Chapters A New Home
Dawn was coming. The stars were fading in the sky as the first rays of the sun touched the far corner of the horizon. The Everfree forest was an eerie place, invoking a primal fear in those who dared to venture into its depths. The trees themselves seemed to be waiting to pounce on an unwary traveler. Strange cries could be heard in the night, as creatures steeped in shadows moved about in the undergrowth. Now, in the wee hours of the morning, it was nearly silent. Deep within the forest lay a small clearing. The surrounding tree branches were so densely intertwined that light penetrated the clearing for only a few hours each day. Only a few stunted bushes and clumps of weeds were able to cling to life there. It was the perfect place.
A strange metal contraption stood in the center of the clearing. A long metal pipe made up the bulk of the device. The surface of the pipe was smooth, save for a hatch in the side and a wick sticking out near its base. The device was supported by a complex metal framework with many interlocking gears. Nearby, a large hammered copper orb lay in the dirt, its hatch open and swaying slightly in the mild breeze. A shadowy figure prowled around the structure. The stranger rubbed its forelegs over the device as it made last minute preparations.
“Alright, now thirty degrees by forty-five degrees should do the trick…” the being muttered to itself, as it operated a series of cranks on the side of the mechanism. The contraption rattled and groaned as the gears spun and it slowly rotated to face in a new direction.
“Hmm… I need to lubricate a bit more.” The figure trotted over to a pair of saddle bags lying in the weeds and pulled out a small canister of oil. As the tinkerer went back to its contraption, the other saddle bag moved slightly. A small head poked out from under the flap, as the creature made a soft “churr” noise over its prolonged imprisonment in such a tiny space. Hearing the noise, its captor returned to the bag and smiled down at the little beast. “Fine. I’ll let you out, Sydney, but stay out of trouble this time.” Pleased to be released from its bag, the small animal wandered off to explore the clearing.
Widget turned back to her invention, her heart beating eagerly in her chest. It was finally time to test it. With this device, she would be able to send messages to Mama, despite the distance between them. She pulled a sealed letter out of her cloak, as well as a scrap of paper which she then carefully examined. The scratches and symbols on the note may not have made sense to the casual observer, but to her the hurried scribbles held the calculations needed for the correct execution of her device's maiden voyage. As she furiously crunched numbers in her head, she did not notice the small waddling figure as it approached the pod lying behind her. It managed to climb clumsily up into the pod, where it landed in an ungraceful heap at the bottom. Luckily, the padded interior cushioned its fall.
The breeze tugged at her mane, pulling Widget out of her daze. The wind was picking up speed. If she didn’t launch now, it might grow strong enough to blow the projectile off course. Stuffing the paper in her cloak, she whirled around and grabbed the pod. She tossed her letter in and hurriedly sealed the pod without inspecting its contents. Opening a hatch in the side of the device, she placed the orb inside the barrel of her message launcher, atop the explosive powder already inside. A small jet of flame lit the wick. Widget backed up and put on her goggles.
The explosion shook the clearing, startling the smaller denizens of the forest into flight. The projectile arched through the air, smoking slightly as it went. Success! She watched its path with a grin. Something was off. The pod was losing altitude way too quickly. She watched in dread as she realized it would fall far short of its goal. What could have gone wrong? She had checked all her calculations thoroughly, and it had fired properly. She couldn't understand why it was behaving in such an unusual manner. It was almost as if the orb was much heavier than she had calculated. Widget froze as a terrible thought occurred to her. “Sydney!” she cried, desperately searching the clearing, tearing up one of the bushes in her haste. Her pet was nowhere in sight. Widget turned back to look at the smoke trail, quivering in fear. “Oh buck.”
Fluttershy awoke to a loud thump, followed by the sound of chickens clucking in distress. “Eep!” She squeaked as she fell out of bed in a tangle of sheets. She rushed outside to check on her little friends, followed closely by a grumpy rabbit. There was a large hole in the roof of her chicken coop, and the chickens were running about in a blind panic. They hadn't been this distressed since the time the Cutie Mark Crusaders had spent the night at her house. She clucked to them softly until they quieted down. Timidly, she peeked into the ruined coop.
A large metal sphere lay in the straw. Tendrils of smoke played across its surface. Fluttershy jumped back, away from the strange device. The small white rabbit at her feet did not have such reservations. Angel was clearly annoyed at being awoken so early. The rabbit hopped right up to thing and gave it a solid kick. The hatch sprung open, and Angel jumped back, ready to deal with whatever emerged from within. Fluttershy hid under the gangplank. A rustling came from inside the pod, followed by a strange noise. A small brown duck’s head popped out from the top of the pod.
Fluttershy emerged from her hiding spot immediately. “Oh you poor thing,” she said. “Whoever put you in there? I… oh my…” The "duck" had emerged from the pod. It was the oddest thing she had ever seen. It had a duck’s head and feet, but it had the body and tail of a beaver. She picked it up and examined it. “What are you, little friend? How will I ever take care of you, I’ve never seen a creature like you before." She thought for a moment. "Maybe Twilight will know what it is. If I hurry, I can be back in time to feed my animals their breakfast," she said to herself. She wrapped her new friend in a soft blanket and put him in a basket. “Now, you stay here and watch the house, Angel,” she told the cross rabbit. Angel frowned at her, but it appeared he wanted to go back to bed anyways, since he didn’t argue. The yellow pegasus watched him enter the house and shut the door before picking up her basket and heading into Ponyville.
Widget was frantic. When she had finished her calculations of the capsule's new trajectory, she had been devastated. Sydney and her orb were going to end up in Ponyville, or at least on the outskirts. Mama had told her to stay away from the ponies, that they would hate her for what she was. But Sydney was family. Ever since her father brought him to her as an egg, she had cared for him. Here was a creature as odd as she was, and he loved her regardless of what she looked like. This was reason enough to go against Mama's wishes. She would understand.
Widget had made a mad dash back to her cave in the Everfree forest. If she was going to run the risk of being seen, she was going to need a good disguise. She threw on a long hooded cloak, the edges of which dragged on the ground slightly when she walked. She put her saddlebags on over the top of it to help weigh it down. She put on her boots, then went over to inspect herself in the mirror. The cloak covered her body enough that with the hood up she could easily pass as a pony. The stiff material of the boots limited her movement and stiffened her gait, improving her disguise as well. It was not perfect, but it would have to do. She needed to find Sydney quickly. The thought of him being somewhere out there, alone and injured, was too much for her to stand. Steeling herself, she left her cave and headed for the edge of the Everfree forest.
The sun was just clearing the edge of the horizon when Fluttershy reached the library. She knocked on the door. “I’m coming I’m coming,” called a muffled voice from inside. A small dragon wearing an apron opened the door. “Hey, Fluttershy, what brings you here so early?” Spike asked her.
The pegasus put down her basket and smiled at him. “I’m sorry, Spike, I hope I didn’t wake you up. I need to talk to Twilight… if that’s okay with you,” she said.
“Nah you didn’t wake me up. I had to get up early today to reorganize the library to make room for the new books Twilight ordered,” the dragon replied. He held open the door until the timid pegasus entered, then closed it behind her. “I’ll go get Twilight then,” he said as he headed towards her bedroom.
“Is she still asleep? I’m sorry, I can come back later,” Fluttershy mumbled.
“Nah. She needs to get up anyway so she can help me with the reorganization. Otherwise she’ll find something wrong about it and make me do it all over again,” Spike replied with a frown.
Ten minutes later a rumpled-looking purple unicorn came down the stairs. Spike went to fetch her cup of coffee while she sat down at the table across from Fluttershy. “So what brings you here so early?” Twilight asked blearily.
“I’m sorry, Twilight, but I found this strange animal in my yard this morning, and I’m hoping you can help me identify it,” her friend replied. Fluttershy opened her basket and placed the creature on the table.
“Whoa! What is that thing?” Spike asked as he placed a cup in front of Twilight.
The unicorn took a deep drink from her coffee cup before addressing the problem before her. “Hmm… I’ve never seen one before, but let me check my books. Where did it come from anyway?”
“Well…” Fluttershy began.
“… and the thing popped open and this little guy came out,” Fluttershy concluded, pointing to the animal that had now wandered off to explore the library.
Twilight was pulling books off the shelves and inspecting them before stacking them in a rapidly growing pile near her feet. “You’ve certainly had an unusual morning,” she commented dryly.
Spike was much more excited by her story. “A creature in a metal ball falling out of the sky! Do you know what this means?” he asked excitedly.
Twilight could see where he was going. “Spike…” she began.
The dragon ignored her and exclaimed, “Aliens!”
Twilight sighed. “How many times have we talked about this Spike? You can’t just go making up wild stories and… ah! Here we go.” Twilight levitated a book over to the table in front of Fluttershy. In it was a pencil drawing of the creature that was currently snuffling around the room. “Apparently it’s called a platypus. No wonder we’ve never seen one before, it comes from a land even farther away than where Zecora is from.”
“Oh my, that is a long way away,” Fluttershy responded, “so how do I take care of it?”
“According to this, they eat mostly bugs and worms,” she continued. Spike made a gagging noise, which she chose to ignore. “It says that they lay eggs like a bird but provide milk to their babies like a mammal. Certainly an unusual creature.” Twilight put the book back on the shelf and turned to her friend. “As for the rest of what you said, I guess I should come over and look at it.” Fluttershy nodded as she placed her new platypus friend back in its basket.
Widget muttered to herself darkly. It was bad enough that her device had ended up in a populated area, much less destroying the property of whomever the nearby cottage belonged to. Even though she had managed to find the capsule, there was no sign of her pet anywhere. Being so close to a settlement unnerved her, and the weird cottage was no help. There were animals all over the place! Many different creatures called the small yard their home, most of which were now watching the intruder. She wondered if it normal for ponies to keep this many pets. She needed to find Sydney quickly before someone caught her. She berated herself for her own carelessness. Widget sighed and sat down next to the recovered pod. She gazed at the sunrise, lost in thought.
“For the last time, Spike, there is no such thing as aliens!” Twilight was getting cross with the little dragon riding on her back.
“Come on, Twilight, just because you’ve never seen one doesn’t mean they aren’t out there,” Spike replied.
“There isn’t any proof that they even exist! There are no aliens, and there are no zombie ponies. End of story!” the purple mare fumed. Fluttershy remained quiet for the entire trip back to her cottage. Rounding the corner, she dropped her basket in surprise.
A strange pony was standing in her backyard. The guest was wearing a tattered cape, and stood with her back to them. The animals were eying the newcomer warily from their dens. “Who is that?” Twilight asked, coming up beside Fluttershy.
“I don’t know," the yellow mare admitted, "I've never seen that pony before. I… oh no!” The platypus had crawled out of the basket, and was heading towards the lone figure as fast as its little legs could carry it. It went up to the stranger and rubbed against her. Fluttershy held her breath.
Widget was startled by a beak running along her leg. She hopped up from where she had been sitting and looked down on a familiar shape. “Sydney!” she cried. Scooping up her dearest friend, she wrapped him in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed into his soft fur, “I should have been more careful. Will you forgive me?” The platypus churred happily, making his master laugh wetly. Suddenly a chill ran up Widget’s spine. She turned around slowly, and then froze in her tracks. They were being watched.
Twilight had watched the whole exchange quietly. She looked at Fluttershy, who was naturally trying to hide behind her hair upon being faced with a strange new pony. The visitor was eyeing them warily as she placed the platypus in one of her saddlebags. The unicorn smiled and stepped forward. “Hello there, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Fluttershy and Spike,” Twilight said, “I’m glad you got your pet back. Can you tell me what happed here?” The visitor was glancing around furtively, looking at them periodically with sharp eyes. Spike slipped off Twilight’s back to hide behind her. Twilight smiled awkwardly, and walked towards the cloaked pony. “Well, um welcome to Ponyville, I…” as Twilight extended her hoof, the other pony jumped back in surprise. Twilight frowned and took another step forward.
This got an immediate reaction from the stranger. The pony squared her legs, lowered her head and let out a loud “HISSSSS! ”
Twilight backed off in a mixture of fear and confusion. This was extremely odd behavior for a pony. The creature before her seemed to droop apologetically upon seeing her reaction. Before the unicorn could muster up the courage to speak, the stranger bent down and picked up the metal sphere in her teeth, and ran clumsily for the Everfree forest. At the edge of the woods, the pony suddenly stopped in her tracks. Dropping the orb, she turned to the stunned trio and spoke. “Thank you, I will return the favor.” With that she picked up her pod and vanished into the darkness.
Twilight and the others stood there for several moments just staring at the spot where the stranger had disappeared into the woods. “Well,” Twilight said at last, turning to her companions, “that was definitely not normal.” Fluttershy was hiding her head in a bush, and did not respond.
“What did I tell you,” Spike said, “It’s ali-- ” He was interrupted by a cold stare from Twilight as the purple mare passed him on the way to pull her friend out of the bush. Spike frowned, but after years spent with the unicorn, he knew when to keep his mouth shut.
Widget huddled in her cave, gasping for breath after her long run through the forest. Already she had broken her promise to Mama. She had allowed herself to be seen by the townsfolk. She was now faced with a serious dilemma. Mama said not to be seen, but Papa always told me to repay my favors. She had no idea what she should do next. She didn't know anything about repaying favors for ponies. Widget sighed as she realized what had to be done. After placing Sydney in his nest, she headed back out into the forest.
Widget approached the house of the only 'pony' she could comfortably call a friend. The house was built into the side of a tree hung with a mired of colored bottles and strange wooden masks. She knocked on the door and entered. A striped pony turned to her from where she had been brewing her latest potion. “Zecora?” Widget asked. “I need your advice.”
A few days later around midmorning, Twilight was sitting in the library reading a newly arrived book titled “Research Methods and Inquiry”. It was quite fascinating to her. One must wonder how different her attempts to explain Pinkie Pie’s “Pinkie sense” would have been if this book had been published much earlier. She was deeply entrenched in the book, taking notes as she went. As such, she almost missed the quiet knocking on the library door. The purple mare twitched. Spike was busy with his chores, so she would have to stop what she was doing in order to answer the door. Twilight sighed and put down her book and quill.
When she opened the door, the librarian was surprised to see Fluttershy standing there with a basket in her mouth. “Fluttershy?” Twilight began, “Don’t tell me something else crash landed in your yard!”
Fluttershy put down the basket and shook her head. “Oh no,” the yellow mare said, “I just… well I hope I’m not interrupting anything. It’s just that I found two strange packages sitting outside my front door today. This one was addressed to you… I think.”
Twilight peered at the basket. It was made of rather coarse material, and was covered over with a bit of burlap. A note sat on top. The unicorn used her magic to bring the letter to eye level and began to read it. The hoofwriting was rather poor, and the note was quite short. It read:
To the purple one,
This is a return of the favor you paid me. I hope it is to your liking. I thank you for the part you played in the return of my dear pet.
W.
Twilight frowned at the letter. “Who is this ‘W’?” she asked, “and what is this ‘return a favor’ thing all about? It’s not like we did a whole lot.” The unicorn turned to Fluttershy. “You said you got two packages right? What was in the other one?”
Fluttershy’s face lit up as she flew into the air. “Oh it was absolutely wonderful! I got this darling little teapot that looks just like one of my little bird friends. When the tea is ready, it even chirps and flaps its wings!” the pegasus went on in delight, before dropping to the floor with a blush over her sudden outburst.
Twilight was intrigued. “Hmm,” she said, “I wonder if the whole thing is steam powered then. It would be interesting to see how such a device is put together. Would you show it to me sometime?” Fluttershy nodded in agreement, and then made her excuses to leave. Twilight waved goodbye to her friend before carrying the basket inside. She placed it on the table and opened it cautiously. Inside was a bulky item wrapped in burlap and tied with twine. When she opened it, the unicorn found a strange object within. She picked it up and inspected it closely.
The device was made of worked copper. It was as big around as her hoof and about twice as tall. It was made up of two parts, a base with a crank, and the larger upper part was riddled with small holes. Squinting through one, she could see a strange blue crystal formation inside. She turned the crank on the side, and felt a winding mechanism within begin to move. She continued to operate the handle until she heard a small “click” before releasing it and placing the device on the table.
The device sprang to life. Twilight watched as the upper half of the mechanism began to spin slowly. A simple tune began to play, akin to one heard from a music box. For some reason, the crystal inside began to glow. It glowed brighter and brighter, until the strange blue glow shone through all the holes, splashing the room with dots of light. Twilight looked around and gasped. The small pinpricks of light painting her walls were not just random dots, they formed several star formations she knew well. “There’s Orion, and the Big Dipper, and…” she began excitedly. In all, a total of eight complete star formations coated her walls. She watched them in awe for a few moments until the song petered out and the glow began to dim away into nothingness.
Even after the device had stopped moving, she continued to stare off into space. "What makes the crystal glow like that?" Twilight said to herself, "I've never seen anything like it. Where did that mare get it? Where did it come from?" She wondered aloud. She looked at the object again, staring as if somehow the force of her gaze would cause the object to reveal its secrets to her.
She was still staring at it when Spike came in from the kitchen. “Twilight?” he began, “What was that music I heard? It was kind of pretty and… what are you looking at?” There was no response from the mare. Spike wondered over and waved his paw in front of her face. “Helloooo, Equestria to Twilight! Come in, Twilight, are you okay?”
Twilight blinked and frowned at him. She rubbed her hoof over her forehead. All the staring was giving her a headache. “I’m fine, Spike,” she said, “I’m just trying to figure out why somepony would send me such a valuable gift for no logical reason. All we did was bring her pet back to her, this makes no sense!”
Spike examined the object she had indicated and shrugged. “Maybe she just likes you and… Wow! What’s that great smell?”
Twilight turned to find the young dragon rooting around in the basket. “Spiiiike,” she began.
The dragon ignored her and pulled the lower layer of burlap off, revealing the source of the awesome smell. He pulled one out and started to drool. “Alright!” he exclaimed gleefully, “sapphire-chip cookies!” He began to chew his prize with great gusto. Within seconds it was gone, and he reached into the basket for more.
Twilight frowned as she watched him stuff two cookies in his mouth at once. “That’s enough, Spike! You’ll spoil your lunch,” Twilight said as she levitated the basket out of his grasp.
“Aww, Humm hurrn, hwilight,”Spike said, spraying crumbs everywhere. Twilight said nothing, and merely levitated a napkin over to the dragon. She had a lot to consider about this mysterious individual who would give such thoughtful gifts.
Widget was pleased with herself. She hummed as she looked over the scattered pieces of her latest project. She had managed to repay the favor without being seen. Mama and Papa would be so proud of her. With Zecora’s knowledge of the Ponyville residents, she was able to come up what she felt were the perfect gifts for the two mares. The zebra had even gone so far as to help her to gather some of the materials that could only be found in town. She had been able to scrounge up most of the parts from tearing apart a few of her previous failed inventions. It had been so much fun to build things for other ponies. The devices had been made in record time, and she had even made sure to test them (she did not want a repeat of her mother’s last birthday; they never could get the stain out). She picked up a cookie from the plate next to her and smiled at it. The little dragon had been easy to find a gift for. She had been able to use Mama’s old recipe, with a small twist, and had even made enough extra to keep a few for herself. Widget crunched her cookie happily, paying little heed to the crumbs that were falling onto her work. She gazed into space, keenly feeling as if something was missing in her life. It would be nice to see them again, even if she could only watch their happy world from the shadows.
The next morning found Widget disguised once again, watching the yellow pegasus go about her business from the shadows of the forest's edge. There were in fact many more creatures living at the tiny cottage than she had initially thought. Somehow, the resident pony managed to feed them all relatively quickly. The entire time, she was followed around by a small white rabbit. It had a sour expression and did not fawn over the pegasus like the other animals did. Widget quickly pegged it as the pony's bodyguard. If this rabbit was able to protect the mare, despite his lack of size, he was obviously a force to be reckoned with.
Despite having repaid the favor of caring for her pet, Widget still owed something to this mare. Her invention had broken part of this pony's house, and now she had to watch the pegasus to figure out how to repay her. At least, that's what she tried to convince herself was the reason she was here. It worked. Almost. She still found herself imagining what Mama would do if she caught her acting like this.
Widget frowned. She needed to be focusing on solving the issue at hand, not worrying about rule breaking. Seeing the work the yellow mare went through every morning to take care of her charges had given Widget an idea. She knew where to find some ripe berries in the forest, ones that she often saw the smaller critters eating. Maybe she could pick some of those and bring them to the cottage. She ran off to do so. Of course one basket of berries won't be enough to pay her back. She would have to watch the pegasus some more to find out what else she could do. It would be the perfect excuse, at least for now.
An entire week had passed before Twilight was able to make room in her schedule to visit Fluttershy and inspect her gift. The pegasus was happy to show off her new teapot, even using it to make tea for the two of them. Twilight was pleased to see that her guess had been right, it was indeed steam powered. Just as with her gift, the object was unlike anything she had seen before, and perfectly suited for the mare it belonged to. “I still don’t know why she would send us these gifts,” Twilight said, “Also, why did she leave my gift with you instead of bringing it to the library?”
“She probably was too frightened to do it, she doesn’t like to leave the shadows much,” Fluttershy replied.
“How would you know that?” Twilight asked with a frown.
