dragon!" A rather tomboyish voice calls out from the rainbow maned pony on one of its shoulders.
There is one Element missing, that timid yellow pony isn't anywhere to be seen. Careful eyes scan the room for her only to see a pink tail poking out from behind a pillar, keeping distance away from the supposed metal monster. His eyes soon meet Ox's and a silent command is given. Its head moves along with the entire body, moving to the far side of the room despite the protests of the handful of ponies admiring it. Thudding of metal feet fade out, the large mass of steel and rivets disappearing beyond the door.
"Anneto!" Twilight calls out as she starts to approach him.
"Hey now, I'm not ready for another round of one hundred questions just yet." He feigns fear while throwing his hands up near his face.
She just rolls her eyes, but with a smile. "I'm not going to question you, I just want to compliment your handiwork on such a technological marvel."
"The concept isn't mine..." Anneto remarks as he looks to the door. "... but I did build it from the ground up."
"Well, you did a wonderful job on Ox" Celestia chimes in.
"Ox huh? Couldn't have named it something cooler?"
"Rainbow!" Twilight chastises.
He smirks, a little too on the nose with her name. "What would you have named it?"
"I dunno." Rainbow shrugs. "Turbo or Tank maybe."
"Want to know why I call it Ox?" Anneto asks, almost everyone present nodding. "I named it Ox because it charges in to protect me when I'm in trouble."
"Kinda like yer own guard dog, huh?" The orange one asks.
"If said dog was eight feet high, weighed about 12 tons, and stood on two legs? Then yes."
Before any more questions about Ox could continue, Celetia cuts in. "How about we discuss Ox over some lunch, hm? I'm sure you girls are all hungry after travelling for so long."
Anneto answered any questions Twilight has about Ox while the rest of her friends are discussing amongst themselves and the Princess. Explaining to the curious, and rather excited purple mare, about how his faithful companion operated on the very same technology he used for the plans he'd been sharing with her. Telling the bookish pony that his 'boiler' is a custom built power source specific to only Ox, something rare that is almost irreplaceable if given the right circumstances. Twilight is soaking all this in while eating, making sure to memorize all of it the best she can.
"How many adjustments?"
"At the very least, eighteen before Ox just woke right up. Became his nickname too."
"Does he really answer to that?"
"Only if it's me."
As lunch goes on, Anneto continues to explain to Twilight what Ox is, the nature of steamjacks, and their inner workings. When the inevitable question of how it processed comes up, he tells her about cortexes of steamjacks and how they act like minds in a way akin to a simple intelligence. The goblin does go on to tell her that Ox has a special type of cortex that allows it to process and perceive commands at a higher speed, but doesn't tell her how he can give it silent commands without speaking. He figures that she'd like to experience that little party trick of his some other time. The sound of a utensil clanging against glass catches all of their attentions.
Celestia clears her throat as she looks around the table. "As all of you are aware, I have called you all here for a matter that could very well put my little ponies in danger, including yourselves."
"I'm sure we can handle whatever it is." Rainbow seems to boast.
"As true as that may be, I believe our new friend here may know more about this threat than we currently do." She says, using a hoof to gesture towards their little green guest.
All eyes fall on Anneto as he straightens up a bit in his chair. "Ahem... right..."
He feels a hoof poke him from underneath the table, Celestia's to be exact, just to relieve some of his sudden tension.
"I'm sure you've heard the rumors about something prowling around the Everfree." All heads nod except for Celestia's.
"Yeah, and we saw that crazy cool lightshow above the Everfree! Then we met you!" Pink exclaims. "Then you brought us to Canterlot in another crazy cool lightshow!"
"Well... I can confirm that they are true. There is something or rather someone... is out there. I wouldn't underestimate them under any circumstances. They are cunning and they wield magic you've never seen before."
"I don't know if you've seen the two unicorns among us, darling. I think we'll manage."
"This is magic from Anneto's world." Celestia chimes in. "Our magic doesn't quite affect him outside of physically moving him."
"I am working on that, however." Anneto comments. "Might have a bit of a breakthrough on that front soon. All I ask is that when you girls return to Ponyville, be careful, be alert. You find anything, please let us know.... or Celestia so she can tell me."
The six look at him for a moment, Twilight nodding her head. "Of course we will, Thank you for lunch, Princess Celestia."
After the Elements leave the dining room, Celestia drapes a wing over Anneto's shoulders. "I think Twilight is making a friends with you."
"She's bright for her age. Remarkable knowledge of magic. Could make her a technical whiz yet." He responds with.
"What is it you call it? An... artefiser?"
"Artificer, yes." He chuckle when he looks up to her. "She should worry about her friends more than tinkering like this old soul."
"Well that old soul does have a kindred spirit in this Princess."
Weeks follow in the wake of the encounter and true to Anneto's predictions, random attacks start to happen around Ponyville any letters from the guards cited the attacks happening late at night by an unknown creature. Thankfully no critical injuries but it was starting to draw attention to the small town, more than what is warranted. The most detailed of these letter were the ones coming from Twilight herself. All information gathered not only from her, but her friends also. Those letters were brought directly to Anneto for him to read over once Celestia was done.
Anneto has been rather busy with setting up a plan of attack. Ox has been helping in any way it possibly could, which was doing a lot of heavy lifting while its little green marshal teleported them both back and forth from the castle grounds to somewhere else. The Princesses never knowing when he's actually around during this time leaves much but whenever he is, the goblin is very excited. About what is something they don't know.
