Three Friends

The mage was, to be utterly frank, bored. Slendy hadn’t been helpful, simply wandering off after getting bored himself, and the thaumaturge wasn’t going to try messing with the man’s cube of power. Not without having the chance to take one apart and study its every inner working first.

Stranded, with no Thaumonomicon, he checked through his bag, to figure out what, exactly, he’d brought along. A few more pork chops, fully cooked; a set of nearly-finished scribing tools, good for a single note or less; a piece of amber; a chunk of raw iron ore; the brass and thaumium nuggets he had stashed before, as meager as they may be; fifty-weight of cobblestone, leftover from an attempt at expanding his old tower; his old diary; and his old wooden, iron-capped wand.

He sighed, given to drama as per the norm for teenagers. Climbing the spiral stair to the top of his new tower, he looked out in all directions, all while thinking that he should probably put in some windows or bars or something, since the tower was more ‘watchtower’ in design than ‘wizard’s keep’, and searched the horizon.

In the distance, he spotted the town he’d found prior, and nodded, taking his bearings. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need a compass to find it, though he should certainly see to making a bed for himself. This tower of his was dreadfully unfurnished.

An hour of wandering later, and he’d nearly given up, blasting a few strange, wooden canines with the humming, homing Vis Shards he projected from his wand. The Focus had been a gift from his Mentor, and was one of the only three he had.

Thankfully for him (and the wildlife) he had stumbled across a cottage at the edge of the woods, and a yellow pegasus who was tending to some animals.

He had no idea what to make of the vast majority of the ones he saw, from a strange, long-bodied cat with stubby legs (a ferret), an owl with a flattened head and sharp, long beak (an eagle), and several others besides.

For several minutes, he simply stands and watches the pony tend her flock of animal friends, listening to her gentle humming.

After a bit of time, Fluttershy finally, by chance, looked in Mage’s direction and locked up, unsure of the new arrival. She had found mild companionship from the last human, and this one was notably smaller - but something told her there was something... wrong about him. Not quite dangerous, but enough to send a prickly feeling across her withers. This one was nothing like Hunter was.

After standing almost deathly still (How does anything living do that?) for several seconds, the MAge sweeps into a respectful bow. “I apologize if I interrupted, miss. I’m seeking the town, to try finding a replacement for something I’ve lost.” he said, a bit too loudly for her preference. Something was off about his eyes; they looked similar enough to Hunter’s, but seemed colder... almost like they’d been taken from something no longer living.

Fluttershy, not wanting to be rude, even if he seemed very bizarre, gently indicated down the path to Ponyville, before wordlessly shepherding her animals inside, who clearly had the same reaction to the new person.

The Mage sighed. He was just glad she’d been kind enough not to try handing off pitchforks and torches to her animals, who all obeyed her like children following the guidance of a beloved mother.

The comparison made a pang of pain twitch through his chest, though he wasn’t sure why, and he continued towards town.

Turquoise eyes amidst a sea of more varied peepers watched him go, unsure where the feelings of unease had arisen from.

A few more encounters with other ponies later, he discovered that only a few reacted like the buttery-colored one, and the majority were rather friendly. Eventually he was directed to a smallish house of sorts, being told that they made blank books there.

He stepped into the building, ducking under the low ceiling, and went for the counter. The stallion behind it blinked at his approach, but quickly assumed that was here to buy and put on his best ‘help the customers’ face.

“How may I help you... ssssir?” He realized he had to merely assume the creature’s gender, but the blocky-ish shape seemed more at home being likened to the hard-lined snout of a stallion, than the curved facial features of a mare.

“I am looking for a book to replace one I lost; it needs to be blank, with a minimum of one hundred pages, bound in some form of leather-” at this, the bookseller blanched, but didn’t otherwise react, “- and will need to contain no materials resistant to magic. In return, I have some materials that I could barter, which would be useful in your business, and may even be able to help you with infusing new properties into your equipment.” The mage’s voice was steady, almost monotone, as he listed off the requirements.

