~” A Trouble of Two on Drowsy Street Ch. 1 “~
Written by: Vocal Sonder
A warm spring day greeted the quietly meandering wheels of the trolley as it made its way along the many streets of upper Manehattan city. Pegasi flitted from floor to floor high above the red trusses of the car as it magically chugged up one bustling street after another with a steady purpose to its many starts and stops within the traffic. Taxi pullers wove to and fro mere inches in front of the chrome bumper as they vied for position amongst the unforgiving cacophony; yelling and hollering all the while and filling the air to brimming as irate customers and drivers alike found their way around the city.
The gold and red trimmed trolley sauntered quietly past all of it seemingly without a care. The drawn carriages parted before it like a wave before a ship as it sailed blissfully through the maelstrom of the busy day. Sitting in the front seat of the trolley's front car a duo of ponies quietly snickered to themselves as a particularly haughty and pompously dressed pony stumbled from a carriage onto the sidewalk. Her bangs and tail a ragged mess from what must have been a stressful morning, she walked up to a very amused door guard of a prim looking hotel. It was merely a moment later that the mare realized her suitcase had opened and a long line of stockings were trailing her all the way to the entryway.
The two had only a moment to see the blush begin to erupt to the mares cheeks and a scream of embarrassment touch her lips before the trolley lumbered onwards and she fell from sight behind the window’s frame. The blue coated stallion who was closest to the window turned a bit from his vantage and beamed at the thestral beside him. Her red’ish mane hung just over her eyes as she beamed back, two fangs glinting in the noonday sun that streamed in from outside. She quickly tucked her head behind a leathery wing and came back up with a camera and strap. Both clattered loudly as she brought it up to her eye level and snapped a picture.
“Hey, “A bemused Tesseract shielded his eyes as spots exploded into his vision, “warn me a bit next time will yah’ !?”
The stallion rubbed a blue fuzzed hoof over his eyes in an attempt to clear the spots from his vision. His own lock of navy bangs whipped back and forth as he shook his head in discomfort.
“Oops, sorry! I- I didn’t know the flash was on.”
The mare hurriedly snuck the camera back into her saddlebags and returned her attention to Tesseract who was still rubbing his eyes in a vein attempt to clear them. “I didn’t realize it was still on ‘cave mode’, ah heh-heh...”
Tesseract thankfully had been able to shake most of the flashing lights from his eyes. Only a few straying bits of starlight fuzzed his vision as he looked back at the cream colored mare in doubtful bemusement. She in turn gazed back, mouth drawn into a guilty scrunch so tight her lips could have turned blue.
“I thought you weren't supposed to even take that thing out from your parent’s attic,” he asked in turn.
The mare huffed back at him, “I need it so I can take reference pictures. I already told you that like five times Tess.”
“Well I’m sorry if I didn’t remember, Slumber,” He turned from her to stare back out the window, “you know I’m not really into getting my picture taken anyway.”
“Awwwww, come’on. You look great! I couldn't have picked a better friend to act as the statu’ ala’ dumont’ for my thesis art project!” She poked a hoof at his deep navy blue hoodie, the red inner layers contrasting nicely against his bluish grey eyes in the sunlight. “You’re a knockout hit for the piece!”
Tess sighed and continued to look out the window to the traffic beyond. A small, old lady was currently badgering a driver with a cane she carried. The device was crooked into her fore-hoof as she bonked it off his capped head and gesticulating about what must have been an upcoming turn. He wondered quietly to himself if he was about to see a fine member of society go postal.
“Tess..”
He turned from the view outside back to Slumber.
“What.”
“Did you have any plan for how you were going to find this book place? What if you cant find it?” she looked away from him to a hayburger advertisement on the nearby ceiling. “I’m kind of thinking lunch at this point either way.”
“No, not really I suppose. Eleos told me it was on ‘Drowsy Street’, wherever that is. We’ll just have to see.”
“What was it again that you wanted to look for?”
He looked up and away in thought before answering. “It was a book on thermatological dynamism. I heard is was a good read and a rare one at that. I figured I might as well try to get my hooves on a copy while it was on my mind.”
“Hmmm, ok,” she paused in thought, “did you have a plan for lunch at least?”
Tess looked at her a moment before levitating a watch from the pocket of his hoodie to his eye level. He gave it an overly exaggerated stare before looking back to the thestral.
“It’s 3pm”
A blush was rising to her fuzzy cheeks. “What?! I forgot to eat lunch ok!”
“ ‘We’ already ate lunch today, remember? We went to Big Bat Bowl.”
A blush was fully on her cheeks now. With a furtive curl she sunk to all fours on the seat and pulled her beanie and scarf over her face. A muffled voice emanated a moment later.
“That was at eleven thirty.”
Tess puffed out his cheeks in exasperation, staring down at the ball of maroon and taupe fluff. Finally he rolled his eyes.
“We can get a taco later if you want.”
With blazing speed the little bat was wringing the larger stallions neck in a hug so tight it nearly bugged the eyes out from his head.
“Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyo-”
He managed to wedge a hoof between the two of them and pry the ecstatic mare from his neck. She sat back down on her side of the bench and quietly began to eeee’ to herself.
He looked at the eeee’ing mare and smiled, amused. “You know you gotta stop doing that or ponies will start to think were dating. And I’d rather they don't get any ideas to be honest.”
She stopped her eeee’ing and turned her face towards Tess. Her tongue poking out from her mouth in a dismissive raspberry. He returned the gesture in kind before continuing.
“You have to remember that time I brought you to my parents for breakfast and my mom-” he started.
“Yeah, yeah, I remember, “she said dismissively as her attention turned to the window, “she made me some scrambled eggs and they were delicious.”
“...And I had to convince her we’re just friends, remember? It took me two hours. Alone.”
“Well, they were really good scrambled eggs annn- oh! Here it is!”
Tesseract turned to look out the window and follow Slumbers line of sight. A bright green sign labeled ‘DROWSEY STREET’ poked out from a nearby light pole. The paint chipped and a bit worn from the lettering belied a vintage that was a bit uncommon for the metropolitan city.
*Ding* “Drowsey Street, last stop”
Slumber hopped down from the plush bench and marched her way down the isle towards the front doors before Tesseract could even react. He could faintly hear the hiss of the trolleys brakes finally make a complete halt at the intersection before a bang sounded as the doors loudly opened.
