King Rexzon's Domain

Secret Tale followed Stranger Eater’s lead, heading in the direction of Zeranask’s office.

Zeranask: Oh, how this machine has seen it's use... It's such a shame some of the parts have started giving out in it... Just another kink to work out in the next version, I suppose...

*He didn't seem to notice the two of them enter, that is until Stranger decided to knock on the wall to announce their arrival. He then turned to greet them, a smile on his face.*

Ah! Stranger! What a pleasant surprise... I see you've brought a new employee?

"Oh yes," she said, "and one would have to be very careful while working on them so as not to cause an accident.”

She grinned and fluttered her wings excitedly. Caught in the moment, she was beginning to forget the danger of the situation. This was quite an adventure!

"Should we go tell Zeranask we’re here to start the repairs?"

*He took a few steps ahead of Secret, showing the direction the path leading to the overseer's office.*

Secret Tale looked again at the monstrous machine. If they were to make it fall, the crash would certainly not go unnoticed.

"But how could we manage that without being caught…?" She asked.

This rescue mission seemed to be getting riskier by the minute.

"Unless…" she wondered, "maybe there’s some way we could make it look like an accident?"

She glanced around the room, in search of something— anything— that could help. Then she got an idea.

"There sure is a lot of machinery in this factory." She said with a grin. "Wouldn’t it be a shame if something malfunctioned?”

Stranger Eater: You know, I've heard the winches have always been quite troublesome little machines. One day they're just going to give out and drop that machine.

*He pointed to the rafters above the machine, where there were three winches, each with four cables holding up the slumbering giant.*

The plan.

Right.

What exactly was the plan?

She stared again at the enormous three-part machine. How could they destroy something so large without being noticed? Then again, maybe they wouldn’t have to take down the whole thing.

*He started thinking of the best way to get at the stones. It definitely wouldn't be an easy task... Then again, the machines were suspended in a sleep state for now.*

Perhaps we could sever the wires keeping it aloft? If that didn't destroy the cores or the stones, then surely it would break the hull enough for one of us to crawl inside?

"It looks…" She started to say, but paused in search of the right words. "It looks almost… alive…"

Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the guard. It looked like it was a machine, and it was watching them. Could they have been discovered already?

Stranger Eater: We'll always be under constant watch in here. The mechanical guards are each wired up to their own personal data bank in the server room. Until one of them recognizes us as a threat, we won't be in any danger from the lot of them.

*Recognizing the two of them as the prophet and an unknown Pegasus, the machine registered the new face in its memory and moved on to another location.*

Secret decided to try to fly while following Stranger Eater. But her new, inexperienced wings were still stiff, and her balance in the air was terrible. She face-planted into the clouds almost immediately.

"Oops…" She mumbled, quickly getting back to her feet. "I always thought flying would be easier. Pegasai make it look so… effortless."

Reluctantly, she decided to avoid flying as much as possible for now, so as not to give herself away. After a bit of trial and error, she figured out how to properly fold her wings at her side, then marched on behind Stranger Eater.

*The prophet gazed at the factory's entrance, wondering just how this would end up going. Moving to go inside, he wasn't stopped or questioned by the guard that sat at the entrance.*

*The factory itself was quite large on the inside, and the prophet was easily able to point out their target. A large machination seemingly made form three Wyvern-like parts. Each one managed a different part of weather production, and the three were joined by their interwoven tails. It almost seemed to be asleep for the moment, as it was suspended by metal wires in front of an overseer's office.*

I guess it's easy enough to see the device?.. Quite the beautiful machine, isn't it?

Thankfully, it the pain didn’t last long. It finally faded into nothing more than a dull ache. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it was finally over. But had it worked?

She peeked over her shoulders, and squealed with delight.

"Oh my goodness!" She giggled, giving Stranger Eater a happy hug. "You did it! I actually have wings! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

But no— now was not the time to celebrate. He had given her these wings for a reason.