“Uh... well, I’m not sure what you mean by ‘infusing’ a machine, but... leather is not easy to come by. I wouldn’t be able to... make any, that’s not my field, but I can try my hoof at scrapping some pieces I have left over. Due to its rarity, I’d have to request money in advance.”

The mage sighed. “Fine... I will return later.” he said, turning to leave the building in a bit of a huff.

“I’m sorry, but you must understand that, well, your request is quite outlandish.” The store owner said. “But if you brought me some leather from elsewhere, I could use that and... not question where you got it from.”

The mage paused, then nodded. “I will keep that in mind.” After his simple statement, he stepped outside, looking about to find someone in need of assistance with... well, with anything, really. Nobody seemed to need help, so he continued to hunt around, slowly circling the town as he searched for someone with need of assistance and the willingness to pay for the service.

Eventually, he was approached by another pony he had not met before, and was, rather suddenly, asked for help.

“Yes? What do you need?” he asks, trying to sound helpful, but coming across as a bit taciturn.

“Well, uh, see I’ve been having some trouble with a leaky roof. I’ve been meaning to get it fixed but it just never seems to get done. If you aren’t very busy, I could use a hoof. I’d pay you of course. We can discuss payment if you decide to help. Is that fair?”

The Mage thinks for a moment, then nods. “I can do this.” he paused for a moment. “I have to admit honestly, though, that I’m unfamiliar with the local currency.”

“Oh, we use Bits, little golden coins. I will be able to pay well, I understand it’s odd for somepony in this town to have a shingled roof as opposed to a thatch one.”

“Why would you use thatched roofs? They are far too flammable, and easily damaged.” he replied, discounting that they’re cheap and easily repaired, and quite good as insulation.

“Well, I feel the same, hence why I have shingles, but not everypony in this town is able to afford such... safety.” The mare stated. “We aren’t exactly Canterlot.”

“Hmmm... what’s ‘Canterlot’?” he asked.

She sighed as she walked back to her house, motioning for Mage to follow. “Well, for starters, everypony there is rich beyond belief and tends to have the best of everything. It unfortunately makes them look down on those of... lesser funding. Of course, most of them are wealthy for a reason, it’s just easier to get money in a place with a more active economy.”

“Hmm... seems like a sytem that works, even if it does poorly for the majority.” he commented sympathetically.

“Oh, we get by. It’s not that big of a problem until you try spending more money than strictly needed. I just happen to find a brick-shingled roof a necessity for my home. Certainly helps keep me dry during the rainy season. Unfortunately some of them have broken or cracked and need replacing... which is why we’re here.” The mare finishes by indicating to her house, which is only one story and indeed has a shingled roof with several bits missing.

He looked over the construction, sighed, and nodded. “Do you have replacements?” he asked.

“Well, yes... sort of. I have some adhesive to stick them on with, but the brick itself is mostly... uncut yet. I’m sure a young minotaur would have no problems, right?” The mare asked, mistakenly identifying Mage’s species. Though she had never actually seen a minotaur before, she figured he must be one of them.

He blinked. “A what?” he asked, even as he strode towards the proffered pallet of brick, activating the last Focus he had on him - the dark green cap on his wand flared brightly, and a beam of virid magic struck the bricks, tearing them down and sucking the ribbons of energy representing them into his magical inventory. “I’m the Mage.” he said, materializing some of them in a new form as a single patch of shingles, the simple construct barely using any of the material he’d collected, nearly a hundred-weight of the bricks.

“Wow...” The mare said, as she watched him work. “Well, Mage, thank you very much. There’s some adhesive inside, I’ll get that for you and... I’d certainly pay you extra for a full replacement rather than simply replacing the broken ones.”

He paused for a moment, then nodded, pulling his wand back out and tearing out the rest of the roof, replacing it quickly and easily, using the wood he gathered from the support beams in the process to make new ones, with oddly homogenous contents. The wood wasn’t so much logs anymore as... lengths of pure wood.

“Wow, thanks, that’s definitely a job worth sixty bits, but I only have forty at the moment to spare... is that alright?” The mare asked. “I’m sure I could get you the other twenty by next week.”

“That would be fine. I will likely be making regular trips here to do more work until I can get myself properly settled into my studies. It was... nice meeting you. What is your name?” he asked politely.

