OCD or why Minuette wants to strangle Flitterby TheSuperponyChaptersChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Chapter 2Minuette packed, quietly and sternly, almost somberly. To the unaware watcher, Minuette was simply preparing herself for a trip. However, to whoever knew the full story, Minuette was preparing herself to sleep, for probably an entire week, in the house of the pegasi that, ironically, destroyed hers. "Are you sure you have to take all this?" Octavia asked. Minuette was packing alright, but not the usual things a pony would pack, like a book or the occasional pajama. Minuette was packing two cases. One with papers and designs, the other with many building pieces, along with screwdrivers, hammer, rulers, etc. All in all, it looked more like she was going to a far away workshop than a house that was right around the corner. "House or no house, I still have a lot of work. If I'm going to have to sleep outside, then I will just continue there." Minuette locked the case with the tools and building parts. "But can't you work here? You don't have to carry all that stuff around." "Unfortunately, I have to. I really do have many things to do, and I just can't concentrate with ponies going in and out while they fix the house." Octavia looked at the bed. It could barely be called a bed at this point, what with holes and cuts all over it. It would probably just rip apart if somepony did so much as sit on it. The rest of the room was no better. Minuette had already pulled all the pieces of clock that were still useable, adding them to the things she was taking with her. However, she had ripped many parts of the wall in the process, making the whole damage worse. "Flitter and Cloudchaser are preparing their a room for me in their house. They should be done by now." Minuette closed the second case. "Or at least, they should be if they followed the schedule I gave them." "You gave them a schedule?" Octavia asked. "Why?" "I like to be on time. I also like the ponies around me to be on time as well. I told them I would be arriving at midday. I plan to do just that." Minuette placed a key around her neck. "Well, I'm going to go home and practice now. Call me if anything happens." Octavia said before leaving. Minuette promptly closed her house and locked the door. "And then she tells me to take it easy..." Birds flied, sun shined, grass grew and Minuette was not happy. Understandable, since her sleeping place was destroyed. However, the walk to the house of the twins had calmed her down a little. Sure she was upset, but it had been an accident. A very dumb and avoidable accident, but and accident in the end. It would be useless to stay angry. "Why in world would a family of pegasi live on the ground?" she asked herself. The house of the twins was a lot bigger than expected. A lot bigger than what two ponies would really need. It even had a second floor! "Minuette!" Minuette looked up. Flitter descended from the sky and landed right in front of her. She was smiling, a sharp contrast to what Minuette expected. "You need help with the bags? I can carry them. One. I can carry one. Can I carry one?" "No thanks Flitter. I can manage." Minuette sighed. Minuette followed Flitter into the house. The inside was just as big as the outside suggested. A large main room that was connected to the kitchen, the dinning room, a bathroom and a set of stairs. The room itself had a couple of couches and a small table. Quite a friendly place actually. There was a small bronze sun hanging above the door. "Like it?" Flitter asked. "All this stuff. How do you pay for it?" "Cloudchaser and I do small works here and there, though Thunderlane pays most of the bills. He's a team leader in the weather management." Before either Minuette or Flitter could say anything else, a pegasus foal flew through the window. He was, like Flitter and Cloduchaser, gray, with sliced back mane. "Hey Rumble. Whats up?" Flitter asked. "Flitter, Thunderlane sais that lunch is in two hours at the table...who are you?" he asked sharply, catching Minuette by surprise. "This is Minuette, the friend I told you about." Flitter answered. Minuette could swear that Rumble was trying to pierce her head with his sight. "Right. Friend. Anyways, Thunderlane says that lunch is in two hours. Cloudchaser will help me set the table." And without another word or wait for an answer, Rumble flew out the same window he flew in. Minuette was about to ask Flitter about it, but she beat her to it. "Sorry about that. He's a little miffed because you're taking his room." "Where is he going to sleep then?" "With Thunderlane." Flitter took Minnuete on a tour of the rest of the house. Just as the first floor entrance, the entire place was designed for a family. The kitchen, the dining room were big enough for the four inhabitants of the house and the bathroom had no shower, signifying that it was for guests. The second floor was pretty much like the first. One family room that was connected to three bedrooms, plus a bathroom. "You share your room with Cloudchaser?" Minuette asked. Flitter nodded before leading to the room she assumed was Rumble's and, for now, her's. It wasn't very big and, like most male rooms, very empty, except for a couple of things, like a small bronze sun that hung above the bed and a working bed that was used for homework. Since she planned on finishing her designs, that suited her just fine. Distractions were the last thing she wanted right now. In fact, as soon as they entered the room, Minuette started unpacking her work sheets and drawing tools. "Uh, you don't want to see the rest of the house?" Flitter asked. "No need to. I've got everything I need right here." Minuette placed the second case under the table, ready for immediate use if necessary. In just a few seconds, the table had gone from the bare nakedness of a kid's homework place to an adults work space. The change was rather jarring, considering the amount of materials that Minuette placed. "I don't need any help." She said before Flitter could even open her mouth. "I'm sure." "Oh. Okay then. I will go help Thunderlane with lunch then." And with that, Minuette was left alone with her work. Since she couldn't start on her clocks yet, she decided to star fixing the designs on paper. Time went on while she worked. Yesterday's events were starting to fade from her mind. She liked work. It helped her take her minds of things. No distractions, no interruptions, no- "Hey Minuette! You're all settled now?" Cloudchaser asked from a window. The sudden question made Minuette force too much magic into her pencil, ripping the page apart. "You ripped your paper." Cloudchaser said. Minuette groaned, magically throwing the paper in the garbage din. "And I'm also working, so please...?" she said. "Please what?" "I think I'm beginning to understand why Octavia was so frustrated with Cloudchaser when she first came to Ponyville..." Minuette thought. "Cloudchaser. I am working right now and would like to keep working. So if you could please leave me alone for a while?" "Okay!" Cloudchaser grineed before flying away. Minuette sighed before pulling out a blank sheet of paper, immediately working in a new project. It would barely be twenty minutes before the door opened, revealing Flitter. "Hey Minuette! What do you want for lunch?" she asked. Minuette took a deep breath, trying to contain her irritation. She turned around slowly. "Whatever is easiest to make." she grumbled in answer. Flitter nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Minuette sighed again. With all this interruptions, it would be a miracle if she actually managed to start any designing, let alone building. However, this time she was left in peace. At least for a while. She finished her first design. The another. Then a third one. The another one. After nearly an hour working, she had finished fifteen of the sixteen clock designs for her house. All she had to do now was finish the last one and she could star building them. "Wait a second..." Minuette pulled a single page from her case. It was old, slightly teared and heavily scribbled on, but she didn't care. She only cared for what she was seeing on it. A half made, pony like design, filled with notes and half finished part designs. "How did this even get here?" Just her mind was beginning to enter memory lane however, the door blasted open. Minuette hastily hid the old paper within the designs. Flitter stood at the door way, smiling, widely. "Lunch is served! You better hurry up or it'll be all gone!" "Right." Minuette quickly left the room. She didn't want to waste too much time eating, no matter how famished she had become