It was only a quick jaunt and a hop later before the two of them stood on the grimy manehattan sidewalk facing an altogether gloomy sight. Tucked between two immensely tall skyscrapers a thin street lined with small bungalow-like shops huddled in the shadow and gloom. Tesseract could have been seeing things, but he could’ve sworn he saw a pair of yellow eyes flutter past an awning on the closest building. He gulped.
“Um, I- I don’t know about this so much anymore Slumber,” he intoned into the unnatural quiet, “this place literally looks like a haunted house extravaganza.”
The little mare cocked her head to one side and sniffed the air. Her face scrunched up as the musky smell of moldy timber hit her nostrils full force. She gave a little sneeze.
“Are you sure this is where Eleos told you to go Tess?”
He mildly shook his head but grunted in the affirmative; never taking his eyes from the street ahead. A mangy looking rat the size of a small dog crawled from a far off sewer drain and drug a nearby bag of trash back to its hovel.
Slumber looked from the rat back to Tesseract. “You sure she wasn’t horrifically, in a not-so-funny kind of terrifyingly-incorrect way mistaken?”
Tesseract pulled a slip of paper from the nook of his sweatshirts hood. A simple yet feminine scrawl clearly spelled out the letters- Drowsey Street. He checked the sign again before pocketing the scrap of paper once more.
“It does seem right,” he winced, “even if it doesn't look like it should.”
“Hmmm. Well it’s time for tea then.” And with that said the thestral was off; already walking in a beeline for the nearest shop.
The building it was housed in was a great monument to old pony architecture. Swirling fascia boards of europonian design were crowded by detailed molding. Pillars and bosses gave the whole thing a depth unlike the cold and calculated concrete skyscrapers above. The roof was nearly a carpet of moss at this point and looked ready to sag inwards at a moments notice. A big sign reading “Tea & Brews’ hung limply from one of the eves; a cauldron ensconced on the hammered wood with wispy filigree. It swung from rusted chains lazily in the city breeze as he watched Slumber trot towards the front door of the shop.
He could have sworn he heard a wolf howl in the distance.
“Hey waitup!” he shouted as he hurried to join her as she entered the front door.
A doorbell tinkled as the duo entered the shop, its ring sounding off the numerous glass and ceramic jars that lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Dark green molding accentuated itself against an even darker green plaster wall. Streaks of misapplied paint flecked everything from the ceiling to the floor in a macabre display of artistic malfeasance.
There was an almost visible haze permeating the gloom that filled the shop, so thick that it almost drowned out the sparse sunlight that tried to meekly enter from the front windows. A heavy odor of herb and dried medicinals nearly crushed the two as they moved forwards to a low counter at the far end of the room. A half burnt candle sat idly flickering on the counter-top. Beside it, a low hallway ran off into the innards of the shop. It so pitch black that even Slumber had a hard time squinting inside to see.
“Um, hello?” she intoned into the darkness, “do you guys have scones?”
“My young dear.” said a craggely voice from behind.
The both of them screamed and jumped at the same time. Tesseract landed in Slumbers arms as they faced the sudden newcomer.
A small grey and gold mare many years senior to either of them stood crookedly on her bent legs. Her face bore a wicked smile and her steel blue eyes sparkled with delighted amusement. She let loose a spine chilling cackle seemingly at their expense before returning to stare at them knowingly.
“Wh-who the hay are you!?” Tesseract managed to yell before Slumber unceremoniously dropped him from her arms.
She cackled again, this time quietly to herself. “I my young dear stallion, am Solanaceae.” she waved a hoof is a sweeping motion to the rafters above, “the curator of the shop.”
From the floor he smiled weakly, “glad to meet you ma-am.”
Seemingly satisfied, the old mare creaked around the two and saddled herself behind her counter. She settled in and looked expectantly at the two before speaking.
“Well, what do you want.”
“Tea! And a scone if you have it please!” cried out an excited Slumber.
The old mare looked at her as if she was but the dumbest of wallflowers. She cackled again as her expression began to change. It morphed from a pleasant and business-like visage to one more sinister and predatory. A glint lit her in her eyes that troubled both of thee ponies on the other side of the counter.
“Um, so no scone than?”
“Nooooo, no scones.” her voice now smooth as silk. A chill went up Tess’s spine. “No scones but deeefinitly tea.” She drew out the word with purposed grace and turned to levitate a jar from the adjacent wall. He hadn’t realized her blunt horn until just then. It sparkled with raw energy from beneath her bangs as a plume of black smoke arose from the jar when she lifted the lid. A small lump of powder, black as coal, levitated to a cup of boiling water that had materialized from under the counter. It sizzled as it was pushed over the worn boards to Slumber.
“10 bits.”
“Ten bits!?” gasped Slumber before she pointedly jabbed a hoof at the owner, “what kinda racket you runnin’ here lady!”
The old mare shrugged. “Take it or leave it fangs, not my problem if you refuse to pay. I have my ways.”
“FANGS?! Why I oughta!”
Tesseract had to hold the thestral back as she attempted to retrieve the camera and its harassing flash.
Calm and collected the old mare stared at the two as they struggled over one another before breaking out in a litany of cackles. Each reverberating over the last. Slowly and without pause the old crone began to levitate multiple jars and vials to surround her. Each one popping open to be added to a growing blot of hovering, boiling liquid that had flown itself from the previously offered cup.
Both of the friends by this point had stopped their squabbles on the floor and were staring aghast up at the now levitating old mare. Capsules of varying colors whipped about her in a swirl of magenta magic. Two of the whirling capsules suddenly stopped, empty, and pointed directly at the two figures prone on the floor.
“Ok, time to leave!” shouted Tesseract.
“Eeeeeeeeeeee!” Slumber eee’d.
“Muahahahahahahahahah, fresh souls for the pot!!” cried out the triumphant old mare.
“Not this time you witch!”
Gasping, Tesseract whirled from his upwards stumble to come face to face with a bronze set of rimmed goggles. An energized cannon sparking with lightning was pointed directly at his face.
“Get down!”
