My Little Pony: Of Misadventures and Fantastic Machines

Chapters

Chapter 1: Steampunk Ponies
Chapter 2: The New Lunar Year Celebration
Chapter 3: A Trial and a Verdict
Chapter 4: The Journey

Chapter 1: Steampunk Ponies

Chapter 1: Steampunk Ponies

In the vaguest sense it seems stupid that my greatest fear is of a block of granite.

Yet if you knew by experience the terror a smoothly cut block of rock could instill in a convict then you would understand the fear Bear had. One of the guards on either side of him shoved him forward into the morning light. After such a long night in the dungeon Celestia’s light stung his eyes and gave him no warmth. He stepped forward into the plaza with the guards and the crowd cheered on for his head. Head hung low he only briefly looked up to see the familiar sight of the executioner preparing his mode of death. The granite block lay as it always had been, its sickly black stain shined in the light like a miasma of misfortune and misdeeds.

So this is how it ends again, he thought, hello dear friend, I am back to lay my head across you again. To think this is how it ends, upon a raised wooden platform amid the cheers of an ignorant crowd who knew nothing about me except that I would be this evening’s one final entertainment. They’re no better than me, and I’m no better than them.

He took the first step up the wooden steps that led up to the platform and the crowd seemed to die away when he looked the executioner in the eyes. It was a tan colored pony with a tail of deep blue but it was the eyes that caught Bear’s soul in its gaze. Steel colored they looked at him from beyond the black hooded mask that covered any features the pony might have had. The look the pony gave Bear held no pity nor did it carry with him any malice. If anything it was a look of annoyance, as if the pony was saying ‘how dare you make me get up this morning to see you die, I have better things to do than see to your funeral.’ Well, if looks could speak he thought with a sigh.

Bear stopped before the rock, merely looking down upon it for the fourth time in his life. He knew the routine to come, a hoof would be placed upon his back and kept there to ensure he didn’t run, like there was anywhere to turn to. Next they would tell him to turn his head to the crowd, away from the executioner as he sharpened his blade. Perhaps it was out of mercy so as to not see his own death approach or perhaps it was for the pleasure of the crowd to see his expression as he laid there upon the cool granite.

No help for me this time, like I deserve to be helped. He closed his eyes and the crowd’s cheers died away and all he could hear was the sound of his ragged breathing, the pounding of his heart, and the pony who grinded the headsman’s axe upon the grinder. His sweat dripped upon the granite and it seemed like he could actually taste the miasmic black stain where ponies who have committed heinous crimes found themselves before their death. It tasted of iron, it tasted of blood, and it instilled in him a silent terror that he had thought to flee.

The grinding stopped and Bear’s imagination filled in the blanks. He could hear hooves hit the platform, they approached him at the pace of his own heart rate. The hooves stopped, he could hear the breathing of the executioner over his own as that tan pony breathed through the hooded mask. There was the sound of scraping as the axe was lifted from the ground. Time to die I guess. An eternity seemed to pass waiting for his end. Would it be over quick or would the pony mess up and only nick his mark? What was taking so long? Get it over with already! He imagined the axe being brought down.

“Wait!” a voice cried out.

Bear’s eyes snapped open and looked upon the stunned crowd. He knew that voice and he knew why they were here but that wouldn’t change his end.

By Celestia please don’t let my friends see my end like this….

The work horse hefted with all his might to pull the great log out of the river. Twice as large as himself yet he dragged it up the hill alone. He strained against the leather harness as the log dug into the ground to refuse every inch that was given but the Cobalt colored Earth Pony persisted. His dark brown mane was flattened with sweat from the exertion but somehow he persisted up the steep hill with the massive log in tow.

Never be weak, a voice said in his head.

He finally reached the top of the hill and breathed a sigh of relief. Other work ponies pushed it carefully down the rock inclined hilled down to the lumber yard below with the other logs that had been pulled that day. Lying upon the ground Bear took a moment’s respite, he looked up finally at the approach of an old white pony.

“Fine work, meh boy! Fine work indeed!” the pony said with his thick accent. “I thought the ‘hole weeks’ worth of work be over when the pulley broke. You’d be livin’ up to that there cutie mark yer famous for.”

“Phew,” the cobalt pony said. Standing up he offered the elder a smile, “Thanks Mr. Dawn. Though you know I rather it be ‘special talent’, 'taint much of any cutie mark really. Though I’mma thinkin’ you’re pulling my leg here callin' it that.” He turned to look at his flank and had to admit there was little to it to call it cute. It was a simple mark, that of a Bear’s pawmark tinted a brown tinted black. As his father had put it, it symbolized ‘just being strong’. A bland and vague talent when it was put that way but to Bear it entailed a strength and will to help people. That was in essence his special talent, helping everypony and in this case it was doing his job by helping out old Forest Dawn in a predicament.

The old stallion laughed heartily, “Aye lad, I do be messing with you some but I can’t thank you enough for the dedication you put on the mill and… well bloody well everything. You shouldn’t be pushin’ yourself too hard now though my boy, don’t need you pulling your back out or hurtin’ yourself. Strong young lad as yourself can’t afford to be feeling the aches and pains before his time. Tell you what, how’s about you come by and have lunch with me and missus and take a breather for a while?”

“You’ve been good to me Mr. Dawn and I ‘preciate the offer but I need to be off. Arty’s got this big idea he has and knowin’ him I should be there in case… well when it goes wrong.” Bear said.

“Ah that ole fool up to causin’ trouble again. Well’en be off with you then and give my regards to the lead for brains.” Mr. Dawn said happily.

“You know it, Mr. Dawn. See you tomorrow bright an early!” Bear called out, heading in the direction of the great city that lay upon the forest’s horizon.

Bronze Galloptry was once known just as Galloptry, a little city just a ways off from Trottingham and a week’s journey from Canterlot. Now though it was a thriving metropolitan that nearly rivaled Manehatten in size and people. What made Galloptry stand out though were its great bronze and clockwork architecture. Its seven great clock towers made it so Galloptry could be seen for miles and the cloud of steam that the city’s industry put off could be seen for even farther as massive fluffy white clouds. The entire city was made of bronze and ran on steam, a marvel for any visitor but everyday life for the elite and intellectual Galloptrians.

Bronze Galloptry as it is now called was Equestria’s city of invention and industry. Great factories powered by massive steam generators made just about anything a pony could want or need. It’s Zeppelins were famed works of ingenious designs and many a train’s part could trace their origins to one of the city’s great industrial conglomerates that shared the city’s resources and control of the massive factories of the city.

Change happened fast in this city yet it seemed like the more things change, the more it stayed the same. For one young Pegasus the monotony of this place was unbearable. Sure there was always something interesting happening and some great invention was being presented somewhere for all to see but it was always so predictable, nearly always it ran on steam and there was always a good chance it was made out of bronze like everything else in this dull city. The people too were utterly boring and elitist as well, there was always some strife or another with them, some stepped on toes or worker’s disputes or, Celestia forbid, a patent disagreement.

Arty hated those the most, patent disagreements. Boring research on a boring subject with the inevitable verdict of everyone going home disappointed, yet it was the Pegasus with the laughing silver mask cutie mark’s job and talent. Such was life for a lawyer pony the steel grey maned pony thought. His freckled nose moved slightly as he frowned and yawned at the same time. Standing up from his seat at the prosecutor's table he went around the wood table to the pony that now sat upon the witness' stand.

“Now then Mr. Mortimer, my client who has worked for you for nearly a decade is suing you for stealing his patented idea for a steam powered sewing machine. I already know my client’s story but let the court hear yours.” The young deep dark blue pony spoke deliberately and loudly for the assembled judge, jury, and observers. To them it was the most fascinating thing to see who wins in a disagreement so miniscule and common place it might as well be making the everyday decision of whether to drink apple or orange juice in the morning. Weird he was the one prosecuting and he was the only one that was utterly bored.

Mr. Mortimer, owner of seven factories that specialized in the making of kitchen ware such as pots and pans, ruffled at his overly large grey moustache. Glaring through his monocle to the scraggily looking worker slinking in his seat he spoke, “Well I’m glad someone here asked. Now I’m a simple business man…” Who takes pleasure in his work and getting to know each and every one of my worker ponies Arty thought with a role of his eyes. “Who takes pleasure in his work and truly wants to get to know each and every one of his workers finds this all absurd that Mr. Rosebud would accuse me of such a thing after giving him his livelihood for all these years. It is after all stated in his contract, that he signed I might add, that any patents he puts out under our employ would become jointly owned by him and the company. It is a fair system where both the worker and the company profit and the worker gets to spread his creative wings. ”

“I see,” Arty said with a slow nod, “the thing is though I looked up the public records of Galloptry and Mr. Rosebud had quit his job well in advance before filing for his patent. What was also interesting I found was that while waiting for his patent to be filed you swooped in with a very similar design and speed it through records to be patented just before my client’s was. Now before you explain yourself Mr. Mortimer I have a transcript that I want you to read, the transcript being part of a conversation you had with Mr. Rosebud over all this. I’d like for you to read the second line that you stated to my client when he asked you to repeal the patent for his sake.”

The color in Mr. Mortimer’s face drained when he saw the paper, “now sir! This is entirely inappropriate as these words would-“

“Mr. Mortimer please just read the words so we can move on.”

“I am not about-“

“You are compelled to, sir, to read this to the jury and the rest of this court as it is evidence that pertains to this case.”

Mr. Mortimer sighed and read slowly from the paper, “I’m…. a little teapot, short and stout… here is my handle and here is my spout. But please just let me explain what-“

“Thank you Mr. Mortimer that will be all.” Arty said bluntly though let out snickered afterwards.

The judge buried his face in his hooves as the court’s attendees looked at each other in utter confusion, “Mr. Felix-“

“You know I prefer Artivius your honor. Or Arty for you if you’d like-“

“Mr. Artivius, please tell me you had a point to that besides embarrassing Mr. Mortimer and making a mockery of my courtroom again.”

“Don’t worry sir, I swear I’ve got a point to all of this.” Turning from the Judge Art walked over to the Jury box. Taking a moment to brush of some dust upon his pin strike black vest he spoke, “now then gentle colts and foals of the jury, please take a moment to truly consider those words that Mr. Mortimer said."