while working. Flitter followed right behind her, or would have, if she hadn't noticed one, tiny, little flaw within the perfection that Minuette called order that was on the desk. Hard not to, considering the near obsessive level of care the unicorn put in it. A single page stuck out from the stack. Minuette walked in the the dinning room, where Cloudchaser and Rumble were setting the table. Or at least Rumble was. Cloudchaser was too busy watching a humming bird that was flying between some roses over the window. Rumble was mumbling to himself, but stopped once he saw Minuette entering the dinning room. "What is for lunch?" she asked. "Pumpkin stew." A male voice came from the kitchen. Thunderlane placed a tray with the plates full of food. It did smell pretty delicious. "You must be Minuette." Thunderlane saluted. "Flitter told us all about the accident." "Yeah...accident..." Minuette thought drily. Cloudchaser sat at the table. To say that she was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Rumble kept shooting glares at her. Thunderlane ate quietly and Cloudchaser was playing with her food. She felt like a blue stain between all the different tones of gray that composed the family. "Where is Flitter?" Rumble asked. "Right here!" Flitter was, for lack of a better word, happy. Completely oblivious to the tension on the air that lingered in the lunch. "Minuette. The girls told that you are a mechanic." Thunderlane said. "More like an engineer." Minuette corrected. "A mechanic only fixes stuff. I design, build and manipulate mechanical artifacts." "So you are mechanic." Rumble said. "No. An engineer." Minuette repeated with a bit more force. "There's a difference." "But if both of them do the same thing, like working with mechanics, doesn't that mean that they are pretty much the same thing?" Rumble insisted. Minuette's fork started digging in the food. "A mechanic doesn't spend years studying in a university." Minuette finished. Rumble looked like he wanted to continue the debate, but a wing slap from Thunderlane on the head stopped him. Most of the lunch went in silence. Flitter was happy chewing away while Cloudchaser was slowly eating her food, more interesting in staring through each bite. While the banteriong with Rumble had pushed some of the tension away, Minuette still felt rather uncomfortable. In fact, all she wanted was to get back to work. "What about dessert?" Flitter asked as Minuette tried to excuse herself. "I would really just like to go back to work. I have a lot of things to do still and I have lost enough time as it is. So, if you excuse me..." And with that, she left, leaving the four pegasi to their lunch. "I don't like her." Rumble said. "You're just saying that because she's in your room." Thunderlane replied. "But she did leave quite abruptly. Does she really have that much work?" "Minuette...likes to keep herself busy. Very busy in fact." Flitter answered. "We tried to help her a little but..." "But you wrecked her house." Rumble laughed, earning himself another wing slap. "It was an accident. Besides, I'm sure that she was grateful...at first at least." Flitter smiled sheepishly. Cloudchaser gulped down one another bite. Loudly at that. "How long is she going to stay?" Rumble asked. "Probably for a week. Less if the repair ponies are fast. They should be fairly quick though. Minuette told me that the damage is superficial, if extensive." "Minuette should relax a little. Its not like the end of the world will show up if she stops working." Cloudchaser said. "I know." Flitter replied. "Thats I wanted to help her a little:" Minuette entered her temporary room. She had food in her stomach and a lot of work to keep her busy. Her designs were almost complete. All she had to do was finish the last one and she could get on to actually repairing and building the clocks. The she could start working on some of the ideas she had for the customer that had ordered a few of her inventions. The house would be a delay yes, but at least she could get the designing out of the way. Work was waiting and- The old paper was gone. "I'm sure I placed it here..." She though as she flipped through the stack of papers. But it wasn't there. She checked the case, but it wasn't there either. She looked under the bed, under the table, over the window, but tit was nowhere. Nowhere! "But I placed it right here! How could it have disappeared like that?! Nopony has been in this room but me and..." She stopped, realization hitting her like a freight train. "Flitter..." she growled. Chapter 3The dinning room door blasted open. Thunderlane and Rumble turned their heads in surprise. Minuette was standing on the doorway, visibly angry. "Where is Flitter?" she growled. "Obviously not here." Rumble said. Minuette's horn cracked with energy. Thunderlane shot Rumble a glare. using his wings, he pointed to the window, signaling that they she had gone outside. The piece of information calmed Minuette, making the magic around her horn dispel. "Where did she go?" "That I don't know I'm afraid." Thudnerlane answered. "I think she went to the market, but I'm not sure." Minuette thanked him and quickly left the house. She had to find Flitter. She had to find her paper. "Okay...If I was Flitter, where would I go?" Minuette thought. Her mind racked itself with possible answers, none them satisfying. She could be anywhere! How was she supposed to find where a single pony was supposed to be, let alone a pony who- "Who likes to help..." she muttered to herself. "Thats it!" Flitter was a pony who liked to help others. It was very generous of her. It also made her easy to find, since she would most like head out to help her friends first. The only question that remained was. Who would she help first? "Step by step Minuette, thats the only way to get things done around here." she sat on the ground, deep in thought. "Flitter likes helping ponies. My friends are ponies that need said help. The who would actually need help would be..." The Sweeping Pony was open for all ponies to walk through the doors and quench their thirst. Berry made a point of opening exactly after lunch, mostly because the business, though slow starting, would slowly pick up speed through out the day. It was the perfect balance of time and drinking. "Berry, have you seen Flitter?" Minuette asked as soon as she entered the bar. "You just missed her. She came by asking for paper. Why would she ask me for paper, of all ponies." Berry served mug of cider, passing it to a stallion. "She seemed really excited though. Like when Octavia finally got her cello. You should have seen her. She was crazy about it. Anyways, Flitter was so excited. She was all 'hey, I'm doing so really cool, can you help? I almost felt bad about saying no..." Minuette tuned out the rest of the talk, instead opting to leave the tavern. She was in no mood to hear Berry ranting about. She had to find Flitter. "If Flitter was asking for paper, then the only logical step would be somepony who used a lot of paper...like a writer!" Her hopes were dashed as soon as she reached Fleur's home. There was sign on the doorway. Closed for lunch. Back in three hours. Who the heck takes three hours for lunch?" So Berry and Fleur were out of the question. That would leave only one pony who would be accepting Flitter's help at the moment. Almost as if on cue, a calm, beautiful melody reached Minuette's ears. It was sweet, slow and and caring, almost to the point of tenderness. Minuette could feel some of her irritation just ebb away. The tree house had attracted a small flock of birds with the lovely music that flowed from the window. They chirped along as well. At least until Hugin came out and scared them away. Thats when he spotted Minuette walking to the house. "Hello Minuette. What are you doing around here?" "Looking for Flitter. Have you seen her?" Minuette asked. "She came by earlier. She was rather happy too." Hugin landed on a branch. "She asked for some paper and ink." Irritation turned into worry once Minuette realized just what was it that Flitter intended. She left without a word, running towards the house. If Flitter had already passed through here, then she would probably woud have gone back to her house to do what she wanted with the papers. She had to stop her. She ran inside, climbing the stairs, our would have, had she not bumped into Cloudchaser almost as soon as she entered the house. Cloudchaser merely used her wings to float over the running unicorn. Minuette realized in a passing thought that Cloudchaser probably hadn't noticed her to begin with. "Focus Minuette..." the voice inside her head repeated. Minuette stopped running once she reached the second floor. No use in running now that she was right besides the room. She could even hear some shuffling coming from inside. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. As predicted, Flitter was there, carefully trying to slip something in the stacks of designs. "What are you doing?" Minuette asked. Flitter turned around in shock, nearly sending down the stack of designs. Minuette's timely magic was the only thing that stopped them. Flitter looked at the window, but Minuette closed it with a flick of her magic. "Well?" Minuette insisted. Flitter gulped loudly. "I, I just...I just wanted to-" "To what?" Minuette cut her off. "To once again wreck my stuff? My work?" she walked in, making Flitter back away from the desk. "No! I just wanted to help!" she defended herself. "Thats why you took my paper right? Without even telling me." Minuette calmly fixed the stack. There was no sign of the old paper, something that did not escape the unicorn. "And apparently, you destroyed it. Just like my house." she growled. "No, I-" "What?! You what?!" Minuette shouted. "All I wanted was to work. I didn't need your help! But you insisted, so I let you help me. And what do you and Cloudchaser do?!" She slammed her hoof on the table, sending the stack to the floor in a mess. "You wreck my room! And now you take my work and ruin it too?!" Flitter tried to stammer an answer, but she couldn't. Minuette pressed forward, making Flitter bump against a wall. "I don't like having my things touched Flitter. I really don't." she growled. "Where is it?" "Wha..what?" Flitter stammered. "The old design that you took! Where is it?!" Flitter would have answered, but Minuette's hard stare, combined with her own nervousness stopped her from managing any coherent answer. She pointed a trembling hoof at the table. Minuette turned and faced where she was pointing. And her anger vanished in a second. After falling down to the floor, only a few remaining designs had remained on the table. One of them caught her attention. Lying right in the middle of the table, was a particular design. A rather mechanical pony, with some lines, scribbles and light drawings on top. While it was rather srcuffy looking, there was no mistaking what it was. "This..you did this?" Minuette asked. Flitter approached her, now less afraid than before. "I noticed it when you left for lunch." she answered. "I thought that it was weird, considering that you are always so clean and stuff, so I decided to fix it for you." "What happened to the original?" "Its back in my room." Flitter grinned. "You didn't let me answer." Flitter left the room, only to return in less than a minute, this time carrying the old design in her mouth. She carefully placed in on the table, right besides the new one. They were identical, save for the obvious difference in the quality of the drawing and writing. Minuette placed the old version back in the case, with almost tender care. "Thanks..." she mumbled. "You treat it with so much care. Flitter asked. "Why?" Minuette locked the case and pushed it underneath the table. She then proceeded to, once again, put the designs back in their place. "It was my first design." Minuette turned to face Flitter. "I was just finished with my studies and I was just...full of ideas. So naturally I went for a big project. Something that would change Equestria forever." her face grew brighter, recalling the memory with fondness. "I wanted to build a mechanical pony. One that would move by itself. Act by itself. No unicorn to be constantly supplying magic. The first self operating machine. So I started working on the design." "Thats awesome! Why didn't you build it or something?" "I didn't have much money back then. So I presented my project to different companies and investors, hoping to get some funding." Minuette's face grew somber. "All I got was laughs and jeers. Nopony liked my idea, calling it childish, and I was forced back down or face further humiliation." "Wha?! Thats nor right!" Flitter said. Minuette gave her a sad smile. "What happened to the idea?!" "Life happened. Between working and setting my shop here, my project just...faded into the background." "But thats not right at all!" Flitter shook Minuette by the shoulders. "You should finish it! Build it! it would be awesome!" "How? I still don't have the money for all the parts, and even if I did, I don't have the time to work on something like that." Minuette replied. "It was just an idea anyways." "No! Its more than that!" Flitter smiled. "Its a dream. Your dream. And you can do it. I'll help you even!" Minuette shot her a glare. "I'll be careful this time." Minuette looked at the table. The design was there, unmoved, new and practically calling her to finish what she started. She looked back at the rest of the stack. All that work wouldn't finish itself. "But my workshop is not finished yet..." "Then when its finished! You'll make the greatest self operating thing ever!" Minuette hesitated for a few moments, but smiled eventually. "Alright. Help me build my project." It would be a week before Minuette's house was finished. During those days, Minuette would spend her time working away, either fixing the designs or building some of the clocks. In her own way of course. But occasionally, Flitter would pop in front of her, offering some help. Sometimes she agreed to let her carry some stuff, or accompany her while she worked. It was nice to not be alone during the night, even if all Flitter would do then was sleep. And others she would refuse. She liked her space. She had her way of doings things and thats how she liked it. For now at least. Things may change once she they start working together for real. Chapter 1Every handle in the house is pointing to the left, the perfect position for anypony to just bite and use. Perfect. Every design and every paper containing the plans for building were neatly stacked on two tables, which were neatly lined along a wall, ready for her to just pull, edit or change in any way at any give time. Perfect. Every single piece of equipment. Every screwdriver, every hammer, every nail, rig, chain, weight and whatever tool she might need was placed away in its respective box, placed in its respective shelve, opposing the tables with the designs. "Absolutely perfect." Minuette whispered. She turned and faced her working table, placed right between the design table and the shelves. It was the only , the only place in the entire workshop that was not organized yet. It was also a mess. Papers, screwdrivers and chains were strewn all over it, along with some models and half finished works. Since she often had to work with large pieces of mechanics, the table was rarely empty. But not today. Today was spring cleaning. Fortunately, Minuette's house was small, consisting only of a kitchen, a room for herself along with a bathroom, a main room and a back room, which also served as her working place. Unlike most houses however, the work space was the largest place on the house. Practicality at its best. "Two hours, forty eight minutes and twenty three seconds." Minuette pressed a button on a timer that hung on the wall. "Right on schedule." The door knocked. Minuette placed the wrench she lifted back on the table. She glanced at the timer. She had some time, but not much. She would have to make this quick. "Hi Minuette!" Flitter said. "Hi!" Of course, right besides Flitter was Cloudchaser. "What can I do for you?" Minuette asked. Friends were friends, but work was work. The spring cleaning had to be done today and interruptions like this would only delay things further. She had to make this quick "We just wanted to see how you were doing. I mean, we have barely seen you since the Mind-over-Matter celebration." Flitter answered. "Besides, since you are probably busy working, we though we could help you!" "I have it under control." Minuette answered. "I appreciate the thought though." "But...you haven't left your house in days!" Flitter replied. "I am almost done anyway." Minuette said. "Maybe we can keep you company?" Cloudchaser said suddenly. The two other mares looked at her, surprised by her sudden words. Minuette gance backwards at the clock on the wall. She had an awful lot of them all over the place, and they all said the same thing. She was tight on schedule. But she couldn't leave her friends outside. "Alright, come in." Flitter and Cloudchaser entered the house. The first they noticed, or that Flitter noticed, was the amount of clocks that were all over the place. On the wall, on a small table, standing, everywhere! All of them of different size and appearance, but sharing one