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They where familiar. Engines, he guessed. That, and the sound of rushing wind. He forced his eyes open, his head hurt, and here around him, was the deck of a ship. But not just any ship. This was the deck of God. “Ah, I see you are finally awake... So good of you to join the land of the conscious...” To his slight surprise, Lady Evale walked around from the side. “I must admit I am quite impressed with this.” In her hands, was the Flyer Mark V. “Completely useless to me.” She tossed it to the side, and something went twank, which made Copper flinch. “But impressive nonetheless.”\n\nHe tried to move, but he was chained to something. They had chained him, him. Copper Feather. The bastards had chained him up, like that would stop him. But a thought popped into his head. “You killed Horsh.”\n\n“Ah, it speaks.” She said, smirking at him. “Why, yes. I did.” She waved a hand flippantly. “Not personally, of course... But I suppose I am the reason he is dead... Or I should say, that you are.” She tisked at him. “Too many questions Copper... Too many.”\n\nCopper cursed himself inside. It was the cog. Not the plans. “The plans...”\n\n“Oh they where put to good use.” She turned on the spot, splaying her arms. “All of this, is thanks to you Copper. You and that wonderful brain of yours...” Her claws closed around it. “If only you where more co-operative...” She put up a hand. “No no. I already know that you would refuse any offer merely on principle.”\n\nDamn it she had a point. He would refuse her just to be difficult. “So you used my designs...”\n\n“To improve God.” Her laugh was so annoying, it graded on everything that Copper had left. “Oh yes. The God you knew was nothing compared to this beauty of a machine.” She sighed, in Coppers opinion, overly dramatically. “But just imagine it Copper... Imagine it with The Gem Cog.” \n\nCopper glared at her. “How...”\n\n“Oh do you honestly think that I don't know?” He knew how she knew of it, but how did she know he did? “I have known of it longer than you dear Copper. Much longer. I, and my associates have been seeking it for a very long time... Unfortunately we have met... Resistance along the way... Al Khamsa, and his brother Sirrah Al-Faras...” The sight of the late King's bodies planted themselves firmly in his head. “Lers...” Now the crumpled body of Lers, laying in a burning building. “The seaponies and their high council... And many others, my dear Copper... All of whom you have dealt with beautifully.” She clapped in an almost painfully mocking way. “Well done.”\n\nHis thoughts where racing now. “So you and Celestia... And... Others...” He added, when seeing her face at the mention of Celestia. “Others who used me... Used me to shape everything...”\n\n“Oh very good Copper... I did warn Celestia you where too smart for your own good. But it does you well in a pinch.” She walked past him, but he could still hear her behind him somewhere. “And here you are now... On the deck of God, about to watch us sweep away what little resistance there is left...” The smirk in her voice was quite apparent. “Starting with Ponyville, and the retrieval of The Gem Cog. Oh Copper it will be glorious. “We reach Ponyville in five hours.” He heard her walking away. “Sics, if he tries any attempt to escape... Kill him.”\n\n“Yes, Lady Evale.” Oh that was a speech he recognized. A diamond dog. Just great, those where tough. Tougher than griffons, and definitely tougher than ponies. Sics walked into view, moving a ways away from Copper. He wasn't dumb. “Lady Evale says if you try and escape, Imma kill you.” Than again, instinct was different from intelligence. He was also a sickly yellow color.\n\n“Yes, I heard.” He snapped, trying to think. Chains where hard. Not impossible, but he'd much prefer rope. Rope was easy compared to chains. “So, Sics is an interesting name...” Copper said, small talk would be good.\n\n“I have five brothers.” Sics said, his eyes narrowing. “Don't try and trick me.”\n\n“Trick you? Why ever would I do that? Goodness these chains are uncomfortable.” He shifted a bit, ah, yes. There was a padlock on the back. No chance of picking it. “So five brothers, and your named Six.”\n\n“Not six. Sics.” The large body sat down. “Lotsa ponies make that mistake. But not Diamond Dogs.”\n\n“Ah, yes. I've worked with a few of them in the past.” He shrugged a shoulder, one of the chains slid slightly. That was the thing about chain, people instinctively didn't do it too tight. You could either do it too tight, and crush whatever you where using it for, or have it a bit loose.\n\n“I know.” Sics said, glaring at him.\n\nThat caused Copper to stop, and look at him closely. “Have I... Worked with you?”\n\nSics shook his head slowly, still glaring at him. “No. You hit me in the back with that shocky thing of yours.”\n\n“Ah...” He wiggled slightly. “Sorry about that... Know why exactly I did it?”\n\nHe stood up. “Stop moving.”\n\nCopper froze. “Alright. Jeez, just trying to get comfortable... Chains may be all the rage where you come from, but they don't suit me.”\n\nHis head was starting to not hurt as much, and his thoughts where coming together. “Are you making fun of me?” Sics hands clenched and unclenched.\n\n“Me? Oh no of course not.” Copper said, leaning back against what he was chained to. There we go, he thought, now I can get out whenever I need to. “So why exactly are you working for Lady Evale and Celestia? I shocked you while following their orders...”\n\n“Don't matter. All I know is they're ganna give me a lot of gems.” He grinned at Copper, and he couldn't help but grimace, that was not attractive at all. “And I get to kill you, after we blast that little spec of a town off the map.”\n\nThat was it. Copper couldn't hold himself. “You idiot. Do you honestly think that they're going to give you anything but a swift kick off the ship? You'll be lucky to get off this ship with what you call that pathetic life of yours.”