The Chronicler Comes to Town

by Zenop

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Original Character
Length: 17378

There's a new stallion in ponyville. He's smart, a bit weird– oh, and is trying to hide the fact that he somehow knows absolutely everything about everypony.

This is mostly your typical story. You know, a stallion and friends moves to town, get settled in, the usual. Except that this stallion is trying really hard not to act like he knows a little too much about everybody, his friend is the epitome of asepticism, and his butler is a zebra.

So sit back and read my fellow... reader, and learn that not everything, or everyone, are quite as they seem.

(Started before S4 ending. May go back and edit story elements to fit new official cannon without drastically changing story.) Done.

Published 2013-06-09 02:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2017-10-09 03:53:06 UTC

It's time for Pinkie to gasp and run away (among other things)

"Stupid, stupid, stupid" said Spike as he hit himself on the head. He had gone over to Rarity's house to help her with "whatever mah lady desires" as he would put it, and everything had gone fine. That is, until he stepped on Opalescence's tail, sending the normally benign feline scrambling up the curtains of the boutique, the result being shredded fabric. He could still see Rarity's face frozen in terror when she saw the damage on the valuable imports, he could probably still see that face if he went back there, being as that is how he had left her when she didn't move or make a sound for a good four minutes. So now here he was, dragging his feet through the town with his head low.

Perhaps a little too low.

He full-on headbutted a grey leg with an audible crack, causing the owner of said leg to yelp and jump, turning around as he did so.

"Oh, sorry sir" Spike said as he rubbed his neck. The collision had been met with no resistance, which wasn't very good for the spine as one can imagine. Spike looked up at the pony he practically assaulted, he was a grey unicorn stallion with a slightly darker grey mane and equally grey glasses. Spike had learned enough from Rarity to know that she would call this a "fashion disaster." The unicorn's demeanor and color made him look older, but closer inspection revealed that he couldn't be any older than around twenty-four.

The unicorn rubbed his leg as well, they didn't call Spike his name for nothing. After making sure that his leg wasn't bleeding, he nodded. "That's quite alright Spike–" he paused for a second as a look flashed across his face, "well, that is your name, right?" Spike nodded, he had never seen the unicorn before, though he reasoned that everyone within a reasonable distance must know about the local dragon. That sure helped his slightly diminished confidence.

"So mister, I haven't seen you before, what brings you to Ponyville?" Spike asked.

The grey unicorn replied, "Well, I was actually about to be on my way to town hall to complete my registration. I'm moving here in fact, on this plot of land." Indeed, Spike saw that the unicorn had been standing in front of an area of land marked off by ribbons and stakes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll need to be going now. Good day to you." He walked off. Spike apologized one last time and continued to the castle.

Spike made his way through the castle to the only place there that he could reliably find Twilight ninety-nine percent of the time.

"Spike, you're back early." Twilight said as she finished up putting the last books on their respective bookshelves. She then went over to a platter of tea that was no longer steaming, sticking out her tongue at the coldness of it. "Spike, do you mind?"

"Sure," Spike said as he started to take the teakettle over to the oven in the lounge room, which had been made in response to Twilight's time spent in the library. It included a pantry, oven and some comfy couches in front of a fireplace. "Rarity didn't have much for me to do," he finished. That was at least half true. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything. "Here you go." He gave Twilight the now steaming teakettle after realizing that a few puffs of dragon breath were adequate for reheating. Twilight sighed at the soothing taste as the tea washed over her tongue and down her throat.

Twilight finished the cup and sat down. She gave the bookshelves a once-over to make sure everything was in place. Satisfied with what she saw, she spoke, "Any news from the outside world? I've been cooped up in here cleaning up from that research session the other night."

Spike scratched his head, "Well, there is a new pony moving into that empty space down near Sugarcube Corner."

Twilight's ears perked up at the news, that plot was prime estate. Whoever managed to buy that spot must be pretty well off. "What was he or she like?" She asked.

Spike responded, "First, it's a he, second, all I can say is that he is a grey unicorn with a grey mane and grey glasses. He was in kind of a rush, so I couldn't learn much else about him. He's probably still at town hall."

Twilight pictured the stallion in her head, she likewise thought of how Rarity would react to such a choice of apparel. "Well, I need to get up and move anyways, let's give this newcomer a royal welcome," Twilight said as she got up and stretched. Spike followed her out the door. "I wonder of Pinkie has heard of the newcomer," Twilight remarked as Spike led her to the town hall area. As of on cue, as was probably the case, Pinkie burst out of a barrel that Twilight could've sworn was not there previously.

"Ooo! A new pony in town?" She shouted as the barrel's contents of pickles flew about.

Twilight had to decide between smiling or facehoofing at Pinkie's antics, though Spike had no problem choosing the latter action. "Yes Pinkie," she said, "there is a new pony in town."

Pinkie did a familiar drawn-out gasp. "Oh my gosh! Do you know what this means? It means a party! I'll have to go meet this new pony and bake a cake with lots of frosting!" She didn't stop there, "–and put up decorations and find out his favorite flavor and break into his house and–" she rambled as she ran off. Twilight double checked at that last remark and looked at Spike, who only shrugged.

"Well, that was interesting," she said as she continued to town hall.

The Amazing Fantastic Portable House-in-a-box! (Patent pending)

Twilight breathed in the fresh spring air as they walked along, it was such a relief from the castle library; even librarians can get tired of books every so often. The air was room temperature and not too dry or humid, there was a sturdy breeze, and the sky was mostly cloudy while still allowing sunlight to come through. In other words, it was the perfect day to do absolutely whatever you wanted to do.

So where was everypony?

Twilight looked around and saw that the only ponies around were a few shopkeepers at their booths, but even they looked confused as she was concerning the matter. She saw several fillies running and laughing past her; she stopped one, much to his dismay. "Rumble, where did everyone go?"

The grey pegasus shrugged, "I don't know, they're probably all going to see the weird box thingy."

Twilight tried to not cringe at the juvenile word choice. "What kind of box... thingy?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I hear it's really cool," he said excitedly. He then turned and galloped off, "wait up guys!"

"Maybe we should check this thing out too," said Spike, he seemed excited as well.

Twilight thought for a second, "No, we should go see this new pony. I feel that he may have something to do with this. Besides, it's probably too crowded there to see anything." Spike groaned but followed Twilight begrudgingly. When they got to town hall, it was as deserted as the rest of the town, with the exception of a couple of old-timers playing chess on the table nearby. Twilight opened the doors and was relieved to see at least a number of ponies that would take more than a second to count. She approached the counter. "Excuse us Mayor, but we are looking for somepony."

Mayor Mare was focusing on a crossword puzzle, "Hold on, I'm focusing," she said. "What's a thirteen-letter word for rude?"

"Inconsiderate?" said Spike impatiently.

She caught on to his tone, "Well I don't see what the big rush is, it's not like you can–" she looked up and saw who was in front of her, "Oh! Your Highness! I'm terribly sorry, please forgive me!" She then proceeded to blubber out an accompanying string of apologies as her face increasingly reddened.

Twilight was sure the Mayor would start kissing her hooves if she didn't say anything. "That's fine Mayor, really. I've been caught up in a challenging crossword myself before."

Mayor Mare laughed nervously, "Oh, right," she cleared her throat, "Well, is there anything I can help you with?"

Twilight ignored Spike's comment of "finally". "Yes, we were hoping to meet the new resident moving in. Could you show us to him?"

Mayor Mare looked past Twilight's shoulder and pointed in that direction, "Didn't you see him? He's right there, finishing his papers."

Twilight looked behind her; indeed, there was the grey unicorn that matched the description of the one they were looking for. "Oh, right." It was Twilight's turn to redden at what should have been an easy find. She thanked Mayor Mare, who discovered that Spike's word did in fact fit the crossword puzzle. They walked over to the newcomer. "Hello there, I am–"

"–Princess Twilight Sparkle, coronation a little over one year ago, 2 LR." He mumbled on without looking up, "Current residence, Golden Oaks Library. Age–" He realized that he had gone past standard introduction procedure and gave a grimaced look that Spike recognized. He cleared his throat as he met Twilight's eyes. "Ah. Excuse me, my name is Dry Quill the Chronicler, though you can call me Quill for short." He made an awkward smile, "though I suppose I've already introduced yourself to me." He was rewarded with two slack-jawed faces.

Twilight recovered from the shock, "How did you..." she waved a hoof around as her mind completely went blank, an occurrence that didn't happen often.

"I'm so terribly sorry if I caused any discomfort, I just..." he made the same waving gesture, "did my homework on this place."

Spike tapped Twilight on the leg, "Don't worry Twilight, he surprised me too." Still, there was something nagging at the back of Spike's mind that he couldn't quite put his claw on.

He shuffled his papers and straightened up, "Allow us to start over, My name is Dry Quill. You?"

Twilight agreed with a nod, "Princess Twilight Sparkle, but Twilight is fine."

"A pleasure to meet you," he said, taking Twilight's front hoof and kissing it lightly as he bent down. Twilight blushed profusely and looked around. Fortunately, everyone here was either occupied or sleeping. Spike's mouth was agape again. "What is it?" Quill asked, "Is this not the formal way to greet royalty?

Twilight stammered, "I– I suppose," she giggled slightly.

He laughed, "Meeting your first gentlecolt taken you by surprise then? Well, there's never enough of those these days."

"That's not the only thing surprising," thought Spike. He waved to get Quill's attention, "Look, I'd hate to interrupt the courtship and everything, but would you happen to know of that big box thing that everypony is going to see?"

Quill widened his eyes and stepped back, "Everypony? Oh dear, I hope they aren't touching anything." He suddenly looked rushed as he gathered the paperwork. "Excuse me Twilight, we'll have to hold off on our formalities for now–" he ran by Mayor Mare as he dropped off his papers and ran out the door, "we will talk some other time!"

Twilight looked over to Spike, who shrugged. "This just keeps getting better," he said. They followed in the direction Quill went.

Twilight could hear an increasing ramble of voices as she approached the area where the box was. Though, she didn't expect to see what she saw when she turned the corner. It was Trixie's introduction all over again, with few differences. There was just about everypony here surrounding a cart, or rather a carriage, that had some sort of mostly wooden box on it. There were parts and gears sticking out here and there, with glass panels on a couple of sides. The most notable feature though was the sound it made, which was a strange deep humming noise that seemed to emanate from its core. Twilight looked around and could see that even though there was a dense crowd gathered at the contraption, the strange noise it made kept the onlookers from getting too close to it.