As of now, it's a little late in the evening and both sisters are making their way to the chamber where Anneto currently awaits their arrival. The two reach the old wood door that separates the room from the hall and what they hear is much less than stellar to be fair. Their friend is angrily muttering to himself or Ox, they aren't sure but they decide to not keep him waiting any longer. Celestia encases the door in her magic and opens the door. As soon as that latch gives way, the muttering stops and the two are met with a rather warm smile from Anneto. A rather confusing moment, but he does seem genuinely excited.
"Celestia. Luna. I'm so happy you could make it." He cheerfully tells them.
"So we heard." Luna replies while stepping further into the room with her sister. "You said it was important."
"Which has our interest." Celestia continues as they now reach the goblin. "What is it you want to tell us?"
"I have a plan." Anneto simply states, waving a hand in a signal for them to follow him. "I've been talking with Twilight and her friends about it and I no believe we have something that can work in trapping Weylan."
Celestia and Luna both look at eachother for a moment as they're brought over to a work table. On its surface is a detailed map of the area where they first encountered the caster, a bit surprising really. What they do notice are symbols dotted around the map in a pattern.
He continues. "You see here is the meadow where we found Ox, turns out it wasn't far from where I first appeared. So Twilight and I came up with a plan to contain Weylan with a trap and bait. The bait? The first gate I built. It's highly unstable but I turned it into a bomb... of sorts."
Celestia stops him with a wing to his shoulder. "What kind of bomb?"
"Controlled explosion, small, non lethal. Should disorientate our little renegade."
Luna let out a small snort at the comment.
"So Twilight and I came up with a pincer strike, each of her friends are going to hide in the treeline. They're going to use the Elements of Harmony to hold Weylan in place while disorientated where, hopefully, we can incapacitate him further. From there we can figure out what to do with him from there." Anneto finishes. "And everything is set up already."
That last comment took them both by surprise, their heads recoiling a little bit in sheer surprise alone. The gate behind them powers up, the portal opening right up. They all turn to see who it is, watching Ox step on through and looking at the three. Sure it had to duck just to fit through the portal, yet the Princesses could feel its gaze easing up a little. It seems the night won't quite be an easy one just yet, there is a fugitive to catch if Anneto's plan goes over well.
The air in forest has a silent intensity to it. Final preparations are being made to the decoy gate by Anneto himself. Twilight is standing by watching the work he's doing. In reality he's setting a timer for the gate to overload and trigger the desired effects. The unicorn standing behind him is watching with a lot of interest, more so at the inner workings of his machine rather than what he's doing.
"This is amazing.." She mutters more to herself than him.
"It should be, you helped with the designs." He answers as he finishes up.
"I know, but I didn't think I'd see in something like this." Twilight comments as she continues to gawk at the gate.
"Don't go drooling just yet, I still have to show you the working gate when we catch Weylan." He turns to her, his armor shifting against the change in posture. "Everyone else is ready, you should go get in position."
"You sure you're going to be okay out here?" She asks.
"I'll be fine, Twilight. I can take care of myself." He chuckles at her concern, knowing she means well. "Besides, I won't be alone when we do this, I'm just part of the bait."
Twilight nods and gives him a quick hug before darting off towards the bushes to hide away with her friends. Anneto closes his eyes and brings his goggles down over his eyes. Steeling his own resolve when he turns around, readying himself to power the gate up. Once he turns it on, he expects Weylan to come. A simple flip of the switch and the beacon has been lit. All there is left to do is wait.
Anneto is staring at the iridescent pool of colors before him, almost in a trance but he keeps himself aware of his surroundings. An almost sixth sense of his keeps his knowledge of knowing where four presences of magic lay in wait. The a fifth appears a ways away from him. He already knows who it is, but doesn't bother to turn around. Instead he peers beyond the gate where two pairs of eyes are watching from afar, a large smile starting to appear on his face.
"Move it, runt." An all too familiar voice speaks to him in a common dialect they both spoke. "I'm getting out of here."
"Oh Weylan." Anneto simply speaks while turning to face the traitor. "I'm afraid it isn't going to be that easy. I'm not letting you escape, not this time."
To the ponies that are within earshot can't quite make out what either of them are saying. Simply jotting it down to them speaking their native tongues to eachother. The talk is quickly devolving on one side. The one they assumed is Weylan is steadily getting more angry the longer Anneto talks in an calm manner with an unnaturally large grin. A slow shiver went up their spines as they watched the argument unfold. Weylan suddenly readies his claws with some of his own magic. Anneto, however, is ready to go as he inexplicably starts to fly. Apparently with good timing too as the portal behind him starts to falter.
Weylan surges forward in an attempt to make a rush for the device as Anneto moves out of the way of incoming blasts from the opposing caster. As if on cue, sparks blast out of the machine and a split-second later it blows up in a rather admittedly more violent fashion than is intended. Taking their hint, Twilight signals to the girls to use their Elements to contain Weylan. Charging up quick and ribbons of rainbow energy going forth. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Five? There should be six. The smoke begins to dissipate from the surrounding area, revealing noone to be held in the grasp of the Elements.
His wits sharpen, Anneto begins to carefully search the area for their missing fugitive. His eyes widen when he spots Weylan holding the white unicorn in a spell, his teeth bared, ashes covering his form. He almost snarls at the goblin, ready to act when he does. Anneto's insane grin feels asinine to the caster the longer he stares at it. Soon his own smirk breaks across his lips.