\n\n“That's it.” Fists clenched, he approached. But Copper was ready for him, and Sics wasn't expecting him to simply, drop out of the chains, and kick him in the stomach. With his back legs. It was a kick that would've made Applejack proud if she had seen it. He had helped her a bit gathering apples, and found that bucking apples could be quite useful. And as Sics crumpled, he knew that was a good kick.\n\n“Now then.” He ran towards the Flyer, and quickly started putting it on. No time to make sure everything was perfect, a quick glance showed it would fly. Or at least glide. He spun around as he heard Sics get to his feet.\n\n“Stupid... Little... Pony...” One of his hands was holding his stomach, and blood was coming out from his mouth. That had been a hard kick. He charged at him, screaming some nondescript words. Copper waited, and then dropped onto his back. Hooves planted firmly on Sics chest, a slight roll back, and push. The scream turned to one of panic, as Sics plummeted.\n\nCopper got back to his feet. “Right then.” He rolled his shoulders a bit, adjusting to the Flyer's weight. “No more mister nice pony.” Then he ran. He went into the first door that he found, and ran. He needed to get somewhere. Where was he going? This was not God. He knew the layout of God enough to find his way around, but this was nothing like it. Not on the inside.\n\n“What is it, Horsh?” Copper said, staring up at the largest airship in the world. Or so he'd been told.\n\n“This. Is God.” Horsh said, walking a few steps ahead of Copper. “It's where we do pretty much all the work on airships. It has hangers so big that freight ships can fit inside them.”\n\nHe shook his head. Right, hangers. He needed to get to the hangers. That's where the ships would be. He would take one, and beat the ship to Ponyville. If he could get there first, before this ship, and get everypony out. \n\nThen get to the cog. He stopped, and blinked. Where had that thought come from? It made sense. They where after the cog, so of course he needed to get to it before them as well. It was unimaginable something this big, being assisted by that. A pony could rule the world with this ship.\n\nHe stopped as he opened a door, and saw a huge cloth wing moving onto a downward stroke. He looked left and right, it was a walkway around the side of the ship. “Hangers will be in the back...” He muttered, as he tore off down the right side. The wings interested him quite a lot. That was how they made sure it was airborne. Usually ships used hot air to keep themselves up, but something this big, needed extra help. Small things needed the help too. “Damn it.” They had taken his idea for a small ship, which used wings to keep itself airborne, rather than hot air. And they had used it.\n\nSuddenly doors farther down swung inward, and several Diamond Dogs rushed out. One pointed at him and shouted. Of course they would hire Diamond Dogs. They where easy to train, and would do any job if you give them enough gems. But there where too many to fight. He turned, in time to see several Diamond Dogs running towards him. \n\nPay more attention, Copper. This was no time to stop paying attention. He leaped over the railing. It was as he feared, the Flyer couldn't do more than glide. But at least he could steer it, and the updraft from the wings of the ship helped him gain some height. He watched as the dogs met, glared at him a moment, and then most of them dispersed, back into the ship. But a few followed him on the edge.\n\n“God is truly an engineering marvel Copper... No ship has ever come close to it...” Horsh said as he walked across a beam to one of the upper areas. \n\nCopper followed after him. “But... Surely something this big can't possibly fly... It would take far too much air.”\n\n“Ah, well, that's the thing Copper. It doesn't fly. Not anymore.” Horsh gave him a smile, but Copper frowned at him. “It doesn't fly, because it's broken. And no one alive knows how to fix it. We don't know how it flew, but it's thousands of years old.”\n\n“What?” Copper looked down suddenly, the wood did not seem that old. “How is that possible?”\n\n“Magic, of course. At least, the wood is magic. All the inner parts are not, and their all rusted over. Nothing salvageable at all, and no way to even begin to figure out how to get it running.”\n\nCopper shook his head, and collided with the ship. “Gah!” He scrambled up onto the railing, and panted for breath. That could have been bad. The ship had changed course when he wasn't paying attention. He looked back, there where the dogs far behind. The Flyer had to be folded back manually, which required gently pressing it against the building. But once that was done, he took off running. He went in the first door he found, and immediately headed down. \n\nDown, and down, and further down. He shoved open a door, and ran straight into railing. The pain was manageable, that had hurt only a little bit. The sight however, was painful. He saw dozens of his ships. His ships. Ships he had designed. Every bolt, every nail, every gear and cog, every hoof of cloth. All his fault. He sagged against the rail, staring at the ships. There where hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. He slipped off the rail onto the floor. “What have I done... This is not what I wanted...” He took deep breaths, and then heard a crash from the way he had came. “Right.” He stood and ran. “No time to feel sorry for myself right now... I've got a town to save.”\n\nHe leaped over the edge, and landed on the cloth wing of one of the ships, which buckled and snapped under his weight. It took a moment to untangle himself from the debris, but then he ran to the next airship. It was empty. He looked around a moment, his mind racing. “Right, trap door underneath, lever to the side. Rope suspended over trap door, which can probably be descended down to allow retrieval...” He pushed the lever, and the sudden snap of the trap door opening, and the rush of air underneath almost made him lose his footing. Almost. He hopped aboard the ship, and glanced around. “Right. Basic three man control scheme... One steering, one shifting gears and speed, one lookout.” He took a deep breath.