[Bridlebank Beach] The Lost Library - The Search is On!

[brianblackberry]

Trixie watched in shock as green flames engulfed the strange sea-creature, revealing its true mechanical form and freezing it in its tracks. "Crude ... very crude, but at least you did some-" just than the Doctor started another one of his babbling rants about what just transpired, admonishing Malediction for setting the creature "ablaze." Trixie just snorted dismissively; she could agree with the fact the other blue unicorn was crude and acted before thinking, she couldn't see what the big deal was about some old, likely malfunctioning, machine.

Strangely, though, the disturbance she felt only grew in intensity - the reason for the unnatural feeling was now apparent, but she couldn't figure out why it was all around them. Her unease only grew as she watched yet another one appear right under that tag-along tourist unicorn. "Jump, you foolish foal!" The mint colored unicorn elected to scream instead, a scream Trixie never heard the likes of before, like a thousand voices all at once blaring in a multitude of musical pitches, almost bursting her eardrums. Trixie just clenched her eyes shut as she covered her ears with her forehooves. When she looked back up, the creature was stumbling blindly around.

Trixie was about to give her commentary on that unique attack when most of the beach itself became alive, the sands everywhere rising as more of the metallic creatures awoke all around them, screaming "DE-TAIN" in concert with their eerie mechanical vocalizations. Trixie's first instinct was to bolt, to just get the heck out of there, and at first that is exactly what she did, running towards what appeared to be the relative safety of the city. Then she remembered ... she remembered how her reaction to seeing an Ursa Minor was to run screaming like a frightened little foal. "I'm not a coward!" She exclaimed out loud as she stopped in her tracks and turned around, catching the wind perfectly to leave her cape billowing around her.

Still, what could she do? There were so many of them! She couldn't immobilize them all! And maybe she could wreck one or two with lightning, if she worked really hard ... but it was better for zapping annoying pegasi, not bringing down monsters! Was she doomed to keep ending up in circumstances where her magic would fail her? "NO!" She exclaimed to herself. She absolutely REFUSED to be humiliated anymore! She could do this, it was just a show! A different kind of show than she was used to, but she was an expert at showponyship!

With a confident smirk she stood up on her hind hooves. "Now, my dear audience and companions! Prepare! Watch, in awe, the amazing magical monster-dazzling magic of the Powerful Lady of impossible feats by wizardry, Trixie!" With that, Trixie did what she knew best - a show of beautiful illusion and light! Large multicolored balls of light appeared, sparkling brilliantly around the blue unicorn, her cape billowing in some faux wind for extra dramatic effect. With an overly dramatic tone she called to her erstwhile companions, "When I say, run! Run to the city!" With that, the various rainbow colored sparkling spheres of light lunged forward, aiming towards all the various mechanical creatures. Trixie knew she couldn't destroy them, but she could dazzle and blind them!

She gestured outwards, sending the sparkling comets of light off across the beach to float right in the faces of the slow moving creatures, and yelled "RUN!" With that cue, she brought her forehooves sharply downward, and each ball of light began to spin, releasing a shower of brilliant sparks in every color of the rainbow before exploding right in front of the creatures.

[Tempest Rime]

"YES!" Mal snapped at the Doctor as he commented on her pyromaniacal tendancies. "IT'S KIND OF MY M.O.! But keep up with the bumbling idiot act, it's helping me recharge a bit." She scowled at him and was about to berate him for being interested in these worthless machines... machines? The angry noise she'd heard must have been metal stress rather than anger.

Before she could reflect further, more of the things started bursting from the ground. Peacekeeping, one mentioned. They must be some kind of police. Mal hated police, and these were police things she could kill without a second thought. She grinned widely, this was gonna be fun. Unforunately, before she could fully summon up her strength, she still needed a little time to recover. She saw the green unicorn take one out with a precision attack. "Nice shot! Now that's what I'm talking about!" She smiled, her respect for the meek pony instantly growing a hundred fold.

Another machine burst up from underneath the Doctor's cart with a loud clang. "ILLEGALLY PARKED VEHICLE DETECTED. APPLYING WHEEL BOOT." The robot struggled out from under the car and clamped some kind of assembly to the wheel, further immobilizing the vehicle and adding insult to the injury it had already sustained from Mal's flames.

Meanwhile, the out of control robot staggered towards them while Trixie ranted on about something or other. Mal stepped in to cover the irritating blabbermouth. Better to help than to be squashed by a bunch of rusty antiques. This one was not damp from sitting in the ocean, so she applied only a minimal amount of flame, relying on the flammability of metal to her assault. She struck it in the chest, and maintained the spell, allowing it to catch the machine ablaze. The cold flames froze joints and warped metal while they burned, though they were nowhere near as intense as the flame she'd used on the cart.

The titanic equinoid lilted to the side as it ground to a halt. "ERROR. CATAZZZZZZTROPHIC DAMAGE DEZZZZZZZZZTECTED. SHUTTing down..." The rush of victory was short lived as two more of the things burst forth to replace it.

Fortunately, Trixie finished her spell just in time. Mal didn't want to appear cowardly herself, so rather than run alone, she grabbed the green unicorn's hoof. "Come on, greenhorn, it's tactical retreat time." She pulled Lyra along into a building.

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves stared around wide-eyed as all the clockwork started popping up out of the sand. And then at the one popping out from under his beloved cart! "I will have you know that I have illegally parked all over equestria, and I've never gotten in trouble for it before! You're not proper coppers, you're maintenance cogs! You're not supposed to be ... ARGH! Why aren't you all fixing stuff?"

"SPARES STORES DEPLETED. SUPPLY CENTRAL UNRESPONSIVE. ACCEPTABLE SPARE PARTS FOUND." The clockwork pony looked at Doctor Whooves where he stood next to his cart, which was rocking as the other pony struggled in the sand under it. "DETAIN. DETAIN. DETAIN."

The booming voices of the clockwork ponies sounded all around them as they started fleeing the scene, all of the mechanical equines converging on the four ponies.

"Not likely!" Doctor Whooves cried as he jumped into the cart and cranked a wheel, causing two long poles to pop out of the sides of the cart, and flipping forward to form the tongue. He rolled under the cart, next to the emerging clockwork horse, and kicked off the wheel with the locking mechanism. The clockwork horse grabbed at him, but Doctor Whooves kept rolling and got out of the way fast enough, coming up under the harness. "Manual control, then!" His hooves beat at the sand, kicking up trails as he peeled off, pulling his odd now-three-wheeled cart behind him, leaving behind the wagon wheel, the boot, and the herd of clockwork ponies.

Instead of diving into one of the buildings, he circled around it, ducking past several mechanical monsters who were too busy flailing ineffectually at the blinding and sparking balls of light. As Malediction and Lyra made their way into the building, he looked through the massive broken hole in the wall on the far side, grinning back to them. "Well, today's an interesting day, then, isn't it? I'd offer you a ride away from these things, but someone put a hole in my gearbox, so that's going to take a while to fix! Let's go hit the ruins - at least those walls are made of stone!"