“I,” he exclaimed loudly, startling some of the jury, “am a little teapot.” He then ducked below the Jury box causing them to lean forward to see what he was doing. “Short. And stout!” He jumped up again and raised his hoof, “here!” he placed this hoof at his hip, “is my handle. And this!” he raised his other hoof, “is my stout. Now I’m sure you’re all wondering the context of what this all means and really I do not think it matters. What matters is that this statement alludes to a previous crime that the defendant committed before my own client's case.”

The court room seemed to get noticeably quieter as the assembled ponies leaned in to hear what this confusing pony meant by this. Turning around Arty walked to his table and took a folder into his mouth. Handing it to the judge he then looked intensely at Mr. Mortimer, “I have with me another record from the patent office about an insulated tea pot that you presented to the Inventors Assemblage at their regular meeting. Not unusual in itself but you failed to fully patent your ‘creation’ a full two weeks after the assemblage, which is unheard of considering how cutthroat those other inventors can be when it comes to patents. Most just shrugged it off but I know why you waited so long.The reason why you stalled was because at the time you were having a legal battle very similar to this with an employee of yours by the name of Daisy Basil who had been in the process of patenting her own insulated teapot.

“What sadly Miss Daisy didn’t know was that her patent was being stalled by a crooked patent worker who had been taking money from you Mr. Mortimer.” By now the courtroom was whispering with one another but Arty pressed on, “you see I have a record of the whole transaction in which where you gave money to the patent worker in charge of filing through Miss Daisy’s teapot, playing it off as a concerned boss hoping to help his beloved worker through the arduous system of public records, while you stole the design to sell for yourself. You knew about her design because she worked for you and as such she filed with the company that she was opening her own patent and was setting the terms to its ownership. She never got the chance though because you took her design and made it your own! You presented the teapot design as your own at the assemblage and using bribery filed it faster than Miss Daisy. In that folder as well is a patent investigator’s testimony over the dismissal of your corrupt friend in the patent office as well as evidence of how you’re taking control of Mr. Rosebud’s invention!”

The entire court room seemed to burst into commotion as Mr. Mortimer tried to disappear in the witness stand. The Judge too seemed surprised. Arty went back to his table and closed his brief case.

“Your honor I think we’re done here, can you hit the gabble and let us go 'cause I badly need to find the little colt’s room before-“

“Please Mr. Artivius! Fine then, court is adjourned while I go over these files some more- Mr. Mortimer you are in some deep trouble even just briefly looking through these papers.” The defending lawyer was befuddled over what had just happened and was quickly searching through his copy of the evidence in hopes of countering Arty’s move. Luckily, the smart Lawyer pony he was, Arty had made it seem like the transactions were unimportant as well as the patent investigator’s testimony. This was done.

Shaking Rosebud’s hoof Arty bounced his way out of the chaotic court room with his briefcase in mouth. “Arty! There you are!” Bear called out to his friend from where he stood beyond the crowd. Arty turned to the voice and grinned widely, causing the briefcase to fall out of his mouth, “ah there you are Bear!”

“You get done with court already? How’d it go?”

“Boring, same as always. Not important anyway! What is important is I have this new idea!”

“Yeah we sort of went over this already. Let’s grab some lunch first and you can tell me your plans to further try an' conquer the world.”

“I am doing nothing of the sorts! Besides this time I swear it is all entirely safe.”

“You said that about squirrel powered generators and I’m still terrified of those little rodents thanks to you.” Bear said this as he absently rubbed at his right ear where the tip of his ear was missing.

“I probably shouldn’t of force fed them coffee, not my best idea but this one is different and involves no animals or forcing them to take caffeine.”

The two friends left the courtroom and walked through the clockwork city of Galloptry towards First Tower plaza. The largest plaza in the city many shops were built near the great clock tower and it was considered one of the busiest places as it was a crossroads between the main upper residential part of the city, the lower factory districts, and finally the awful ‘Sweatworks’ where the massive steam generators worked their magic.

“Oh great,” Bear muttered as he saw a trio of other colts head in their direction. He recognized them as old ‘friends’ of his from his time working at the Steamworks. Nopony ever wants to work the sweatworks, it was dangerous and with little pay. Most were young colts who couldn’t find work anywhere else and were forced to work the steam pipes and salvage yards of the works- collectively they were called Steampunk ponies since all of them wore the heavy baggy jumpsuits and metal helmets they wore while they work the dangerous conditions. The three ponies stopped in front of the pair, their leader smirked and sneered, “well pals! Where ya headed? You still hanging out with the idiot savant then Bear?”

Before Bear could answer Arty bounced forward, He spoke happily and without malice, “Good evening gents! Just off to get a bite to eat is all. I was thinking I was in the mood for something that was too expensive for steampunk ponies, but then I realized that covers everything above gruel.” The three ponies practically glared daggers at the joyful Arty who seemed oblivious to his own insult. Bear nervously laughed, “Uh good one Arty. Gents really we don’t want to cause trouble or step on any toes here.”

“Well that’s easy Bear, they’ve got no toes. I don’t think they have spines either but that’d be mean to-“

“That would be mean and entirely untrue! Arty for the love of Celestia and Luna stop making things worse.” Bear muttered to his friend. The steampunk pony grumbled at Arty and turned to Bear, “I don’t see how you can be near this freak and his stupid ideas. Been hearing you’ve been working at the lumber yard too. That true?”

“Yeah, Mr. Dawn was kind enough to give a job. I could talk to him if you want- see if I could get you some work there too.” Bear said trying his best to ignore the fact this pony just blatantly insulted his best friend.

“I’d… appreciate it Bear… we need to get goin’. Later.” With that the three of them stepped by the pair. Arty frowned and looked up to Bear, “can’t believe you used to be friends with those guys. I heard they tried to rob a bakery yesterday. I mean seriously who robs a bakery?”

“Desperate ponies. I want to be angry with them for nearly hurting somepony but I can’t seem to be, things get desperate down the works. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t understand? Oh it entirely isn't like I've been starved before.”

“Sorry, I forgot about that.”

“Well at least I didn’t go and try to hurt someone for a loaf of bread.”

Thinking it was best to change the subject now Bear continued his pace, “anyway what’s this idea of yours you can’t shut up about?”

Arty followed in step though walked backwards to look at Bear instead of where he was going, “I’m glad you ask. Alright brace yourself for this for the sheer genius of my mind might strike you blind! I have an idea. What would you say about a pony, any pony and not just pegasi like me, who can fly without the use of balloons or zeppelins or anything like that?”

“I’d say that you’re asking for trouble. Besides why should you care- you can fly anyway… even though you don’t actually fly anywhere.”

“Well duh, it isn’t fair for me to flaunt my flying abilities and leave you hanging my brother, my numero dos, my sidekick, my-“

“Okay I get it, and why am I the sidekick? You’re smaller than me and younger than me.”

“Well I have the smarts and looks while you’re the muscle so obviously I’m not the sidekick. That’s not the point though,the point is I can’t test out my invention since I can fly. So….”

“By the works no. I am not about to get into anything that flies that you made.”

“Oh come on, I swear its safe! I’ve even already tested it out!”

“With who?”

“A straw dummy. Honestly it didn’t go so well after it went by a chimney. but I think it’ll work much better with someone who can work the machine. Come on! Help me out this time, I would not put you in danger if I wasn’t positive that it was safe! Pleeeeaaa- Oh Celestia!” The Pegasus toppled over, running into a pile of crates. Bear made no move to help the struggling Pegasus attempting to escape the pile of toppled over crates.

Finally the big colt sighed and shook his head, “alright fine you big ijit I’ll do it but no bottomless ravines or any huge heights.” Arty poked his head out from the pile of crates, “Wait seriously? Ah you won’t regret this mate! You’ll be flying like a bird in no time with the help of my new creation. Like some giant grey crane with hooves and a face like an ugly duckling!”

“Shut up you git, let’s just go see this machine of yours. I’m not all that hungry now that I might be flying or falling.”

“Aye, Sky Captain!” Arty exclaimed as he flew out of the pile of crates onto clear ground. Bear chuckled at his friend’s antics. Taking a moment to kick the crates back into place he followed his friend out of the plaza and away from the smell of foods. He honestly wasn’t too surprised that he got talked into this so easy, really he was just saving the time by going ahead and agreeing instead of being convinced by Arty. The Work Horse always seemed to go with whatever idiot idea Arty got into his head and Arty was always able to convince people to follow his way. Arty, despite his best attempts to hide it, was actually an amazing lawyer pony and his special talent was in getting ponies to see things his way or get them to see things his way, in other words the fool’s talent was a silver tongue. Despite seemingly like a trait to be abused he had fun with it by being light hearted and random, lightening the mood of anypony he meets as well as confusing them utterly. Come to think of it Bear had never actually heard the young colt ever change a pony’s opinion into something it wasn’t. He really was a strange little pony, but then again Bear wasn’t all that normal either so he guessed they just made a pair of idiots together.

A few minutes later Arty led Bear to the top of the First Tower where his machine stood precariously near the ledge. “Well here it is! My Greatest Creation!” Arty declared, hovering over the machine and gesturing it.

“There is no bloody way I’m getting anywhere near that death trap.”

“It’s the lightning bolt sticker isn’t it? Too much?”

Chapter 2: The New Lunar Year Celebration

Chapter 2: New Lunar Year Celebration

“Honestly my first option was to go with some flame decals but lightning bolt just did it for me. Now that I look at it though I’m just not feeling it.” Arty said as he examined the wings of his contraption.

“I honestly couldn’t care two-bits about any sticker. I’m not gettin’ anywhere near that thing ‘cause it is just plain not going to work.” Bear growled while he tilted his head in every angle to look at the machine. His first thought was that this was a glider of some kind but Arty had made it different with a strange backpack with an exhaust pipe sticking out the top of it. From the backpack a pair of rubber tubes ran along the rigging wire that formed the front frame of the glider. On top of that were the wings themselves, it looked as though they could be folded up due to the joints in the leading edge tube and the folds in the soft thick textile that made up the wing. It was rather small as well for any glider Bear had ever seen, only about two pony lengths across and a quarter as wide. The crazy thing looked like it couldn’t get off the ground let alone hold up a large colt like Bear up.

Arty spoke as a took the lightning bolt sticker off the right wing off, “oh come on, I worked hard on this thing and even did the math. Math, Bear! You know how numbers make my head hurt! And I crunched a lot of numbers to get this design right.”

“Well what is it anyway besides just another glider, not much of an innovation to me.”