"I'll admit, Yeeticus." Weylan spits after saying the goblin's first name. "That was clever, took me by surprise but I think you forget who you're dealing with."
"No, you forget who you're dealing with." Anneto replies back in the same tongue, his grin growing wider. "I'm not that meek goblin my master found in the gutters anymore. I always have a plan."
A scream breaks through the air that sounded much like an ox but with a metallic tinge to it. Weylan's eye go wide just before something large comes thundering out from behind him, crashing its weight against his back while grabbing his captive. The spell breaks as the caster is knocked clean off his feet and to the ground. The spell that covered the battering ram of a steamjack falls while maniacal goblin laughter fills the air. Ox had been invisible this entire time, watching under orders of Anneto, waiting to strike just in case his original plan failed. Its master floating down to his feet while holding his gut in uncontrolled chuckling.
This only serves to anger Weylan further, he roars out as he pushes himself up off the ground and slings a ball of fire towards his small, green adversary. Anneto seems to just blink out of reality a second before the explosive spell could make contact. Baffling the caster as he starts to frantically look around. Turning around once he hears the goblin's voice calling out something in a different language from atop his steamjack while it moves towards the bush with the captive in hands. He only had a moment to recognize the sight before spells start to clash against his form from two sides. Concentrated beams of magic put the pressure on Weylan while he struggles to move against the opposing forces just to get a protection spell up. Now clashing against shields of arcane power, the caster merely pushes them back towards their sources and causes pained yells from his assailants.
"The games end here, Yeeticus." Weylan calls out to where he last seen the goblin disappear to. Only he didn't see any remains or clues.
"I think the games are just beginning." Anneto's voice calls out from everywhere, yet nowhere. The tone almost ethereal, yet it feels like a simple parlor trick to Weylan. "After all, you are trying to hurt one of their friends, you hurt my friends and I hurt you ."
That last word is said with such venom, filled with malice that it sends a chill down Weylan's spine, but he won't let it show out of pride. The caster won't let it show that the goblin is getting the best of him. He simply can't let it show, it would be beneath him. Something moves just out of the corner of his eye, immediately responding in kind by means of a thunderbolt spell. The spell itself pings off something metallic. Dread fills him as the invisibility on the steamjack just fades from its body. Cold steel eyes staring him down while the bushes and trees do a rather poor job of hiding it. Weyla has to fight the urge to run for his life out of fear of it running him down. Yet, it doesn't, it just stands there and stare.
Anneto hands over the pony he's come to find out is named 'Rarity' over to the care of her friends. Setting the white coated mare down on the grass near her friends just outside the Everfree. He looks her over, thankfully she only fainted after being freed from Weylan's grasp.
"Take her and head back to Ponyville. Make sure she's safe." Anneto looks at Twilight as he speaks. "I'm going back in to check on the Princesses."
"Anneto-"
He cuts her off. "Yeeticus will do fine, I trust you enough to call me that at least."
Twilight nods. "Just stay safe, Yeeticus."
He only grins before turning around and delving back in to the forest, disappearing behind brush and tee trunks as he leaves the six to their own devices.
Anneto makes it back to the clearing with excellent timing as Ox is engaged with keeping Weylan away from the brush, tanking spell after spell like the great defender it is. The goblin goes to find Celestia first as a metal fist collides with dirt beside its target, missing entirely on purpose as a distraction. Once he reaches the cream-colored alicorn, he lifts her head into his lap after kneeling down beside.
"Hey." He light slaps her cheek until she starts the shift and groan. "Time to wake up, Tia."
The feedback must've been intense. It takes her a little bit to blink up at him.
A gentle smile breaks across his face as he sees that she's okay for the most part. "Stay here and recover, I'm going to check on your sister."
Celestia just gives him a weak nod before moving her head back to the grass.
"He will pay." Is the last words she hears from him before he's gone in a blink of an eye.
Luna isn't faring any better, her horn much in the same state of her sister's, marked black at the tip which most likely what caused the feedback. Some powerful stuff to be reflected back onto the two sisters. He's just thankful they'll recover, as for now, he has someone else to tend to either bringing in or tearing down. Anneto reaches for his belt, pulling off one of his trusted tools.
Ox stops a punch heading straight for the face on its target just centimeters away from his face. The target has to restrain himself from outright fainting at the sheer accuracy of such a machine, even if its looks aren't as advanced. Soon standing at attention, taking a few steps back, then stepping off to the side to reveal its master in all his grinning glory. Wrench in hand as he just stares at the target.
Weylan only stares back as the goblin tilts his head off to the side without so much as changing his expression, then seems to just blink out of existence. The caster readies some of his own spells, watching this little green creature phase in and out of reality as he closes in. Then nothing. No appearance. That is until a pain shoots up from the back of his knee. It's so great that it does force him to kneel down on it. Big mistake as the wrench comes crashing across his face, finally knocking him to the ground. Something wraps around his ankle then he's flung over and slams face first against the ground. Feet plant themselves in the middle of his back followed by the sound of something. Slowly turning his head to see what's finally happening, he sees Yeeticus grinning down at him with his pistol drawn, aimed right at his head. He sighs, knowing that he's back into a corner and is now being held at gunpoint.