“Well… umm…” Fluttershy muttered, “She kind of comes by and watches me every morning from the edge of the forest. It was kind of scary at first, but I'm used to it now. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before.”
The unicorn stared at her friend in shock. “You mean somepony has been stalking you and you didn’t even tell me about it?!” she exclaimed.
Fluttershy flinched at Twilight’s outburst. Then she said, “Oh… I don’t think stalking is the right word. She comes and watches me feed the animals, and sometimes she leaves food for them by the back door. I think she’s just lonely.”
Twilight frowned. “If she wants friends so badly why did she react like that when I tried to be nice to her?” the unicorn asked.
“Well, she kind of reminds me of that wolf I took care of once,” Fluttershy explained, “she wants affection, but she startles easily, and snaps in self-defense when you frighten her.”
Twilight nodded slowly. “Maybe you should be the one to try and make friends with her then,” the unicorn suggested. The yellow mare hid her face, but nodded slightly in agreement. Twilight bade her friend goodbye, and then left Fluttershy’s cottage, a thoughtful expression on her face.
A little over a week after Widget had begun watching the pegasus, she noticed a change in the mare's demeanor. The pegasus was looking around a lot more often, and was clearly nervous about something. Having such little experience with ponies, Widget just assumed the behavior was normal. Even so, she redoubled her efforts to stay hidden. She was proud of herself for not being detected so far.
A small rustling sound interrupted her usual morning routine. She looked down, and came face to face with a small white rabbit. Widget panicked. "Fire and rain! It's the yellow mare's body guard!," she thought frantically. "He must think I'm here to hurt his charge!" She had to get out of there, and quickly. Widget ran away as fast as she could.
Fluttershy came up beside the rabbit, watching the frightened pony retreat. "Now Angel, that wasn't very nice," she said. The rabbit just crossed his arms and gave her 'the look' he reserved for when he felt particularly annoyed by the mare's actions. She looked at him. "You think I'm taking too long, don't you?" Fluttershy asked. Angel nodded. "I'm sorry. I know I told Twilight I would make friends with this new pony, but I don't think I can actually do it after all." The rabbit frowned at her. Fluttershy went back to her chores. Angel looked in the direction the cloaked figure had fled to, a calculating expression on his face.
Several days passed before Widget worked up the courage to head back to the cottage. The pegasus was still inside her house. She looked around furtively. There was no sign of the rabbit anywhere. Widget sighed in relief. She headed towards her usual observation spot. Maybe the rabbit took the day off and-- The world spun. Widget suddenly found herself hanging from a tree in a net that had been hidden in the leaves she had been walking on only a moment before. She looked down, and found herself face to face with a certain rabbit. "Aieeee!" she squealed in fear.
A large body hit the cottage floor. "Eep!" Fluttershy said, startled by the sudden appearance of the cloaked pony in her house. The pony was wrapped up in a net, struggling to get out. Angel had managed to wrangle a few of the other animals into helping him get the netted pony into the cottage. He now shut the door and stood in front of it. He pointed at Fluttershy, then to the other pony. She took the hint.
Mama had been so very right. Widget could see now that these ponies were crazy. She just knew they were going to do horrible things to her. Widget flinched as a pair of hooves reached out and gently removed the net that had been encasing her. She immediately turned and ran for the door. She stopped dead. It was there. That demon spawn in the guise of a rabbit was blocking her escape. With no where to run and her emotions on overload, she did the only thing she could do. Widget fainted.
Widget found herself drowning in shadows. She tried to wake up, but found she couldn't. she could hear a voice, but it was fuzzy and hard to understand. "You've really gone too far this time, Angel!" the voice was saying. If she had been awake, Widget would have been able to watch the 'demon bunny' be put in its place as Fluttershy gave him "the stare". Sadly, she missed it as she drifted back off into unconsciousness.
Widget awoke to a cool sensation on her brow. Her eyes snapped open. Fluttershy, who had been standing over her mopping her brow, quickly backed up. Widget sat up, wincing as the world spun around her. She looked at the pegasus. She was puzzled to find that the other mare been taking care of her while she was incapacitated. Widget knew what her Papa would do in this situation, but that didn't make things any easier.
Cautiously, Widget approached the yellow mare. "Umm... thanks for taking care of me," she said, "My name is Widget."
The pegasus looked at her. "I'm Fluttershy," she mumbled.
"Hello, Miss 'shy," the cloaked pony responded.
Fluttershy blinked. She smiled at Widget. "I'm sorry Angel did those horrible things to you," she said, "He's in time-out right now, I hope you can forgive him."
Widget frowned. "A demon bunny named Angel?" she thought. "Why doesn't she see the irony in that?" She smiled back at the pegasus. "M-maybe I can come visit you again?" she asked, throat tightening. Fluttershy nodded. Widget was overjoyed. She never would have thought she would end up making friends with a pony.
A few weeks after their last chat at her cottage, Fluttershy brought Twilight another note from "her new friend Widget". The note, written in the same awful handwriting as before, was rather short. It read:
Twilight,
Fluttershy tells me you wanted to know more about my inventions. I have included notes the plans for the two items here, so you can look at them. I am glad somepony else is interested in such things.
Widget
Twilight stared at the paper, and then at the two following pages. These were even rougher than the note, but showed a detailed view of how the two items were put together. She was fascinated to see that the sketch included information on how exactly the crystal in her gift glowed. Apparently, it was a strange type of rock that lit up when exposed to electricity. The schematic showed that the device produced this electricity by rubbing a bit of leather across a ring of wool within the contraption. The resulting static charge was then used to power the crystal. "This is truly ingenious," Twilight said to herself. "Did she really make this on her own? It does say ‘my inventions’ on the note. This pony has an amazing skill, so why is she hiding in the woods?"
Twilight looked at Fluttershy, who had been waiting quietly while she read the note and muttered to herself. “I take it this means you were able to talk to her more?” the unicorn asked.
Fluttershy nodded. “Oh yes. She’s ever so nice to talk to. She even brings me food and herbs from the Everfree forest, and she once even found an injured squirrel there too.”
“Do you think she would talk to me?” Twilight asked.
The pegasus thought for a while, then nodded. “So long as you let me tell her you’re coming first, so she doesn’t get scared.”
“Alright,” Twilight agreed. "I don't want to be hissed at again."
Two days later, Twilight and Spike made their way to Fluttershy’s cottage. Dawn had just arrived, so the latter of the two was still snoozing away on the mare’s back. Twilight had been surprised when Widget had insisted on Spike coming to meet them as well. She rounded the back of her friend’s house and saw Fluttershy standing in the backyard, talking softly to a figure dressed in a ragged cloak.
Twilight approached cautiously, but this time she was greeted with a small smile instead of an angry growl. Formal introductions were made. Even Spike was willing to cast off his usual morning grumpiness when he found that Widget had brought him some more cookies. The morning was spent in quiet conversation. Twilight was pleased to find that the new mare was quite well read when it came to the math and sciences. Widget thought it was nice to be able to talk to somepony who understood what she was saying as well. All too quickly the morning was over, and Widget bade them farewell before slipping back into the forest. “That was more fun than I thought it would be. We should do it again.” Twilight said. Fluttershy smiled and nodded in agreement.
For over a week, these morning sessions continued. Twilight remarked on how it was surprisingly easy to fit the meetings into her schedule. Even Spike seemed to consider the outing worth getting up for, if only because Widget usually had a treat for him when they arrived. She always took time to talk to the small dragon, and ask him about his day. This pleased Spike greatly. Fluttershy often asked about her pet's health. She would answer these questions happily. Eventually, Widget even began to bring Sydney along, despite voicing her fears that he would wander off again. The yellow mare seemed to enjoy petting him.
Widget quickly warmed up to Twilight, and was happy to "talk about egghead stuff" as Rainbow Dash would put it. Fluttershy followed their conversation well enough, though she seldom made any comments of her own; either that, or she was very good at feigning interest. With a little prompting, Twilight was able to get Widget to discuss her inventions. Widget thought little of her devices, which surprised the purple mare. She was more than happy to share what she had made with them though, even giving Twilight a raw piece of the blue crystal for her to study later. Widget even brought along her plans for inventions she "had been dreaming of but hadn’t built yet". Sunrise often found the three hunched over one of her schematics, deep in conversation while Spike lounged with the platypus in the grass nearby. The meetings grew longer, and Widget no longer twitched at every sound, nor felt the need to hide from the sunlight. For once, she was glad she had made the decision to not listen to Mama. There wasn’t any reason to hide from these ponies; she could be part of their world after all.
“You know, I really think it’s about time to introduce you to the rest of the girls,” Twilight said one morning, completely out of the blue. Widget frowned. Twilight and Fluttershy had told her about their friends in great detail over the past week, regaling her with tales of their many adventures together. A month ago, the idea would have made her immediately back away in fright. But now, looking into the smiling faces of her friends, she felt warmth in her chest. Widget nodded in agreement. “Great!” Twilight said happily, “I’ll make a checklist so we don’t miss anything, and then we can get going after breakfast!”
“Okay eat breakfast. Check.” Widget watched with mild amazement as Twilight somehow managed to walk and read her checklist at the same time, all whilst balancing Spike on her back. She stopped in the middle of the road next to a large sign. Widget looked around. There was a large red barn, a farmhouse, and many, many apple trees. “Next up is Sweet Apple Acres. I figure we can start there before heading into town.” Widget nodded, but started to shiver a little. Fluttershy patted her comfortingly. The cloaked figure smiled at the yellow pegasus before following Twilight through the gate.
As they approached the barn, the group found two earth ponies, one orange and the other red, standing outside looking over a strange machine. The orange mare pushed her hat back so she could scratch her head. She sighed. “Well, Big Mac, ah think the old cider maker has done gone and given up the ghost,” she said.
“Eeyup,” the red stallion responded.
“Applejack!” a familiar voice called behind her. The mare turned to greet her. She was surprised to see Twilight and Fluttershy so early in the day, much less with Spike tagging along as well as a new pony. Applejack was astounded to see that Fluttershy did not seem to be afraid of the strangely dressed pony. She went to greet the new pony properly.
Widget soon found her arm being nearly torn out of its socket from the enthusiastic greeting she was receiving from the mare introduced as Applejack. Being unfamiliar with a hoofshake, she had followed Twilight’s lead and extended her front leg to the earth pony. She was regretting doing so now. At least the stallion didn’t seem inclined to offer her the same rough treatment, merely nodding at her when he was introduced. Widget’s head was rattling so much, it took her a while to tune back into the conversation Twilight seemed to be having with the two farmers.
“So it just stopped working?” Twilight was asking with a frown.
Big Macintosh nodded.
“What are we going tah do?” his sister said, “We got tah get this ol’ hunk of parts up and runnin’ fer this year’s cider season. Ah don’t think we can afford tah buy a new one.”
“Nnnope,” Big Mac agreed.
Widget steeled herself; she knew what she should do. “I can fix it,” she said in a small voice.
Applejack turned to the new mare and looked her over. “You sure sugarcube?” She asked hesitantly.
“She can do it, she’s great with machines,” Twilight told the farmer, making Widget blush.
Applejack mulled it over for a moment before nodding her head. “Well ah guess you can’t break it any worse. Ah’ve got some buckin’ tah do, so you go on ahead an try.” With that Applejack and her brother wandered off to attend to their chores.
Twilight sighed at her friend's poor choice of words. It didn't bother Widget. She had already gone to work, pulling the side panel off the machine and inspecting the interior. She soon began tinkering away at it with the tools she had pulled from the saddlebags hidden under her cloak. The inventor only stopped to bid farewell to Fluttershy, who had sick animals to attend to, before returning to the task at hand. Twilight sat down under a nearby tree to watch. Spike lay down next to her and dozed off.
Widget was slightly unnerved by having somepony watching her, even a friend like Twilight. She brushed it aside. It was hard to work while wearing two pairs of boots as well. She longed to remove them so she could use her claws properly, but she knew better than to try. Widget didn’t need to attract any extra attention to herself. The day was beginning to heat up; she was seldom out and about so late. It was odd to be in the brightness of the late morning, but at the same time it felt good. The sun warmed her back as she worked. The task in front of her was interesting as well. It was exciting to be able to look inside a machine and figure out how all the pieces fit together. Widget did not notice as time passed, and the sun drew ever higher in the sky.
Twilight was startled awake by the sound of machinery moving. She glanced up at the sky, finding it was nearly midday. “Oh no!” she cried out, waking the little dragon beside her.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Twilight?” Spike asked, rubbing his eyes.
“This is terrible! I fell asleep, and now we’re completely off schedule!” Twilight ranted.
Spike rolled his eyes and looked over towards the source of all the noise. “Looks like she fixed it,” he said. The cacophony was caused by Widget running on the treadmill portion of the cider making machine. Twilight blinked. Not only had the mare gotten the machine up and running again, she had also managed to polish the entire thing until it shined.
Applejack and Big Macintosh were drawn back in from the field by the racket. Widget stopped running and came over to meet them. “Well ah’ll be!” Applejack exclaimed, “It looks almost brand new!” The red stallion nodded in agreement. “You really are somethin’ maybe next time ah’ll get ya tah fix up the ol’ plow too. Wouldn’t that be nice, Big Mac?” she asked her brother.
“Eeyup,” he replied happily.
Widget blushed and smiled at them. “I wasn’t able to do as much as I would have liked,” she said, “I only had a few of the basic tools with me. If I had my whole set, I could have even upgraded it for you!” Widget blinked and shuffled. “Of course then it might explode… ” she muttered.
Applejack twitched. “E-explode?” she asked, eyeing the machine uneasily.
Big Macintosh nudged her with one of his large hooves. “Uhh, AJ? What about lunch?” he said.
“Oh right! Where are mah manners! Y’all should join us fer lunch,” Applejack declared.
Twilight sighed. “Well I need time to make a new checklist anyway… ” she said. The farmer seemed to take this as an agreement, for she quickly hustled them all into the farmhouse.
Lunchtime found them all sitting around the table in the Apple family’s house. Widget had been introduced to Granny Smith, and the food was prepared quickly. Spike was stuffing his face, while Big Mac and Granny Smith were eating at a more sedated pace. Twilight was altering between eating and scribbling away at a sheet of paper as she tried to reschedule everything. Applejack was trying to explain the concept of apple pie to Widget. “Ah can’t believe yah never had any!” she declared, “Well if ya’re gonna try it fer the first time, ain’t nothin’ better than one of our pies!” Widget soon found she was right. The ‘apple pie’ was delicious, the flaky crust even made the tin tasty.
After lunch, Twilight brought out her new checklist. “Okay! Now we go into Ponyville,” she said. Widget looked rather nervous at this declaration. Twilight smiled at her new friend. “Don’t worry,” the unicorn assured her, “Spike and I will be with you the whole way.” This seemed to cheer Widget up immensely.
They bid farewell to the Apple family and headed out. “Well she seems nice,” Applejack said to Big Macintosh, “A little odd, but nice all the same.”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied.
The orange mare looked around and frowned. “Are we missin’ a pie tin?”
Widget fidgeted constantly as the trio made their way into town. There were ponies absolutely everywhere. Widget felt their eyes boring holes into her cape. Even so, she was also filled with a great deal of glee. She stared at everything with the open fascination of a foal. There was just so much to see here. Ponies walked the many streets and flew through the air. They shopped, they chatted, they ate lunch at little cafes on the street. She saw a yellow earth pony with an orange mane tending to a vegetable garden. A grey pegasus with a pale yellow mane appeared to be delivering mail. A mint green unicorn sat on a bench with a cream coated earth pony with a blue and pink mane, watching the world go by. There were many more ponies as well. A parade of colors danced before Widget's eyes. "Is this what it was like everyday here?" she wondered. "There's so much going on!"
They had stopped in the middle of town before a most peculiar building. It looked just like the gingerbread house Papa had brought her that one year for Hearth's Warming Eve. Widget sniffed it. She was disappointed to find that it was not actually made of food. However, the smells coming from inside were just as delightful as the house looked. Widget looked at the sign hanging from the building, which looked like a large cupcake. She pondered over what purpose it could serve.
Widget's ruminations were interrupted by a pink streak that rushed from the doorway of the shop, before solidifying into the excited pony standing before her. Startled, she jumped back slightly. The tinkerer examined the pony before her with apprehension. It was a pink earth pony with a poofy pink mane, and a picture of balloons on her rump. Widget blinked and realized that said pony had been yammering on at them the entire time.
"Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!" Pinkie Pie greeted her friends, "What brings you to Sugarcube Corner today? You want some muffins, or maybe some cupcakes, or oh! Maybe a whole cake! Oh oh wait who's this!" Pinkie Pie looked over at Widget.
"This is Widget," Twilight said, "She's new and I'm showing her around Pony--"
"Oh a new pony! I should have known because you see I know everypony here and by that I mean every pony! So since I don't know you that means you must be new. *gasp* If you're new here that means I get to break out the welcome wagon!" Pinkie Pie bounced off.
Widget blinked in confusion and glanced at Twilight for help. The purple pony merely pulled out her list. "Meet Pinkie Pie. Check," she said, "Now we wait for... whatever it is she's going to do to welcome you." Widget decided she was obviously not going to be of any use.
Mere moments later, Pinkie had dragged out a large cart with a button on the side. Despite her apprehension, Widget was eager to see what this 'welcome wagon' would do. Grinning hugely, Pinkie pushed the button. The top of the wagon sprung open, revealing horns, waving flags, tooting whistles, and what appeared to be a tiny oven. This, combined with the pink pony's vibrant song and dance number, left Widget frozen in place, despite said pony marching around her with several musical instruments. The number ended as quickly as it began, as Pinkie struck a pose and the small oven behind her dinged. The door flew open, spraying the group with yellow goo. This was almost immediately followed by a spray of confetti out of the top of the machine. For a moment, everything was still.
"Pinkie! What did you do?!" Twilight yelled. Her friend had mentioned this "welcome wagon" of hers before, but the librarian clearly hadn't anticipated the results of an encounter with it. Being covered in goo and speckled with streamers was definitely not part of her checklist.
"I don't know, Twilight," Pinkie responded, "I made sure to put the batter and the confetti in the right spots this time." She smeared her hoof in the mess and licked it. "Oh! this isn't cake mix, its pudding! No wonder it didn't cook!"
Twilight seemed unimpressed at this revelation. She glanced around for her two companions. Spike was doing his best to lick all the pudding off himself. Twilight made a note on her checklist to make sure to give him a bath later. Widget was surprisingly unaffected by the gloop. She was busy inspecting Pinkie's machine, and currently had her head shoved inside the oven.
"Oh! I almost forgot I have a welcome party to plan! How could I have almost forgotten something as important as that? If I had forgotten everyone would be sad and then that would make me sad and... Oh I just remembered I'm out of streamers! I need to go to the store and get some. See you later guys!" With that, Pinkie Pie and her cart vanished.
Widget seemed to be put out by the fact that her investigation had been interrupted. She looked to the unicorn for guidance. Twilight sighed. "It's a good thing that visiting the library was next on my list. Come on, lets go get cleaned up."
After a quick shower and an explanation to Widget about "Pinkie Pie just being Pinkie Pie", Twilight was ready to go. Widget has refused to remove her cloak; she was content to merely wipe off the offending substance with the towel Twilight has given her. They made their way over to Rarity's boutique. Twilight stopped outside the door. From the sound of it, Rarity was off on one of her tirades again. "Of all the things that could happen! This is The. Worst. Possible. Thing!" the voice from inside cried. Twilight sighed and opened the door. Spike rushed in eagerly, while Widget lagged slightly behind, looking at everything cautiously.
Widget was surprised to see so many clothes in one place. They came in so many styles and colors, and the sheer amount was just staggering. Only owning two sets of clothes herself, she couldn't fathom what one could possibly do with it all. "Why would a pony need so many clothes?" she thought. "Can't you only wear one set at a time?" She wandered over to join Twilight and Spike, who seemed to be doing their best to comfort a white mare with a purple mane, who had flung herself on a handily located couch next to what appeared to be a pony made out of cloth.
"It's awful, Twilight, simply awful!" the fashionista was saying, "I was 'in the zone' as it were, working on my latest creation when catastrophe struck! I had to have some gems imported for this outfit. A rare set of dragon's eye agate, and now I'm one short! However will I finish in time for the deadline?"
Widget cocked her head and wrinkled her muzzle at such a display. She must have missed something important, because she couldn't understand what the big crisis was. She looked over at the suit draped over the mannequin, which appeared to be the source of the problem. The suit was odd. It was covered in gems and cut strangely. Widget couldn't see what the point of it was. There was a blank spot in the middle of the chest of the outfit, presumably where the missing gem was to go. Widget frowned at it. The surrounding gems looked familiar to her. She grinned as she realized where she had seen them before. Her mother had given her a sack of these for her birthday a few years back. If she remembered correctly, she still had one in her saddlebags somewhere.
Rarity was interrupted from her tirade by a slightly grubby looking object being pushed in front of her face. Her initial reaction was to recoil away from it, but she stopped when she realized what it was. Her mouth fell open. "I-Is that what I think it is?" she breathed. Snatching it out of the holder's grasp with her magic, she brought it into the light to inspect it. "It is!" she exclaimed, "It's a little dirty, but this is the largest piece of dragon's eye agate I have ever seen! Where ever did you get this? Why with this the outfit will be twice-no three times better! Thank you ever so much." She glanced at the bearer of the gift and froze again, this time for an entirely different reason.