Rainbow Dash glided down to where they were. "Hey Twilight," she said, "do you know what that thing is over there?"

"Now don't bother her an' expect her to know everything." Dash and Twilight looked to the source of the noise. It was Applejack trotting over. "Hey there Twilight. Ah came over as soon as ah heard about some weird contraption over here," she looked and tried to see the mostly obscured object, "an' I figured I better be prepared to face whatever this one's gunna do." She had a skeptical look on her face, a result of their previous experiences from Trixie's cart and the Super Cider Squeezy incident.

Twilight was glad to see her friends not completely transfixed by the object of attention. "I'm sorry girls, but Applejack's right, I'm trying to figure out what this is myself."

"Do you think it's some sort of weapon or something like that? Because that would be awesome!" Rainbow Dash then put her hooves up and waved them in small circles as if she was getting ready to fight the thing herself.

"Ah doubt it, an' that wouldn't be too 'awesome' if you ask me." Applejack said as she shot a look at Rainbow Dash.

It was then that there was a pop at the top of the box; Quill had teleported onto it and a silence fell over the crowd when he did so. "Hello there," he said, "now I know you all are wondering what this contraption is, and I can understand your curiosity. I have heard many theories, some say it is a vehicle, some say it is a weapon, some have more... farcical theories. I can assure you it is none of these."

"Darn it," Rainbow Dash grumbled.

"Now if you all will step back, I need to get this thing running so I can organize." He then hopped off of it and pulled a lever on the side. The crowd backed up and Twilight saw that the contraption had been placed in the middle of the plot of land. The noise that the contraption was giving grew into a large roar, and the crowd backed up further. What Twilight saw next was quite amazing, the contraption was unfolding. Panels flipped, gears turned, and steam whistled. Quill watched it with disinterest, but the crowd was absolutely hypnotized by the whole ordeal. After about five minutes, the contraption suddenly sprung out, and there stood a two-story house-shop complex with a display window on the front and a small canopy over it. There was a sign above the door that read, "Dry Quill's rare artifacts and records". The next line read, "Brain Storm's Gizmos and Gadgets". "Alright everyone," Quill said, "Showtime's over, I will be open for business the day after tomorrow, so you can all go home now or to work." The crowd gave a collective groan and slowly dispersed until all who remained were Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Dry Quill. "Ah, hello there Twilight," he said as they walked over to him, "I see you've brought your friends to welcome me."

"Yes. Dry Quill, this is Applejack and Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she gestured to them, eliciting a "howdy do" and "hey there" respectively.

He nodded to them, "Nice to meet you two. So, what do you think of my humble abode?"

Twilight looked at it, "It's amazing, I've never seen anything like it. How did you do it?" The sheer complexity of it was causing Twilight to almost shake with excitement, but she managed to control herself.

Quill gave a hearty laugh, "I'm glad you are impressed, though I must admit, I am not solely responsible for the creation of this little wonder. I had quite a bit of help from Brain Storm, who is coming with the other half of the house."

Twilight was dumbfounded, "Did you say other half?"

He smiled, he obviously enjoyed surprising people like this, "Well yes, we need both halves if we are to fit all four of us comfortably." Twilight wasn't so sure, the building was already the size of a regular house

It was Applejack's turn to question, "Ah am sorry, 'all four of us'?"

"Yes," he explained again, "there's me, Brain Storm– actually, they should be riding in tomorrow. I'll introduce them then, if you don't mind. Any other questions?"

Riding in? Twilight pushed that question aside, the next thing she wanted to know was how the house fit in there and unfolded like that. "So how does that house work?"

Quill scratched the back of his head, "It's going to be quite a lecture for it to make sense really."

Rainbow Dash interjected, "Well, if there's anything Twilight knows better than anypony, it's lectures, especially the eggheaded ones. Right Twilight?"

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes and smiled, "I wouldn't put it that way, but sure, I could stand to listen, though I doubt Dash here would last a second."

Quill cleared his throat, "Well, there's a central drive shaft with a modified steam engine, and it–"

The two eggheads spent the next seven hours talking about the inner workings of the M-CORE, or Mobile Central Occupational and Research Establishment. The said conversation gave Rainbow Dash a throbbing headache within a few seconds, causing her to leave shortly after, while Applejack had to leave for farm work duties. Spike left as well, saying he had to "remedy a situation", but Twilight didn't notice, or care; the conversation was too engrossing to leave. They talked of numbers and gears; of the uses of gems as conductors of magic and theories on the different possible ways to harvest the Aurora Borealis and so on. Eventually the conversation went to more personal matters, of their favorite books and authors; their habits to being more organized, until the conversation went to friends and family. Twilight told Quill about her parents, Shining Armor and her sister-in-law Candace, her friends, and of course, Spike the number-one assistant.

"You seem to be very fortunate in respect to your relationships," said Quill, "I too have very close friends, like the ones I mentioned. In fact, they are more like family to me than anything else."

Twilight started asking, "What about your actual fam-" but stopped when she saw Quill get a distant look in his eyes. Guilty, even. Twilight didn't know why, but it was obvious that that was not a subject he wanted to talk about yet.

Quill saw the concerned look Twilight had, and laughed, brightening his mood. "Now, don't you worry, my origins are not anything for you to concern yourself over." He looked at the sunset, "Well, will you look at the time, I suppose we should go home now. Thank you Twilight, this has been a most pleasant conversation." He took her hoof and kissed it lightly again, causing Twilight to blush and look around again. She then noticed that it was in fact getting late, and she was hungry, having missed dinner.

She thanked Quill and headed home, and though the air was quite cool, she found herself feeling quite warm for some reason.

Author's Note

Just in case you don't know what LR is, it stands for "Luna's Return", a bit of headcannon I borrowed. I believe that is how much time had transpired according to my fuzzy recollection of events of the past episodes. Correct me of I'm wrong.

How did you all like the acronym? That took me a while to come up with.

A Family Reunion

A Family Reunion

Twilight opened her eyes with the sunlight streaming in through the window, she looked at the clock, it read a little after a quarter after nine. She slowly closed her eyes again, after the initial shock of meeting Dry Quill, she realized that there were many strange things about him, such as his word choice when he referred to his "origins", or the fact that he called himself "The Chronicler" one time, but never mentioned it again. Was that some sort of title? His sign did identify him as a record keeper, but that would suggest a small collection of local records. Also, how come she wasn't able to see his cutie mark? Twilight rubbed her head, all those thoughts had kept her up for the better part of the night and had made her sleep deprived. "Spike," she called rather loudly, "can you get me some of that pick-me-up tea?" She then heard a yelp and a thud, and looked down to see that Spike was still in bed, or at least had been until her yelling startled him awake and caused him to leap out of his bed and onto the floor.

"Ow," she heard him say.

"Sorry," said Twilight as she rolled out of bed and went over to untangle Spike from his sheets.

"It's kinda my fault," said Spike, "I should've been up–" he looked at the clock "–sixteen minutes ago. What happened to the alarm?"

"I don't know," said Twilight as she picked up the clock and shook it around. She heard a clinking noise as she did so. "I think it's broken." She levitated it in front of her as they walked down the stairs to the personal kitchen.

Spike tapped his chin as he prepared the tea Twilight requested. "Can you get somepony to fix it, like Time Turner?"

Twilight sighed as she observed the broken device, "I guess, but Time Turner is out of town a lot, and I hear rumors that he isn't really a clock-maker. Actually, I'm not sure what he does exactly." Suddenly she had an idea, "Wait, that other pony that is moving in..."

"Brain Storm?" said Spike.

"Yes, him," said Twilight, "he sounds like an inventor of sorts, maybe he can fix the clock."

"Ready," Spike said a few minutes later as he brought over the tea. "By the way, do you know when the others are coming?"

Twilight widened her eyes and nearly did a spit take. "Oh Celestia! I forgot that they were coming this morning! What time is it now? Wait, you don't need to answer that." She looked at the partially-working clock: "9:50" it said. She calmed down, "I probably won't miss their arrival. Still, we should start on our way soon." After they had their fill of breakfast, they went down to Sugarcube corner.

Dry Quill stretched as he swung his rear legs over the side of his bed and hopped off, landing without a sound, and forgetting that such stealth was unneeded as the others were not here yet. He wondered if the others were arriving on time, he was confident they were, but he would check the communicator to be sure. He looked around his bedroom to get his bearings; he hadn't had a chance to check everything last night before he crashed in bed, what with that whole extended conversation with Twilight. The room was as he remembered it, slightly smaller than a regular bedroom with the bed in the corner and a dresser to the side of it. There was a window that looked out of the front of the building and wall-mounted shelves going all around that held items secured by physical binding spells; he would have to remember to remove those later. He walked over to the opposite corner and pulled out several drawers, checking the contents of each as he did so. He finally found what he wanted, a slab of wood and metal with a yellow gem at each corner, and put it on a table. "Hello?" He spoke to the slab, "Brain Storm? Come in Brain Storm."

The gems glowed and a screen showing a slate blue face with a dark green mane appeared, "Hello Quill," said Brain Storm in his usual drone, "we will be there within the hour. How are you?"

"I'm fine, the first part of the house deployed without a hitch, though I must say it attracted quite a bit of attention. How are the others?"

Dry Quill thought he saw the corner of Storm's mouth twitch up, but it returned to its usual blank expression. He said, "The little one is still asleep but stirring, and Zakuru has decided to walk alongside the power-carriage, which is functioning at favorable capacity. Anything else you would like to know?"

"That will be all Storm, see you here. Oh, and try to at least smile when you get here; we want to make a positive first impression you know."

Brain Storm did smile just a little, "I'll do my best Quill, and you try not to charm every single mare present before we get there." Only Dry Quill was able to catch the very subtle humorous undertone in his voice.

Dry Quill chuckled, "How about we worry about you getting just one for once."

Brain Storm nodded and terminated the connection, leaving the slab looking unremarkable once again. Dry Quill knew that Brain Storm would go straight to his experiments as soon as he could, cooped up in his lab surrounded by gadgets and beakers. The usual. He went downstairs to eat breakfast but then realized the kitchen was in the other half of the house. Sighing, he stepped outside into the warming morning air. The sky was cloudy, a warning to the rain scheduled later that day on the town bulletin. He walked over to Sugarcube Corner, figuring he would eat breakfast there.