Stranger Eater: Well, seeing as how you're the newest worker at the factory, you're going to have to look around, right? Having just flown in from one of the more distant cities, you couldn't help but think 'What better place could there be for a Pegasus like me to work?'

"You can do that?” She gasped. “T-that— that would be—! Wow! I-I mean…”

The thought was so exciting that she couldn’t even formulate a proper sentence.

Could it be true?

Could he really…?

Stranger Eater: Now, this will probably feel very weird. Maybe for just a moment, but also maybe a little longer.

*Letting his magic flow, he pulled his hands out from her body. His magic flowed in golden strings, taking the shape of wings for Secret to bear. They quickly changed to match her fur color, and her bones became lighter as well.*

Although she was certainly willing to give it a try, she still wondered if there might be a less… conspicuous way of getting into the factory.

They would likely have only one chance at this; she didn’t want to risk getting caught by raising any suspicions.

*He traced out his idea in the air with random hand movements, as if they actually meant something.*

"What am I doing…?" Secret Tale wondered aloud, gradually slowing to a halt. "This is crazy…"

But she was not having second thoughts about what she wanted to do— oh no. Just about how to go about it.

"I can’t just rush in there. I don’t know the way." She blinked hopefully at Stranger Eater. "But you know how to get to it, right? I’ll bet if you lead the way, there’s no chance we’ll get caught!"

Stranger Eater: Well, if you trust me to do so... I could take the form I had in the forest before we entered my king's domain. Despite being larger, and more monstrous, I also have a larger robe. You could easily hide beneath it, but I'm not sure how well it would work out...

"Well then, I won’t go looking for him, just his machine.” She said, trying her best not to sound as terrified as she actually felt. “I just need to find the device that’s keeping all the ponies under his control. If it’s destroyed, they’ll be free— right…? So I’ll sneak in, destroy the machine, and sneak out. Simple.”

Secret had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy, but she still had to try.

"Come on!" She said to Stranger Eater. "We have to help those pegasai!"

*He stopped himself with a sigh. Hastily, he followed her, hoping to be able to keep her safe.*

Look. If we really are going after the machine, then we're going to have to be extremely careful. It rests at the center of the factory, directly in front of Zeranask's office. It's also really big and dangerous...

"W-what?" She gasped, horrified. "He has a machine that forces the pegasai to work for him? You mean like… like brainwashing?”

Secret started to pace around anxiously.

"Somepony should save them!" She declared. "Where is this machine? I want to help those ponies!”

*The prophet stopped in his tracks once he heard Secret's desire. She couldn't be serious!.. Could she?*

Now, Secret. I know you want to help, but I can't even stop Zeranask. Him alone would be no trouble for me, but he has a whole factory of machines and workers backing him up. Not to mention the device itself...

Stranger Eater: Hm? Oh! Well, in all honesty, he’s actually a part of Insanalisk. However, he looks more normal, I guess you could say. He has normal eyes, no mask, and straight horns instead of curled ones.

*He looked off in the direction of the factory, starting to think to himself while talking to his friend. Seems he likes to multi-task.*

At the factory, he acts as the overseer of the entire factory. He makes sure that problems get fixed, supplies are managed, and the workers do their job. He’s a bit harsh at times…

Oh, and don’t make the mistake of thinking he’s sane. He can put on a pretty good act, but he’s even more twisted in the head than Insanalisk is.

"He’s a part of Insanalisk?" Secret Tale asked. "But isn’t Insanalisk himself just a part of King Rexzon? Does that mean Zeranask is also a part of King Rexzon?"

She also found it strange that Zeranask held such a high position in the factory despite being more insane than Insanalisk.

*Thinking for a moment, the prophet realized how crazy and manipulative he made Zeranask sound. He also realized that he wasn't lying about it, either.*

"Hi there! You’re not being rude at all; it’s nice to see you again! Oh, and… you can just call me Secret, it’s fine~"

Secret Tale paused for a moment, wondering how she should respond to the offer.