similarity. They all had a rather mechanical look to them. No cover or wood was added to the design. One could see the chains and the cogs spinning and twirling in each of them. "Did you made all this clocks?" Flitter asked. "I build a new one each month. So far I have seventeen. Eight here, five in my workshop, four in my room." "Why do you need all those clocks?" "To keep track of time. Isn't it obvious?" Flitter glanced around. It was actually intimidating to have all these clocks staring down on her, loudly ticking away, as if there was a punishment waiting at the end of a long countdown. She tightened her wings on her sides, not wanting to catch a feather on one of those cogs. Cloudchaser poked one that was on a table. The clock made a loud cracking noise before going completely silent. Minuette's eye twitched but she hid it. "Please don't touch them." She pushed Cloudchaser away from the table. "They are rather fragile." "But I thought they were made with metal. Shouldn't they be more resistant?" Flitter asked. "I make them with spare materials and magic. They are easy to make, but the results are rather unstable." As if it was listening, the broken clock suddenly made a loud, metallic noise before the arrows that marked the time broke free, shooting with lethal force, one of them impaling itself on the roof. The other one past right above Cloudchaser's head, cutting the top of one of her mane spikes. "Wow. It almost went through the roof!" Cloudchaser chuckled. Flitter was a bit less humored, more worried about the fact that the arrow had nearly gotten her head. Minuette pulled the arrow with magic and placed it on the table. She was going to have to throw it to the garbage later. A loud tick tock was heard. She was out of time. She had to get back to work. "I appreciate the company, but now I should really go back to work." Minuette said, motioning to the door that led to the workshop. "We can help! Can we help?" Flitter asked cheerfully. "Help in what?" Cloudchaser asked, though her question was ignored. "I have it under control. Besides, this is a complicated work. It needs precision and care." Minuette walked towards the workshop. "Besides, right now I'm cleaning up the workshop, not actually working, and I'm almost done anyways." Flitter whimpered. Minuette was about to enter her workshop when a soft sniff reached her ears. Her mind briefly argued with itself for a few seconds. She glanced at her work table, then back at her friends. She breathed deeply. "You can help me." Flitter perked up at the decision. "But you have to do what I say, got it?" Flitter nodded and followed her inside, herself followed by Cloudchaser. Even with three ponies inside of it, the workshop had enough space to move freely without bumping into each other. Minuette levitated a stack of papers and placed on a large trash bin. "I need you to move this pieces of equipment to the disassembling shelf." Flitter grabbed one of the machines with her mouth, while Cloudchaser balanced two on her wings. They were surprisingly light actually. However, as soon as Flitter placed her cargo on the shelf, the piece of equipment broke, falling apart almost completely. Minuette resisted the urge to groan a groan. "Please be careful." she muttered. Flitter nodded. Work progressed on, although at a much slower rate than Minuette would have liked. What originally would have taken only three quarters of an hour at the most had extended into a full blown two hours. Accidents were not missing, as Flitter, as much enthusiasm and generosity she possessed, had managed to wreck four half finished models, along with spilling an entire stack of designs, twice at that. Needless to say, Minuette wasn't exactly very happy. "I'm so sorry!" Flitter begged after wrecking another model. "Its...okay." Minuette said, hiding the grumbling in her voice, placing the remains of her work back on the shelf. "We are almost done...and it only took us two hours and a half more than I planned." "We had a schedule?" Cloudchaser asked. "Just the whole planning of my day, thank you very much." Minuette thought. "No. No we didn't" However, even with all those mishaps, work was done and the workshop was soon finished. The table was cleaned up, the shelves were organized and the floor was spotless. All in all, it was the perfect working space, though not as organized as Minuette wanted. "Were done here." she proclaimed. "So what now?" Flitter asked. Minuette pushed an empty box from underneath the table. "I have to check half clocks of the house later. Im going to put them in the box with magic. You are going to carry it." Flitter had to use her wings to balance the box on her back while Minuette placed the pieces of machinery in it, moving from the workshop to the main room and the kitchen. The box got heavier and heavier with each addition, though Flitter didn't say anything, not wanting to seem like she was whining. "Okay. All we need to do now is get the ones in my room and we are done." Minuette said as she left the kitchen. Flitter followed, though she was trembling from the weight of the box. Her wings and back were tired. Cloudchaser noticed it and did her best to help her sister. "This one, this one and this one..." Minuette lifted three clocks with magic placing in them box. Flitter was doing her best to try to keep lifting the box. "Minuette..." she muttered. "Maybe I should turn this one into an alarm clock." Minuette lifted the fourth clock. "Minuette." Flitter repeated. "Maybe I shouldn't. I need at least one clock in here always." "Minuette!" "What Flitter?" Minuette turned to Flitter, irritated at the interruption, but stopped when she noticed something. The box was visibly straining to contain all the clocks. Flitter was visibly straining to maintain the box on top of her. And she was about to fail. "Hey Minuette, you missed this part." Cloudchaser said. Before Minuette could react, Cloudchaser threw the missing arrow, from the clock that she broke before, on top of all the broken clocks. Flitter could no longer take the weight of the box and instinctively hid her wings, robbing the box of the support, prompting it to fall down and send every piece of engine and clock crashing down on the floor. Cracking and ticking started to echo in the room with increasing volume. To Flitter and Cloudchaser it was only a weird noise, but to Minuette it meant something else entirely. "Everybody out!" As soon as the three mares left the room, all Tartarus was unleashed. The magic inside the clocks went wild, making the pieces break and shot in any direction. Roof, floor, walls, window, bed, desk and bathroom, nothing was spared from the onslaught of small but edgy pieces of metal. A few of them even reached the main room, embedding themselves on the wall and the table. The three friends had to take cover behind the kitchen wall. It took a whole five minutes for the racked to die down. "Wow...what a rush!" Cloudchaser said. Minuette Slowly walked out of their hiding place. Horror was edged on her face as she observed the damage done to her living room. That horror only increased when she reached her room. "My...my bed..." Said bed had been pretty much shredded beyond recognition along with the pillow. There was a nice hole were the glass of the window used to stand. The bathroom had not been spared either. The mirror had holes all over it and the washer was cracked in many places. There was only one thing that had had managed to save itself from destruction by a thousand cuts. It had been the clock that Minuette ignored. Oh the irony. Flitter and Cloudchaser peered from the doorstep. They could almost swear that Minuette was struggling with herself to burst into flames. "Uh...sorry?" Flitter said tentatively. Minuette turned to them, visibly angry. "You...you wrecked my room!" she shouted. "It was an accident! I...I didn't mean to!" Flitter replied. "Where am I supposed to sleep! I don't have the time to fix this and work! And I have a lot of work!" Cloudchaser looked around the room, ignoring the two mares. She poked one of the arrows that was sticking out of the wall. It fell to the ground with a soft metallic noise. The damage wasn't that bad. Only superficial it seemed. "Its going to take days to fix all this! Where am I supposed to sleep!?" Minuette berated Flitter, who was trying to make herself as small as possible. "Eh, eh...with us?" she answered. Minuette stopped berating her. Her room was a mess. She looked back at Flitter, who was smiling nervously. She had no choice. "Alright...but you better help me fix all this." she growled. "Yay! Slumber party!" Cloudchaser cheered. Minuette sighed at the display of happiness from the pegasus. This was not going to be easy.