As they fled, Doctor Whooves caught up with Lyra and ran alongside her a moment.

"Now that sonic thing was neat. Wish I had a sonic thing I could use to ... sonic ... things. That looks really handy!"

He led the way into the tall stone walls, the slick, smooth, half-tumbled ancient structures rising up around them as they galloped down the dirt streets. The group took one turn, then another, coming up on three clockwork ponies blocking the road. "DETAIN. DETAIN."

"Whoop!" cried Doctor Whooves. "Not that way!" He wheeled around and headed up another street. Time and again they turned corners to find themselves facing clockwork ponies, till finally they had ducked into a building. Doctor Whooves had his cart pressed back into the room, and was hiding next to a half-crumbled wall to peek out as clockwork ponies marched past in the street, not seeming to notice them. As they turned the corner and were out of sight, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Good running, everypony!" he said softly. "Well. Now we know what scared off the ponies that used to live here!"

[brianblackberry]

Trixie was caught up in the moment, her mind singularly focused on creating a cataclysm of fireworks and dazzling lights of every conceivable color. It looked as if the entire sky was a bedazzling rain of explosions, a cacophony of lights and sounds, of thousands upon thousands of brilliant, even blinding sparks flying everywhere. The robots lumbered about, dazed and confused, their glass eyes blinded by the brilliance, their curved, circular ears deafened by the roar. The one thing that could be heard amongst the special effects show, the likes of which had never been seen in a generation, there was one other noise that rose above it all - the joyous laughter from one azure unicorn, her purple star-laced cape billowing in the air. So what if that blasted purple unicorn defeated an Ursa Minor?! I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, Lady of Magic, Mistress of the Mystic Arts, am holding off an entire army of killer mechanical ponies! MWHAHAHA!

She noticed the eccentric Dr. Whooves run off with his broken cart towards the city, leaving a trail of strange blue fluid unlike any she had ever seen - it glowed, yet it didn't feel like magic. And he was pulling it along with only three wheels no less! "Why is that foal so attached to his cart! Is it really all that important, broken like that?! Who places that much importance on a cart any-" It was at that moment Trixie realized the irony of her thoughts, the hypocrisy of her mocking her strange companion's devotion to his cart when her own wagon was the center of her former life. She could remember her emotional joy when she discovered he had even meticulously pieced together the remains of her former traveling stage in his basement.

Maybe that's why he had done it. He understood what it was like for your home to be on four wheels - what for other ponies would be just a way to carry things from one place to another ... was, for you, home, carried along as one wandered, unable to stay in one place.

It was at this moment of introspection that Trixie was caught off-guard. She may have blinded all of the bizarre, vaguely pony-like .. THINGS ... lumbering about on the beach, but the ground below had yet to reveal all its clockwork inhabitants. Right behind Trixie arose a mound of sand, screaming in mechanical monotone with deafening and shocking clarity, "DE-TAIN. DE-TAIN. DE-TAAAAAAAIN!" Trixie was caught completely off guard and squealed fearfully as she slide down the suddenly unstable sandy slope, her loss of concentration ending her majestic fireworks display.

Trixie suddenly lost her former confidence as the nearest of the recovering mechanical monsters began to converge on her. There was no time to create another large spectacle like the one she had just performed, even if she had the strength and energy to try. She had to get out of there. Right now! "Where to go, where to go, where to gooooo-o!!" She looked about frantically and saw the group of nearby dwellings that only had one clockwork creature in her path. She galloped towards it as fast she could, releasing a single explosion of red and green fireworks point blank in its artificial eyes before running around it. The creature was blinded, screaming its confusion, "VISION IS IMPAIRED! I CANNOT SEE! VISION IS IMPAIRED!" It was the distraction she needed. As she raced between the dwellings, looking for an opening, Trixie couldn't say if the clockwork creature was truly damaged or just momentarily blinded - she didn't know nor care. All she wanted was to get away. Spotting a small hole in the side of one of the smaller houses, just big enough for her to squeeze through, she dove for it and forced her way in. She squeezed and wriggled, then suddenly tumbled free, rolling across the floor to come up hard against the opposite wall. UMPH!! Not the most dignified of entrances but at least she was safe for now.

[BaconofChaos]

"Come on, greenhorn, it's tactical retreat time."

Lyra didn't argue when Malediction pulled her away from the battle. Running through the building and out of the rear door, the pair caught up with the Doctor and his battered cart.

"Now that sonic thing was neat. Wish I had a sonic thing I could use to ... sonic ... things. That looks really handy!"

Lyra shook her head to try and clear it. The sonic spell had taken a lot out of her, leaving her tired, and her ears were ringing too. "Um, I guess. Handy for blowing things up maybe." she said a little loudly. "I'm not really sure how I did that, I just kinda panicked. It was like my magic sound spell, but much stronger. I don't think I'll be able to do that again. Not for a while." She sighed loudly. "Magic isn't my strong point." she admitted.

The ponies weaved their way through the ruined city, avoiding the clockwork creatures that hounded them at every turn. Ducking into a small, but mostly intact building, they eventually gave their pursuers the slip. Lyra fell to the ground, exhausted. "We... made... it!" she panted. "Where's Trixie?" she asked. Almost on cue, The Great and Powerful Trixie scrambled into the room through a small hole in the wall, crashing into the other side in a comical fashion. "Ouch. Never mind." she said, moving over to help Trixie get up.

As she did, she spoke to Doctor Whooves. "Doctor, what were those things exactly? I mean, they're machines, but they move and talk like ponies... well, kinda." she added, remembering the fake ponies' strange way of speaking and odd movements. "They must be magical, right?" she asked, remembering the strange presence the unicorns had felt before the arrival of the first metal police pony.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal stopped to take stock of the surroundings as they made their way into the shelter, noting the suddenly abandoned appearance and the giant hole rendering it an insecure place to hole up. Then the Doctor caught up to them, dragging that wretched cart with him. "Ugh, what is it with you and that cart. Just let 'em have it, it'd buy us some time." She rolled her eyes, but made no move to enforce her suggestion as they continued to evade the scores of robots.

As they finally reached a safe building, she breathed an exasperated sigh at the Doctor. "I doubt these things scared off the locals. Look around." She gestured around the room which, much like the others, had been left as if the inhabitants had just up and vanished in the middle of dinner. "Even scared ponies will grab supplies if they're fleeing for good like this. And this food that's just laying out, it's rotten. If they'd fled, they would have had plenty of time to get to another town. News would have gotten out. By now there'd be royal guards, or at least historians tearing this place apart to salvage those things. And that still doesn't explain the aura."