Tess ducked, barely dragging Slumber down in time for a lance of electrically charged plasma to arc from the cannon and strike at the hovering crone. A shriek thundered through the floorboards and walls as she was sent hurtling backwards into the nearest set of shelving; glass and broken pottery fountaining from the impact. A great mass of pulverized herbs and reagents plumed forth and covered that side of the room in a dark haze. Errant crackles of discarded energy ran thought the fine mist as the store was silent once more.
“Hurry, get up before she gets back!” grunted the newcomer, his gruff voice belying his age.
“Huh- hurry up!?” panted Tesseract from the floor. He had his arms wrapped around the fuzzy ball that was Slumber as she vibrated in terror. “I think you got her!”
“Not yet!” He launched a bronze laden hoof down to Tess’s eye level. “I’ve seen her take worse believe you me!”
Tesseract took the proffered hoof and was launched to his hooves is one swift pull. Steel and steam hissed as the stallion leveraged both the younger stallion and the frightened thestral to their hooves all in one go.
“Now then, we’ve got to-” he froze, eyes locked on something behind the two of them.
A monstrous creature, more ligament than pony, levitated from the still settling plume of smoke to stare at the trio with a beady set of black eyes.
“Now Howard. How rude of you to TAKE MY PRECIOUS AWAY !!!!!!!”
“RUN!!” screamed the bronze and steel-clad stallion before ripping another bolt of energy from his cannon. The bolt lanced up to hit the being as it floated mere meters away.
Tesseract and Slumber bolted for the open door but as they did, both could see their reflection in the stained glass and of the battle that was behind them. The bolt of lightning bounced from the figure to tear into the wall adjacent. Great swathes of plaster ripped away from the timber like bark from a tree as the blast was deflected. The old stallion Howard yelled something but neither of them could make it out as their pell-mell sprint brought them to the way outside.
A surge of power tickled the base of Tess’s horn. And soon, everything around him was blasted out into the street as a great wave of energy was released inside the close confines of the shop. A moment later, and everything was blackness.
“Tess… Tess!”
*groan*
“Tess wake up!“
Opening his eyes, he was met with a terrified looking Slumber. Tall skyscrapers bled into the haze of afternoon sunlight above. He tried to sit up but wooziness overcame his vision and he was forced to lay back down once again.
“How’s he doing?”
“He’s awake,” she looked at him with worry still knitted onto her brow, “is he going to be alright?
“He’ll be fine in a moment; unicorns can’t take to thermatological fields like you or I can. Just give him a bit of air, and he’ll perk right up.”
It didn’t take long but Tesseract was on his hooves once again in a minute or two. Head still swimming and wooziness threatening to overtake him once again, he sat on the cool concrete of a sidewalk.
“I-I’m up,” huffed a bedraggled looking Tesseract.
“Well. Good that you are,” huffed an equally bedraggled looking stallion.
Now, out from the gloom of the shop, Tess was appropriately able to see the stallion who had saved them from certain annihilation. Nearly a head shorter than he, the old stallion quietly sat within his bronze and steel carapace. Goggles now on his forehead he looked much less formidable than when they had first been introduced. Dark circles ran underneath his eyes and deep wrinkles marred were the only thing to mar his otherwise youthful demeanor and spirit. His eyes, deep set and intelligent, blazed with life and vigor uncommon of a stallion his age.
“I... I don’t know how to thank you.”
“No need.” the stallion looked seriously at the unicorn, “she and I have been at it for quite a while now.” He gestured to the shop which was only a few dozen meters away. Tesseract gasped but settled once the old stallion gave him a dismissive wave.
“She cannot leave, and she cannot pull us back. It is her curse.”
Tess gulped, “and so, that means we’re safe?” he asked, the tone of his voice not really matching the candor which the old buck was giving.
“Yes, unless you’d rather go back inside and see if she’s in a better mood?”
“Uh, no thanks.”
“Thought as much.” he grunted and shouldered his great bronze contraption. Quiet now it no longer crackled with its previous raw energy. The pistons and valves in his legs hissed with the effort.
It was Slumbers turn to ask the stallion a question as they followed him back up the street to the corner where they had arrived.
“Just. Just who are you? I mean really?”
The stallion turned a grizzled cheek to the two as they cantered behind.
“The names Howard. Howard Hairbrain. Good to meet the two of you, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”
They had made it to an adjacent storefront before Tess could ask his next question. Howard turned away from the two and trotted to unlock the shop door they had arrived at. It swooshed inwards on well oiled hinges and let out a pleasant little chime as it did so. All three walked in, after which the door quietly wooshed back to a close.
The inside of the shop was nothing short of miraculous. Bits and bobs lined every shelf. Bronze, brass, steel, and aluminum glittered from every angle. Humms and whistles, blasts and bawlks and miniature booms could be heard all along the walls as the tiny machines whirred away at their own pace to their own mysterious purpose. Oiled lamps glowed like golden casks from every wall, making even the air itself glitter. A long oaken desk sat at the far end of the room, nearly all available space taken up by knickknacks of every kind.
The old stallion had made his way over to the desk by the time Tess was able to take everything in. He un-shouldered the cannon and used its thick leather strap to hang it from a nearby rack. After it was hung the old stallion turned towards them and gave an appraising look.
“Feel free to sit,” he motioned to two dark oaken chairs laden with papers, “sorry that you will need to clean before you do, but just leave them on the floor. I don’t know if I will ever get around to them anyways.”
“Um, thank you.” said Tess before levitating the papers into a neat pile on the floor.
The stallion looked over at the neat pile and grunted before he began to strip off his bronze and steel garments one by one. It was a long process but soon the grizzled old stallion stood abreast the pile of armor, once more just a pony.
“You came here for a reason, what was it.” Howard asked bluntly as he swept a foreleg across the table in front of him. “Not only to be an idiot I hope.”
Tess was a bit taken aback, “Uh, no. No not really. We were here to just to look for a library, not a daemon pony. That- that was what it was wasn’t it?”
It’s called a heriometh, a spawn of tartarus that steals the souls of the living to collect for whatever malevolent purpose it may have. Which today neither of which are yours. Now, why did you come here.”
“We came..” he intoned, “ ‘I’ came to find a book on thermatological dynamism. A friend of mine said she had tracked one down to this district of Manehattan.”
The stallion looked un-enthused as he waited for him to continue. When Tess he didn’t, Howard merely huffed and walked over to a nearby shelf and picked a book from amongst the many dusty tomes. He tossed it across the room to the unicorn who fumbled to catch it in his levitating grip.