Twilight walked at a slow pace towards Sugarcube Corner while Spike trailed her with the clock, she then spotted a blue blur flying overhead, eventually descending in a lazy glide towards her. "Hey Twilight," said Rainbow Dash as she hovered nearby, "where 'ya going?"

"Hello Rainbow Dash, I'm going to Dry Quill's place to greet the rest of his group." Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash gave a mock look of adoration, "Oh, you mean your coltfriend?

Twilight's face turned crimson, "Rainbow Dash! Don't say that!"

Rainbow Dash kept going, "You should've seen yourselves talking about nerd stuff all evening. It was sooooo cute!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Alright Rainbow Dash knock it off; go back to drawing Daring Doo as a stallion that you repeatedly rescue from certain peril."

It was Rainbow Dash's turn to turn red, "How– how did you know about that?" her voice cracked.

Twilight grinned, "You left some drawings in between the pages of one of the books you returned, which are actually quite good I might add. Spike can go get them for you if you want them ba–"

"NO!" Rainbow Dash yelled, then looked around, "I mean no, that's alright, keep them– burn them. Please." She gave a nervous laugh and rocketed off, looking back to Twilight briefly as she did so. Twilight heard Rainbow Dash say "I'll deny everything!" She smiled and shook her head and continued on.

Twilight turned to Spike, "Alright number one assistant, what does the clock say?" she said

Spike grunted and hefted the clock display up to his head, "Ten twenty-eight."

"Good," said Twilight. A few minutes later they arrived at the deployable house, but Dry Quill wasn't there. "Hello?" said Twilight. She looked over to Spike; he just shrugged. She then observed the front of the door; there was a sign to the right of the frame that said, "If no one is home, press the button." Indeed, there was a small box-shaped object below the sign that had a button embedded in it, with words below engraved, "summon". After observing it for a few seconds, she reached out to press it.

"Hello," said a monotone voice. Twilight jumped and turned around, there stood a slate blue unicorn stallion with a tangled green mane and pale yellow eyes. He seemed to have a blank stare, but was still looking at her somehow. "Use of the summon button will be unnecessary; I am here."

Twilight blinked a couple of times, "Oh, um, ok. Could I ask for your name?"

"I am Brain Storm," he replied again in a drone. He then made a stiff bow, returning to his previous neutral pose

Twilight momentarily gave a look that only said "What the hay?", but nodded, "Nice to meet you, though Dry Quill has told me about you a little. Do you know where he is?"

Brain Storm tilted his head a bit and raised an eyebrow, resulting in the most animate expression Twilight has seen out of him, "That information is unknown to me, but it is likely that he will return here from his present location shortly."

"So," said Twilight, "are the others coming?"

"I came ahead to analyze the area where we would make our residence; the others should be here in little time."

"While we wait," said Spike, "could you look at this clock?" The clock was not light, Spike needed an excuse to get rid of it.

"Let me see," said Brain Storm. He took the clock, shook it, and opened the back door to look inside. He made a little "Mm hmm" sound and walked into his house with the clock following him in levitation. Twilight and Spike looked at each other as they heard a few objects jangle around inside. After a couple of minutes, Brain Storm came back out with the clock. "Here," he said as he handed it back, "it should work now."

"Oh, um, thank you." Twilight said. She set the alarm to the current time, and was rewarded with the loud ringing of the alarm, causing a few strange looks to go her way.

"Brain Storm!" said a voice. The three looked over to see Dry Quill running over, a cupcake in his hoof. "How are you? How was the trip? Did you get bored?" He suddenly started laughing at the latter phrase; Twilight looked over and saw Brain Storm slowly shaking his head with his eyes closed, a slight smirk on his face.

"Good, good, and no" said Brain Storm, once again back to his usual face. He then eyed the object in Quill's hoof, "I see you are having cupcakes for breakfast."

Dry Quill looked at the pastry, "Hm? Oh no, this was a complimentary gift from Pinkie Pie, that crazy pink pony that works at Sugarcube Corner. I had an otherwise perfectly balanced breakfast mind you." He looked around, "Where are the others?"

Brain Storm recited his previous line, "The others should be here in little time."

"Good. Good." Said Dry Quill. The conversation decided to die right there and then, so the next eighteen seconds were spent just standing there with nothing to say. During that time, a dog barked in the distance, three clouds appeared in the sky, and thick black smoke momentarily emitted from Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight, now increasingly uncomfortable, looked over to Dry Quill, who looked back and smiled, then went back to occupying himself with whatever thoughts he had running through his head (which unknown to Twilight, involved the complicated plot of a book he was writing). The awkward silence was broken by a familiar rumbling in the distance, causing the group to turn towards its source. A few seconds later, a large carriage rounded the corner and rolled towards them. The most notable characteristic of the carriage besides its size was that no one was pulling it, not to mention the zebra riding in a compartment on the front holding a large ring that extended into the carriage. The zebra waved as the carriage rumbled around them, stopping behind the house, and then the rumbling stopped. He then walked to the front of the house.

"Hello there Dry Quill, how was my driving skill?" He said.

"Hello Zakuru. Fine I must say; we may even not have to adjust the position for attachment." Dry Quill said.

"Highly unlikely," said Brain Storm, "we will definitely have to adjust its position at least a little in order to ensure–"

Dry Quill cut him off, "Alright, we get it." He cleared his throat, "Twilight, this is Zakuru. Zakuru, this is Twilight, local princess and source of quite interesting conversation."

Zakuru bowed politely to Twilight, "An honor to meet you Princess. Zakuru at your service."

Twilight nodded back, then had her attention brought to a high-pitched noise.

"Daddy!" said a aquamarine filly scrambling out from behind the house. She then tackled Dry Quill, who let himself fall to the ground with her on top of him, both laughing as they did so.

Twilight's head suddenly swam with the implications of this development. She wasn't sure why, but it worried her. Nevertheless, she brought her attention back to the bonding moment.

"Hi there sweetie," He said after pushing her off and lowering his head to her height, "how was the trip?" he said softly. He then found himself being hugged tightly around the neck by the filly.

"I missed you," she said, burying her head into his mane. After a few moments she let go. "Zakuru was fun to listen to, but he got boring. I tried talking to Brain Storm, but he was really confusing and tried teaching me about–" she scrunched up her face, "–reverse osmosis I think."

Dry Quill gave Brain Storm a look, who replied, "I think it is important that foals know about advanced filtering techniques."

Dry Quill shrugged and ruffled Dew Drop's mane, "Well I'm glad to see you here. Dew Drop, this is–"

But Dew Drop had already run up to the princess, "Would you know where my mommy is?"

Twilight became flustered at this, but tried to smile warmly, "Pardon?"

Dry Quill gave a classic nervous laugh and pulled back Dew Drop, mouthing "later" to Twilight as he did so. "No Dew Drop, the princess doesn't know where your mommy is."

Dew Drop deflated a bit, "Oh, okay." She then looked at Dry Quill, "She's pretty though, right daddy?"

"Sure, sweetie," Dry Quill said as he glanced over to Twilight. "She is pretty," he nearly whispered, then once again cleared his throat. "Well Twilight, this is my rag-tag family. So, what do you think?"

Author's Note

Well the gang's all here, let the... stuff happen. To do list: Spike gets suspicious, CMC get involved, more cute little interaction moments while keepin' it real, Brain Storm might... (now that would be telling).

It's finally here! I have been very busy doing this and that (you know, summer vacation) and will be gone for another week after this. But I will definitely get on this story and others when I get back.

The Housewarming

Twilight observed the strange "family", as Dry Quill put it. Three unicorns, one of which was a filly, and a zebra. "They seem like a nice group," she said, which was really the only thing to say.

Dry Quill smiled and turned to the group, "Well, I'm sure you've all had a long journey, so come on inside and I'll help you guys unpack." The others started entering the house, with Dry Quill behind them. "Oh, and Twilight," he said, "you're welcome to join us and look around." He then stepped through the door to his house.

Twilight then remembered something as he went in, "Dry Quill, wait!" she almost said aloud.

"Surprise!" Twilight heard a crowd yell from inside accompanied by a monotone scream from Brain Storm. She walked in and saw that Pinkie had done it again, as in a time-defying party set up all around the previously barren setting of the front room. This was apparently the room where the store would be set up, with shelves along the sides and counter with a display case near the back. But instead of wares and trinkets, the shelves were filled with treats and some breakfast and lunch foods. There was an extra-wide banner setting along the ceiling that read, "Welcome DRY QUILL BRAIN STORM ZAKURU DEW DROP!" She saw that ponies were gathered around the newcomers. Dry Quill was talking it up with basically everyone while Dew Drop looked around excitedly. Meanwhile, Brain Storm stood off to the side in continued surprise at the intrusion and Zakuru was drinking some punch, only to choke on it when he tilted the glass back too far. It was at this time she was able to finally observe their cutie marks. Brain Storm had a shining light-bulb, Zakuru had some strange Zebric glyph as usual, and Dew Drop had yet to find hers. When she picked out Dry Quill from the crowd, she could barely see it at first for some reason, but it eventually focused somewhat expectantly into a quill and notably old looking book.

"Dew Drop, don't touch that!" Twilight heard Dry Quill shout as she walked towards him. He leapt over the crowd and rushed to take away a cup from Dew Drop as she was about to drink from it.

"What's wrong daddy?" Dew Drop asked, tilting her head.

Dry Quill tentatively set the cup back on the table, the punch of which hadn't been touched and would not be touched for the remainder of the party. "This isn't punch," he said, "it's, ah–"

"It's a cleaning agent for after the party. Drink it and you'll die," Brain Storm called (or rather just said loudly), having finally snapped out of his trance. A few surrounding ponies looked at him with mild discomfort, but soon paid him no mind.

Dry Quill gave him a look and sighed. "Yes, thank you Brain Storm." He turned back to Dew Drop. "Alrighty Dew, go along now," he told her. He then walked over to Twilight. "I suppose this wasn't entirely a surprise," he said, gesturing to the party.

"Oh?" said Twilight with a tilt of her head.

Dry Quill scratched the back of his head, "I may have overheard Pinkie over there–" he gestured to said mare, "–excitedly babble about using my roof hatch to get in." He chuckled softly, "I'm fine with it, really, but I can tell how Brain Storm is taking it all." They both looked over to where Brain Storm was now watching Pinkie Pie make balloon fractals. "She's really going to be a brain-full for him, I can tell you that."

Twilight spaced out for a second as she thought of a certain incident for what seemed like a long time ago. "Trust me," she said with a smirk, "I know."