Widget had been pleased that her gift had been so well received, but now she began to wilt under the white unicorn's sharp gaze. "What on Equestria are you wearing?" Rarity demanded, "Oh it's simply horrid! So dull and shapeless, and ever so ragged! Where did you get such a crime against fabulousity?" Widget merely shrugged. "Well it simply won't do! I'll have to make you another one right away. Now take that horrid thing off at once so that I can put it in the trash where it belongs!"
There was only one response to this. "HISSSS! " Widget said, then bolted out of the building.
Rarity stared at the door for a while, shaken by the stranger's outburst. "Who was that?" she asked.
"That was Widget. She's... kind of attached to her cape," Twilight explained, "I've never seen her take it off. She's a bit odd. She seems to be a great inventor, though she lives as a recluse in the Everfree forest. I don't think she interacts with anypony normally."
Rarity cleared her throat. "Well," she said, "That explains a few things. Would you thank her again for me? I assume I will see her again tonight if Pinkie knows there is a new pony in town." Twilight agreed, then left the boutique, dragging a reluctant Spike along behind her.
Twilight found Widget hiding in the bushes a little ways from Rarity's house. The embarrassed pony was reluctant to leave her shelter. She seemed to understand her behavior was wrong, and yet was unable to help herself. Twilight found herself wondering what exactly her new friend was hiding underneath that cape. Shaking her head, she pushed that thought aside and concentrated on extracting the reluctant pony from the bush.
"Well," Twilight said after she had finally gotten Widget back out in the open, "We have a few hours before Pinkie's party. I have some work to do for Princess Celestia, will you be okay for a little while?" Widget nodded. All the excitement had left her in desperate need of a nap. Right now she would be happy to find a nice tree to curl up in, Twilight was wiling to give directions to the park, before heading back to the library.
Widget made her way through the park, doing her best to avoid the other ponies who were already there. She could only stand to meet so many new faces in a day. Finally, she found an area away from the others. There was a tall tree there, with several flat branches that looked perfect for sleeping in. Widget glanced around. There was no one nearby. Pulling her cape to one side, she leaped into the air, flapping her wings clumsily. She misjudged the angle of her ascent, and crashed into the branch she was aiming to land on with a loud "OOF! " She shook her head and readjusted her cape. She was surprised to find a pillow and blanket already there. "These ponies really do think of everything!" she thought happily. Widget curled up on top of the pillow with a happy sigh, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Rainbow Dash was rather grouchy. Her afternoon nap had been interrupted by an annoyed Applejack yelling at her to "get outa mah apple tree!" The rainbow maned pegasus headed for another favorite spot of hers in the park. There was a large tree there away from everypony, which was great to sleep in. Her eyes were already closing as she flew up to the branch where she had left her pillow and blanket form the last time she had crashed here. She lay down and closed her eyes. "Why does my pillow smell like pudding?" she muttered drowsily. The pegasus drifted off to sleep.
"Widget!" a voice called, waking the cloaked pony from her rest. She immediately panicked over the large weight that was resting on her back. She flailed about in fear.
This quickly woke the cyan mare, who did some flailing of her own over the fact that her pillow was moving. The end result was the both of them crashing to the ground in a tangled heap. Twilight looked down at the two of them, mouth hanging open. "What the hay, Twilight!" Dash cried out angrily, "What's the big idea interrupting my nap... hey who the heck are you?" Rainbow jabbed an accusing hoof at her former "pillow". The stranger ran off.
"Aww, Rainbow, you scared her!" Twilight said.
Rainbow wasn't paying any attention. "Her tail was... " the pegasus muttered to herself.
Twilight frowned at her. "Well it's good you're here anyway," the unicorn said, "Pinkie Pie has a party ready for us at Sugarcube Corner. I managed to convince her to limit it to the eight of us so Widget doesn't freak out. The others are there already, we need to find Widget and get going." Twilight helped Rainbow to her feet, before heading off to look for the missing pony.
Widget seemed to loosen up greatly when she realized she wouldn't have to meet with a whole herd of ponies. She spent most of the time talking to Fluttershy, though she took the time to apologize to Rarity properly. Pinkie even managed to drag her out of the corner and teach her the pony pokey. Widget had trouble with some of the steps; her cape kept getting in the way. Throughout the whole thing, Rainbow Dash watched from the corner with a frown on her face. "What's the matter sugarcube?" Applejack asked her. The pegasus's reaction was immediate.
"Whats wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?!" Dash yelled, "What's wrong is everypony is ignoring the fact that we know practically nothing about this pony!" Widget cowered away in fear.
"Rainbow Dash! That's not nice!" Twilight stated.
"Maybe you let that cloak of her's fool you, Twilight, but I've seen what's underneath it! Her tail was all weird and she and big old bat wings! Who's to say she isn't a changeling or something?!" An awkward silence followed.
"Don't be silly, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie piped up, "If she was a changling she wouldn't need a cape! She could just turn into anypony she wanted to!" Rainbow wasn't sure how to respond to that.
Widget shivered. Mama had been right after all. Talking to ponies brought nothing but trouble.
"Umm...I don't think she's a bad pony," Fluttershy said suddenly. Widget glanced at her in surprise.
Twilight nodded. "I've had many conversations with her about physics and mathematics that were quite enlightening."
"She makes awesome cookies," Spike added.
"She helped mah family out of a heap ah trouble, even if she did steal mah pie tin" Applejack stated. Widget blinked. She wasn't supposed to eat that?
"She helped me out with my design immensely, even if she does wear that awful cape," Rarity said with a sniff. Widget blushed slightly.
Dash's stare had softened visibly. "I guess you do know about the importance of a good nap," she admitted.
Their words...Widget never felt like this before. It had always been just her and her parents, and then just her alone. 'Friends' had never been a concept she put much thought into. Her mother kept her away from the world, protecting her from the rage that would come their way if the others of her kin knew of Widget's existence. Her father had done his best to help educate her. He brought her books, and souvenirs from his travels. Still, her life had been a lonely one. She had filled countless hours with her pointless tinkering. Even as she moved on to find a cave of her own, little had changed. Her world was still empty. She realized now that was what kept calling her back to these ponies, ever since the day one of her silly inventions landed her squarely in their view. Maybe... maybe she wouldn't have to hide anymore.
The rest of the room was startled by the sound of ripping fabric. They turned to see...Widget, standing there without anything to hide behind. Her coat was a deep emerald color which gradually lightened to the light green of the underbelly. The coat itself was odd, it shone like a gemstone as she moved. Her mane seemed to be made of thin strands of gold wire, gleaming in the light. Her eyes, large and amber, were cast down towards the floor. She had her ears pulled back flat against her head. On her back, a pair of large, bat-like wings fluttered as she flicked them restlessly. Long 'fingers' tipped with black claws held thin gold membranes stretched between them, shot through with veins as fine as gold filigree. Her legs looked like those of a pony's, but they ended in a blunt set of claws. Her tail bore a striking resemblance to Spike's, though it was a different color and lacked the spines his had. Standing before them was what Twilight could only figure was a creature that, according to the books she had read, should not exist. She was looking at the child of a pony and a dragon.
Widget stared at the floor. She didn't dare look up. She had taken a big risk, letting them all in on her big secret. She twitched nervously as seven sets of eyes inspected her closely. Part of her wished to simply run off into the night and never look back. She frowned. She was tired of running, tired of hiding. But what would she do if they.... Widget's train of thought was interrupted by a gentle hoof stroking her mane. "It's soft!" Pinkie declared, mildly surprised. Frowning at her poor manners, Applejack grabbed her tail and pulled her back. Fluttershy seemed to be the least surprised out of all of them. Spike wandered over and pulled on her tail, as if to see if it was real or not.
Twilight was the next to approach. "So, are you really a... " she began.
Widget backed up a bit. "My Mama was a dragon, and Papa was a pegasus."
"But how is that even possible?" Rainbow Dash demanded.
"They never told me much about how they met." Her eyes met Dash's, whose face betrayed disbelief. She quickly added, "Mama says she's always been a bit soft for a dragon. That's why she lived away from the rest of them, and why she met Papa."
Applejack ventured a step closer to her. "Yer... father?"
Widget nodded. "My Papa is a valiant explorer. He spends his days mapping the furthest corners of Equestria, though he always makes sure to be home for any holiday." Widget chuckled as she recalled a memory of him trying to decorate their cave for Hearth's Warming Eve. He'd ended up tangled in the string of lights he had been trying to hang.
"Mama taught me what she knew about ponies, and Papa helped the best he could." She then became crestfallen. "Mama told me never to talk to ponies. She'd be mad if she could see me right now... " Widget began to cry.
Twilight placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder and smiled at her. "We're glad to have you here," she said simply. Widget smiled. She was finally home.
"Of course we're glad you're here!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed,"With you around, there's bound to be a ton of cool explosions!"
A Cutie Mark
Rain was steadily falling on Sweet Apple Acres. It was a blessing for the trees, who desperately needed the water to finish growing their fruit. For the fauna however, the rain was an inconvenience, particularly to a certain visitor. A cloaked figure made her way slowly up the road to the farmhouse, head down to keep the rain out of her eyes. She raised a booted foreleg and knocked on the door.
Widget shuffled impatiently as she waited for somepony to answer the door. The wet weather was ruining her mood. It always did as it would soak her clothing, making it cumbersome to move around in and making her boots even more painful to wear than usual. The wet weather wasn't very good for her wing membranes either. They would have to be dried out, lest she risk rashes or tearing. The wyrmkin considered just turning around and going home. She smiled at her silliness. If Mama had seen her breaking a promise, she would have earned herself a swift belt from the dragoness' tail. A little discomfort was no excuse for bad behavior.
The door to the farmhouse finally opened, revealing an orange mare who regarded Widget with a sheepish expression on her face.
"Howdy there sugar cube," Applejack said, "Ah know ya promised tah come an look at the ol plow today, but Rainbow finally got around tah providin' us with that storm she promised." She looked over the dripping form standing in front of her for a moment, then sighed. "Come on in, let's at least get ya dry. Can't have one of mah friends catchin' a cold." She opened the door wider to allow Widget to enter.
"You can leave your things over there," Apple jack said, pointing to a hook on the wall as she closed the front door with a hind-hoof. Widget complied quickly, stripping out of her cloak and boots. It was nice to get out of them. She unfurled her wings slightly so they would dry more quickly, then followed Applejack further into the house. "Big Macintosh aint here today, he had some business tah attend to out of town" Applejack said, "Mah sister should be home soon though. Ah reckon its high time you met her. She can be a hoof-full sometimes, but she's sweet as can be."
About this time, a trio of fillies was making their way to Sweet Apple Acres. The group consisted of a yellow earth pony, a white unicorn, and an orange pegasus. They argued while they walked.
"Come on!" the orange filly was saying, "That idea is stupid! Who wants a cutie mark in stamp collecting anyways? That sounds really boring."
The unicorn frowned at her. "I suppose you have a better idea then Scoots?" she asked sourly.
"I sure do!" Scootaloo responded, "We can be monster hunters!"
"Umm maybe that's not ah good idea," the earth pony said, "We already tried that with the cockatrice."
"No we didn't!" the pegasus said, "We were trying to be chicken rescuers at the time, not monster hunters."
"Ah guess you're right," Apple Bloom said, "But where are we going tah find monsters outside ah Everfree?"
"Ugh! you're missing the whole point Apple Bloom! Part of monster hunting is finding the monsters!" Scootaloo said, "So are you two in or not?"
The other two fillies looked at each other for a moment, then smiled. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MONSTER HUNTERS! YEAH!" the three of them yelled.
"Let's stop at mah house and get some monster hunting supplies," Apple Bloom said.
"You have monster hunting stuff?" Sweetie Belle asked.
The little farmer shook her head. "Course not. But that don't mean we can't find somethin' that works."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders dashed through the rain surrounding Sweet Apple Acres and run into the farmhouse. "Hey sis Ah'm home!" Apple Bloom called.
"Ah'm in here Apple Bloom," came the response.
Apple Bloom headed towards her sisters voice, only to stop suddenly. The two other fillies piled up behind her.
"Ouch!" Scootaloo said, "What's the big idea Apple--" She was interrupted by a hoof being shoved into her mouth.
"Shh!" Apple Bloom said, "Just look!"
There was a strange shadow reflected on the wall in front of them, reflected in the firelight from the next room. It looked kind of like a pony, but then it had big bat wings and a dragon's tail.
"A monster?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Apple Bloom nodded. "And it's got mah sister! We gotta do somethin'!"
The trio looked at each other and nodded. "Cutie Mark Crusaders monster hunters go!" they whispered. They charged the shadowy figure that dared to try and hold Apple Bloom's sister captive.
Widget's conversation with Applejack was interrupted by the sudden impact of three damp bodies. Caught completely unaware, she was quickly toppled, and found herself being pummeled with tiny hooves. "Take that you beast!" a voice was saying. They sure knew how to play rough around here. She was happy that the fillies were willing to play with her.
"Girls! What in tarnation are yah doing?" Applejack yelled. The three fillies stopped there assault to look at the angry mare.
"Ah'm protectin' yah from the monster sis," Apple Bloom said. She was seated on the monster's chest, holding it down so Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo could beat it into submission. The beast was rolling around trying to shake her off.
"That's no monster! Now yah'll better get off her right now!" the orange pony commanded.
"But... " Apple Bloom began, then stopped as her sister scowled at her. Reluctantly, the three fillies stopped their attack and went off to sulk on the other side of the room. They eyed the fallen figure warily.
Sensing the "attack" was over, Widget stood and shook herself off. "Are yah okay? Ah'm sorry mah sister and her friends hurt yah," Applejack said.
Widget smiled at her. "It's alright," she said, "My hide is pretty tough. They didn't hurt me at all." She wondered what had made Applejack so angry at the little fillies. She had been having fun playing with them. Who knew some ponies know how to play the way she used to with Mama? Applejack still forced the fillies to apologize, then left to find some towels to dry them off with.
After the farmer left, Widget went over to the three fillies and smiled at them. They eyed her suspiciously. "Hello, my name's Widget," she said, "I had fun playing with you."
Apple Bloom blinked. "Yah mean you're the one who fixed the cider maker?" she asked. Widget nodded. "Mah sister told me about yah. Ah'm sorry ah tried tah hurt yah," the filly said looking down at the floor in shame. Widget gently patted her head. Startled, Apple Bloom looked up at her. She met the mare's smile with a small one of her own.
"What the heck are you anyway?" Scootaloo interrupted.
"Scootaloo! That's rude!" Sweetie Belle said.
"It's alright," Wiget said with a slightly strained smile, "I'm not exactly a common sight. I'm a wrymkin, at least that's what Twilight calls it. My Mama was a dragon and my Papa was a pegasus." The fillies looked at her in awe.
"Can you breathe fire?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yes, but that's not exactly an indoor activity. The rain is hard on my flame too," Widget said, demonstrating by coughing up a small plume of smoke. Scootaloo looked disappointed. Widget did her best to find a new topic. "Why were you jumping on me anyways?" she asked.
The three fillies lit up. "That's because we're THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" they yelled in unison.
Widget's ears were ringing. "What's a cootie mark?" she asked, rubbing her ears.
The fillies looked at her with dumbstruck expressions. "You don't know what a cutie mark is?" Scootaloo asked in shock.
"I... don't get out much," the wyrmkin responded nervously.
"Ah cutie mark is that thing on ah pony's flank that shows what their special talent is," Apple Bloom said, "We want ours, so we're trying as many things as we can tah find ours. Then we won't be blank flanks anymore."
Widget frowned. She had seen these "cutie marks" on the ponies before. She had assumed they were just some sort of equine fashion statement. "Why is it so important?" she asked them. They gave her the same look again.
The orange filly was annoyed by this strange mare's stupid questions. "What planet are you from?" Scootaloo asked, "You're not an adult until you get a cutie mark!"
Widget's expression darkened. She turned and looked out the window. "The rain's stopped," she said absently, "I better go fix the plow now." Widget slipped into her damp clothing and exited the farmhouse, leaving three confused ponies behind.
"Is it something we said?" Sweetie Belle asked. The other two just shrugged.
Widget sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Try as she might, she couldn't forget her discussion with those fillies earlier. Not even the fun of working on the plow had been enough to distract her. She turned slightly so her own flank was reflected in the mirror. It was still as blank as it had always been. Was this just another sign that she was different from them? Could she ever truly belong?
Widget sighed and walked away from the mirror. She flopped down into her nest and curled into a tight ball. Maybe things would seem brighter in the morning. She turned out the light by her bed. "Good night, Sydney," she whispered, getting a small "churr" from him in response. The wrymkin drifted off into a troubled sleep.
Blood. There was blood everywhere. She hadn't thought it would hurt this much. She looked down at the file in her claws. It was so well coated that she couldn't even tell what the original color was. "Widget?" Mama called. She heard a scream of fright. Large claws picked her up, the file fell from her grasp. She was looking into her mother's large almond shaped eyes, the pupils mere slits with fear and pain. Her mother pried her still aching mouth open, and gasped when she saw what lay within. "What have you done to your fangs?!" her mother asked shrilly.
Widget looked at her. Mama was crying. She didn't want to see Mama cry. "I got rid of them!" Widget yelled, "Now... now I look more normal. Now at least my face looks like everypony else." She broke down into sobs.
Her mother rocked her in her arms, tears running down her face. "Oh nestling, my little nestling," she said softly, "I'm so sorry. I love you just the way you are. Please don't hurt yourself anymore. I can't stand seeing you in pain, I would take it all away if I could." Widget sniffled into her scales. "Please, promise me you won't do anything like this again. You don't need to change who you are for others," her Mama said.
Widget looked into her mother's eyes again. She could see pain there, sadness, and even a trace of fear. Fear for her. But above all else, she could see love in them, deep and strong, unwavering. "I promise, Mama," she whispered.
The dragoness rocked her back and forth singing to her. She held her until the blood stopped flowing, until Widget finally fell asleep.
Baby mine, don't you cry,
Baby mine, dry your eyes,
Rest your head close to my heart...
Widget looked at the ceiling. She was covered in sweat. The memory... she had buried it away long ago. Why was it coming to the surface now? She groaned and got out of bed. She had to do something about this "cutie mark" thing before she drove herself mad with it. She would keep her promise to Mama.
Mid morning found the Cutie Mark Crusaders in their club house. There was no school, so they had a full day of activities planned. The three were positioned in front of a map that they had hanging on the wall, discussing their strategy.
"Alright then" Apple Bloom was saying, "So ah guess we can go bungee jumpin' first and then--"
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack called from outside.
The filly stuck her head out the door and yelled back. "Whatcha want sis?"
"Ah've got somepony here who wants tah see ya," her sister responded. Widget came up beside her and smiled at them. The three fillies exited the tree house and came down to meet the two mares on the ground below. "Ah'll just leave yah to it then," Applejack said. She headed off to return to her chores. The fillies looked at the mare they had mobbed the other day.
"Can ah help yah?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I-I was wondering if I could join you," she said. They looked at her blankly.
"Why would you want to join us?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Widget just sighed and lifted her cape up over her hindquarters. The fillies gasped.
"Blank?" they said in unison.
"Oh no! Does this mean ah could be stuck without a cutie mark forever?" Apple Bloom cried.
"Ugh that would so not be cool," Scootaloo said.
Sweetie Belle had a forlorn expression on her face.
"I... I'm not sure, but I think I'm a rare case," Widget said. The three fillies looked at her. "I've lived in a cave my whole life, so I guess I never got the chance to find out what my special talent is... if I can even get a cutie mark."
"Ah guess that makes sense," Apple Bloom said. She turned to her friends. "What do yah say girls? Should we let her join us?"
"I don't mind," Sweetie Belle said.
"As long as you can keep up," Scootaloo added.
"Ah guess that settles it," Apple Bloom concluded.
Widget smiled happily.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" the three fillies yelled.
"YEAH!" Widget added.
Applejack smiled. She had been hiding nearby, watching the entire exchange. "Ah think they'll get along just fine," she said to herself. She left the four of them to hatch their plans in peace. She had apple bucking to get back to.
A little while later, the four of them were standing on a cliff not to far from Ponyville. They had their harnesses on, and had found a large rock to tie off to. They checked each other's harnesses, then turned to Apple Bloom.
"Alright then! Let's go bungee jumpin'!" Applebloom declared.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BUNGEE JUMPERS!" the four yelled. The sheer volume caused a small storm of pebbles to roll down the cliff.
"Alright, we'll go on three," the earth pony said. "Ready? One... Two--"
"Wait!" Widget yelled. The fillies looked at her.
"Don't tell me you're chickening out," Scootaloo scoffed.
"No... It's just that, well," the wrymkin stammered, "According to my calculations, the rock can only support the weight of two fillies at a time. Any more, and its liable to slip enough to send you crashing into those trees down there."
The three fillies looked down. "I don't want to end up covered in tree sap again," Sweetie Belle said.
"Thanks fer the warning," Apple Bloom said, "Alright then, who's going first?"
Widget smiled. They had actually listened to her.