“There, now you have it.”
Tess bemusedly looked at the ancient tome, gold lettering embossed upon the leathers showed the title to be the same as the one Eleos had copied down for him.
Disbelief bled into his voice when he spoke next.
“I can just have it?”
The stallion looked annoyed at him in response, “yes, that’s just what just I said. Are your ears somehow worse than mine or something?”
“N-no I just,” he looked down towards the tome in his hooves, “I had been expecting to rent, not acquire per say.”
“Well it’s either going to be you or the apprentice that will never arrive, so I think you’ve got the leg up on this one,” he looked askance from his work, “-per say”
“Well I- .”
Slumber piped up suddenly. “You need an apprentice?”
She turned towards Tesseract with a fantastical grin on her face. “Hey, YOU could be his apprentice!”
Tesseract choked on air while Howard bemusedly looked in his direction.
“Him?” asked a slightly confused Howard
“Yeah, he loves science-y stuff! He’s always talking about how he wants to learn all kinds of new stuff! Aaaaand, he does kind of need to repay you for saving our hay back there so-mmrmpf!”
It was by this time that Tesseract had managed to regain his composure enough to clamp a hoof over Slumbers muzzle to silence her. He looked at the old stallion in a mixture of apprehension and smiling apology.
Howard was looking at Tess in a new light, one that was a bit to close to appraisal for his liking. But before he could voice any protest the booming voice of the stallion rung out through the shop.
“Deal! I would love to teach you. You can be back here on Sunday morning, early.”
Tesseract let out a low groan but after a look at Slumbers ecstatic face nodded in acceptance, nonetheless.
She jumped up and down in excitement. “See! Now you can read the book AND get taught some cool stuff too! This was such an awesome trip after all!”
~” A Trouble of Two on Drowsy Street Ch. 2 “~
Written by: Althyra-Nex
“Wow, you’re willing to take me on just like that?” Tesseract asked, bewildered.
“Sure! The other one was always a bit -- we’ll say eccentric.” Howard said, “He tended to be a little possessive and reclusive. He stopped coming here a long time ago.”
Tess’s expression changed from a combination of excitement and confusion to one of skepticism. He squinted slightly at Howard, he didn’t quite trust the old stallion. Nopony ever does something like this unless they have some sort of agenda. Tess had reluctantly agreed to be Howard’s apprentice however. After all, he did get his hooves on a genuine copy of thermatological dynamism.
Tess turned his gaze to Slumber, who was bouncing slightly and smiling. Trying to lift Tess’s spirits about the opportunity he found himself in. The smiling warmed him a little inside, usually Slumber’s antics don’t do that to him.
“Alright,” he said, looking back at Howard, “you wanted me back on Sunday?”
“Exactly. Sunday morning, 6 AM. I keep to a schedule, so don’t be late son.” Howard said, sauntering up and patting Tess on the leg. Howard then turned around and went back to his cannon, proceeding to overturn it and examine it. Tess looked at Slumber again, who stared back in excitement.
Tess pursed his lips and looked back at Howard for a second, then turned to walk out the door, Slumber in tow.
“Dude, this is the perfect opportunity! You’ve always wanted to be a scientist right?” Slumber asked.
“Yeah, but I’m not quite sure I trust him. Howard seems a little on the eccentric side himself. You saw how quickly he agreed to take me as an apprentice.” Tess said, stopping at a crosswalk.
“Come on, most science-y types are a bit crazy. I mean, we’ve seen how Princess Twilight can act sometimes.” Slumber said with a chuckle.
Tess let loose a small chuckle himself, he did find Princess Twilight in ‘science mode’ to be amusing sometimes. “You may just be right Slumber. I’ll give it a chance, but don’t say I didn’t warn us ok? I want this on the record, if Howard turns out to be even crazier than that daemon we encountered…”
Slumber rolled her eyes and sighed, “Fine. Party pooper.”
After a few days pouring over his copy of thermatological dynamism, Tesseract finally felt ready to approach the old stallion. Sunday was only a matter of hours away, and Tess felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he packed away the things he thought he’d might need. He’d studied at the best libraries accessible to ponies like him, but this felt like it would be on a whole other level to his studies.
Tess tried to let his mind wander as he attempted to fall asleep, thinking about the many intricate topics he might learn. He thought about how Howard’s cannon worked, remembering the clanking and hissing of pistons and cogs.
Eventually, after an indiscernible amount of time, Tess fell asleep. Cold dreams of nightmarish creatures flitted through his unconscious mind for what seemed like days but in an instant, Tess woke to a grandfather clock’s chiming. He counted the dings; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Six? Oh hay, it’s six!! Tess thought to himself. The grip of sleep was wrestled violently from his groggy mind as he threw his covers away, desperately searching for his favorite hoodie. He found it after a moment of blind fumbling hanging on a hook next to his bedroom door. Reaching his front hooves through the sleeves, he rammed his head through the neck hole, not bothering to adjust his bedraggled hair. He telekinetically grabbed his new book and burst out the front door, blasting down the road as fast as his legs could carry him.
He made it back into upper Manehattan, trotting in place trying to will the traffic to stop and let him through. After what felt like an eternity, the it finally did and allowing Tess to surge forward to find Drowsy Street. Turning onto it, he set his sights on Howard’s shop door, busting through and stopping. He wheezed and set his book on the shop desk, trying to get his breath back.
“Well well well, what do we have here?” an old, gravelly voice sounded.
Tess looked to his right to see Howard standing in the doorway to the back rooms. Tess sheepishly looked to the clock on the wall behind the desk, its hands pointing to a dismally late, 7:15.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Howard,” Tess started, he was about apologies before Howard raised a hoof to silence him.
“No need. You showed up at least. Where’s your friend?” Howard asked.
“Um, I dunno, I never let her know that I was on my way?”
“Hrmmph. That’s fine I suppose, I just thought she’d be eager to learn with you. Now then, shall we?” Howard said, gesturing to the room behind him.
Gulping, Tess followed him inside. The room was spartan, only containing a table with a few chairs, a podium with an itemized list in Howard’s hoofwriting, and in the far corner propped up on a stand the brass cannon.
“Have a seat.”
Tess pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning forwards on the table. The old stallion sat in a chair next to him.
