A Lonely Life

Chapters

Chapter One: First meeting
Chapter Two: A Rare Occurence
Chapter Three: A Warm Reception
Chapter Four: The Road to Recovery
Chapter Five: Spell Shocked
Chapter Six: Mammal Whisperer
Chapter Seven: The Party of a Lifetime
Chapter Eight: Vacation... Sort of.

Chapter One: First meeting

Chapter One

It was a perfectly normal day for Twilight, full of studying and magic practice, her number one assistant being helpful as ever. That is until he clumsily fell off the ladder he had been standing on moments before, hitting the ground with a slight 'thump' and sending the books he had been carrying flying all over the library.

"Spike, you really should be more careful," said Twilight, holding back a slight chuckle while helping him up," you could get hurt."

"It's not MY fault that it's hard to climb a ladder with only one hand..." Spike grumbled, obviously agitated that Twilight found all this funny. "Besides I don't see why you can't just float them up there with your magic, and leave me to clean and cook."

"Well that would make it easier, but I'm rather busy right now Spike," she said as she levitated the strewn books into their proper place, seeing fit to help him this once so he wouldn't hurt himself more than he already had. "And besides, you are my number one assistant aren't you?" Spike opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of somepony walking into the front door. He went to greet them seeing as Twilight was 'busy' and when he rounded the corner to the main area of the library, he saw a rather timid and worn out looking stallion standing there. The stallion had a dark indigo coat and a white mane, he had a quill and parchment cutie mark, and sported a hat of some sort- a schoolboy, NO! a Newsboy cap that almost covered his horn from view.

"Hi! I'm Spike and welcome to the Ponyville Public Library!" Spike said very cheerily to this newcomer. "How can I help you?" The stallion looked rather confused for a minute then shared his confusions verbally, along with his name.

"Um... I-I'm I-Inkwell. A-Are you in charge of the library?" He asked, seeming rather confused as to why a dragon would be in a library.

"Well no, but I am the librarian's assistant, said librarian, Twilight Sparkle, is busy and sent me to see what you needed." Spike thought correctly as to the timidness of this stallion who was in the library, as for his other attributes, Spike could tell he was probably an author of some sorts based on his cutie mark. Other than that, Spike didn't have a clue as to what he should think about this stallion.

"O-oh, well then I'll just wait for her to finish... if that's not to much to ask. The help I need requires me to talk to whoever is in charge. You don't mind if I wait do you?"

Spike told him to take a seat and went to go get Twilight. All he could think was that this stallion reminded him of Fluttershy because of how.. well... shy he was. He rounded the corner back into the study where Twilight was, and saw her hard at work, she still managed to know he was there though.

"Did you take care of that customer Spike? What did they need?" she asked pointedly, it was always business with her.

"No, he said he needed to talk to the owner of the library, I'm not sure why." Spike said. "his name is Inkwell and he seems a little shy, so take it easy on him Twi." Twilight sighed in agitation as she went to speak with Inkwell, for some reason the name seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on why.

___

As he sat there waiting, Inkwell couldn't help but feel like this was a very bad idea, even if he did need the money after paying back his college loans. He was about to get up and leave when a rather beautiful mare walked into the room looking rather upset that she was disturbed from her work.

"Hello there, my name is Twilight Sparkle, how can I help you Mr...." she trailed off, forgetting the name Spike had told her.

"Inkwell," he said "I-I was wondering if you had a job opening, I just moved to town from Canterlot, and I'm in desperate need of money."

"..." Twilight was taken aback by this, and was at a complete loss for words. She stood there attempting to process what she had just heard. Inkwell... Inkwell, why did that name sound so familiar? Then it suddenly hit her, she knew who this stallion was, he was the author of one of her favorite books: The Wings of Love. "Oh. My. Gosh. Inkwell, THE Inkwell, author of The Wings of Love?!?! How could YOU of all ponies be in need of money? I LOVED your book, it was so amazing!"

"Um... well... I-I'm glad you liked my book, but you are one of the only ones, I barely made enough off of it to pay my student loans, but what about me working here?"

"OF COURSE YOU CAN WORK-" She was cut off by Spike nudging her side a little roughly. "Um, Twilight, can I talk to you for a sec?" She looked at him confused, thinking another jealousy thing would spring up, but gave in with a sigh. "Fine..."

Spike had brought her to the other side of the room so they wouldn't be overheard by Inkwell. "Listen Twilight, as much as I know you like this guy's book, I have a couple of objections in letting him work here." Twilight gave him an angered look while he continued. "One: this is a small library, and you already have me and Owls to help you out. Two: Even if we did need the extra help, don't you think we should talk to Princess Celestia about it first?" Twilight blinked at him, he had just made more sense with those two statements than he had in his whole life put together.

"You're right Spike..."

"I'm sorry I'm what?"

Twilight rolled her eyes before continuing, "We really should ask the Princess, but Owlowiscious is more for carrying letters to nearby ponies, and you can only do so much on your own when I'm busy." Spike thought for a moment then conceded. "Fine but we need to get the Princess's approval, okay?"

"Deal," then to Inkwell she said "Okay Mr. Inkwell, I need to ask Princess Celestia before I can hire you, but I'm sure she will be fine with it. Where are you staying while in Ponyville so I can send for you when I receive an answer?"

"Wait, why do you need to ask the Princess before you can hire me?"

"Well, I'm her student and I'm staying here while I study. So, I will have to ask her before letting somepony work in the home she provided me with."

"You're... Princess Celestia's student?" Asked Inkwell rather bewildered at this statement.

"Yep. So anyways like I asked before, where are you staying while you're here?"

"Well... I'm currently living in a very roomy box near Carousel Boutique." He said sadly.

"Oh my, you really need this job don't you?"

"You have no idea."

Twilight thought for a moment. "If you want you can stay here until I get a response from the Princess. Speaking of which, Spike, write a letter to Celestia explaining everything"

"YES MA'AM!" Spike said with a little mock salute.

Inkwell was a little shocked at Twilight's offer, he had never met anyone kind enough to let him sleep at their house while knowing so little about him."Um, as much as I appreciate the offer, I couldn't possibly impose on you like that. I'll be fine in my...box."

"Oh no, it's no imposition, especially since I asked you," said Twilight with a smile.

"I simply couldn't stay here overnight with us having just met. Thank you but I refuse to accept your offer, good night Miss Sparkle," and with that, Inkwell walked out the library.

Twilight was concerned for Inkwell, but let him go, then noticing how late it was, along with her tiredness, decided to call it a night. "Spike! Did you send the letter to Celestia?" Her assistant nodded and followed her upstairs to their beds. As she got into bed, a last thought of Inkwell drifted through her mind as she began to doze off.

Chapter Two: A Rare Occurence

Chapter 2

As Inkwell walked home he couldn't help but think of how kind the library mare had been. Nopony had ever shown him that amount of kindness, all the ponies he had met before were either uncaring, or in worse cases, genuinely cruel to him. He began to approach Carousel Boutique and his... box. As he neared the shop however, he caught a pink blur out of the corner of his eye. He had just enough time to turn to face it before being assaulted by a pink mare with wide eyes and a larger than life smile on her face.

"HI I'M PINKIE PIE AND I SAW YOU WALKING AND DIDN'T KNOW WHO YOU WERE WHICH MEANS THAT YOU'RE NEW BECAUSE I KNOW EVERYPONY AND I MEAN EVERYPONY IN PONYVILLE AND IF YOU'RE NEW THAT MEANS YOU HAVEN'T GOT ANY FRIENDS WHICH MEANS YOU MUST BE LONELY AND THAT MADE ME soo sad AND THEN I GOT AN IDEA!!!! I'LL THROW YOU A PARTY AND INVITE EVERYONE SO YOU CAN MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!"