\n\nAbove he heard someone scream. “He's taking an airship! Pilots! To your ships!”\n\nThat wasn't good, but he'd come this far already. Couldn't stop now. He stood on his hind hooves, and there it was, the locking mechanism to the rope. “Here goes everything.” He hooked a leg around the joystick, and punched the release. Weightlessness hit him and he floated up gently. He quickly kicked the lever to open the wings, and hit the floor hard. “Owch.” He looked at the controls of speed, and put it in full blast, before moving to the joystick. His eyes went wide as he realized he was pointed at the ground. “Why do these damn things always point down!” He screamed as he pulled back hard, only brushing a few trees. “I mean honestly. The joystick just starts pointing down on it's own...”\n\nHe could not see Ponyville from where he was, that was good, and he was going far faster then the airship. Which was even better. It was easy to pilot one of these by yourself if you just needed to get from one place to another. But precision would require at least one other pony. He looked back behind him, and those dozen or so black dots in the distance made him wish he had anypony with him now. He held the lever in place with his back hoof as he reached and fiddled with controls. \n\n“C'mon... More speed... Gatta get more... Oops.” There was a thunk, and something fell. He looked over the side of the ship, in time to see a rather large explosion on the ground. “Uh. Oops.” But that gave him an idea. He pulled that lever again, ignoring the explosions bellow. Eventually, they stopped, and he moved back to the joystick. He was moving a lot faster now. Yet, when he looked to the side, and through the blurring speed of the wings, he saw there was another ship, three Diamond Dogs on it, glaring at him. He immediately pulled back on the joystick, and shot upwards. The followed.\n\nIt took a few close shaves before he realized that they where trying to ram him. Idiots, that would kill them all. But he was sure they didn't know that. They where just following orders for gems. Then he saw Sweet Apple Acres. Or at least, the groves of apple trees that made up most of it. Some of the other ships had collided with each other trying to get him, and had gone up in a rather large explosion. All those bombs going off at once was quite the sight. Copper wondered if they looked a little bit like fireworks... Then he got clipped. His airship began tumbling, spinning and turning. And time seemed to slow down as he saw it. The tall structure of the clock tower ahead of him. Instinct told him to jump. So he did.\n\nHe tumbled and spiraled through the air. The Flyer was useless now, and he didn't dare try to extend it. At 1, the face of the clock tower shattered.\n\nCopper forced his eyes open, he hurt, and he could see a lot of blood on the floor. He slowly sat up, trying to ignore the burning feeling of glass. His eyes turned to the right, the Flyer was mangled. But he wasn't look at it. He was looking past it. At the cog, which shined. Words echoed through his head. “Don't use it. It's dangerous.”\n\n“No choice.” He said and limped slowly towards it. What was driving him now, was the need to stop the ship. He had to stop it, at any cost. The cog was cold, and the light inside went out immediately when Copper pulled it from the clock. He pulled a cog from the Flyer, and pushed The Gem Cog into it's place. The glow returned, and the Flyer outstretched, snapping back together, cloth becoming whole again. He looked up at one of the none shattered faces, it was stopped at half passed 4. “No time left.” He shot out of the hole, pounding his wings to gain speed. There was a distant speck above the horizon, and that's what he was aiming at. Then a traitor of a thought popped into his head. How do I stop it?\n\nGlass shattered as Copper came in through the window. There was a large griffon, behind a wheel. And behind him, Lady Evale. “Ah, Copper... I was wondering when-” She stopped, staring at him. “You didn't...”\n\n“Oh yeah.” Copper said, a smirk on his face. “And I have to say, it works flawlessly.”\n\n“Give it to me!” She screamed, and lunged at him. But she was inexperienced at any kind of fighting, and Copper wasn't afraid to hit a lady. It only took one blow, but Copper gave her a kick afterwords that sent her skidding across the floor. \n\n“Run.” Copper said to the griffon, who hesitated only a moment, before fleeing. He moved over to the controls. It was just like God. In almost every way. Perfect.\n\n“So what exactly brought God down?” Copper said, staring at the controls. Something didn't see right about them. \n\n“Pilot error I'm afraid. You see, even back when it was still in operation, they weren't aware of how it worked. I'm sure they assumed magic, but there's not an ounce of magic in the engines, just the wood holding it together.” Horsh said, moving beside him, looking at the controls. “You see how everything is now?”\n\n“Yeah...” Copper said, he had been staring at it for five minutes. “I can see why it stopped working...”\n\n“Overworked the engines, trying to gain height too fast...” He gestured to a panel. “See how all the engines are on full power? The system couldn't take that.” Horsh sighed, shaking his head. “If only I could have been alive to see it fly... I hear that it was a sight to behold... A floating city...”\n\nCopper was still frowning slightly. “How could something this big land? I don't see anything that would help it, and I didn't see anything outside.”\n\n“It didn't land.” Copper looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “It was completely independent. It sent down smaller ships to sell, trade, and general transport. That's why it has so many engines. If one fails, the others can easily pick up the slack while it's repaired.” His claws moved over the controls, which where all stuck in place with age. “A pilot is the master of the ship. A captain may give him orders... But the pilot can always decide to sink the ship.”\n\nCopper pulled back on the wheel, and pushed every slider to full max. “What... Are you doing...” Lady Eval was trying to get up, but struggling to. She had never been struck before.