“So, you’re here to learn a few things hmm?” Howard asked, “Well what do you want to learn first?”
Tess’s stomach dropped, he didn’t even have a clue as to what he wanted to learn from Howard first. He had just kind of agreed to be an apprentice the thought hadn’t really gone any farther than that if he was being honest with himself. In a scramble for words he let out a massive
“Uhhhhhh...”
Howard’s expression turned to one of slightly pained impatience. Tess could only imagine what the old stallion was thinking. He suddenly felt a little pang of guilt.
“Look, Howard, I-” Tess started.
“Tesseract was it, right?” Howard asked, Tess nodded, “ Tesseract, I gave you that book out of the goodness of my heart, you were the one that accepted the opportunity. I wasn’t even the one that opened it up to you. I have a lot more experience in the world than you do, I may be a little old and eccentric, but I know how to recognize a mistake made when I see one.”
Tess just turned his gaze away and pursed his lips.
“I’m not trying to put you down, but I saw your reaction when I agreed to teach you. You put yourself in this situation my friend.”
“...Yes. And, well,“ He rose up in his chair a bit. “I’ve arrived. And I don’t even know what I want to learn from you. I don’t even know what to feel right now.” Tess stated. “But I do know that I am still here for a reason, and that includes...” He trailed off, lost in thought.
Howard paused for a second, “Son, I said I’d be happy to teach you anything you’d like, so here’s my first lesson. Don’t let yourself get pushed around, even by your best friends.” His eyes took on a far away look for just a moment.
Tess studied the look in Howard’s eyes. He looked at the old grey locks of mane the draped in from of his furrowed brows. The deep set wrinkles near his eyes. His silver hair unkempt, yet deliberate. When Howard’s hoof landed on his shoulder Tess could feel his age, yet it felt like the grip of a powerful soul; conditioned from years upon years of harrowing labor. The wizened stallion released his grip and settled into his chair before continuing.
“I never expected to tell you this, but when I was young, I found my love for science. I wished to combine it with magic, at first to make ponies’ lives around me easier. I had many colleagues throughout my years at the best schools in the realm, but the one friend that struck me the most was there throughout the whole of my studies. Her name was Rosie, Rosie Rosenbridge.”
Tess could almost hear the stallions voice hitch at the mention of the name. Howard continued, “You may in fact know of her if you’ve ever studied astrological phenomena.”
“Yeah, yeah, I do know her. I’ve read a lot of her work, she’s probably the smartest pony I’ve ever read actually.” Tess said.
“Was.” Howard interjected, Tess stared at Howard, confused as he continued, “Rosie was my best friend throughout childhood and into my professional studies. Her theorems and hypotheses got her to wondrous places in the institute where we worked. We were always in a constant contest. Seeing who could come up with the most elaborate theories, most complicated machines, anything you could think of we tried it to see who could do it better. “
“But one day, the experimentation went somewhere we never thought it could go. Rosie called me out to a shop she owned one day, in the back she’d built this unimaginably complicated contraption. Even I had a hard time understanding how it worked. Suffice it to say, she had a theory she wanted me to help her with. I never wanted to help her that day, but she pushed me to do it anyway.”
Tess stayed silent, entrapped by the old stallion’s tale. He let him continue.
“If you’ve read any of the great tragedies, you probably know what happens next,” he looked at the unicorn with a mixture of pain and regret, “Rosie explained how her theory worked, the details of which have muddied over my many years, but what I can remember is that she wanted to create a bridge between this and another, more interesting world; just to see what was on the other side. “
“Her machine worked; wonderfully. However, something happened that pains me every time I care to recall. The bridge connected to a world that was not right. Not right at all. The only thing I can remember is seething darkness in the portal,” he sighed, “and that’s where the memory stops. The next thing I remember I was waking to see a formless creature standing where Rosie used to be. Ever since that day I’ve been wanting to find her and bring her back.”
Tess’s jaw was slacked, he could only stare at Howard, unable to find words. He turned his gaze toward the outside, watching the wind whip a bag down the deserted street. A thought instantly materialized in his mind; one he was afraid to let loose into the air.
“Howard, do you think that monster you saved us from, was… Rosie?”
Howard blinked, lowering his eyes to look at the table, “I… I have no doubt that may be, but I can never know for sure.”
Tess put a hoof on his forehead in thought.
“I know what I want to learn now.” Tess said. Howard looked up at his apprentice, waiting for an answer, “I want to learn how Rosie’s machine worked. So I can help bring her back.”
Howard’s face immediately fell to a dark expression. He lowered his gaze, and brought it back up, a twinkle shining in his wizened eyes.
“Well then. Let’s get to it.”
Tesseract now had a purpose. He’d conversed with Howard enough that he knew his next task, that being to study Rosie’s machine and acquaint himself with all of its minute workings. After a few more minutes of talking with Howard in his office, Tess withdrew himself, and set about visiting every library accessible to him. First on his list was the Great Manehattan Library, located downtown in the main metropolis.
At the same crosswalk he’d desperately been waiting at this morning, he took a look around, gauging his surroundings. To his left was the main street, occasionally filling up with traffic and waning into a drowsy bustle. On Tess’s right was a block street with a crosswalk and a traffic signal. The sidewalks all contained a few ponies milling about, minding their own business. Most of them looked to be either aging or just shady characters in general. The traffic slowed to a stop as the crosswalk panels lit up signaling his chance to cross.
Tess’s monotonous walk allowed him to ignore his surroundings and lose himself in thought. Why would Rosie want to open a portal to another world? What was her plan? No one wants to do something stupid just to see what happens. There’s usually some underlying plan to stuff like this. He thought as he passed store after store, ignoring the passerby’s.
While his mind aimlessly wandered, Tesseract failed to notice a pony running at him. She apparently was calling out to him, trying to pull him back to the here and now. The pony stopped, waving a hoof in front of Tess’s face. When that failed to get his attention, the pony just kicked him in the foreleg. Tess’s face went from blank contemplation to instant agony.
“OW!! Hey, what’s the big ide-” he shouted as he noticed who was standing there.
“Look grandpa, you tend to lose yourself in thought, I’m just here to make sure you don’t start levitating into space.” Slumber said with a sour expression.
Tess grumbled, “You know I hate it when you call me that.”
