Inventors
“friendship isn’t magic”
In the suburbs of Ponyville there was an odd shaped building, it had a small tower with tiny observatory on top. Below the tower was the main building, it was one story high with five different rooms, one of these rooms was Bookin’s. The room was lined with bookshelves but there was no books on them, instead the books where on the ground.Be side his desk was a row of guitars one of them seemed to be made of metal and front was covered in switches and dials the guitars were the only thin well looked after. Bookins didn't see the point in cleaning and sorting, it only got messy again. Bookins was pegasus. He has black-blue hair which was almost indescribably messy, it was like each strand of hair was waging war which every other strand, and bright blue eyes and a dark blue coat and three books in a messy pile for an insignia.
He was reading and drinking. Bookins spent most of his waking hours either drinking or reading or both. Reading and drinking at the same time was a talent Bookins had honed over many years.The door to Bookin’s study opened and his best friend Conrob walked in. Conrob has a bright orange coat, black and orange hair,big brown eyes and an insignia that looked like a mesh of all notes piled together with a few extra. the main reason that Conrob was Bookins’s best friend was that Bookins didn’t have any other friends. Conrob and Bookins had only known each other for about two years but because of the lack of other friends it seemed as though they had known each other a lot longer. The difference between Bookins and Conrob was massive, the only similarity was that they where both inventors.
‘Wellllll.’ Said Conrob.
‘Well, what?’ Replied Bookins.
‘Well, there’s a new girl in the library.”
‘She’s been there a while Conrob.’
‘Are you gonna talk to her?’
‘Conrob, she’s Celestia’s, student, she’s an element of harmony, she’s bloody smart and finally incredibly sexy do I have any chance with her at all?’
‘I dunno...do you?’
‘No Conrob I don’t.’
‘Come on you both like books are your similar colors.’
‘Annnd that’s where the similarities end.’
‘...ok.What about the bar tonight?’ Conrob always seemed to switch the subject of a conversation with out any real reason.
Bookins held up the empty beer bottle. ‘What do you think?’
‘That’s defiantly a yes, right?’
Bookins nodded. ‘Yes it is.’
The bar didn’t have much of a indication that it was a bar. It was the type of bar that held either the most pathetic or the most extreme, many of these ponys saw or did things that would make gods cry, these where the “weird smelly kids” from school all grown up.
Bookins walked up to the counter ‘beer’ he said. The bartender gave him two drinks both for Bookins.
“Anything?” Asked the bartender.
“Usually you’re not one to ask.” Replied Bookins.
The bartender shrugged. “What’s wrong with idle chatter?”
“Well if we are talking about your version of idle chatter, a whole lot.” Bookins had figured out that the bartender had been an interrogator for some criminal gang who sent ponys insane to get information he wanted.
“We talked about Bookins going out with Twilight.” Said Conrob.
“Maybe in your mind.” Said Bookins as he finished off the second bottle.
The bartender laughed. “You with twilight-fucking-sparkle? Now that’s something I would love to see.”
Bookins shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint.”
The bartender put another two drinks up on the counter.
“You just never know, maybe it could happen.”
“Yeah sure.”
The bartender went to leave but stopped.
“One last thing.” He said. “Could Conrob sing here one day.”
“Why not.” Said Conrob.
“I thought your days of fucking with pony’s minds where over?” Said Bookins.
“Old habits die hard I suppose.”
As the night went on Bookins drank and drank until he finally got sick in the ally beside the bar, passed out and Conrob had to carry him home again.
Bookins got up with a splitting hangover and he had no real idea which way was which, he looked to the left and saw some old liberty book on the desk. Bookins picked it up ‘Fall of Klizer’ was written on the front, there was some sort of battle being waged on the cover. He had a vague recollection of the book, the characters were pretty badass and the lore was good, all in all not bad. He got this book about a year ago and must of forgotten to return it like many of the other books he ‘borrowed’. There was something about the library that he had to remember but couldn’t quite put his hoof on it ‘meh’ he said. May as well drop the book off and figure it out then.
