Enclave's Remorse

CHAPTER 2: Books and Doctors

Twilight’s head fell forward and slammed into one of the library's tables. She groaned. “Maybe this would be easier if you just told me what you do remember.”

Grey rubbed his mane with his forehoof. Bandages and a few casts still wrapped around him. The doctors had been kind enough to let him rest and recover some before allowing him to be interviewed. Or allowing Pinkie Pie to throw his “Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!” party. “Oh! O-of course. I’m greyed Name Summer. I mean, named Grey Summer. I’m a pegasus.”

Twilight glanced down at Spike, dutifully writing down everything the short stallion said. Seriously, he and Fluttershy were almost the same size. The baby dragon shrugged. “And you’re sure,” she said, “That’s all you remember.”

Grey nodded. “I don’t remember the mission. I don’t remember if I had family. I don’t remember where I come from. I don’t even food what my favorite remember is!” He slammed a hoof to his forehead. “Ow. Remember what my favorite food is. Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me these days.”

Twilight cracked a smile. “You did hit your head rather hard.” She nodded to Spike. He shut his book, put away the ink and quill, and strolled off to store them. “Well! I’m Twilight Sparkle. And despite the circumstances, it’s very nice to meet you Grey Summer.” She decided not to mention his crazed ranting about ‘alicorns’ and ‘monsters’. Proooobably not a good idea right now. “I know you’ve heard it before, but welcome to Ponyville.”

He chuckled. “Charmed, I’m sure.” He began to stretch, but a twinge of pain prevented that. One leg and both wings were pretty much immobile right now. The other three were not in much better shape. “I would say that it was the nicest town I’ve ever visited, but that wouldn’t mean much right now.”

She chuckled. “Very true. Still, it’s good you have a sense of humor about this.” Her horn glowed and books flew off the shelves. Grey whinnied in alarm and looked around nervously.  Twilight ignored him. Not by design. Her “researcher” mode was activated. “I have a number of books on medical conditions. Let’s see if any of them shed light on your memory loss, shall we?”

Grey cleared his throat. “No offense, Ms. Sparkle, but I think we already know what the problem is.”

“Really?” she said absently, eyes on the pages of her first book, “Hmm, Crazy Hippo’s On Maladies. Bit outdated, but a good place to start.”

Grey looked slightly annoyed. “The told already doctored me--” He grit his teeth. “Doctor already told me that it’s, and I quote, “a heavy, traumatic bump on the head”.”

“Ah-ha!” Twilight glanced up with a smug expression, “But does Doctor Horse have access to the entire Canterlot Royal Library? I don’t think so~” She giggled. “Ooh this is exciting! It’s not just the memory loss, but the way your voice is all messed up. After our overview, we’ll have to delve into some anatomy, of course. With a focus on the brain.”

Grey gave her a flat look. “He’s the medical professional. You are, what, a magical researcher? I, for one, think that as long as Dr. Horse says that I am alright, then we should leave well enough alone and wait for something to trigger my memory.”

Speaking of which... He glanced back at his saddlebags. He’d gone through their contents several times, hoping they’d trigger something. He’d expected pictures or mementos or the things Pinkie insisted everyone carried, but he’d only had one strange, glass tablet and a few hardtacks.

“Oh please,” Twilight said with a chuckle, “This will be fun! Cracking open books. Researching long into the night. Even if we don’t find anything worthwhile, the effort alone will be its own reward. Think of how much we’ll learn about pony-biology!”

Grey opened his mouth to protest, but the words stopped in his throat. That didn’t sound half-bad, actually. His head felt empty. He didn’t like it. There were no old, familiar thoughts to occupy him in his spare time. Nothing to laugh at or cry over. He was a blank-slate, just like a newborn’s flank.

He put a hoof to his chest and took a deep breath. Then, he smiled. “Alright.”

“You’ll do it?” The expression of sheer delight on her face filled him with a warm, fuzzy feeling. He shrugged.

“For the time being, I have nothing better to do.” He saluted. “What are your orders, Commander Sparkle?”

“Commander?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s a term the Royal Guard uses.” A grin slowly spread across her face. “I like it! ‘Commander Twilight: Savior of Equestria!’ I bet I could write my own books with a title like that.”

Spike slapped a claw to his face. “Please Celestia no,” he muttered. He trudged toward the door. “Well, you two have fun. I’m going to take a nap.”

“But Spike! We need you here to help find all the research materials.”