“Hey, how else am I supposed to get your attention, use my camera to blind you?” Slumber retorted, “Anyway, where were you? I’ve been looking for you all day, you just disappeared this morning and-”
“I was at Howard’s shop, the pony who saved us. Thanks to you I actually had to show up. But while I was there I was informed of some, let’s say interesting information.” said Tess.
“Oooh, what’ve we got here?” Slumber asked in anticipation.
As if on cue, Tess’s stomach rumbled so loudly both of them heard it. Tess’s cheeks grew bright red, he’d never been this hungry before. They both laughed it off and made their way into the inner sanctum of Manehattan, eventually finding a quick place to eat. They ordered their food and sat on a table outside near the street.
“You were saying,” Slumber said, leaning forward on the table resting her head on her hooves.
“Oh yeah, anyway, I was talking to Howard today. Initially I had no idea what I wanted to learn from him, but he told me this incredible story. The old geezer apparently had a good friend when he was younger, Rosie Rosenbridge. I’ve read her works, she was a really smart cookie, but maybe a little too smart for her own good. She built this machine that was meant to allow passage to other realms, just to see what happened.” Tess recounted.
Slumber’s face was plastered with a look of wonder and confusion, “Oh,” she said.
“Ok, long story short, I think that demon Howard saved us from was Rosie.” Tess said, exasperated.
Slumber’s expression then changed to pure confusion, “Seriously? That hideous, thing is Rosie?”
“Hey, it’s just an educated guess from Howard’s story. I have my doubts about it too, but I just have this gut feeling that Rosie is a victim of that Heriometh thing. I want to help Howard get her back and rid this world of that monster.”
“So you’re saying this mad scientist made a machine and got possessed by some horrible gooey monster thing, and you want to get her back.” said Slumber, raising her hooves in exaggeration, “Count me in.”
Tess was taken aback by Slumber’s willingness to help despite what seemed like the craziest thing she’d ever hear. “Seriously? Just like that you’re willing to help me?”
“Hey, we’re friends right?” Slumber replied as the two of them were handed their food.
Tess thanked the server pony and they both dug into their hay burgers and fries. Tess discussed the details of his plan to Slumber, who was taking all this crazy like a champ in Tess’s eyes. It was going to be quite a challenge, possibly the greatest challenge he’d ever accepted, but Tess was determined to bring Rosie back.
It had been a couple of weeks since Howard and Tess’s conversation which launched this investigation. The pair visited every morning to report on their progress. Howard had let Tess know that in order to properly study Rosie’s machine, he’d need to build a replica. Tess knew what he had to do, and that meant a lot of reading. So began Tess’s treasure hunt, using every single available library and book he knew about, bringing Slumber along to help speed his efforts. They tried the Great Manehattan Library, the School of Friendship’s library with Princess Twilight’s permission, and many others. The only one left was the Canterlot Library in the castle. After somehow managing to get permission from Celestia herself, Tess and Slumber started furiously searching through nearly every single book on every single shelf.
Tess flipped through multiple pages at blinding speed, soaking in all the information like a hungry sponge. Slumber was constantly stacking books near Tess so he’d have a steady stream of books to pour over. He decided to focus on Rosie’s books to hopefully get into her mindset. He found the topics he was reading to be absolutely fascinating. Her theories on what she called “Hairbrain-Rosie Bridges” were elaborate but made sense.
“So, how’s it going?” Slumber asked, dropping another book on top of a stack of six.
“Slow, but Rosie’s got some cool theories. She thinks these thi-”
“Don’t even try dude, I won’t even last a sentence before I fall asleep. Gimme the short version. Simple words only.”
“Rosie thinks these things called Hairbrain-Rosie Bridges exist, and she wants to use them for exploration and travel. How’s that?” Tess muttered, frustrated he didn’t get to fully express his fascination.
“Wow, didn’t think you could actually do it.” Slumber said, clearly impressed.
“Whatever, I’m getting close, I can feel it. I just have to-”
Tess stopped abruptly. He’d found something in his latest book. The scrawling’s of an old-timey mare were scribbled into the blank note pages in the back of a burgundy leather-bound tome. The loose scribbling mentioned the same interdimensional bridges and intense equations in other works by Rosie, going into much finer detail. Tess slowed to a snail’s pace to read this, as this was probably the only book to have this much information straight from the mare’s hoof.
He flipped another page, revealing even more writings and drawings. Slumber hovered behind Tess’s head to see what he was reading. The writings were musings on an idea Rosie had, a machine. This was it. Tess carefully read every single run-on paragraph and short sentence on the spread, then turned a final page.
“HOLY CRAP!” he exclaimed.
Slumber darted back, colliding with the shelves out of sheer terror. She rubbed her back and wings in pain.
“Ow. Dude! Not so loud, you scared the living hay out of me!” she shouted, dropping to the floor and sitting down next to Tess, whose wide-eyed face was fixated on the page in front of him.
“This- this is exactly what I’ve been looking for.” he said in a hushed tone.
Slumber leaned in and to her confusion, she saw an indecipherable drawing of what looked like a hub-less wheel.
“So? What is it?” she asked.
“This, my friend, is the key.” Tess said, failing to remember that Slumber wasn’t as smart or informed as he was. “I need to get this to Howard.”
“Oh-kay.” Slumber replied.
Tess shut the book and got up to run out of the library, Slumber in tow.
Howard grunted as he pulled a wrench down on the final nut and screw. Wiping his brow and lifting his goggles he stepped back to admire his work. Tess stood next to him, staring at the now complete structure.
It was a massively complicated build, the main aluminum and bronze ring was covered in nuts, bolts and rivets. The whole thing was secured to a base made of steel and other metals, the outer edges adorned with many readouts and wires. The inner edge contained a bowl with clamps that held the main ring in place, and the flat plane on the top of the base held a button panel with a few small buttons and a number pad.
“Wow, Rosie must’ve had a lot of time on her hooves eh?” Tess asked.
“You have no idea boy. You know that competition we always had? Yeah, she usually won it.” Howard said, trying and failing to hide his embarrassment.
Tess chuckled as he started to reexamine the machine.
“Howard, this was the thing Rosie built right? I mean, the equations in her notes and the plans for this thing were really hard to understand.”
“More or less. The only things that are missing here are two small spires and a power source. The spires, to my knowledge, are key components in portal projection. Other than that I have no idea.” Howard said as he paced around the machine.