Arty spat out the lightning bolt sticker and looked shocked at his friend, “Just another glider? You sir do not see fine craftsmanship when you see it! This is no ordinary glider as you can tell. I call it- The Collapsible Aerodynamic Steam-Assisted Flyer! Or CASAF for short… that’s what I get for trying to make a word out of a jumble of fancy sounding terms for a portable glider.”

“Anyway let me explain, see the backpack holds two small compressed steam tanks that go up through the front binding tube into the leading edge tube to give the wings more stability and strength while at the same time flow the waste air underneath the wings to give it more lift thanks to the rising warm watery air. The wings were tough but I finally found the right material, made from heavy woven cotton and linen- same kind they use to keep those Zeppelins afloat! That was hard to get. Then I also had to make sure the tanks didn’t weigh the flier down too much- after a few experiments I managed to find out that tanks of compressed air do not actually float unless they are in water… and even then that’s a maybe.”

By now Bear had conquered his first apprehension and had approached the machine, examining it and the harness. Despite his good judgment he chanced a glance to look down over the ledge to the plaza below. He felt very sickly and insecure of how safe this all was. “Didn’t I say no high places, Arty?”

“Well I felt it best to try this out at the best height and even if you did crash you would at least get to the roof of the building on the edge of the plaza.”

“How am I supposed to get down from one of those roofs then?”

“You won’t need to worry about that because you sir are going to fly down like a bat stalking his prey.”

“Arty I don’t think that’s what bats do.”

“And that isn’t my fault- now go ahead and get in the harness while I check the wind speed!”

Bear groaned as he looked over the ledge again, “I’m seriously having second thoughts over this.” Still he swatted down his common sense and took to his courage. Pulling the glider down he strapped into the harnesses snuggly. Bear did have to admit though his friend’s design was pretty impressive. It felt heavy but not uncomfortably so and even now the wind caught upon the wings so easily that it felt like Bear only needed to jump to get flying- obviously he wasn’t about to try and end up falling backwards down the clock tower though. Arty meanwhile was consulting a notebook and a rotating windmill on the floor of the clock tower balcony. Looking up the Pegasus flexed his own wings to test the air, satisfied he nodded, “alright we are good to go. All settled in there mate?”

“Uh I guess so, so you sure about this right Arty?”

“Positive, besides I swear I’ll catch you if you fall, props of natural flying after all. Now then, get on the ledge and get ready to jump.”

“Seriously I’m starting to get second thoughts about all of this.”

“Hrmmm, butterflies in your stomache, eh? Alright how about this. Stand ready and I’ll give a countdown for you to jump. I’ll start at five and you jump at one.”

“Alright sounds good.”

“Okay then. Five…. Four…. Three-now”

“Wait wha- AH!”

Arty gave Bear a solid kick, sending the screaming pony off solid ground and into the air. Looking down at his imminent death he fell fast but slowly realized that his descent had slowed down. He glanced up around the sky and found that he was moving forward rather than plummeting to his doom.

“No way…. I’m actually flying! It actually worked!” Bear cheered loudly as he soared over the plaza and the many perplexed ponies that looked up to see what the commotion was. A leisurely floating Arty flew next to him, the smaller Pegasus laughed and spoke happily, “What’d I tell you! I told you it would work! Oh I forgot to mention it gets better, hit that switch on your right there!”

Bear glanced down on the harness at the metal box with the switch Arty had gestured to. Pressing it he suddenly felt himself be lifted even higher as the hiss of steam caused the wings to actually move. Clearing the first set of buildings that made up the ledge of the plaza he and Arty went street by street. It was an amazing experience to the earthbound pony but a thought occurred to him, “You thought of everything, Arty… but uh how do I get down?”

Arty frowned, “oh… uh… well, I never really got that far in the design. Funny story about that actually! I got distracted when this mime fell down-“

“What!?” Bear cried as his movement became more frantic and the glider shook violently. He calmed down when he saw Arty laughing himself to death, “this isn’t funny, Arty!”

“Oh calm down Bear, I’m messing with ya- pull the string on the left to deploy a parachute to slow you down. Might as well do it now while we’re over a clear street.” Pulling the string Bear felt the sudden shock of being stopped as the parachute deployed. Seconds after the parachute deployed the glider collapsed against the backpack. Safely the Earth Pony hit the walkway, the parachute billowing upon the ground behind him. Still grinning widely at the experience of flying he couldn’t begin to think about anything except the excitement of flight. Arty landed softly next to Bear, grinning as well, “Well that parachute is a pain to fit back into the backpack but all things considered everything went great! I admit I was slightly worried when you pressed that switch- I wasn’t entirely positive what it did. I mean I know what it was supposed to do but what it actually does can be so much different.”

“Arty I can’t believe you made this thing, I mean it’s amazing!”

“Heh, didn’t believe me now did you?”

“Yeah, I’d say I’m sorry but honestly your plans don’t always go so well.”

“Actually my plans always go well! Just not always in the way I intended. Alright well I best get this thing back to my workshop and fine tune it. I’m sure now you want to keep it but some kinks still need to be worked out.”

“Alright then, I’m gonna see about getting some food now that I know I’m not dead. Nice work again Arty, you definitely got something goin’ for ya with this machine! Just in time for the New Lunar celebration too eh?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me about that. I like the celebration and all but its so called parties are far too boring for me.”

The two parted ways and said their goodbyes, Arty was left to try to stuff the parachute back into the metal backpack as Bear took his own way back to the plaza. He was still reeling over the fact that he actually flew, Earth Ponies don’t fly and yet he just did! Arty really did outdo himself this time.

In Bear’s upbeat mood he had mistakenly wandered too close to where the people of the Steamworks wandered. Taking a shortcut by an alleyway Bear slowed down when he heard a commotion of noise up ahead. Immediately he became alert of danger. As a young colt he had had his own encounters with the crime in the Steamworks, even on occasion was involved in street fights or attempted muggings. Bear relaxed though when he saw it was just a young colt struggling to get a tin door open. The young pony didn’t notice Bear’s approach and instead was grumbling to himself as he tried to fiddle with the padlock on the door.

“Uhh hey there,” Bear said. The other pony jumped at the voice and turned to see who it belonged too. He seemed to shrink away at the much larger Bear but still he spoke, “Geez mate, gotta scare on ole’ colt such as meself like that? Done near gave me a heart’ttack from the shock!” Bear frowned at the strange pony, “umm, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to startle you like that…. What exactly are you doing here?”

The strange pony scoffed, “Well obviously I’m trying to get this ‘ere door open but the lock’s all rusty.” To add emphasis on his words he kicked at the tin door again causing it to shake violently but not give way.” Bear frowned, a small inkling in the back of his mind telling him something was wrong here. Yet, this pony gave him no reason yet to think he mean Bear any harm, as odd as he might have been. Walking around the smaller pony he responded, “uh yeah. Sorry to bother you then.”

The strange pony though stepped in front of Bear, “hold yer horses there bucko, me bucko. You’re uhh… Bear right? Yeah! That Helpful Stallion an’ all, how’s about giving me a hoof with this here door? I could badly need the help an’ all.”

Bear frowned, the bad feeling in his mind appeared again, “well… I don’t know… are you even supposed to be messin’ with that door?” The pony waved a hoof, “ah course, ah course! My boss needs… the stuff from in the warehouse to be moved out ‘ere. Help me out will ya?”

The large colt was torn between his want to help and the bad feeling this small pony gave him. Still despite his better judgment this was someone in need of help. What was the harm? “Well… alright, I’ll help you with the lock I guess.” The strange pony smirked and pointed a hoof at the lock. Look at the lock Bear had to admit that it was pretty old and rusty, even a key probably would have trouble opening it. “Aye mate, just go ahead and break it!” the strange pony said.

Bear shrugged off his apprehension and turned around. He delivered a swift kick, shattering the lock’s body and sending the parts onto the ground. The strange pony wasted no time in opening the tin door and jumping into the dark warehouse. He quickly started by hefting a crate and tossing it out into the alleyway. “How’s about giving a fella a little more help, eh Bear? Don’t want to get meself fired by bein’ too slow.” Bear frowned but slowly stepped into the warehouse to help out.

Six crates in all were stacked up in the alleyway by the time the strange pony was satisfied. Bear made a move to leave, “Well if you don’t need anything else then I’m just gonna go now.” The other pony waved him off, “yeah yeah whatever. Oh wait! No really thanks a bunch mate! Don’t know how much you've gone an' really helped me. Now off with ya, you got places to be, people to see.” The strange pony gave Bear a wink before pushing the crates down the other way of the alleyway. Bear merely shook his head and went on his way, thinking nothing more of it. He didn’t really expect this to haunt him.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful for the pony. Into the evening he did his usual routine at his second job. It was only the next day did he hear about something unusual. The paperfilly was heralding that morning’s newspaper. One of the headlines read ‘Break In At Platinum Reserve Warehouse- Suspect Ponies Still At Large.’ It couldn’t be he thought, it must have just been a coincidence, nothing more.

That morning his conscious plagued him as he worked the lumber mill. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he did something wrong. He didn’t get to have his usual time to think while he worked though as Mr. Dawn let all the workers have the rest of the day off. Later that day the Doge of Bronze Galloptry would be hosting the New Lunar Year celebration in the plaza today. It wasn’t New Lunar Year night when Princess Luna herself would visit the city but Galloptry always hosted week long celebrations in preparation for the actual day, the sheer amount of profit that the holiday gave was just too enticing to the enterprising conglomerates of business to let pass on only one day and the Doge, the Magistrate of Galloptry, was glad to help along the flow of currency for the city. For most of the other workers the thought of a day off was great but for Bear it was just leisure time spent lost in his troubled mind. He thought about seeing if Arty was around but no doubt he would busy attending the Doge’s speech, no doubt the Pegasus was ripping his own mane out from the sheer boredom of the experience.

So Bear wandered the streets as decorations were being put up and lanterns were being lit for the first day of celebrations. Bear though could not enjoy himself as guilt tinged at the edges of his mind as he thought back to yesterday. In the past he had gotten into trouble a lot, on at least three occasions his head was laid upon the infamous granite block upon the platform in the Second Clock Tower’s plaza. The first two times were as a warning, as he was still a young colt, for what lay ahead for him should he continue his criminal ways. The third time would have been for real had he not been absolved with the help of Arty pulling a few strings. He never wanted to be in that position again and had since stayed away from such deceitful actions. Yet somehow he had unknowingly been at it again and he had no idea what to do.