After calming down from the intrusion, Brain Storm observed the crowd with his usual disinterest, only taking note of who would most likely be interested in his products and services. Not enough intellectuals here, he thought, though the purple one might provide good conversation. As his eyes scanned over each pony, he took in their looks and apparent personalities and stored them to memory: white mare, blue and light blue mane; lighter brown stallion, dark brown mane; orange mare, yellow mane; pink mare, pink mane; yellow mar–

Something didn't seem quite right with that one; he tried looking her over again and got the same disruption, like an interruption to his thought process. He looked at her one more time and this time observed her face, as she had turned a little towards his general direction. This time, the disruption was stronger and he felt a strange something in his stomach, but disregarded it and continued to mentally document the crowd, though he reminded himself to remember this anomaly. When he had finally taken account of everypony present, he retreated to the back of the house to deploy the other half of the structure.

In all, the welcome party lasted three hours, by which time everyone had to go back to their lives. Zakuru was sweeping idly and Dry Quill filed out some papers. Brain Storm organized the shelves, having started to stock them at least a half-hour before the party ended. Twilight and her friends were traditionally the last to go.

As they left, Twilight asked her friends, "So girls, what do you think of our new residents?"

Applejack shrugged, "they seem fine enough." She could tell they were some of "them learned folk" as Granny Smith would put it, and so didn't interest her as much.

"Brain Storm," said Rainbow Dash, "his talking reminds me of, I don't know, the schoolbooks I had to read in flying school." She then put on a blank expression, "Hello. I. Am. Brain. Storm. Err, err, errrrr," she said, twitching as she did so. The rest of the girls shared a guilty laugh which quickly died down.

"Well, I must say that Dry Quill fellow is quite the charmer," Rarity said. "I mean did you hear the way he spoke? Such... manner. And single too, I think."

They slowly turned to Pinkie, who had been hopping along caught up in whatever daydreams she had at the moment. She suddenly snapped to attention, "Oh, he doesn't have a wife or anything like that," she said cheerfully. Her cheerfulness was unique, as the rest of them took talking so openly about such personal matters as awkward.

Fluttershy changed the subject, "Brain Storm had some nice automatic bird feeders; I think I'll buy one."

"Wasn't he looking at you kind of funny?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know, in what way?"

"He was staring at you for a bit, but not in a romantic way," Rainbow said, then shrugged. "He actually looked confused. Do you know him?"

"I don't think so," she said.

"So Twilight," Rarity said, "you know what we think of them, what do you think of him ?"

Twilight started to feel warm in the face, "Don't you mean 'them'?"

"Come on now," said Rarity, "it is quite obvious that you and Dry Quill have taken a bit of a liking to each other. Rainbow Dash here tells us that you two talked all evening yesterday."

Twilight raided an eyebrow, "Alright, so he had some interesting things to talk about," she said defensively.

Rarity laughed, "No need to get offended, I was only poking fun." She then smirked, "Don't worry, we won't try to force a relationship between you two."

"Right Rarity?" Rainbow Dash hinted.

"I was only trying to help." She replied.

"I'm just saying that just because I'm not as... up-front as you, doesn't mean I can't– you know what, let's not bring that up."

"Agreed"

Twilight giggled to herself as she listened to the exchange and remembered the incident, then noticed that they had walked well past her castle. "Alright girls, see you later." They replied with their own goodbyes and went their separate ways. Twilight went back to her castle, made her way through the sparse halls, then went upstairs, where she found Spike hoisting the alarm clock back onto the wall. "Are you sure you've got that Spike?" she asked.

"Yeah," he grunted as he strained to hang the clock on the high mount, "I've got this."

An enchanted bell rung as the first visitors to the library arrived, so Twilight left Spike (who would eventually resort to using a stool) and went to answer it.

A Normal Day To Most

The next day had Dry Quill coming down the stairs in the morning to find Zakuru making breakfast, of which Brain Storm was eating. "Morning," said Quill as he sat down. Zakuru responded likewise while Brain Storm gave a barely-noticeable nod. “ Ah, good to see that the potion has worn off on you Storm. Aaannnnnnd where is Dew?” he said as he spun around.

“Exploring, as usual,” replied Brain Storm, “most likely collecting herbs and getting a layout of the town.”

"But it's, what," he looked at his grey watch, "10:13? Hm, I never sleep this late." He grabbed a breakfast burrito and grey hat, "I'm going out to meet everyone."

"I don't see why you have the need to do that," Brain Storm said, "you already seem to know everyone."

"Not everyone," Quill replied as he walked out the door, then poked his head back in, "Oh, and Brain Storm, we need groceries. So, you know, get outside today and see the sun and all that." With that, he walked out.

Dry Quill walked down the streets as a cool wind of the approaching Autumn blew through. A musical number had broken out nearby about the joys of picnics and he could see kites being flown in the distance. There were surprisingly few ponies where he was; most of them were singing or inside due to the unexpected chill. He finally passed one by the name of Lyra Heartstrings and started up a conversation. When the discussion split off on a particular tangent on the fault of Lyra, Dry Quill invited her to his shop, stating that he had "something of interest" to her, then said goodbye. Presently he came to a shop called Stock House's General Goods, and then continued on seeing as he had no business there.

"Dew Drop I am going to collect; she has not come back yet." Zakuru said as he slung a saddlebag on his back. He turned to Brain Storm, "Outside I hope to see you too, for there is nothing else for you to do." He left.

Brain Storm sighed, Zakuru was correct, the lab materials were at the back of the storage room, and he had to complete the objective of acquiring some groceries. The only logical thing to do would be to comply with Zakuru's and Quill's requests. He put on his own pack and went out the back door towards the market.

Vendors lined the streets; some called out their wares, others painted signs or counted money. Brain Storm had managed to find everyone's favorite foods and was halfway done with his shopping. He spotted Dew Drop across the crowd walking with Zakuru and gave them a stiff wave, which they returned. He then came by Twilight, who then stopped and looked at him.

“Um, Brain Storm?” She said.

“Hm.”

“Your colors– they’re switched.”

“Yes, this is my natural color.”

“...”

“I had previously experimented with a color potion before my arrival here. Is that explanation sufficient?”

“Sure,” Twilight said a little unsure, then waved and went her way.

Brain Storm navigated the crowd, skillfully calculating each movement to minimize contact with others. He did not, however, anticipate two fillies run by and trip him up. He could have recovered, if not for a conveniently placed rock right where he stepped, and so, for the first time in one-hundred thirty-two days, Brain Storm fell over backwards. He landed on something soft which made a small yelp. Assuming it to be some pet, he rolled off and took a look at whatever he had accidentally assaulted. Well, he came face to face with a pair of blue eyes surrounded by yellow hair. It was the anomalous yellow mare pegasus from the welcome celebration.

"Engaging in conversation may give me clues as to the unique properties of this mare," Brain Storm thought, "I should start by sayingdhdurjvuwkqeixuzv---." It was by this time that Brain Storm got a full look at the mare, and found his mind scrambled by a foreign entity as his vision tunneled. His chest tightened and he felt his heart rate increase. "She's attacking my mind somehow- No, that's not it. Need to think. Oh no, she's talking."[/i ]Another burst sent him mentally reeling.

Fluttershy’s birthday was today, and after a panic-inducing surprise congratulations by Pinkie, Rarity treated her to the spa “Special”, which was like their regular visits, but twice as long and using arbitrarily exotic salves and distilled water. They then gave her a proper cleaning and powdered her fur and mane to give it a noticeably soft look to it, then topped it all off with a lotus pinned in her mane above her ear when she left.

This should all be noted because it was after this makeover that Fluttershy went to the market to buy a particularly large supply of apples, and subsequently had what looked like Brain Storm with switched colors trip over her.

“It’s okay, I’m alright,” she said automatically as she picked herself up and turned to face Brain Storm. He stared at her agape with wide eyes. “Oh, dear, have I given him a concussion?” “Are you okay?” she asked, not realizing that as she did so, she subconsciously tilted her head accompanied by a wisp of mane swinging lightly across her eyes. What happened next was a surprise to both parties involved, for three seconds later, Brain Storm did the most amazing and unexpected and certainly most illogical thing.

He turned tail and ran.

Spike attempted to steel his nerves as he approached the Carousel Boutique. He wasn't sure what he would say when he got there, but he dragged his feet as he had when he left, knowing that he would have to face Rarity eventually. He had tried talking to her at the party, but ended up avoiding her the entire time. He hesitated when he got within thirty feet of The Boutique, feeling less confident by the second. It didn't help that the streets were empty.

"Lady problems?" said a familiar voice.

Spike spun around to find Dry Quill standing behind him, causing his expression to turn from one of anxiety to skepticism. "Why do you need to know?" he said.

In a tone that was both sincere and somewhat patronizing, Quill responded, "I know that look, that walk; it is one that I have seen," he said with a dramatic toss of the head, "in others many times before." He then looked sideways at Spike for a moment before fully facing him again. "Rarity and you, you are close, are you not?"

Spike's eyes dropped to the ground, "Sure. I mean, I couldn't really say clo–"

Quill abruptly put a hoof to Spike's mouth, "So do you think a little torn cloth is going to get between you two?" Spike didn't say anything. Quill continued, "No." He sighed. "Oh, and Spike, I realize that you don't like me too much, and I know why. However, I am very sure that you don't." He started nudging Spike towards the Carousel Boutique, "When you can figure that out, feel free to come by and we'll talk, stallion to dragon."

Spike's face remained how it was, but he nodded and walked towards the Carousel Boutique with renewed vigor. But then he stopped and narrowed his eyes, "Wait," he said as he turned around, "how did you know that the drapes were–" Dry Quill had disappeared without a trace, "...torn." Spike heard Rarity scream and dashed towards the Carousel Boutique.

Spike threw open the door and found parasprites swarming the area. Rarity had set up a barricade of tables, behind which she protected her belongings and zapped any parasprites that got too close.

"Spike!" She cried as she swung at the swarm, "thank goodness you're here."

Spike ran over and joined Rarity, "Wait, you're glad to see me?" He said as he swatted away a parasprite.

Rarity launched a scented candle at the swarm, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?

Spike looked down and kicked the ground nervously, "I got your drapes torn up," he said as he stomped on a sprite, more from self-pity at the moment than duty.