“Well, according to her notes, the bridges she mentions are just folds in the fabric of space-time, the main ring appears to be the connection point between the folds.” Tesseract stated.
“Makes sense, and perhaps the spires were more than just projectors. Maybe they were electromagnetic containment units, meant to keep the two dimensions from splitting apart as soon as they touch inside the ring.” Howard hypothesized, raising a hoof to his chin.
“This is heavy stuff doc.” Tess said.
Howard turned and looked at Tess with an annoyed expression, barely masking underlying amusement.
“Well done son, we’re a heck of a lot closer than I ever was in getting Rosie back. The only thing left now is to activate the portal in her shop and separate her from that Heriometh that’s possessing her.”
“Well how do we do that? I don’t know how that monster works, and it might be trying to figure out a way to escape that shop.” Tess said.
“Oh it’s been doing that for many years. I’m not exactly sure what’s keeping it there, but my leading hypothesis is that the portal let in a little bit of the atmosphere of the dark realm and allowed the creature to survive. The creature’s many years of life inside that shop must have given it time to acclimate to our atmosphere, but not enough to fully expose itself.” Howard replied.
“I have an idea, if you’ll hear me out.” Tess said.
Howard nodded, letting Tess elaborate.
“So, my plan is that we somehow lure the Heriometh into the back of the shop, activate the portal and you shoot your cannon at the creature. My hope is that the dark realm on the other side will call back the monster and leave Rosie’s body.” Tess said.
Howard stared at Tess like he’d just grown a second head, “So let me get this straight, your plan is to shoot the devil out of Rosie?”
“Yeah,” Tess apprehensively replied.
Howard lowered his gaze, thinking about the plan. He looked back up at Tess and said, “Well, I suppose a plan is better than no plan at all. The only problem is I have no idea what codes she used to access the dark realm.”
Tess then walked over to a podium the book was sitting on and flipped through Rosie’s notes. He assumed if Rosie had a plan, it would be in there. Tess scanned every line to no avail, until he spotted something interesting, on the page that contained the plans for the portal’s construction, there was a little note he hadn’t seen before.
Above the number pad was a small note, which read, “NGC-15i8+1138”.
“Hey, Howard, come look at this.” Tess said, motioning for Howard to join him.
“Hm, wait. Oh my heavens.” Howard said, exasperation dripping from his tone. He put a hoof up to his brow and shook his head.
“What?” Tess asked.
“1138. You don’t know?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Whatever. Rosie was a massive nerd, even by today’s standards, it makes too much sense that she’d choose that as her first coordinate.” Howard said, rolling his eyes.
“But hey, we have the coordinates right? That’s a plus at least.” Tess replied.
“How’s it going nerds?” Slumber said as she walked in.
“It’s going fine, thanks.” Tess said through gritted teeth, “Sorry about her Howard, she can be something of a pain sometimes.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just-” Howard said, drifting off mid sentence. His expression turned to one of longing, a mixture of excitement and pain.
“What’s wrong?” Slumber asked, walking up to Howard and putting a hoof on his shoulder.
“Nothing, it’s nothing. I’m just nervous about the plan. If something goes wrong then, I may never see my best friend again.”
A quiet feeling fell over the room, a deep, deafening silence that left Tess’s ears ringing. He never quite thought about what would happen if the plan failed. Howard then turned around and walked toward his cannon. The device was propped up on a shelf, alongside a coat rack which held his armor. He ran a hoof along his contraption, staring at his reflection in the cold steel before reaching up to retrieve his armor. Slipping on his breastplate he turned to the other two ponies in the room.
“What are you waiting for? Rosie isn’t gonna save herself.” Howard huffed as he slipped on more and more pieces.
The three of them set out, it was night time, as Tess and Howard had been working all day to complete and study the replica portal machine. They made it to the shop which started this whole debacle without trouble. Tess felt a shiver run down his spine as he saw the sign. Etched into the aged and deteriorating wood was the words, “Teas and Brews”.
Slumber crept forward, trying the door. To all of their surprise, the door was unlocked. There was no resistance as Slumber slowly pushed it open. To keep any noise from alerting the creature inside, Tess grabbed the greeting bell with his magic, levitating it above the door so it wouldn’t ring against the wooden frame.
Slumber and Tess stuck their heads in far enough to see inside the shop. The floor was still covered in liquid from broken phials and scorch marks from Howard’s cannon. The two of them then silently slinked back out, letting the door rest on the bell to prop it open. Tess then motioned for Howard to step forward. Tess stood directly behind him as he silently pushed the door open, letting all three of them through before closing the door as quietly as possible.
The threesome made it back behind the counter and into a pitch black room, there was a palpable feeling of dread when they entered. However, Tess also felt something else in the room. He started pawing around, his hoof landing on a thick piece rubber pipe. He dared to produce a small light on the tip of his horn to light up his surroundings. The pipe was in fact a power cable, snaking from a giant generator to the center of the room.
However what was at the center of the room made his heart stop. Standing directly in front of the machine was the old pony that tried to kill him and Slumber. He turned to Howard and Slumber, motioning for Howard to place his cannon. To their despair, Howard tripped on a smaller cable, crashing to the floor, sounding a cacophony of sound that reverberated through the room.
The creature turned its head 180 degrees as if on a swivel, spotting the three ponies. It grew an impossibly wide grin, its eyes two black orbs somehow staring at them.
“Crap, Howard, shoot now!” Tess screamed.
Howard then propped up his gun, and just as the creature let out an ethereal screech, Howard blasted it with his cannon. Violet magic surged from the cannon’s mouth, striking the unholy creature with all its force. The Heriometh was sent flying, colliding with the ring and making a sickening clang.
“Any time now son!” Howard said as he fired another beam at the creature.
Tess rushed the power generator, flipping levers and pushing buttons until he finally found the start button, he smacked it and instantly the shop’s lights came on, bathing the room in a fluorescent white. A robotic voice sounded from speakers surrounding the portal machine.
“Portal Engine Model 1.01, online. Please input destination coordinates.”
Tess then rushed the machine, trying to dodge the Heriometh’s attacks as Howard blasted it with his cannon. He made it to the button panel, furiously punching in the code, “NGC-15i8+1138”.