It was late evening by the time he knew exactly what to do. He’d go ahead and turn himself in to the guard. Most likely it was nothing and if it was he could easily explain what had happened. Perhaps they’d be lenient. Walking the streets towards the guard station Bear took a look around the lanterns that lit up Luna’s early night. He could hear music and fireworks in the distance, not surprising as the Doge was probably making a speech right about now. Bear didn’t really care much for the Doge so felt he wasn’t exactly missing much, a corrupt magistrate like any other pony of power.

Strange though as Bear approached the plaza something interrupted the music and a rather loud set of fireworks exploded in the distance. Soon enough he was forced to dodge ponies either running or gawking at something. Some people seemed worried and others just ran away, Bear felt something wasn’t right. Still walking in the direction of the plaza he began to pass by a carriage just as a young mare jumped into the back.

“Oh you who!”

Bear stopped at the sound of the sultry voice. Turning he saw the pretty mare lean out the window and wink at him. “Would you be so kind to help a woman in distress? It seems the carriage wheel there is hanging loose. Would be so kind handsome and fix it real quick?”

I suppose one more good deed before I spend a night in a dungeon couldn’t do any harm. Here’s hoping karma existed. “Sure thing, miss,” Bear said. He took a moment to inspect the wheel. It seemed the wheel had just hopped off the lock axel. Lifting the cart Bear replaced the wheel back to its right place, ignoring the ponies rushing away from the plaza where the commotion was coming from. Stepping back from the carriage he looked in the direction that everypony was running from, it seemed the guards would have to wait while he saw what it was that was causing such a panic.

“Can’t thank you enough handsome,” the mare gave the blushing Bear a wink as the Carriage rolled off, pulled by a pair of strong pegasi, it quickly disappeared into the sky soon after it had started to move. “Such a strange night,” Bear muttered. Turning back around he found himself staring down a pair of both startled and angry guards. Both were dressed in the Doge’s royal colors. They breathed heavy as if they had just been sprinting.

The look on their faces scared Bear but before he could speak one of the guards spoke for him, “Do you have any idea what you just did?”

Bear was shocked at the question, “What? I-“

The second guard spoke ominously, “You just helped the Doge’s murderer get away.”

Chapter 3: A Trial and a Verdict

Chapter 3: A Trial and a Verdict

The colt found himself staring again at the awkwardly shaped cobblestone that made up the wall opposite to his bed. He had long lost track of time but it felt like it had been days. It was an experience he never got used to but one he had known before. Sitting in the dungeon with only the maddeningly constant drip from some unknown puddle was like it was in his memories, the memories he’d rather not remember. He was alone in this hall of the expansive underground dungeon, the part reserved for criminals of heinous acts of treason and in some cases even murder. He knew though he wasn’t alone in this labyrinth of a jail. When the guards had led him in he had seen the more petty criminal population and there was at least one guard pony who sat in front of the only exit of this wing of the dungeon, guarding its single prisoner.

He sighed miserably and immediately the sound bounced off the many stone walls, sounding so much louder than it really was. He had been in this silent purgatory since his mistake to help the mare in need. The moment it became apparent to the guard Pegasi that the carriage could not be found they had turned to him. Without so much as a question they had tossed him into the dungeon to wait for hours to be taken out to be interrogated. They asked him questions that he could give no answer to. Why did you help kill the Doge? Who were your accomplices? Where are they now? Give yourself up, confess.

Each time they asked Bear he always gave the same response and stuck by the same story. It seemed like the interrogator was beginning to believe him until his past deed caught to him. The platinum robbery that he had unwittingly helped in had turned up again, since the death of the Doge Bear had neglected to mention the incident. In honesty it had mostly slipped his mind the moment he was accused of murder and even if he did remember he wasn’t sure if he would have said anything anyway considering the trouble he was in already.

The other day a pony had seen Bear exit the alleyway where the break in had occurred and though he didn’t have the stolen goods in his possession the fact alone that he was involved with a robbery and a murder was incriminating enough. Things looked bleak for him already and Bear wasn’t sure if he was going to get away from the granite block this time.

The sound of the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall opening caught his attention. There was a brief exchange of words before two different sets of hoof steps made their way down to his cell. Getting up from his bed he went to his cell door and waited for whoever was coming, although he already had a good idea on who it was. The guard pony appeared, upset over being disturbed from his doing nothing. “You got a visitor prisoner,” he said and promptly left, revealing the visitor he had. Arty looked like a wreck with his mane in dishevel and his eyes bloodshot but he still offered his incarcerated friend a smil.

“Arty? What’s going on out there?” Bear asked but shied away when he realized his selfishness in wondering about his own sake when his friend looked to be in distress. Arty paid no attention to that though, he instead sighed and two sat down on the cold stone ground. “Well its going better than I had originally thought it would. Since I found you’ve been put in here I’ve been working on your behalf. I spoke to the guards and got the whole story from them, ignoring of course the blatant assumptions they’re making.”

“Assumptions? Like what?”

“Stuff that they can’t back up so don’t worry about it. Doesn’t help though now that they have you with a potential robbery. I managed to talk to the judges in charge of your case this morning after I stayed up all night getting together a case for you. I managed to get that robbery as a separate case unrelated to this one so we’re clear of that for now.”

For a moment the two of them sat in silence until Bear asked, “aren’t you going to ask if I did it or not?”

“What’s the point of asking a question I already know the answer to? You didn’t do it; the guards just want to use you as a scapepony since they couldn’t find the mare that actually did it. Right now they’ve got nothing against you.”

“Then why bother with me? Shouldn’t they be searching for that mare then?”

“My thoughts too, but… keep this to yourself, I don’t think the guards tried all that hard. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time I think and they jumped at the opportunity.”

“What do’ya mean they didn’t try that hard?”

“Everyony knows the Doge wasn’t all that popular and the conglomerates were getting annoyed with him. I don’t want to say anything about it but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a hand in all of this. Greedy the lot of them, you know what their concern was this morning? Whether to continue to New Lunar Year celebration or not, it’s like they completely forgot somepony just got killed. On top of all that I heard the princesses themselves were coming to the city after they heard about what happened so they’re probably panicking and hoping to rush you to an early grave.”

“What’s your plan then?”

“If they refuse to see the lack of evidence they got then I’ll have to stall them until I might be able to appeal to Princess Celestia if she gets involved. You still have friends out there Bear so don’t worry, we’ll get you out of this.”

Bear sighed, “Yeah… I got no doubts on that mate. How many times has it been that you’ve had to bail me out of a situation like this?”

“As far as I know you’ve never been accused of murder before-“

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know that isn’t what you mean and the number of times I’ve helped you out doesn’t matter. You’ve got more important things to keep in your mind right now. Get some rest mate, your trial starts tomorrow morning.”

“Seriously? What time is it now?”

“About two at night. Just sleep however much you can and remember what I told you- just tell the truth and I’ll handle the rest.”

The next morning was chaos. Bear had been woken up early and his mind was still slow to comprehend what was going on. The moment he left the dungeon to go to the courthouse he was assaulted by a large crowd of ponies. It was like a dream of some kind as the majority of the ponies jeered at him and called him a murderer. Some faces that he recognized and others he didn’t though were calling to his defense. The scene passed by quickly as the guards shoved him into a barred carriage to be shepherd off to his trial.

The courthouse though was just about the same scene. The mood seemed tense as he was led into the crowded courtroom. Two tables were set up before seven judges, one table sat Arty by himself while the other had several grim faced lawyer ponies. Bear tried to search for other friendly faces in the crowd and spotted Mr. and Mrs. Dawn sitting near in the front row behind Arty. They looked worriedly at Bear and the work horse felt shame rise in his chest. To be in such a situation and to put the old couple through this made the pony want to punch himself. Besides the old couple Bear saw no other friendly faces, only the few angry gazes, most ponies though were looking at him as if he was some foreign creature that had stumbled into their world. Somehow this disturbed Bear more than the glares.

Arty was preoccupied with a shouting match between himself and the grim faced lawyer ponies that made up the prosecution; Bear couldn’t make out what they were saying but both sides seemed offended over everything the other said. The judges ignored them for the most part until they spotted the guards lead Bear in. The center judge grabbed the gabble in his mouth and hammered it down upon the desk before them. Slowly the yelling subsided with the lawyer ponies and Arty silently glaring at one another. In that tense silence Bear walked down the short aisle. He took a seat next to Arty and tried his best to look brave, he doubted though anyone could be fooled by his guise.

“This courtroom will call to order,” The center Judge called out in a booming voice. “Bear Maynor stand up to hear your charges.”

Bear did as he was told, cringing at the sound of his hated surname but standing tall nonetheless.

The Judge continued in his booming voice, “Bear Maynor you stand before this committee on the charges of conspiracy to murder the Doge of Bronze Galloptry, aiding and abating the escape of a fugitive of the law, and treason against the peace of Bronze Galloptry. Say your plea.”

Arty growled and muttered, “I thought we got rid of that treason charge, skies damn that Judge and his conniving ways, scheming no good…” he went off into muttering as Bear spoke his plea, “Not guilty your honors.”

“Sit down then and let us get this trial underway. Prosecutors your opening statements and Mr. Artivius I expect you to keep your temper in check here, I know about your past behavior in court. I will not have you making a mockery of a trial this serious.” The Judge pointed his gabble at Arty who looked disinterested. Arty though was far from disinterested. He scowled and spoke back, “Your honor I say again this trial is baseless and its prosecution is a mockery! I ask again how many of those lawyers are by the state and which ones are owned by one of the conglomerates involved in this trial!”

“Watch yourself Mr. Artivius Felix; you are trekking on thin ice already. Prosecution say your opening statement before the defense decides to speak his mind again.”

The next few hours were a battle of words. After both sides gave their opening statements the prosecution opened with the evidence that they had gathered against Bear. The inexperienced pony that rarely ever saw the inside of a courtroom besides to see Arty was terrified and at times angered by the vehement lies or falsehoods that they gave. Each time that their evidence was given Arty skillfully dismantled it until all that remained was useless information or obvious lie but it was clear to the Pegasus that he was still fighting an uphill battle. At least several of the judges on the stand Arty knew to be in the pocket of conglomerates who would rather Bear be convicted and to let the incident die into obscurity with the Doge. Unless he dismantled the evidence carefully and fully for the court room’s observers to see he would be giving the judges an opening to give the verdict that they wanted rather than the just one. It was slow but Arty made sure to do his best and at most he only gave a scowl when he was angry, keeping his outbursts to a minimum as best he could.

