The past week had been a long one, filled with far too much walking around and exploring Skyreach Valley. To the south they had discovered mountains, a natural wall, and a few wrecks to look around in. As for the east and west, the valley didn’t seem all that wide, which left the north to explore. Each day seemed the same as the last; Head out as early as possible in the morning, walk in a direction until the sun was at its highest in the sky, and then hurry back to the cave before the sun set.

It had become routine and with the complete lack of mechanoids, Skyreach had become boring. The wreck of Ol’ Gertie had been checked several times, and from the looks of things, automatons had returned just one more time to reclaim scrap—and had been blown up. Now, there was no sign of any murderous mechanoids at all. To Tarnish, it almost felt as though the automatons were avoiding them, perhaps their numbers had been thinned out to the point of real danger. Perhaps they were building a new army to come and kill them. The companions had no way of knowing.

Of course, Skyreach being boring was about to change…

Their movement as a group was now so well-practiced that it had become second nature. Tarnish in the middle, with a mare up front and on each side. The Bellringer, his steam powered musket, was ready to fire if there was trouble, but there seemed to be no trouble to be had. Vinyl, being the horrible pony that she was, called her weapon The Army Cannon, much to the dismay and groans of her companions.

Tarnish had a bit of practice with the Bellringer,, but he wasn’t sure if he could hit a moving target or make his shot matter in a real crisis. Should he fail, he still had back up, the Almighty Alicorn Sisters. He had made crude etchings of the two sisters on each barrel, one very stern looking Luna, and one heart-farting Celestia just begging for a kiss.

It was the sort of doodle a student might draw in the margins of their textbook during a particularly boring school day. If Tarnish ever got out of this place, the Almighty Alicorn Sisters was going on display, just like his ass-shooting gun. The fine Grittish iron was just too pretty not to display.

Rainbow Dash paused and the companions tensed while waiting for her sharp eyes to focus on some distant point. Vinyl lifted her weapon and pointed in the general direction that Rainbow was looking, ready for trouble, and Tarnish found himself doing the same, but also looking all around him. Now was as good a time for an ambush as any.

Head down low, Rainbow moved forward, and her companions followed. Tarnish also tried ducking his head, but looked ridiculous, looking very much like a giraffe failing to be stealthy. Daring Do’s head snapped forwards, and she peered through her goggles at the distant point of interest. The wind picked up a bit, but it wasn’t strong enough to lift Tarnish’s heavy cloak, though it did ripple a bit.

Tarnish pulled his shield out, concerned about the tension in the air all around him, and he was ready to draw Flamingo should she be needed. Rainbow stopped, lifted her head a bit, stared, then dropped her head and resumed moving forwards once more. Now, Tarnish was starting to see something ahead, some kind of installation, but he didn’t know what it was.

When the installation was in better view, Rainbow came to a halt and said, “That looks like a weather factory… but it’s really, really old machinery. All that stuff belongs in a museum.”

“Why would a weather factory be built on the ground?” Daring Do asked.

Rainbow shrugged, but it was difficult to notice with all of her heavy clothing and protective gear. “Look, there’s a cloud generator, you can see the ejector spout. And there’s a storm cell sparker.” Cautious, Rainbow crept forward, followed by her friends.

It was Tarnish who came to a halt when he noticed a bronze statue that was covered by the ice and snow. Even somewhat buried, it was easy to see what it was—a centaur of powerful build, holding a planet up on his shoulders. Breaking away from his companions, Tarnish rushed forwards, not caring about danger, driven by his powerful, all-consuming obsession.

With steam, he began clearing away the snow and ice so he could have a better view of the bronze statue. Daring Do was at his side now, watching with interest, and Vinyl began snapping pictures. The centaur bearing the planet on his shoulders was worthy of a spot in a museum, it was an incredible piece of priceless, beautiful art.

At the base of the pedestal were letters of an unknown alphabet. Tarnish, undeterred, pulled out a pair of glasses, the same glasses he had looted from the centaur vault, the place where Grogar’s Crown of Corruption had been hidden away. He placed the glasses in front of his goggles and squinted, waiting for the magic to work.

The strange letters shimmered, they flickered, changed shape, and after a few seconds, became readable. Blinking once in astonishment, Tarnish read the words aloud for his companions: “Skyreach Weapons and Research. Securing today with tomorrow’s tech.”

“Hmm,” Daring Do said as she edged closer to Tarnish, “some things never change, like gimmicky company slogans.”

“And war,” Tarnish quipped. “I’ve heard it said that war never changes.”

“Oh, be quiet, you goof!” Daring shook her head. “Of course war changes, it keeps getting worse! As an archeologist, I can scientifically measure how war has changed through the centuries.”

“He’s wearing a suit.” Rainbow’s remark jolted her companions to attention, all of them being too busy looking at the centaur, and not his suit. “That suit wouldn’t be too out of place in Canterlot today. I mean, I’m not Rarity, but if she was here, she’d be freaking out and blabbing on and on about how similar the fashions of thousands and thousands of years ago aren’t too different than what we have today.”

Vinyl snapped another picture, then pulled the camera from her face so that she might have a better look. Tarnish began to study the centaur’s suit, and he thought that Rainbow was right—it wouldn’t look out of place in this modern era. A thin ribbon tie was visible and the jacket had broad, well defined lapels. The glasses were snatched away by Vinyl, who held them over her goggles to have a better look.

“This is peculiar.” Daring Do began to circle around the statue to have a better look, and halted on the other side. “Yep, he’s male alright, the sculptor spared no detail.”

“You know, with a weather factory this big and this powerful, if you had an army of pegasus ponies, you could turn this valley into a place of endless summer,” Rainbow Dash said, thinking aloud while she stared up at the face of the centaur statue. He was wise looking, and maybe even kind if she could read his strange face right. He was nothing like Tirek.