\n\n“Sinking the ship.” He said calmly, as explosions started to rock the ship. \n\n“You... How dare you.” She finally managed to get to her feet. “It's taken decades to bring this as far as it came... And only weeks with your help... We will be able to do it again...” \n\nCopper turned, and looked at her. “Do you really think that?”\n\nThere was hesitation. “Yes... With Celestia's backing, and-”\n\n“You think so highly of her, do you?” Copper said, smirking. “When she's nothing but a powerful Alicorn. That's all.” He moved away from the controls, as there was another explosion, and the ship tilted slightly. “There are powers stronger then her. So she raises the sun... Before her, unicorns did that. It's nothing special. You are a fool.” He paused a moment. “I was a fool. A fool for thinking she actually everyponies best interest.” Staring ahead, he could see Ponyville. \n\n“You... Ignorant little pest...” She coughed heavily, falling over again. “You... Are nothing... Compared to her.”\n\n“Perhaps not.” He was staring at Ponyville. The feeling was growing inside him again. Something was wrong. “I took an oath, not to serve Celestia. But to serve Equestria. And she is bad for it. So I have to do my best to change that.” He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “The job never ends...” Then it dawned on him. “We're going to hit Ponyville.” He ran back to the controls.\n\n“Just noticed that, did you?” She had leaned herself up against the wall, looking out ahead. “I honestly don't see what you like about it... It's just like any nowhere town...”\n\n“Wrong. It's where I belong.” It was something that he had been feeling, but it sounded silly now that he said it aloud.\n\nShe laughed, which Copper expected. “Belong? You are a fool.” She said, with her annoying giggle that Copper had come to hate. “How could you belong there? You're a killer, Copper. You've killed ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, and only Celestia knows what else.”\n\n“That doesn't mean-” Copper began, but she cut him off.\n\n“Ponies like you, don't get happy endings Copper. They die.” Her look was one of triumph, in her opinion, she had won, and there was nothing he could say to change it.\n\nCopper stared blankly at Ponyville. It was so far away, yet so close. He couldn't veer off course now, there wasn't enough power left in the engines. Then her words finally sunk in. And a mad grin spread across his face. “You're right.” He pushed the steering wheel foreword, until it snapped off. The entire ship began tilting foreword. “We do die. But I think I'll die a hero. A martyr. Down with Celestia.” He said, and laughed. No, not laughed. He cackled. \n\nLady Evale backed away from him, this was more terrifying than anything she had ever seen. “You... You plan to...”\n\n“Crash the ship.” He said, laughing. “Oh yes. Run it right into the ground.” The room was tilting more now, and soon it would be pointing straight down, if the ground was not there. “Down with Celestia and her tyranny!” He cackled again, using the control stand to keep himself up.\n\n“You've gone completely insane!” Lady Evale said, before she fled out the shattered window.\n\nThere was a few moments of silence, and then sobs. “Yes. I have.” He said, tears running down his face. “Mad. Completely and utterly mad for thinking I could just stop.” He reached back, and pulled The Gem Cog out of the Flyer, and looked at it. The thought of escape ran through his mind, but what would be the point. Honestly, what chance did he stand against Celestia. “I may be done with my job, but the job isn't done with me... Never done. There's always another job to do...” He slumped over the console, pressing his head against the cog. The ground was getting close. “There's always another job...” He looked up, staring ahead at the ground. “Always another job...” Realization dawned, and his face turned into a cracked grin. “Well...” He stomped his hoof down, as hard as could, The Gem Cog shattered as bellowed, “I quit!”\n\nThe fall of the ship, The False God was seen by many ponies. Everypony in Ponyville, and several hundred more who had gone their escaping Canterlot. The first thing they saw, where explosions in the sky, and then something hitting the clock tower. Then they saw the ship, slowly coming towards them. Suddenly something flew out of the tower at great speed, towards the ship. They all saw, as the ship suddenly began rising into the air at enormous speed, and explosions rang out, and fires erupted all over the ship. Then it seemed to stop, and begin a slow, gentle glide towards Ponyville. Panic filled everpony in the entire town, and ponies began running. But as all looked it's worse, the ship suddenly seemed to fall foreword, and slam into the ground, which rocked all of Ponyville, before going up in a series of several explosions.\n\nIt took weeks to explore the wreckage. There where no survivors found. Mostly diamond dogs, with a few griffons. One of which was female. No bodies of ponies where found.\n\n“Are you sure we need him? I mean honestly... Look at him, he's done. Practically dead.”\n\n“I'm not going to simply let him die. Not after all he's done for us. Now come on, use your power, and at least stop him from dying. He'll get up eventually. He's strong like that.”\n\n“Alright. But my magic isn't designed for this sort of stuff...”\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "The first thing he heard, was loud, though far off. They where familiar. Engines, he guessed. That, and the sound of rushing wind. He forced his eyes open, his head hurt, and here around him, was the deck of a ship. But not just any ship. This was the deck of God. “Ah, I see you are finally awake... So good of you to join the land of the conscious...” To his slight surprise, Lady Evale walked around from the side. “I must admit I am quite impressed with this.” In her hands, was the Flyer Mark V. “Completely useless to me.” She tossed it to the side, and something went twank, which made Copper flinch. “But impressive nonetheless.”