It was late evening by the time the judges were done listening to both sides and Bear wasn’t very confident. The judges had made little reaction to any of the news they had been given all day, they only stopped to ask more questions or to ask the lawyer ponies to keep their voices civilized. They spoke quietly to each other but never did they betray their thoughts. Finally though the center judge asked Bear to stand up and answer some questions. He did his best answer under the judges’ scrutiny but even then they did not seem satisfied.

Then a question came that caught even the veteran lawyer pony Arty off guard, the center judge placed his hooves together and looked Bear in the eye, “So tell me Mr. Maynor, what would you say if we were to sentence you now to life imprisonment or the executioner’s axe?”

For a moment Bear wasn’t sure that the judge had even asked such a question, the bluntness of it even seemed to alarm the high and mighty elite caste of Galloptry ponies. He tried to look to Arty but the other pony quickly gestured for Bear to keep focused on the judges.

“Well,” he began, “I’d say you’d be sending an innocent colt to his doom for a heinous crime that he did not commit.”

“What would you say to the fact that Galloptry’s Justice Committee has sent ponies more innocent than yourself to such a fate.” Even at this the other judges had to look at their grim faced leader.

“I wouldn’t have much to say that I think you would care to listen to your honor.”

“Then what would your rebuttal be, what alternate fate would you give yourself?”

Bear thought for a moment for the best answer. “I assume innocence is not an option in this question. Then I would say banishment from Galloptry. Even if I were to be found innocent I would leave this city.”

“Out of guilt?”

“Out of shame. I’d no longer wish to live in a place where I cannot be trusted anymore.”

The courtroom went into a frenzy of whispering over this, Arty meanwhile was looking sadly at his stoic friend. The judges conversed with each other until one of the judges on the far left spoke, “Are you suggesting Mr. Maynor a self-imposed exile?”

“I suppose I am.”

“Well then,” the center judge said, “I think we have a solution here. With Mr. Felix’s skills in the law and the sheer lack of evidence the prosecution has given us we agree that your innocence in this matter is clear. Despite this your future still looks bleak as some of my compatriots know all too well.” Some of the other judges shifted in their seats uneasily under their leader’s glare but said nothing. The Center judge continued, “there is also the matter of the robbery you committed the day before which will likely not end well even if it was such a minor incident. Therefore I want to strip away the charges upon you and avoid judgment from this committee as long as you go through with this exile of yours.”

“High Magistrate this is unheard of!” One of the judges upon the right spoke, he being one of the judges that had shifted uneasily earlier.

“I care little for what you or the Conglomerates have to say in this, it is heard of now the moment I said it. What say you Mr. Maynor?”

Bear spoke despite his friend’s attempt to protest, “I would agree to this.”

Arty looked shocked at his friend but said nothing as the verdict was given. He slumped back into his seat while the prosecution tried to voice their opinion on this matter. Even the rest of the courtroom was in a mild uproar.

The gabble struck and silence reigned again. The Center Judge spoke, “Then hear my verdict Bear Maynor. You are hereby banished from Bronze Galloptry. Should you remain for longer than a week then this trial will continue and no leniency will be given, should you return this trial will continue and end with your imprisonment, and upon these terms your charges shall be dropped- all of them- and you will go a free man with a free conscious. Gather your belongings boy for should you stay too long you will find the welcome of Bronze Galloptry’s Conglomerates less than welcome. Go in peace. This trial is adjourned.”

Chaos reigned again with ponies jumping from their seats and the prosecution attempting to get the attention of the judges. Bear wandered over to an angry Arty. “I could ‘ave got you better.” Bear looked sadly at his friend, “At the risk of your career? I couldn’t do that to you. Besides I want this. I’m tired of this city, I’m tired of its people, and I’m tired of the intrigue and the crime. I’m done with it all.”

“Well-spoken Mr. Maynor.” The two turned to see the Center Judge approach them. Somehow he had slipped out of the squabble that the judges were having with one another and the prosecution lawyer ponies. Arty was quick to speak, “Your honor I want to continue this trial, I’m sure if you just saw reason and look-“

“Save your breath Mr. Artivius, I know that Mr. Maynor is innocent. Under that committee though his trial would have dragged out until he either confessed just to get out or be executed, such is the corruption that has bled into the city here. Whether you realize it or not I am saving his life. He will receive no rest here in Bronze Galloptry, the moment those guards brought him to the dungeon his life here was effectively over. I am offering him a way out, a way to safely go where the Doge’s death would not reach him.”

Arty did not relent though, “Well what if we brought this to the Princesses? They would see this as the scam it is and be merciful.”

“You honestly think you would get the chance to speak with the princesses? No, Bear would have been wiped away before the princesses could speak to him. I don’t even know for sure if Princess Celestia understands how deep the corruption goes in this place; it doesn’t matter though for you Bear. Your time here is over and you should move on.”

Bear bowed his head, “I want to say thank you your Honor, this might not be the ending I wanted and I can’t say I’m happy about any of this. Yet I think you’re right. I need to get out of the city.”

Arty scowled at Bear, “idiot, giving in so easily.” Before Bear could say a word to his friend the Pegasus had slammed his briefcase shut and was working his way through the crowd in the courtroom out the door.

“Arty wait!” the colt called out.

“Let him go Bear,” the Center Judge said, “he’s never lost a case this big, not like this. Give him time to cool off, that was just his temper speaking. You though need to get ready to leave while you still can.”

Bear nodded solemnly but when he turned to the judge he saw the grim faced pony had gone back to the other judges. Bear was left to his thoughts amidst a sea of chaos. He wasn’t sure what to do anymore, he wanted to leave but he wasn’t about to leave without seeing Arty again. He needed to explain to his friend why he did it or at least leave on good terms. Knowing how his friend’s temper got that could be a problem.

No matter what though the colt would be leaving Bronze Galloptry, hopefully for good, by tomorrow morning once he was prepared to go with what little possessions he owned.

Chapter 4: The Journey

Chapter 4: The Journey

"To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping"- Chinese Proverb

The next morning Bear found himself taking one last look at what was once his home. A hovel just on the edge of the steamworks without running water or heat, it was a cramped little home that was quite uncomfortable but it has still been home, or at least it once was. He had a few good memories of the place but he never actually took a look around and take into account what was his homely surroundings. There was that stain on the wall that looked like Princess Celestia’s cutie mark, the crack on the floor that was in the shape of a spider web, the actual spider web that never seemed to disappear no matter how many times Bear cleaned it, and then there was the burn mark against the door that Bear was fond of, he had forgotten where exactly it came from (although he knew Arty had something to do with it) but it was sort of like his own little poster as the mark was in the shape of a smiley face. Once one got over the ugly aspects that made it unique it was an okay place to live. And now Bear was leaving it without a second thought to find a new home far away. On his back in a pair of saddlebags he carried just about everything he owned, anything he couldn’t carry was being left behind. He turned to leave and quickly shut the door, cursing the sticky lock for the last time and the terrible doorhandle that seemed to just fall off the door if one pulled it the wrong way. Bear did not need to take a second look back as he walked away, there was nothing left for him here.

The decorations for New Lunar Year still hung from the ramparts of the market and lanterns still hung by strings over walkways. Ponies though did not seem to be in the most festive of moods. The air still felt unsettled and the conversations were always about the recent events and the soon arrival of the Princesses. Bear half wished he could stay to see what the princesses thought of this terrible city but no doubt they’d be blinded by the gilded side of things and the lavishes of the upper class. A gut feeling told him things would not change and the Doge would disappear into obscurity. Even now that he thought about it Bear never even knew that pony’s real name, the moment he took the title Doge that was all he was, Bear wondered if any pony remembered the murdered Doge’s real name, not like it mattered anymore.

Taking his time in the market Bear purchased what he could with the money he still had on nonperishable foods, mostly dried out grains kept together by some unknown bland paste. It would have to do for now along with bread. A waxed cloak to keep out the rain was the last thing he bought; the money he had left would have to go to the making of his new life if they still took the same currency.

“I want to thank you again for everything you’ve done for me mister and missus Dawn.” Bear said to the teary eyed couple that had come to meet him outside their little cottage by the mill downstream. The strong pony tried his best to keep a stiff upper lip but found his voice cracked in some places from his sadness. For a long time Mr. Dawn and his wife had not just been his employer but also like his surrogate parents, for that he could never thank them enough. His strength started to fail though the moment Mrs. Dawn started crying. “Think nothing of it, lad,” Mr. Dawn said, smiling sadly, “I didn’t think we’d be saying good bye like this but I guessin’ fate’s calling you someplace else. So much for thinking I’d be passing along this old place to you, but time has a strange way of changin’ plans.”

Bear chuckled sadly, he could feel water well up in his eyes as he hugged the old pony, “you’re not making this any easier Mr. Dawn, I’m sorry I couldn’t keep up the good work for ya- I just hope you find a good pulley to replace me. Take care of yourself, old man.” By now Mrs. Dawn had calmed down enough to look Bear in the eyes. The moment she did though she burst into tears again and quickly grabbed him in a vice grip of a hug. Bear smiled and tried his best to breathe as he was smothered against her chest and strangled by the hooves around his neck. Through tears Mrs. Dawn exclaimed, “Now… you take good care of yourself boy! Don’t make me come find ya to make sure you’ve eaten well enough. You gone stay out of trouble and find yerself a good place to live that isn’t near that horrid steamworks. Oh and keep up your health… and meet new people or a nice young mare to settle down with… or-“

“Woman, the boy’s startin’ to turn purple. Let the lad get a breath of air before you pass him out!” Mr. Dawn laughed. “What? Oh sorry about that Beary” Mrs. Dawn said as she released the gasping Bear. “That’s one heck of a way to send a fella on. Thank you too for everything Mrs. Dawn. You treated me like family all these years and helped me when times were tough. I could never repay your kindness.”

Mrs. Dawn look ready to go bursting into tears again but instead grabbed Bear again into another vice grip of a hug. This time though she let him get air before he turned purple and let him be on his way. And as Bear took the path away from the cottage Bear called out, “I’ll send you a letter when I get settled in and if you ever need me just let me know!” Mr. and Mrs. Dawn waved to him until he was finally out of sight, it was only then did Bear let himself cry over the good bye.