Inkwell was laying on the ground underneath the mare mouth gaping. Partly because she had managed to say all of that in one breath, and partly because she was going to throw him a..."Wait, why are you going to throw me a party?"

"Oh silly billy, who doesn't love a good party?"

"I guess, but I still don't see why you would throw me a-"

He was interrupted by a beautiful mare walking up in the direction of the Boutique. "Pinkie dear, how nice to see you! Who's your new, um, friend?"

"His name is... what is your name?"

"Inkwell, could you please get-"

"Nice to meet you Inkwell I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"You already said that, now could you please get off?"

"Okie dokie lokie!" She jumped off allowing Inkwell to stand, and breathe, once again.

"Oh, well it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Inkwell," said Rarity, speaking up again. "But why are you walking out here all by yourself this late at night? And when did you move into town?"

"Nice to meet you too Miss..."

"Rarity"

"Miss Rarity, and I just moved into town yesterday night and was on my way home when I was tackled by Pinkie. And I should be asking you why you are walking out here by yourself."

"Oh... well I needed to go pick up a few things to finish a dress that I'm making."

"You make dresses? Does that mean you work at the Boutique?"

"Darling I own the Boutique."

"Oh well that-"

"Hey Rarity! Wanna go to a party tomorrow!?!?" The pink mare interrupted him once again with her very loud voice.

"Oh of course Pinkie! I always love your parties, I will most certainly be there!"

"Okie dokie lokie! I'm going invite everypony else!" The pink mare hopped away leaving just Inkwell and Rarity to talk.

"So Mr. Inkwell, where are you staying while here in Ponyville?"

"Um... well, I'm staying in a... box... not to far from your Boutique."

"WHAT?! A-a-a-a BOX?! That is simply disgust- oh... um... sorry." After noticing that she was overreacting again she quickly regained her composure. Inkwell simply cocked an eyebrow at her outburst."Why on earth are you living in a... box? Haven't you got any money?"

"Well, no, not really. That's why I was out this late, I was at the library looking for a job."

"The library, that means you've met Twilight! I hope she didn't lecture you or anything dear, she can do that without realizing it."

"Oh no, not at all, she was actually quite nice about the whole thing, told me my chances were looking good but she had to ask the Princess first."

"Good, I'm glad she din't give you a hard time. Now about your situation, you simply must let me help you by allowing you to stay in my home, or at least take a few bits for you to buy a home with." Yet another mare was offering him help, but this one seemed much more willing, while Twilight had seemed a little more cautious about it. He just might take up this mares offer, seeing as he wasn't going to be working for her, and he felt that he knew her better as well. He knew he still didn't know a lot about her, but something about her expression was pleading, as if she wanted him to come stay with her for the time being.

"Um, well..."

"Please"

"I don't know..."

Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleease!"

"Okay, fine, but let me get my stuff first, I'll be over in a bit."

"Oh thank you, I couldn't possibly in good conscious let you stay out in the cold all night long."

"Well, thanks for letting me stay until I can get my own house." Inkwell turned and headed in the direction of his box, he didn't have much, but what he did have was certainly worth keeping. He reached his box and began to collect his belongings, a few bits, a copy of his book, his favorite quill that was a gift from his parents, and a picture of said parents. All of these things held great value to him, except the bits, and he would never leave any of them anywhere. He turned around and headed in the direction of the Boutique, which was just in sight because of how close he was to it. He thought to himself what he would do if the Princess denied his request to work at the library. He could take up baking, he didn't have a cutie mark for it, but he wasn't to shabby. He pushed this thought from his mind as he reached the door of the Boutique and knocked.

"Coming!" A few moments later Rarity opened the door and greeted him with a smile, and then a frown when she realized how little he had. "Darling, is that all you own?" He nodded and she seemed to have a look of pure sympathy on her face. "Do you even have saddlebags to carry it all in?" He shook his head in response. "Well then, we'll just have to take care of that now won't we?"

"What?" He was confused by what she meant, was she going to buy him a cheap pair or something?

"I'll just make you a pair! Tomorrow though, I'm quite busy right now, and of course they'll be free of charge! It's the least I can do, what with the financial situation you're in." Inkwell was truly stunned, this was the most generous mare he had met in his entire life. He never thought anypony could be so nice. First she let him stay in her home, which Twilight was willing to do to, but Rarity was also going to make him a pair of saddlebags for free.

"I-I don't know what to say, other than 'thank you'."

"Oh It's no trouble, come in and make yourself at home, I have a spare bedroom upstairs. It's the last door on the left, the bathroom is across the hall... speaking of which, go ahead and wash up, I'll finish with this dress and put some dinner on." She turned and faced the stairs and called up, "Sweetie Bell! Come and meet our guest! And make sure that you're washed up for dinner!"

"Um... who is Sweetie Bell, an employee of yours?"

"Oh heavens no, she is my little sister. She usually stays with me unless I'm extremely busy."

"Oh, well um... I'll just go set up my room and everything then." He turned and headed for the stairs at a nod from Rarity. Halfway up he passed a small white filly with a purple and pink mane, she smiled and gave a slight wave at him as he passed. He smiled in return and continued on, he came to the room Rarity had mentioned, and when he opened the door felt like he was walking into a five star hotel.There was a large window along one wall that overlooked the empty area behind the boutique, a very nice bed on the right wall, and a dresser and mirror on the left. The scene the window portrayed was very boring, but peaceful and serene all the same. He set his things down on the dresser and proceeded to the bathroom to wash his hooves and mane, which was becoming very unkempt. When he walked into the bathroom, he got the same five star experience, it had a white marble counter top with a silver, diamond encrusted faucet. He thought the diamonds were a little overkill but didn't complain, seeing as the faucet worked. He washed his mane, dried it, then headed back downstairs to where he could smell a fresh cooked meal. He reached the kitchen to find Rarity standing at the stove turning it off, and Sweetie Bell setting up the table.

"Hi Mr.!" Sweetie Bell took a moment to pause and greet him, causing Rarity to turn.

"Why hello Inkwell, I see you've washed up, and not a moment to soon! I've just finished cooking!"

"I- wow, it smells great." He said as the full blast of the food hit him. He took a seat at the table and awaited a plate.

"Well, I'm no master chef, but I can certainly cook a good meal, Sweetie Bell on the other hoof... well, let's just say she can burn juice."

"HEY!" Sweetie bell screamed in protest. "I thought we weren't going to talk about that! And it wasn't THAT bad."

"Sweetie Bell, you and I both know that it was indeed 'that bad'."

"I don't need to tell him about To-" she was cut short by Rarity's hoof in her mouth.

"Don't. Ever. Speak. Of that. Again. Got it?"

"Umm hmm." she gave a few swift nods a Rarity backed away, levitating dinner over to the table. They began eating, and after a few moments, Rarity asked a question he had hoped she wouldn't.

"So Inkwell, how exactly did you get in such a mess anyway?" He cringed a little at this, was he going to have to share his life story with everypony he met? He prepared himself for her reaction, which was bound to be exaggerated from what he knew so far about her, and then continued.

"Well, I paid off my college loans a little to fast with the money I made off of my book, and I didn't have enough to live in Canterlot, so I had to move here."

"Book? So you're an author?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Well then you're bound to be hired by Twilight, she really enjoys reading."