He tried to move, but he was chained to something. They had chained him, him. Copper Feather. The bastards had chained him up, like that would stop him. But a thought popped into his head. “You killed Horsh.”

“Ah, it speaks.” She said, smirking at him. “Why, yes. I did.” She waved a hand flippantly. “Not personally, of course... But I suppose I am the reason he is dead... Or I should say, that you are.” She tisked at him. “Too many questions Copper... Too many.”

Copper cursed himself inside. It was the cog. Not the plans. “The plans...”

“Oh they where put to good use.” She turned on the spot, splaying her arms. “All of this, is thanks to you Copper. You and that wonderful brain of yours...” Her claws closed around it. “If only you where more co-operative...” She put up a hand. “No no. I already know that you would refuse any offer merely on principle.”

Damn it she had a point. He would refuse her just to be difficult. “So you used my designs...”

“To improve God.” Her laugh was so annoying, it graded on everything that Copper had left. “Oh yes. The God you knew was nothing compared to this beauty of a machine.” She sighed, in Coppers opinion, overly dramatically. “But just imagine it Copper... Imagine it with The Gem Cog.”

Copper glared at her. “How...”

“Oh do you honestly think that I don't know?” He knew how she knew of it, but how did she know he did? “I have known of it longer than you dear Copper. Much longer. I, and my associates have been seeking it for a very long time... Unfortunately we have met... Resistance along the way... Al Khamsa, and his brother Sirrah Al-Faras...” The sight of the late King's bodies planted themselves firmly in his head. “Lers...” Now the crumpled body of Lers, laying in a burning building. “The seaponies and their high council... And many others, my dear Copper... All of whom you have dealt with beautifully.” She clapped in an almost painfully mocking way. “Well done.”

His thoughts where racing now. “So you and Celestia... And... Others...” He added, when seeing her face at the mention of Celestia. “Others who used me... Used me to shape everything...”

“Oh very good Copper... I did warn Celestia you where too smart for your own good. But it does you well in a pinch.” She walked past him, but he could still hear her behind him somewhere. “And here you are now... On the deck of God, about to watch us sweep away what little resistance there is left...” The smirk in her voice was quite apparent. “Starting with Ponyville, and the retrieval of The Gem Cog. Oh Copper it will be glorious. “We reach Ponyville in five hours.” He heard her walking away. “Sics, if he tries any attempt to escape... Kill him.”

“Yes, Lady Evale.” Oh that was a speech he recognized. A diamond dog. Just great, those where tough. Tougher than griffons, and definitely tougher than ponies. Sics walked into view, moving a ways away from Copper. He wasn't dumb. “Lady Evale says if you try and escape, Imma kill you.” Than again, instinct was different from intelligence. He was also a sickly yellow color.

“Yes, I heard.” He snapped, trying to think. Chains where hard. Not impossible, but he'd much prefer rope. Rope was easy compared to chains. “So, Sics is an interesting name...” Copper said, small talk would be good.

“I have five brothers.” Sics said, his eyes narrowing. “Don't try and trick me.”

“Trick you? Why ever would I do that? Goodness these chains are uncomfortable.” He shifted a bit, ah, yes. There was a padlock on the back. No chance of picking it. “So five brothers, and your named Six.”

“Not six. Sics.” The large body sat down. “Lotsa ponies make that mistake. But not Diamond Dogs.”

“Ah, yes. I've worked with a few of them in the past.” He shrugged a shoulder, one of the chains slid slightly. That was the thing about chain, people instinctively didn't do it too tight. You could either do it too tight, and crush whatever you where using it for, or have it a bit loose.

“I know.” Sics said, glaring at him.

That caused Copper to stop, and look at him closely. “Have I... Worked with you?”

Sics shook his head slowly, still glaring at him. “No. You hit me in the back with that shocky thing of yours.”

“Ah...” He wiggled slightly. “Sorry about that... Know why exactly I did it?”

He stood up. “Stop moving.”

Copper froze. “Alright. Jeez, just trying to get comfortable... Chains may be all the rage where you come from, but they don't suit me.”

His head was starting to not hurt as much, and his thoughts where coming together. “Are you making fun of me?” Sics hands clenched and unclenched.