Leaving the forest the cobalt pony spotted someone standing at the crossroads between the Dawns’ cottage and the main path, a shorter pony with a silvery mane and silver laughing cutie mark. “Ar-Arty?” Bear exclaimed. The other pony merely grinned, “In the living flesh. Figured I’d let you have your moment with the ‘foster’ parents so-to-speak.”

Bear returned the grin and covered the last distance. Reaching his best friend the two of them reached out their hooves and tapped against each other with a resounding clop. It was then Bear noticed the bags that surrounded the pony, filled to the brim with what the pony recognized as Arty’s most prized belongings. “Arty what is this?”

“Duh, Isn’t it obvious? I didn’t follow you out here for nothing, mate. I’m headin’ out with ya, can’t trust you on your own after all.” Arty said. Grabbing his stuff he hefted it all upon his back. Bear merely frowned, “Sorry Arty but I can’t just let you leave behind your life here in Galloptry. Unlike me you actually had stuff goin’ for ya. I’m the one gettin’ banished, not you.”

Arty rolled his eyes, “oh please, what life? Being a lawyer pony was awful and material stuff just gets so very boring after a while. Naw, I was always searchin’ for a reason to leave that Celestia-forsaken city. I didn’t think it’d be because you done got yourself banished but I figure whatever works, works.”

“Mate-“

“Nnope, we’re done here. Not gonna be changin’ my mind on this. Brothers to the end and all that stuff we said in the past, now then how about we start on the road before there isn’t any more of Celestia’s day to travel by.”

Bear tried his best to be upset with his friend but in the end he couldn’t help but feel thankful he a friend such as Arty who would just pick up everything and leave the moment he needed him the most. It would be so much easier leaving with his friend at his side than it would have been by leaving on his own. “I guess I can’t change your mind then. Before we go though I just wanted to apologize for yesterday- gettin’ myself banished and all when you were trying your best to prove me innocent, it wasn’t right to take all that work you did away from ya.”

“Eh, honestly I don’t think I could of done much better than banishment and like you said either way you would have been leaving so in the end it doesn’t really matter. Past is past, the road’s the future, life is a highway blah-blah-blah-blah.”

Bear chuckled at his friend’s antics, side by side the two of them traveled down the road away from their troubled past. Behind them the bronze city gleamed in the morning light, gilded towers shined as a pair of chariots, one ebony like the night and the other white like the light, flew down into the city. The city itself almost seemed tranquil from this distance, a utopia from afar yet as they say ‘all that glitters isn’t gold’.

Arty hopped and skipped to a song that only he could hear, as he always did, as he walked alongside Bear. “So where we headed too anyway?”

Bear shrugged, “I don’t rightly know. I figured to just keep walkin’ until I felt far enough away from Bronze Galloptry. Maybe we’ll just walk all the way to Appleloosa.”

“Seriously, Appleloosa? That’s the best you can do? Well certainly far enough away but a bit too far if you ask me. How about a bit closer? I hear Canterlot is nice.”

“Bit posh for us mate, unless you want to go through the hassle of meeting the high and elite again eh?”

“Hrm, good point. Manehatten maybe, or Fillydelphia?”

“Too big, not far enough away.”

“Geez you’re just really picky aren’t you. How about you just go live in the forest somewhere? Make friends with a bunch of squirrels or-“

“Squirrels? Where?” Bear cried out in terror, shooting a glance around at the forest as if he had seen a monster.

“Calm down, calm down! Don’t get so jumpy over a bunch of rodents.”

“Never joke about those little cretins, mate, never.”

“Fine whatever. Hey don’t suppose you brought any good ole fire water now did you?”

“Course I did, mate.” Bear said. Rummaging through his bag he tossed a bottle with a bright red label to his Pegasus friend. Deftly Arty caught it and looked at the bottle, “Ah sweet merciful skies hello there me darlin’.” Bear glared at his friend, “Don’t go drinking it all now, I expect to get some too ya know and I don't need you tipsy on the road.”

“No guarantees.”

The pair walked on through the forests all that morning without stop. They walked until the forests dipped off into swamps. They kept walking until the swamps and wetlands dried up into plains of rolling grass. The sun beat down upon their backs as they made their trek to nowhere in particular, all the time they either asked each other questions such as ‘would you rather’ or ‘if you had’. Other times they just settled with tossing insults at each other, anything to pass the time of walking the dirt road in the rolling hills.

Eventually though the rolling hills leveled off into forests and a hill gave them a view of the path ahead of them. What they saw made them stop. “Hm, well then that’s a bit upsetting,” Arty said sizing up the distance that lay before them. Bear shook his head, “I honestly don’t remember this ever being here, then again I’ve never been this far out.”

Arty looked up at the tall mountain that stood before them. He nodded slowly, “oh yeah, they totally just put that in a year or two ago…. Looks like the path rounds the mountain side instead of going around the mountain itself. Least its good weather- I’d hate to cross that thing in winter.”

“Probably wouldn’t be passible in fall or winter. Well let’s get going- that mountain isn’t going to climb itself.” With that the journey began again but by the time they had reached the foot of the mountain Celestia’s sun had set and Luna’s moon had risen. It had become far too dark for them to climb. They chose to camp out in a clearing in the forest created by a pair of fallen trees. The ground was dry and grassy and the old fallen trees provided shelter even though the night sky was clear. Bear set up a small camp fire while Arty laid out their camp. For food they stomached the dried rations Bear carried with him.

That night though in the midst of falling into slumber Arty felt the strange sensation of being watched. He slowly sat up, blinking away the blur of his vision. From atop the fallen tree that he had been attempting to sleep upon he had a clear view of the forest around them as well as the clearing. The night was lit only by the stars above, but upon clearing his vision Arty found that was not the only light that looked down upon them. From the forest’s edge in the darkness he could see perhaps dots of light in the darkness. Each one was set as a pair, like two full glowing eyes watching the pair sleep. Arty couldn’t begin to count how many there were but what he could see was, was that they were surrounded on all sides by the watching eyes. The young Pegasus whipped his head around to look at the eyes watching them. He was prepared to shout a warning to the sleeping Bear down below but the moment the eyes saw that Arty was awake they blinked out of existence, back into the shadows of the forest. For a while Arty remained quiet, hoping to hear some sound to show that the eyes had actually been there but no sound except the rhythmic tune of the forest at night could be heard. Somehow in his own guard duty Arty fell back asleep upon the log. The eyes returned to their observing positions once they were sure he was back asleep.

The next morning Arty woke with a start, having no memory of ever falling asleep again after he had seen the eyes. He had to question if it had actually happened or if it was part of some dream that had been had during the night. Still though the eyes were nowhere to be seen and a quick survey showed that nothing had been taken from their bags. Satisfied for the moment Arty returned to his spot on the log, lost in his thoughts.

The thinking Pegasus did not need to wait long for Bear to wake. They ate a small breakfast and prepared to be on their way. Arty made no mention of what had happened during the night, by now he was sure it was a dream. Bear was paranoid of squirrels, he wasn’t about to follow suit by becoming paranoid of eyes in the forest. As they left the clearing though, they failed to see the crowd of eyes watching them leave. Their small colorful bodies floated silently in their air upon insect like wings as they watched the two ponies leave to ascend the mountain. The moment their hooves stepped onto the mountain path they found the going slow. The rocks, brown and jagged, hurt their hooves and the wind began to bite at them despite the good weather they had, had down in the forest.

With effort and tenacity they managed to cross the mountain but were forced to stop upon reaching the other side. A rock slide had covered the path down the mountain and from the looks of the slide there was no way around it. The two were forced to climb over the rockslide itself but it was dangerous going. The ground was soft and caved in under their weight with every step they took. Rocks tumbled down upon them in transgression for disturbing the mountain and its path. Arty’s wings and lightness made it easier for him to cross the silt but for the heavy Bear it was like walking in quick sand. With the Pegasus’ help though the pony managed to make it across without falling down the side of the mountain. The rock slide had shifted by so much the prints they had left in the rockslide had disappeared.

“Well we’re not going back this way,” Bear muttered to the mountain as both he and Arty descended the path back into the forest. “So where in Celestia’s glory are we now, Bear?” Arty asked, eying the forest all the time.

“Looks like someplace called the ‘Everfree’ Forest , though we only be on the edge of it I think. What’s with you, you’re giving the forest a dirty look there, mate.” Bear said. He gave a look at Arty but the Pegasus paid no attention to him. “Eh? Oh nothing, just being cautious is all.” The thoughts of the eyes in the forest still clung to his mind even though this might not have been the exact same forest as the one on the other side of the mountain.

“I can never seem to suss you out one way or the other sometimes Arty.” Bear said with a roll of his eyes, “Well’n we should be reaching a river soon enough. Aaaaand I don’t see a bridge. Bullocks.”

“Language Bear language. Crazy sod talkin’ like he’s some bad mouthed colt. I’m thinkin’ it’ll just be a small river or somethin’ that we could cross on our own. “

An hour passed and they had reached the river, Bear gave the first smug thought, “Well yeah that looks right calm, don’t it!” Sure enough the river was more like white rapids. Pointed, shined rocks jutted from the deep blue river that flowed at a speed that neither of the ponies had ever seen. The former city dwelling ponies only ever saw the controlled canals of the city or the sewers underneath it, here was an actual force of nature that ponies had no control over. It disturbed them, and to make matters worse they appeared to be no way of crossing the river. There looked to be a spot where an old stone bridge had been but all that remained of it was some blocks of white rock within the overgrown grass.

“Well I’m seein’ nothing for you to be some smug about. I’m not the one in a bit of a pickle here ain’t I? Note the wings, the wings!” Arty exclaimed showing off his wings. Bear responded by placing his hoof out and shoving him into the river. “Oh sod that’s cold!” the Pegasus cried out as he jumped out of the water quickly and hovered over the water. “That there was uncalled for you git.”

“Duly noted, now if you stop boastin’ so much how’n am I supposed to cross this river.” Bear said, frowning at his hovering friend. Arty placed a hoof to his chin and thought to himself. “I don’t suppose we got any rope to reach over the river now do we?” Bear checked his pack but when he found nothing shook his head, “ We got rope but nowhere near reaching over this river.”