The portal started powering up, a high pitched whining sound permeated the room. Slowly the noise turned into a throbbing roar which increased in pitch until a bright flash exploded from the main ring, sending Tess flying from the base. He came to a second later, seeing the swirling vortex inside the projection ring. He turned his head to see the creature trying to get closer to Howard, who was still blasting it with his cannon. Slumber was doing all she could by buzzing and kicking the Heriometh to keep it distracted.
“HEY, UGLY!” Tess shouted. The creature hissed as it turned its attention toward him. It then bounded at him with unnatural speed before being shoved off toward the portal’s vortex by Howard’s cannon. The violet magic constantly enveloping it and keeping it at bay.
“Howard, now’s our chance!” Slumber shouted over the noise of the vortex and the cannon.
Howard then left the cannon trained on the creature, and as soon as he reached the creature he did the unthinkable. He removed his goggles and reached a hoof in to touch the creature. Tess ran back to the portal, intending to remove Howard from the creature, but as soon as he touched Howard’s leg he was instantly transported to a white void.
Tess looked around, only seeing white everywhere. He didn’t even have a shadow. He turned around one more time to see Howard standing a few yards away. He was near another pony, a mare. She looked exactly the same as the pony who greeted Tess and Slumber when they first arrived. She was laying on the ground unconscious. Tess walked over to Howard and the mare. The mare was many years older than he was, however she was quite spry. She had a mop of silver and red hair, unkempt but flowy. Her coat was goldish in color, and she had a crochet shawl around her neck and shoulders.
“Tesseract, meet Rosie Rosenbridge.” Howard said in a somber tone.
“That- That’s Rosie?” Tess asked.
“Indeed.”
Howard then touched Rosie on the shoulder, and she twitched her face, letting out a small breath. It sounded pained and labored. She’d been like this for who knows how many years.
“Come on Rosie, don’t quit on me now.” Howard said, tears welling up in his aged eyes. He continued, his emotions making his speech quiver and shake, “Rosie, I need to tell you something. Way back then, I never actually wanted to help you with your infernal project. I had a bad feeling about it from the start, and I let myself get caught up in this mess. I’ve had to do things that I’m not proud of at all. I built a cannon specifically to immobilize and contain you. That blasted Heriometh ruined our relationship, but I’m the one who sealed your fate to begin with. I should never have let you talk me into this. “
“I made mistakes that I’m sorely ashamed of, and so have you. But please, just this once, let me tell you something. I forgive you. I forgive you for putting me in this situation. But more than that, I must ask you, will you forgive me for what I’ve done? Will you forgive me for abandoning you to this fate?”
Rosie lied motionless. Only breathing to keep herself alive. But then, to Tess and Howard’s surprise, a tear formed and flowed down Rosie’s face. Her expression tightened, like she was trying to push something out. Cracks then started to form in the whiteness surrounding the three ponies. They grew faster with every second, spreading to near infinity.
Suddenly, with a loud CRASH, the white limbo gave way, snapping all of them back into reality. The beam of Howard’s cannon still enveloped Rosie. Howard acted fast, wrapping his hooves around Rosie and pulling her from the cannon’s beam. Tess then turned his head toward the portal. The Heriometh which possessed Rosie was gripping onto the ring, trying to keep itself from being sucked back into its realm.
“Oh no you don’t.” Tess said as he pried the creatures limbs off the ring. The creature then fell away, being obscured by darkness. Tess then rushed to the power generator, ripping the cord leading to the machine out of its socket. The portal machine shuddered, the vortex inside the ring evaporated with a throbbing rumble.
“Portal stability compromised, aborting coordinates, shutting down.” the automated voice said.
“And stay out!” Tess shouted, his hearing still ringing from the noise.Tess then rushed over to Howard, who was cradling Rosie.
Rosie had been rushed to a hospital in downtown Manehattan. She’d been stabilized and was making a hasty recovery. Tess, Slumber and Howard visited her as often as the hospital would allow, and every time Rosie would greet them with a warm smile.
“How you doing Rosie?” Howard asked.
“I’m doing absolutely fine, Howard.” Rosie replied in a spry yet aged voice.
“So any word on your release?” Tess asked.
“The doctors said I should be good to walk on my own within a week or so. I’m excited.” Rosie said with a beaming smile.
“Oh, Rosie. I don’t know if you heard me back there, but I’m so, so very sorry.” Howard said.
“Whatever are you on about Howard?” Rosie asked accusatorily.
“My behavior, I abandoned you for so long, I had no idea what to do once you were possessed, I built a cannon to keep you at bay!”
“You did what anypony else would have done in that situation dear.” Rosie said, putting a hoof on Howard’s shoulder, “If anything, I should be asking for your forgiveness. I’m the one who forced you to help me with my hairbrained theories. Pardon the pun. Look Howard, I can get extremely carried away sometimes, you know how I got called all over the schools we attended? Well once those ponies found out about my theories, they disregarded me, and sent me somewhere else. You were the only one who would even listen to me. I took advantage of you to further my own selfish gains. My behavior was inexcusable.”
Howard stared at Rosie with pure bewilderment, so did Tess.
“So, now that I’ve had some time to myself, I’ve thought about what I’ve done to you that day. And I ask you now, will you forgive me for taking advantage of your generosity?” Rosie asked.
Howard looked down, Rosie’s words hitting him like a ton of bricks. But in a second he looked back up into Rosie’s eyes, tears filling his own.
“Yes. I forgive you.” he said, leaning in to hug Rosie.
Slumber was struggling to contain herself, she could barely stop the tears from flowing. Tess was struggling himself, the moment was too beautiful.
After another week, Rosie was able to walk, and she and Howard couldn’t keep away from each other. Tess always visited Howard and Rosie, studying Rosie’s theories and developing new ones along the way. Over time, Howard and Rosie eventually married, citing the fact that they’ve had feelings for each other since childhood, but none of them had the guts to say anything.
Eventually, Tess, Howard and Rosie started work on a new project.
“There, that should be the last bolt. Hit it Rosie.” Tess said, stepping down from a platform.
A throbbing noise started filling the room, and a vortex swirled to life inside a ring, projecting a new scene. Sweeping grasslands filled the view, and the perspective turned to reveal a little town with a tree in the middle of it. A small violet unicorn walked out onto the porch and was joined by a slightly smaller purple and green dragon.
THE END