Mal snorted, conjecture was not something she really cared to do at the moment, so she contented herself with merely pointing out the mysteries. "Anyway, whatever those things are, they can be broken, so our best bet is to rest up, then smash our way out. I hate to say it, but this is really a job for the big guns. Let the lawpony filth work for their paychecks for once, this isn't our problem."

She glanced at the Doctor. "Oh, and before you even suggest it, I am not splitting up. You tried to ditch me once, I'm sticking to you like a particularly painful burr. End of discussion." A particularly perverse idea occured to her, and she grinned maliciously at Lyra. "Heh, maybe those things out there used to BE the locals. You heard them, they're looking for spare parts. All the more reason to not get caught, heheheheheh."

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves smiled and nodded to Lyra as she talked about how hard it was to do magic. "Magic is as magic does, m'dear," he said softly. "It's not about how much power you have, it's about how you use it. History's taught us that the slightest nudge, in the right place, can move great kingdoms. For want of a nail, and all that. The reason your talent is special is because it's versatile. You can play soft music, or shatter glass, depending on what you need. That's a wondrous thing!"

He smiled as he looked up, seeing Trixie tumbling in. "And you! Trixie, that was inspired! Truly one of your better performances! You should do Improv more often!"

He sighed as he looked to Malediction. "But you ... why is everything a reason to be angry? Don't you get *tired* of getting angry? No, no, I don't think you should leave now. We're stuck on just our hooves, and those things don't get tired. If they decide to chase us down in a flat-out escape, they'll run us down. I think we should stick together, certainly."

Doctor Whooves shook his head. "And of course the food here is rotten. This entire abandoned city is bare stone - it's been abandoned for thousands of years. But the food back in the wooden houses? That was fresh. Did *you* take the time to grab a snack on your way out? No, they only showed up recently, and the ponies who live here only ran away recently. Though, of course, a historian *has* shown up to take care of this place. Don't worry so much. I do this sort of thing all the time."

He didn't acknowledge the very disturbing possibility she'd brought up ... instead turning to Lyra to answer her question. "They're mechanical, yes. They're maintenance ponies - built to maintain the city. They're enchanted by an advanced form of a spell called a 'come-to-life" spell. It does what it sounds like - it brings things to life. The one you can find in a library these days only works for as long as you concentrate ... but this spell is self-powering, drawing off the leylines of this area to keep them going."

"Wait ..."

Doctor Whooves turned around. "What food?!" He looked deeper into the bare stone basement to see the rotten old remnants that Malediction was talking about. "Well... that's interesting." He headed down to look at the remnants. "A picnic basket. Why use a picnic basket here? There's no view, no soft grass or sunny sky, just an old, dank, stone basement. Who would find an old, dank, stone basement to be fascinating? Well, I would, of course, but we can safely assume I'm not normal. But this means somepony was used to coming here ... and if somepony is used to coming here, that means that when they needed to hide, they'd go somewhere familiar. Which means..."

"We're not alone!"

[brianblackberry]

Trixie laid awkwardly, hooves over head, peering myopically into the dark room that, to her perspective, was upside down. She twitched her tail in annoyance before rolling herself over to right herself. Letting out a huff, she looked around - or tried to, anyway, the building was pitch black save for the small light coming in through the hole where she'd made her less than stellar stage entrance. "At least no one witnessed that..." she murmured, but found herself responded to by the now familiar voice of that mint colored unicorn, Lyra. She was trying to help Trixie to her hooves! "I'm fine!", Trixie clipped off, slightly annoyed, as she straightened out her appearance. It was bad enough she was in such an undignified position, she certainly didn't need any pony's help.

At least the eccentric Doctor was praising her already. Hard enough to get him to do that. Sort of ... did he say her display of magical majesty was ... "improv"? "Hmmph! Improv! ... Improv! The Gre- Er, Lady Trixie does not do Improv! Each of her spectacular displays of majestic magic is a carefully orchestrated masterpiece of legendary prestidigitation!" Trixie held her forhooves up high, standing in a wide stance on her hind hooves, usually there was some flash of multi-colored light that came with such a pronouncement, but she realized she hadn't recovered enough yet as barely a spark burst from her horn. With it being so dark, there was no point in reaing up so proudly.

Trixie just let out a condescending snort of laugher at the idea that those mechanical creatures were out to use ponies for spare parts. Truth was, Trixie has no idea what their purpose was, but she wasn't going to allow that Malediction pony scare her! Trixie needed to maintain the upper hand, especially if this crazy unicorn was planning to stay with them until they could find the library. Perhaps she could be ... useful. She was far more impressed by the eccentric earth pony's accurate assessment of the area, How could he know that? There is no way he could sense the ley lines below us, even with how much magical radiance they are emitting! Trixie contemplated that for a few moments. That Doctor stallion knew a lot more than he was letting on. She was about to direct the conversation away from his and Mal's discussion of rotten food and back to what he knew about the magic here when his last words suddenly put her on edge...

"We're not alone!"

Trixie looked around vainly in the dark. She couldn't sense anything, hear anything, see anything. Whatever it was, they were ... They weren't of magic. "Wait ...", she stated in a hushed tone as she focused. She was mentally exhausted, but she had enough focus to create one tiny floating flame, enough to dimly light the room. "See! The Powerful Lady Trixie always has a solu-" Trixie stopped as she noticed some of the flickering shadows in the corner of the room were of ponies. Several ponies, huddling together. Trixie let out a brief squeak, almost extinguishing her own magical flame before recovering her composure. Whoever they were, they were cowering, eyes wide and fearful. Not somepony to be afraid of. "Who are you!?"

Three of the ponies were various shades of blue, with manes of blue, green, and white. It seemed to be a father, mother, and a foal, and the mother cried out, "p-please don't hurt us!"

Two others clutched each other not far away, their eyes wide. "Oh no! Are you with those... things?" said one of them fearfully.

[BaconofChaos]

"Magic is as magic does, m'dear. It's not about how much power you have, it's about how you use it. History's taught us that the slightest nudge, in the right place, can move great kingdoms. For want of a nail, and all that. The reason your talent is special is because it's versatile. You can play soft music, or shatter glass, depending on what you need. That's a wondrous thing!"

Lyra blushed as she thought on The Doctor's words. She'd never really thought of herself as being special, even though she wanted to be. She wondered if she had been underestimating herself all this time.

She sat quietly in the corner, having been rudely brushed off by Trixie. Lyra had only wanted to help. She shuddered and grimmaced at Malediction's suggestion that the clockwork creatures were ponies, but quickly dismissed the idea. That... couldn't happen... could it?

The others were arguing about... well, everything really. These ponies were so... shouty, for lack of a better word. And angry too, she supposed. Trixie was angry at the Doctor for accidently insulting her magic. The Doctor was angry at Mal for... being angry. And Mal was just angry. Lyra simply couldn't understand why they couldn't just be scared and confused like regular ponies would be...

