"Hmm..." Karl thought a bit before shining up. "I know! Have you ever been into space?" The sudden question mark he had infront of him displayed one answer. "Oh, ofcourse you haven't. Come with me, we have a Zero-gravity Chamber for those tests that need to be done under complete zero gravity!" Karl grabbed Herons hoof and bolted with her through a hallway on the left, showcasing the huge fountain in the middle of the castle. They soon reached a room with a single, giant cylinder in the middle of it. There was small blinking lights everywhere along with buttons and switches. "Don't touch anything. If you do, there's a small chance that you'll blow up the entire castle." Karl said reassuringly. They walked up to the big cylinder, and stopped infront of a door reaching inside. "Now, two things: This is absolutely zero gravity. You'll float, even if you're not a pegasus. Two, remember to have fun." Karl informated Heron. "Now, when you step inside, i wan't you to be completely relaxed. The effect of zero gravity will work better on you." He opened up the door and stepped inside, then turned around and motion for Heron to get inside. "Come on, get in! I'll start it once you're inside."
Zero gravity? Flight without wings? The idea seemed preposterous, and Heron loved it! Without hesitation, Heron jumped into the contraption with Karl and let out a small excited squeal. Sure, he said she should stay relaxed, but she was too antsy to stay in one place for long. Heron began wandering around the enclosed chamber with interest. Equestria's technology was nowhere near this advanced.
Karl looked at Heron with a smile on his face. He walked over to a part of the cylinder that had a small lever, and flipped it on. Both Karl and Heron lifted immediately into the air, as a small hum sounded through the whole chamber. "There we go! Like space, but with the air!" Karl said, pushing his backlegs on the wall infront of him to propulse himself forward. He flew by Heron with a giant smile, drifting elegantly through the air. "There's alot of important things you can do with this; a fluid won't spill, nor will it react the same way. That makes it possible to mix chemicals without them exploding." He said as he closed in on a wall, flipping himself so that his legs would catch him. In seconds, he was floating beside the wall, looking at a screen displaying the chamvers status. "Everything seems okay, great!" He turned around to look at Heron. "How does it feel to be floating?"
Heron curled into a ball in mid air. This wasn't what I imagined! she thought. Karl zipped past her with a giant grin on his face. "Well, I suppose..." Heron unfurled herself and attempted flight without gravity, but she was already suspended in the center of the chamber with nothing to push off of. After a moment's reprive, she started flailing around in an attempt to move. Her face turned red and she asked "Uhh...little help here please?"
Karl chuckled and set off towards Heron. "Hold on, i'll help you." He grabbed her hoofs and let the zero-gravity take care of the rest. Once they both touched the wall, Karl stood clear and pushed off the wall, floating away from Heron again. "All you need to do is push away from the wall and relax. Push yourself my way. I'll catch ya." Karl said as he reached the other side, holding out his forelegs to catch Heron.
"Okay then, let's do this" Heron said boldly. With a little yelp, she pushed off from the wall hard and went zooming towards Karl. Out of natural instinct, her wings shot open as she soared through the chamber. "Aha! This is- OOF!" Heron hit Karl pretty hard, knocking the breath out of her. Breathing heavily for a few seconds, Heron exclaimed "This is so cool! I don't have to use all my energy to fly!" She release another tiny squeal of delight as she bucked off the wall again, this time doing a few flips before landing.
Karl watched her with delight. He then closed his eyes and relaxed. He floated with no control in the chamber, creating the unintended illusion that he was unconscious. "Don't be alarmed, i'm just letting go a bit." He reensured Heron. Opening his eyes, he floated over to the side and pushed one of the buttons. A small stream of water shot out beside him. "Hey, check this out!" He smacked the water, sending it wobbling over to Heron, sometimes parting and mashing together.
"What's this now?" Heron waited for some of the stray water to float over to her. She poked it with her hoof causing it to make a small jiggle. Wondering how it would react, Heron extended a wing and shoved it into the bubble. The water enveloped the part of her wing for a moment before she pulled it out, shivering. "Not only was it cold, but that felt freaky!" she exclaimed. "Got anything else we can mess with in here?" She started squishing and molding the water to her will, but it kept snapping back to its original bubble form.
Karl looked over the different types of buttons. There were all kinds, but they were more for science, and not for having fun with. His eyes paused though when he saw his own reflection on the screen. "Oh, ponyfeathers." He cursed to himself, then turned and looked at Heron. "Get ready to hit the ground!" He informed Heron quickly. He bucked off the wall and went to the lever that controlled the chamber. "One, two... three!" He quickly pulled the lever and shut off the zero-gravity, and wobbled a bit as he felt the downwards force push on him.