“Me? Oh no of course not.” Copper said, leaning back against what he was chained to. There we go, he thought, now I can get out whenever I need to. “So why exactly are you working for Lady Evale and Celestia? I shocked you while following their orders...”

“Don't matter. All I know is they're ganna give me a lot of gems.” He grinned at Copper, and he couldn't help but grimace, that was not attractive at all. “And I get to kill you, after we blast that little spec of a town off the map.”

That was it. Copper couldn't hold himself. “You idiot. Do you honestly think that they're going to give you anything but a swift kick off the ship? You'll be lucky to get off this ship with what you call that pathetic life of yours.”

“That's it.” Fists clenched, he approached. But Copper was ready for him, and Sics wasn't expecting him to simply, drop out of the chains, and kick him in the stomach. With his back legs. It was a kick that would've made Applejack proud if she had seen it. He had helped her a bit gathering apples, and found that bucking apples could be quite useful. And as Sics crumpled, he knew that was a good kick.

“Now then.” He ran towards the Flyer, and quickly started putting it on. No time to make sure everything was perfect, a quick glance showed it would fly. Or at least glide. He spun around as he heard Sics get to his feet.

“Stupid... Little... Pony...” One of his hands was holding his stomach, and blood was coming out from his mouth. That had been a hard kick. He charged at him, screaming some nondescript words. Copper waited, and then dropped onto his back. Hooves planted firmly on Sics chest, a slight roll back, and push. The scream turned to one of panic, as Sics plummeted.

Copper got back to his feet. “Right then.” He rolled his shoulders a bit, adjusting to the Flyer's weight. “No more mister nice pony.” Then he ran. He went into the first door that he found, and ran. He needed to get somewhere. Where was he going? This was not God. He knew the layout of God enough to find his way around, but this was nothing like it. Not on the inside.

“What is it, Horsh?” Copper said, staring up at the largest airship in the world. Or so he'd been told.

“This. Is God.” Horsh said, walking a few steps ahead of Copper. “It's where we do pretty much all the work on airships. It has hangers so big that freight ships can fit inside them.”

He shook his head. Right, hangers. He needed to get to the hangers. That's where the ships would be. He would take one, and beat the ship to Ponyville. If he could get there first, before this ship, and get everypony out.

Then get to the cog. He stopped, and blinked. Where had that thought come from? It made sense. They where after the cog, so of course he needed to get to it before them as well. It was unimaginable something this big, being assisted by that. A pony could rule the world with this ship.

He stopped as he opened a door, and saw a huge cloth wing moving onto a downward stroke. He looked left and right, it was a walkway around the side of the ship. “Hangers will be in the back...” He muttered, as he tore off down the right side. The wings interested him quite a lot. That was how they made sure it was airborne. Usually ships used hot air to keep themselves up, but something this big, needed extra help. Small things needed the help too. “Damn it.” They had taken his idea for a small ship, which used wings to keep itself airborne, rather than hot air. And they had used it.

Suddenly doors farther down swung inward, and several Diamond Dogs rushed out. One pointed at him and shouted. Of course they would hire Diamond Dogs. They where easy to train, and would do any job if you give them enough gems. But there where too many to fight. He turned, in time to see several Diamond Dogs running towards him.

Pay more attention, Copper. This was no time to stop paying attention. He leaped over the railing. It was as he feared, the Flyer couldn't do more than glide. But at least he could steer it, and the updraft from the wings of the ship helped him gain some height. He watched as the dogs met, glared at him a moment, and then most of them dispersed, back into the ship. But a few followed him on the edge.

“God is truly an engineering marvel Copper... No ship has ever come close to it...” Horsh said as he walked across a beam to one of the upper areas.

Copper followed after him. “But... Surely something this big can't possibly fly... It would take far too much air.”

“Ah, well, that's the thing Copper. It doesn't fly. Not anymore.” Horsh gave him a smile, but Copper frowned at him. “It doesn't fly, because it's broken. And no one alive knows how to fix it. We don't know how it flew, but it's thousands of years old.”

“What?” Copper looked down suddenly, the wood did not seem that old. “How is that possible?”

“Magic, of course. At least, the wood is magic. All the inner parts are not, and their all rusted over. Nothing salvageable at all, and no way to even begin to figure out how to get it running.”

Copper shook his head, and collided with the ship. “Gah!” He scrambled up onto the railing, and panted for breath. That could have been bad. The ship had changed course when he wasn't paying attention. He looked back, there where the dogs far behind. The Flyer had to be folded back manually, which required gently pressing it against the building. But once that was done, he took off running. He went in the first door he found, and immediately headed down.

Down, and down, and further down. He shoved open a door, and ran straight into railing. The pain was manageable, that had hurt only a little bit. The sight however, was painful. He saw dozens of his ships. His ships. Ships he had designed. Every bolt, every nail, every gear and cog, every hoof of cloth. All his fault. He sagged against the rail, staring at the ships. There where hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. He slipped off the rail onto the floor. “What have I done... This is not what I wanted...” He took deep breaths, and then heard a crash from the way he had came. “Right.” He stood and ran. “No time to feel sorry for myself right now... I've got a town to save.”