Spike sighed and gave in. Just have a good attitude about it, Spike, he told himself. Besides, what could he do? It was his job after all. And he was the Number One Assistant around here. And that was one thing nopony, dragon, griffon, or monster could take away from him.

Twilight smiled at Grey. “It’ll take awhile to get everything ready. Why don’t I get you something to read while you wait? Daring Doo is a favorite of me and my friends.”

“Is that another ‘fictional’ book?” Grey asked, “I had the, ahem, privilege of reading a few during my week in the hospital. Honestly, I didn’t see the point.”

Twilight gasped. “Didn’t see the point? Of fiction?”

Grey shrugged. “None of it really happened, so it’s useless information.”

She stepped close to him, an annoyed look on her face. “Fiction is not useless,” she scolded, “It transports you to other worlds, it lets you go places you’ll never actually visit, it’s all the best parts of reality condensed into a few pages. What’s not to like?”

“Yes. It’s likable.” Grey agreed. He took a few steps backwards. Despite her not-quite-fit appearance, she could be intimidating when she wanted to be. “But what serve does it purpose? Purpose does it serve. It’s entertaining, nothing more.”

Twilight sat down. For a moment, she was silent. “I see,” she said slyly, “So if I could show you that fiction, say, accomplished something, you’d admit it wasn’t worthless?”

“Yes…” he said carefully.

She grinned, triumph in her eyes. “Then allow me to enlighten you.” She cleared her throat. “Spike, do we still have my slide collection?”

“No, sorry,” he said, “That was destroyed with the old library.”

Her face fell. “Right.”

“Destroyed?” Grey asked.

She waved it off. “Tell you later. Anyway, when I said it took you to other worlds, I wasn’t kidding. The power of fiction is a vital part of a pony’s life. From the breezy-tales told to little fillies to the great epics of Pomer, the stories we read and tell train our minds and our hearts to react certain ways to certain situations.”

“Twilight,” Spike whispered, “This isn’t the Canterlot Academy.  You don’t need to sound so official.”

Twilight glared at him. “The point,” she continued, “Is that stories teach by example what is honorable and just. At least the good ones do. That is why it is so important for parents to be careful about what they let their fillies read. What they put in is certain to come out later. Not to say that there isn’t a place for hard topics and difficult situations in storytelling, but an equal amount of maturity is needed to handle mature topics.”

Grey cleared his throat. “So these...breezy-tales. If what you say is true and stories teach us, especially at a young age, what to do in certain situations, then wouldn’t we all believe in nonsense things that could never happen?”

Twlight shook her head. “Not for long, at least. The real lesson of those, admittedly fantastic, tales is not that monsters exist, but that they can be defeated. With stout hearts and the help of our friends, we can overcome any evil. That is their power.”

Grey nodded. “I admit, your description...intrigues me. Perhaps I was too hasty to condemn them.” He smiled. “I’ll give it another shot.”

////////////////////

A week had passed. So had another crisis. A pack of timber wolves from the Everfree Forest had rampaged past Fluttershy’s cottage. Grey Summer never even saw them. Twilight and her friends had beat them back with apparent ease. Grey felt his estimation for the mares rise quite a bit. Not that he’d thought poorly of them, but they’d lacked the rigor and discipline he’d felt went hoof-in-hoof with an efficient fighting force. However, the results were undeniable and he adjusted his opinion accordingly.

In those seven days, he hadn’t left the library. Supposedly, he spent his time researching medical science. However, even he had to admit that he’d become...distracted. That small purple dragon, Spike, had introduced him to something he’d never imagined before.

Comic books.

Superheroes saving the city! Robots on a rampage! Vile villains cackling madly as they stirred vats of acid! Magic! Science! Both! Ponies that controlled the weather! The Mane-iac! It was a stunning transformation from his former, dour opinion. He tore through all of the small dragon’s collection and soon was ready for more.

“I’m sorry,” the dragon insisted, “But that’s all there is in the castle.”

“But there has to be more!” Grey paced back and forth, now moving with only a slight limp. “Where’s the origin story of the Power Ponies? And Electric Charger? He was a guest-star! He has to series his own have somewhere.” He rolled his eyes, but didn’t bother correcting himself anymore.

Spike crossed his arms. “Sorry, but I work hard to get those. I mean, I’ll eventually have more, but right now? If you want more, you can go buy them yourself you know.” He grinned. “And hey! When you’re done, we can trade. That way, we’ll have twice as many to read.”