"p-please don't hurt us!"

"Oh no! Are you with those... things?"

Exactly! Just like... that...?

Lyra returned to the group to see a group of ponies huddled together in the corner of the back room. They were absolutely terrified. Lyra moved forward, slowly so as not to startle them. Looking into their eyes she felt an odd sensation. She wasn't the most afraid one here, and it wasn't hard to see why. This strange group of three unicorns and an earth pony had burst into their hiding place while the footfalls of the clockwork police echoed around them... no wonder.

She moved ahead to the front of the group, putting on a brave smile. "It's okay, we're not here to hurt you." she said softly and kindly. "We're just hiding for a bit. Please, don't be scared."

"W-who are you?"

"I'm Lyra, this is Doctor Whooves, Malediction, and Trix- um... Lady Trixie. How long have you been here?"

"Days. We need help... please..." The apparant mother of the three blue ponys moved aside to reveal her foal, a boy who was lying on the ground. His front leg had been bandaged and a few specs of blood had seeped through the dressing. He attempted to shift position when Lyra got close, but he winced as he tried to move his obviously broken leg.

Lyra turned back to the others with an expression of determination. "We need to get these ponies out of here. We need to get out of here. Is there anyway we can sneak by those... things? Any ideas?"

[Tempest Rime]

Mal hesitated as the Doctor commented on her anger, a deeply weary look coming over her. She quickly turned away. "No. Anger is all I have, so just shut up about it already," she snapped. She fell silent for a little while, moving to the opposite side of the room from the others. She ignored them for a few moments, lost in thought for a moment. Then the Doctor mentioned that they were not alone, and she took a moment to compose herself before turning back to see what they had found.

Mal stalked up behind the others as Trixie lit up the corner of the room. "Psh, always so melodramatic." She peered coldly at the survivors. "Guess we know why nopony went for help, at least. They didn't get out." Mal turned away from them with an unsympathetic air. She glanced at the Doctor. "What was it you said again? They draw power from the lay lines? Sounds to me like the lay lines themselves must be messed up somehow. That would explain both the usual behavior and the nasty aura. If we could figure out what's causing that and fix it, they may stop acting so aggressively."

Hmm, maintenance constructs..." She frowned, thinking for a moment. "If that's the case, and they're still functioning at least somewhat properly, we might be able to distract them by damaging the buildings they're supposed to maintain. Smash one up good enough and it ought to keep most of them busy fixing it up. But if they've gone this far, it could backfire and they might go berserk, too. Either way, it wouldn't give us enough time to get him out of here," she glanced at the injured foal, "but we might be able to distract enough of them that we could move around a bit. Maybe even find the root of the problem."

Mal turned back to the survivors and stomped towards them, prompting the mother to step back in front of her children and whimper in protective fear. "What happened to wake up those things? Why did they attack your town?" She barked the questions sharply, causing the mother to burst into tears.

"Nothing!" She shrieked, terrified of the scarred and threatening unicorn. "There was nothing! I swear! Please," she sobbed, "my son-"

"I could care less about him, we're all stuck here you stupid nag, I just want to know WHAT HAPPENED HERE so I can FIX IT and GET OUT!" She raged pitilessly at the traumatized survivors.

[brianblackberry]

[[OOC Notes - Bramble asked me to go ahead of him in this round, we both felt it would flow the story a little better and give Trixie some excellent character development moments]]

Trixie scowled dismissively at the scared residents of the dwelling. Days, they said? Why didn’t they run away? They had a window of opportunity to just sprint away when those things were back underground! Cowardly ponies, not even trying to run for help. Silently, she thought that cold-hearted blue unicorn, Malediction, had the right idea when she started yelling at them. Trixie just wanted a way out, herself. Doctor Whooves' self-righteous little platitudes were getting on her nerves. That mangy unicorn might be angry, but at least she was thinking of a practical solution.

But then she saw him ...

Frightened, wide-eyed, shivering, was a small earth foal with a pale green pelt and a sky blue mane, cowering helplessly as close to his mother as possible with his bandaged and splinted leg. It was apparent that the injury was severe - broken, from the way he avoided putting any pressure on it, and the amount of pain any small movement he made brought to him. For a moment, all Trixie could do was look into his helpless eyes. Malediction's angry ranting sounded very muffled and far away ... in her mind, she saw a unicorn mare in a hospital bed, looking just as pale, just as weary, also wincing at every little movement. The little foal reminded her of the feelings she knew all too well, the feelings of helplessness, of being trapped, lost to despair. Of not having the power to do anything to help. And the quiet voice of that mare, quietly saying to her, "You're the Great and Powerful Trixie. You can do anything."

"I could care less about him, we're all stuck here you stupid nag, I just want to know WHAT HAPPENED HERE so I can FIX IT and GET OUT!”

Those last words snapped Trixie back out of her haze of memories; she briefly glared at the cold, blue unicorn, feeling true anger for the first time since those days wandering lost and starving in the Everfree forest, only this time the anger wasn’t directed at herself. Never. Never again, she'd PROMISED herself, would she allow anypony to die while she stood around helplessly. Through her raw emotions, she tapped deeper into the ley lines, giving her the mental focus she needed. The soft glowing of that single little flame became brighter, hotter, bathing the room with a harsh glare. She had never been so close to deliberately hurting somepony.

"I ... I can stay behind"

Trixie quickly turned her head. It was the little foal, standing as best he could, being so brave even with his terrible injury, his obvious terror making his tremble all over. He was the one Malediction wanted to leave behind - and far from being angry, he was being so selfless. Her harsh flame softened, as she felt a warm, soft emotion flood through her... Being angry wasn’t going to save them ... save him. She walked over to the young earth foal and gave him a warm smile and a soft voice, full of every ounce of confidence she could muster from all her years of showponyship. "Nopony is going to leave you behind. I, the Lady Trixie, the greatest Equine of our time, promise to you - I will use every ounce of magic at my considerable disposal to get you out of here safe and sound. You have my word on that, and I never go back on my word." With that, she slowly lifted the foal with her magic, taking his weight off that sorely injured leg and laying him as comfortably as she could on her back, wanting to avoid putting any more pressure on that fraction than she absolutely had to. That done, she turned around.

"Now ... Perhaps we can use ... Malediction's 'plan' to give us the opportunity we need to give these poor ponies an escape out of here. You three think you can handle that without the Powerful Lady Trixie, while I guide these wretched souls back to the hills outside of the city? I know it's asking a lot!"

She gave one last turnaround of her head and winked to the foal, "don’t worry, little foal, my magnificent magic will get you to safety."