"I yield." Weylan mutters as more sounds around him signal more visitors.
Anneto just scoffs. "You really think it's going to be that easy? You give up and expect me to just let you walk? No. You're going to pay for your crimes."
Weylan flicks his eyes around to see tow of the strange creatures he's found himself among. The terror clear in their eyes as they watch what's unfolding. "Execute me then, let them see the real monster that you are. Let them see the real Yeeticus."
A finger is squeezing the trigger. Voices call out to him but he almost seems to ignore them. "You hear that, Weylan? They're begging for me to spare you."
Weylan just closes his eyes and awaits for his sentence.
Then a sound louder than thunder echoes throughout the forest, disturbing much of the wildlife around the area. "They're right to do so. Since you will be serving your time here." Are the next words com reach deafened ears before Anneto just binds him.
Celestia is just staring at the hole in the ground next to Weylan's head, before her eyes flick to her friend. "Was that really neccesary?"
"Nope." Anneto simply replies. "It proves my point. I won't hesitate next time."
"At least to make sure nopony else sees it then." She tells him.
"Sure.. sure... what're you going to do with him?" He asks, holstering his gun back to his chest.
"Lock him in the deepest pit of Tartarus, make sure he can't use his magic, and away from anything he could talk into letting him free."
"I could help with the anti-magic stuff."
"I was hoping you would."
Sunlight filters in to the room through way of curtains that aren't exactly closed up and glass panels on the door to the balcony. The glorious rays of Celestia herself seem adamant on waking up the guest currently and happily snoozing away in his bed. At first, he attempts to swipe at the invading brightness to get it away, then resorts to flipping his entire body over just to snuggle further into his blankets. Peace at last, or so he thinks. A few polite knocks at his door causes him to crack an eye open. After all the work he's done in recent times, he finally gets to rest and can't.
"No rest for the wicked." He murmurs to himself, the goblin sitting up in his bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Anneto, or Yeeticus rather as he's come to reveal the rest of his name, had been hard at work fabricating a device to inhibit the use of magic to Equestrian standards. Mostly getting tested on himself to make sure no outside sorcery was immune to its effects. Once it was perfected, he handed the technology over to the capable hooves of Celestia and her sister Luna to be applied to the recent resident of Tartarus. After that was his promise to show Twilight the other side of his Gate. The excitement of being somewhere between universes became a little too much for the purple unicorn and the result was her fainting on the spot. Ox gladly carried her back through the portal. After such a thrilling event, Yeeticus decided to stick around for a just a little while longer to make sure there aren't sizable magic storms lingering and that Weylan hasn't escaped. So far he hasn't and going by what Tia tells him the storms seem back to normal.
Yet, today feels different. May be it could be that he's finally deciding to leave today. Not that he's just going to disappear completely, Yeeticus did promise to visit or have Tia visit for tea and maybe cake. Her favorite kind too. He more than enjoyed his time here, hoping to come back to Equestria soon. Hopefully under better circumstances.
A calm smile comes over his features as he flattens out the covers on his bed. Now dressed in his usual attire, leaving the plates wrapped together on his back, leaving his coat looking a little less bulky. He ears a click as the door to his room as it starts to open. In peeks the head of one of his closest friends here: Celestia, the Solar Princess an co-ruler of Equestria. A soft smile on her muzzle as she spies her goblin comrade.
"It's about time you woke up." She says in a jokingly snarky tone.
"Yeah, it's kind of hard to when those pesky rays of sunlight are as persistent as the one who raises them." Yeeticus shoots right back at her, putting the finishes touches on making his bed.
Celestia just giggles as she walks up to him, a sigh leaving her muzzle, her eyes betraying the true sorrow she feels over her smile. "So today's the day you return to your world."
"Not exactly. It's more of a space in between universes. Kind of like a sea with no ocean." He replies to her, turning to look at her with some finality. "Don't worry, Tia, I won't be gone forever. I'll come visit and you can certainly do the same."
Her eyes light up a bit, but her sad smile remains. "That may be true, but have you considered just staying with us?"
"I could, but that would be dangerous since I don't now just how much your universe can take of meddlesome goblins and their enemies." He jests as he walks over to grab a backpack full of his things.
"I think we handled ourselves pretty well." Celestia tries to prod, unsure if she's actually joking herself.
"No, you both got knocked out with some feedback while I handled it."
"Rude."
"Yet, it's true."
"Yet, it's true." She mimics. Honestly she will miss this. "Mind if I walk with you? Luna should be meeting us at the portal."
"Not at all." He warmly smiles at her.
The castle itself seems a little more serene as the two walk. They keep their pace slow as to savor their company, but it also seemed that the castle was a little on the empty side. The goblin had no reason to ask, he suspected it was so other wouldn't see their Princess shed tears over something that she could deny. Yet she refuses, for good reason since it's kind of hard to deny the existence of a creature that had attacked ponies or the fact that two storms had themselves over the Everfree or the very obvious scarring of the ground. Also Yeeticus not bothering to hide himself during the stay in the castle. The attention put him off for a little while, not being used to it, more of taking the backseat and staying in the background when he could. As Celestia is now aware, sometimes he does have to take direct action. Weylan is just another on his long list of direct action needed to be taken.
Yet, he feels oddly satisfied in taking the stage on Weylan. It may have something to do with the fact he's a link to his old self. To prove himself that he's better now? That he's stronger? He doesn't know for sure. He just knows he feel satisfied. Yeeticus softly bumps in to Celestia's leg, drawing him from his thoughts. This gets a bit of a chuckle out of her as she drapes a wing around his shoulders.