"Ready to hit the...what?" Heron had a few moments of confusion, but realized what he meant right before Karl flipped the switch. Normally, she would have fallen and slammed into the ground, but out of instinct her wings erected and kept her floating a few feet lower than she had just been floating. "Oh, okay..." She said sadly. "Are we finished in here, or is something wrong?"
He walked over to the chamber door, and slowly pushed it open. "We need to get back. I still have a contract to finish and you probably have to scold Delphinium for not arriving to the date." He walked out the door and looked back. "Come on, let's go before it's to late, which i fear that it is already." He turned around and sat down on the spot, closing his eyes to concentrate. "Bera...Loka...Rest!" The same souls brizzled up like a flame between them, spinning around in a cyclone of magical energy. "Just walk inside and close your eyes! Next thing you know, you'll be back from where we came from!" He shouted from the other end.
Considering she survived the last time this happened, Heron concluded that Karl was not attempting to kill her in a fit of insanity. Wheatley's accusations still unnerved her, though. Wihout hesitation, she jumped through and closed her eyes as she was blinded. Before a few moments were up, she felt her hooves striking solid ground.
Karl landed on top of a roof. Infront of him was his target, seemingly safe and sound inside his house. Karl walks to the edge and examines the room his "client" is currently residing in. He picks up his axe Knock Knock that was resting beside him and clicks it in place on his back in its usual, leaning position. He backs up for a leap into the ponys window. That was his tactique: Jump, slash and get out. He dashes forward, galloping at full speed towards the edge. As soon as he hit it, he propaned into the air and floated for a second before hitting the glass. "What the- who are you?" Was the voice confirming he had been spotted. A few minutes later... Karls axe leaves the ponys throat, leaving a confirmable wound. Karl himself puts the axe down and trots into the kitchen to get some food. He looks around and opens various cupboards and stories, getting ingredients to make his sandwich. Once he's done, he walks into the living room, where he notices his axe. It's gone. He looks to his left and sees a hole shaped like a axe. "I see. Well, go explore then. I'll wait for you." He says as he sits down and starts munching on his sandwich. (Karl can control where he appears, others cannot.)
Heron blinked the light out of her eyes a few times as she steadied herself on the ground. When she could actually see again, Heron identified her location as the area right outside of the Everfree Forest. She shivered as she realized how close she was to being teleported directly into the forest itself. That would have gone VERY bad. Heron was about to walk back to town when she remembered the entire reason for her trip. He had a contract to fufill...and he's not with me... Heron began panicking. If she could bet anything, she would say he was out fufilling his duties right now, and she... She couldn't do anything about it! Sometime soon, a pony's family would be weeping for the loss of a member. Even those not family, ponies close to them would be... He knew Delphinium's name... Heron suddenly panicked. Could he be hunting- but Karl would never have to- Heron felt like she was going to throw up. Heron Wing lifted her winds and shot off the ground towards the heart of Ponyville. She had to know if he was okay!
Finishing the sandwich, Karl went into his clients bathroom and started to clean up. He then stepped out of it, fresh and clean. He was about to get out when he noticed; his client had made a bloody mess on the floor. He trotted over casually and looked at the puddle of blood on the floor. "That's just great. Well, i'm not gonna clean that." He said as he turned around and trotted out the door into the dark enviroment outside. He turned around and closed the door to the house before trotting out into the dark streets. "Aaah, fresh air in my lungs and bits in my hooves. Life can't be much sweeter." He suddenly felt a pull. Something was wrong. He blinked a few times before looking out into the sky. He suddenly looked down and bolted into a dark alley, vanishing into the darkness of the night. Karl felt like he needed to visit an old friend.
"Delphinium? DELPHINIUM!?" Heron smashed her way through the front door of Flowers and Fragrances to a surprised looking Delphinium. "I don't- Heron? Is that you?" He said as she skidded to a halt across the floor, nearly missing a display of orchids. "By Celestia, I thought something had happened to you!" He trotted around the desk and she just stared at him. "That restaurant; when I got there, ponies were flocking all around it. They said there...there had been an attack. I thought you had been kidnapped, or even...ki- killed." Heron smacked him across the face with one of her wings, and he recoiled. "Well, maybe if you had actually BEEN THERE ON TIME, I wouldn't have to have gone through all that!" She shouted. He looked hurt. "I swear, it was all this mare's fault. She had arrived at my shop and browsed through every freaking thing I had! She looked like she had expensive tastes, and I don't want to kick out a high class customer, do you know what horrors that would reek on my shop!?" He blushed a little. "Although...in the end she just sorta walked out without buying anything..." Heron had heard enough. She wasn't here to get angry at him, only to check on his well being. "Well, fine. You just do whatever the hell you do when you're missing dates. I'm just glad you're okay." She turned and walked out his door (which was barely on its hinges.) He was about to respond that it wasn't his fault again before what she said fully registered. "Glad I'm okay? What could I possibly have..." Heron got away before she could hear him finish his sentence.