He opened the door and the light was blinding. But he had dealt with this enough times to aptly ignore it. He walked down the streets of ponyville and came up against the library, it had changed since the bitch who used to run it left, seemed almost homely now he entered the front door. “Whoa.” He said it had changed a fuck load since he was last here the had been there was new curtains,lighting had been installed, it had been polished and it was actually clean. Apart from the wooden horses head in the middle of the room everything had been changed.
“Um. Can I help you?” Said a female voice. Bookins looked in the direction in which it came, NOW he figured out what he had to remember, Twilight Sparkle had moved into the liberty. Celestia’s student, the the destroyer of Nightmare Moon, the element of magic.
He held up ‘Fall of Klizer.’
“This” He said.
The book levitated over to Twilight.
“I’ve have been looking for this.” She levitated over another book presumably the book ledger. He had seen it before, the old bitch used it to keep track of books she gave out and what time they came back.
“This book has been missing for over almost two years” She looked at him.
“Sorry, it got lost.”
“What’s your name?”
“Bookins” He said automatically.
She levitated over yet another book and she flicked to the B’s, he suddenly realized giving her his name might be a bit costly.
“You owe quite a bit of money.”
Or very costly.
“Um...” He said
Twilight looked him up and down, he seemed to be swaying slightly.
‘Are you ok?’ She asked.
Bookins shook his head. ‘Yeah fine just need a drink’
‘I don’t have anything in the house, sorry.’
‘Well do you want to go for lunch?’ He asked. He had no idea why he asked and it was probably the drink speaking.
Shit, he just asked the element of magic out for lunch.
She smiled.
‘Yes I would.’
He was dazed, hungover and now he was more then just mildly confused.
‘Really?’ He replied.
She nodded. ‘Yes defiantly, lets go.’ And she walked out the door.
‘Oh.’ He said, then turned and followed her out.
“Looking at the amount of books you’ve borrowed you must live here.” Said Twilight.
“I’ve only been here here a few years.” Replied Bookins
She looked at him in surprise. “That’s a lot of books for only a few years.”
“I read fast.”
“Um” Twilight sought for a new conversation piece.
“where are you from? I’ve never heard a accent like yours before.”
“Oddly enough I’m from Fillydelfia, I got the accent from my grandfather.”
They found a cafe and sat down at the nearest table. “So what’s your job?” asked Twilight.
“Inventor.” Telling somepony that you were an inventor was usually a bad idea especially somepony from Canterlot. Inventors were hated because they mostly consisted of Conponys, drug dealers and drug addicts using their inventions to steal money. the inventors have been called the largest criminal gang in Equstria and a cesspit of failure, (the accusations were quite accurate). But worst of all the inventors brought change
“Inventors live here?” Twilight looked confused. Inventors usually live in big cites and mainly in the suburbs not in some small village.
“I’m pretty sure its got something to do with Leony.”
“Who’s Leony?”
“A...friend of Celestias. He’s got brown hair and a white coat”
“I think I saw him once, he looked very angry.”
“He’s always angry, like that farm girl, just he’s not hiding it.”
“By farm girl do you mean Applejack?”
“Yeah...I think.”
“But Applejack isn’t angry.”
“She can kick all the apples off a tree in one go,you really think that’s purely from training? She’s trying to prove herself to someone she’ll ever meet probably.”
“How do you know?”
“Simple psychology, you ever seen her parents?”
“Well, no.”
“Exactly.”
“If your so good at psychology, why are you an inventor?”
“That’s just very basic psychology my granddad taught me, not enough to get me into the collage or anything.”
“Why don’t you ask him to teach you more?”
“My granddad’s dead.”
“Oh,sorry.”
Bookins shrugged. “We all die at some point... usually faster then we want.”
“That’s a dark out look on life.”
“Dark? Ha! No twilight, that’s a realistic outlook, sure gods might live forever, but us? We grow old and die.”
“Fine believe that. But what does it matter if we die, it’s about being happy when your alive.”