Chapter 2Minuette packed, quietly and sternly, almost somberly. To the unaware watcher, Minuette was simply preparing herself for a trip. However, to whoever knew the full story, Minuette was preparing herself to sleep, for probably an entire week, in the house of the pegasi that, ironically, destroyed hers. "Are you sure you have to take all this?" Octavia asked. Minuette was packing alright, but not the usual things a pony would pack, like a book or the occasional pajama. Minuette was packing two cases. One with papers and designs, the other with many building pieces, along with screwdrivers, hammer, rulers, etc. All in all, it looked more like she was going to a far away workshop than a house that was right around the corner. "House or no house, I still have a lot of work. If I'm going to have to sleep outside, then I will just continue there." Minuette locked the case with the tools and building parts. "But can't you work here? You don't have to carry all that stuff around." "Unfortunately, I have to. I really do have many things to do, and I just can't concentrate with ponies going in and out while they fix the house." Octavia looked at the bed. It could barely be called a bed at this point, what with holes and cuts all over it. It would probably just rip apart if somepony did so much as sit on it. The rest of the room was no better. Minuette had already pulled all the pieces of clock that were still useable, adding them to the things she was taking with her. However, she had ripped many parts of the wall in the process, making the whole damage worse. "Flitter and Cloudchaser are preparing their a room for me in their house. They should be done by now." Minuette closed the second case. "Or at least, they should be if they followed the schedule I gave them." "You gave them a schedule?" Octavia asked. "Why?" "I like to be on time. I also like the ponies around me to be on time as well. I told them I would be arriving at midday. I plan to do just that." Minuette placed a key around her neck. "Well, I'm going to go home and practice now. Call me if anything happens." Octavia said before leaving. Minuette promptly closed her house and locked the door. "And then she tells me to take it easy..." Birds flied, sun shined, grass grew and Minuette was not happy. Understandable, since her sleeping place was destroyed. However, the walk to the house of the twins had calmed her down a little. Sure she was upset, but it had been an accident. A very dumb and avoidable accident, but and accident in the end. It would be useless to stay angry. "Why in world would a family of pegasi live on the ground?" she asked herself. The house of the twins was a lot bigger than expected. A lot bigger than what two ponies would really need. It even had a second floor! "Minuette!" Minuette looked up. Flitter descended from the sky and landed right in front of her. She was smiling, a sharp contrast to what Minuette expected. "You need help with the bags? I can carry them. One. I can carry one. Can I carry one?" "No thanks Flitter. I can manage." Minuette sighed. Minuette followed Flitter into the house. The inside was just as big as the outside suggested. A large main room that was connected to the kitchen, the dinning room, a bathroom and a set of stairs. The room itself had a couple of couches and a small table. Quite a friendly place actually. There was a small bronze sun hanging above the door. "Like it?" Flitter asked. "All this stuff. How do you pay for it?" "Cloudchaser and I do small works here and there, though Thunderlane pays most of the bills. He's a team leader in the weather management." Before either Minuette or Flitter could say anything else, a pegasus foal flew through the window. He was, like Flitter and Cloduchaser, gray, with sliced back mane. "Hey Rumble. Whats up?" Flitter asked. "Flitter, Thunderlane sais that lunch is in two hours at the table...who are you?" he asked sharply, catching Minuette by surprise. "This is Minuette, the friend I told you about." Flitter answered. Minuette could swear that Rumble was trying to pierce her head with his sight. "Right. Friend. Anyways, Thunderlane says that lunch is in two hours. Cloudchaser will help me set the table." And without another word or wait for an answer, Rumble flew out the same window he flew in. Minuette was about to ask Flitter about it, but she beat her to it. "Sorry about that. He's a little miffed because you're taking his room." "Where is he going to sleep then?" "With Thunderlane." Flitter took Minnuete on a tour of the rest of the house. Just as the first floor entrance, the entire place was designed for a family. The kitchen, the dining room were big enough for the four inhabitants of the house and the bathroom had no shower, signifying that it was for guests. The second floor was pretty much like the first. One family room that was connected to three bedrooms, plus a bathroom. "You share your room with Cloudchaser?" Minuette asked. Flitter nodded before leading to the room she assumed was Rumble's and, for now, her's. It wasn't very big and, like most male rooms, very empty, except for a couple of things, like a small bronze sun that hung above the bed and a working bed that was used for homework. Since she planned on finishing her designs, that suited her just fine. Distractions were the last thing she wanted right now. In fact, as soon as they entered the room, Minuette started unpacking her work sheets and drawing tools. "Uh, you don't want to see the rest of the house?" Flitter asked. "No need to. I've got everything I need right here." Minuette placed the second case under the table, ready for immediate use if necessary. In just a few seconds, the table had gone from the bare nakedness of a kid's homework place to an adults work space. The change was rather jarring, considering the amount of materials that Minuette placed. "I don't need any help." She said before Flitter could even open her mouth. "I'm sure." "Oh. Okay then. I will go help Thunderlane with lunch then." And with that, Minuette was left alone with her work. Since she couldn't start on her clocks yet, she decided to star fixing the designs on paper. Time went on while she worked. Yesterday's events were starting to fade from her mind. She liked work. It helped her take her minds of things. No distractions, no interruptions, no- "Hey Minuette! You're all settled now?" Cloudchaser asked from a window. The sudden question made Minuette force too much magic into her pencil, ripping the page apart. "You ripped your paper." Cloudchaser said. Minuette groaned, magically throwing the paper in the garbage din. "And I'm also working, so please...?" she said. "Please what?" "I think I'm beginning to understand why Octavia was so frustrated with Cloudchaser when she first came to Ponyville..." Minuette thought. "Cloudchaser. I am working right now and would like to keep working. So if you could please leave me alone for a while?" "Okay!" Cloudchaser grineed before flying away. Minuette sighed before pulling out a blank sheet of paper, immediately working in a new project. It would barely be twenty minutes before the door opened, revealing Flitter. "Hey Minuette! What do you want for lunch?" she asked. Minuette took a deep breath, trying to contain her irritation. She turned around slowly. "Whatever is easiest to make." she grumbled in answer. Flitter nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Minuette sighed again. With all this interruptions, it would be a miracle if she actually managed to start any designing, let alone building. However, this time she was left in peace. At least for a while. She finished her first design. The another. Then a third one. The another one. After nearly an hour working, she had finished fifteen of the sixteen clock designs for her house. All she had to do now was finish the last one and she could star building them. "Wait a second..." Minuette pulled a single page from her case. It was old, slightly teared and heavily scribbled on, but she didn't care. She only cared for what she was seeing on it. A half made, pony like design, filled with notes and half finished part designs. "How did this even get here?" Just her mind was beginning to enter memory lane however, the door blasted open. Minuette hastily hid the old paper within the designs. Flitter stood at the door way, smiling, widely. "Lunch is served! You better hurry up or it'll be all gone!" "Right." Minuette quickly left the room. She didn't want to waste too much time eating, no matter how famished she had become while working. Flitter followed right behind her, or would