"I figured that out when she freaked out after realizing who I was." They all shared a laugh, even Sweetie Bell gave a little chuckle at what he said, he was really beginning to warm up to Rarity. She was the first friend he had in years. After his book published, people thought he was weird and shunned him. This mare had accepted him into her home, and was feeding him like he was part of her family. Then he realized that she had probably never read his book, but he didn't care. Rarity was still just as kind and generous, no matter what the circumstance.

"Well that was an amazing meal. Thank you Rarity, now if you'll excuse me, I'm very tired."

"Oh of course darling, you go ahead and get some rest, I'll see you in the morning."

He nodded his thanks and went to his room, he could tell he would like it here. As he climbed into bed he let out a sigh of relief. He laid his head down and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Three: A Warm Reception

Chapter Three

As Inkwell awoke the next morning, he was a bit confused at his surroundings. Then the events of yesterday came back to him in a flash. The job at the library, moving in with Rarity, the party that he had today. 'The party, heh, not even sure if I'm going to that.' He thought to himself. He supposed it wouldn't hurt, unless that overly-energetic pink mare decided to tackle him again. He allowed himself a light chuckle before climbing out of bed. He turned and made up the covers (he may have lived in a box the past months, but he still had manners) then proceeded to put on his hat. He walked downstairs and smelled something burning. He quickened his pace due to fear of a fire, and when he rounded the corner into the kitchen saw the little white foal standing by the stove with smoke in the air.

"Need a little help?" He asked, startling her a little.

"Nope' I've got everything under control." Inkwell raised an eyebrow at this, and openly looked around at the smoke in the air.

"If you say so." She looked around a little nervously, then sighed.

"Fine, Mr. Inkwell could you please help me?"

"Sure thing Sweetie Bell." He gave a small chuckle. He began to clean up the mess she had made, and began to cook another breakfast. Since Sweetie insisted on helping, he had her get the things he needed as he needed them, and showed her how to cook a few of the simpler things. When they were just about done, Rarity walked in and gave Inkwell a small frown.

"Darling, why on earth are you down here cooking breakfast for us?" He turned and began to explain what had happened.

"Well, I woke up early and smelled burning coming from down here. When I got down, I saw Sweetie trying to cook breakfast to no avail, so I stepped in and started to help. I hope you don't mind." She laughed a little and sat down at the table.

"Like I said last night, Sweetie isn't exactly the best cook. I trust you are more capable?" He nodded and began to finish up the last of the cooking while Sweetie Bell took a seat at the table next to her sister. After finishing, he brought the food over to the table and they began to eat. It wasn't a very fancy breakfast, but it was sufficient. After finishing breakfast, Sweetie went to play with her friends, who Inkwell learned called themselves 'The Cutie Mark Crusaders', and Rarity got to work on his saddlebags. He couldn't even begin to count how many measurements she took of him.

"Inkwell,"

"Hm?"

"If you don't mind, I need you to do something for me while I work on this."

"Sure Rarity, what is it?"

"Could you be a dear and head down to Sweet Apple Acres and ask Applejack for my usual purchase, she'll know what you mean."

"Of course... um, where exactly is Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Oh just head out of Ponyville to the west, you can't miss it."

"Sure thing, see you when I get back." He turned and headed in the direction Rarity had mentioned. After about a half hour of searching, he finally found the apple farm. He walked up and was greeted by a large red stallion.

"Mornin' stranger, names Big Macintosh. What can I do ya for?"

"Good morning, my name is Inkwell. Rarity sent me for her 'usual'." The stallion looked at him a little confused.

"Uh, maybe ya should talk ta AJ 'bout that. She's down at the market, if ya want ta find her."

"Okay," he sighed, he wasn't really used to walking around this much. "Thanks for your help Big Macintosh."

"Eeyup." Inkwell turned and left the farm, heading back in the direction of Ponyville.

He didn't want to keep Rarity waiting too long, so he started to gallop to make up for lost time. Apparently, this wasn't such a good idea because not to long after he started galloping, he tripped over a rock and landed face first on the ground. He sat there dazed for a moment before rapidly shaking his head to clear his thoughts, and headed back out for Ponyville. This time at a much slower pace. He could feel a slight sting on the top of his head, but decided to ignore it, figuring it was just a small scrape.

After making it back to town, he began looking around for the market area. After roughly five minutes of searching, he finally came across the market and had located the apple farmer's stall. As he approached, he noticed a look of concern fall across Applejack's face.

"You alright there sugarcube, that cut looks a might painful."

"Oh you mean this little-" he stopped short when he brought his hoof up to the 'scrape' on his head and it felt far more wet than it should. He shakily brought his hoof up in front of his face and saw that it was covered in blood. He was suddenly aware of felling lightheaded, and he began to swoon back and forth.

"Rarity... usual... cut... blood...heh." After that he fainted and hit the ground with Applejack rushing over to drag him to the hospital.

______

Twilight was awoken from a wonderful dream about being a famous writer by Spike's prodding claw.

"Huh... what is it Spike?" She asked rather sleepily.

"While you were sleeping in till noon, I got a letter from the princess about that Inkwell guy that was here yesterday." At the mention of a letter, Twilight shot up immediately and snatched the letter away from the dragon's claws and unfurled it with her magic.

My dearest student Twilight,

It matters not to me who you hire to assist you at the library. I gave it to you to manage how you see fit, this includes any employees that you wish to have. If you wish to hire Inkwell, then do so knowing you need no approval from me. And if it is fine with you and Inkwell, I would very much like to meet him he sounds rather interesting from the way Spike described him. Send me another letter about a convenient time for him to meet me, and please, no need to rush. Remember what happened last time you thought you were going to be tardy?

Princess Celestia

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn't have to turn down Inkwell's job application. She then noticed Spike who was tapping his his foot wearing an expression that clearly said 'Well, what did it say?'

"The Princess has approved of my hiring of Inkwell," she responded to his unasked question. She then set out to where Inkwell had said where his box was to bring him the good news. When she got there however, she noticed that his box was empty, and that he was nowhere to be seen. She decided to ask Rarity if she had seen him go anywhere, figuring she at least knew he was living near her shop. She approached the Boutique door and knocked. Rarity's famous sing-song voice could be heard from within.

"Coming!" After a few moments, her friend appeared at the door. "Oh why hello Twilight! Come in and tell me what you need!"

"Actually Rarity, I just had a question to ask you and then I need to go."

"Okay then, what is it?"

"Have you seen a stallion by the name of Inkwell around here somewhere? He has a black coat and a white mane, somewhat thin?"

"Oh Inkwell? Why yes, he's staying with me until he can find a house, I sent him down to Sweet Apple Acres to run an errand for me."

"Oh well then I should- wait WHAT?! He's staying with you? When did this happen?"

"Last night, I found him on my way back from shopping last night. He was being assaulted by Pinkie when I learned he was homeless and invited him to stay with me."

"Wait, he accepted to stay at your house but not mine? Whatever, I'll ask him about it when I find him, you said you sent him to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Yes, I sent him to pick up some apples for me."

"Thank you Rarity, I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Twilight, have a good afternoon"

Twilight galloped off toward the Apple family farm, but she stopped when she came across the market and saw Applejack dragging an unconscious black stallion toward the direction of the hospital. She began to trot over to lend a hoof, but stopped short when she saw exactly who AJ was dragging. She broke into a gallop and asked Applejack what happened.

"Well, he came over to mah cart with a big ol' cut on his head. When Ah asked him if he was doin' alright, he seemed to just have noticed that there cut on his head an' mumbled somthin' about Rarity. After that he just up and fainted."