[Bramble Rose]

As Lyra stepped forward to speak to the foal with such sweet kindness, and such determination, Doctor Whooves moved back a step, closing his eyes and letting out a long, relieved sigh upon sight of the huddled seashore ponies. They were all right. He'd been worried about that. Always hovering in the back of his mind, but he couldn't let it consume him. Now He could let it go, and the relief rushed through him almost as dehabilitatingly as the worry could have been.

More than anything, his heart ached to see little Sea Foam so injured. The foal was such an adorable little sort, always trotting in and out of the wavelets on the shore, worrying his mother that he'd go too far and get washed out into the sea... always bringing back the most interesting detritus that had washed up from who knows where. Exploring the beach as far as his tiny little legs could carry him.

It made him feel rather guilty for how exciting it still felt to see these ancient maintenance devices up and running - the opportunity to study them. But ... even that excitement paled before his driving need to see these ponies to safety.

All that was driven out of his mind as Malediction snarled at the foal, and at the survivors, shouting at them and raging at them and ... threatening to leave the foal behind? He gritted his teeth, seeing nothing but white for a few seconds... he opened his eyes, glaring at her intently, and was about to step forward when Trixie's own reaction cut him off.

Such a soft, confident response. He swelled with pride... he knew she'd had it in her. From the moment she'd faced off against that Ursa Minor, despite knowing that her stories were a lie, just to try to keep the good faith of those two foals... to try to protect them from their own foolishness.

He stepped forward and touched a hoof to the foal's shoulder. "Don't worry, Sea Foam," he said softly. "You can count on the Great and Powerful Trixie to protect you and bring you to safety."

The little foal looked up with his wide, trusting eyes, and then a bright smile spread across his face despite his pain. "Doctor Whooves!" the foal cried, "You've come to rescue us!"

The other ponies perked up, looking over. "Oh, thank goodness!" said one of the foal's parents. "I should have known that once something weird showed up, you wouldn't be far behind."

They stood up, coming over. Doctor Whooves laughed awkwardly, looking almost embarrassed. "Oh, nonsense... I just came by looking for some of that magnificent seaweed salad. Sea Breeze, Ocean Breeze, you know I can't resist those salads. Not like last time with those pirates, and that all-devouring slime... but goodness, how did you escape the notice of all those giant clockwork ponies for days?"

The survivors looked confused. One of them stepped forward to say, "All what ponies? There's only one of them, right?"

Doctor Whooves coughed. "Well... ah ... they might have gotten a little riled up somehow." He glanced briefly at Malediction. "There's just a couple more now... I don't think breaking down a bunch of historical old ruins and making them more ruin-y will get the clockworks all riled up ... but I have an idea. A few of us... myself included... can go get their attention and run off, getting them to chase us. While they're after us, Trixie can take the lot of you and head for safety! Once you get far enough away from the lay line, you all should be safe... they can't travel along the shore. I don't think. Unless there's a ley line along the shore..." He glanced at Trixie. "Can you see ley lines?"

[Tempest Rime]

Malediction smiled slyly at smugly. She'd noticed the little flare-up, and was actually rather proud of inspiring it. "I guess the Great and Powerful Trixie's got some FIRE in her after all... Alright, we can save 'em, so long as I don't have to deal with 'em directly. I'm not great at giving false reassurances."

The little hissy fit she'd thrown hadn't been just for fun. Mal had intentionally stoked up her anger in order to recharge her magical batteries. She needed all the energy she could get to face down these things, and she was certain another confrontation would be unavoidable. "I'm itching for a rematch with those things anyway." She stomped a hoof and conjured up a few wisps of green flame, letting them orbit around her head in a malefic halo, preparing them to lash out against her foes.

"Oh, and kid," she snapped, turning back towards the survivors. "Don't be such a martyr. If there's one thing I hate it's a whiny little martyr. If you're gonna get out of this, you're gonna have to WANT to live, 'cause if you don't you're as good as dead already. You don't want your family to get all sad and stuff because you DIED, do ya? Besides, if you don't act a little tougher, nasty ponies like me will walk all over you. Now all of you, pull yourselves together and get ready to make a break for it."

She glanced at Lyra, grinning maliciously. "How about you, precious? You gonna risk it all for fire and glory with us, or help the Great and Powerful Bleeding-Heart over there with the dead weight." Her grin vanished, and her voice softened for a moment. "She could probably use your help with the kid." With that, she steeled herself for a fight, ready to leap into action at the Doctor's signal.

[BaconofChaos]

Lyra listened to the others uneasily. Her original determination was wearing off after realising that the task ahead would mean that they were going to split up. Still, the others seemed confident. She honestly wished she could say the same. This was all so... big. A few days ago her biggest worry was that maybe she'd spent too much on that new dress saddle for Bon Bon's birthday. Now here she was trying to help a group of trapped ponies escape from crazed, giant, mechanical creatures. It was becoming overwhelming.

Splitting up. In all the stories Lyra had ever read, especially the horror ones, that was a bad idea. But it seemed like there was no other solution. Then that horrible Malediction came over to her with that evil grin.

"How about you, precious? You gonna risk it all for fire and glory with us, or help the Great and Powerful Bleeding-Heart over there with the dead weight."

Lyra grimmaced at Malediction's cold-blooded and nasty remark and was so close to just telling her to shut up there and then... until...

"She could probably use your help with the kid."

Something changed. Was that a hint of compassion from the previously heartless unicorn? Lyra looked back to to the fearful earth ponies. They were shivering, likely with fear as the weather was still temperate. Several had tears in their eyes. Lyra took a deep breath. She didn't have the luxury of cowering like a lost foal. Like it or not, these ponies were counting on them. On her.

"I'll go with Trixie." she said finally. "It will be much safer for everypony that way. Besides, if the clockwork ponies catch up to us, somepony will have to hold them off." she swallowed, trying to bring herself to finish. "I guess that pony will be... me"

[brianblackberry]

Trixie looked back at the idiosyncratic earth pony with astonishment and surprise. Did ... did he just call me the Great and Powerful Trixie?! It was a genuine surprise, completely out of left-field. All the time she'd been around him, he had refused to call her by her traditional showpony title, a title she took great pride in possessing. A title that he, seemingly, took great pride in refusing to acknowledge. But now? She hadn't done anything showy! She hadn't put on a show, or performed any sort of great magic, or indulged in a great wonder of mystic power, or ... or ... or anything! She was just about to ask when the local ponies suddenly swarmed the Doctor, recognizing him and hailing him as if he were some sort of hero. Trixie just rolled her eyes. Of course they knew him. Somehow, it made sense that they would.

Trixie huffed at the Doctor's inquiry, "Of course I can! With such knowledge and mastery of magic such as I, the Lady Trixie, possess, seeing ley lines is nothing less than second nature!" Trixie's boastfulness wasn't without a grain of truth - she could see them, when she focused and concentrated. All unicorns could sense them to some degree, but it took training and focus to see the aura of the lines as they zig-zagged throughtout the land. It just meant she would have to be more mentally focused, carrying the foal to safety along with his family, and balance that with reading the lines. It would be difficult, but she was sure she could do it! She was the Powerful Lady Tri- Wait, he called me Great and Powerful, why ... Why can't I call myself that? What is wrong with me?!