"As for your invitation, well… actually, I’ve always been very curious about the Everfree Forest. I’ve wanted to explore it for a long time, but… it’s just so scary…!” She shuddered at the thought. Everypony knew that the Everfree Forest was not only the scariest place in all of Equestria, but also the most dangerous.

"I could never go explore such a terrifying place by myself, but… with company…"

Despite her fears of Everfree, Secret was very much tempted by the idea. Who knew what one might find in such an enchanted place…?

Secret noticed Stranger Eater’s confused look. It seemed that even he was not sure why it was so empty here.

"…Who is Zeranask?" Secret Tale asked.

Whoever Zeranask was, Stranger Eater said that he spent all his time at the factory. Secret figured that meant he must have a pretty important job there, and wondered what it might be.

*He looked off in the direction of the factory, starting to think to himself while talking to his friend. Seems he likes to multi-task.*

At the factory, he acts as the overseer of the entire factory. He makes sure that problems get fixed, supplies are managed, and the workers do their job. He's a bit harsh at times...

"Hi there! You’re not being rude at all; it’s nice to see you again! Oh, and… you can just call me Secret, it’s fine~"

Secret Tale paused for a moment, wondering how she should respond to the offer.

"As for your invitation, well… actually, I’ve always been very curious about the Everfree Forest. I’ve wanted to explore it for a long time, but… it’s just so scary…!” She shuddered at the thought. Everypony knew that the Everfree Forest was not only the scariest place in all of Equestria, but also the most dangerous.

"I could never go explore such a terrifying place by myself, but… with company…"

Despite her fears of Everfree, Secret was very much tempted by the idea. Who knew what one might find in such an enchanted place…?

Although she had never been to Cloudsdale before, she had heard a lot about it from her brother Cloud Cluster, who happened to live in the floating city. He always described it as a busy place. There were always lots of pegasai working at the Weather Factory around the clock to keep Equestria’s weather on schedule. The Cloudsdale Cloudeseum made the city even busier, drawing pegasai from all over Equestria to see races, games, plays, and other events held there. But this Cloudsdale was the exact opposite. It almost completely desolate.

*He looked about the city, seeming a bit confused. It was mostly abandoned usually, but it seemed even more desolate than normal. He walked around a bit, half-expecting some ponies to jump out and surprise him or something.*

"Hi there! You’re not being rude at all; it’s nice to see you again! Oh, and… you can just call me Secret, it’s fine~"

Secret Tale paused for a moment, wondering how she should respond to the offer.

"As for your invitation, well… actually, I’ve always been very curious about the Everfree Forest. I’ve wanted to explore it for a long time, but… it’s just so scary…!” She shuddered at the thought. Everypony knew that the Everfree Forest was not only the scariest place in all of Equestria, but also the most dangerous.

"I could never go explore such a terrifying place by myself, but… with company…"

Despite her fears of Everfree, Secret was very much tempted by the idea. Who knew what one might find in such an enchanted place…?

Although she had heard Stranger Eater claim that this place wasn’t much different than the ground, she disagreed; it was breathtaking!

"It’s amazing!" She insisted. Beaming, she spun around in excited circles as she took everything in.

Secret drew in a deep breath. The air was crisp, even fresher than mountain air. The clouds were light and fluffy, drifting and whirling a little in the breeze. They also gave off a faint glow, reflecting the soft light of the stars and moon.

She bounced her way to the edge of the clouds to look down. In the darkness of night, it was hard to make out much of anything down below, but the sight was still lovely. She had been in the sky in a hot air balloon many times before, but being confined to a basket was nothing like the freedom of actually walking on the clouds. This was a dream come true!

*The residential area had been mostly abandoned, but there were still a few Pegasai living there. Some of the former residents that had become members of the Shadow Guard were patrolling the area. The sight of the prophet hadn't bothered them much, but they seemed a bit confused to see an Earth Pony in the clouds.*