“Hmmm,” Arty hummed to himself, he looked to the forest for inspiration. Looking at the trees he saw that most of them were small and even if Bear kicked one over it wouldn’t serve much as a bridge. He did notice though the thick vines that wrapped themselves around the tops of the trees. Flying over to them he gathered a long length of a vine from several trees and found that the vines actually were longer than they first looked, which was long to begin with. With Bear sitting on the riverside watching all of this Arty flew over the river with the vine. Tying one end to a tree he took the other side and reached it over. It barely managed to cover the length of the river but with some effort and running the vine strung he had made a line across the river. A very flimsy looking green line but a line none the less.

“Ta-da!” Arty exclaimed over the completed line. Bear though was cautious, “Uhh, I’m not sure that thing can hold my weight.”

“Hey now it’s tougher than it looks and not a tear to be found on it. It isn’t the best mode of getting over the river but it’ll work. I’ll even be there to help you cross should you run a snag or something.”

Bear couldn’t help but think back to the glider Arty had made, as well as the other ideas that Arty strangely got to work out. And then he remembered the overly numerous times his ideas did not work or backfired. Bear was a strong swimmer sure but that didn’t count for much in a fast river like this, he’d be swept away nonetheless. Glancing at the dipping sun the pony finally made his decision, “fine but I better not die from this or else I’m gonna haunt you till your grave.” Bear walked over to the line and took a good look at it, satisfied he tossed his bags to Arty who struggled to heft up the supplies but managed to barely fly. Caution to the wind he threw his legs around the line, hanging upside down. Slow at first he started to inch across until he was over the river and he had to the space to crawl. He was halfway over the river by the time he realized something was wrong. His back gently touched the river and he noticed how the line sagged badly do to his wait, the vine was giving out. “Uh oh, don’t want to rush you mate but you should rush,” Arty said as he looked at the ends of the line and then back at his friend.

“Wait what? What’s going on?” Bear said as he tried to double his efforts, but the harder he struggled the worse the line got.

“No, wait stop!” Arty suddenly called out. It was too late though, a loud snap was heard as the line snapped and plunged Bear into the middle of the cold river. Bubbles and darkness covered Bear’s line of sight but he was glad to have taken a gulp of air before crashing into the river. He hunched up, hoping to avoid hitting rocks on the river floor. He had no idea which way was up as he tumbled through the river, water filled and stung his nose. He felt his head breach the water; he tried to gasp for air but felt himself be pulled under again. Before he could be lost again to the depths of the river though he felt something tugging at his shoulders and drag him through the river. Bear tried to help but his struggling ended up causing the grip on his shoulders to slip and disappear. There was a moment of panic before the grip returned, this time on his upper right leg. It continued to drag him until Bear’s hooves touched the river bottom and he was able to walk the last of the way to shore.

Soaked, exhausted, slightly blinded, and choking on water he collapsed onto the ground. “That,” Bear sputtered out, “wasn’t one of your good ideas.” Arty laughed awkwardly, gasping for his own breathe after having to drag his larger friend out of the river. The bags lay nearby, discarded and disheveled, it seemed Arty had taken the time to roughly toss the stuff onto the beach before saving Bear. A smart move in Bear’s mind, he would have been a little angrier though if he had actually drowned but he was back on dry land at least. For a while the two just gasped for breathe, laid out upon the muddy beach. Bear looked up at Arty, and then started to laugh, he didn’t know where it came from but he laughed and laughed loudly. Arty started with a smile but the infectious joy rubbed off onto him and he too started to laugh. It got to the point their ribs hurt and they were rolling on the dirty ground laughing in the face of a watery death.

They stopped finally to breathe again. Arty was the first to notice a weird sound nearby. Glancing to his friend he tilted his head towards the sound, his ears twitching, “Say you hear that? Sounds almost like- what the! Get away from there you scrumping little pests!” Arty screamed as he got up and rushed to the packs. Bear, confused at first followed Arty’s sight. What he saw caused him to jump up too and rush to the packs. The packs were being laid upon by a horde of strange pastel colored bugs that greedily gobbled at not the food but literally everything else that they owned. Lashing out Arty scared the horde away. The Pegasus hugged over the remaining supplies while Bear shooed the rest of the vermin away. It was only when they were gone did he see what remained. His ears went flat when he saw that most of the stuff had bite marks in it. A black pan had been spared and their canteens were safe but the rest had been eaten. A tent, blankets, a well of lantern oil, the lantern itself, and the rope had all been eaten. The bags themselves had bite marks in them but still seemed somewhat useable.

“A load of bullocks, they ate everything… except the food! I told you animals wouldn’t eat the stuff you got!” Arty said. Bear took a look as well at what they had, he sighed but smiled, “Well on the bright side we still have the necessities and Celestia be thanked the canteens are safe. I guess we’ll have to find shelter on our own but seems we won’t be seeing very much in the night.”

“These next few days are going to suck.” Arty said with a sigh.

It had been five days since they left Bronze Galloptry, two days walking across the plains, a day to cross the mountain and the river, and two days following the path through the Everfree forest. In those last two days though it had been more miserable then the other three combined. Food remained steady and their water supply was good but everything else was a misery. Little shelter left their nights disturbed and contained little rest, especially for Arty who remained vigilant for the Technicolor vermin that had eaten their stuff. The forest was confusing and dense, the path rugged and nearly disappearing in some places. By now the once pristine coats of the ponies were dull and muddied. Their manes were disheveled and part of Bear’s head was singed from sleeping far too close to their makeshift campfire one time. Their morale was low, no more talk or laughter was had except when discussing where to go or what direction was north.

On the second day their venture took a strange and somewhat dark turn in the forest. They had lost the path some hours ago when they had followed what looked to be the remains of a brick and black iron fence. Their presumption was right but at the cost of the path. Now though they stood before something that confused and terrified them. It was a mansion of some kind. It looked old and the wood had been rotted through in places. The windows were gone and the forest had long since tried to reclaim the property. Vines wrapped against the walls and into the house itself. It looked to have been deserted for many years, perhaps even decades. The architecture itself was gothic, a style that hadn’t been seen in most of Equestria for at least a century. It disturbed them both to find a clear sign of civilization in the middle of the dense and dangerous forest.

“Alright,” Bear said looking up at the mansion with Arty, “common sense says to slowly walk away from the spooky looking mansion and never speak of this again. Still, it is shelter and we haven’t found any in since entering the forest.”

“To make matters worse the day’s about over, Luna’s night will be up soon. Won’t have time to go searching for another place for shelter, unless of course we want to be stumbling about in the dark of the forest yet again, as much as I hate to say it I select spending the night in the very spooky and foreboding mansion in the middle of the forest. On the condition that we search the place out first,” Arty said.

“Well, who goes in first?”

The pair looked at each other.

“Nose goes!” Arty shouted as he put a hoof to his nose.

“Nose- ah dang it!” Bear said, a second too late on the draw. “Ah well, here goes nothin’ I guess.” Bear walked up into the overgrown courtyard of the mansion. Slowly he stepped up the moss covered cobblestone steps to the large wooden door. Trying the doorknob he found it rusted to the point it no longer turned. The door refused to give way until finally Bear turned around and gave the door a solid kick. The doorknob shattered into rusty pieces and the door seemed to barely hold on its hinges now but at least it was open. Bear took a cautious look inside. It appeared to be a parlor with an old fireplace, a moth eaten rug, and some old tarp covered furniture. A set of stairs on the right wall ascended into the dark second story. Two doorways led out to the rest of the mansion but Bear didn’t care to check just yet.

Turning around he signaled for Arty. The two slowly stepped into the parlor to look around the place. Arty elected to check the upstairs while Bear checked the downstairs. Upstairs were several dusty and debris covered rooms. Most were empty except for one filled with plant life thanks to the missing ceiling. Downstairs was a very similar seen. Most of the rooms and kitchen had succumbed to the forest let in by the missing windows. One door though, which Bear assumed it to be the basement, refused to budge and even managed to withstand a kick from him. The Earth pony figured though that there was little importance to get the basement door open so left the door be. Meeting back up with one another the two decided the parlor was the only place to be stayed for the night.

“So I’ve been thinkin” Arty said after the pair had finally settled in and got a fire going in the old fireplace. They had taken the tarps off the mostly intact furniture and moved them in front of the fireplace in a semicircle. Arty had taken control of an old armchair and had been making himself comfortable as Bear fought with a spring that stuck out of the old sofa he elected to be on.

“Again?” Bear said while trying to stick the annoying spring back into the cushion.

“Well this is like the start of some scary story, you know the kind we told as little colts. You know, the two mates or group of ponies get lost or stuck inside an old spooky house that turns out to be haunted, then they have to try and escape while at the same time retaining their sanity from the psychological trauma of the whole spectral terror that stalks them. You know, that sort of cruddy story.”

“Uh… I guess you’re right. So…. You think this place is haunted?” Bear asked nervously.

Arty nodded vigorously, “oh no doubt. Old places like this have loads of history in them and all those events that happen in the house build up until they start taking a life of their own and terrorize ponies with visions from the past and demons that have slipped through the veil of time and matter.”

“Okay now you’re making fun of me.”

“Of course I’m not, I’m being serious. Or should I say…. Dead…. Serious.” Arty proceeded to make ghostly moans that echoed off the parlor walls. Bear laughed nervously, “Okay I get your point, you can stop now.”

“Oh don’t tell me you still get scared of those stories. I still remember that one time during the summer when you hid underneath the bed for an entire night after that ‘headless’ pony story.”

“I was a little colt okay! And it was a scary story.”

“Or what about a month ago when I told you there was a rabid squirrel monster loose near the lumber mill so you went to work each day with a Billy club?”

“That wasn’t fear! That was called being prepared.”

“Oh of course, that’s entirely different” Arty said sarcastically.

“You know what I’m done talking to you, I’m going to sleep.” Bear said. To make sure the point went across that he was done talking he turned his back to Arty and tried to get comfortable on the sofa while still avoiding the spring that stuck out awkwardly from the cushion. The Pegasus pony smirked and laid back in his armchair, staring into the fire.

“resi….”

Arty glanced up at the sound of a masculine voice. “Huh? You say something Bear?” he asked.

“Put a sock in it Arty, I’m not talking to you, I’m done with your bloody ghost stories for one night.” Bear said with a wave of a leg.