Trixie focused right on the Doctor, "I hope you really do have some brilliant plan this time to distract them! Trixie won't be there to pull your hind quarters out of the fire this time, so try not to get yourself killed or anything! You still owe me a trip to the library for those grimoires!" She paused for a moment before speaking in a much more hushed tone. "Do be careful, alright?" Trixie then walked with her head held high, looking forward as she walked right back to the deep blue unicorn, "Do make yourself useful and try to keep him alive. It's the only way you're going to get out of this."

With her horn, Trixie lit up the door handle with a soft purple glow, "Alright then, uhh ... Sea and Ocean ..."

The little foal on her back piped up, "M ... my dam's name is Sea Breeze, and my sire's is Ocean Breeze, Miss Lady Trixie."

"Uhh, yeah ... Right. Sea Breeze and Ocean Breeze, you follow in my hoof steps exactly, but not too close! Just in case they try blocking our path and I, the Powerful Lady Trixie, have to use my stupendous and awe-inspiring legerdomain upon those beasts of metal!" Trixie just stood there for a moment with her forehoof high as if she expected some sort of applause but none was forthcoming. Rather, it just felt like a surprised silence. Or maybe they were so tired from days of fear and hiding that they didn't have the energy to applaud. Yes, that would be it! "Ahem. Well, anyway, be ready!" Looking back to Lyra she gave a smirk, "You too, my dear, you follow up right behind them and let Trixie know of any danger from behind! I leave the rear guard to your capable hooves as we guide these poor, desperate folks to safety!"

With that, Trixie swung the door open with her magic, rushing out down the hallway with a wild grin on her face. She'd never quite felt this sort of grin before, but she imagined it was the same one that Doctor Whooves had on his face when he had seen the Clockwork Ponies for the first time. "Close your eyes!" she cried as she charged into the street, an explosion of colorful fireworks spraying from the doorway around her in every direction, brilliant but harmless explosions rocking the empty streets with their noise and colors, all in the hopes of blinding any nearby clockwork and giving them that small moment of safety. Even if it was a bit ... noisy and attention-getting, with the swirling lights and booming sounds. "Hold on, little Sea Form, Trixie is going to get you to safety!" she cried as she charged down the street. "Let's go!" And with that, Trixie galloped out of the door and towards the shoreline.

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves blinked in surprise, looking at Malediction. He'd never seen a pony do a 180 like that before. It actually made him feel a little better - he supposed nopony was completely beyond help. Not that he trusted her for a moment, but it still made him feel better. He nodded to her a bit, raising one eyebrow, a smirk to his lips.

He spoke to Lyra first, though, putting his hoof on her shoulder, giving her a confident smile. "Well, look who's all heroic! I'm sure these ponies are safe with you and Trixie. Just keep your cool, and don't get overwhelmed. Remember - your talent is music. It's all about the timing."

He called after Trixie, as she darted out, "Remember that we're supposed to be the distraction!" The words were almost lost in the concussive bursts, and the glow of light that came from outside. "Well..." He turned to Malediction. "Must say. You pleasantly surprise me. Let's go do something stupid, shall we?" He grinned a huge, eager grin, ducked under the harness of his three-wheeled cart, and darted out the door to see what could be seen.

The street was mostly empty - there were only two clockwork ponies stumbling there, blinded by Trixie's blast. Doctor Whooves watched the desperate herd of ponies galloping down the street towards the beach, then looked around to orient himself, muttering quickly. "Let's see... if the sun is that way... Hoofington would be over that way... the hoofington ley line would pass through there... and if that peak there is Mount Saddlecrest, then the Canterlot ley line would lay down that way. Hrm. well, that *is* the most powerful ley line here... "

He grinned over to Malediction as he finished these musings. "Right! Let's lead them up that way, then, to test your idea! Following that ley line should make them quite a bit stronger!" He reared up in excitement and then started to run, letting his cart bump against the two recovering clockwork ponies to get their attention, then galloping pell-mell up the street, in a completely different direction from Trixie and Lyra.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal shot a dirty look at the Doctor. "D-don't get me wrong, I just... I could see that there was no way I was gonna convince you to leave them, s-so my best course of action is to help. 'S not like I care 'bout 'em or anything." Mal was not a particularly good liar, and her tone gave her away.

She followed him out, spotting another trio of clockwork ponies milling about behind a ruined building. She whipped one of the flames she'd conjured out toward them and back, misjudging the distance and not actually striking any of them. "BLOODY MISSING EYE!" She shouted. The shout was enough to catch their attention, however, and they joined the other two in chasing them.

Now with five of the Autonies in persuit, she glanced around for a way to slow them down. "Doctor! See that fallen log just off the road way up there? Can you get your cart over that? If you can, I'll set it on fire with another curtain like I used to stop you earlier once we're past, it ought to at least slow these guys down. Not that they're that fast, but they won't get tired like we will."

She paused, huffing. Running and shouting were taxing on the breath. "I can try to levitate it some if that'll help, but I'd rather not blow my magic floating the cart around when there are things to burn."

[BaconofChaos]

"Well, look who's all heroic! I'm sure these ponies are safe with you and Trixie. Just keep your cool, and don't get overwhelmed. Remember - your talent is music. It's all about the timing."

"You too, my dear, you follow up right behind them and let Trixie know of any danger from behind! I leave the rear guard to your capable hooves as we guide these poor, desperate folks to safety!"

Lyra felt a little more confident with these words of trust from her fellow ponies, though she wondered exactly what the Doctor meant by timing. She supposed she'd find out soon enough.

As Trixie made the first move, she quickly ushered out the other ponies towards the door. She made sure they followed Trixie exactly. With her being the only pony able to see the ley lines, losing sight of her would mean potentially walking into danger. Keeping to the rear of the group she kept her eyes open for any further threats from the clockworks, while at the same time encouraging the earth ponies to move faster. "That's it! Keep going! Don't look back at them just keep moving ahead! Careful little one, you don't want to get left behind."

They'd made it to the shoreline without much trouble, most of the clockworks chasing the Doctor and Mal. Lyra still made a point of checking around them frequently. One of the metal ponies had popped out from underneath the sand after all. They could be anywhere. And they were.

Rising from the ocean were bubbles and seaweed, likely being disturbed by more clockwork ponies awakening. They were clearly heading towards the shore, though they were still a ways off. "Trixie!" she called out, "We've got company! Keep going! I'll distract them!"