"Well, another day wasted I guess," Scootaloo said. The sun was setting and the four of them were headed back into Ponyville. The group was understandably dirty and a little scrapped up. Still, they were surprisingly in much better shape than they would have been after a normal day of crusading before Widget had joined them. The new member was rather good at making sure their attempts didn't end too horribly. The final result was much the same though; they all still had blank flanks.
Widget frowned at the pegasus. "What do you mean wasted?" she asked, "I had a lot of fun today. We went bungee jumping, white water rafting, and even played extreme jump-rope. They may not have been my special talent, but I had fun doing them anyways."
The fillies nodded. "I guess it was a pretty great day," the pegasus said.
"I just wish we didn't have to go home so soon," Sweetie Belle said, "I'm supposed to be staying with my sister, but she's got another one of those big orders to fill."
"Ah'd invite yah over, but mah sister has tah go meet Big Macintosh at the train station tomorrow morning."
"You could all come over to my place," Widget said.
The reaction she got was immediate. "ALRIGHT! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SLEEP OVER!" the fillies yelled.
"Ah'll go ask mah sister and get mah sleeping bag," Apple Bloom said.
"I'm sure Rarity won't mind, but I should go tell her anyways," Sweetie Belle said.
"I'll be back in a flash!" Scootaloo said, patting her scooter.
"Alright then, meet me at Fluttershy's cottage when you're ready," Widget said. The fillies nodded and hurried off in different directions. Widget smiled, pleased with herself. She'd never had a sleep over before. This should be fun!
Dusk found three very excited fillies and a wagon filled with their camping gear waiting outside of the Everfree forest. They had all managed to get permission to embark on their newest adventure. Rarity had given her permission to Sweetie Belle in an absent manner as she stood amidst a swirl of floating fabric and thread. Scootaloo’s parents had always had a ‘hooves-off’ approach to raising their daughter, so they were happy to let her spend the night with her friends. Applejack had taken much more convincing. After the last sleep over had nearly ended with them being turned to stone, and that was when they were supposed to be outside the forest! She was reluctant to allow her little sister to go off and get herself into any more trouble. It took a big pair of puppy-dog eyes and a lot of begging to get her to finally agree. Even then she made her little sister promise to listen carefully to her elder, and stay out of trouble. They bounced up and down and chattered happily until the cloaked mare came out of the woods to meet them.
Widget had spent the hour tiding up her home. This mostly consisted of clearing the bits of metal and what not from the floor and shoving them against the wall where nopony would step on them. She was just as excited as they were to get started. This was going to be fun! With her around to watch out for them, they won’t get into any trouble. The wyrmkin wrapped her tail around the wagon’s handle, and led the three fillies into the forest, dragging their supplies along behind them.
Upon entering the Everfree forest, the three fillies seemed much more subdued. They huddled close to Widget and looked about fearfully. Widget couldn’t really understand their reactions. In her opinion, the forest was a rather nice place to live. The trees protected her from staring eyes, and the darkness made her think of the caverns back home with Mama. The wildlife was interesting too. The only real danger out there were those big bear things, but you could smell them coming from a long way off and get out of the way. There was the whole poison joke issue, but that was more fun than anything else. She had received a big jug of the antidote from Zecora after her first encounter with the odd plant. Every once in a while, she would find a patch to play in when she got bored. It was always a surprise what could happen when you rolled in the funny blue flowers.
“Umm, Miss Widget?” a voice asked, startling her from her thoughts.
She looked down at the little earth pony. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
The filly shifted uncomfortably. “Are yah sure we won’t run in tah any monsters?” she asked.
Widget nodded. “The timber wolves have left me alone since I set their leader’s tail on fire last time. I don’t smell any bears either.” The fillies all relaxed visibly. Monsters. She figured it was nice to know these fillies didn't count her among their numbers. A loud crash came from up ahead. The fillies squeaked in terror. Widget sniffed the air, and then smiled. “Don’t worry girls, it’s just--” she began. Her words were cut off as a large form leaped from the bush. The fillies screamed.
A large beast stood before them. It had the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. “Manticore!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. The fillies huddled together in a ball behind the wagon. Widget let go of the wagon and stepped forward, shrugging off her cape and boots. The monster charged. It swiped at her with one of its large paws. Widget dodged its attack, retaliating with a jet of flame. It missed, passing harmlessly over the monster’s head. It swung its tail at her. Widget stood her ground until the last second, and then jumped out of the way. She grabbed onto the passing tail with her teeth. The manticore roared, flinging its tail around. Suddenly, Widget lost her grip. She flew through the air and crashed into a nearby tree. The girls gasped. The monster looked puzzled. It went over and looked at her. The wyrmkin didn’t move. It bent down to sniff at her curiously. In a flash, Widget was up and running underneath the monster’s belly. She flared her wings, rubbing them along the beast’s furry tummy. The manticore snorted. Then he laughed. The fillies looked on, dumbstruck, as it rolled about on the ground while Widget tickled it mercilessly. Finally the two combatants stopped, out of breath.
Widget smiled. “I got you good that time Kit,” she said. The manticore purred and licked her face. “Eww! Kitten, that’s gross,” she grumbled. She paused as she remembered they had company. Widget was embarrassed. She had let herself get carried away. She had forgotten about the girls. They were just lucky the two of them hadn't ended up breaking the fillies' stuff. She turned to offer them an apology. To her surprise, all three of them were sitting in the dirt with their mouths hanging open. Their eyes darted between her and Kitten, who had begun to groom himself. These fillies were weird.
“You were just playing?!” Scootaloo asked her in disbelief. Widget frowned at the little pegasus.
“Well of course,” she replied, “What else do you think we were doing?”
“Gettin’ eaten?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Why?” Widget asked, puzzled. “Kit is a lot of fun. He seems to like ponies a lot. He plays kind of rough though. I guess most ponies don’t have tough enough hides. They get a little roughed up and then run away. Poor thing must be lonely.”
The girls just looked at her. “Lady, you are one weird pony,” Scootaloo said.
Widget wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Luckily, they had reached her house. “Well, here we are!” she said proudly.
The crusaders looked in the direction she was pointing. They were standing in a clearing. A small spring bubble up through the ground nearby, forming a tiny stream that disappeared in between the surrounding trees. Beyond the stream, a sheer cliff greeted them. In the face of the cliff, the mouth of a dark cavern yawned. An old fire pit sat outside of it. Widget bent down behind a stalagmite just within the entrance. She pulled out a small lamp. Lighting it with her flame, she beckoned them to follow her.
The three fillies followed her inside, looking around. The feeble lamplight revealed little. There were dark shapes all around them, and angry eyes were glowing at them from all around. They huddled together as Widget put the lamp down and wandered over to fidget with something built into one of the walls.
Suddenly, a bright blue light filled the corner of the room, temporarily blinding them. The fillies blinked and rubbed their eyes. When their vision cleared, they looked around again. The dark shapes and "eyes" from before turned out to be large metal… "things" that seemed to be hastily pushed up against the walls of the large cavern they were sitting in. The floor of the cave was clear of stalagmites, save for a few near the entrance and the columns that helped support the ceiling. Closer inspection revealed that the wyrmkin and snapped them all off near the ground to make the cave more comfortable. The ceiling was relatively intact, but there were a few places stained with smoke, and other spots where the stalactites appeared to have been broken off by a large body smashing into them. Widget had wandered over to the other side of the room. Soon another bright light joined the first, and the cave was lit up with an eerie light. “Go ahead and look around,” Widget said.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went over to poke at the big pile of scrap metal against the walls. Sweetie Belle decided to take a closer look at the source of the odd blue light. Sitting within a niche in the wall was a chunk of polished blue crystal. Copper and zinc wires were wrapped around the top and bottom of it. The other ends of the wire were attached to… She blinked. “Is that a potato?” the unicorn asked.
“Uh-huh,” Widget said, coming up beside her. “The crystals glow when you run electricity through them. My Papa bought a whole crate of them back from one of his expeditions.”
“That doesn’t explain the potato,” Scootaloo said. She and Apple Bloom had wandered oven to join them.
Widget smiled. “Well, an electric current is produced when you insert the two common metal electrodes into the potato. This causes a chemical reaction to occur resulting in current. The potato does not participate directly in the reaction. It's there rather as an electrolyte to… ”
Widget rambled on. “I’m sorry I asked,” Sweetie Belle muttered.
“She’s as bad as Twilight,” Scootaloo whispered back.
Apple Bloom, who was seated between them, gave them both a nudge. It seemed the wyrmkin was reaching the end of her explanation.
“… and I could give you more details, but those would be kind of boring,” Widget concluded. The fillies looked at her. Apple Bloom was holding a scrap of metal in one of her hooves. “You guys want to try and build something?” she asked them.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS INVENTORS!” they shouted in response. One of the piles of metal toppled over as the shout echoed through the cave. They looked at her sheepishly.
“Well now we don’t have to dig for parts,” Widget said. “Alright girls! Let’s get started!”
Building stuff was fun, though the projects had a tendency to short circuit of burst into flames for some reason. Widget said explosions were part of the fun of inventing. They had to agree. Even if failing was a little bit discouraging, getting to watch your failure disappear in a flash of light and sound that left your mane singed was kind of invigorating.
In between building attempts, they spent time talking and doing other normal sleep over stuff. They took Sydney out of his pen and played with him for a while. Widget brought out some food. Her Mama’s cookies went over well, even if they didn’t taste quite as good with chocolate in them instead of gem stones. Sweetie Belle even taught her the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ theme song. Widget insisted she write it down. The girls begged her to tell them stories. She was happy to comply. She told them a little about her childhood, and about her family. Tales of her father’s adventures seemed to excite the little fillies especially.
Eventually, the talking petered out as the fillies tried to keep their eyes open and cover increasingly frequent yawns. Smiling, Widget led them through a tunnel at the back of the main cavern. She ushered them past the entrance to the pantry, all the way to the back of the cave system where her sleeping quarters were. The room was relatively empty. There were a few hooks on the walls for her spare set of clothing, a glow rock hanging from the ceiling, a large mirror, and a large ‘nest’ made out of cloth and furs. Widget climbed into bed, and the fillies snuggled in around her. She wrapped her wings around them, and they drifted off to sleep.
Widget smiled down at the three sleeping fillies. They were curled up and snoring softly. They were just like little nestlings. It would be nice to have one of her own someday. Widget scoffed at her own foolishness. As if any stallion or dragon would ever want her. Still, there was no reason why she couldn’t enjoy spending some time with them. Widget untangled herself from their sleeping forms, moving carefully so as not to wake them. She padded into the main room. Sydney chirped at her sleepily from his den. She went over and petted him for a while. Then she picked her way through the debris of their various escapades that night until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the piece of parchment with the hastily scrawled music notes on it. Time to get to work she thought.
“Good morning girls,” Widget said, waking the fillies from there slumber.
“Five more minutes... ” Scootaloo mumbled.
Widget nudged the orange filly with her nose. “Sorry, nestling, I can’t do that,” she said, “I promised to have you back home before lunch time. It’s already late, and we have a bit of walking to do. You’d better get up now if you want any breakfast.” The fillies hurried to comply. Widget chuckled.
After a quick meal of pancakes - Widget had found a way to cook them using her dragon fire without having to worry about flipping them - they packed up their things. “Hold on a second girls,” Widget said as they placed the last of their stuff in the red wagon. “I’ve got something for you.” Widget smiled and ran over to pull something out from its hiding space behind one of the columns. Smiling proudly, she presented them with a metal music box.
“Thanks ah guess,” Apple Bloom said.
“Wind it up,” Widget insisted.
Apple Bloom wound the crank, and the music box began to play.
“Hey! I know this song!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. They all did. It was playing the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ theme song. “How’d you do it?” the unicorn asked, “I see why you wanted me to write the notes down, but I only gave it to you last night! How could you build something this fast?”
Widget shrugged. “I’ve always been good at it I guess,” she said.
“Does that mean your special talent is inventing?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Widget nodded.
“That can’t be!” Scootaloo said, “She would have a cutie mark if that were true!” The fillies looked at the wyrmkin.
Widget smiled sadly. “I kind of knew that already,” she said, “I just hoped that if I tried I might find a way to get a cutie mark. I guess I knew deep down it wouldn’t happen. Only ponies get cutie marks.” The girls looked at her sadly. She forced herself to smile at them. “Even so, I had a lot of fun with you guys. Maybe you can come back sometime, and I can teach you about making fireworks.”
“A firework makin’ cutie mark might be nice ah guess,” Apple Bloom said.
Widget smiled and went over to the wagon. “Well we better get going,” she said.
Widget waved farewell to the three fillies on the edge of town. She turned and headed back to the forest, waiting until her back was turned to let the smile slip off her face. She was too old for such childish behavior and stupid wishes. A freak like her didn't deserve a cutie mark. She had ignored the facts and acted foolish, and now it was coming back to bite her. Still… it had been fun while it lasted.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders watched their former fourth member disappear into the woods. “She still seems awful sore ‘bout the whole thing, no matter how hard she pretends,” Apple Bloom said.
“Well duh,” Scootaloo responded, “It’s got to be horrible to be the only blank-flank her age in town.”
“I wish we could do something for her,” Sweetie Belle said.
They thought for a moment. Apple Bloom smiled. “Ah got an idea,” she said.
A few days later, Widget was having tea with Fluttershy when she heard a strange noise. A loud buzzing sound came up the road. It grew louder and louder, before ending abruptly with a sickening crunch. The two mares ran around to the front of the house to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders attempting to remove their wagon from one of the bushes.
“Oh hello girls,” Fluttershy said, “What brings you here so early… if you don’t mind telling us?”
“Hello Miss Fluttershy,” Sweetie Belle said, “Sorry about your bush. Scoots still needs to work on stopping.”
“Fine then, next time I’ll let you drive!” Scootaloo retorted, “Then I can be the one to have my lazy flank hauled around town.”
“Lazy?!” Sweetie Belle yelled.
“Now’s not the time fur that!” Apple Bloom said, getting in between them. The two fillies blushed and grinned bashfully. “We got somethin’ fer yah Miss Widget.”
The wyrmkin was surprised. “What is it?” she asked.
The girls grinned. Apple Bloom pulled out something she had been hiding behind her back. “Tah-dah!” the fillies said.
Widget looked at it. It was a picture of a gear with a blue crystal at the center. Over the top of it were a spring, a hammer, and a screwdriver forming a six pointed star. “What is this?” she asked.
“It’s yur cutie mark,” Apple Bloom responded, “We figured since yah haven’t got one of yur own we could at least make yah one.” The two other fillies nodded in agreement.
Widget clutched the drawing to her chest, crying. “T-Thank you girls… I’ll treasure it.”
The fillies smiled at her. Apple Bloom blinked. “Oh shoot! We’re going tah be late fer school!” The unicorn and the earth pony hurriedly jumped into the wagon, and Scootaloo hoped on her scooter.
“Bye Miss Widget, Goodbye Miss Fluttershy!” they called, vanishing into a cloud of dust.
Widget wandered around her house, trying to get all her parts in order. Lately, she found herself wanting to be more organized instead of letting things lay around all over the place. Sydney decided to "help", so Widget had to navigate around him. Every so often, she would glance up the newly framed photo hanging on the wall. In it was a simple drawing, from three of the sweetest fillies in Equestria. She had managed to get her cutie mark after all. Widget smiled. It was a lot prettier than she'd ever imagined it could be. It seemed like it was going to be easy to keep her promise to Mama after all.
Pinkie’s Decision
Widget glanced around furtively. There didn’t seem to be anypony watching her. She dashed from her current hiding place to the next one. She hated going through town. She would rather just stay on the outskirts where nopony was there to stare at her. She didn't need ponies judging her. The wyrmkin sighed. The only reason she was undertaking such a daunting task was due to an appointment. She was supposed to be having lunch with Twilight and Spike today. It would be worth all the trouble.
Finally, after what seemed like ages of ducking and hiding, Widget reached the library. She knocked on the door, and then stood on the doorstep glancing around nervously. There were a few ponies on the street. This was why she only came into town in the mornings and evenings, when there were shadows to hide in from their prying eyes. To her immense relief, the door finally opened. Widget pushed past the little dragon that had answered her knock and moved into the library.
“Whoa!” Spike said. “Where’s the fire?”
Widget smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, nestling, there were ponies out there I don’t know. I didn’t want them to figure out my secret.”
“Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?” the purple dragon asked, “I don’t think they’d chase you out of town with torches if they knew you were half dragon. They don’t seem to mind me at all.”
“It’s different… ” Widget said.
Just then, the unicorn in question descended the stairs. A number of books floating around her, enveloped in a purple glow.
“Hello, Twilight,” Widget said. “Are you ready for lunch?”
“Ugh I’m sorry,” Twilight said. “I just got a letter from the princess. There’s a special book she wants me to come get. It’s too delicate to send through Spike’s fire breath, and she says she doesn’t trust it to anypony else.”
Widget’s face fell. “M-maybe we can reschedule?” she muttered.
“Sure thing!” Twilight replied as she packed the books into her saddlebags.
The wyrmkin’s face lit up. “Really?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Twilight responded.
Widget frowned in confusion. “Why would you want to put a pastry in your eye?” she asked.
Twilight facehoofed. “No! It’s a Pinkie promise,” she said.
“So Pinkie’s going to stick a cupcake in your--“ Widget began.
“No!” the unicorn said, exasperated. “I mean I’m promising you that we will reschedule lunch! Pinkie Pie is the one who says breaking a promise is the fastest way to lose a friend.”
“Forever!” Pinkie Pie yelled, popping out of one of Twilight’s saddlebags.
Widget blinked. This was not possible. Given the dimensions of the bag, there’s no way Pinkie could fit in there. And that’s before you subtract the volume already occupied by the books. It contradicted the laws of physics.
For some reason, Twilight was not bowled over by the sudden appearance of the pink pony. “Pinkie!” she said, “You threw my books all over the floor!”
“Sorry Twilight,” Pinkie giggled. “But when somepony makes a Pinkie promise, I have to make sure they keep it! What did you promise anyway?”
“I was supposed to have lunch with Widget today, but I can’t do it after all. Widget seemed really upset, so I promised we would reschedule.”
“Oh no Widgy!” Pinkie Pie said. Somehow she had managed to move from her spot next to Twilight over to stand in front of Widget in the time it took the wyrmkin to blink. “You shouldn’t be sad! I’ll make it better! You can come have lunch with me at the market! They have this cute little cart thingy that sells this stuff called ‘Chinese food’! I can’t wait to try it, and now I can have somepony to try it with me! This will be fun!”
Widget found herself being pulled out the door and down the road. Her head was still spinning in confusion.
“Should we be worried?” Spike asked. He and the purple mare were standing at the library door, watching the quickly disappearing forms of Pinkie Pie and Widget.
“Nah, they should be fine,” Twilight said, “Now help me get these books back into my bag.”
The baby dragon shrugged and closed the door. “If you say so, Twilight,” he said.
The marketplace was bustling; it was midday after all. Widget had always made sure NOT to be in town during these busy spells. These ponies were all over the place. It was even worse than the first time she came here. She wondered how these ponies could stand to be packed so tightly together. There had to be over twenty ponies in the market, not counting the vendors. Somepony bumped into her from behind. The mare apologized readily, but still Widget had to do her best not to hiss at the offender. The crowd was making her nervous. Pinkie Pie did not seem to notice her apprehension. She led Widget further into the market.
Pinkie bounced up and down in excitement as she led Widget around marketplace. “Oh look it’s Applejack!” she exclaimed.
Applejack was tending the family’s apple stand. The farmer had just finished selling a bushel of apples to a brown stallion with an hour glass cutie mark. She smiled at the two mares approached. “Well howdy there sugar cube,” she said, “Ah don’t usually see ya here this time of day.”
“Yepy depy! Widgy and I are going to try out that new restaurant!” the pink pony responded.
“Yah mean that one run by them ponies from Neighjing?” Applejack asked.
“Ding! Ding! That’s right!” Pinkie cheered.
“Well, have fun then,” the orange mare said.
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie responded, bouncing off.
Widget had barely understood half of the conversation. “Pinkie?” she began, “I’m not too sure I like being out here with so many other ponies around.” Pinkie paused. They had reached the cart that seemed to be selling the "Chinese food" they were after. Widget thought it smelled a little odd. Pinkie was still staring at her for some reason.
“What are talking about silly Widgy? Meeting new ponies is amazing!” she said.
Widget shuddered. “It’s probably a lot easier for you. I’m pretty sure they’d have a hard time being friendly to me,” she said.
Pinkie gasped. “That’s not true! Why everypony here is gonna be great super-duper bestest friends with you, you’ll see!” the party pony said. For some reason, there seemed to be music playing in the background as well. “Having somepony around is the most important thing ever! Friends make everypony happy! Here I’ll show you!”
And just like that, Pinkie suddenly thrust them into a large, elaborate song and dance number. It spanned the entire length and breadth of the marketplace. Every pony joined in, from the vendors, to the shoppers on the street and the pegasi in the air. For some reason ponies even showed up on the nearby rooftops. The number went a little something like this:
Everything is great, every day just proves,
When you're alone, life can be a little rough,
Everything is great, every day just proves,
Life smells like a rose,
I've got everything that I need – right in front of me,
Life's a piece of cake,
Widget sat there after the musical number was over with an utterly blank stare on her face. It wasn't as if she could have joined in on the routine, she seemed to be the only one who didn't know the words. It was bad enough that Pinkie was suddenly singing and dancing all around the market place, but the behavior of the other ponies was even weirder. They had added their own parts to the number, in a manner that seemed almost choreographed. Even Applejack had joined in; up until now Widget had assumed she was one of the more sane ponies around. They knew all the words. They knew all the dance moves. Pinkie wasn't the only crazy one around who breaks the laws of physics. "This entire town was nuts!" she thought.