"You did WHAT!?" Freedoms voice echoed in the royal halls. Karl simply shrugged and looked out the window. "So far you've let a fox and a human to The Rift, and i clearly say to you that you shouldn't do that, but then you let a pony in too!? What's going on in your mind!?" Freedom pointed his mechanic finger down on the table. "You know that The Rift is supposed to be top-secret, right?" Karl nodded and kept silent. "And that only Clockmakers and Descendants are allowed inside, right?" Karl nodded yet again. "So, explain to me why you've let in all these mortal creatures all of a sudden!" Karl switched his gaze into Freedoms eyes. "Because, she would've died or worse if i'd let her stay right then!" He banged down the hoof in the table. "You know what The Federation does to stop me, right? Isn't then totally possible for them to eliminate everypony that are in my vicinity as well?" Freedom sighed and answered, "Yes, Karl. I know that The Federation is after you. Still, you could've given her something to gat away from there, like a TD or something else." They noth gazed into one anothers eyes until Karl answered, "You know that technology isn't fully tested in ponies." Freedom rolled his eyes and sighed. He and Karl often had arguments, mostly over Karls actions. But he was the only one that stayed up long enough for Karl to visit him when he did. "Whatever, fine. Just... don't let in more living things into The Rift unless it's for testing, okay?" Karl nodded and stood up. Freedom flipped up a cigarette and lit it up. Before Karl exited out the door, Freedom said to him, "Also, next time you get here, bring some cider. That might lighten up the mood here a bit." Karl walked out the door and closed it before walking out into the hallway, disappearing into a shadow as if he'd never been there.
Heron's ears jerked up and down as she flew over Ponyville. He can't have gone far, she thought with a tang of annoyance. If the contract was placed in Ponyville, I'm sure he must still be here! But where... She landed atop one of the houses (which was against the law, but she didn't care) to take a look around the area she was in. It looked exactly the same as the rest of the town. Heron snorted in frustration. Not once had she actually explored her own hometown, but nothing would have made her suspect that every single house looked exactly the same! Flapping her wings a few times, Heron took off again in a different direction, eager to confront Karl about the earlier feud.
"So, ya me' 'is gi'l an' fought of a snoipa', the' tellyporte' tou ya cast'e in the neva'lands o' w'atevah? Nice goin', bro." Max reached out a hoof for his dark-red friend to answer. Karl did and swiped up the vodka, exhaling as the liquid ran down his throat. Max laughed drunkenly and patted him on the shoulder. "Weu', tha's mah brotha' in wo'k! Sometimes, ah love whe' ya do 'at kinda stuff! Makes fo' some nice sto'ies." He held up a bottle of whiskey and shook it a bit. "To mah f'iend in the nevahlaaa..." He fell off the chair and fell asleep on the floor, snoozing the silence away. Karl looked at his drunken friend and chuckled, Max was a hell of a pony to talk with, especially when he was drunk. They had a drinking companionship, so if Karl was drinking, Max was drinking with him. During that time they shared memories and talked about everything they could come up with, whether it was about a new pony in town or something else. Karl jumped down from the chair and walked outside to breath some fresh air. He was much more alcohol-resistant than Max and most of the times it was Max that hit the ground and not him. He sat down and looked into the night sky, thinking about how of a crazy evening it had been. "Bittersweet memories, left behind... and i can't reach what i'm trying... to find." The words seemingly slipped out of his mouth, remembering him about back when he had been a human. He sighed and continued to look out, but focusing in a planet far, far away. A planet that he knew was dead. A planet, named Lithium.
(Sorry I took so long! I was doing stuff!...I will not reveal how productive said stuff was, though.) Luna's embrace flew directly over Heron wing, adding further to her frustration. The moon was now in the sky, marking night time, and she had yet to find Karl. You crazy pony...where on or off Equestria could you have gone? She jumped off the building she was sitting on and gave a sigh of defeat. Karl was probably all just some cruel joke or something that her friends pulled on her. He didn't actually exist; one of her friends was very adept at illusion magic. Now that she thought about it, entirely other worlds? A place called the Rift? Randomly fainting? Heron would have to hound on her friends tomorrow. To end the day, she flew somberly back to her house on the edge of Ponyville.