“So, you could live here, farm and grow food here, and be comfortable here.” Tarnish began to look around at the snow-covered weather machinery and wondered what the summer would be like here. Perhaps cool and pleasant. “I want a good look around.”

“That’s tactically dangerous,” Daring Do replied. “This place gives me the creeps. We’ll have a look around, but we’re sticking together. We’re being watched.”

“Of course we’re being watched.” Tarnish looked around the complex, and gave Daring a knowing nod. “The centaurs made artificial eyes… who said they have to be placed in an automaton for them to work?”

“Damnit, Tarnish!” Daring let out a fierce growl. “You’re supposed to be the morale officer! Your job is supposed to make ponies feel better!” The pegasus mare’s voice was scratchy and a bit rough, but much better than it had been. “Stop making this weird!”

“Right, Boss.” Hefting the Bellringer, Tarnish prepared for a good look around.

The office building, and Tarnish was certain that it was an office building, because what else could it be—was remarkably well preserved. The hinges still held, still functioned, and heavy doors made of some strange metal could be opened. Tarnish did not recognise the metal, and he was almost certain that Maud wouldn’t recognise it either. The building was short, squat, and maybe four stories high. In a strange stroke of coincidence, the windows were all still intact.

Inside, Tarnish took the lead, holding his shield out in front of him. There was an entry lobby, with stairs going up on the left, and stairs going down on the right. There was a desk in the middle of the lobby, a massive metal desk that seemed to be in good repair, if perhaps a bit dusty. All it lacked was a receptionist, and Tarnish imagined that the centaurs might park a frumpy, stern looking unicorn down in the seat behind the desk.

She would go well with the stark, austere nature of this place and its minimalist style.

“Up or down, Boss?” Tarnish asked.

“Do we really want to go into the cellar?” Rainbow whined.

“I don’t know,” Daring said to her companions. “Does anypony see a sign saying, ‘Beware the leopard?’”

Vinyl, in silence, drew the two revolvers she carried, as they were more suitable for indoor engagements. Her companions looked to the left and to the right, but Vinyl continued to scan the room. More importantly, she looked up, something little ponies failed to do in dangerous situations. More than once, an automaton had dropped down from the ceiling upon them.

“Prepare to go down,” Daring announced, causing Rainbow to let out a fearful whine. “Tarnish, up front, shield out. We’re going down. Rainbow, I want you glued to his ass, and if something pops up, you are to defend him. He is our medic… do I need to remind you what happens if he goes down?”

“Right.” Rainbow raised her hoof in salute, because her wings were beneath her many layers of clothing. “When I go home, they’re going to call me Admiral Asswhoop after all of this.”

“Better than Admiral Asswipe,” Tarnish remarked.

“Hey! Jerk!” Rainbow growled and punched Tarnish in the ribs, or would have, had her hoof not struck metal. Then, throwing her head back, Rainbow laughed, and was joined by Tarnish. After a moment of hearty laughter, Rainbow collected herself enough to say, “I got your back, Tarnish. Lead the way!”

The basement was just a small room filled with old furniture, some of it rotting. There was a faint musty smell and a whole lot of dust. There was a large cracked crystal spire, which Tarnish suspected had been valuable at some point in the distant past, perhaps some magical device. There were no doors, no other place to go, just the stairs going back up.

Vinyl’s floating orbs of neon light boogied around the room, flickering, giving the darkness a festive atmosphere suitable for partying. Tarnish started to look at the pile of furniture, but realised he was wasting his time. What he was looking at was the remains of a civilisation that had been interrupted by an apocalypse, and it had been the office furniture that had suffered, just thrown into a ramshackle pile to be forgotten.

“This place… it keeps surprising me,” Rainbow said in a soft voice to her companions. “It’s kinda sad… I mean, everypony packed up the valuable stuff in the basement for whatever reason, to keep it safe I guess, and nopony ever returned. What happened?”

“Civilisation fell,” Tarnish replied. “Grogar happened. In a sense, the world ended. The old world passed away and a new one sprang up to take its place. Now, we’re just catching up to whatever existed before, coming back out of our dark age.”

“Come on, all of you.” Daring gestured at the stairs. “Let’s continue having our look around.”

The second floor had a landing and two small offices. The building wasn’t very wide or deep, and the available space felt cramped. A metal chair lay on the floor, tipped over, forgotten. The doors to the offices were both half open, revealing nothing on the other side. The rooms were empty, deserted, there was nothing to be found within them.

Beneath their hooves, the carpet was frozen and crunchy, indicating that it had been wet once. Vinyl shone her lights around, but there was nothing at all that was of interest. Shield up before him, Tarnish mounted the stairs, and Rainbow was just behind him, ready to spring forwards if there was trouble.

Cautious, Tarnish poked his head up above the third floor landing, and found that the floor was even emptier, more devoid of stuff than the second. There wasn’t even a chair tipped over on the floor. After a quick look around, he realised there was nothing here, and he peeked into the two offices on this floor. Weather administration had to be boring work, and Tarnish was glad he didn’t work in an office.

No, his job was to get shot in the ass and run through the jungle with an army hot on his heels. His job involved poisonous cobras and evil archeologists, with the occasional dynamite wielding psychopath for variety. It was exciting, and Tarnish would never be happy with an office job. Though being chased by a chainsaw revving nutjob in Manehattan did make him take some time considering the consequences of his career choices.

Still better than getting swamp-ass in some uncomfortable office chair.

With nothing to be seen, Tarnish continued up to the fourth floor, not knowing what he might find…

Author's Notes:

So... that fourth floor reveal... soon.