have, if she hadn't noticed one, tiny, little flaw within the perfection that Minuette called order that was on the desk. Hard not to, considering the near obsessive level of care the unicorn put in it. A single page stuck out from the stack. Minuette walked in the the dinning room, where Cloudchaser and Rumble were setting the table. Or at least Rumble was. Cloudchaser was too busy watching a humming bird that was flying between some roses over the window. Rumble was mumbling to himself, but stopped once he saw Minuette entering the dinning room. "What is for lunch?" she asked. "Pumpkin stew." A male voice came from the kitchen. Thunderlane placed a tray with the plates full of food. It did smell pretty delicious. "You must be Minuette." Thunderlane saluted. "Flitter told us all about the accident." "Yeah...accident..." Minuette thought drily. Cloudchaser sat at the table. To say that she was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Rumble kept shooting glares at her. Thunderlane ate quietly and Cloudchaser was playing with her food. She felt like a blue stain between all the different tones of gray that composed the family. "Where is Flitter?" Rumble asked. "Right here!" Flitter was, for lack of a better word, happy. Completely oblivious to the tension on the air that lingered in the lunch. "Minuette. The girls told that you are a mechanic." Thunderlane said. "More like an engineer." Minuette corrected. "A mechanic only fixes stuff. I design, build and manipulate mechanical artifacts." "So you are mechanic." Rumble said. "No. An engineer." Minuette repeated with a bit more force. "There's a difference." "But if both of them do the same thing, like working with mechanics, doesn't that mean that they are pretty much the same thing?" Rumble insisted. Minuette's fork started digging in the food. "A mechanic doesn't spend years studying in a university." Minuette finished. Rumble looked like he wanted to continue the debate, but a wing slap from Thunderlane on the head stopped him. Most of the lunch went in silence. Flitter was happy chewing away while Cloudchaser was slowly eating her food, more interesting in staring through each bite. While the banteriong with Rumble had pushed some of the tension away, Minuette still felt rather uncomfortable. In fact, all she wanted was to get back to work. "What about dessert?" Flitter asked as Minuette tried to excuse herself. "I would really just like to go back to work. I have a lot of things to do still and I have lost enough time as it is. So, if you excuse me..." And with that, she left, leaving the four pegasi to their lunch. "I don't like her." Rumble said. "You're just saying that because she's in your room." Thunderlane replied. "But she did leave quite abruptly. Does she really have that much work?" "Minuette...likes to keep herself busy. Very busy in fact." Flitter answered. "We tried to help her a little but..." "But you wrecked her house." Rumble laughed, earning himself another wing slap. "It was an accident. Besides, I'm sure that she was grateful...at first at least." Flitter smiled sheepishly. Cloudchaser gulped down one another bite. Loudly at that. "How long is she going to stay?" Rumble asked. "Probably for a week. Less if the repair ponies are fast. They should be fairly quick though. Minuette told me that the damage is superficial, if extensive." "Minuette should relax a little. Its not like the end of the world will show up if she stops working." Cloudchaser said. "I know." Flitter replied. "Thats I wanted to help her a little:" Minuette entered her temporary room. She had food in her stomach and a lot of work to keep her busy. Her designs were almost complete. All she had to do was finish the last one and she could get on to actually repairing and building the clocks. The she could start working on some of the ideas she had for the customer that had ordered a few of her inventions. The house would be a delay yes, but at least she could get the designing out of the way. Work was waiting and- The old paper was gone. "I'm sure I placed it here..." She though as she flipped through the stack of papers. But it wasn't there. She checked the case, but it wasn't there either. She looked under the bed, under the table, over the window, but tit was nowhere. Nowhere! "But I placed it right here! How could it have disappeared like that?! Nopony has been in this room but me and..." She stopped, realization hitting her like a freight train. "Flitter..." she growled.
Chapter 3The dinning room door blasted open. Thunderlane and Rumble turned their heads in surprise. Minuette was standing on the doorway, visibly angry. "Where is Flitter?" she growled. "Obviously not here." Rumble said. Minuette's horn cracked with energy. Thunderlane shot Rumble a glare. using his wings, he pointed to the window, signaling that they she had gone outside. The piece of information calmed Minuette, making the magic around her horn dispel. "Where did she go?" "That I don't know I'm afraid." Thudnerlane answered. "I think she went to the market, but I'm not sure." Minuette thanked him and quickly left the house. She had to find Flitter. She had to find her paper. "Okay...If I was Flitter, where would I go?" Minuette thought. Her mind racked itself with possible answers, none them satisfying. She could be anywhere! How was she supposed to find where a single pony was supposed to be, let alone a pony who- "Who likes to help..." she muttered to herself. "Thats it!" Flitter was a pony who liked to help others. It was very generous of her. It also made her easy to find, since she would most like head out to help her friends first. The only question that remained was. Who would she help first? "Step by step Minuette, thats the only way to get things done around here." she sat on the ground, deep in thought. "Flitter likes helping ponies. My friends are ponies that need said help. The who would actually need help would be..." The Sweeping Pony was open for all ponies to walk through the doors and quench their thirst. Berry made a point of opening exactly after lunch, mostly because the business, though slow starting, would slowly pick up speed through out the day. It was the perfect balance of time and drinking. "Berry, have you seen Flitter?" Minuette asked as soon as she entered the bar. "You just missed her. She came by asking for paper. Why would she ask me for paper, of all ponies." Berry served mug of cider, passing it to a stallion. "She seemed really excited though. Like when Octavia finally got her cello. You should have seen her. She was crazy about it. Anyways, Flitter was so excited. She was all 'hey, I'm doing so really cool, can you help? I almost felt bad about saying no..." Minuette tuned out the rest of the talk, instead opting to leave the tavern. She was in no mood to hear Berry ranting about. She had to find Flitter. "If Flitter was asking for paper, then the only logical step would be somepony who used a lot of paper...like a writer!" Her hopes were dashed as soon as she reached Fleur's home. There was sign on the doorway. Closed for lunch. Back in three hours. Who the heck takes three hours for lunch?" So Berry and Fleur were out of the question. That would leave only one pony who would be accepting Flitter's help at the moment. Almost as if on cue, a calm, beautiful melody reached Minuette's ears. It was sweet, slow and and caring, almost to the point of tenderness. Minuette could feel some of her irritation just ebb away. The tree house had attracted a small flock of birds with the lovely music that flowed from the window. They chirped along as well. At least until Hugin came out and scared them away. Thats when he spotted Minuette walking to the house. "Hello Minuette. What are you doing around here?" "Looking for Flitter. Have you seen her?" Minuette asked. "She came by earlier. She was rather happy too." Hugin landed on a branch. "She asked for some paper and ink." Irritation turned into worry once Minuette realized just what was it that Flitter intended. She left without a word, running towards the house. If Flitter had already passed through here, then she would probably woud have gone back to her house to do what she wanted with the papers. She had to stop her. She ran inside, climbing the stairs, our would have, had she not bumped into Cloudchaser almost as soon as she entered the house. Cloudchaser merely used her wings to float over the running unicorn. Minuette realized in a passing thought that Cloudchaser probably hadn't noticed her to begin with. "Focus Minuette..." the voice inside her head repeated. Minuette stopped running once she reached the second floor. No use in running now that she was right besides the room. She could even hear some shuffling coming from inside. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. As predicted, Flitter was there, carefully trying to slip something in the stacks of designs. "What are you doing?" Minuette asked. Flitter turned around in shock, nearly sending down the stack of designs. Minuette's timely magic was the only thing that stopped them. Flitter looked at the window, but Minuette closed it with a flick of her magic. "Well?" Minuette insisted. Flitter gulped loudly. "I, I just...I just wanted to-" "To what?" Minuette cut her off. "To once again wreck my stuff? My work?" she walked in, making Flitter back away from the desk. "No! I just wanted to help!" she defended herself. "Thats why you took my paper right? Without even telling me." Minuette calmly fixed the stack. There was no sign of the old paper, something that did not escape the unicorn. "And apparently, you destroyed it. Just like my house." she growled. "No, I-" "What?! You what?!" Minuette shouted. "All I wanted was to work. I didn't need your help! But you insisted, so I let you help me. And what do you and Cloudchaser do?!" She slammed her hoof on the table, sending the stack to the floor in a mess. "You wreck my room! And now you take my work and ruin it too?!" Flitter tried to stammer an answer, but she couldn't. Minuette pressed forward, making Flitter bump against a wall. "I don't like having my things touched Flitter. I really don't." she growled. "Where is it?" "Wha..what?" Flitter stammered. "The old design that you took! Where is it?!" Flitter would have answered, but Minuette's hard stare, combined with her own nervousness stopped her from managing any coherent answer. She pointed a trembling hoof at the table. Minuette turned and faced where she was pointing. And her anger vanished in a second. After falling down to the floor, only a few remaining designs had remained on the table. One of them caught her attention. Lying right in the middle of the table, was a particular design. A rather mechanical pony, with some lines, scribbles and light drawings on top. While it was rather srcuffy looking, there was no mistaking what it was. "This..you did this?" Minuette asked. Flitter approached her, now less afraid than before. "I noticed it when you left for lunch." she answered. "I thought that it was weird, considering that you are always so clean and stuff, so I decided to fix it for you." "What happened to the original?" "Its back in my room." Flitter grinned. "You didn't let me answer." Flitter left the room, only to return in less than a minute, this time carrying the old design in her mouth. She carefully placed in on the table, right besides the new one. They were identical, save for the obvious difference in the quality of the drawing and writing. Minuette placed the old version back in the case, with almost tender care. "Thanks..." she mumbled. "You treat it with so much care. Flitter asked. "Why?" Minuette locked the case and pushed it underneath the table. She then proceeded to, once again, put the designs back in their place. "It was my first design." Minuette turned to face Flitter. "I was just finished with my studies and I was just...full of ideas. So naturally I went for a big project. Something that would change Equestria forever." her face grew brighter, recalling the memory with fondness. "I wanted to build a mechanical pony. One that would move by itself. Act by itself. No unicorn to be constantly supplying magic. The first self operating machine. So I started working on the design." "Thats awesome! Why didn't you build it or something?" "I didn't have much money back then. So I presented my project to different companies and investors, hoping to get some funding." Minuette's face grew somber. "All I got was laughs and jeers. Nopony liked my idea, calling it childish, and I was forced back down or face further humiliation." "Wha?! Thats nor right!" Flitter said. Minuette gave her a sad smile. "What happened to the idea?!" "Life happened. Between working and setting my shop here, my project just...faded into the background." "But thats not right at all!" Flitter shook Minuette by the shoulders. "You should finish it! Build it! it would be awesome!" "How? I still don't have the money for all the parts, and even if I did, I don't have the time to work on something like that." Minuette replied. "It was just an idea anyways." "No! Its more than that!" Flitter smiled. "Its a dream. Your dream. And you can do it. I'll help you even!" Minuette shot her a glare. "I'll be careful this time." Minuette looked at the table. The design was there, unmoved, new and practically calling her to finish what she started. She looked back at the rest of the stack. All that work wouldn't finish itself. "But my workshop is not finished yet..." "Then when its finished! You'll make the greatest self operating thing ever!" Minuette hesitated for a few moments, but smiled eventually. "Alright. Help me build my project." It would be a week before Minuette's house was finished. During those days, Minuette would spend her time working away, either fixing the designs or building some of the clocks. In her own way of course. But occasionally, Flitter would pop in front of her, offering some help. Sometimes she agreed to let her carry some stuff, or accompany her while she worked. It was nice to not be alone during the night, even if all Flitter would do then was sleep. And others she would refuse. She liked her space. She had her way of doings things and thats how she liked it. For now at least. Things may change once she they start working together for real.
Chapter 1Every handle in the house is pointing to the left, the perfect position for anypony to just bite and use. Perfect. Every design and every paper containing the plans for building were neatly stacked on two tables, which were neatly lined along a wall, ready for her to just pull, edit or change in any way at any give time. Perfect. Every single piece of equipment. Every screwdriver, every hammer, every nail, rig, chain, weight and whatever tool she might need was placed away in its respective box, placed in its respective shelve, opposing the tables with the designs. "Absolutely perfect." Minuette whispered. She turned and faced her working table, placed right between the design table and the shelves. It was the only , the only place in the entire workshop that was not organized yet. It was also a mess. Papers, screwdrivers and chains were strewn all over it, along with some models and half finished works. Since she often had to work with large pieces of mechanics, the table was rarely empty. But not today. Today was spring cleaning. Fortunately, Minuette's house was small, consisting only of a kitchen, a room for herself along with a bathroom, a main room and a back room, which also served as her working place. Unlike most houses however, the work space was the largest place on the house. Practicality at its best. "Two hours, forty eight minutes and twenty three seconds." Minuette pressed a button on a timer that hung on the wall. "Right on schedule." The door knocked. Minuette placed the wrench she lifted back on the table. She glanced at the timer. She had some time, but not much. She would have to make this quick. "Hi Minuette!" Flitter said. "Hi!" Of course, right besides Flitter was Cloudchaser. "What can I do for you?" Minuette asked. Friends were friends, but work was work. The spring cleaning had to be done today and interruptions like this would only delay things further. She had to make this quick "We just wanted to see how you were doing. I mean, we have barely seen you since the Mind-over-Matter celebration." Flitter answered. "Besides, since you are probably busy working, we though we could help you!" "I have it under control." Minuette answered. "I appreciate the thought though." "But...you haven't left your house in days!" Flitter replied. "I am almost done anyway." Minuette said. "Maybe we can keep you company?" Cloudchaser said suddenly. The two other mares looked at her, surprised by her sudden words. Minuette gance backwards at the clock on the wall. She had an awful lot of them all over the place, and they all said the same thing. She was tight on schedule. But she couldn't leave her friends outside. "Alright, come in." Flitter and Cloudchaser entered the house. The first they noticed, or that Flitter noticed, was the amount of clocks that were all over the place. On the wall, on a small table, standing, everywhere! All of them of different size and appearance, but sharing one similarity. They all had a rather mechanical look to them. No