"Daydreaming, my little goblin friend?" She chuckles at him.
"I guess so. Sorry, Tia." He responds.
"No need to be sorry. I rather enjoy your company."
Yeeticus just smile as he resigns himself to being tucked under her wing as they walk. He feels oddly at ease within her wing. Given that this is going to be goodbye just for today. Sure, he also has plans to be away for while, other matters to tend to that Celestia has been made aware of. Yet he just savors the time he has with her now. It doesn't take them all that much longer to arrive at the chamber, Luna patiently waiting for them just outside the door. A small smirk coming to her face upon seeing the two.
"Ah, thy observe the noble Anneto hath been taken captive." She comments.
"Nothing I couldn't break my way out of." He chuckles as he fakes a struggle against his friend.
Celestia reacts accordingly and attempts to keep him in her grasp.
He does eventually 'break free' from the Solar Princess' hold. "Everything should be ready. Weylan shouldn't be escaping anytime soon either."
"Indeed, tis a bittersweet day for us all."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic." He chides in a teasing tone. "I shouldn't be gone long."
"That's what we're hoping for, my little goblin."
With that said, they decide to open the door into the chamber that once was the goblin's makeshift workshop. The only thing sitting in the room is his second Gate that's shut off in the current moment. The trio starts walking towards the gate, being the master of ceremonies, Yeeticus steps forward and pushes the lever up. The device hums to life as power courses through it. Lights flicker on as the goblin turns to face both alicorns.
"Well, it's been fun ladies, but duty calls." Yeeticus smiles at them as he says this. "I'll come back when I have time and open this baby back up."
"We'll look forward to your return, be safe." Celestia tells him, trying to hold back her tears.
He just smirks a little and takes a step forward to hug Celestia. It's admittedly held a bit longer than is normal. Once he breaks away, it becomes Luna's turn for a hug bye. It's a little awkward for the Lunar Princess since she still isn't used to any close contact other than her sister. She enjoys it either way while doing her best to return the gesture. It lasts for only a minute before she steps away from him. The portal in the device has already formed and ready to transport the goblin back. Yeeticus takes a few steps forwards, looks back, then grins at them before jumping into the open gateway. The pool of energy waves as if it were water before just settling again shortly after. Seconds pass by before a book comes out of the portal and it shuts off. Curious, Celestia uses her magic to lift the tome up off the floor to read the cover. Smiling as she reads the title.
The Artificer's Journal
Author's Note
Well well well, here we are at the end of another tale. I feel it's a little mediocre in some places, but that's something to learn from in the future. Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you who've taken the time to just read my stories, for the likes, the faves, the watches. I appreciate them all even though I may not be that vocal about it. I do hope you have enjoyed this tale, and thank you for taking the time to check it out.
See you soon,
Tower of 0
I waken to find myself face down in a puddle of mud. Cold but refreshing. I let out a throaty groan while using my palms to find solid ground and push my body up off the ground. It takes more than a few blinks to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness that surrounds me, watching the unclear visions start to take form.
A forest.
One of two things happened. One, my project was a success and I'm now in a different universe again by accident. Two, I'm just somewhere else on Immoren and now I'm stranded in the middle of a forest. Well, I'm stranded either way but atleast I'm not getting mauled by honey badgers, not yet anyway. It's always honey badgers. Why is it always honey badgers?! You know what? No. I'm not going to think about that. What I need to focus on is finding a way out and possibly a way home.
I take another quick look at my surroundings to determine where I might have landed. Looking up towards the tree canopy. It's night time but the stars look all... off. I keep staring, trying to see more but the leaves are just that much too thick. A perfect cover to hide from anything that flies, maybe. My ear flicks when I hear something behind me and look to be greeted by a pair of glowing green eyes. Then the growling starts. I take a few cautious steps back way from the thing growling at me.
The beast reveals itself. Something that resembles a wolf, but made of timber, kind of like a Timberwolf but it's literal. To be quite honest, I think I prefer the honey badgers. My mind suddenly switches to autopilot and my feet turn on their heels to start running away from the creature. Unfortunately that's not how nature works as it begins its pursuit of me like some prey. I quickly pull Firestorm from its holster on my chest, a quick look back. The glorious sound louder than thunder rips through the quiet night and blows the amalgamation of wood into tiny bits and putting it out of commission.
I'm blindsided by another one of these strange wolves and taken down to the ground. I block a bite to my face with my arm only to have a chunk bitten out of it. I seethe in pain and level my gun against what I assume is its chest and blow it off me. I roll away once it goes flying and push myself off the ground for the second time. I dart, as fast as I can possibly go. That's a little difficult when everything is larger than you. Another one of those things burst from the trees and I hit it with a decently placed lightning bolt to the jaw. Seems my magic works here.
Excellent.
Another surprises me by sinking its teeth into my calf, I hit that one with a spell too and start limping my way in the only direction I've been going. I think I see a clearing! I make one last ditch effort and dive through the brush. Cool ground comes up to meet me as I roll to safety. The term itself being somewhat relative in my case. I'm loosing a lot of fluids between my arm and leg. I look down to check the wheels I have left; Three. Three wheels of ammo left and I whole pack of wooden wolves starting to stalk out of the brush after me.