"Well we should probably get him to the hospital. Here, let me help." Twilight picked up Inkwell's limp body with her magic, and began to trot toward the hospital. Luckily it wasn't to far to the clinic and they were able to quickly get Inkwell into a room. Twilight really hoped that he would be fine.

Author's Note: Okay so if the back half of the chapter (everything after Big Mac) is kinda bad, it's more than likely because I'm working on this at midnight. I hope anyone who actually reads this enjoys it. I'll do my best to keep regular updates flowing, but I can't make any promises.

Chapter Four: The Road to Recovery

Chapter 4

Inkwell awoke slowly and became aware of a faint beeping sound to his left. He also noticed the white walls and bed that wasn't his own (well Rarity's at least). He blinked his bleary eyes a few times in confusion. Why am I in a hospital? Then, the events of the past day came rushing back to him, the apple farm, the gash on his head, fainting in the middle of Ponyville Marketplace. He reached up a hoof and touched the now healing wound. The shift caused a violet mare sitting down on a couch in the room to finally take notice of him being awake.

"Inkwell! You're awake, how do you feel?"

"Fine, what happened?"

"When you showed up at Applejack's cart a couple days ago, you had a large cut on your head. You fainted after mumbling something about Rarity, and me and AJ had to carry you over here. You lost a lot of blood and had to be put in the ER as soon as you got here."

"Wow, it was that bad huh? How am I doin' now?"

"You should be just fine Mr. Inkwell." The doctor walked in as he said this, and hung up his clipboard.

"Well that's good... hey, why didn't I feel this when I first got it?"

"Because you severed the nerve endings in that area. It isn't uncommon for a wound like that. But rest assured, you will heal in full."

"I severed the nerve... are you SURE I'm going to be fine?"

"Yes, I've seen many injuries where this has happened so I know exactly how it turns out. Now get a few more hours rest, you should be ready to check out of the hospital by this afternoon."

Inkwell was still a little skeptical, but decided to trust the doctor's medical expertise. He looked over to Twilight to see that she also looked very relieved. When she noticed that he was looking at her however, she gave a slight blush and hurriedly looked away. This caused Inkwell to become a little confused. She doesn't... LIKE me does she? He decided to dismiss the thought for now and ask her a question that had been bugging him since yester- wait, did she say A FEW DAYS AGO?

"Hey um Twilight, how long have I been in the hospital exactly?"

"Two days, like I said, you lost a lot of blood."

"Oh, well then, I guess that means I missed Pinkie Pie's party."

"DID SOMEPONY SAY PARTY?!" Just then, the pink mare in question jumped through the door. Inkwell was mildly scared, and Twilight just facehoofed.

"Um, me?"

"OH! You're that new pony in town... Inkwell. You bumped your head and couldn't come to your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, so I had to cancel it, but now you're awake so the party is back on!"

"Um, okay, I guess I'll be there..."

"Okie dokie lokie, the party will be tomorrow, I need to go get it ready and send out the invitations!" As quickly as she had appeared, Pinkie Pie was gone and doing Celestia knows what.

"Is she always like this?"

"Yep, but you get used to it."

"If you say so. Oh and Twilight, did you ever get an answer back from the princess?"

"An answer to wha- OH! Yes, she said I could hire you and..." She trailed off, not exactly quite sure how to put this next part.

"And what? I'm not in trouble or something am I?"

"Oh no, she just wants to... well, she wants to meet you. In person."

"SHE WHAT!?!?!? The immortal goddess of the SUN wants to meet ME!?"

"Hehe, yes. She said to come when it was most convenient for you."

"When it's convenient for me, well that just takes away ALL the pressure. Ugh... fine I'll meet her, give me about a week to prepare myself. More mentally than anything else, but I still don't want to look like I just crawled out of the sewer."

"Okay, I'll send a letter to the princess telling her to expect you in roughly a week's time. Now, rest up like the doctor said. The library opens at eight-o-clock A.M. and you start tomorrow. See you then." She left without giving him a chance to respond. He sighed and went back to sleep. At least he had a job and was earning money now, he could start paying Rarity some rent on the room he was staying in. He fell asleep and entered a dream about a pink mare forcing him to eat cupcakes while he was strapped to a table in somepony's basement.

______

Inkwell was woken up by the doctor, the light outside told him that it was probably somewhere around five in the afternoon.

"Mr. Inkwell, it's time for you to leave. You have made a full recovery and are no longer in need of our care." As the doctor was saying this, he began to pull out all the monitors and needles that covered Inkwell's body. Inkwell slowly climbed out the bed and took off his hospital gown. He handed the gown to the doctor and walked to the front desk.

"How much is my bill?" The receptionist who he was speaking to looked at him and smiled.

"Twilight already took care of the bill deary, now you just run on home."

Inkwell was stunned, Twilight piked up the bill? He could hardly fathom how nice these mares were being. He immediately went to the library as fast as he could to thank Twilight properly for everything she had done so far. He slowed his pace a little when the library came into view. He reached the door after a few moments a knocked. He heard the lavender mare he had come to speak to call to her assistant.

"SPIKE! GET THE DOOR I'M BUSY!"

"OKAY!" A few moments later the purple and green dragon opened the door. "Hey Inkwell, waddya' need?"

"To talk to Twilight actually. Could you go get her please?"

"Sure thing! TWI! IT'S INKWELL!" After he said that a purple blur shot down the stairs and came right up in front of Inkwell's face.

"Hi Inkwell!"

"Hey Twilight, I just wanted to stop by and say thanks for paying for my hospital bill."

"Oh your welcome, you din't have any money so I just took care of it. Besides, consider it a work-perk."

"Oh, well then thanks again. It's always nice to have medical covered in your employee benefits."

"Yea it is, hey you wanna' stick around and help me with my research? Spike will have his hands full down here and Owlouicious doesn't like me practicing on him."

"Sure I'll help you with your reaser- did you say practice ON him?"

"Yes, um you see I'm in the middle of studying alteration spells and I need a live practice target. Nothing too dangerous, but it is why medical is covered in your employee benefits." She gave him a sheepish smile as if none of this was of any concern.

"Fine I'll help, but nothing that can get me killed or seriously maimed okay?" He followed her upstairs to her study which had been cleared away for magical practice. She motioned for him to stand in the middle of the room and she took the outer edge. She held up a book to her face with her magic and read over whatever spell she was about to preform on him. She gave a small nod as she put the book aside and her horn began to glow.

"Okay, here goes nothin'!"

Author's Note: For starters, thank you to everyone who has tracked and/or liked my petty excuse for a story. I really didn't think I would do this well. Also I openly welcome constructive criticism and would like you to point out my stupid mistakes and what not. I don't have an editor or proofreader but I have somebody who is willing to help so hopefully I can straighten that out soon. And lastly, are my cliffhangers cruel or what?

P.S. As for the dream part, I saw an opportunity to put in something random and goofy just for the hack of it and decided to reference that fic. Don't hate me too much.

Chapter Five: Spell Shocked

Chapter 5

"Okay, here goes nothin'!"

Pop!

"Oh no, Inkwell can you understand me?"

"Mew."

Wait, why did I just say 'mew'? And when did Twilight get so big? He then looked himself over, he was jet black, had a longer tail, and paws. She turned me into a cat. Somehow, he wasn't fazed by what was going on, he knew that he could be worse things, but still, he didn't exactly like cats all that much.

"Mew?"

"Hang on, let me see if I can't at least give you back the ability to speak Equine until I figure out how to turn you back. You were only supposed to grow whiskers but I guess I over-cast the spell." Her horn glowed again and Inkwell felt her magic grab hold of his body. Her horn stopped glowing after a moment and Inkwell could feel a slight tingling in his throat.