Grey raised a hoof. “Problem.”

“Solution!” Spike countered. The steel-grey pegasus glared at him. “Sorry.”

“I have no bits.”

Pinkie Pie’s head popped up from underneath a pile of books. “Well duh! You don’t have a job!”

“Gah!” For a moment, Grey almost mastered the power of flight. Darn earth pony and her uncanny talent for sneaking up on ponies. “Where the you did hell come from?!”

“Tsk, language,” she scolded. She pointed toward Spike. “What would Twilight say if she learned you were teaching Spikey-wikey here bad words?”

Grey took a deep breath. A calming breath. “My apologies, Ms. Pie. You startled me.”

Pinkie burst out laughing. “Only Dr. Horse and Nurse Redheart call me ‘Ms. Pie’! I’m Pinkie! Sometimes Pinkie Pie. Never Maud Pie, though.”

“I’m sorry, mudpie?”

“No! Maud Pie!” She smiled at him.

“Like that makes sense…” Grey muttered.

“It might make cents, but I bet it doesn’t make a dollar~”

Sometimes, Grey felt like she took an eggbeater and swirled his brains around with it. He shook his head rapidly, as if that would help all this make sense. “What is a--”

“An Amareican form of money! Like Bits, but worthless. ‘Cause it’s made of paper. Like confetti!”

An explosion rocked the library and shook a number of books from their shelves as her party cannon went off. Grey yelped and leapt back. Great, now there was a ringing in his ears. One of the first rules of firearm use was to always wear ear protection. Even now, he could almost hear some harsh, cruel voice shouting at him to stand up straight, soldier! And hold that rifle steady! What do you think this is? Some filly’s picnic in the park?! You’re working for the Enclave now, featherbrain! And damn me if you don’t learn to shoot by the end of this month!

He blinked and shook his head. His return to the present allowed him just enough time to catch Pinkie saying, “Don’t worry, Spike! He’s not falling unconscious. He’s just in a flashback!” She bounced toward the door. “Anyhoo! Twilight’s taking us off to some place in the middle of nowhere. Except that’s silly, because it has to be somewhere because it was on the map! Tell ya all about it when we get back! We’ll have a party!”

Grey perked up. “Will there be cupcakes?”

“Duh!” She grinned at him and the door slammed behind her.

Grey stared after her for a long second. Then, his gaze snapped back to Spike. “I need a job.”

////////////////////////////////

“I’m sorry, son,” the sales-stallion said, “But I’m afraid I don’t need anymore help. Quills and Sofas has hit a pretty level market right now. Not much room for expansion. Me and my wife handle most of the work ourselves.”

Grey’s face fell. Same old story. “That’s quite alright, sir. Thank you for your time.” He turned for the door.

“Care to buy a quill?”

“No, no thank you.”

“You sure?” he said temptingly, “Can never have too many quills!”

“No,” Grey said firmly.

“Alright! No need to be cold about it.”

Grey blinked.  Cold? He’d been cold? That couldn’t be right. “Sorry,” he said, ears drooping. “Er, I might be able to afford one quill…”

He wasn’t, but Davenport let him have it at half-price. Conveniently, that amounted to all the bits he had. He wandered out of the shop and plopped down on the nearest bench with a sigh. That was the third rejection so far. The Best Joke, Bound Books, and now Quills and Sofas. Everywhere it was the same. “Sorry, we don’t need help right now.” He swore he heard some whispers behind his back too.

It made sense. Small town. Newcomer. Very dramatic entrance, so Twilight had told him. Crashing out of the sky, assaulting the local heroes, and then knocking himself out onstage in front of everypony. No wonder there were bound to be questions. He hoped that the storekeepers were being honest when they said they weren’t hiring and weren’t hiding some ulterior motives.

A rustle came from the bush behind him. He turned, but nopony was there. Probably a squirrel or a rabbit or some other small creature. No need to pay it mind. He shrugged and went back to his thoughts. Maybe he should try Sugarcube Corner next. The smells coming off of that place were divine! It had to be the best mess hall in all of Equestria! The world, even! In fact--

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, GO!”

“What the he--” Grey fell forward, three things on top of him. He flailed and bucked against his attackers, panic welling in his chest. He was not very brave. “Get off! Get off! Savage off me, you gets!” He heard giggles from on top of him. Great. Speech impediments do not help you intimidate anypony.