I smile. Holster my pistol. Reveal my knife. I stare at them with as much fury as I can muster in my increasingly dizzy state. I'm standing my ground this time, maybe for the last time in this universe, but atleast it won't be without a fight. The first one begins to charge. Then it gets blasted by a golden beam of something from behind me. A voice is calling out to me, it sounds angelic in a way but I don't know what they're saying. I don't get to look as I just blackout while something soft wraps around me. The last feeling being warm, the comforting kind of warmth.
The past few days have been much of a blur after the whole reveal that Anneto now knows how to speak Ponish. A secret he hasn't quite revealed yet despite the subtle persuasions Celestia has been using. The Solar Princess set her guest up with a room of his own just down the hall from her own personal quarters for two reasons. The first being so that she can be there when he needs some help and the second to keep her ever-watchful gaze on him.
The castle staff are all excited about knowing about the strange new creature now roaming the halls when he isn't being watched. Most of the time they keep their distance, out of fear it would seem, dictating if they should approach him or not. It suited the small being just fine as he went about his business. As for right now, that entails making some preparations for a little 'tea time' with the Princess, in his room. Something he feels is right considering she just gave him a room to stay in while he was here. It's her idea but his to make a special blend for the two.
He'd imagine that she is going to have quite a few questions for him and in turn a few for her. He would be glad to answer whatever she asked. So he figured something extraordinary would only do, and if it turns out they are stocked they way he has seen, then he should have no problems acquiring what he needs. Anneto walks right through the door of the kitchen while the staff seem busy getting platters of food out. They're all for some dinner party the Princess is having at this time. She did say that she'd catch him when the event is over. He's sure he has time. The small being expertly weaves in between the cooks just to reach the pantry.
The pantry is massive. Given the area it's located in, he figures it was natural. It is here he is going to find his prizes. Giving the open area a good look around he spots some tea of a brand he isn't supposed to be familiar with but he does recognize the kind; Black Tea. Anneto takes to climbing the shelves to reach the box. One of the kitchen staff waltzes right in on the exact moment he grabs the box. It's a unicorn mare that makes eye contact with the goggle-shielded eyes of the small green creature who is at eye-level. Anneto slowly stuffs the box of tea in a coat pocket while the deafening silence starts to overtake the pantry.
"Sooo..." Anneto swings his arms back and forth. "...where's the honey?"
The unicorn points a hoof to the top shelf where the a bottle of honey is.
His eyes follow the hoof and a groan can be heard from him. "Great. Thanks!"
Anneto returns to his room in one piece. Not that he was in danger or anything but he did not really like being in large crowds or being around strange beings he isn't familiar with. He could tolerate Celestia more because she did save his life and made sure he recovered. Probably felt more like he was indebted to her than any other of these ponies of this world, and that doctor. What was her name again? Sure somethin? Somethin Heart? Anneto should really invite her out for some tea sometime.
As the door to his sanctuary closes behind him and his eyes fall upon the mess of tinkering that is his room. Various trinkets and gadgets are strewn about in a haphazard manner. A small groan graces his lips as he has all this junk, assorted knick-knacks, possible weapons on the floor and all this shelf space he has been granted. Steeling his own resolve to at least get his room clean enough for the Princess. He sets the bottle of honey and box of tea on the table in the center of his room. A quick, yet simple spell focused on himself makes him lighter then a feather along with cleaning that much easier.
It takes all of two hours to get everything put away. One hour to get everything off the floor and another to find everything a proper place amongst his shelves. A quick glance at the clock on a nearby wall indicates that he may not have enough time to quickly brew some tea up, but he's going to try anyway. He makes quick work in grabbing his own teapot off a nearby shelf. Why he put it up is beyond him and set on the table that is now moved to the middle of his room. Next he grabs the matching set of cups and saucers to set the table, but something is missing. Anneto starts to scan over the shelves of items again, looking for a specific gadget. Then he spots it: one of his burners he was planning on using for alchemy. He quickly swipes it and sets it down next to the teapot.
Now is the time to start brewing, or attempt to at the least. Anneto is quick to locate his canteen, unscrewing the cap, then dumping whatever's left of the water into the pot. His attention then shifts to the burner as he takes the valve between two of his fingers and open it to let some fuel flow through the opening. A simple fire spell gets the small flame burning bright, leaving the being satisfied. Two bags of tea are plopped right into the water, the the pot set over the flame to boil.
Then a knock comes from his door.
His ears twitch at the sudden noise and his attention draws over to the closed portal to his borrowed space. He quickly pulls his goggles back over his eyes as he wades his way over. His fingers wrap around the handle to open it just a crack to see who it is. Much to his surprise that it's the one pony he's been expecting, if not a little early. Anneto takes a full step back, opening the door wide to let her inside. To be honest with himself, she looks exhausted.
"Celestia! You're quite early... just..uh.. got the pot boiling." Anneto says, rubbing the back of his head.
"I've had my fill of nobles of one night." Celestia tells him with a smile as she walks on in. "So I figured my guest may want some company."
"You will always be welcome, you did save my life in a way." He simply responds, closing the door behind her.
"Don't make it sound like you're obliged to spend time with me. I want you to want it also." Celestia remarks as she takes a seat at the table. "Please do remove those pesky goggles. I wish to look you in the eyes while we chat."