"Oh Spike," Rarity cooed as she lifted his chin while her back leg kicked a sprite, "It wasn't your fault; Opal can usually climb the drapes harmlessly, but I had been too busy to trim her nails." She smiled, "I am ever so grateful for your help that day. And between you and me, those drapes were out of style" she said as she winked. In the background, Sweetie Belle threw a bucket of hot water at the parasprites accompanied by squeaky a war cry. "Now," said Rarity as she stood up, "I need a big strong dragon to save me from these pests."

Spike smiled, straightened up, and bowed, "Whatever you desire, my lady."

Dry Quill had returned to his shop and was writing in his book; Zakuru was cleaning the windows, and Dew Drop was in the lab, working with potions. Brain Storm had not returned yet, and it was 4:33. Zakuru thought this strange, "Where is Brain Storm, has he found harm?"

Without looking up, Quill responded, "I don't know, perhaps he found a marefriend" he said sarcastically. He looked up, "here he comes now," he said calmly.

The same could not be said of Brain Storm, who nearly broke down the door as he dashed in. He stopped and composed himself, and made an attempt to walk past his housemates with indifference. His right eye twitched, and his mane was messier than usual. "I'm going to bed," he said simply, and went upstairs.

"That's odd," Quill said as he turned to Zakuru, "Brain Storm slept only two days ago."

"I would think," Zakuru said, "perhaps he is sick."

Quill shrugged as he continued writing. Dew Drop ran in, "Daddy! I think I did something wrong with my potion!" Quill slammed his book shut. Half a second later, there was a loud whump and the house instantly filled with rainbow smoke.

Big Macintosh stood in the middle of the orchard. A fly landed on his nose, of which he shook off. “Eeyup” he said for no reason in particular.

Author's Note

Just a little reference for how Fluttershy looked:
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/364/a/b/_mlp__fluttershy_by_awsdemlp-d5pqipq.png
~~Credit to Awsdemlp. Check his page out.~~
(Artist account is deactivated, which is a real shame. If anyone knows where that really well-done art of Fluttershy with a lotus-type flower in her mane is, that would be nice.)
Yes, I am now aware that there already exists an OC named "Dew Droplet" on Deviantart with similar talents. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.

Comment and like please.

Heavy Reading

The next few days had passed by uneventfully, and school for the fillies, or for the purposes of this text, Dew Drop, was starting again. The morning of Dew Drop's first day was dreabdfully stereotypical.

"Daddy, Daddy!" cried Dew Drop as she jumped on Quill's bed, "first day of school, first day of school!"

Dry Quill groaned, "three hundred more seconds, please."

"Not you dad, me!"

Suddenly, Dry Quill got up and on his hooves, "Pfft, I knew that," he said playfully with a grin. "Now, is my little girl prepared with all of her things?"

"I've already packed everything this morning!" she said excitedly, then ran downstairs with Quill in tow.

When they got to the kitchen, Zakuru was making breakfast again, but Brain Storm was missing, as he had been for the past few days. "Hey Zakuru," Dry Quill said, "is Brain Storm any better?"

"His condition still is drab," Zakuru responded, beating the oats with every syllable, "but he's been working in his lab."

"On what?"

"That is a mystery to me, and he won't let anybody see." Zakuru shrugged and set the breakfast on the table, and they all sat down to eat.

After the food was eaten and Brain Storm still didn't come out of his lab, Dry Quill walked Dew Drop to school. They joined a procession of other parents, most of them nearly dragging their protesting foals to school. Unlike Dew Drop, the foals had experienced freedom for only a week and would take twice as long to get them used to school again.

Ms. Cheerilee knew this as she watched the students with a sort of grayness hanging over their heads sulk past her. Speaking of gray, here came a stallion with a filly she supposed to be a new student. Ms. Cheerilee looked back into the school and saw that there was one seat left, and thought of how the school was running out of room for new students. She turned back to find the grey stallion's face four inches from hers.

"Hello there, I am Dry Quill," he said. She drew back a bit, not used to this proximity. Dry Quill pretended not to notice. He continued, "I understand that you are the resident teacher of this town, and I have a new student for you, Ms. Cheerilee. Say hello, Dew Drop."

"Hello," Dew Drop said, then turned to Dry Quill, "she's not my mother."

Cheerilee's eyebrows furrowed slightly in concern; she was used to most of the strange eccentricities exhibited by foals, but this was something else entirely, especially if it was a parental matter. She put it aside for now. "Well, I'm sure she'll be a great student. We have one more chair near the front, so just put your stuff there and you can introduce yourself to the class."

"Alright Dew Drop," Dry Quill said, "you have fun now. I'll be getting our plumbing installed so we don't have to use Sugarcube Corner's bathroom anymore." He and Dew Drop hugged and went their separate ways.

After hiring a burly stallion with a scruffy beard to install said plumbing, Dry Quill went to the castle library for more than one reason. "Good day Spike," he said with slight emphasis and a smile. Spike raised a claw to his lips and shushed Quill. Quill nodded and went to the magic semi-fiction section of the library and observed the titles. Eventually Twilight came through the door and attended to the library's visitors, most of whom wanted a book on the highest shelf or part of the central display for some reason. After all who were left were the ponies who would read an entire book while in the library without ever actually borrowing it, Twilight picked up a stack of returned semi-fiction and set to work putting them back on the shelf.

"You're missing the first volume of The Ballad of the Crystal King," a familiar voice said next to her.

Twilight jumped and didn't drop her books in surprise, having had much experience carrying them. She looked and saw that it was indeed Dry Quill. "Oh, well, the first volume was manually copied and is very hard to get you know."

"Indeed," Dry Quill slowly and thoughtfully said as he promptly walked out, leaving a confused Twilight looking at the door.

Mrs. Cheerilee hoofed out an assignment to the class. "Alright everyone, now I know that you are all still in that vacation daze, so though we are starting a new topic, I'll try to make it easy for you all." She started to write on the chalkboard.

Sweetie Bell leaned over to Apple Bloom and whispered, "does the new filly have her cutie mark?"

"Ah dun't know," said Apple Bloom, "Ah need a better angle. Uh oh."

"What?" Said Sweetie Bell, but then she saw Diamond Tiara whispering to Silver Spoon and gesturing to Dew Drop– and giggling. “Uh oh,” she parroted. “Well, at least we know that Dew Drop doesn’t have her cutie mark.”

“Yep,” said Apple Bloom, “and that means trouble.”

Cheerilee was talking again, “alright everypony, you may all start on your assignments now.” She looked to Dew Drop. “Dew Drop, aren’t you going to do your work?”

Dew Drop took a second to realize she was being addressed. “Oh, I did my work while you were talking.”

“You knew this already?”

“Uh-huh, I was taught this stuff a while ago.”

Cheerilee felt a sweat form on her back, home schooled kids, she thought, they always complicated things. It was nothing she wasn’t used to though, due to the high amount of farmers around here. Still, she would have to find out what Dew Drop has and hasn’t learned.

Nobody, especially the teacher, saw the sneer that Diamond Tiara was giving Dew Drop at that moment.

At recess, Dew Drop sat alone with her legs folded beneath her, having never been around so many foals before– never been around foals, for that matter. “Just be yourself and all that cheesy nonsense,” Daddy had said, “make some friends, talk to people.” It was very much the same advice he gave to Brain Storm. Nevertheless, she was shy as many new foals were. Oh look, here came two potential friends.

"Well," started the pink one in a voice that grated the ears, "looks like we have a teachers pet." She spat the last word. "And a blank flank to boot." A crowd of foals surrounded the exchange, this being a common occurrence.

Dew Drop frowned; this filly did not seem friendly.

Tiara took the frown as progress; it fueled her arrogance. "Well, can't you talk, or are teachers the only ones good enough to talk to?"

"Are you?" said Silver Spoon.

Dew Drop shook her head. "Nope, I don't hold anyone here higher than anyone else."

Diamond Tiara sneered again. "Well you should. Me."

"Yeah," Silver Spoon repeated, albeit with slightly less confidence.

Dew drop tilted her head. "Why?"

Tiara looked taken aback. "What do you mean why?" She took a few moments to think. "Because– because I'm better than you, that's why!"

"Ohhhh, I see," said Dew Drop.

Diamond Tiara smiled, happy to have gotten her point across.

Dew Drop continued, "you must be one of those bullies my dad has told me about, aren't you?"

Diamond Tiara felt something start to crumple inside her, but her eyes burned with anger. "What did you call me?"

This was getting interesting to the crowd, who usually didn't see someone hold their ground like this against Diamond Tiara. Then again, none of them had had Brain Storm as a tutor and babysitter. Silver Spoon thought it wise to stay out of it.

"Yeah." Dew Drop thought for a second and stood up. "My daddy told me about how I'll meet bullies, and how they're mean because they don't get enough attention at home or something like that," she paused, "does your daddy not talk to you?"

Diamond Tiara's lip quivered almost unnoticably.

Dew Drop looked up in thought. "Well, daddy did say that they could also just be jerks."

It was then that Dew Drop was viciously tackled by a screaming Diamond Tiara.

Dry Quill poked his head through the door of the schoolhouse. Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara sat on the near side of the school, with Filthy Rich sitting behind Tiara. Diamond Tiara had her bent up tiara off to the side. She was covered in splotches of dirt and had a small scratch. Dew Drop sat on the far side and kept her head hung and her eyes to the ground. She was in much better condition, with only a messed up mane. Ms. Cheerilee sat patiently behind her desk with a stern face; she wasn't even grading the papers next to her. Dry Quill loudly cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

"Sit," Ms. Cheerilee said as politely as the situation could allow, which wasn't much. Dry Quill first walked over to her desk.

"Ms. Cheerilee, how nice to see you," he said curtly, "I can see why you smile all the time. This current face doesn't suit you too well."

Cheerilee's features softened a little, and was about to say something when Filthy Rich spoke. "I would like to get on with this if that is all right," he said with a little irritation.

Dry Quill turned his head toward Filthy Rich and raised an eyebrow. "Very well, Filthy."

"Rich, please."

"Naturally," Quill said. He silently went over and sat next to Dew Drop. He smoothed out her mussed-up mane. "How are you sweetie?" he said. He saw Diamond Tiara looking at him from the corner of his eye.

"Now," Ms. Cheerilee said, "as you all may know, I caught Dew Drop and Diamond Tiara fighting during recess." She sighed. "As this was the first incident, I stopped them before much happened and let them off with a warning. However," -she looked to each student- "I found them fighting after school with a cheering crowd of school foals surrounding them. I must remind all of you that such behavior will not be tolerated in my or any school."