Widget wasn't enjoying her time with Pinkie. Even so, Widget thought the noodles the restaurant served were fairly good. In the time it took for her to finish her bowl, Pinkie had managed to eat five. She decided she would never understand this mare. After lunch, Pinkie decided that they "hadn't had enough super amazing fun for the day". She grabbed Widget and dragged her off to the next activity.
That evening, Applejack was making her way back to the farm. Today had been a fairly good day for sales. Now that Apple Bloom had decided selling apples wasn’t going to get her a cutie mark, things ran a lot smoother. As the tired orange mare approached her house, she heard a rustling noise in one of the nearby apple trees. “Consarn it Rainbow!” she said bucking the tree, “Get outa mah-“ She stopped. It wasn’t a sleepy pegasus that fell out of the tree. Instead, she found a frightened wyrmkin. “What the hay happened to you, sugar cube?” she asked.
“P-Pinkie,” Widget stuttered, “She dragged me around all day. She wanted to bake cupcakes, and then she introduced me to a b-bunch of other ponies! It was awful!”
Applejack wasn’t sure what to make of this. “Ah know Pinkie can be a little odd sometimes,” the farmer said, “but she’s trying tah do the best for yah. It taint good for you to dart around town like yah do all the time.”
“H-how did you know about that?” Widget asked fearfully.
“Everypony knows ‘bout it sugar cube,” Applejack said, “They’re just bein polite an not sayin anything about it. The rumor mill in this here town doesn't ever take a day off. Ah imagine most of them know what ya are by now.”
“Eep!” the wyrmkin said, "They know? I'm doomed."
“Why are yah so afraid of being seen?” the earth pony asked, resting a hoof on Widget’s trembling shoulder.
“I-if they know what I am, then they'll… ” Widget trailed off.
“Now that’s just nonsense!” Applejack said stomping her hoof. Widget looked up at her in surprise. “Nopony here’s going to hate yah for how yah look! They’ll like yah for who yah are, not what yah look like. It’s the honest truth.”
Widget looked into the other mare’s eyes. For some reason, the wyrmkin really believed her. “I guess you’re right,” she said, “It would be nice to walk around without hiding, and to stop tripping over my cape. Moving around has gotten a lot easier since I stopped wearing my boots. Pinkie certainly seems to know what she’s doing when it comes to making friends. ...I wish there was some way to make friends like she does.”
“Well, I reckon yah might get a chance to do that real soon,” Applejack stated. “Pinkie’s got one of her ‘Weekly party parties’ planned fur tomorrow. Most ah Ponyville will be there, so you’ll get your chance.”
Widget trembled. “S-s-sounds like fun,” she squeaked.
The "weekly party party" was even scarier than she had first thought. Sugarcube corner was filled to the bursting with partying ponies. There were way more ponies here than in the marketplace the day before. The wyrmkin stood in the corner of the room behind an unused table. Widget wrapped her cloak around her and did her best to blend into the wood work.
“Good gravy girl!” Applejack said, coming over to talk to her. “You're bein' more timid than even Fluttershy… no offense sugar cube.”
“I-I don’t mind,” Fluttershy said from somewhere nearby.
“This is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Widget said.
“Then I’ll make it easy for you!” Pinkie Pie said, popping out from under the table. “How about you do some dancing? Or play pin the tail on the pony? That one’s my favorite! Oh wait, I know what we need! Cake!” She disappeared into the kitchen.
“How does she do that?” Widget asked.
Applejack just shrugged. “Yah get used tah it after a while. Don’t think ‘bout it too hard, or you’ll hurt yourself like Twilight did.”
Applejack was in the middle of explaining to Widget about Twilight’s failed attempts at discerning the nature of Pinkie Pie’s "Pinkie sense", when said pink pony came back into the room. She was wheeling an enormous cake in on a trolley.
“Okay everypony!” she said. “It’s time for cake-“
Just then, one of the wheels on the cart gave way under the weight of the enormous pastry. The cake splattered onto the table in front of Widget, spraying the corner of the room with its sticky mess. One of the candles flew off the top and landed on Widget’s cloak. Somehow, the garment burst into flame.
A bunch of ponies screamed. “Get some water!” somepony yelled.
Widget just calmly removed her cape and used her claws to pat out the flames. She looked at the garment and sighed. It was ruined. Now what was she- "GAH! Buck to fire and rain! They're all looking at me!" she thought frantically. Widget trembled under the collective gaze of an entire room full of ponies.
“Are you okay?” a voice asked. Widget looked at the unicorn mare who had spoke. She had a medium blue coat, a periwinkle mane with a blue streak, and a cutie mark shaped like an hourglass. There were a few ponies standing behind her with buckets. Pinkie and a few other ponies had started cleaning up the mess behind her.
Widget blinked, surprised by their concern. A pony she didn't know was asking her if she was okay. It was so surreal. She nodded mutely.
The other mare smiled. “Well that’s good. We were all worried about you.” The other ponies were all nodding in agreement.
Widget blushed. “Don’t worry… I don’t burn as easy as most ponies.”
“Well then, you sure are lucky. If it happened to anypony else, we’d be rushing them to the hospital right now.” The unicorn smiled again, and then returned to her friends.
Widget watched her go, smiling a little to herself. Then she felt somepony tugging at her wing. She looked down at a tiny little colt. His coat was white with patches of brown. "Miss?" he asked, "Are you dressed as one of princess Luna's carriage ponies? I haven't seen wings like these since nightmare night."
She have no idea what he was talking about. He seemed to think she was wearing a costume for some reason. "No little one," she said. "T-this is how I've always looked."
"Wow! I bet you could dress as a manticore really easily!" the colt said.
"Why would I dress up as a manticore?" Widget asked, "And what's Nightmare night?"
"It's my favorite night of the year! Everypony gets dressed up and we go from door to door getting candy. This year will be my second nightmare night, so I can show you how to do it. Maybe we'll get lucky and the princess will show up again!" He bounced up and down with glee.
"That sounds like fun... umm... " Widget realized she didn't know the little fellow's name.
"Pipsqueak, at your service mum," he said.
"Well then Mr. Pipsqueak, I guess we have a deal." The two of them shook on it. Widget watched the happy colt wander off. She found the encounter hadn't been as horrible as she was worried it was going to be.
Applejack walked up next to her. “You see?” the orange mare said, “Ah told ya it would work out.”
Widget nodded. She went over to the pink pony cleaning up the cake. “Thanks, Pinkie,” she said, “I really appreciate the help. I hope you'll let me fix the cart sometime.”
“Of course silly! I LOVE to help! I'll do anything for my friends! Now come on, Widgy, it’s time for pin the tail on the pony!” This time, Widget didn’t resist when Pinkie pulled her away.
Applejack smiled as she watched Pinkie Pie put a blindfold on Widget and spin her around. Rarity walked up next to her. “Well,” the unicorn said, “That was certainly… unusual. At least somepony finally burned that filthy cloak. Now I can make her a new one!”
Applejack glanced at the fashionista. “Maybe yah shouldn’t rush things Rarity. She’ll come around in her own sweet time.”
“Hmm I guess so,” Rarity said, rubbing her chin. “It gives me more time to come up with the perfect design too. I’ll make sure she has the most fabulous cape in all of Equestria!”
The farmer just rolled her eyes.
Flying Lessons
“Come on! Enough prep work, let’s get this show on the road!” Rainbow Dash demanded. The blue mare was sitting in the basket of a large catapult, placed in the middle of town. A group of curious bystanders had stopped to watch. She was wearing her goggles, as well as a safety helmet. “This is going to be way better than that stupid seesaw I tried to get Applejack to help me with,” she gushed. “With this much speed, my tricks are going to be so amazing. Launch me!”
Widget looked up from where she had been tinkering with the catapult’s more delicate mechanisms. She frowned at the pegasus. “I’m almost done,” she said. “I have to make sure I have it calibrated right. Otherwise your trip might be a lot… uh, shorter than we planned.”
Rainbow nodded. “Alright. I’ll give you props for coming up with such a killer idea in the first place,” she said. “So just hurry it up a little okay?”
A small clinking noise came from below. “I’m all done!” Widget declared, stepping out from underneath the device.
“Sweet,” Rainbow declared. “Now launch me on the count of five. Five… four… three… two… one… now!”
Widget pulled the trigger. The catapult twanged, and the pegasus was flung through the air. She whipped out her wings and began to perform a complex series of aerobatic stunts. Widget didn’t know the names for them, but they were amazing to watch. She gasped along with the crowd then broke into cheers with them when the daredevil had landed. “Amazing!” she declared as the pegasus approached her, waving to her fans as she flew.
Rainbow Dash puffed up her chest. “I know right?” she said. “But still, I couldn’t have done it without you kid. If you try hard enough, maybe you can be nearly as good as I am someday.”
Widget blinked. “Practice what?” she asked.
Rainbow looked at her, brow furrowed. “Flying of course!” she said.
“I don’t fly,” Widget responded flatly.
The pegasus’s eyes bulged. “Don’t fly? Then what, are your wings just for show?” She grabbed the offending digits.
Widget shrunk back slightly. She may have stopped wearing her cloak around town, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be touched. “I-I just can’t fly very well,” she said. “I’m alright for short distances, but I usually crash into things.”
“Come on! You just need more confidence!” Rainbow declared. Suddenly, she grabbed Widget. She flew her to the catapult and dumped her unceremoniously into the basket.
“What are you doing?” Widget cried.
The cyan pegasus winked at her and shoved the helmet on her head, before darting to the ground to wind up the catapult. “Relax,” she said, “You can fly, and all you need is a little encouragement. Lucky for you, I’m here to help you out.”
“I don’t think this is a very good- “Widget began. The catapult fired. “Idea… aaaaaaaahhhh!”
Rainbow Dash shaded her eyes and watched the wyrmkin hurdle through the air. Widget’s wings flapped randomly, sending her into a wild spin. “Huh,” Dash said, “I guess she wasn’t kidding.”
Twilight was in her library, reading as usual. She was studying a large dusty tome, pausing periodically to take notes. Something heavy hit the door with a loud thud, breaking her concentration. The quill she had floating in her magical grasp broke. “Ugh!” she grumbled. She marched over and yanked the door open. “Can’t you just knock like a normal pony…?” she stopped, looking down at the crumpled form lying on her doorstep. “Widget?” the unicorn asked, “What happened to you?”
Widget’s “flight” had been anything but fun. Mostly it just involved screaming and desperate twitching, which was abruptly ended by her head suddenly meeting with a solid surface. Now, she found herself being starred at by two blurry purple unicorns that slightly overlapped each other. She shook her head, and the two images coalesced into a single concerned unicorn. “It’s alright, Twilight,” she reassured the librarian. “I told you before, my body’s pretty sturdy. Sorry about the door.”
“Don’t worry, the door is just fine, so- Wait! You never answered my question! What happened?” Twilight stomped her hoof.
“There was a… incident with a catapult.” Widget said, “Somepony wanted me to take a turn, and it didn’t go as planned.”
“Who would be crazy enough to…?” Twilight began, before catching sight of a fast approaching blue blur.
“Wow,” Rainbow Dash said, “You went a lot farther than I thought! That was… What?”
Twilight was staring at her, face crunched up in a frown. “Rainbow, have you been launching random ponies for no reason?” she demanded.
“Of course not, Twilight,” the pegasus said, waving off her friend’s concern. “I was just helping Widget with her flying. I thought it was just a matter of confidence, but it looks like we’re going to have to start with the basics.”
“Well I have a book that might…” Twilight began, heading into her lecture mode.
Rainbow cut her off. “Seriously?” she asked. “Just leave it to the professionals, egg-head. I’ll have her up and flying in no time.” She grabbed Widget and dragged her off.
Twilight put her ears back and frowned again. “Professionals?” the unicorn grumbled. “She’s never taught anypony before… at least not that I know of.”
“I still don’t understand why we couldn’t let Twilight help,” Widget said.
Rainbow sighed. The two of them were walking through Ponyville, looking for a good place to practice. “She’s a unicorn!” the pegasus said, matter-of-factly. “She doesn’t know anything about flying that isn’t in those dusty old books of hers. With her as your teacher, you’ll end up like that.” Dash pointed at a pegasus who had just crashed into a nearby mailbox.
Widget cocked her head and watched the pony. The mare had a grey coat and a light-yellow mane. She was wearing a brown satchel, and was currently trying to pull her head out of the mail-slot. “Who’s that?” the wyrmkin asked.
“That’s Ditzy Doo, but everypony calls her 'Derpy Hooves'.” Rainbow explained. “She’s the mail-mare, and the clutziest flyer in town.”
Widget thought she was being overly critical. After all, if the mare was as much trouble as Rainbow Dash claimed, the town wouldn’t have given her the important task of delivering mail. Everypony was entitled to their own opinion though. She would have to ask somepony else about the unusual mare later.
“Here we go, this is as good a place as any,” Rainbow declared. They had returned to the square where the catapult was set up. Somehow, the pegasus had found a hat and whistle to wear. Dash blew the whistle, making Widget jump.
“Alright let’s get started! Now first we’ve got to get you off the ground. Let’s see you flap those wings!”
Widget shrugged. She started fanning her wings up and down.
“Harder!” Rainbow yelled.
Widget increased her pace.
“You call that flapping? Harder!” her coach yelled.
Widget flapped her wings as hard as she could. She lifted a few inches off the ground, and then slowly toppled over on her side.
Rainbow Dash face-hoofed. “Ugh,” she said. “This is going to be harder than I thought. I guess we’ll have to go over the very basics from flight school. Let’s see… you feel the natural air currents as they flow around your body, and… Buck! I never really paid attention to those dumb lessons anyways. Flying is the most natural thing in the world. Besides, you’re not a little filly who needs to hear all that stuff anyways. Let’s just try the catapult again.”
Widget’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks. She gulped.
Twilight was once again interrupted by a heavy body crashing into her library. She went outside and looked up. Widget was currently tangled in the branches of the tree-house, while Rainbow Dash worked to get her free. She sighed.
The pegasus flew up to her with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Twilight,” she said, “We umm… just had a little setback.”
“Little?” the unicorn scoffed. “If a ‘little setback’ causes somepony to crash into my library, what does a big setback do, knock the whole tree over? This is what you get for refusing my help.”
“Your help?” the blue mare demanded. “Why would we need your help? We’re doing just fine as it is.”
Widget fell to the ground next to them. “Actually… I wouldn’t mind a second opinion,” she muttered.
Rainbow frowned. “You are one weird pony,” she said.
Twilight beamed. “Let me get my books, and we can get started,” the unicorn said. She trotted off into the library.
Rainbow Dash moaned and rubbed her forehead.
Widget blinked, confused by the pegasus's actions.
Twilight sat in the open field with a book in front of her. It was entitled “The Mechanics of Flight.” Widget sat nearby, waiting for her to finish. Rainbow hung out on a cloud above them, looking disinterested. The unicorn read aloud from her book. “It says here that lift is produced by the action of air flow on the wing. This occurs because the air has a lower pressure just above the wing and higher pressure below it. When gliding, a bird or pegasus can obtain a vertical and forward force. This is possible because the lift force is generated at right angles to the air flow, which in gliding flight comes from slightly below the horizontal, because the flyer is descending. When a bird flaps, as opposed to gliding, its wings continue to develop lift as before, but the lift is rotated forward to provide thrust…” She continued on and on.
Widget did her best to listen, but after a while her eyes started to glaze over as her thoughts began to drift away. Above her head she heard soft snoring. It seemed that Rainbow wasn’t listening to the lecture either.
“Alright,” Twilight said startling Widget. “That’s the basics, so now let’s get started.”
The wyrmkin didn’t want her friend to know that she hadn’t been paying attention to her lesson. She decided to do her best. Widget understood the basic concepts of lift and drag. After all, she used them in her calculations all the time. Maybe Twilight was trying to tell her to apply a similar formula to her flying? If that was the case, then she would try her best. She sat in the grass for a minute, crunching numbers. Twilight gave her an awkward smile. Calculations finished, Widget launched herself into the air.
Twilight watched her friend’s progress. The wyrmkin had managed to get off the ground, and was making a slow circuit around the field. Her movement was jerky and distracted, but she was doing quite well. Rainbow flew down next to her.
“What the heck?” the pegasus said.
Twilight just smiled. “I guess my teaching method isn’t that bad after all. Pretty good for an egg-head, isn’t it?”
Rainbow just grumbled.
Widget’s thoughts were all over the place as she tried to run her calculations, while executing them at the same time. She figured she would have to do more than just a simple circle. Maybe she should try a loop? The math for that was going to take some work. As she focused on this new set of calculations, her wings flapped slower and slower. She didn’t notice her loss of altitude. The laws of physics decided to remind her of their existence.
“Oh my, are you alright?” a familiar voice asked.
Widget groaned and opened her eyes. Fluttershy was looking at her, concerned. “Ugh,” the wyrmkin said. She looked around and winced. “Sorry about your house Miss ‘Shy, I hope I didn’t break anything.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “My house is alright, but I’m more worried about you.”
The wyrmkin sat up slowly. “I’m alright. I was just taking flying lessons. They… haven’t been going so well.”
The yellow mare opened her mouth to reply.
“Widget, there you are!” Rainbow Dash yelled. She flew up to land next to the wyrmkin. “I hope you didn’t break Fluttershy’s stuff. I told you Twilight’s lesson wouldn’t be any good.”
There was a flash of purple light, and Twilight appeared beside them. “Well,” the unicorn said. “I guess we need more practice.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to retaliate. She never got the chance.
“I appreciate that both of you want to help me,” Widget said, “But… maybe I should try a different approach.” She cringed. When nopony yelled at her, she turned to Fluttershy. “Miss ‘Shy,” she said, “I’ve seen you teach baby birds before, maybe you can help me learn how to fly?”
“Well… I’m not sure,” Fluttershy said, “I mean… Twilight and Dash are much better teachers than I am…”
“Actually, I think it might be a good idea,” Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash just shrugged.
Widget decided they both agreed with her. She proceeded to stare at Fluttershy, making her eyes big and doe-like. She felt really bad for manipulating her friend, but she couldn’t see any other way to convince the shy pony to teach her. If anything, maybe it would help the pegasus with her own confidence as well.
The yellow mare sighed. “I-I guess I can try,” she said. Widget hugged her, making her “Eep!” and blush with embarrassment.
The wyrmkin was doing well. It had taken a while to get off the ground, as the yellow mare seemed to have trouble teaching somepony who could talk back to her. Once in the air, things got a little easier. Fluttershy had told her that part of the problem was that Widget’s wings were more like those of a bat than a pegasus or bird. As such, her flying style would have to be different. With her help, the wyrmkin was able to handle a slow, gliding flight. It was time to pick up the pace.
Widget beat her wings faster. The wind whistled in her ears. Fluttershy seemed to be saying something. “What?” Widget asked, “Could you repeat that?”
“Mumble mumble,” Fluttershy said. Even with Widget’s keen hearing, her response was swallowed up by the breeze.
“Huh?” Widget asked.
“Mutter mutter mutter!” Fluttershy yelled. Given her personality, this too was lost in the wind.
Widget frowned. Maybe she should stop and find out what the pegasus was saying. Her vision was filled with a field of gray, as she was interrupted by her fourth crash of the day. At least this one seemed to be slightly squishier than the other crashes. Her resulting encounter with the ground was just as hard as ever though.
“I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy was saying, “I tried to warn you, I guess you didn’t hear me.”
The wyrmkin was lying on the ground in a tangled heap with the grey object that had interrupted her flight. Fluttershy, Twilight, and a number of onlookers, were all watching her with concern. She still didn’t like being stared at. Overhead, Rainbow was sitting on her cloud snorting with barely contained laughter.
Widget rubbed her head. “It’s my fault for going too fast,” she said. “What did I hit this time?”
“I-It’s not a what, so much as whom,” Twilight said.
Widget looked at the object she had been tangled up with. It was the same grey mailmare from before. The pegasus’s nose was crunched up in confusion. Widget looked into the other mare’s yellow eyes and gasped. The pony’s eyes were looking in two different directions. “Oh no,” Widget cried, “I hit her so hard I broke her brain!”
Rainbow Dash lost it. She rolled around on her cloud laughing.
Widget frowned. Brain damage was nothing to joke about.
“It’s alright,” Twilight said, pulling her to the side. “Ditzy has been like that since I first met her. She suffers from a condition called “Strabismus’. It’s nothing you did by bumping into her.”
Widget looked at the mailmare, who had gotten back up on her feet. She was busy putting the mail lost during their encounter back into her satchel. “How does she fly then? I would think she lacks depth perception.”
Twilight frowned. “You know what,” she said, “I’m not really sure. Hmm… maybe I should study it sometime.” She continued to mutter to herself absently.
Widget left the librarian to her musings and approached the pegasus. “Excuse me, Miss Doo?” she asked.