"Okay, that should have worked, do you feel alright?"

"Well other than being turned into a cat and having the sudden urge to play with yarn, I feel fine."

"Oh good, at least that spell worked. SPIKE!" The purple dragon appeared a few moments after being called and took notice of the cat almost immediately. "Awww, look at the cute little kitty. What's your name little guy?"

"Inkwell."

"Gah! When did you turn into a cat?"

"Spike, focus. I need you do go downstairs and find me a book that can help me fix this."

"Oh, sure thing Twilight." The small reptile disappeared back down the stairs he had come from and began looking for the right book.

"I'm so sorry about this Inkwell," then turning to look at him, "I know you probab- what are you doing?"

"Um..." He had been cleaning himself and was now completely embarrassed. He hadn't actually though about doing it, he just started.

"I guess you gained the cat's instincts when I morphed you along with the physical appearance." She giggled a little, but stopped abruptly when a thought struck her. "What if I can't find the right spell to change you back! I'll have to start buying fish. I don't even know where to buy fish, Fluttershy might have some but even if she does she'll want to know why I need it..."

"Twilight."

"and then I'll have to tell her that I turned my newest employee into a cat..."

"Twilight."

"and then she'll want to see you and take care of you herself! Oh and what about Pinkie's party tomorrow, you can't miss her party again..."

"Twilight!"

"and- oh, heh, sorry."

"Look, if you don't find the spell then I'll just make public appearances as a cat until you do. Also, since you brought up fish, I just got really hungry. So why don't we go see this Fluttershy character you mentioned in your rant and get some fish, okay?"

"I- okay." Just then a knock could be heard at the door and Spike could be heard answering it.

"Hey Fluttershy, how can I help you?"

"Oh um, hey Spike, is Twilight here? If she isn't that's okay though, I'll just come back tomorrow."

"Nah, she's here. Go on upstairs."

"Oh, okay. Thank you Spike." Hoofsteps could be heard on the stairs, signaling the pony's approach.

"Who's that?"

"The pony we were just discussing, Fluttershy. Fair warning, she might tackle you when she notices you."

"Um... okay?"

"Her special talent is taking care of animals."

"Ah." The hoofsteps were very loud and close now, meaning that Fluttershy was at the top of the stairs just outside the room.

"Twilight, I was wondering if you could, I mean, if you don't mind that is, I need your help to-" Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates at the sight of the cat in the room. "Oh look at the little kitty! You're a cute little kitty, yes you are, yes you are. What's your name little guy?" She had indeed tackled him, and was now softly petting his head.

"My name is Inkwell, now could you please let go of me?"

"Eep!" She jumped behind the nearby telescope and cowered in fear at the sound of Inkwell's voice.

"What did I say?"

"I think it might be the fact that you 'said' anything at all. Fluttershy is a very timid pony." Then she spoke to the butter-yellow pegasus in question, "Fluttershy, don't worry, this is my new employee, Inkwell. I accidentally turned him into a cat. You can come out, he won't hurt you."

"O-okay, if you say so."

"So what did you need Fluttershy?"

"Oh, um, well, I was wondering if you could come and help me with the animals today. I have a bird that just broke his wing and needs a lot of my attention, so I'm a little to busy to feed all the animals alone."

"I'd love to come help you Fluttershy. In fact, me and Inkwell were just talking about coming see you for some fish. Right Inkwell?" She then turned her head to look at him,"SERIOUSLY?!"

"Sorry." He had been cleaning himself again, this time in a very exposed position.

"Um, can we go now? I really should get back to my house to take care of that poor little bird."

"Of course Fluttershy, just give me a moment to close up the library."

______

They were on the road to Fluttershy's cottage when a sound could be heard off to their left.

BOOM!

Afterward a rainbow shout above their heads and turned back toward them, all the while slowing down.

"What the heck was that?" Inkwell was completely confused as to what in Equestria that was.

"That," said Twilight, "was Rainbow Dash. The only pegasus to be able to pull of a Sonic Rainboom, which was the boom you heard."

"I'm also a future Wonderbolt, and... hey, who were you talking to Twilight? Everypony here already knows who I am."

"She was talking to me." Rainbow Dash had a look of shock and confusion on her face at seeing the 'cat' speak.

"Um..." She scratched the back of her head and looked to Twilight for an explanation.

"This is Inkwell, he's my new employee at the library. I accidentally turned him into a cat. Spike is back at the library looking for the right spell to change him back."

_____

"Rarity, my darling, my love! Will you marry me?" Spike was kneeling in front of a picture of Rarity, which was part of his secret shrine, holding up a makeshift ring.

_____

"Oh, so where are you guys going?"

"We were going to my house, Twilight was going to help me feed the animals because I'm busy with a bird who has a broken wing."

"That and I need some fish." Inkwell's stomach growled in conformation of his statement.

"Well you guys have fun, I've got more practice to do. Oh and Twilight, would it be alright if I stop by later today and pick up the next Daring Do book? I just can't seem to put those things down."

"Sure thing Rainbow, I might be a while at Fluttershy's so if I'm not there then Spike will take care of it."

"Thanks Twilight." Then as she flew away, her voice fading into the distance, "See you guys later!"

"Well Fluttershy, shall we continue on?"

"O-of course." They started walking again, but suddenly Twilight stopped.

"Wait, I have a better idea than walking all the way there. I'll just teleport us! I still need to do a bit more practicing for today anyhow."

"Um Twilight?" Inkwell spoke up, "I'm not so sure that's a good idea, I- are you listening? Twilight! No don't-" Inkwell's sentence was cut short by Twilight's teleportation spell.

Author's Note: Yes this chapter is a little shorter than my other ones, and yes I just put in a horribly cruel cliffhanger, but I hope you guys liked it regardless. Been doing a ton of stuff lately, so that's why this one took me so long (plus my horrible knack for procrastination.)

With hopes his life will be spared

Duvagr007

Chapter Six: Mammal Whisperer

Chapter 6

Zap!

The effects of Twilight's spell left Inkwell dazed and disoriented for a few moment before regaining his senses. He looked around the small building he found himself in and immediately noticed a multitude of small animals ranging from birds to bunnies. One bunny in particular stood out to him. Mostly because it was standing in front of him, its head a few inches from his own wearing a very angry looking scowl.

"Who are you, and what do you want with my Fluttershy?"

"Gah!" Inkwell jumped back at the sound of the rabbit's voice. He wasn't expecting it to be able to talk.

"What's wrong Inkwell?" Twilight was standing behind him with a concerned look on her face.

"I... the rabbit it... y-you didn't hear him?"

"Hear who?"

"The rabbit!"

"Oh, do you mean my Angel bunny? He isn't very welcoming to new faces so if he bothers you, just let me know." It was Fluttershy who spoke up this time, carrying a bag of animal food out of a closet that she had apparently just been inside of.

"It's not that, h-he spoke to me! Like, as in actual words.!"

"Wait, back up. Are you saying that Angel spoke to you, and you understood him?"

"That's exactly what I just said!"

"Hm... that's peculiar, maybe you can communicate with animals since I turned you into a cat. Try talking with him."

"Um... okay?" He turned to the rabbit in front of him and attempted to talk with him. "Uh... hi, I'm Inkwell, what's you-"

"Angel, now answer my question cat! What do you want with Fluttershy!" Inkwell was surprised that such a small little body could hold so much aggression.

"Um, I just came here to get some fish. And I'm not technically a cat. I'm a pony that got turned into a cat."