"Well," Filthy Rich said, "I believe we know the proper course of discipline here. I say that the instigator of this conflict be suspended for two weeks."

"Yes!" Dry Quill said abruptly as he pounded his desk, "let's suspend this student! Furthermore, let's make her give the other one of her tiaras as an apology!" He smiled at Filthy Rich.

Filthy Rich snorted. "You don't mean to say that my daughter is the one to be the cause of this?"

Dry Quill took off and wiped his glasses. After he put them back on, he got up and walked over to Rich. "Look Rich, you seem like a reasonable stallion; I am as well. As Ms. Cheerilee only saw the end of things, what say we ask the girls what happened?"

Filthy Rich checked his watch and frowned. "Fine, but this better be quick."

"Splendid," said Dry Quill brightly. He looked to Diamond Tiara. "Tiara, we'll start with you."

Diamond Tiara folded her front legs in front of her. "I don't need to explain anything."

Dry Quill breathed in deeply, then slowly released it. He shrugged. "Alright, that's your choice. Dew Drop, would you like to speak?"

Filthy Rich cut in, "I don't see the point of this."

Dry Quill snapped around. "I just want to see what they have to say, to ascertain to the highest accuracy what has transposed here between them."

"I already know what happened. Your daughter obviously beat up my daughter, and now we have to waste our time here arguing about it." Filthy Rich said with increasing irritation. He got up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting I'm late for." He went for the door.

"You are not excused."

"What?" Filthy Rich turned around. "This conversation is over," he said as he did so, only to find Dry Quill right in front of him. Something about Dry Quill was different. His hat and glasses were off, and his sharp grey eyes were reading Filthy Rich up and down.

"This conversation is not over!" Quill nearly yelled, then went down to a firm growl "and do you know why? It's because we've been in a schoolhouse for the past ten minutes, and you haven't learned a thing!" He snorted contentiously. "Do you know what your problem is, Filthy? You aren't upset that your daughter got absolutely floored by mine, but rather that you are missing a chance to crunch numbers and sit in some quiet office all day, that's why." His head cranked a little to the side. "You don't have a daughter, you have a liability, don't you? She's just a little distraction from your wealth, and your assets, and your business."

"Now hold just a minute here, I care about my little Diamond just as much as you care for your daughter."

You could care less what happens to her short of foalnapping," Quill deadpanned, "but only because you'd have to pay a ransom."

"That's a ridiculous accusation!"

Quill calmed down, but still radiated vigor. "Maybe. Maybe," he said, "but I need to make you think." He growled again, "you know a lot about the job of a business-stallion Filthy, but there is one occupation with which you obviously have great qualification for, but just as obviously have no passion, and it's only taken me five minutes to figure it out. Now I suggest that you and Diamond Tiara have a long talk about what it means to be father and daughter."

The room was silent any highly uncomfortable to be in all of a sudden. Without a word, Dry Quill picked up his hat, wiped his glasses again and put them on, and motioned for Dew Drop to follow him out the door. He turned towards the door, and to no one in particular said, "I apologize that you had to see that." Before he left, though, he turned to Filthy Rich. "Look, if you're looking for any sort of compensation, we'll talk. Good day, Rich," he said, reaching out to fix Rich's tie, the gesture of which surprising him. He walked out of the schoolhouse, and Ms. Cheerilee, seeing that there was nothing left for her to do, soon followed.

Filthy Rich sat there dumbfounded for an entire two minutes. He briefly considered Dry Quill's offer, but then heard sobbing and looked around, and found it was Diamond Tiara. He looked at her, and for perhaps the first time in his life, saw his daughter.

Twilight heard the library door open and turned around. It was Dry Quill, and he looked tired; the sharpness in his eyes was gone for the time being. He had with him an aging book, the kind with hoof-made pages of slightly varying sizes. "You're back," Twilight said in an almost questioning manner.

Dry Quill smiled wearily. "Apologies, but I wanted to make this a surprise." He showed the cover of the book, The Ballad of the Crystal King: A Romanticized Account of King Sombra's Reign and Fall.

Twilight's jaw hung open for a second, then she walked over to the book and hovered it in front of her, taking care to handle it like a holy relic. Then again, it kind of was. Carefully flipping through the pages she asked, "how did you get this?"

Pretending it was no big deal, Dry Quill said, "I've had it in my possession for quite some time, and have already read through it several times. So I thought to myself, gee, I have this old priceless book as part of a series, and a certain librarian has the other two, so I put the two and two together and figured I should give it to you to add to your collection– Oof!"

Twilight had run into him and hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she said excitedly. They hugged there for longer than one would expect. Suddenly Twilight let go and busied herself with dusting off the book, as to not let Dry Quill see her face. When she was done, she remembered Dry Quill's condition. "Dry Quill?"

"Hmm?"

"You look exhausted."

"That I do," he said with a yawn, "I had a couple of draining tasks to do today."

"Uh..." Twilight said as she looked around. "Oh! Sit here," she said as she went to the couch in the lounge area.

"Much appreciated," Dry Quill said as he stretched out. He looked at Twilight, suddenly dead serious. "Now Twilight, I have something to tell you, and well, it's strictly for royal ears only."

Twilight was taken aback by this strange turn of events. "What is it?" she asked as she sat next to him.

He leaned in close and whispered, "you see... I am really an alicorn in disguise."

"What?" Twilight said. She stared at him for a few seconds with a confused look.

"Yeah," he said solemnly as he slowly nodded. "I am actually the long lost cousin of Princess Celestia herself, and have been wandering the land, waiting for the right moment to reveal myself in my true form. And my true color scheme is a blood red with icy blue eyes."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Wait..."

Dry Quill burst into laughter to the extent of tears. "Oh– oh my– I re– I really had you going there, didn't I?" He gasped in air. "I'm sorry," he laughed, "that wasn't very proper of me." He started coughing and beat on his chest a couple of times.

Twilight playfully hit him. "Since when were you one to joke around?"

"What, I can not have fun every so often? Now, how about we read that book?"

They read that book, which was large and nine-hundred eighty-two pages long, accompanied by tea served by a somewhat begrudging Spike. The book was full of historical inaccuracies and exaggerations of which were humorous, but it also provided interesting insight into Sombra's rise to power and early years.

As on Dry Quill's first day, it got late. And as on his first day, they didn't care. Twilight woke up in the morning on the couch with a blanket draped over her. Spike was nowhere to be seen. She looked where the book was sitting on the side table. There was a note on top. "Had a splendid time," it said, "and not in any way that would upset your parents. You fell asleep midway through the book surprisingly, and so I had to go home. I left a bookmark where we left off, and would be glad to finish the book with you at some other time.

–Dry Quill

Twilight smiled and noticed that the note was in fact written in italics.

A Distressing Lack of Logic

Objective: Find source of mnemonic anomaly. Study anomaly while avoiding harmful exposure. Find way to neutralize anomaly while keeping source intact unharmed. Record results.

A bit short for an experiment summary. It would have to do. Brain Storm poked his head out of his lab and looked. Nopony was around, which wasn’t surprising considering the time was 13:37:28. He crept through the house towards the shop front and heard a light scratching noise. A mouse, maybe. He entered the shop and found it was only Dry Quill writing in that strange and very old book of his. The book was made of a brittle-looking papyrus that somehow never seemed to tear, and Dry Quill only wrote in it with a quill that he refilled from a turntable of eight inkwells. Brain Storm had once offered to date the book for appraisal, but Dry Quill had refused, saying that the book, “is too old to date.” Brain Storm huffed at the memory, prompting Dry Quill to look up.

“Ah, good–” Dry Quill glanced at a candle-lit clock “–morning Brain Storm, and what is that you are wearing on your head this time?” He went back to writing as he awaited an answer.

“I am doing a study on a suspected magic anomaly concerning a resident in Ponyville,” Brain Storm answered.

“Anomaly,” Dry Quill said as his quill flew across the papyrus. “What kind of anomaly?”

“One that seemingly only affects me so far,” Brain Storm said. With that, he walked out the door.

Dry Quill snickered and wrote a few more words. He read over what he just wrote. "How cringy," he mumbled.

Brain Storm walked at a confident pace through the chill air. He wore nothing but the strange contraption on his head and a belt of tools, for he had learned long ago how to ignore the cold. Unknown to supposedly everyone, he had snuck out two nights ago and ascertained the location of the anomaly's source's home, a small house near the Everfree Forest. Brain Storm hypothesized that the source must have contracted the anomaly from the forest, and that her secluded living has decreased the chances of the anomaly being discovered to all but the most magically sensitive ponies, such as himself. He found the bridge that started the dirt trail to the source's house and went on his way.

He arrived at the cottage and looked inside through the window. As suspected, no one was awake. He reached up to the contraption on his head and flipped down a lens over his eyes, something that he called the "one-way light," which allowed him to see at night. He also had a lens that filtered out any magic effects and illusions. He looked into the house again and could see the form of the source sleeping under her sheets. Brain Storm couldn't see her directly though, and looked for a way to get a better view. As he looked for another window or potentially a way in, he heard a rustling and turned to the noise. What he found was a very angry bear named Harold standing several feet above him and growling. If Brain Storm was scared by this new development, he didn't show it.

Either way, Harold started to swing at Brain Storm who dodged with ease and never broke a sweat, all the while thinking of a way out of this. After a while, Harold tired and put himself between Brain Storm and the house. It was at this point that Brain Storm realized that, "you aren't trying to maul me, you are just trying to chase me away," he said to the bear. Harold huffed and bared his teeth. Brain Storm heard the door open and saw the source run out to Harold. He flipped on his magic filter lens and got a better look.

"Harold, what's wrong?" Fluttershy said as she petted Harold's arm. She looked to where Harold was growling to, but didn't see anything or anyone.

Brain Storm ran through the bushes and trees of the Everfree, stumbling over roots and scratching himself on branches. He somehow had the mind to flip on his one-way light and was able to continue with much less difficulty. He eventually found himself entering Sweet Apple Acres from the forest, and slowed to a trot as he passed by the barn. He then set his mind to trying to figure out what happened. His lens had failed, that much he knew, and that's all he could conclude for the time being. As his mind went through the recent events over and over again, he couldn't figure out what went wrong. Deciding to pursue this case only after his mind was more level, he looked up to the stars to check the time. It was about 14:46, though he could never ascertain the seconds. A pink figure popped up from a bush, she wore regular night-vision goggles and a black suit.