“Huh?” the pegasus said, spinning around to face her.
“Would you…” Widget began, then found herself suddenly unable to continue. She mentally kicked herself. She wasn’t a tiny nestling; she ought to be able to ask somepony a simple request. “Would you teach me how to fly?” she blurted.
“WHAT?” the surrounding ponies asked in unison. Fluttershy just watched her. Even Ditzy seemed surprised by her request.
“Are you sure you didn't take one too many blows to the head?” Rainbow asked. “Why would you want her to teach you?”
Widget blinked. Wasn’t the answer obvious? “Well, Twilight said she has no depth perception,” she said.
Rainbow just raised an eyebrow. “Yeah,” she said, “so what?”
Widget realized she was going to have to spell it out for them. “She has no depth perception, and yet she is still able to fly,” the wyrmkin declared. “Not only that, but she’s good enough at it that she’s been given the task of delivering mail!”
Twilight’s eye twitched.
“So will you do it Miss Doo?” Widget asked, “Please?”
The grey pegasus smiled. “I’ll do it, but only if you come over to my house for muffins afterwards,” she said. “I just have to finish delivering the mail first.”
“Alright, that sounds like fun!” Widget declared. She shook hooves with her new instructor. The mailmare returned to her deliveries. The wyrmkin following behind, practically hopping in excitement.
Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight. “That pony is nuts,” Dash said.
The unicorn nodded in agreement. The librarian’s mane was starting to look slightly unkempt.
Fluttershy said nothing. She merely smiled as she watched the two new friends enjoying their time together.
A Day With the Mailmare
On a hill overlooking the quiet town of Ponyville, a pair of figures sat in the grass. The early morning sunlight cut through the crisp fall air, revealing a grey pegasus with a yellow mane, as well as a strange, green, pony-like creature with a golden mane and large dragon wings. The pegasus had a whistle hanging around her neck, while the wyrmkin had a strange device strapped to its her back. The student and her coach were engrossed in their conversation. Today, they were having a lesson on how to fly upside-down. The pegasus assured her student it was a lot of fun. She was bursting with excitement, grinning from ear to ear. The wyrmkin, however, still had her doubts.
"Umm, Miss Doo, are you sure this is a good idea?" Widget asked.
Ditzy "Derpy Hooves" Doo nodded. "Sure thing!" she said. "This is how I learned how to fly."
The wyrmkin sighed and looked at the muffin hanging in front of her. It was tied to a bent rod she had belted around her middle. "Could we at least use a gemstone?" she asked.
The walleyed pegasus looked confused. "What could be better than muffins?"
"Umm... nothing of course!" the wyrmkin amended hastily. In the two weeks since she had begun her flight training with Miss Doo, she had learned a very valuable lesson. One does not insult muffins in the grey pony's presence.
The pegasus grinned. "Okay," she said. "Now, get the muffin!" She blew her whistle.
Widget launched herself into the air. She chased the muffin through the sky, fore-paws out as she reached for her prize. It continued to float just out of reach. Widget growled to herself and quickened her pace. The increasing air flow brought the pastry closer and closer until... "I got it!" she yelled. She then promptly crashed into a tree. Ears ringing, she sat up. She stuffed the slightly squashed baked good into her mouth, grinning at the sound of the other mare's applause.
"Woohoo!" Ditzy yelled, applauding. "That was great. You're amazing. You've mastered flying a lot faster than I did!"
Widget brushed herself off. Swallowing the remains of her hard earned prize, she trotted over to meet her mentor. "That's because I had a great coach," she said, laughing quietly.
The pegasus blushed happily. She looked down at one of her fore-legs. Ditzy gasped. "Oh no!" she said, "I'm going to be late for work! I've got a ton of mail to deliver."
Widget had never understood how drawing a picture of a wristwatch on one's leg would be adequate in keeping track of time. She didn't really try to think about it too hard though. It was just one of the things that made Ditzy interesting to be around. Learning from the mare had been a lot of fun. She was a little disappointed that their time training together was over. The wyrmkin wanted to spend more time with her coach. Her face brightened suddenly as the perfect solution came to mind. "Miss Doo," she said. "Now that I've mastered flying, can I come with you? I've always been impressed that you have such a big responsibility. I want to watch you work."
"Really?" the pegasus asked, rubbing her chin in confusion. "The only pony who has ever wanted to watch me before was my daughter, Dinky. She likes to ride in the mailbags. The Doctor asked about my job, but he never wanted to watch me. Are you sure?"
Widget nodded enthusiastically. "I want to watch," she said, "I can even help, if you'll let me."
Ditzy Doo grinned at her pupil. "Sure thing," she said. "This will be fun!"
Widget shifted uncomfortably as she waited outside the post office. She was excited to begin her day with Ditzy. She bounced up and down impatiently.
"Whatcha doing, Widgy?" a voice behind her asked. A pink pony was suddenly standing in front of her.
Widget jumped. "Ack!" she said. "Don't scare me like that Pinkie!"
Pinkie Pie giggled. "Okie dokie!" she chirped. "Sooo.... Whatcha doing?"
"I'm waiting for Miss Doo," she said.
"Why?" the party pony asked, "Are you expecting a super special delivery?"
"No. I'm going to follow her on her mail route today. She said I can help her with her work." Widget declared proudly.
"Ooooh!" Pinkie gushed. "That's sounds like positively crasherific fun! I'd like to come too, but I have baking to do. Bye-bye Widgy! Say hi to Derpy for me!" She vanished in a cloud of dust.
Widget was left wondering why delivering the mail would be "crasherific" in the first place. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Ditzy, who was now wearing her mail bags. She was carrying a package in her mouth. She even had a spare set of mailbags for Widget. The mailmare waited while Widget put them on. Widget nodded to the grey mare to show she was ready. The pegasus motioned to her to follow, and the wyrmkin was happy to oblige. She flapped her wings and joined the grey pony in the air. Together the headed off to complete the important task of delivering the town's mail.
The first stop of the day was Rairity's boutique. The package Ditzy was carrying was apparently a special item the fashionista had ordered from Canterlot. The pegasus wanted to get rid of it first so she could talk without dropping it. This had already happened once on the way over, as she tried to answer one of the wyrmkin's questions. Luckily, the pony the box fell on didn't seem to be too hurt. Widget watched with interest as her mentor somehow managed to shove the large box through the mail slot in Rarity's door. It seemed Pinkie Pie wasn't the only one in town to disobey the laws of physics. Widget had stopped worrying about it some time ago. She chocked it up to being the work of magic, and thus not worth bothering with. Widget couldn't cast spells. And besides, she would never understand that crazy conjuring stuff anyways.
"Ok," Ditzy said after she had finished "delivering" the package. "Now I think there are a couple of those magazines Rarity likes in here too." She began to fish around in her mail satchel.
"What sort of magazines?" Widget asked.
"I'm not really sure," the mailmare replied as she stuffed the magazines in the slot. "They always have these pictures of ponies in weird outfits." She showed one of the magazines to the wyrmkin.
Widget cocked her head, staring at the magazine cover in confusion. The outfit the pony in the picture was wearing looked very uncomfortable. "I guess she just has... unusual tastes," Widget said finally.
Ditzy nodded, and the magazine in question joined the others already in the mail slot. "Next up is Sugarcube Corner," she said.
Widget frowned, "Aren't there closer houses?" she asked.
"Well sure," Ditzy said, "but they don't have muffins."
Widget couldn't argue with that logic. She followed the mailmare towards the bakery.
Inside Sugarcube corner, Pinkie Pie was doing business with her friend Twilight Sparkle. Spike had tagged along to look at the baked goods. "Okie Dokie! Here's that box of cupcakes you wanted for the picnic today, Twilight," the pink mare said, placing a large pink box of cupcakes on the counter.
"Thanks Pinkie," Twilight replied, examining the box's contents. She smiled. "These look as delicious as always." The bell chimed behind her as the grey pegasus and the green wyrmkin walked into the shop.
"Muffins!" the grey pegasus yelled, dashing to the counter. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth in anticipation.
"Sure thing, Derpy," Pinkie Pie said, giggling. "I'll go get them from the back. Go ahead and have a seat." The pegasus dashed to a table and immediately began to fidget impatiently.
The wyrmkin was in less of a rush. She stopped to greet the librarian and her assistant. "Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!" she said gleefully.
"Hello Widget," Twilight said.
Spike waved at the wyrmkin, then returned to pressing his face against the glass on the bakery display case.
"You sure are up early," Widget said.
Twilight nodded. "The girls and I are having a picnic today in the park," she said. "This might be the last chance we get before the weather gets too cold for it." She looked at the wyrmkin. "Do you want to come?" she asked, "I'm sure the girls won't mind. There's bound to be enough food for an extra guest."
Widget shook her head. "No thanks," she stated. "Now that I'm done with my flying lessons, I'm going to follow Miss Doo around today. She said she would let me watch how she delivers all the mail in Ponyville! She's even going to let me help. I think we will stop by the library later, so I'll see you then." The wyrmkin pointed to the grey mare, who was greedily devouring the large stack of muffins that Pinkie had brought her. Widget grinned at her former tutor's antics.
Widget turned back to face Twilight, who seemed to be in an odd mood. The unicorn's eye twitched. "W-well that's nice," she said quickly. "Come on, Spike!" She grabbed the baby dragon with her magic and dumped him on her back. She then levitated the box of cupcakes and headed for the door.
"Aww come on, Twilight," Spike said, "I was still looking. I thought you said we had some time in the schedule still."
"Not now Spike!" the unicorn stated. Her mane looked frazzled for some reason. "We have to hurry and strengthen the force field around the library!"
Widget frowned. Twilight had mentioned this force field of hers before. Ever since the number of ponies crashing into the library had increased, Twilight had put up a force field around it to avoid further incidents. It had been working fine up until now, so why would she need to strengthen it? Widget decided that train of thought wouldn't lead to any helpful answers. She shrugged and went over to join Ditzy for muffins. Hopefully, she could snag a few without loosing a claw.
"Hey! My flowerpots!" the cream colored mare with the red mane complained. She was leaning out of the second story window of her home to study the two intruders who had crashed into her house.
Widget and Ditzy untangled themselves from the remains of what used to be a planter on her windowsill.
"Whoops!" Ditzy said, "Sorry about your flowerpots, Rose."
"I'm sorry," Widget said guiltily.
The florist ground her teeth, then smiled. "T-that's alright girls," she said. "I can buy new ones... again."
"Ok then! Here's your mail!" Ditzy said pleasantly as she gave the earth pony a letter.
The recipient looked at it. She sighed suddenly. "Derpy, this letter is addressed to Daisy," she said.
The mailmare snatched the letter back and squinted at it. "Whoops!" she said, "I guess you're right! Sorry about that. Let's go, Widget."
The pegasus and the wyrmkin flew off. Rose watched them go for a moment. Then she slammed her face against the window ledge, ignoring the dirt that stuck to her mane. "Urgh," she muttered to herself.
The day continued on. Widget found it exciting instead of monotonous. Ditzy Doo had a way of keeping things interesting. For instance, bouncing off the barrier to Twilight's house had turned out to be a lot of fun. They decided they had to repeat it a few times. The librarian seemed to be upset about something when they finally delivered her mail. Ditzy assured her that the unicorn had that same expression on her face fairly often. It must have come from too much studying. Widget was glad that Twlight was going to be taking time off to go on a picnic. She certainly looked like she needed the break.
"Why does she work herself so hard?" the wyrmkin asked on their way to their next stop.
Ditzy shrugged. "I dunno. She takes her work way too seriously. She really needs to lighten up and have more fun."
Widget thought back to the time Twilight had yelled at her for setting off explosives near the library. She nodded in agreement. "You're right," she said, "Maybe you should try coaching her next."
"Oh boy! That sounds like fun!" Ditzy exclaimed cheerfully, "Maybe I can show her how to deliver papers! It's my favorite part." She grabbed a newspaper from her satchel and threw it at the house below them. It landed in a bush. "Darn, just missed."
"Can I try?" Widget begged.
"Sure!" the mailmare said, handing her a paper. "You can do the next house."
Widget gripped the paper tightly. The wyrmkin slowly pulled her arm back, ready to launch. She aimed her throw carefully. "And... launch!" Widget yelled. The paper flew through the air. It crashed into a window, shattering the lower pane of glass. "Aww... " Widget said. Her face fell.
The grey pegasus patted her back. "Don't worry," she said, "You'll get it eventually."
Ditzy was right. By the end of the day, she had improved to the point of hitting the proper door about half the time. Widget was very pleased with herself. Ditzy seemed to enjoy it as well. She applauded happily whenever the wyrmkin made a successful shot. The end of the day came much too quickly for them. They soon found both of their saddle bags were empty, so the two of them back at the post office.
"That was a lot of fun," Widget said.
"Yeah," Ditzy agreed, "We should do it again sometime. Maybe you can even be an honorary mailmare!"
"NO!" yelled a number of voices at once.
Widget looked around in confusion. All the ponies on the street had stopped what they were doing. They were all staring at her. Widget shrunk in on herself. A middle-aged, light brown pony with a grey mane approached them. She had a cutie mark that looked like a clock with really long hands. The wyrmkin had no idea who she was.
"What's going on Miss Mare?" Ditzy asked.
Widget gulped. She didn't realize this pony was so important! What was going on? Was this pony going to throw her out or something?
"W-well dear," Mayor Mare said, "It's just that I received more complaints than usual today. It seems that Ponyville isn't... ready for the two of you to be working together."
Widget sighed. "It's because I'm not a pony, right?" she said flatly.
The mayor looked surprised. "Oh, no! That's not it at all," the mayor said hastily. "It's just that the property damage for today is more than double what Ditzy usually causes. Expenses have increased since you started... er, 'helping'."
Widget sighed with relief. "Oh, is that all?"
The earth pony blinked. "Er, um yes," she stuttered, "I-i'm glad you understand. It's what's best for Ponyville you know."
Widget and Ditzy nodded glumly.
The mayor smiled at them. "I'm glad you understand," she said. The busy pony left to return to her previous obligations. The rest of the watching ponies also returned to their own tasks as well.
Widget looked at Ditzy. "I-I guess I can't come with you anymore," she said. A single tear rolled down her face.
The grey pegasus patted her gently. "There, there," she said, "Even if you can't join me on my job, we can still have fun together."
"R-really?" Widget asked.
"Sure," Ditzy Doo said, "I want to introduce you to Dinky and the Doctor. You should get along with them great. Let's go, we need to go pick-up Dinky from school. I can't wait for you to meet her. We can go on an outing together. Maybe I can even get the doctor out of his box long enough to come along, too."
The wyrmkin smiled. She had made a new friend, one who was really good at making her laugh. "Maybe I can teach you about inventing," she said, "or maybe explosives!"
"Oh boy! That sounds like fun!" Ditzy said.
Off in the shadows, the purple unicorn that had been watching the two of them talk began to bang her head against the nearby wall repeatedly.
Hearth's Warming Eve
Winter had arrived in Ponyville. The buildings were sheathed in blankets of white, muting the sounds from within. Here and there, paths had been cleared in the snow so the town’s residents could make their rounds, despite the weather. The streets were decorated with colorful strings of lights, which would stand witness to the many holiday traditions that would occur that night. Few of the town’s denizens were out and about; most preferred to stay indoors, where hearths worked hard to keep the chill at bay. Those who were out and about were dressed warmly in multiple layers of clothing; all save one. A green wyrmkin hopped around in the deepest drifts, wearing nothing despite the cold weather.
Widget rolled in the snow, snorting with delight. She knew she would regret her actions later, when the cold slush coating her wings refroze, and she would be forced to spend hours drying them by the fire. Right now though, she was too happy to care about the consequences. The snow here was so different from that which fell near the cave back home. The stuff there was a dull grey, smelling faintly of ash. Mama had said this was due to the active volcano nearby. Whatever the cause, it wasn't much fun to play in. The snow in Ponyville was very different. It was light and fluffy, melting on the tongue and hissing quietly when it fell. Since winter had arrived about a month ago, she had taken time to enjoy herself whenever she could.
Finally, after she had reduced the snow bank to a trampled mess that spilled onto the nearby pathway, Widget rose to her feet. She shook the snow from her body and trotted happily towards the library. The owner of the shop she had been amusing herself in front of stared after her, scowling. “He must not like snow ,” she thought. “It doesn't really matter, though. I have important business to attend to .”
Widget stopped before the library door. Sitting back on her haunches, she knocked politely. Though she heard some scuffling behind the door, it would likely be a while before somepony got around to answering the door. She started to chew gently at her frozen wings while she waited, hoping to get the worst of the ice off of them. Finally the door opened. The librarian, whom had opened the door with her magic, peered out at the figure sitting on her doorstep.
“Hello, Widget,” Twilight said. “I didn't expect to see you here.”
Widget looked down at the ground. “I-I can come back later if you're too busy right now” she said hesitantly.
The unicorn waved off her excuse. “No,” she said. “It’s alright. Come on in, we were just packing.” She led the wyrmkin inside.
“Why are you packing?” Widget asked. She cocked her head and frowned as she looked at the sizable pile of luggage in the middle of the library.
“Well, we were about to—“ Twilight began. She was interrupted by Spike, who had appeared out of nowhere. He tackled Widget, knocking her down. She sighed and watched the two of them wrestle on the floor; they rolled about, releasing mock growls as they played. The unicorn no longer tried to interfere with what had become their normal greeting.
Widget had worked hard to teach him how to “play” properly. He seemed to get the hang of it rather quickly; she had to admit, he was quite good at jumping out and surprising her. Finally the two broke apart. They giggled breathlessly, sprawled out side-by-side on the floor.
“Hey Widget, what’s up?” Spike asked as the two of them rose to their feet.
She ruffled the spines on his head. “Not much, nestling. Is Twilight working you into the ground again?” she asked him with an impish grin.
The dragon's face flushed with embarrassment. “N-no, of course not,” he stammered. “At least, she’s not working me any more than she usually does.”
The two of them chuckled, while the librarian cleared her throat and glared at her assistant.
Widget turned back to the unicorn, feeling slightly guilty. “So, where were we?” she asked, smiling sheepishly.
“As I was saying, we were about to head off to the train station to meet the other Elements of Harmony. The six of us—well seven with Spike.” She glanced at the dragon apologetically. “We’re all headed to Canterlot.”
Widget’s smile froze. Her heart plummeted. “B-but what about Hearth’s Warming Eve?” she asked.
“We’re spending it there,” Twilight replied. She glanced at Widget, taking in her forlorn expression. “Do you want to come along? I’m sure the princess can find a spot for you in the play.”
“P-play… P-princess?” Widget stuttered.
“Of course,” Twilight said. “Every year the ponies put on a play about the first Hearth’s Warming Eve. We participated in it last year. It was such a huge success that the princess asked us to do it again this year! Can you believe it?” The purple mare started bouncing around the room with her eyes shut.
Spike rolled his eyes. “Uh, Twilight?” he said.
The unicorn paused mid-leap. Her eyes snapped open and a blush spread across her muzzle. She returned to where she had been standing before her outburst. “W-well, as I was saying... ” she said, continuing with the conversation as if nothing had happened.
Spike snorted.
“I’m sure the Princess could find a place in the play for you. She’d probably love to meet you anyway, since I mentioned you in my friendship reports,” the unicorn concluded.
“No-thanks-I-got-to-go-bye!” Widget said quickly. She left as fast as she could; leaving two very confused purple creatures behind her.
Widget did not stop running until she was on the outskirts of town. She sighed. Twilight’s announcement explained why Fluttershy had not answered her door when Widget had visited the pegasus’s house earlier. The wyrmkin sighed again, flopping on her back in the snow. She imagined that Twilight had meant well when she invited Widget to come with them. The unicorn didn't realize that standing on a stage and being gawked at by an enormous group of ponies was one of the last things she wanted to do on her first Hearth’s Warming Eve away from her family. She didn't like the idea of being alone tonight.
As for the princesses… Widget shuddered. “As if the glorious rulers of Equestria would want to talk to ME,” she muttered. “I’d be lucky if they didn't call me an abomination and smite me on the spot.” She stared up at the grey sky, feeling lonely. “Will I really have to spend the holiday alone?” she wondered. She couldn't bring herself to bother Miss Doo and her family. Though she had fun playing with Dinky when she got the chance, she had yet to meet this mysterious “Doctor” that Ditzy would go on about. Intruding on their family get together, merely because she had no family around of her own, seemed awfully selfish.
“I might as well head home ,” she thought. The wyrmkin glanced in the direction of the Everfree forest. Widget blinked, and then bolted upright as an idea hit her like a hammer. “How could I have been so stupid?” she muttered, berating herself. “I forgot about the first friend I ever made when I came to this place.” She dashed into the forest. “If anypony else needs someone to spend time with on Hearth’s Warming Eve, it’s her ,” she thought.
The Everfree forest was cold, but the thick branches overhead prevented the falling snow from reaching the forest floor. The tree branches groaned under their heavy load of snow and ice. It was this time of year that the weakest branches gave way under the pressure. After nearly being clobbered by one, the wyrmkin moved with caution towards the tree-house deep within the woods. Widget approached the house, and knocked on the door quietly. The house’s inhabitant sometimes liked to meditate, and she did not want to interrupt the mystic’s concentration. It seemed her concerns were unfounded, as the door swung open, revealing a black-and-white-striped creature.