Skidding to a halt on the sand, she quickly looked around for something to grab the attentions of the metal ponies. Seeing nothing special she cold use, she decided to rely on her magic. Focusing her mind, she summoned forth an instrument, one she wasn't used to, but something big and loud enough to attract notice. A large, shadowy form coalesced above her; that of a huge gong and mallet. Striking the gong, her phantom instrument rang out loudly. "Over here you big dummies!" she yelled.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie simply ignored the Doctor's protests about how noisy her magic was. She was performing on a stage, after all, and nothing was going to interrupt the show! Besides, the blinding magnificence of her glorious, rainbow-colored fireworks had dazzled the nearby clockwork ponies, giving time for her to make her dashing, heroic trek to safety!

"Remember to stay well behind, but not too well behind!" Trixie barked as she galloped quickly down the empty street towards the the edge of the ruins, using her magic to hold the little turquoise foal, Sea Foam, to her back, but not so tightly as to cause discomfort; if there was one thing she was going to make sure of, it was that he got to safety. No foal was going to be left behind on her watch!

Reaching the shoreline just outside the ruins, she could hear noise rumbling in the background - hopefully that of her erstwhile companion and that creepy blue unicorn doing their jobs. She wanted to turn around to look, but Trixie needed to focus. As they approached the ocean's edge, her horn glowed an even more glorious purple as her irises faded, the normal details of the surf and sand fading into a ghostly, semi-transparent fluid before her, flowing over a void of purple punctuated by distant stars. And there she saw it, zig-zagging as a beautiful rainbow of sparkling color, making its way through the void just under the translucent, fluid substance of the world itself - the spiderweb nexus of the local ley lines! She'd never seen so many ley lines clustered together, before!

"There they are!" The grayish-blue unicorn exclaimed to herself, but loud enough for everypony to hear. Slowing down, as she examined the pattern of the lines, picking out their brightest areas in the midst of the ruins, and more importantly, the darker empty areas where the lines were far enough away not to affect the local magic field. That was where they needed to go. Her horn dimmed and her eyes regained their beautiful purple color. She could see one of those empty areas up ahead, a nearby hill of tall grasses and reeds seemed to be the natural boundary of the area, the dark colors of an earthen ley line curving around the edge of it instead of going through the center of whatever was beyond. Trixie was about to boast how she had found safety for the group, when she heard that green unicorn taking up the rear of the group.

We've got company! Keep going! I'll distract them!

Trixie looked back, "Keep mov-", but her yelling was cut off by the loud banging of an ethereal gong that stood over the mint green unicorn's head, attracting the now visible clockwork rising out of the sea. Trixie wanted to turn around and drag that silly mare with them, but there was no time. She had to get the terrified group of earth ponies to the hill. "That stupid foal! She is going to get herself captured ... or worse!"

Looking back at the pack more sternly, she cried out, "Come with me if you want to live!" It sounded a bit dramatic, but she wanted to get the group past that hill now! She wasn't going to let that silly green unicorn stand their in the face of danger all alone! She'd return as fast as she could!

"Hold tight hon, Trixie is going to save you now", she winked to Sea Foam as she spoke with a much softer, friendlier tone; the little foal still clutching bravely to her back as she ran at full stride towards the hill.

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves lowered his head. "Right. Just need a run-up, then," he muttered, his hooves beating faster on the ground. "And with enough momentum, it's just a matter of ... timing." He gave a little jump, getting the front wheel off the ground, but too soon - it landed again, bounced off the ground, and he jumped again to get the wheel even higher. The front wheel hit the trunk and bounced into the air, the cart rattling as it took the jump and landed heavily on the far side, the cart letting out a loud cracking noise, as something broke. Doctor Whooves winced, but kept galloping. "Oh, baby, my poor girl... Don't worry, you'll get some TLC soon, sexy!"

He wasn't about to argue about the direction. He'd seen that go quite wrong before - groups split up mid-gallop, picked off one at a time. He didn't want to lose anypony today. However, he wasn't going to let her forget their role. "Don't light it up!" he cried as they passed the log. "Our job... is to get them... to chase us..." He was already panting hard as he pulled the three-wheeled cart. He hazarded a glance backwards.

There certainly was a large crowd of clockwork ponies chasing them. "PUR-SUE VAN-DALS! PUR-SUE SPARE PARTS! DETAIN! DETAIN!"

"Don't worry!" he panted. "I'll find you ... something to destroy ... very soon ... but first ... try to do something... nondestructive ... with that green fire. Something flashy... to get their attention ... but takes less juice!"

Ah, galloping. This certainly was how he knew he was in another adventure. He had a LOT of practice galloping. The previous Doctor Whooves had told him that he'd gallop a lot before passing the title along, but he'd had no idea. He did, however, start scanning the landscape. He couldn't see ley lines, but he could guess. "Ley lines," he started talking out loud - it always helped him think - "shape the land. The land... affects the ley lines... so what we need... is to find ... something major... to change..."

[Tempest Rime]

Mal scowled. Holding back was not her speciality. "Grrr, I wanna HURT something" She glanced back towards the robots as they galloped, contenting herself with a few taunts and jeers for the time being.

"Come on gear-brains, is that all? You're gonna need some backup if you want to catch us!" She hollered back over her shoulder and sending one of her wisps to sear a long line along the nearby trees. By their shouting, they didn't seem to like vandalism, so it seemed as good a way to attract their attention as any.

"I don't know much about ley lines, I always skipped that boring geomancy stuff. Wasn't really relevant to my problems anyway. So it's up to you, whatever you think will stop 'em works for me."

Letting the excitement get the better of her, she pushed ahead of the Doctor in another burst of speed. She was enjoying the chase so much that she wasn't thinking to hold much energy back. As she rounded a curve in the road, however, her taunts were realized. At least a dozen more of the machines had set up a blockade.

Mal skidded to a halt. "Anytime now," she said as one of the new robots narrowly missed grabbing her tail. Another good reason to keep it short. "Hope that thing can handle some offroading, Doc," she yelled, getting completely blindsided by one of the reenforcements as it charged her. It hit like a battering ram, knocking the wind out of Mal and sending her tumbling into the bushes, more briars. She pushed herself back up as quick as she could, now covered in scratches and very, very angry. After pausing for a moment to catch her breath, she screamed in anger. "GIVE ME A TARGET!"

[BaconofChaos]

Lyra watched as Trixie took the group over the hill. The showmare looked like she may have turned back but she kept going, much to Lyra's relief. If this was going to work it was better that she was on her own. The clockwork giants had just now made it to shore.

"DETAIN. DETAIN." They chanted in unison. Lyra made sure she was the only one in their sights before turning and galloping full pelt back towards the ruins. She'd managed to put some good distance between them, her lighter form allowing her to traverse the sand far quicker than the hulking metal monstrosities. She rounded a corner behind a building, a small one she'd noted on her way out, and one weith a back entrance. She dodged inside and listened out for the stamping of metal hooves. She called on her magic once again. The same spell, the phantom instrument, but with a twist. Focusing her mind she weaved two spells into one, a trick that she had practiced before but had never had a use for until now.