Anneto obliges her request as he makes his way over to the table. He grabs the edges of the goggles to pull them up to rest on his forehead. Celestia watches the small being, his eyes meeting hers to some extent. Even now she could swear they glow in certain lighting or angles. Whether as a result of magic, an unknown power within, maybe some other trick. Yet he diligently hops up on the chair, scooting in closer to check on the pot.
"Still not boiling yet." Anneto remarks with some disappointment in his tone.
Celestia places a hoof over his hand and gently guides him to close it. "Forget about the tea, hm? I'd like to know a little about yourself."
Anneto looks at her and leans back after her hoof is removed. "There isn't much really. Goblin born poor, learned to steal, crafted on the side until some guild member from my home saw what I was doing and took me under his wing. Taught me the joy to create with my hands and tools provided. Then we were betrayed."
Well, that opens up a whole slew on new questions about his past. "What.. exactly is a goblin?"
A smile soon graces his features with a small chuckle. First one he's had tonight. "Well, it's what I am. Typically small, varying in colors, good at sneaking around and taking what isn't ours." His eyes seem to stare off into the distance for a moment. "Also clever if given half the chance."
"And what of your past? How were you betrayed."
Anneto falls silent, his eyes snapping to hers. "Not yet... not tonight anyway."
Silence falls over them for the moment once again as the goblin leans forward to check on the tea. Lifting the ceramic lid up off the pot and peering inside. Not quite ready yet but maybe a few more questions will help pass the time. Celestia watches his careful movements. Feeling as though he almost calculated everything he does. She didn't blame him really, since he was thrown into her world, rather in violent fashion.
"So." Anneto starts as he leans back. "What can you tell me about the night you found me?"
Celestia is almost taken back by the question. She persists with an answer. "Well, a storm was making its way across Equestria. A magic storm, at first I did think it was normal and would pass... until it settled above the Everfree."
"The Everfree is the forest I was in?" She nods in response to him and he rolls his jaw a few times. "Tell me about these magic storms. How often they happen and for how long."
The alicorn stares at the creature before her, more surprised at his sudden inquiry of these storms. "We believe they're collections of untamed or wild magic that can cause immense amounts of damage depending on how strong they are. Most are small and roam with just a light show. Others tend to be a little more dangerous. They come and go with infrequent times and have been for the last thousand years." She stops and looks towards the door for a brief second then back to him. "Then there was yours."
"Mine?"
Celestia nods again and leans in as her voice gets low. "The storm you arrived after was far larger than any I've seen in years. Nothing else happened other than it striking the center of the Everfree and disappearing just as quick."
"Then here I was." Anneto nods as he leans forward to take the pot off the burner. The tea itself wasn't going to be anything spectacular, maybe next time he'll just use the kitchen. "I want you to take me with you when another comes up."
"Excuse me?" Celestia reels her head back some in disbelief.
"I want to go with you when another magic storm happens."
Celestia just blinks while staring him down. "I couldn't possibly put you in harm's way. Magical storms are dangerous all their own."
"I can manage." He tells her while pouring the hot drink into two cups.
"Why the sudden interest?" She asks as a cup is slid over her way.
He seem to mull over an answer. "I have an idea I'd like to try."
"That's... rather vague. Are you sure you want to do that?" Celestia just watches him nod in affirmation. "There's no way for me to convince you otherwise, it may be a while until another comes up. maybe a few months from now, maybe a year."
Anneto finally looks up to her lilac eyes. "I can be rather patient. If it takes that long, gives me enough time to perfect a hair-brained idea."
The odd conviction in his tone seems to have convinced her that he does indeed to plan on being there for another storm, whether she likes it or not. With the matter settled despite how she didn't like the outcome, the two now sit in comfortable silence as they drink tea. It wasn't the best, both milk, honey, and sugar not helping, they both have come to agree on and Celestia promises him to brew some up in the kitchen for next encounter.
The weather outside is getting cold, colder than Anneto would like. He's made some more progress over the coming months in his pursuit of learning about Equestrian culture and mannerisms to help him fit in. Celestia has been a great help in having her goblin guest understanding that ponies enjoy close contact. Something the Anneto is admittedly not very used to. So as of late, the alicorn would greet the small green creature with a hug from a wing accompanied with a nuzzle of her cheek against his. At first he wasn't used to it, making the interaction awkward at first until he got used to to. He began to enjoy how soft her feathers are and the warmth of her cheeks. One may say that that it melted some part of him he forgot.
Yet, tonight is quiet. A kind of silence that allows his work to flow freely from his head. That's when he felt something. A change that swept through his entire body right down to the very core of his being. A feeling of something familiar, yet foreign. His hands stop tinkering with the useless gadget and sets it down on the surface of the desk. His head turns toward the glass panel door to the balcony shooting off from his room. Eyes seeming to scan the gentle snowfall for anything out of the ordinary that would cause such a feeling. Yet he sees nothing. A click from the other side of the room grabs his attention. His gaze shifting towards to the door.
"I take it you felt it too?" Anneto asks, not needing to know that it's Celestia.
She's hesitant to answer at first, then nods. "I didn't realize you were still up."
"Stroke of inspiration I'm afraid." He answers while pushing himself away from the desk.
"I hadn't realized you felt the shift in the arcane tides." Celestia comments. "I thought only my sister or I could feel such strong changes in magic."
"I don't think I was expecting it myself... it felt so..."
"Familiar?" She finishes, to which he nods. "Also foreign in a sense."