He leaped over the edge, and landed on the cloth wing of one of the ships, which buckled and snapped under his weight. It took a moment to untangle himself from the debris, but then he ran to the next airship. It was empty. He looked around a moment, his mind racing. “Right, trap door underneath, lever to the side. Rope suspended over trap door, which can probably be descended down to allow retrieval...” He pushed the lever, and the sudden snap of the trap door opening, and the rush of air underneath almost made him lose his footing. Almost. He hopped aboard the ship, and glanced around. “Right. Basic three man control scheme... One steering, one shifting gears and speed, one lookout.” He took a deep breath.

Above he heard someone scream. “He's taking an airship! Pilots! To your ships!”

That wasn't good, but he'd come this far already. Couldn't stop now. He stood on his hind hooves, and there it was, the locking mechanism to the rope. “Here goes everything.” He hooked a leg around the joystick, and punched the release. Weightlessness hit him and he floated up gently. He quickly kicked the lever to open the wings, and hit the floor hard. “Owch.” He looked at the controls of speed, and put it in full blast, before moving to the joystick. His eyes went wide as he realized he was pointed at the ground. “Why do these damn things always point down!” He screamed as he pulled back hard, only brushing a few trees. “I mean honestly. The joystick just starts pointing down on it's own...”

He could not see Ponyville from where he was, that was good, and he was going far faster then the airship. Which was even better. It was easy to pilot one of these by yourself if you just needed to get from one place to another. But precision would require at least one other pony. He looked back behind him, and those dozen or so black dots in the distance made him wish he had anypony with him now. He held the lever in place with his back hoof as he reached and fiddled with controls.

“C'mon... More speed... Gatta get more... Oops.” There was a thunk, and something fell. He looked over the side of the ship, in time to see a rather large explosion on the ground. “Uh. Oops.” But that gave him an idea. He pulled that lever again, ignoring the explosions bellow. Eventually, they stopped, and he moved back to the joystick. He was moving a lot faster now. Yet, when he looked to the side, and through the blurring speed of the wings, he saw there was another ship, three Diamond Dogs on it, glaring at him. He immediately pulled back on the joystick, and shot upwards. The followed.

It took a few close shaves before he realized that they where trying to ram him. Idiots, that would kill them all. But he was sure they didn't know that. They where just following orders for gems. Then he saw Sweet Apple Acres. Or at least, the groves of apple trees that made up most of it. Some of the other ships had collided with each other trying to get him, and had gone up in a rather large explosion. All those bombs going off at once was quite the sight. Copper wondered if they looked a little bit like fireworks... Then he got clipped. His airship began tumbling, spinning and turning. And time seemed to slow down as he saw it. The tall structure of the clock tower ahead of him. Instinct told him to jump. So he did.

He tumbled and spiraled through the air. The Flyer was useless now, and he didn't dare try to extend it. At 1, the face of the clock tower shattered.

Copper forced his eyes open, he hurt, and he could see a lot of blood on the floor. He slowly sat up, trying to ignore the burning feeling of glass. His eyes turned to the right, the Flyer was mangled. But he wasn't look at it. He was looking past it. At the cog, which shined. Words echoed through his head. “Don't use it. It's dangerous.”

“No choice.” He said and limped slowly towards it. What was driving him now, was the need to stop the ship. He had to stop it, at any cost. The cog was cold, and the light inside went out immediately when Copper pulled it from the clock. He pulled a cog from the Flyer, and pushed The Gem Cog into it's place. The glow returned, and the Flyer outstretched, snapping back together, cloth becoming whole again. He looked up at one of the none shattered faces, it was stopped at half passed 4. “No time left.” He shot out of the hole, pounding his wings to gain speed. There was a distant speck above the horizon, and that's what he was aiming at. Then a traitor of a thought popped into his head. How do I stop it?

Glass shattered as Copper came in through the window. There was a large griffon, behind a wheel. And behind him, Lady Evale. “Ah, Copper... I was wondering when-” She stopped, staring at him. “You didn't...”

“Oh yeah.” Copper said, a smirk on his face. “And I have to say, it works flawlessly.”

“Give it to me!” She screamed, and lunged at him. But she was inexperienced at any kind of fighting, and Copper wasn't afraid to hit a lady. It only took one blow, but Copper gave her a kick afterwords that sent her skidding across the floor.

“Run.” Copper said to the griffon, who hesitated only a moment, before fleeing. He moved over to the controls. It was just like God. In almost every way. Perfect.

“So what exactly brought God down?” Copper said, staring at the controls. Something didn't see right about them.

“Pilot error I'm afraid. You see, even back when it was still in operation, they weren't aware of how it worked. I'm sure they assumed magic, but there's not an ounce of magic in the engines, just the wood holding it together.” Horsh said, moving beside him, looking at the controls. “You see how everything is now?”

“Yeah...” Copper said, he had been staring at it for five minutes. “I can see why it stopped working...”

“Overworked the engines, trying to gain height too fast...” He gestured to a panel. “See how all the engines are on full power? The system couldn't take that.” Horsh sighed, shaking his head. “If only I could have been alive to see it fly... I hear that it was a sight to behold... A floating city...”