"What did the Doctor say? It's about the timing?" she mused. Listening out, she heard the metal ponies catching up, rounding the building. Now was the time! Finishing the spell, the hammer struck the gong, only this time, the sound didn't come from the gong itself. Instead it came from further into the ruins, much father beyond her hiding place. "LOCATION CONFIRMED. PROCEED IMMEDIATELY. DETAIN." came the familiar metallic voice, followed by the stomping of giant feet. "They fell for it! Phantom instrument and ventriloquism spells! I wasn't sure they'd be compatible, but it worked!" she exclaimed, though she did so quietly, so as not to alert her pursuers to her actual location.

Making sure that she was out of sight, Lyra slipped out through the other side of the building, making her way back to the hill by the beach. "I hope Trixie didn't have too much trouble." she wondered aloud.

[brianblackberry]

As Trixie moved towards the ridge, she could hear the fading gong in the distance receding behind her I hope that chubby little filly knows what she is doing. The Powerful Trixie does not need to spend her day saving everypony, now! Her irritation became actual worry when the gong went silent. Was Lyra captured? Or did she no longer need to make try to draw off the clockwork ponies, now that she was reaching safety for these simple ponyfolk?

All Trixie could do for now was reach the lonely reed-covered ridge outside of the ruins and village. As she approached, she again used her ley line sensing spell to view the world of magical strands that weave throughout the landscape. As the pupils in her eyes became almost transparent, she could see nothing but the magical underspace of purple swirls, nebula like clouds flowing along the channels of the earth itself, punctuated by star-like points of light. But ahead, she could see nothing but the pale, translucent substance of the real world - the path to the ridge was clear.

Trixie ran behind the tall ridge, beckoning the refugee ponies to follow her as her eyes returned to normal. "This is as far as your savior, the Lady Trixie, can take you! She must return to the city to rescue her poor devotees from the clutches of those mechanical monstrosities!" Carefully moving the little sea green foal, Sea Form, from her own back to that of his mother's with her magic, Trixie pointed to the distant road ahead. "Take that road towards to the sunrise, it will take you to the next town! Warn them of the danger that I, The Lady Trixie, go forth to conquer!" Fortunately, she knew the road itself rather well, traveling it from Fillydelphia to Manehattan and back again with her wagon. Smiling gently at the little Sea Foam, she lightly ruffled his mane, "See, brave little Sea Foam, now you and your parents are safe. The beautiful Lady Trixie always keeps her promises." With that, Trixie turned back around and leaped over the ridge, her cape billowing around her dramatically before she disappeared from their view. She was pleased with how her cloak naturally billowed as she lowered her head and galloped back to the ruins. She'd never galloped heroically towards danger before - it felt pretty good! She must make quite a striking image!

Unfortunately, Trixie had no idea what to do next. The thought of just taking off on her own did cross her mind - she hadn't signed on to risk her life! She just wanted to find and unlock the magical secrets said to be hold in the ancient library! Now, she wondered if the library even existed. Was this Doctor Whooves merely insane? She could just flee back to Ponyville, get her wagon from the Doctor's shop, and be off, the Great and Powerful Trixie show, on the road again! She looked back at the distant road, now almost out of view. Your Escape, screamed the back of her mind. It's right there! Besides, shouldn't you ... go makesure they make it to the next town safely?

A pair of clockwork ponies came out from around a corner. "DE-TAIN! DE-TAIN!" they cried. Trixie snarled in frustration and threw magical fireworks in their eyes. That burst of energy she'd gotten was starting to fade away. If this hadn't been such a nexus of ley lines, she'd have run out of power long ago. How could anyone have abandoned this place? The only city she'd ever been in that was more magically powerful was Canterlot itself!

A burst of green fire flared above the broken ridges of the ruins. Her desire to flee forgotten, she immediately started running towards it. "That's where he'd go, all right. Right in the middle of it all. And no doubt he'll need the Powerful Lady Trixie to bail his tail out of this mess once again!"

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves groaned as he saw the roadblock. Yes, he could normally do offroading pretty well - but he was missing a wheel, and having to pull his cart himself. It was a good thing he had so much practice with galloping! He lowered his head and kept his legs churning as he dodged around the clockwork ponies, slipping between trees. "Somewhere up ... this way ... something changed. You were right. Gotta find ... some way ... to change... ley lines. Hard to do. Gotta be ... something big ... something huge ..." He panted out the words as he galloped, getting winded trying to talk and flee at the same time.

Thank goodness those clockwork ponies were so slow. But why did there always have to be so many of them? Well, Doctor Whooves was familiar with this area. Just up ahead was an old washed-out gully, and that would lead them up into the mountains. "Something like ... a new forest ... or an avalanche..." Avalanche was his guess - that's why he was following this route, to the nearest major earth ley line.

He turned the corner and stopped dead, blinking. The gully was a gully and a path no longer. The whole thing was full of rushing water, washing around the trees still standing against the flood. Doctor Whooves just stared, blankly.

"This... this is impossible! This hasn't been a river for hundreds of years!" His brain started calling up maps of the area. Where did the water come from? What had changed it? Where was an alternate route?! They were trapped! All ways past the gully would now be underwater! This was big! This was huge! This was ...

"THIS is what changed!" he exclaimed! "This is what sent the ley line back into the city and repowered the clockwork's 'Come To Life' spell! OK, now it's easy! All we have to do now is stop the river from running!"

[Tempest Rime]

"A river?" Mal asked quietly. All at once her frustration and feelings of uselessness burst out, and her raised her voice in a screech of unconstrained fury. "A RIVER!? A BUNCH OF WATER IS CAUSING THIS?" She couldn't burn water. She'd gone through all of this only to find that once again her own magical infirmity was ruining everything.

Mal gathered up everything she had, all her anger, all her frustrations, all her irritation, and every last bit of magical reserves she had in her. With a scream like that of a raging beast, she unleashed a coruscating torrent of viridian flame at the river, sending fire streaming into it for a good thirty seconds. She didn't stop until her knees buckled and she felt a sharp pain in her horn. Her magic fizzled out, and she collapsed, breathing heavily. She looked up at the river hopefully, but it was no use. Her assault hadn't even chilled the running water enough to freeze its surface.

She let herself slump down completely onto the ground. She'd pushed herself too hard. She could hear one of the robots clanking up behind her with it's monotonous voice. She could feel it grab her hooves somehow, restraining her with some kind of manacles while it announced "SUSPECT DE-TAINED." There wasn't an ounce of rage left in her, and without that, Mal felt only a deep sense of hopelessness and despair. Even had she the energy to resist, at this point she would not have done so.