“Hello there, Zecora,” Widget said. “I hope I didn't interrupt anything.”
“Widget, you gave me quite a shock! But fear not, for I have no plans today that a visit could rot,” Zecora replied.
“That’s good,” Widget said. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited you as often recently.”
“Please, have no concern for such things. I am sure your new friends make your heart sing. Now come inside and let us talk, for even a filly could see you are distraught,” the zebra said, ushering Widget inside.
Widget followed the zebra into her home, shutting the door carefully behind them. She glanced around. Nothing much has changed since her last visit. Zecora still had an interesting taste in décor.
“I hope we are to talk at length, and I find tea my thirst to quench. Now tell me how much tea to brew; should I make just one cup, or two?” Zecora asked.
“Yes please, I’d love to have a cup,” Widget replied, nodding vigorously. Zecora always made the best tea.
The zebra placed a pot of water on the fire to heat, and then wandered over to the side of the room where she began mixing together various plants in a furious manner. Soon she had two steaming cups of liquid placed before them at the little table in the next room. Widget sniffed the brew and then took a sip. She sighed as she felt the muscles in her wings relaxing. “You always know just what I need, Zecora,” she said.
“Tell me Widget; what has brought you here, with not even a message reaching my ear?” the zebra asked.
“Well, you know about the holiday the ponies around here celebrate, don’t you?” Widget replied.
“A strange concept this was to me. A day in winter, reserved for glee? But to joy my heart was swift, when last year Apple Bloom brought me a gift.” Zecora smiled happily.
“That’s exactly what I want to talk to you about,” Widget said. “This is my first Hearth’s Warming Eve alone, and I thought… maybe we could spend it together.”
“Hearth's Warming Eve is new to me, and so I have no memory of what traditions ponies like to see. But this means I have no gift for you! I feel like such a total fool...” the zebra trailed off.
“I just want to spend time with you,” the wyrmkin reassured her. “That’s enough for me.”
Zecora paused for a moment to think it over. She stared into space, rubbing her chin while she thought. Widget waited quietly, trying to hide her impatience. It was not a good idea to rush the herbalist. Finally, Zecora turned to her and smiled. “I certainly like to spend time with you. And company soothes the soul, it's true. I think we'll have a wonderful time, even with no mistletoe or wine,” she said.
“R-Really?” Widget asked breathlessly. “That’s wonderful! We’ll have to go into town and buy one of those holiday cakes; the trees burn too easily to be worth worrying about.”
“I'm not quite sure of what you mean, speaking of flames among leaves of green?” Zecora asked, puzzled.
“W-well, one dragon-sized sneeze and the tree is dust,” the wyrmkin said, feeling slightly embarrassed. “It’s also hard for a dragon to decorate the little tree without breaking the ornaments, so my family never bothered with that particular holiday tradition.”
Zecora nodded. “I see your fears of fire and flame. But don't worry; we'll celebrate just the same.”
“Let’s go,” Widget said. “I’m sure Sugarcube Corner will have what we’re looking for.”
The bell on the door jingled cheerfully as Widget and Zecora entered Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cake was waiting at the counter. “Hello dearie,” she said to Widget, “I’m surprised not to see Derpy with you. Are you here for more muffins?”
Widget shook her head. “No thank you,” she said, “Zecora and I are here to see if you have any Holiday cakes left that we could buy.”
The baker glanced at the zebra. “Hello there!” she said brightly. “ I've seen you around town before, but I never had the chance to meet you properly. Sorry about all the craziness when you first came to town, I still don’t know where my head was.” She offered her hoof to the zebra to shake.
“I'm used to ponies running past. I'm simply glad to know you at last.” The zebra took the offered hoof and shook it gently.
Mrs. Cake smiled, and then turned back to Widget. “Now then,” she said. “As for holiday cakes, we still have one left.” She reached down behind the counter. “Without Pinkie around to eat most of them, we have more left over than usual.” The baker placed a festive looking box on the counter-top.
Widget sniffed it and smiled brightly. “Thanks, Mrs. Cake, It smells wonderful. How much do I owe you?” The wyrmkin reached for her pouch of bits.
Mrs. Cake shook her head. “Don’t worry about it dearie,” she said. “We still owe you for fixing the stove last month. We never would have finished that catering order in time if you hadn't been there to help.”
“T-thanks,” Widget said, blushing. “I didn't do much though. You would have done better with a real repair pony. We’re just lucky I didn't make it any worse.”
Mrs. Cake smiled. They had been through this same argument before. “Well, I hope you enjoy your holiday,” she said.
“Thank you, Mrs. Cake” Widget replied. “I hope you have a nice holiday too.”
“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve!” the baker called as they left the shop.
“What should we do now?” Widget asked her companion as they made their way down the shoveled pathways. Before the zebra could respond, a grey blur crashed into the snow nearby. Widget recognized that particular streak of color. She had seen it so many times before. Widget passed the cake to Zecora, then dashed over to where the blur had hit. “Miss Doo?” she called into the pony-shaped hole in the snow bank, “Are you alright?” The snow shifted. A wall-eyed grey pegasus extracted herself from the drift, shaking the snow out of her mane.
“Hi, Widget! I didn't see you there,” the pegasus said.
The wyrmkin smiled. “Where are you headed in such a hurry?” she asked. “I thought there wasn't going to be any mail deliveries today.”
“I’m going to Sugarcube Corner to get a cake,” she said. The mare’s pupils grew larger, and she began to drool a little. “Those holiday cakes are almost as good as muffins! Almost…”
A lump formed in Widget’s stomach. “I’m sorry, Miss Doo, I bought the last one,” she said sadly, pointing to the box Zecora was carrying.
“Aww…” The grey mare’s face fell. A mere moment later she was smiling again. “I guess you will have to come over for dinner then, there’s enough cake here to share.” She poked the box.
“R-really?” Widget asked. “I don’t want to disrupt your family time.”
“Don’t be silly!” the pegasus declared. “You’re my friend, and Dinky likes you too. I’m sure the Doctor will like you as well!”
The wyrmkin’s heart swelled with joy. Then she frowned. “What about Zecora?” she asked.
“What about her?” Ditzy asked with a frown. “I thought she was coming too… Do you have to leave?”
“I thank you for the invitation, and will declare my proclamation, of giving a very heartfelt yes. I would love to be your guest,” Zecora replied with a small smile.
“Oh boy, this will be fun!” Ditzy said, clapping her hooves together. “Dinner is at six o’ clock, don’t be late.” The mare flew off.
“It seems like we’re in for a lot more excitement than I thought,” Widget said.
The zebra nodded in agreement.
At six on the dot, Widget knocked on the Doo family’s door. She waited nervously. “Why am I acting like such a nestling? ” she thought. “It’s not like I've never met anypony new before. Why can’t I be collected like Zecora? ” She glanced over at the Zebra, who was waiting patiently beside her. The zebra had stopped at her home to put on another layer of clothing. It seemed she didn't do well in cold weather. Already the tip of her nose had turned pink. Widget would have been more concerned, had the zebra not assured her that she had also used a potion specifically designed to protect herself from the cold.
The door in front of them opened. Widget turned, ready to greet the wall-eyed pegasus. The words died on her tongue, as she found herself faced not with the mare she knew, but an unknown stallion. She eyed him warily. He was an earth pony, with a brown coat and a dark brown mane.
“Hello there, you must be the guests Ditzy told me about,” he greeted them cheerfully. He gestured for them to follow him inside. Shutting the door behind them, he took the cake from Widget and showed Zecora where to put her winter clothing. “Ditzy! They’re here!” he called as he carried the cake into the kitchen.
Ditzy Doo flew up to them. “Yay, you made it on time! Hi, Widget! Hi, Zecora!” she said happily.
“Hello, Miss Doo,” Widget said.
“Good evening, Mrs. Doo. I am very happy to see you,” Zecora added.
The mailmare smiled. She produced a tiny, grey-violet unicorn filly from behind her back. “Say hi to Widget, Dinky!”
“Hi, Miss Widget,” Dinky said, “I’m glad you came to visit.”
Widget smiled at the filly. “I’m happy to be here,” she replied. “Maybe we’ll even have time to play later.”
The filly clapped her hooves together and smiled.
Ditzy grinned, and then spun the filly to face Zecora. “Now say hi to Zecora!” she said.
“Hi, miss Zecora,” Dinky said. “Apple Bloom told me about you. I like your bracelets.”
Zecora smiled. “Thank you little one. They're not just for show; they've traveled with me from my homeland, you know.”
“Wow, that’s cool,” Dinky said with a grin.
Ditzy smiled and put her daughter down.
“Ditzy, the table is all set,” the stallion said, walking into the room.
Ditzy grabbed him and held him out to Widget. “Say hi to Widget, Doctor!” she said happily.
“Oof! This is highly irregular,” the Doctor muttered. “Ah well, hello there… Widget was it? I’m the Doctor.”
“Nice to meet you,” Widget replied.
“Now say hi to Zecora,” Ditzy said.
“Hello, Zecora,” the Doctor said, humoring her.
“We did not meet properly before; I am a zebra, and my name is Zecora. I see you have a lively filly; when I was her age, I was just as silly,” the zebra said.
Ditzy dropped the Doctor on the ground.
“Ouch!” The stallion grunted in pain.
“Sorry, Doctor,” she said. “You’re really heavy.”
“Now that the introductions are out of the way, it’s time to eat,” Ditzy said. “Dinner is on the table.” She led them into the dining room. Widget’s mouth fell open. She had never such a big holiday feast before. Usually, her Mama had a few gems set aside for “special occasions”, and Papa would bring what he could carry. Ditzy motioned for the two to sit, plunked Dinky down in a chair, before seating herself next to the brown stallion. “Let’s eat,” she said simply. For a while, all that could be heard were the sounds of the five of them eating.
“This is really good,” Widget said.
Ditzy beamed happily. “Thanks, I did most of the cooking. The Doctor helped out where he could.”
“I helped too,” Dinky piped up.
The mare nuzzled her filly. “Of course you did.” She turned to Widget. “Plus, I finally got to introduce you to the Doctor! He’s been so busy lately.”
“Well now, you can’t expect the world to save itself,” he replied.
Ditzy and the Doctor laughed, while Zecora and Widget glanced at each other in confusion.
The Doctor looked at Widget. “I must say, I've never seen a creature like you before. Ditzy tells me you’re a dragon-pony hybrid. Simply fascinating! Tell me, do you lay eggs, or…”
Widget choked on her food.
Dinky giggled at the face the wyrmkin was making.
Zecora focused on her food, not saying anything.
“D-Doctor! That's not appropriate,” Ditzy scolded him, her face red with embarrassment.
“Right, sorry about that,” her replied sheepishly.
Widget had managed to dislodge the chunk of bread from her windpipe. She nodded, eyes watering. Luckily, they managed to make it through the rest of the meal without further incident.
“I think I’m too full to eat cake right now,” Widget said.
The five of them were sitting in the living room, thoroughly stuffed. “Well, it’s too late to head home now, so you can stay here and we’ll have it for breakfast!” Ditzy declared.
“I wouldn't want to impose…” Widget began.
The pegasus shook her head. “I want you to stay. This will be fun!”
Widget laughed. “I guess I can’t say no to that,” she said. "What do you think, Zecora?"
The zebra thought for a moment before responding. “Of walking home, I was feeling glum. A sleepover sounds like marvelous fun!”
Dinky hopped up and down in excitement. “Yay slumber party, we’re having a slumber party!” she chanted. Her mother joined in, and the two of them bounced around the room.
“How can they do that on a full stomach?” Widget wondered aloud.
“I don’t know,” the Doctor replied. He smiled as he watched the antics of his wife and stepdaughter. “I've seen a whole lot of things, but nothing quite like her.”
Widget smiled at him.
He glanced at her, and then flushed with embarrassment. “Why don’t I show you to your rooms?” he said hastily.
Widget chuckled softly as she followed him upstairs to the guest bedroom, with Zecora close behind.
The morning sunlight poured through the curtains, landing in Widget’s eyes. She yawned and stretched. “Maybe these ponies have the right idea with these beds after all,” she thought.
Ditzy poked her head in the room. “Oh good, you’re awake! You must have been tired; you’re the last one up. I've been waiting for quite a while,” she declared happily.
“I take it you’re eager to get to that cake?” Widget asked with a grin.
“Well yeah, that too,” the pegasus replied. “But mostly it’s because there’s somepony downstairs asking for you. He seems really nice.”
Widget frowned. “Who could it be? ” she wondered. “I’ll be down in a minute,” she told the grey mare.
The pegasus nodded and left the wyrmkin to finish getting ready for the day.
Cautiously, Widget descended the stairs. She was very tense, as she had spent the past ten minutes driving herself bonkers trying to figure out why some stallion would be asking for her.
“So you’re an explorer? That’s so exciting, can I come with you?” Dinky was asking.
“No little one, I think you are a little young for that sort of adventure,” somepony responded with a chuckle.
Widget froze. She knew that voice. She dashed down the steps, heart fluttering, gasping for breath.
A pegasus was standing in the living room. He had a silver coat and a golden mane. His cutie mark was a piece of parchment, with a compass rose at the center. He smiled at her. “Hello, nestling,” he said. “Did you miss me?”
Widget charged. She crashed into the visitor, knocking him to the ground. She wrapped her paws around him. “P-Papa! Papa!” she cried. She sat there, sobbing; occasionally stopping to breathe in his scent, to confirm it was really him.
A gentle hoof stroked her mane. “I take it you missed me then?” he said, voice thick with emotion.
She giggled and looked at him. “Of course I missed you!” she said. She stared at him for a long moment. Then reality came crashing in. “But what are you doing here? How did you find me?”
He laughed. “I came here to spend time with you. Your mother would have come too, but she was worried the ponies would be frightened by her. I must say, you gave me quite a scare. I went over to your cave and found it empty. I spent a fair bit of time combing the forest for you. Then I asked the townsfolk. Imagine my surprise when they sent me here! You've certainly grown a lot haven’t you?” He rubbed her head. “You’re not a nestling anymore.”
She hugged him. “I’m sorry I worried you, Papa,” she said.
“That’s alright, I’m just glad you’re safe,” he said. He looked at the other four ponies in the room. “And it seems like you've made some good friends.”
Widget nodded. “I sure have,” she stated with a smile. Straightening up, she looked him in the eye. “So when is Mama coming to visit?” she asked.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” her father asked.
“Sure! I’m sure the ponies here will just love her!” his daughter replied.
A New Life: Part 1
Upon a hillside overlooking the town of Ponyville, stood a figure illuminated in the mid-morning light of early spring. Widget frowned in concentration, looking down at her latest project. Using the tips of her claws, she deftly twisted the ends together. Reaching down into a bag beside her, the wyrmkin fished out a red shard and popped it into her mouth. Crunching down, she quickly swallowed it. Her eyes watered as the fire ruby served its purpose. The fire in her belly grew, and she opened her muzzle, shooting a tiny jet of flame to precisely hit the intertwined wires, soldering them into place. Coughing, she reached for her flask, taking a hearty swig. The water, faintly flavored with mint, cooled the burning in her throat. Widget smiled down at her creation. After weeks of work, it was finally done. She set it up next to the others, and then stood back to admire her work.
“Widget!” a voice called out to her behind her.
The wyrmkin turned to watch a small purple and green dragon bumble up the hill behind her. “You’re late, Spike,” she teased gently.
The baby dragon had paused to catch his breath. He flapped a paw at her dismissively. “I… huff… came as f-fast as I could,” he gasped.
“Another crisis at the library?” she asked.
Spike nodded. “Twilight and the others got called away again. I had to help her pack and get all her lists ready.”
Widget rolled her eyes. “Another crisis they need the Elements of Harmony to solve? What is it this time?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. Twilight ran off with the scroll the Princess sent before I could read it. I hope it isn't anything too dangerous.” He looked down at the ground.
Widget nudged him gently. “Don’t worry; I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
The dragon blushed. “I-I know that. I just wish I could have been there to help… not that I’d be much use.” He looked away towards the town.
The wyrmkin swatted him playfully with her tail. “Enough moping,” she declared. “That’s what my newest project was made to solve!” She gestured to the tree line, where several odd shapes could be seen.
Spike picked himself up off the ground and squinted at the tree line. “What exactly are those?” he asked, uncertain. “Are they going to blow up again like--“ He stopped and covered his mouth.
Widget sighed. “No… it won’t be like Winter Wrap-up. I promise.” She stared into the distance, trying not to cry. “Why did things have to go so poorly? ” she wondered. “Why do I even bother… even this far away, I’m still a danger to everyone-- ” She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Spike was looking up at her in an apologetic manner. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “I didn't mean it like that.”
Stuffing her negative emotions away, she smiled back at him. “It’s alright. It was my fault anyways. I've been trying not to do anything too dangerous in town… I don’t want to make matters any worse than they already are.”
“I’m sure everypony has forgiven you by now,” Spike reassured her. “It was an accident, I’m sure they understand.”
She laughed humorlessly. “Most ponies don’t have ‘accidents’ that leave giant craters where the town fountain used to be.”
“But you did fix it…”
“That’s probably why they let me stay at all. No, I’ll be keeping the experiments to a minimum for a while longer.”
Spike did not reply.
Widget looked down at him, and saw a conflicted expression on his face. “Well, enough of that,” she said briskly. “Let’s get back to your original question, shall we?” She stood in front of him, and put on a professional-looking smile. “Presenting my latest invention… target training!” She spread her arms wide to encompass the grand structure before them.
Spike blinked. “Umm… what?” he asked after a moment.
Widget’s arms fell to her side. She looked at him carefully. When it was clear he wasn't just pulling her leg, she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her snout. “You asked me to help you with your fire breathing earlier. You see the big metal things in front of you, right?” she asked carefully.
He nodded.
“Those are the targets I built for you to practice on. When I wind ‘em up, they’ll pop up randomly, and move around a bit. Your job will be to shoot your flame at the big red circles on top when they appear. Got it?”
Spike nodded again. “You don’t do things halfway, do you?” he said quietly.
“Where’s the fun in that?” She grinned. “You ready?”
He nodded with a serious expression on his face.
Widget smiled. “Awesome. When we’re done, Twilight will have to take you seriously.”
Widget stared down at the smoking spot in the grass, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
“I’m really sorry,” Spike muttered. His face was beet-red with embarrassment.
“What did you do to it?” the wyrmkin asked distantly. Her eyes remained fixed upon the spot where her project had stood moments before.
“I… sort of sent it to princess Celestia?” he said.
Widget’s heart froze. “W-what did you say?” she whispered.
“I, um, kind of used the magic flame I use to deliver Twilight’s letters to the princess on your target. It was an accident… I’m really sorry!”
“D-does this mean the princess just got beaned in the head by a huge chunk of scrap metal?”
“Uh... Maybe?”
Widget shut her eyes. “Calm down,” she muttered to herself. “There’s no way they’ll trace it back to you… so don’t worry. Just pretend you know nothing about it.”
“Are you alright?” Spike asked cautiously. “Do you need to lay down or something?” He approached her in the same manner he would approach a wild animal…
“...or his housemate in one of her tizzies, ” Widget thought to herself. “Don’t worry,” she reassured him. “I’m not about to lose it or anything.”
Spike stood there with his arms crossed. He raised one eyebrow at her, unconvinced.
She smiled at his awkwardly.
He frowned back.
“Hey… what’s going on?” a young pegasus filly called, as she and her two friends came over the hill.
“We saw this big flash ah light,” the little earth pony added.
“What are you doing, Miss Widget?” the young unicorn asked.
Widget smiled down at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had rescued her from an awkward situation. “We’re just working on Spike’s combat skills, so he can help the next time that the Elements of Harmony go on an adventure.”
“OOooh,” the three fillies breathed in unison.
Spike blushed and poked Widget. “Why’s you tell them?” he whispered through gritted teeth.
“Why not?” she replied with a frown. “I thought I just wasn't supposed to tell Twilight or her friends about it.”
He sighed. “Never mind… ” he muttered.
She cocked her head and frowned at him. He could be very confusing at times.
“What are ya whisperin’ about?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Nothing,” Spike said firmly.
“Oh-kaay then,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Anyways, we want to train too!”
Widget and Spike blinked. “Huh?” they asked simultaneously.
The three fillies grinned. “This might be a chance tah get our cutie marks!” Apple Bloom declared.
“Why not?” Widget said after thinking for a moment.
Spike stared at her as if she’d grown an extra head.
“What?” she demanded. “This will be fun. We haven’t had time to play together in a while.”
Spike sighed and the crusaders bounced abut with joy.
“Since the targets are… out of order for now,” Widget said carefully, making Spike to blush. “We’ll just have to move on to roaring.”
“Roar!” The Crusaders and Spike yelled.
“No… you have to feel it from your gut,” Widget sighed. “I’ll show you again. First, you square your legs like this.” She stood in the grass, legs firmly planted. “Next, you stick out your chest. Then you take a deep breath and feel the emotions build up inside… and then ROOOOOAAARRR !”
Her audience clapped appreciatively.
“Alright then, who’s first?” she asked.