“I’m not telling ghost stories, just never mind, forget about it.” Arty snorted in irritation and laid his head back against the armchair. For a while there was only the sound of the crackling fire, it was tranquil but sleep alluded Arty.

“Reside…”

He looked up again, this time it had sounded like it had come from the kitchen, not in the parlor. It was distant, masculine and despite what common sense said it was definitely a voice. “Bear?” Arty whispered to his friend but he did not stir, “Bear you awake?”

Nothing. Standing up from the armchair Arty took a look around the parlor. The voice was silent now, only the sound of the fire and the wind could be heard. Perhaps it was all just the wind? Still better safe than sorry. Walking around, his hooves caused the floorboards creak with each step, he checked the dark recesses of the parlor before going to the door that led to the kitchen. He placed an ear to the kitchen door but heard nothing on the other side.

“Here.”

Arty jumped, the voice had come from behind him. He whirled around but found nothing except the stair staring back at him. The dark abyss that was the second floor seemed to be darker now, like a thick miasma had come and covered the front of the stairs. Arty’s heart felt like it had exploded at the shock and still it beat rapidly. All he could hear now was his own breathing.

It was just the wind, or my imagination he thought, don’t be such a Bear and go check it out. With a burst of confidence he stepped up the stairs. He reached the top and heard the wind howl louder for a moment.

“I.”

The sound of the voice sent a cold shiver down Arty’s spine and he could swear that he could see his own breathe. It suddenly and noticeable get colder, but then again the second floor was mostly open to the rest of the forest. “Just the wind, just the wind, just the wind,” Arty kept telling himself. He was shaking now but kept walking forward. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness.

“Reside.”

Arty stopped, the voice had come from the room next to him, one of the empty stuffy rooms. Now though in the thin amount of light the moon and stars gave he could see something was indeed inside the room. A rocking chair, a chair that Arty knew had not been there before. He stepped into the room and his shadow covered the rocking chair. He entered the room and stepped to the side to let the light in again but found that the chair had disappeared. A shiver went down Arty’s spine; he was running out of explanations. Whispers came from the darkness, unintelligible words that seemed malicious in what they said. Arty slowly backed out of the room, the whispers ceased and his heart thumped faster in his chest. He breathed heavy and he was sure now he was seeing his own breathing in clouds of white vapor.

He turned suddenly, something had scurried into one of the rooms. He breathed an apprehensive sigh, it was probably just an animal- nothing else. Well whatever it was it could do its own thing for all Arty cared for. He quickly descended the stairs again back to the fire. Bear was asleep by now on the sofa, unmoved and the fire was beginning to die down into hot embers. Arty lay back into his armchair, feeling calmer now that he had found his fears unfounded. If that animal was still there in the morning Arty would be sure to give it a kick.

He awoke with a start in the middle of the night, after the fire had stopped burning and the room had turned dark. He looked around in hopes of finding what had woken him but instead he found nothing but the old parlor. Something about all of this seemed wrong to Arty but he couldn’t figure it out. He turned to the sofa to see if Bear slumbered still, his heart sank suddenly.

The sofa was empty, Bear was gone.

The Pegasus jumped out of the chair but slipped in something slippery. He clamored to the floor in a heap of pain. He looked down at what he had fallen in. He stifled a terrified shout and looked down at himself. He was covered in blood, deep red blood. He shoved himself out of the puddle and struggled out of the blood. He looked down at himself, his hooves were covered in the stuff and he felt stickiness on his face where he had laid his head on the floor. His heart beat with ferociously in his chest that it hurt. Through panicked breathes of air he stared at the puddle. The puddle was thick and a trail of the terrifying liquid ran around the armchair and towards the kitchen door. It almost looked like whatever, or whoever, had been bleeding had been dragged away. The terrifying thought occurred to him that it might have been Bear. Shakily he stood up and followed the blood trail from the armchair to the door.

The whispering began again from the darkness, sometimes it sounded like obscure calling but other times he could hear his own voice speaking even though he did not say a word. Arty reached the kitchen door and found it slightly ajar, the door’s handle covered in prints of blood. Carefully he pushed open the door. The vegetation was gone from the kitchen, no light shined from outside and low bass hum filled the room. It tugged and hurt his head to hear the sound and quickened his heart. Every fiber of his being told him something was wrong and not to enter the kitchen. He did so anyway, his friend might be hurt.

His ragged breathing filled the kitchen as he entered. He jumped when a rusty pan fell from the kitchen’s counter and clattered to the floor. He turned to run back into the parlor but ran instead in a wall. He stepped back in confusion and terror. The door to the parlor was gone. There was just a wall with crusted rust, or was it blood?

He turned back around to see the rusted old kitchen. He spotted on the floor the trail of blood lead to another door across the kitchen. The door creaked open on its own when the pony took a single step forward to it. Inside were stairs that led into a thick darkness, a basement.

A moan from the basement spurred him in the gut. It sounded like Bear. Momentarily forgetting his terror he ran across the kitchen and stopped right before the stairs. Mustering his last remains of courage he entered the basement.

It was a suffocating darkness. “B-bear?” He called out. Not even an echo returned to him in the thick silence. The ground felt sleek but he refused to wonder what it was that made it so. Something stirred in the darkness, moving papers and bottles. “Bear?” He called out again.

“Behind you.”

The voice from before whispered into his ear, his heart beat impossibly fast; his breathing became ragged and strained. He shook badly as he turned around. He saw only darkness as something grabbed him.

Arty woke up screaming.

Bear jumped from his sleep and fell off the sofa. He quickly got up and looked around but saw that it was Arty screaming from where he had been sleeping in his armchair.

“Arty! Arty calmed down!” Bear shouted and shook his screaming friend. Arty though kept screaming until finally his voice gave out and he was out of breath. Even then he let himself breathe more before continuing to scream in short burst.

Slowly he calmed down and his heart slowed down once he saw that sunlight flooded the room and it was Bear who had been shaking him. “Are. You. Calm. Now?” Bear said to his hysterical friend.

Arty took a few breathes, calming down finally he said hoarsely, “Yeah…I’m… I’m fine now.”

“Now, calmly, I can’t stress the word calmly enough, tell me why you were screaming.”

Arty spoke quickly, frantically, and related the story of his dream to his friend, including the part of going upstairs. Bear looked bemused despite the grimness of it all, “So what? You scared yourself from your own little story?”

“It wasn’t me, it was bloody well real you git! I mean it was a dream… I think but it looked so real. And I know I wasn’t asleep when I went upstairs! Besides what about you, you must have experienced the same stuff!”

Bear shook his head, “just the usual weird dreams. Something about feeding apples to fish, or I was the fish I’m not sure.”

Arty still shook badly but seemed calmer now, “then… I guess it was just a nightmare.”

Bear shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell ya mate, but its morning now so how about we put this place behind us right quick?”

Arty nodded, “Nothing would sound better.”

Bear gathered their things since Arty couldn’t stop shaking. Just to be sure as well Bear checked the upstairs for the animal Arty said he saw though found nothing, he guessed it must have left during the night. Descending the stairs though the Cobalt pony noticed something strange.

The Kitchen door was slightly open. Pushing the door opened he entered the kitchen. “Hey Arty? Come over here.” There was a slow shuffling as Arty hesitantly stood next to Bear. The poor Pegasus’ heart jumped into his throat when he saw what Bear was looking up. Bear looked to his friend and asked, “Did you manage to get the basement door open?”

Arty responded by sputtering incoherently. Bear rolled his eyes, “Oh not that again, calm down. I’m putting your fears down once and for all. Let’s go into the basement and I’ll show you nothing’s down there. Bear walked into the kitchen. “Wait! Are you insane?!” Arty shouted. He hesitated but slowly followed behind his friend to the basement door. It was just like he remembered it, a pitch blackness with no light managing to enter the stairway.

The two looked at each other and descended the stairs together.

“Well I can’t see much.” Bear said.

“I really hate basements now.” Arty responded.

“Hold on my hoof stepped over something.”

“Please don’t let it be a body…”

“No, no. It’s not a body. Its… it’s a…”

Bear never finished his sentence. Instead the pair turned to screaming. They both clamored out of the basement. They pushed and shoved each other to be the first out of the mansion’s door and back into the forest to escape the horror they had seen in the mansion’s basement. The pair was still screaming even when they were fully out of sight.

Back in the mansion some unseen voice laughed softly, his voice carried by the wind. Slowly but steadily the mansion door closed by itself, the broken lock locked the door shut.

It was a long time before the pair was forced to stop running from their terror. Exhausted, bruised, cut up by briar, and covered in mud they lay on the rediscovered path. It wasn’t the same path that they had been taking before but it was a path.

“We…. Never… speak… of that… again” Bear breathed.

“Agreed. Never again!” Arty responded.

For a while the two laid there, panicked but unable to keep going. Finally they managed to at least stand up. They ate what little food they had left right there on the path and finished what was left of their water. They continued to sit there then, not sure which direction to go and in too much aching pain to move. Not much was spoken between them, neither knew the direction to go and they still were not sure what to say. Someone else though spoke for them.

“Well now, what have we here? Two tired colts rest on the path to my hut? I wonder what brought them this far into this treacherous forest.”

The pair turned around toward the voice to see a strange pony. Rather it wasn’t a pony but a Zebra if their time in school had taught them anything about types of horses and ponies. The black and white stripes gave her away.

Arty spoke first, “It’s a bit of a longish story, miss…”

“Ah yes, I am Zecora, I live in this forest. You two might be?”

“I’m Bear and that’s Arty. We’re sort of travelers.”

“Sort of, you say, Little Bear?”

“Little?”

“Well it’s more like lost,” Arty said, “Don’t suppose you know the way out of this home of yours eh?”

“Well of course I do, Pegasus, you could of just flown up to see for yourself, you are on the parapets of this forest.”

“Easier said than done, miss,” Arty said as he stretched his tired wings.

“Oh thank Celestia we’re almost out of this forest. Would you trouble us some more Zecora to point us the way.” Bear asked.

“Follow the path I have just come. You will find your way from there weary travelers. I think perhaps your journey in this forest is at an end.”

“Hopefully for good too,” Arty said.

The pair gave their undying thanks to Zecora, who seem calmly flattered over the whole affair. They slowly walked the way pointed to them. The Zebra had told them that a town lay on the edge of the forest, a place of peace and friendship that sounded so foreign to them. She called it Ponyville but perhaps to Bear and Arty it could be a new home for them.