“Hiya Brainy!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, “whatcha doing out here so late?”

Brain Storm considered the nickname and deemed it fitting. “I am conducting an experiment,” he replied

“Oooooooo!” Pinkie Pie went, “very sciency!” She waved her hooves in the air and giggled. “What’s it about?”

Brain Storm smiled just a tiny amount; he found it hard to be upset at this mare despite her randomness and defiance of the laws of physics.”I am observing a potential magical anomoly with one of Ponyville’s residents,” he explained.

Pinkie’s smile dropped in concern.

Brain Storm held up a hoof. “There is not any reason to worry; it is harmless, but curious.”

Pinkie Pie’s smile returned in relief. “Well, I gotta be going now. Bye! Good Luck!” she said, then waved and dashed off. And, just as fast as she came, she was gone.

Brain Storm let out a deep, sputtering breath at the conclusion of that interaction. Talking to others was draining, and Pnkie Pie counted for five ponies. He looked to the sky again.

The stars are like candles with infinite wicks.

Brain Storm looked around, but decided that that was illogical. No one had said that, it had come from his own mind. He didn't like that, those poetic thoughts; that was for Zakuru and Dry Quill to take part in, and were distracting to him. Brain Storm decided that magic barriers would not work, and reasoned that the next thing he could try would be to stop the disruption at his mind through mental training. Yes, that should probably work.

Dry Quill gave a little huff as he wrote.

Morning time, and with it came a premature chilly wind that forced anyone with half a mind and no other obligations to stay inside. Dew Drop was not so lucky to have this luxury, nor were any of the other schoolfoals as they all trundled to school. They were all bundled up in thick jackets and scarves, with nothing but their half-closed eyes visible. They traveled in a group unlike most days, with those living closest to the school joining the procession farthest forward and acting as a sort of windshield, and any that tried to cheat this system were nudged none too gently to their proper spot. Eventually, the students made it to the school and hurriedly filed in. Ms. Cheerilee watched with slight bemusement as her students sat down and winced as they made contact with the cold seats. Cinder Glow was already at the heater trying to get it lit, a responsibly that most teachers wouldn't even think about giving to a student, but Ms. Cheerilee trusted him as he exhibited an aptitude for it.

The door opened with a renewed rush of cold air, causing the students already seated to glare in the direction of the newcomer. It was Silver Spoon, and she had a note in her mouth. After quickly shutting the door, she gave Ms. Cheerilee the note and quietly went to her seat. Ms. Cheerilee read the note and her eyes narrowed. She appeared to read it over a few times, her expression softening with every retake. Finally, she set the note down and cleared her throat with the class's attention following suit.

"Diamond Tiara won't be with us this week. Her and her dad are taking a 'special vacation'," said Cheerilee. Jealous groans arose from the students, despite the fact that most of them have done similar things themselves, and that Diamond Tiara had never before missed school for any such reason. There was a large fwoomp as the flames in the heater sprung to life, and everypony scooted the little distance that they could manage closer to the beloved heat. Class could now begin.

As the lessons were taught and classwork was done, Dew Drop noticed that every time she turned her head away from whatever she was supposed to be paying attention to, she saw the heads of her classmates quickly turning their heads away from her. After trying this a few times she found that she could never make eye contact with anyone.

By the time recess came, the weather team had decided that the cold was much too off-season and had made the weather a little milder, so the schoolfoals were allowed to go outside. They all made an effort to go before Dew Drop, who followed curiously. When she rounded the corner to the back of the school, all the other students gathered in a half circle around her, then looked at her silently.

Featherweight stepped to the middle of the small enclosure that they formed and squeaked, "Dew Drop, step forward." There was a solemn air to the proceedings, whatever they were. Dew Drop complied and walked up to Featherweight. "Dew Drop, for acts of valor, bravery, precociousness, and virago, we present you with this crown," he said, putting a wood and paper crown on Dew Drop's head that had the word "cangradulations" scrawled across the front.

Dew Drop wondered about his choice of adjectives that he used and then asked, "what did I do?"

"You freed us of the tyrant!

"You put Diamond Tiara in her place!"

"You gave her a solid smacking!"

"You beat her up."

All the schoolfoals turned around to whoever said that blunt and less-than-enthusiastic declaration. It was Silver Spoon, who stood at the back a few feet from the crowd. The schoolfoals huffed and ignored her, and Silver Spoon sulked around the corner of the schoolhouse. They surrounded Dew Drop and asked her various questions about where she learned to fight like that and if she enjoyed it and could she teach them to do that cool grapple. Dew Drop frowned at the torrent of questions and didn't know what to do for a few seconds; she had never before talked to more than one foal at a time, or really any foals, for that matter. She then had an idea and got out her satchel and started to quickly mix together some multicolored liquids. The schoolfoals, now mesmerized by the actions of their celebrity, quieted down and watched. The mixture started to bubble violently and those who had prematurely developed common sense stepped back while the rest leaned in inquisitively. There was a loud whump and the crowd was enveloped in opaque, rainbow smoke. Now exactly how the smoke could be rainbow-colored, Dew Drop knew no more now than she did when she accidentally made the mixture the other day. What she did know was that the smoke was harmless and would effectively hide her escape, an opportunity of which she took expeditiously. She found herself around the school close to Silver Spoon, who had her back facing Dew Drop. She idly scratched at the hard ground.

"Well if it isn't the big hero," said Silver Spoon, but her tone wasn't so much venomous as it was depressed. In fact, it sounded like an acknowledgement.

Dew Drop wasn't sure what to say. She looked around awkwardly.

Silver Spoon stopped scratching the ground. "It's ok if you don't want to talk to me. I understand." She sat there and almost blended in with the gloomy surroundings.

Dew Drop thought of something. "Were you the henchmare?"

Silver Spoon took a few seconds to realize that Dew Drop said something. "Huh?" she said, turning her head slightly.

"I said, were you the henchmare?" After seeing Silver Spoon's confused expression, she explained, "I've read a lot of books, and whenever there's a bad guy, he almost always has a henchmare or henchcolt. They always follow the bad guy around and carry out his orders no matter what." She walked up to Silver Spoon and sat down by her.

"I'm not some mindless servant," said Silver Spoon with a touch of sass.

Dew Drop's face scrunched up a bit. "I don't think the comparison is that much," she said, "but at the end of these books, when the bad guy is defeated, I never know what happens to the henchponies." She thought for a second. "I sometimes try to imagine what they do afterward. I guess the ones that aren't caught just wander off or something. I dunno." She trailed off there, and before she could think of anything else to say, the bell to call everyone back to class rang. Dew drop got up to go and looked back to Silver Spoon, who seemed to be thinking. “Are you coming, Silver Spoon?” she asked.

Silver Spoon jerked her head up and looked at Dew Drop. “Oh, right,” she muttered. She slowly got up, stood there for a second, and then walked back to the classroom.

Filthy Rich held up a teacup and sipped it noisily. He read over the papers in front of him with scrunched eyebrows. His lips pursed and he set down the teacup, then grabbed the paper with both hooves. He put the papers down and smiled.

"Dear me!" he said, "why, Princess Cottonly, this may be the best princess play I have ever read!" He adjusted the napkin tucked in his suit and gave the papers back to Diamond Tiara.

"Do you think it could be a hit?" Diamond Tia– Princess Cottonly asked excitedly.

Filthy Rich shot a hoof in the air. "To Broadneigh!"

"Yay!"

Author's Note

I can't believe myself. Heck, I should have labeled this on Hiatus. But, I've resolved to continue this story after the mother of writer's block prevented any meaningful progress for about a year.

Intermission

“Hello Dew Drop, how was school?” Dry Quill asked as Dew Drop walked in.

Dew Drop thought for a moment. “I think I’m the Queen of Recess, or something,” she said. She took her schoolbag off and set it on the table.

“Queen of Recess?” Dry Quill asked. “Well, I suppose it’s a start,” he said more to himself.

“Yeah,” she said, “but all anyone wanted to talk about was how I beat Diamond Tiara.”

Dry Quill raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Dew. I was wondering the same thing, not that I’m unhappy that you stood up for yourself.” He smiled.

Dew Drop smiled back. “I read a self-defense book that you had,” she said with a bit of pride. She started to mimic the movements of the fight. “Once I realized that Diamond Tiara had no idea how to fight, it was really easy to flip over her and put her in a headlock. But the ground we were on was pretty rocky, so she got bruised a little. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she didn’t struggle like a loony in a straitjacket. Daddy, I didn’t know that my first day of school would involve a coup.”

Dry Quill’s laughed. “Well, it seems you made one enemy, but many more potential friends,” he said.

“More like subjects,” Dew Drop replied. She looked sad all of a sudden. “I overheard you talking to Zakuru yesterday about how you were worried that all the new faces would be overwhelming to me at first,” she said, then looked down, “and you were right. I’m the center of attention now. I don’t like that.”

Dry Quill nodded slowly. “Yes, taking down a dictator does tend to make one popular.” He cleared his throat. “Look, Dew Drop. You are in a unique position, a highly advantageous one at that. It is not every new filly or colt that, on the first day of school, both gets the bully off of their back and becomes popular. Though, now that I think of it, the two aren’t mutually exclusive.” He gained a thoughtful expression as he continued to ramble to himself. “Let’s see, Dew Drop defeated the bully, thus gaining the adoration of her class, but what if she had first gained the adoration of her class. Would that have socially defeated the bully, and thus get her off of her back?”

“Daddy.”

“Ah, but she could have also befriended the bully, and gain the submissiveness of the rest of the class. This would have the same end result if she then used her relation of the class to her advantage.”

“Dad.”

“Or, or, if bad went to worse, she could have killed the bully, and have the rest of the class fear her, barring the fact that she would be taken away by law enforcement for that action.” Dry Quill frowned. “Maybe I should stop there.”

“Dad!”

“Yes, sweetie?” Dry Quill asked, as pleasant as ever.

“You’re monologuing again,” Dew Drop said with a none-too-amused expression.

Dry Quill looked himself over, as if he was checking for some visual confirmation of this. “So I was. Where was I? Oh, right. Dew Drop.” He cleared his throat again. “I know that this can be– will be overwhelming, but I ask that you continue to give school a chance. Remember, these other fillies and colts are your peers; you’re meant to get along. Why, I’m sure by the end of the week, you’ll be just as comfortable as any other school-goer.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Dew Drop said dejectedly, “I’ve never had peers before.”