“I’ll do it!” Scootaloo volunteered. The orange filly moved to take the spot where Widget had been standing. She squared her legs and pulled her head back, wings flared. She took a deep breath… and then--
“ ROOOAAAAARRR! ” The noise shook the clearing.
“Wow, Scoots,” Apple Bloom said, “That was amazin’.”
“T-that wasn't me,” the pegasus responded.
“Then... what was it?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Widget tuned out of their conversation. She knew that voice, she’d know it anywhere. Squinting up at the sky, she shaded her eyes with her wings, desperately searching. A large shape passed over the clearing. A huge figure landed before them, throwing up dust and grass. Large yellow eyes fell on the small party, and a muzzle split open to reveal rows of sharp teeth. The large dragon blew smoke from its nostrils, its green hide glistening in the sun. For a moment, the hillside was silent.
Three fillies and a young dragon screamed in fear.
Widget squealed in delight, propelling herself towards the intruder. “Mama! You made it!”
“I guess I should have sent a letter first. I didn't mean to startle you.” The large dragon smiled toothily. She was sitting on her haunches, holding her daughter tightly. She was fairly small for a dragon, only about the length of six ponies from head to tail. Her hide was green, and a shade lighter than her daughter’s. She had a pale yellow crest, and golden eyes. Unlike most dragons, she had filed the ends of her claws away so she wouldn't cause any accidental injuries.
Widget rubbed her muzzle against the soft scales of her mother’s chest. She sighed contentedly.
Spike cleared his throat. “It’s alright, you just… startled us a little,” he said civilly.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded. They had finally decided to come out of the bush they had been hiding in. They smiled hesitantly at the big dragon.
The dragoness poked her daughter. “ Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?”
Widget giggled, and climbed down from her mother’s embrace. “Alright then,” she said. “This is Spike. He works with in the library. And these are the Cutie Mark Crusaders; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.” She pointed to each of her friends in turn.
The dragoness grinned at them, making the fillies flinch. “Hello little ones,” she said. “My name is Grumble Belly. You all are so adorable.” She picked up Scootaloo and nuzzled her, despite the pegasus’ frantically buzzing wings.
“Mama…. ” Widget scolded.
The larger dragon blinked. She set the pony down, a blush staining her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just love little babies. You are just too cute to hate.” She began to pat Spike on the top of the head in an absentminded manner.
“Hey! We’re not babies!” Scootaloo yelled.
Grumble Belly laughed. “I have seen 523 winters… you are a baby to me,” she said.
The orange filly frowned.
“I’m sorry; I didn't mean anything by it. Cheer up.” The dragoness smiled and gave the sulking pony a gentle nudge, knocking her over. The dragon blinked. “Oops…” She picked the little filly up by the tail and set her back on her feet. The pegasus was covered in dirt.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle giggled.
Spike snorted.
Soon, everyone was laughing, even Scootaloo.
“I’m so glad things worked out, ” Widget thought. “Everypony seems to like Mama. It’s too bad the bearers are out of town… and Zecora’s off on a trip too. What a shame. Oh well, I know somepony else who’d love to meet Mama… ” She turned to her mother, who was lying in the grass talking quietly to Spike as the Crusaders climbed on her, attempting to “get cutie marks in dragon researchers”. The wyrmkin approached her mother. “Mama?” she said. “I’m going into town to go get somepony I want you to meet. Do you want to come along?”
Her mother shook her head. “I’ll stay here,” she replied. “There’s no need to scare the townsponies anymore than we need to.”
Widget frowned. She couldn't understand what her mother was talking about. The town had seen dragons before… in fact they lived with them! The ponies saw Spike every day, so why was her mother so worried. She sighed. She knew better than to argue. Once her mother made up her mind, she was unmovable. Widget was relieved that her mother had yet to bring up their broken promise, so she decided to just let things be. She waved farewell to her mother and headed into town.
“Where is everypony?” Widget pondered aloud as she wandered through the barren streets of Ponyville. “It’s only a bit after lunchtime… maybe everypony is taking a nap?” She approached her destination and knocked on the door.
Nopony answered.
She frowned and knocked again.
There was a rustling noise behind the door, but it still didn’t open.
“Hello?” Widget called. “Anypony home?”
A muffled voice came from behind the door. “What are you doing out there, Widget? Don’t you know there’s a DRAGON near Ponyville?”
“Of course there’s a dragon near Ponyville,” Widget replied in an exasperated tone. “Mama came to visit. That’s why I’m here. I want you to meet her.”
There was a brief silence. Then the door sprang open, revealing a grey pegasus carrying a unicorn filly in her saddlebag. “Well why didn’t you say so in the first place,” Ditzy Doo said. “Come on, Dinky, let’s go.”
When they arrived back at the hill, there was nopony (and no-kin) in sight. “Where are they?” Widget wondered.
Ditzy shrugged. “Maybe they’re hiding?” she suggested.
A shadow passed overhead. Widget looked up just in time to see her mother coming in for a landing, with a baby dragon and three windswept ponies on her back. The dragoness landed, and her passengers tumbled from her back, falling into the grass, where they lay giggling.
“I’m sorry, fledgling,” Grumble Belly said to her daughter. “I was just giving the little ones a ride over the Everfree.”
Widget blushed a deep red. “M-mama!” she stuttered. “D-don’t call me that in public!”
Her mother laughed and hugged her embarrassed daughter tightly. “I’m sorry,” she said in a teasing tone. She glanced at Widget’s new companion. “Who’s this?” she asked in a neutral tone, looking over the pony carefully.
Widget pulled out of her mother’s hold, and waved a paw at the grey pegasus. “Mama, this is my teacher and good friend, Miss Doo. She brought her daughter Dinky along as well.”
Ditzy grinned at Grumble Belly. “Oh boy!” she said. “You’re the biggest dragon I’ve ever seen. You’re wings are so huge, and your scales are shiny!”
“I really like your crest,” Dinky piped up from the saddlebag. Her mother lifted her out and put her down in the grass.
Widget watched her mother puff out her chest at the praise. “Miss Doo always knows just what to say, ” she thought. “Mama could never resist a compliment. ”
“Well now,” the dragoness said. “It seems my daughter’s teacher is a pony of good taste. It’s nice to meet you.”
Ditzy smiled at the dragon’s response. “I’m a pony with good taste?”
Widget’s mother nodded. She bent down and picked up Dinky gently. “Aren’t you just precious?” she cooed.
Dinky giggled as the dragon nuzzled her.
Widget smiled and went over to talk to the Crusaders, who had finally stopped laughing and picked themselves up off the ground. “Did you have fun?” she asked them.
The fillies nodded.
“That was awesome!” Scootaloo yelled. She frowned when the others looked at her, smiling. “W-what I mean is, it was good practice for when I can fly on my own,” she amended hastily.
The other two fillies tried to hide their grins.
“Well, ah guess we better get goin’,” Apple Bloom said.
Widget’s ears drooped. “Why?” she asked.
“We got homework that’s due tomorrow,” Sweetie Belle said with a grimace.
Scootaloo made a gagging noise. “Ugh, I hate homework.”
“That’s why we’re doin’ it together,” Apple Bloom said firmly. “That way it’ll get done faster. See ya later, Miss Widget.”
The three fillies waved goodbye, and headed off towards Sweet Apple Acres.
After they were out of sight, Widget looked around for the one missing member of their party. She found Spike lying in the grass where he had originally landed. He was staring up at the sky with a distant expression on his face. “Spike, are you alright?” she asked.
He stirred a little and glanced at her. “I’m alright, I guess.”
She frowned at him.
He continued to stare up at the sky.
Widget shoved her face into his view. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
Spike sighed. He sat up and looked around. Grumble Belly was deep in conversation with Ditzy, and Dinky was busy chasing a grasshopper. He looked at her. “You know how I told you about all the stuff that happened during the dragon migration?” he asked.
Widget nodded.
“Well, up until now, I thought I knew how things worked. Dragons were all mean and snooty, and the ponies were the nice ones I belonged with. I knew my place in the world.”
“But I’m a dragon,” Widget responded in confusion.
Spike nodded. “I know, but I told myself the reason you were different from those guys at the migration was because you were part pony. The same way I was ‘saved’ by being raised by ponies…”
The wyrmkin frowned and opened her mouth to make an angry retort.
“… But now I’m not so sure.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your mother is really nice… it changes things. I can’t just group all dragons as ‘bad’ anymore. I’m not sure where that leaves me.” He sighed and looked down at the ground.
Widget nuzzled him gently. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” she said. “My mama always said she was odd for a dragon. She did marry a pony, after all. Maybe she is different.”
Spike blushed. “Thanks... “
“You certainly have some interesting friends,” Grumble Belly said. Ditzy Doo and her daughter had just left so the mailpony could make dinner.
Widget nodded in agreement. “They can be odd sometimes, but they’re nice to be around.”
Her mother smiled. “’I’ll admit that I was a little apprehensive when I first heard that you had broken your promise.”
Widget stiffened.
“But your little friends are all so cute, and they really seem to like you. That grey pegasus concerned me for a while with that odd face of hers, but she wasn’t too bad either. I’m glad you didn’t end up getting involved with a bunch of wild, rowdy ponies. I would be really worried if you had.”
Widget smiled and had opened her mouth to agree, when suddenly a rainbow-colored blur crashed into her mother’s chest, forcing the air out of her lungs.
“Take that you scaly monster!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“Wait, you don’t have to-- “ Widget began. A purple light flashed nearby, revealing five other familiar ponies.
“Rainbow, you should have waited for us!” Twilight scolded. She cast a protective shield around the group.
Applejack pulled out her lasso and began to twirl it.
Pinkie produced her party cannon out of nowhere.
Rarity assumed an attack position.
Fluttershy did her best to hide behind them.
After getting her breath back, Grumble Belly rose to her feet and roared at the six ponies.
“STOP!” Widget yelled, positioning herself between the combatants. “Don’t hurt my Mama!”
Six pairs of eyes stared at her in shock. “Mother?” they cried.
Twilight smiled awkwardly. “We’re really sorry,” she said. “When we got back to town, we heard that there was a big dragon nearby that had flown off with some fillies… I guess we jumped to conclusions.”
Grumble Belly glared at her. “Typical pony behavior; you call anything you don’t understand a ‘monster’ and attack it. That’s why you are weak.”
“Weak?” Dash yelled, tensing up for an aerial charge. “I’ll show you weak!”
Applejack grabbed her tail and brought her back down to the ground before she could do anything. “Easy now, Sugarcube. Let’s not go an’ make things even worse.”
Rainbow grumbled under her breath, but settled down.
“This will be fun!” Pinkie shouted. She jumped up onto Grumble Belly's snout and stared into her eyes. “What kind of cake do you want at you’re ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party?”
The dragoness’ eyes widened at the pink equine's sudden appearance, and shook her head sharply, throwing Pinkie to the ground.
“Again!” Pinkie giggled.
Rarity was busy trying to coax Fluttershy out of the bush she was hiding in.
Grumble Belly growled. “Who are all of you?” she demanded.
Widget shifted awkwardly. “These are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” she stated formally. She went on to introduce each pony and their respective element.
The dragoness watched the whole introduction with narrowed eyes. “So you’re the Elements. No wonder you seem like such a… rough bunch.”
Rarity made a small, angry noise.
Twilight tried to step in and change the subject. “Anyway, Widget, I’m glad I found you. I was talking to Princess Celestia, and she said she’d like to meet you.”
Widget froze. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. “C-C-Celestia? B-but why?”
Twilight shrugged. “I’m not really sure,” she said. “Princess Celestia said it was an ‘important royal request’.” She glanced at Widget, who was visibly sweating. She placed a gentle hoof on the wyrmkin’s shoulder, and smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen. We’ll all be there to help you.” A dark shadow loomed up behind her.
“Little unicorn.” Grumble Belly growled softly. “Why are you acting so familiar towards my daughter?”
“Duh, because we’re all bestest best friends, silly,” Pinkie said.
The dragoness roared angrily, making the ponies cringe. "What did you say? "
"Well, this introduction won't end well," Spike said.
Twilight rubbed a hoof over her forehead and sighed heavily. Widget and her mother had both finally calmed down enough to talk. "So, where were we?" the librarian asked dryly.
"Princess? Why... what will I do," Widget muttered. She was curled in a shivering ball. Spike was watching her with concern.
"You were going to tell me how you became 'friends' with my daughter." Grumble Belly responded sternly to the unicorn's question. "If I had known she was associating with such disreputable characters, I would have taken her back home a long time ago. I still intend to do so if need be." The dragoness towered over Twilight in a threatening manner.
The unicorn was only able to stutter in response.
Nearby, a bush sporting a pink tail squeaked and quivered.
Widget snapped out of her daze. "Mama, p-please don't," she said quietly.
Grumble Belly glanced at her daughter in surprise. "You're standing up for these ponies?" she demanded, thrusting an accusing claw in the direction of the assembled ponies.
Widget nodded. "I-I know you told me not to talk to ponies, Mama, and I'm sorry I had to break a promise to you. But... I'm not sorry that I talked to them!"
Her mother inhaled sharply.
"These ponies are important to me..." Widget struggled to find the right words as she squirmed underneath her mother's sharp stare. She glanced at her nearby friends for guidance. The girls and Spike smiled at her, giving her the strength to continue. "Even since I came here, I've felt like there was something missing in my life. Then I met them, purely by accident. Fluttershy reached out to me, and the others all followed quickly behind. They taught me how to laugh, and brought meaning to my life."
Fluttershy edged slowly out of the bush she had been hiding in, and gave Widget a small smile.
Widget looked her mother squarely in the eyes. "Mama, I promised I would never change for anyone else... and I won't. Not even for you."
For a long time her mother was silent, her face blank. Widget knew this was merely a facade. Below the surface, the dragon's mind was working full tilt; Papa wasn't the one she got her smarts from after all. Finally the dragon spoke. "You aren't my little fledgling anymore, are you?" Grumble Belly asked, voice thick with emotion.
Widget reached out towards her mother, and the two embraced.
After a few moments, Spike broke in. "Not to ruin the moment, but don't we have more important things to worry about?" he asked. "The princess will be here in less than an hour."
Widget froze. "W-what?" she cried. The wyrmkin began to hyperventilate.
Twilight elbowed Spike in the gut.
A little less than an hour later, six ponies, two dragons, and a very nervous half-breed stood in the middle of town, waiting for the arrival of princess Celestia. Despite her earlier worries about frightening the towns folk, Grumble Belly had been adamant about accompanying her to "meet the snooty royal pony". Her announcement had caused Twilight's face to turn several interesting colors. She then proceeded to write a quick letter to the princess regarding the additional member of the welcoming party, and sent it through Spike's fire breath.
"There's the royal carriage!" Twilight said excitedly. The purple mare was practically bouncing in place with excitement.
Widget trembled. "How long do you suppose one goes to jail for accidentally bludgeoning the princess with a large metal object sent by dragonfire? " she wondered nervously.
The carriage landed, and the ponies all bowed. Grumble Belly eyed the princess suspiciously, and Widget's legs had locked into place. Widget glaced at the princess. For somepony crushed by metal, she looked surprisingly healthy.
"Greetings, my little ponies," Celestia said. "And to you, noble dragon."
Grumble Belly inclined her head slightly, but did not cease her inspection, much to the discomfort of the royal guards accompanying the carriage.
Twilight approached the princess with a broad smile on her face. "Princess Celestia, this is the wyrmkin I told you about, Widget."
Widget's eyes widened. She looked at Twilight, who was smiling at her. She wondered why she had been betrayed by the little unicorn.
Grumble Belly lifted her lip in a silent snarl. "So, you've been spying on my daughter and reporting to your superior, have you?" she hissed.
The princess smiled at her gently. "Not at all. I have merely learned of her through my faithful student's friendship reports, and then only when she had learned a valuable lesson from your daughter."
"Really?" Widget asked, looking straight at the offending unicorn.
The unicorn's brow crinkled in confusion. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"
Widget blinked. Maybe this was a case of insanity instead of cold-hearted betrayal. As a matter of fact, Twilight being crazy made a lot more sense than her being evil. She sighed, head spinning.
Noticing her silence, Twilight approached Widget, looking concerned. "Why do you have such a problem with me telling the princess about you?"
"Because then sh's come down here and eliminate me!" Widget blurted out angrily.
Twilight looked confused. "Why would you think a crazy thing like that would happen?"
Spike coughed and muttered something about "magic kindergarten".
Twilight shot him a cold look.
"Why wouldn't she?" Widget stared at the ground sadly. "I'm an abomination. I'm not a pony, I'm not a dragon. All I am is a horrid mix of the two. I never deserved friendship... yet for some reason you all decided to give it to me regardless." She looked up at Celestia. Her expression hardened. "I-I'm ready to take any punishment you see fit."
"Punishment? Why would I do that? I'm here to offer you a job." The princess said, smiling. Everyone looked at her, surprised by her announcement.
The princess must have been concussed by the metal object hitting her head. "Because I hit you in the head with a large metal object sent via dragonfire?" she said.
The alicorn shook her head. "I'll admit, the appearance of your invention did indeed surprise me, but one does not get as old as I and not know how to avoid minor accidents. I am here because that device of yours is quite ingenious, and I'd like to commission about a hundred of them for use in training the royal armed guards."
Widget blinked. "What?"
Ignoring her confusion, Celestia continued. "Naturally, you shall be payed for your services. A shop will be set up for you in Canterlot, where you can utilize your talents to the fullest."
Grumble Belly stamped her foot. "Absolutely not," she said firmly. "My husband has told me about the habits of those fancy, stuck-up ponies with their frilly outfits. I will not allow you to take my daughter to a place that such racist ponies call home." Her steely gaze rested on the offending monarch.
"I don't want to go," Widget said. The alicorn and the dragoness glanced down at her. "My life is here, my home is here, and so are my friends. If making the best of my talents means leaving it all behind, then I don't want to do it."
Celestia looked her over carefully. Widget did her best to stay upright and not quiver too much. "I understand," the alicorn said. "I suppose it won't be too hard to get you a shop here in Ponyville. Delivering things by train will be a bit of effort, but we can do so if it makes you happy."
Widget smiled happily at the alicorn. "Alright then, I guess we have a deal." She stuck out a hand to shake. For some reason the guards all tensed up, but Celestia waved them away before taking Widget's paw and shaking it gently.
"It seems we are in for some excitement in the future," the alicorn said, eyes twinkling mischievously.
Widget hummed to herself as she made the final touches on her latest commission. She inspected the object carefully in the light, looking for any flaws she might have missed earlier. It needed to be perfect; Miss Doo would be here to pick up her muffin launcher this afternoon.
The bell in the front shop chimed. Widget made her way from the back room to the small storefront to greet the customer. She smiled at the little dragon standing there. Spike had been coming to the shop several times a week to help out. It was thanks to his help that the princesses' target dummies had taken only months to finish instead of years. With additional practice, the little dragon was now much better with his flame. He was pretty good at soldering.
"Late again?" she teased.
He blushed and mumbled something incomprehensible.
Widget sighed and shook her head. Ever since Mama had left two months ago, he had been acting a bit odd. The dragoness had stayed around to make sure her daughter was settling into her new life comfortably. The dragoness had taken a shine to Fluttershy as well. She liked to carry the yellow pony around, much to the pegasus' dismay. As she left, Grumble Belly had pulled Spike to the side and whispered something in his ear that had left him starring into space for quite some time afterwards. Whenever she tried to ask about their conversation, the little dragon would turn red and change the subject. Widget knew she shouldn't pry, but her scientific curiosity was heightened. She'd get the truth out of him sooner or later.
After she had set him up with working on one of the shop display pieces in the back, she moved to the front of the store, where she stopped to look around. Though a little on the small side compared to the workshop, the store was crammed with objects. Ponies would often take a lot of time just to look through it all. Just last week, one of those fancy looking ponies Mama had been so worries about had stopped by. She had been concerned at first, but he had showered her with praise and left with a teapot, and clock, and a promise to buy more in the future. Maybe these Canterlot ponies weren't so bad after all.
Widget looked at the one place on the wall that was relatively free of clutter. There hung the Crusader's drawing of her cutie mark. She smiled at it. The girls still came by from time to time to get parts or advice for their latest wacky adventures.
A soft "Churr" called her attention to over-head. She looked up at the water filled tubes that ran along the shop's ceiling. Sydney pushed his beak up against the glass, and churred at her again. Widget smiled at him. With a flick of his tail, the platypus disappeared down one of the tubes, heading towards his burrow upstairs in Widget's bedroom. Getting used to living in a house instead of a cave was taking some effort, but with Sydney and all her friends to help, she was slowly getting used to it.
The bell on the door rang, and two stallions entered. The one stallion in front looked fairly old, but he moved with a spring in his step that belied his apparent age. He had a grey coat, and white mane that stuck out of his head like cotton fluff. The other one was much younger. He was brown in color, and was wearing an orange vest for some reason.
"Are you sure we can get parts here, doc?" the brown one asked.
"Of course! This seems like the only place in town that sells anything remotely like what we're looking for. As for the rest, we'll just have to improvise," his companion replied.
Widget shook her head, coming out of her daydream. Now was not the time for deep thoughts or reminiscing. She had customers to attend to. She put on the professional smile Rarity had taught her and approached the two stallions. "Welcome to 'Widget's Gadgets', what can I do for you?"
THE END