"Likely story chump, but I'll believe you. For now. I'll be watching you." At that, the small rabbit hopped away giving Inkwell a glance back over his shoulder. Inkwell turned to face Twilight and began the rather strange process of explaining things to her.

"Well that was interesting."

"What? Did you talk to him? What did he say?"

"He wanted to know what I wanted with Fluttershy, and told me he would be watching me." Inkwell was still a little unnerved by the words of the little white rabbit, despite its inferior size and strength. The rabbit had a rather threatening and intimidating presence about him. He wasn't quite sure whether or not to just shrug it off as an empty threat, or actually take the small ball of 'cute' fluff seriously.

"Well that's... interesting. I never knew he was so assertive. Are you sure you and Angel are a good match Fluttershy?" At the sound of her name, Fluttershy's head appeared out of the closet she was in.

"Well, n-no, not really. But, opposites attract... right?" The timid pegasus gave a bad poker face and continued her food gathering duties inside what seemed to be a rather immense closet.

"I guess so... Fluttershy, how do you even fit in there?" Twilight slowly approached the closet and moved to peek inside. "I mean, how big could it..." She trailed off as she looked inside the closet. Inkwell, being curious now, jumped atop her back and looked inside himself. What he saw left him speechless.

What he had originally presumed to be a small closet turned out to be a large, underground where-house. It had a spiral staircase leading to the ground and spanned off for a few hundred feet in either direction. Rows of shelves occupied the otherwise empty floor space, leaving about three feet between each shelf. The shelves were all labeled food, toys, medicine, etc. and sported boxes filled with the items of the shelve's respective labels. Inkwell had no idea how in Celestia's name the pegasus was able to fit all of this under her house, let alone how she had afforded it.

"Wha... how..." Was all Twilight was able to say before she fainted from the sheer and utter shock of it all. Inkwell hit the ground with a slight thump and a soft 'ow' when he fell off Twilight's back. Fluttershy appeared out the corner of his eye after being at a shelf labeled 'meat' carrying a bucket of fish.

"Oh no! Twilight, can you hear me? Twilight!" Despite her 'screaming' into Twilight's ear, the purple unicorn remained unconscious. Fluttershy set down the pail she was carrying and brought her friend over to her couch. She lay her down as gently as she could, and turned back to Inkwell, who was promptly eating a piece of fish he had pulled from the bucket.

"W-what should we do Inkwell?" Inkwell glanced up from the fish he had been eating and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry Fluttershy. Twilight will be fine, now how about we go feed those animal fiends of yours?" He took another bite of fish," but after I'm done with this fish, I'm starved!"

______

Twilight blinked her eyes open and looked around. She was still in Fluttershy's cottage, but nigh had fallen, and Luna's moon shone through one of the windows. This meant she had been out for quite some time. She got up and walked over to the kitchen where she could hear voices and the sounds of a board game being set up. She rounded the corner to see Fluttershy, Inkwell, and Angel all getting ready to play a game of Monopony: Canterlot Edition.

"Oh hey Twilight, we haven't started yet, would you like to join?" Fluttershy's tell-tale kindness shone through at her offer, but Twilight politely refused.

"No thanks Fluttershy, I'll just watch. How long was I out?"

"About five hours actually. I gotta say, I never thought anypony could pass out for that long out of sheer shock from a situation." Inkwell rolled a pair of dice with his paws as he said this. Twilight wondered how he managed it, considering the size of the dice. Inkwell moved his piece as Fluttershy took the dice and spoke.

"Well, Twilight can tend to over exaggerate things from time to time. There was this one time she freaked out over a letter." The dice stopped moving and Fluttershy moved her piece, landing right behind Inkwell. Angel took the dice and began his turn.

"A letter? Was there something wrong with what it said or something?" A small thump was heard as Angel slammed a paw on the table squeaking something out. Twilight looked at the dice and saw that the rabbit had gotten 'snake eyes' as the phrase went.

"Long story. What did Angel say?" Twilight gave a curios look to Inkwell, the only member among them who could speak Equine and mammalian.

"You don't wanna know." He glanced nervously at the small rabbit, wondering where he had learned such a word.

"It couldn't have been that bad. What was it?"

"Listen, I'm religious so I'm not repeating what that rabbit said." Twilight and Fluttershy both reached the same conclusion at the same time. Twilight gasped in shock and Fluttershy scolded the rabbit, sending him to his room. Then Twilight gasped again, this time in realization.

"You're religious? What religion?" Inkwell stopped in the middle of moving his piece at this question, and looked to Twilight.

"I-It's not a problem is it?"

"No, just curious is all, I don't usually meet ponies who have a specific religion." Inkwell gave a sigh of relief, and answered her question.

"Well, if you must know, I'm Celestian." He turned back to the game and finished moving his piece.

"Which means?" Inkwell sighed, he was dedicated to his religion, but he didn't like talking about it that much.

"It means I worship Celestia as a deity, not just a princess. We pray to her and when we die we go to heaven. There's a lot more to it, but that's the basics." Fluttershy was moving her piece when he finished, and she was now a few squares in front.

"Maybe I should write to the princess about religion. I'm sure she'd love to hear about it." They sat in silence for the rest of the game of Monopony, with random comments as to how it was going every now and then. Twilight and Inkwell left back for the library at around eleven at night. When they arrived, spike was on the floor laying his head on a book.

"Spike," said Twilight as she gently nudged him awake. "C'mon wake up, what did you find?"

"Huh... oh, take a look at my pillow." He pointed to the book he had been laying on and went upstairs to his bed. Twilight picked the book up in her magic and read the page it was open to.

"Hm, let's see...AHA! Found it, Inkwell hold still." She turned to him and her horn began to glow with magic. Inkwell felt his body become encompassed by it's glow and he lifted off the floor a few inches. There was the same 'pop' as last time and the spell stopped. Inkwell looked himself over and saw he was back to his good old self again.

"Whew, glad that's over with. I thought I was going to have to be a cat forever." He and Twilight laughed a little and he started to leave.

"Hey Inkwell?"

"Hm?"

"Do you wanna go to... never mind, probably not."

"Where, wanna go where?"

"I dunno, I was thinking after the party tomorrow you would like to see the greatest city in the clouds."

"What?"

"Cloudsdale, it's going to be very close to Ponyville tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to go and see it with us. Me and my friends I mean."

"Um... I'd love to but... can't only pegasi walk on clouds?"

"Normally yes. But I have a spell that can let us walk on clouds too." He smiled and gave a small nod.

"In that case, yes. I will definitely come to Cloudsdale with you guys." He walked out and headed back to Rarity's house. When he got there, everypony had already gone to sleep, and he was careful not to disturb them as he did the same.

Authors note: Sorry this one took so long. I could say my editor took a little longer than expected or something like that, but thats not the case. Truth be told, I'm lazy so... yeah. Anyway, as for the whole Celestian bit, that was as close as I could come to Christian (my religion). Also, yes they are going to Cloudsdale, and this is actually where they find out a very important part of Inkwell's life. On that note if anyone likes Dumb-bell, Hoops, or Score, you shouldn't. Cuz they're jerks. If anyone DOESN'T like those three, then you will love that chapter. Take care now, bye-bye then.

Chapter Seven: The Party of a Lifetime

Chapter 7

Inkwell awoke, not to his alarm (which he had forgotten to set), but to Rarity standing over him, a small frown on her face. He slowly brought himself awake and blinked his heavy eyelids. He sat up and looked at the clock on the side of his bed.

6:45 p.m.