"Is this how it feels when a magic storm comes to Equestria?" Anneto looks at her as he asks, putting on his great coat.
Celestia just nods at him, she then watches him turn towards on of his shelves to grab a jar linked to something. her head tilts off to the side while she stares at it.
"What is that?"
"With some luck." He starts, a smile coming to his face as he stuffs the jar in his coat pocket. "I'll catch some lightning."
Before Celestia could make her concern known, Luna appears in the room with a bright light followed by the loudest pop Anneto's ever heard. "Sister, we have-" She stops, looking around the room and noticing this isn't her sister's chambers, but instead that of the guest. "Apologies, but were you in the middle of something?"
"Not at all, Luna." Celestia tells her with a smile as the goblin seems to gravitate towards her. "Just having a bit of a chat. What is it you wanted to say?"
"We have found where the magic storm hath positioned itself; above the Everfree." Luna informs her sister.
Celestia's eyes widen a bit and she shoots a look towards Anneto. Who is wearing the same look at her. Without a moment's hesitation more, she uses a wing to scoop up the small creature and seats him on her back. Both Luna and her are galloping towards the balcony at full speed. First Celestia ascends towards the night sky with wings flared out followed close by her lunar counterpart. Anneto clings to the back of the solar alicorn's neck all the while cold bites at his face. Thankfully he did have enough time to pull his goggles down over his eyes.
To say the storm that had put itself above the forest is massive was quite the understatement. In fact it's far larger than Celestia has ever seen. Thankfully she brought Luna up to speed on the state of these storms for the past one thousand years, so she is aware how dangerous these could be. The real concern is Anneto since he seems more eager to be around such an anomaly. Taking in to some consideration of his sudden appearance around such a sudden turn of events. This particular mess is swirling in a slow counterclockwise fashion while flashes of strange light illuminate the area.
Both alicorns land as close to the edge of the storm as possible. As soon as their hooves come into contact with the ground, Anneto climbs off Celestia's back and begins to dig in his coat for what he brought. Luna looks to her sister for some sort of answer but the Princess is watching the goblin as he marches out in front of her.
"Sister, are these storms like this?" She asks, catching the eldest's attention.
"Not usually, no." Celestia answers as she takes a cautious step forward.
Anneto stops, extending a rod with a quick flick of his wrist. "Could be worse."
"How can this be any worse?" Luna asks in disbelief.
"Ever been in a warp storm before?" He just asks casually while raising the rod to the air. "That's worse."
Celestia takes another step forward. "Anneto, I'm not sure this is safe! You should-"
"Step back please, I'm trying to bait it." He interrupts her.
Celestia is taken back by his chosen word. Baiting it? What does he mean? She does as he asks and steps away, watching him close as he continues to keep the contraption raised high while walking further towards the storm. Lightning seems to start to arc out of the cumulation of clouds. Pulling further and further away like solar flares. Both Princesses watch more with trepidation as he seems all to casual about walking underneath the darkening clouds. Then they watch the unthinkable happen. Exactly five bolts of arcane energy strike at the stick Anneto's holding. Starting off strong and only getting more so until the last one to strike throws him backwards.
"Anneto!" Celestia is quick to move in, catching his body in a golden aura of her own magic.
He's silent, but still breathing. A good sign. She carries his unconscious form over to wrap her foreleg around him. Celestia brings her gaze over to Luna and their objective became clear; clear this storm before it causes damage or something far worse. Both alicorns charge their horns with the same spell and sling it up in the air towards the swirling mass of clouds. As soon a their magic hits, the reaction is immediate. The storm itself seems to muster up a strong enough gust of wind in an attempt to push the Princesses back. It works in the sense that it does cause them to take few steps back.
The storm then shifts around, an opening forming at the center. Another bolt of arcane light surges forth, larger than what they've witnessed thus far, breaks out. Sound around them seem to be vacant until the loudest crack shortly fills that void. The sound itself is almost deafening and probably heard for miles, if not across all of Equestria. Both of their ears fold as ringing affects them as their muzzles contort in pain. It only lasts a full minute before laughing begins to be heard. At first the two look around for a moment, then realizing it's coming from their little green friend. He has freed himself from Celestia's grasp, when she tries to grab him with her magic, it fails almost as soon as it touches him. Anneto's laughing continues to cresendo into maniacal cackling. The sound of which sent shivers up their spines and hairs stand on end.
"A-anneto?" Celestia calls out to him, a foreleg raised as if she's about to make a step.
The cackling stops and he turns right round to face them both. A toothy grin on his face that's only heightened by the fact neither can see his eyes from underneath his goggles. Celestia does take a slow step forward in his direction. The smile he has only grows disturbingly wider before he turns around to high tail it towards the forest. The solar alicorn is ready to gallop on after him since he doesn't have his armor on but is stopped by her own sister.
"Tia, wait." Luna flies in front of her sister, using a hoof to gesture towards the storm. "Look."
She looks to where her sister is pointing, noticing the storm has also got a lot more tame along with a reduction in size alone. Whatever else is happening also draws Anneto to it like a moth to a flame, if said moth was a cackling, green, small goblin with just some street attire on. Celestia looks to Luna and gives her sister a slow nod before galloping passed her toward the direction her friend went. Luna only lands at where she was, looking at her sister go off into the forest.
"Be careful, sister." Luna mutters while she stands in the snow to wait.