With effort, he rolled over and dumped three fillies off of him. A pegasus, an earth pony, and a unicorn? What a...diverse group. Diverse, that was the word. They stared at him, confused.

“Ah...don’t believe we’ve met,” the earth pony said.

“Wait…You’re the jerk who attacked Rainbow Dash!” the pegasus declared.

“I...um...well the thing is....” Grey stammered. He pointed a hoof at her. “You’re a pegasus.”

The earth pony chuckled. “Got ya there, Scoots. Ah bet ya can’t slip anythang past him.”

Grey rose to his hooves and dusted himself off. “Can I help you fillies? If you need directions, I’m not the pony to ask.”

“We live here,” the unicorn said brightly, “My sister owns Carousel Boutique!”

“Ah.” Grey took a step backwards. “So then, you are here because you want to...sell me something.”

“We’re Cutie Mark Crusaders!” the earth filly declared.

“That’s…” He searched for the right word. “...nice.”

“We were trying to earn our cutie marks in rooftop running,” the pegasus said, “But we fell down.” She glared at him. “But now that we’re here, I got a thing or two to say to you, mister! What the heck’s your problem with Rainbow Dash?”

“I don’t...who is Rainbow Dash?” Grey knew the answer, in a general sense. He’d seen the mare glaring at him from the clouds during Pinkie Pie’s party (overwhelming for him, but Pinkie Pie declared that it was quite small compared to her normal ones. Only five ponies!), but he’d never been introduced.

“Only the awesomest pegasus ever!” the orange filly declared, “And she tried to save your life, but you attacked her!”

Grey frowned. “Ah.” He wished he could remember what happened. “Ah. I see.” He pursed his lips. How to approach this? He didn’t have much experience dealing with foals and fillies. “Hmm.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “Would you believe me if I told you I don’t remember much of anything?”

The three exchanged glances. “So, what, amnesia?” the unicorn asked.

Grey nodded seriously. “So you see, I can’t be held responsible for what I did. However, I can apologize for it.” He bowed to them. “I am very sorry if my actions caused you any distress. I hope you have a wonderful day.” He kept his attitude calm, polite, and reserved, as if this were something of the utmost importance.

They stared at him. The earth pony burst out laughing and fell onto her back. “Yer funny, mister!”

Grey snorted. Try and be nice, and see what that gets you? “Now, don’t you have some...roof running to do?”

“Yeah!” the pegasus declared, “Come on, Crusaders! Let’s go!” Giggling and laughing, they tore their way up the street and out of sight.

Grey went his own way, his heart feeling light. How could he not? Happiness was infectious. As he walked, he took care to pay closer attention to the town around him. A unicorn wearing strange glasses performed a musical duet with an earth pony playing the cello. Somehow, dubstep blended with string. Flowers bloomed, carefully tended by skilled hooves. Delicious smells wafted from Sugarcube Corner. Everypony smiled. Everypony laughed. Everypony’s heart seemed full of joy. And Grey felt it inside his own heart too, like a window had opened up into an old, never used storage closet.

He found himself humming as he pranced along through the street. “Good morning!” he called to strangers as they passed. They replied in turn. The sun was bright. The grass was green. He took a deep breath and let the fresh, summer air fill his lungs. He had to get out more! Twilight’s library was impressive, but staying cooped up inside was a sad life to live.

His happy thoughts carried him all the way to the base of the Ponyville Clocktower. He glanced up at it. No, that couldn’t be right. The clock face read six, but the sun was still high in the sky. It had to be closer to noon. His heart beat a little faster. He thought of all the comics he could buy. Maybe, just maybe…

He rapped a hoof smartly against the front door. “Excuse me,” he called in his best ‘friendly neighbor’ tone, “Is anyone there? I noticed your clock seems to be out of order and I was wondering if you might need some help.”

No reply came from within. He pushed an ear against the door. A steady ‘tick, tock’ came from within, but no other sound. He knocked again, louder this time. “Excuse me,” he repeated, “Hello? I just wanted to--”

Hmm, that was odd. A new sound greeted his ears, a shrill, repetitive shriek. Not the sort of sound a pony would make, but a malfunctioning machine might. Was the tower about to collapse? He pounded on the door. “Hey! Are you alright? Should I call the...” Did this place have law enforcement officers? “Nevermind. I’m coming in.”

He tried the door handle, but it was locked. The shrill sound came to an abrupt stop. His heart froze. Oh no, he was too late! He looked around for anypony that could help, but the street was empty. It was about lunchtime, he supposed, but still! He pounded on the door one more time. “Please tell me you’re alright.”