“Cherry Inlay, I’m one of the richer earth ponies around town, so I suppose I should have no problem supplying you. I work at a furniture shop, in fact. If you need some chairs or a desk, I could certainly help you there.”

“... Actually, a chair, writing desk, and a wider desk for my studies are exactly what I need right now.” he said.

“Well, if you meet me at the store next week, I’ll get you those, taking the price out of whatever I owe you. The store is just a few buildings down from the market. Just head for the front of the marketplace and take two rights, and go straight from there. The sign is an image of a wooden bench.”

“Excellent. I will be there in eight days.”

“Alright, thank you again for your help. You have certainly earned this.” She holds out a small pouch that clinks as it moves, indicating its metallic contents. He takes the pouch, spiriting it away into his backpack, the lightshow visibly entrancing the pony.

“Thank you. I believe I will go seek further jobs, I was informed leather is expensive here.” he said, before turning to walk off.

The word ‘leather’ struck Cherry as odd, she wondered what exactly the man needed it for, but didn’t pry. He certainly had many talents. Perhaps she could make more use of him in the future. Smiling, she returned to her house, and enjoyed her new ceiling, knowing that tomorrow’s rain would not be a problem.

The Mage, for his part, wandered the town again, eyeing the various houses. He’d barely used half the bricks he’d been given to finish the job, and wondered how much a different pony might pay to get their roof an upgrade.

After a bit of looking around, he bumped into the very nice mare he’d met earlier, the one with the special eyes that were so, so pretty. She, taking a moment to notice him, smiled when she focused on his presence and recognized him. “Oh, hello again!” She chirped happily.

“Ah, hello again, Miss Doo!” he replied, waving at her with a smile on his face. Being around her made him feel better, especially the hug she’d given him when she’d first met him; she had noticed almost instantly that he’d been crying, and sought to comfort him.

“Are ya feeling better, then?” she asked him, and he nodded happily. “That’s good. I’m about to get off my last shift, if you’d like to come along. It’s been awhile since somepony walked my route with me, now that Dinky’s in school.” Her offer was accepted, and she slowed down to accommodate his lack of flight.

The two chatted aimlessly, mostly about the village, and the Mage felt himself grow lighter - not in a literal sense, but an emotional one. It had been... a very long time since he’d really sat down (or walked around, in this case) and talked with someone other than his Mentor, who was a poor conversationalist, all things considered.

Finally, the two wandered towards the mare’s home, just in time for her daughter to arrive. The filly was, at first afraid of him. “Is he gonna eat me, momma?” was her first words on seeing him, after a startled squeak and an impressive amount of climbing skill put on display as she went up one side of her mother and into the mare’s mane for safety.

Of course, with the two adults (one less adult than the other) laughing, she soon joined into the more relaxed atmosphere.

“So mister Marcus,” she said, not quite getting ‘Mage’ or ‘Magus’ right and eventually settling on ‘Marcus’ instead, “What do you do, exactly?”

“I study magic, and seek to master it in its truest forms.” he says, summoning forth the ribbon of brick-red energy the slates he’d put together were still in. It danced around his fingers, much to her delight.

“It’s so pretty~!” she breathed, eyes wide and sparkling as she tucks her hooves against her mouth in wonder.

The Mage, or perhaps just Marcus now, chuckled, feeling happier than he had in years. “I... I could try teaching you, if you’d like.” he said softly, looking to the filly’s mother for permission. The mailmare, happy to see her daughter and the human she’d ‘rescued’ getting along so well, nodded. “I’ll warn you, I’m still learning... but the greatest mages continue learning their entire lives.”

“So it’ll be like school? ‘Cuz I like school. Ms. Cheerilee is super nice, and she always helps me with my homework even when I’m slow ‘cuz I like drawing on my classwork.”

“A bit, yes. I think you’ll find it quite rewarding, little Dinky.”

The filly, in a burst of energy, hopped forward to hug him across the chest. The was returned, and then compounded as Ditzy moved in and hugged them both.

Perhaps Marcus’ life could turn around.