Copper was still frowning slightly. “How could something this big land? I don't see anything that would help it, and I didn't see anything outside.”

“It didn't land.” Copper looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “It was completely independent. It sent down smaller ships to sell, trade, and general transport. That's why it has so many engines. If one fails, the others can easily pick up the slack while it's repaired.” His claws moved over the controls, which where all stuck in place with age. “A pilot is the master of the ship. A captain may give him orders... But the pilot can always decide to sink the ship.”

Copper pulled back on the wheel, and pushed every slider to full max. “What... Are you doing...” Lady Eval was trying to get up, but struggling to. She had never been struck before.

“Sinking the ship.” He said calmly, as explosions started to rock the ship.

“You... How dare you.” She finally managed to get to her feet. “It's taken decades to bring this as far as it came... And only weeks with your help... We will be able to do it again...”

Copper turned, and looked at her. “Do you really think that?”

There was hesitation. “Yes... With Celestia's backing, and-”

“You think so highly of her, do you?” Copper said, smirking. “When she's nothing but a powerful Alicorn. That's all.” He moved away from the controls, as there was another explosion, and the ship tilted slightly. “There are powers stronger then her. So she raises the sun... Before her, unicorns did that. It's nothing special. You are a fool.” He paused a moment. “I was a fool. A fool for thinking she actually everyponies best interest.” Staring ahead, he could see Ponyville.

“You... Ignorant little pest...” She coughed heavily, falling over again. “You... Are nothing... Compared to her.”

“Perhaps not.” He was staring at Ponyville. The feeling was growing inside him again. Something was wrong. “I took an oath, not to serve Celestia. But to serve Equestria. And she is bad for it. So I have to do my best to change that.” He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “The job never ends...” Then it dawned on him. “We're going to hit Ponyville.” He ran back to the controls.

“Just noticed that, did you?” She had leaned herself up against the wall, looking out ahead. “I honestly don't see what you like about it... It's just like any nowhere town...”

“Wrong. It's where I belong.” It was something that he had been feeling, but it sounded silly now that he said it aloud.

She laughed, which Copper expected. “Belong? You are a fool.” She said, with her annoying giggle that Copper had come to hate. “How could you belong there? You're a killer, Copper. You've killed ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, and only Celestia knows what else.”

“That doesn't mean-” Copper began, but she cut him off.

“Ponies like you, don't get happy endings Copper. They die.” Her look was one of triumph, in her opinion, she had won, and there was nothing he could say to change it.

Copper stared blankly at Ponyville. It was so far away, yet so close. He couldn't veer off course now, there wasn't enough power left in the engines. Then her words finally sunk in. And a mad grin spread across his face. “You're right.” He pushed the steering wheel foreword, until it snapped off. The entire ship began tilting foreword. “We do die. But I think I'll die a hero. A martyr. Down with Celestia.” He said, and laughed. No, not laughed. He cackled.

Lady Evale backed away from him, this was more terrifying than anything she had ever seen. “You... You plan to...”

“Crash the ship.” He said, laughing. “Oh yes. Run it right into the ground.” The room was tilting more now, and soon it would be pointing straight down, if the ground was not there. “Down with Celestia and her tyranny!” He cackled again, using the control stand to keep himself up.

“You've gone completely insane!” Lady Evale said, before she fled out the shattered window.

There was a few moments of silence, and then sobs. “Yes. I have.” He said, tears running down his face. “Mad. Completely and utterly mad for thinking I could just stop.” He reached back, and pulled The Gem Cog out of the Flyer, and looked at it. The thought of escape ran through his mind, but what would be the point. Honestly, what chance did he stand against Celestia. “I may be done with my job, but the job isn't done with me... Never done. There's always another job to do...” He slumped over the console, pressing his head against the cog. The ground was getting close. “There's always another job...” He looked up, staring ahead at the ground. “Always another job...” Realization dawned, and his face turned into a cracked grin. “Well...” He stomped his hoof down, as hard as could, The Gem Cog shattered as bellowed, “I quit!”

The fall of the ship, The False God was seen by many ponies. Everypony in Ponyville, and several hundred more who had gone their escaping Canterlot. The first thing they saw, where explosions in the sky, and then something hitting the clock tower. Then they saw the ship, slowly coming towards them. Suddenly something flew out of the tower at great speed, towards the ship. They all saw, as the ship suddenly began rising into the air at enormous speed, and explosions rang out, and fires erupted all over the ship. Then it seemed to stop, and begin a slow, gentle glide towards Ponyville. Panic filled everpony in the entire town, and ponies began running. But as all looked it's worse, the ship suddenly seemed to fall foreword, and slam into the ground, which rocked all of Ponyville, before going up in a series of several explosions.

It took weeks to explore the wreckage. There where no survivors found. Mostly diamond dogs, with a few griffons. One of which was female. No bodies of ponies where found.

“Are you sure we need him? I mean honestly... Look at him, he's done. Practically dead.”

“I'm not going to simply let him die. Not after all he's done for us. Now come on, use your power, and at least stop him from dying. He'll get up eventually. He's strong like that.”

“Alright. But my magic isn't designed for this sort of stuff...”

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