To his surprise, the door opened. A brown stallion stuck his head out. “Hello,” he said in an odd accent, “Can I help you?”

Grey let out a sigh of relief. “Actually, I was looking to help you.”

The door opened wider. A pegasus mare appeared, a huge smile on her face. “Do you want to try a muffin?”

Grey tilted his head to the side. “What’s a muffin?”

He’d never seen a sadder expression on a pony’s face. “You don’t know...what a muffin is?” She seized his hoof and dragged him inside. She tried to clear off a chair for him to sit in, but knocked over the entire table instead. This did not deter her or dampen her spirits. “Doc! Fire up the Muffinator 9000!”

“Ms. Hooves!” the stallion said, “I told you, that idea would never turn out well. Something like that is better left to those scheming Flim Flam brothers than a pony of my talents.”

“Muffins are never a waste of talent!”

Grey’s eyes goggled at the menagerie of mechanical marvels around him. Machines full of blinking lights, bubbling tubes of mysterious green liquid, a giant, blue box. Okay, that last one seemed out of place. His best guess was a strange-colored wardrobe.

He cleared his throat. “So,” he said, “I was wondering what that horrible noise I heard from outside was.”

The pair paused in their argument and exchanged nervous glances, like foals caught gambling for candy by their parents. “I have--” the mare began.

“--No idea what you’re talking about, good sir,” the stallion finished. Grey rolled his eyes. Try and be more obvious why don’t you? Still, he was looking for a job, not an argument. Try not to be rude, eh?

“I thought something might be wrong with the clock,” he said.

“Yes! The clock.” The stallion nodded in agreement.

“Especially considering the fact that the clock does not show the correct time,” Grey continued.

“Great galloping goombas!” the stallion declared, “The temporal field must have messed with the workings again! Oh this will not do! How will I call myself a proper time turner if I can’t keep the time turned correctly?” He dashed off the to rear of the room, threw open a door, and ran upstairs.

Grey and the pegasus mare were left staring at each other. Well, Grey stared at her. Only one of her eyes met his gaze. The other wandered around the room and settled on the blue box. She smiled nervously at him. A flash of inspiration crossed her face and she reached into her saddlebag. “Muffin?”

Grey examined the offering. “So that’s a muffin.” It looked pretty good. A little smushed, but good. He accepted it with a smile. Oh Celestia, it was good! Pleasure shone clearly on his face.

“Yay!” the mare threw her forelegs around his neck. “Now we can be muffin-buddies!”

“You have a bit of a one track mind, don’t you?” Grey asked, a little amused. Make friends, he told himself, people are more likely to hire someone they like. “Well, if we’re going to be ‘muffin-buddies’, we should introduce ourselves. I’m Grey Summer.”

“Derpy Hooves!” she declared.

“How fitting.” The words came out before he could think. Grey wanted to hit himself. That was not how you talked to a potential employer! “Now, er, Derpy. What sort of work do you and…”

“Dr. Whooves,” she supplied.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were married.” A pegasus and an earth pony. Fancy that.

She blushed. “No, no. Hooves and Whooves.” She leaned in and whispered. “I’d say yes though, and he wouldn’t even need a ring. Just a reeeeeally big muffin. Like, the biggest muffin!”

Grey nodded conspiratorially. “I see. So, what sort of work do you two do together?”

She giggled. “It’s a secret.”

“Of course it is.” Why would he think anything different? “However, I bet I can guess.”

Dr. Whooves re-entered, out of breath and bow-tie slightly askew. “Time is back in proper working order!” he declared, “Ms. Hooves, I’d like a celebration muffin.”

She pulled a rainbow-colored muffin and threw it to him. He caught it neatly in his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

Grey strode forward. “Dr. Whooves! I was just about to guess what you and Derpy here do using my amazing powers of deduction.”

“Oh, er.” The Doctor tugged at his collar. “Well, let’s hear it then.”

Grey gestured to the machines. “Behold! That control panel. And those tubes running up the wall. See how the bubbles fizz inside. The generator in the corner, the...things hanging from the ceiling.” What in Celestia’s name were those anyway? “It seems obvious.”

“Does it now?” Sweat poured down Whooves’ head.

“Yes.” Grey wore a triumphant smile. “You, doctor, are an inventor! And Derpy here is your assistant. The Doctor and his Assistant, if you will, working together to bring new knowledge into the world and make it a better place.”