The party started at seven, and he wasn't even clean and presentable. He looked at Rarity who nodded her approval at his awakening and went downstairs to prepare for the party herself. Inkwell hopped out the bed and went take a quick shower. He felt his body relax at the warm water the flowed over him. He knew he wasn't one for parties, but he figured he might as well go. After about ten minutes he stepped out the shower and dried himself, and brushed his mane into a somewhat decent shape. He went downstairs to find Rarity was about to walk out the door. He quickly trotted up beside her so he could follow to the site of the party.

"So, darling. What exactly happened yesterday?"

"To but it bluntly, I was turned into a cat."

"Really?! How on Earth did you manage that?"

"Well, Twilight was using me as a subject for sell practice and turned me into a cat. We went to Fluttershy's, who by the way has a storage warehouse underneath her home, and got me a bit of fish. Oh, I also talked to her rabbit, and yes, I mean talked talked. Did you know he swears? And to wrap up our glorious evening, we played a game of Monopony."

"Oh, well then. That sounds very... interesting."

"Ha! You don't know the half of it. So what are Pinkie's parties like?"

"I really can't think of a way to explain it. You have to experience it to know. But I can tell you one thing, she throws the most superb parties ever!" Inkwell was a bit skeptical about this, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to go. He really didn't have any good experiences when it came to parties. He had only been to one in his whole life (with the exception of birthdays) and it had been in college. He shuddered at the memory of that awful night.

"Inkwell."

"Yes?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something. What university did you graduate from? If you don't mind my asking."

"Not at all. I graduated from Pranceton University, in Canterlot. Why?"

"Just curious is all. We don't have very many college graduates in Ponyville. Even fewer from big ones like Pranceton."

"Well it is hard to get into. Who else came from a big school?"

"Twilight, she graduated from Princess Celestia's school of magic."

"She's the only one? Wow." Just then, the spot of the party came into view. They were having it at the library, and when Inkwell walked in he could see that it had been decorated thoroughly and that most of the town appeared to be there. He could also see a cannon sitting in a corner. He decided it best not to wonder why it was there and just ignore it. He walked around and greeted most of the ponies there while slowly moving toward the punch bowl. He was almost there when an all to familiar pink pony appeared at his side.

"Hi Inkwell!"

"Hi Pinkie Pie," he breathed, a little annoyed that he was being kept from his precious punch.

"How do you like the party?"

"I just got, here. I really don't have that much of an opinion yet. But it's nice so far... I guess."

"Whaddya mean 'you guess'. Do you not like my party?" Her hair visibly deflated slightly at his response.

"No, your party is fine. I just don't like parties all that much. Nothing against you or anything, just... I've never really been able to enjoy myself since..." He trailed off, not being able to bring himself to talk about the most devastating thing that had happened to him in his whole life.

"Since...? Since what?"

"Never mind. I-it's not important right now." She gave him a skeptical look, but decided it wasn't important. She walked away and continued to greet the ponies that had shown up. He continued on to the punch bowl, his throat drier than ever. He picked up a paper cup and the ladle with his magic, Twilight approached from the side as he started to take his first sip.

"Hey Inkwell, isn't this party great?"

"I guess. Like I was telling Pinkie just a second ago, I don't care much for parties." He gave a small sigh at the remembrance of the only other party he had been to.

"Don't like parties? Well why not, everypony loves parties. Especially Pinkie's parties."

"It's... a long story. I'll tell you about it later." She gave him a sad look, but eventually walked away. Inkwell was about to take another sip of punch when a blue and rainbow colored spot appeared in his peripheral vision.

"Hey, killer party right! You must be new in town!"

"Actually we met yesterday, I just happened to be a cat."

"Oh that was you! That could not have been fun."

"No, not really. I'm sorry what was your name again?"

"Rainbow Dash, future Wonderbolt and the best flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale. And what's your name again? Kinkwell or something right?"

"Inkwell. And speaking of Cloudsdale, did Twilight tell you I was coming with you guys?"

"No."

"I'm coming with you guys to Cloudsdale." He took a sip of his punch, and when he lowered the cup she was gone, only to be replaced by an orange mare with a blond mane and stetson hat.

"Hey there sugarcube. Hows yer head doin?"

"It's fine. How have you been... Applejack right?"

"Yep. An' Ah'm glad ta here that yer feelin' better. Say, have you tried the cake yet? It's a might bit delicious."

"Can't say that I have had it yet, but I'll look into it." He gave an audible sigh, and Applejack quirked an eyebrow.

"You alright sugarcube? You seem a bit under the weather."

"Yeah. I'm fine." She looked like she wanted to press the issue further, but apparently decided against it. Giving him a small smile, she turned and walked away. He decided to take her up on her advice, and walked over to grab himself a slice of cake. He noticed Fluttershy standing nearby and decided to go and talk a bit with her. After all, she was the only one he hadn't talked to yet.

"Hey there Fluttershy."

"Eep. H-how do you know my name?"

"Oh, sorry, forgot. It's Inkwell, I was a cat yesterday so..."

"Oh, well it's good to see you again Inkwell. How's the party? I-in your opinion."

"It's like I've been telling everypony, I don't like parties all that much."

"O-oh. Why not? I mean, if you don't mind me asking that is..."

"I don't mind you asking. But I'd rather not say."

"Oh, okay then."

"Thanks for the fish yesterday by the way. I wouldn't eat it now but, the cat in me yesterday sure liked it."

"Your welcome. Anything to help a friend." Inkwell froze. Does she really consider me a friend? He couldn't believe it. The first friend he had ever had now stood in front of him. He never expected to have a friend, especially not a good one like Fluttershy. Do the other five think of me as a friend too? Do I consider them friends? He decided that he did, and the first real smile he had had in a long time appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Fluttershy."

"For what?"

"For being my... my friend."

_____

Inkwell woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. The party the night previous was... good. He got up and saw his new saddlebags laying against the wall, packed for a two night stay in a hotel. The only problem was that he couldn't remember where he was going. He thought hard about the last couple of days, then looked out his window. He could see clear skies with the exception of one, massive cloud mass. Then it dawned on him, why he was packed and where he was going.

Today was the day he went to Cloudsdale.

Author's note: I know this one ended on a bad note, but I want the chapter with Cloudsdale to be it's own. It shouldn't take too long to come out, and it will be longer than my other chapter's. That is mostly because of how much I have planed for it. Keep reading fanfic my friends! Duvagr007 out!

Chapter Eight: Vacation... Sort of.

Chapter 8

Inkwell trotted out the Boutique along with Rarity. They had their saddlebags packed and were going to meet everypony else at Sugarcube Corner. Inkwell hadn't expected, but wasn't surprised, that Pinkie Pie had a hot-air balloon at her house. While on their way Inkwell and Rarity talked about what the city was like and what there was to do there. Inkwell was a little shocked when she told him about the wings Twilight had given her. He didn't know any unicorn had that much magical power, with the exception of the princesses. After a few minutes of walking, the sweet shop finally came into view, with a balloon next to it.

"Hey you guys! Hurry up! We need to leave soon!" Pinkie Pie called out to them as she bounced up and down next to the balloon. Inkwell wasn't sure how they would all fit, but decided to cross that bridge when he got there. Turns out he never had to cross said 'bridge', because they all fit with room to spare. Most of this was because Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew alongside the balloon, instead of riding in it.

"So Inkwell, have you ever seen Cloudsdale before? From the ground I mean?"

"No, I sure haven't Twilight."

"Well then in that case, you are going to love how amazing it looks!" She smiled and looked to the north. Inkwell followed her gaze and saw a large cloud mass off in the distance. He assumed that this was Cloudsdale, considering the rainbows pouring off and smaller clouds drifting away. This sparked his curiosity, and he turned to Twilight.