cover or wood was added to the design. One could see the chains and the cogs spinning and twirling in each of them. "Did you made all this clocks?" Flitter asked. "I build a new one each month. So far I have seventeen. Eight here, five in my workshop, four in my room." "Why do you need all those clocks?" "To keep track of time. Isn't it obvious?" Flitter glanced around. It was actually intimidating to have all these clocks staring down on her, loudly ticking away, as if there was a punishment waiting at the end of a long countdown. She tightened her wings on her sides, not wanting to catch a feather on one of those cogs. Cloudchaser poked one that was on a table. The clock made a loud cracking noise before going completely silent. Minuette's eye twitched but she hid it. "Please don't touch them." She pushed Cloudchaser away from the table. "They are rather fragile." "But I thought they were made with metal. Shouldn't they be more resistant?" Flitter asked. "I make them with spare materials and magic. They are easy to make, but the results are rather unstable." As if it was listening, the broken clock suddenly made a loud, metallic noise before the arrows that marked the time broke free, shooting with lethal force, one of them impaling itself on the roof. The other one past right above Cloudchaser's head, cutting the top of one of her mane spikes. "Wow. It almost went through the roof!" Cloudchaser chuckled. Flitter was a bit less humored, more worried about the fact that the arrow had nearly gotten her head. Minuette pulled the arrow with magic and placed it on the table. She was going to have to throw it to the garbage later. A loud tick tock was heard. She was out of time. She had to get back to work. "I appreciate the company, but now I should really go back to work." Minuette said, motioning to the door that led to the workshop. "We can help! Can we help?" Flitter asked cheerfully. "Help in what?" Cloudchaser asked, though her question was ignored. "I have it under control. Besides, this is a complicated work. It needs precision and care." Minuette walked towards the workshop. "Besides, right now I'm cleaning up the workshop, not actually working, and I'm almost done anyways." Flitter whimpered. Minuette was about to enter her workshop when a soft sniff reached her ears. Her mind briefly argued with itself for a few seconds. She glanced at her work table, then back at her friends. She breathed deeply. "You can help me." Flitter perked up at the decision. "But you have to do what I say, got it?" Flitter nodded and followed her inside, herself followed by Cloudchaser. Even with three ponies inside of it, the workshop had enough space to move freely without bumping into each other. Minuette levitated a stack of papers and placed on a large trash bin. "I need you to move this pieces of equipment to the disassembling shelf." Flitter grabbed one of the machines with her mouth, while Cloudchaser balanced two on her wings. They were surprisingly light actually. However, as soon as Flitter placed her cargo on the shelf, the piece of equipment broke, falling apart almost completely. Minuette resisted the urge to groan a groan. "Please be careful." she muttered. Flitter nodded. Work progressed on, although at a much slower rate than Minuette would have liked. What originally would have taken only three quarters of an hour at the most had extended into a full blown two hours. Accidents were not missing, as Flitter, as much enthusiasm and generosity she possessed, had managed to wreck four half finished models, along with spilling an entire stack of designs, twice at that. Needless to say, Minuette wasn't exactly very happy. "I'm so sorry!" Flitter begged after wrecking another model. "Its...okay." Minuette said, hiding the grumbling in her voice, placing the remains of her work back on the shelf. "We are almost done...and it only took us two hours and a half more than I planned." "We had a schedule?" Cloudchaser asked. "Just the whole planning of my day, thank you very much." Minuette thought. "No. No we didn't" However, even with all those mishaps, work was done and the workshop was soon finished. The table was cleaned up, the shelves were organized and the floor was spotless. All in all, it was the perfect working space, though not as organized as Minuette wanted. "Were done here." she proclaimed. "So what now?" Flitter asked. Minuette pushed an empty box from underneath the table. "I have to check half clocks of the house later. Im going to put them in the box with magic. You are going to carry it." Flitter had to use her wings to balance the box on her back while Minuette placed the pieces of machinery in it, moving from the workshop to the main room and the kitchen. The box got heavier and heavier with each addition, though Flitter didn't say anything, not wanting to seem like she was whining. "Okay. All we need to do now is get the ones in my room and we are done." Minuette said as she left the kitchen. Flitter followed, though she was trembling from the weight of the box. Her wings and back were tired. Cloudchaser noticed it and did her best to help her sister. "This one, this one and this one..." Minuette lifted three clocks with magic placing in them box. Flitter was doing her best to try to keep lifting the box. "Minuette..." she muttered. "Maybe I should turn this one into an alarm clock." Minuette lifted the fourth clock. "Minuette." Flitter repeated. "Maybe I shouldn't. I need at least one clock in here always." "Minuette!" "What Flitter?" Minuette turned to Flitter, irritated at the interruption, but stopped when she noticed something. The box was visibly straining to contain all the clocks. Flitter was visibly straining to maintain the box on top of her. And she was about to fail. "Hey Minuette, you missed this part." Cloudchaser said. Before Minuette could react, Cloudchaser threw the missing arrow, from the clock that she broke before, on top of all the broken clocks. Flitter could no longer take the weight of the box and instinctively hid her wings, robbing the box of the support, prompting it to fall down and send every piece of engine and clock crashing down on the floor. Cracking and ticking started to echo in the room with increasing volume. To Flitter and Cloudchaser it was only a weird noise, but to Minuette it meant something else entirely. "Everybody out!" As soon as the three mares left the room, all Tartarus was unleashed. The magic inside the clocks went wild, making the pieces break and shot in any direction. Roof, floor, walls, window, bed, desk and bathroom, nothing was spared from the onslaught of small but edgy pieces of metal. A few of them even reached the main room, embedding themselves on the wall and the table. The three friends had to take cover behind the kitchen wall. It took a whole five minutes for the racked to die down. "Wow...what a rush!" Cloudchaser said. Minuette Slowly walked out of their hiding place. Horror was edged on her face as she observed the damage done to her living room. That horror only increased when she reached her room. "My...my bed..." Said bed had been pretty much shredded beyond recognition along with the pillow. There was a nice hole were the glass of the window used to stand. The bathroom had not been spared either. The mirror had holes all over it and the washer was cracked in many places. There was only one thing that had had managed to save itself from destruction by a thousand cuts. It had been the clock that Minuette ignored. Oh the irony. Flitter and Cloudchaser peered from the doorstep. They could almost swear that Minuette was struggling with herself to burst into flames. "Uh...sorry?" Flitter said tentatively. Minuette turned to them, visibly angry. "You...you wrecked my room!" she shouted. "It was an accident! I...I didn't mean to!" Flitter replied. "Where am I supposed to sleep! I don't have the time to fix this and work! And I have a lot of work!" Cloudchaser looked around the room, ignoring the two mares. She poked one of the arrows that was sticking out of the wall. It fell to the ground with a soft metallic noise. The damage wasn't that bad. Only superficial it seemed. "Its going to take days to fix all this! Where am I supposed to sleep!?" Minuette berated Flitter, who was trying to make herself as small as possible. "Eh, eh...with us?" she answered. Minuette stopped berating her. Her room was a mess. She looked back at Flitter, who was smiling nervously. She had no choice. "Alright...but you better help me fix all this." she growled. "Yay! Slumber party!" Cloudchaser cheered. Minuette sighed at the display of happiness from the pegasus. This was not going to be easy.