Dr. Whooves and Derpy exchanged glances. “You are exactly correct. Exactly!” the Doctor declared. “I’m an inventor! Ha, ha! Yes, and these are all my inventions!” He bounded forward and threw a hoof around Grey’s shoulder. “So clever of you to figure it out. And all on your own too.”

Grey grinned. He was so smart! And clever, and dashing. Everyone was gay for Grey. No, that was taking it too far. It’d be nice though.

The doctor cleared his throat. “So, what can I, a humble inventor--

“And definitely not time-traveler!” Derpy interjected.

“--do for you?”

Grey drew himself up. “Doctor, gonna be straight with you here. I need a job. I have amnesia and, when I get scared or excited, I sometimes switch my words around, but I’ll work hard, help however you want, and obey your every order.”

The Doctor’s face fell. “Without question?”

“Without question,” Grey agreed.

The stallion nodded grimly. “Then the answer is no.” He turned towards the control panel in the corner of the lab. “Derpy, would you be a dear and pull up the latest diagnostics?”

Grey blinked. “What?” He trotted over and put a hand on the doctor’s shoulder. “Why?!”

The brown stallion turned toward him. Gone was the bright energy and the cheerful exuberance. His face was grim. “I won’t have anyone working for me who isn’t able to tell good from evil. You can’t just--” His face contorted. “Follow orders without a thought for what you’re doing. You, me, Derpy, all of us. Everypony has a moral obligation to uphold the basic rights of our neighbors. And we can’t let anything, or anyone, tell us to do otherwise.”

Grey took a step back. “Yet, if you trust the person or organization giving the orders…”

The doctor chuckled, but it was cold. “And we see how good your discernment is, don’t we? You don’t even know me and yet a second ago you were willing to do whatever I said!” He pushed his face directly into Grey’s. “Tell me this, my young pegasus. If I had ordered you to bring me Octavia Melody in secret without anypony knowing and handed you a can of Sleepy-Time gas, would you have done it?”

“If you had agreed to be my employer,” Grey answered. He didn’t quite see the problem here. Oh! Of course! “But!” he added quickly, “I’d try to convince her to come of her own free will first. I’d only kidnap her if she refused.”

“No!” Dr. Whooves snapped, “That, that right there! That is exactly what I’m talking about. So no, Mr. Summer, I’m afraid I won’t be hiring you. And I’d suggest you get it into your head that people’s lives count for far more than anypony’s orders.” He leaned sideways and his eyes widened. “Ms. Hooves! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Look, Doc!” she said cheerfully, “It’s just like one of those “data-pads” from Space Station 12!”

Grey whirled. In her hooves, Derpy held that strange, metal and glass box he’d found in his saddle-bags. He snatched it from her. “Give me that! It’s mine!”

Dr. Whooves’ eyes narrowed. “Curious,” he said, “Would you mind if I examined that?”

Grey glared at him accusingly. “I don’t see why I should,” he said, voice surly, “After you made your opinion of me so very clear.”

“Oh, so you know what it is then?”

Grey hesitated. “Not...exactly. It was in my saddle-bags when I fell.” He looked sadly at it. “I was actually hoping it might tell me who I was, but I can’t seem to make it work.”

Hooves studied it for a moment. “Let’s make a deal,” he said, “I have an, ahem, interest in this sort of thing. If you’ll let me examine that, I can pay you...say, fifty bits.”

Derpy gasped. “Fifty bits!”

“Is that a lot?” Grey asked.

“You betcha!” Derpy said, “You could buy, like, twenty muffins!”

“And how many comic books?” Grey’s voice was hopeful.

A grin spread across the Doctor’s face. “Ah, a fan of comic books, are we? Yes, I think those would be good for you. Very good lessons to be learned in comic books. You’d do well to pay attention to them.” He held out a hoof. “Are we agreed then?”

Grey hesitated. “I’ll get it back, right? And unharmed?”

“Of course!”

Grey grabbed the Doctor’s hoof and shook. “Then we have a deal.” He gave it over. “If you...if you find anything about who I am or where I came from…”

Dr. Whooves nodded. “You’ll the first to know.”

Grey collected his bits and immediately ran to the bookstore. Their collection of comics was limited, but he bought out all the ones Spike did not already have. The rest of the day he spent in reading bliss, wrapped in the fantastic adventures of far-off places and imaginary characters. And he loved every minute of it.