Dry Quill’s ears drooped and his face took on a somber, thoughtful expression. He didn’t allow Dew Drop to see it though, and soon returned to a more neutral, but caring expression. “I realize that, and I am sorry, sweetie,” he said. He walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “But you do now,” he said quietly, “and you still have plenty of time to get to know these classmates, and for them to know you.” He smiled. “Besides, you youngsters have such short attention spans; I’m sure this will blow over in a few days. Now come here you.” They hugged, and Dry Quill noticed that Dew Drop’s breaths came out shakily. He stroked her mane. “I’m sorry, I’d moved around so much that I forgot how hard it can be at your age. You’ve been doing so well these first few days, but you shouldn’t need to hold anything in, okay? You can talk to me. I’m here for you.”

Now.

“Okay, daddy.”

“So, how about we bake something for dinner?” he suggested.

“Okay.” She smiled, and everything was mostly alright that day.

* * * * *

Silently, and at twelve forty-two at night, a befuddled scientist made his way to the door of the Quill residence. He didn’t seem to mind the cold, nor did he react to any sounds that he might have heard. Perhaps he didn’t notice. Automatically, and without managing to think of much anything else, he unlocked the door, entered the house, and made his way to his lab.

It was time to open up shop the following day. Dry Quill and Zakuru stocked the former’s part of the store, which consisted of smelly books and little trinkets and antiques. The pungent scent of old stuff wafted through the room and house, and a tired-looking Dew Drop walked through the back door into the store. She wore a grumpy expression and looked around, holding her nose as she did so.

Zakuru noticed her entry and addressed her. “Ah, Dew Drop, did you sleep well? We apologize if we are causing a smell.”

“It’s four-sixteen in the morning, dad,” she said grumpily, “I want to sleep.”

Dry Quill finished polishing a brass compass, and put it in the counter display case. “Sorry, sweetie, we’re in a bit of a rush here. Dad has to get the shop ready to open today.”

Dew Drop snorted, looked over her father’s wares, and grabbed a vintage gas mask from off its shelf. Giving a challenging glare to those in the room, she strapped it on and walked back up to her room, the echoed breaths of the mask fading as she did so.

Dry Quill scratched the back of his head and looked at Zakuru, who shrugged.

Brain Storm bolted upright from his bed, his eyes wide. “Old Book air fresheners!” he exclaimed, then collapsed back into a much-needed sleep.

Business could have been better that day. That is to say, many ponies came in to browse, and yet more did some window shopping out front, but hardly anyone bought anything.

“Perhaps I should not have opened up shop the day before payday,” Dry Quill mused to himself as he slumped on the counter.

Some time later, the door frame bell jingled, and a minty-green mare stepped in tentatively. “Hello?” she said, and looked around. It was a comfortably-sized shop with warm lighting and plenty of mirrors; not much bigger than the usual ones that lined the shop district. One side of the shop had shelves and glass cases that held jewelry and old trinkets; dusty wooden desk clocks and doohickeys, all gently wiped clean. The only other patron was there: and elderly stallion scrutinizing some antique compasses as if they would speak to him if he stared long enough. Apparently, he had been asking repeatedly if Dry Quill would custom engrave the compasses, completely missing the meaning of “antique” despite the fact that he was one himself.

The other side of the shop piqued her interest more, for there lied a multitude of gadgets and flashing lights, strange sounds, and steam. She gravitated over to a particular device that seemed to be made of several rods, all rotating around each other on several axes. The effect was quite mesmerizing, Indeed, so mesmerizing, so mesmerizing, somesmerizing, somuserizung, sofumusserizango…

“Miss!”

Lyra snapped out of her trance and turned to the source of the noise. She had to blink a few times to focus, but she made out whom she assumed to be the shop owner, if the fact that he was stationed behind the counter was any indication. “Oh, hello,” she said, trotting over, “I remember talking to you the other day.”

Dry Quill straightened both himself and the tie he was wearing. “Yes,” he said with a nod, “Lyra Heartstrings, was it?”
She nodded enthusiastically to the point that her face was momentarily a blur. “Yup, that’s me!” Her face scrunched up. Did she tell him her full name last time? She figured she must have. “You said you had something for me?”

Dry Quill raised his head in a thoughtful gesture. “Yes, well, not me, per say, but an associate of mine. He’s in the back; I’ll fetch him for you.” He turned around and went through the back door.

A minute went by. Two minutes. Lyra shifted her jaw back and forth. She shuffled in place. Her eyes wandered back to the device that had so enraptured her attention earlier.

“–told you to remove that thing; it’s hypnotized three customers today. Look, she’s barely registering my prodding or speech, and has been there for ten minutes.”

“Wha?” Lyra went as she finally noticed something poking her. She turned away from the device and faced Dry Quill and a newcomer, a stallion with a green coat and blue, unkempt hair.

The newcomer looked at her with interest, and seemed to be sizing her up. Dry Quill gave an indicative cough towards him. “Introduce yourself, you’re making her uncomfortable.”

The newcomer snorted quietly, then stood up and shot his hoof up stiffly. “I am Brain Storm,” he sad as he and Lyra shook, “I understand you are interested in my Dexteron Gauntlets?”

“Dexteron gauntlets?” Lyra inquired.

“Dry Quill came up with the name. Allegedly, dexterity-augmenting forehoof enclosures is too– verbose.” He looked her over one more time. “Tell me Lyra, what is it that you do?”

“I, uh, play the lyre, and some similar instruments like the harp, but I also work part time at my friend’s candy store.” She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “There aren’t too many gigs for a lyre player around here.”

“Have you tried Canterlot, or Manehattan?” Dry Quill asked.

“Oh, I went to school in Canterlot,” she replied, “but I could never handle the city life,” she finished with a shake of her head. “So while my skills aren’t that requested except at events, Bon Bon’s shop does well, and we share rent at this modest house of ours.

“Oh?” Dry Quill said, “where?”

“We’re in the Southwest district, the house with purple trim below the roof. It didn’t fold out of a large box unfortunately,” she said with a cheeky grin.

Dry Quill smiled knowingly. “Right, and I remember you mentioning the candy shop last time we talked. I’ll be sure to come by with that coupon you gave me.”

“Sounds good!” Lyra said with a nod. She looked confused for a moment. “So anyways, what were we talking about?”

“The hoof enclosures,” Brain Storm said, who was relieved at the chance to bring the topic back to him. His horn lit up, and two strange, roughly cylindrical objects, both covered in a multitude of wires and embedded glass floated up from behind the counter, followed by what resembled a circlet with strange bits attached to it. “Put this on,” he said, placing the circlet on Lyra’s head rather roughly. He then lifted her right forehoof, placing one of the cylindrical objects beneath it, then slid her hoof into an opening at the top. He repeated the process for her left forehoof. “This next part will hurt,” he said, before quickly pressing something on the back of the circlet. Three blue gems on the front lit up, followed by Lyra giving off a yelp. “Now, raise your right hoof.”

Lyra did as asked, and couldn’t believe her eyes. Five digits protruded from the enclosure, each one almost as long as a hoof is wide. She stood up, and brought her left hoof likewise to her face. She stared without a word, twisting her hoof to observe the device from different angles. “Fiiiinnnngertiiiiiiipsss,” she whispered, “fiiiiinnnngertiiiiiiiiiiipsss.”

“The device will require some calibration,” Brain Storm said, dismissing her strange behavior, “so you’ll need practice to attain full motor cont–”

He stopped as he watched her flex each mechanical finger experimentally, then fluttered them in a wave. She looked up at Dry Quill and Brain Storm proudly.

“You are quite adept to this,” Brain Storm said, his tone betraying a hint of surprise.

Dry Quill levitated some papers over. “So she is,” he mumbled, then spoke to Lyra, “I will need you to sign this waiver-slash-contract, which holds Storm Labs to a maximum compensation in the case of an injurious accident, with no further charges to be pressed after the initial compensation. This is a test product, so you will not have to pay for it yet. If you and other testers are satisfied with the Dexteron, we will enter limited production, after which you may buy the finished version…”

He filled Lyra in with the rest of the details, such as the weekly visits she would have to make for maintenance and any possible mental effects of the circlet. After having her sign the contract, which she managed to do with the gauntlets, she was free to go.

“I wonder what exactly we have unleashed upon the denizens of this fair town,” Dry Quill pondered as they watched Lyra stroll out of the store on her two back legs. They watched her through the window wave to a filly and her mother, the mother covering the filly’s eyes and leading her away.

“It’s interesting, the Dexteron gauntlets were intended for Earth Ponies or Pegasi as they have no fine manipulators, like telekinesis or thaum-matter,” Brain Storm said. “It is good though that she has taken it up so well, despite not being the target demographic.” He looked at Dry Quill. “How did you find such an ideal test subject?”

Dry Quill scratched the back of his head. “I had a hunch.”

Brain Storm huffed. “Vague as always. Fortunately for you, I find the results to preclude any sort of explanation. I’m going to go work on a new idea.” He left for his lab, leaving Dry Quill to man the store again. The elderly stallion from before walked up to the counter and held up a compass that he had selected.

Dry Quill perked up at the sight. “Ah, have you selected something to purchase?” he asked.

The elderly stallion rubbed his chin. “Actually,” he said, pointing to the old, one-of-a-kind compass, “I was wondering if you had this in red.”

Dry Quill’s eye twitched, but he managed to keep smiling.

Author's Note

Hey guys, I know it’s been a while since the last update, and it’ll be a while longer. First, a little story. When I started this fic four years ago, it was initially going to be just a simple shipfic with a bit of mystery added in and a character that bordered on Gary Stu levels of personality. Between Heavy Reading and A Distressing Lack of Logic though, I realized that this fic and its characters could be so much more than the arc that I was writing. So, there came a hiatus of over a year as I slowly wrote the previous chapter. The same problem was present here. Where do I go with this? How do I develop the characters better, both canon and original? How do I motivate myself to just sit down and type it out instead of playing video games all the time? These answers took a while to answer, or not at all.

Furthermore, I have a problem of knowing where the fic will go, as in all the major events and climaxes, but it’s the in-between stuff that gets me. I have nearly 14000 words worth of future chapters written, but I am not able to submit them because the stuff before has not happened yet. So here we are, a 2480 word chapter after over a year.

Next, as a member of the LDS church, I am leaving tomorrow morning to serve a mission. I won’t be here to answer any questions, and I won’t be back for two years. Sorry to any of you that still follow this.