"Hey, do you think we could go and visit the weather factory? It would be neat to see how weather is made, especially the rainbows."

"We actually went last time. We can most certainly go again. But you can't see how rainbows are made, at least not the individual colors. Nopony really knows why." Inkwell saw Rainbow Dash give a slight twitch as she said this, he wanted to figure out why, but decided it best not to ask her about it. He sat there for a moment in the silence, but then an idea struck him.

"Hey everypony, how about some music?"

"Music? You know how to play an instrument darling? Oh this is simply wonderful!" Inkwell gave a nod at Rarity, and walked over to the edge of the balloon that his bags where on, and pulled out his new ocarina he had bought back in Ponyville.

"This is one of my favorites." He held it up to his mouth and began to play a very beautiful melody. The rest of the group sat in awed silence while they waited for Inkwell to finish the song he was playing.

_____

After around three minutes, Inkwell finally brought the ocarina down from his mouth. Everyone in the balloon had their jaws on the basket floor. After a few moments, Twilight was the first to speak up.

"Inkwell, that... that was beautiful. I didn't even know you played an instrument. Much less one so complicated. When did you learn to play?"

"A long time ago, back when I was just a colt. I got one for my birthday and decided I really wanted to learn how to play. It isn't my special talent, obviously, but it's close to it."

"And the song? Where did you learn that?"

"My... my mother taught it to me. She really loved it. It was the last song she played in church, just before she..." Inkwell started to tear up. He couldn't bear the thought of what happened.

"Just 'afore she what, sugarcube?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter now. I... I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright darling, we won't push you. But if you ever need somepony to talk to, just know that as your friends, we are ready to listen." Inkwell nodded, and turned back to face the fast approaching city. They all sat in silence, nopony said a word, not until they landed. When the balloon touched down and they had unloaded their things, Inkwell spoke up on the walk to the hotel.

"Hey, everypony, I just wanna' say thanks."

"Fer what sugarcube?"

"For being my... my friends. It's been a while since I knew anypony who I could consider real friends. So I just wanna' say thanks."

"Hey, no thanks necessary! Now I have somepony else to give feedback on my aweome tricks for the Wonderbolts! You would be the first stallion in my audience too!"

"Yes, and I can have a male form for the suits that I make once in a blue moon. Big Macintosh is good, but he's such a large stallion. You would be much better, and besides, we love having new friends!"

"Darn tootin'!"

"YEAH!"

"Yay."

"So AWESOME!"

"We're glad to be your friends Inkwell. And we're glad you consider us friends as well." Inkwell found himself unable to breath. Not because all of this friendliness was so amazing, but because he had six mares pressed up against him in a tight hug.

"Can't... breathe..." He let out a sigh of relief when they let go. He then started to laugh a little, then he was guffawing with all the others soon joining in right beside him. After a few minutes of hysterics, they collected themselves and headed for their hotel. Inkwell hadn't been told what hotel they were staying in, so he just followed behind. Twilight, who was leading, eventually turned into a Mareiot and walked up to the front desk to check them in. She came back with four hotel room keys, two for each of the two rooms.

"Alright, I was able to book us connecting rooms, but three of us are going to have to stay in the same room as Inkwell. Now, I have already decided who was trustworthy enough to put in the same room as a stallion: Rarity, Fluttershy, and myself. So that means that AJ, Pinkie, and Rainbow are going to share a room together. Any questions?"

"I've got one. I can understand you and 'Shy, but why Rarity? What makes her so special huh?"

"Because, Rainbow, Inkwell has been staying with her for the past three days, and nothing has happened. It was the most logical decision. Anypony else have a question?"

"Um Twilight. Where are the bathrooms?"

"Down the hall and to the left Pinkie. Hey, you know what? How about we all go, that way nopony gets lost trying to find the rooms." And so off they went, on the usual routine of a vacation. Everyone stays together, everyone uses the bathroom at the same time. It was like clockwork. They went to the restroom, went got unpacked, and where headed out, into the city of Cloudsdale.

_____

They were about halfway to the weather factory, their first stop, when three pegasi landed in front of them. They all apeared to be jocks, as well as jerks, if what the first words out of the brown one's mouth were anything to go by.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Rainbow Crash and her pathetic group of loser friends. Oh wait, and is that Fluttercry over there too? What are you losers doing here huh?"

"Yeah, what?" The tall orange one on the left seemed to mimic what his ringleader said, while the shorter gray one jus stood there wordlessly and laughed at the jokes and insults.

"None of your business jerks! Now leave us alone!"

"What's the matter Rainbow Crash? Afraid to get your precious little feelings hurt?" They two pegusi on either side of him laughed.

"QUIT IT!"

"NO!"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Inkwell stepped up from behind everyone, and took matters into his own hooves for a change. "The lady said to go away, now LEAVE!"

"And just who are you to tell me what to do huh?"

"My name is Inkwell if you must know, now get out of here."

"And your gonna' make me? Huh... Stinkwell?" His two 'henchmen' guffawed at the name their leader had given him. What the brown one didn't know was that Inkwell had been called this before. Many times before, by everyone in his entire school, this was the teasing nickname he had put up with for his whole life, and it stuck home in Inkwell's mind. Despite his best efforts, he began to tear up again, all the memories of his life being a living hell, putting up with everyone he came into contact with, insulting him, teasing him. He had just stashed all the anger and hatred away, knowing violence would only make it worse for himself.

"Ohoho, check it out guys. Stinkwell's crying. What's the matter Stinkwell, you need your blanky, your wittle bottle? Your slut of a mommy?" Inkwell couldn't contain his rage any longer, insults against himself he could handle, but his late mother? Never.

"MY MOTHER"S DEAD YOU JACKASS!" And then, without even waiting to see his expression, Inkwell turned around and bucked the leader right into the nearest building, which was about thirty yards away. He turned back around and gave the other two a menacing glare, that would have made some of the toughest ponies in Equestria scared out of their minds. The two got the message and flew off as fast as they could, not even going to help their fallen leader. Inkwell turned back and faced the girls behind him, all previous rage gone. They were all staring at him in shock, unable to believe what they had just witnessed and heard.

"Um, girls?"

"Inkwell, your mom is... dead? I'm... I'm so sorry." Twilight gave him a hug, but pulled away at what he said next.

"Not just my mom, all of my immediate family, my aunts, uncles, grandparents, even my little brother... all dead."

"My stars darling! What on Earth happened?"

"This is where I owe you six another thank you." They looked at him confused, before he continued. "Discord, he... well, I won't go into the details as to what he actually did to them. I can give you the story though. It was when I was in college, it was Christmas, and my family was all at my parent's house. I was running a little late, and was almost to the house, when I heard an explosion. I saw Discord flying in the sky. He had just been released, and needed something to subdue his blinding lust for chaos so he could think straight again. He needed to head straight for the nearest area with the most ponies gathered together in one building, and he chose my parent's house. He did things to them I would rather not recount, but none of them survived. None of them. But you six stopped him. You avenged my entire family. So thank you." Inkwell had begun to cry for the third time that day, and was embraced by all six of his new friends for the second. This time though, the hug was much more gentle and caring.

"Inkwell, if you want to go back to the hotel after all of this, we understand. Do you want to go back?"

"No, it... it's okay Twilight. I'll be fine. I haven't gotten over what happened but, I can cope with it." Twilight nodded in understanding and they continued on toward the weather factory. As they passed by one of the buildings, a brown stallion was pulling himself out of the crumbled cloud structure. At the sight of Inkwell he turned and ran. The group of friends shared a laugh and continued onward.

End Book One