“Sure maybe in a place like Canterlot but in the real world its about surviving that matters. Lie, cheat, beg and steal, it’s all about making it through to tomorrow”
“Well some of us can make a living honestly”
“Really? Like who? You don’t need to make a living your Celestias student, you don’t have to worry about ever running out of money, about living on the street, you’ve got a house all of your own, I live in a room smaller then this fucking cafe with nothing to fall back on.”
“Don’t think your the only one whose had it bad before I came here I didn’t have any friends I dedicated my time to study, I was laughed at, but then I came here I found the magic of friendship and why its so important.”
“Yeah but you had your family, all I had was my grandfather and now he’s dead, I didn’t have some foalsitter to do nursy rhymes with, so what did I do?
I immersed myself in drink, I still do, trying to forget, I was truly alone, then I came here, I got a friend, Conrob’s
his name, and I found that friendship isn’t magic. No friendships when you’ve got to carry your friend home after he got drunk again and he got sick in the ally and you got the clean him up because he’s going to meeting tomorrow and your not, when you’ve got to comfort him when he’s woken up screaming and when you’ve got to give him your sheets and sleep in the cold because his sheets have got blood over them because his mouth started bleeding in the night again and he almost choked to death and your always worrying that someday he will die and you’ll be all alone again. No Twilight, friendship isn’t magic, friendship’s painful”.
Twilight said nothing. What was there to say?
After what seemed like an eternity of silence Bookins spoke.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Sometimes I just get angry at the unfairness of it all, I... I’m sorry.”
Twilight laid a hoof on his shoulder.
“It’s ok I understand, sometimes you just have to let it all out, life is unfair but it gets better.”
“Yeah I suppose your right.Thanks for understanding, not many would.” He smiled. “maybe your not like most of the ponys in Canterlot.”
To his surprise she laughed
“I was always the weird one.”
“Yeah I know what that’s like.”
“But seriously” her face went all stony then perked up. “Ever read the Belther saga?”
“Read? Twilight I’ve I got drunk with the author.”
What started as lunch turned into dinner (they were both accustomed to eating sandwiches for dinner)
As the conversation swung from fantasy to science fiction to mystery and back again it was only when the waiter told them that the cafe was closing down that they realized what time it was
“Oh, really?” He looked at Twilight. “See you...?”
“Tomorrow.” She said. “About noon, gives us plenty of time to talk.”
Bookins smiled “I’ll try and find another lost book for you.”
She smiled back “I’ll look forward to that. See you tomorrow Bookins.”
“See you tomorrow Twilight.”
As he walked away Bookins contemplated what just happened. He just asked Twilight Sparkle out for lunch and they ended up having dinner together. He wondered about it for a while and just put it down to being a strange fucking world.
Bookins sat down on his chair, it was a new design with one leg coming out of the bottom that branched to six horizontal legs each with a wheel attached to it, was very prototype, but Bookind thought it was easily one of the best inventions ever, it was made by someone who wanted to move but didn’t want to get off their chair, which was perfect for Bookins. Bookins grabbed the nearest beer can and opened it, reflecting on the past day, he just had dinner with Twilight Sparkle. It was sandwiches but Bookins figured that still counts.
Conrob popped his head in the door “where have you been all day?”
“You planted the book didn’t you?”
Conrob shrugged “maybe.”
“well I don’t know whether to thank you or hate you for it.”
“Thank me of course.”
Bookins laughed. “alright then. Thanks”
“have a good day?”
Bookins nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I just did”
“A good day can change a lot in a life.”
“So can a bad day.”
“Okay enough philosophy, when you meeting up again?”
“She said tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? That could mean something.”
Conrob could write and sing a song that could make any cry and laugh at the same time yet he had horrendous grammar.
Bookins threw the empty can away and picked up a full one. “And what could it mean?”
"It could mean she wants to see you again really quick."
"I think it's just no other pony in this fucking town reads books and she want some one she can talk to about books."
Conrob sighed “really? Given up so soon?”
“Look at me. She’s from Canterlot, do I really have a chance?”
“That’s what you said yesterday, and yet”
Bookins shrugged “I’m just thinking logically”
“What you think as logically others think as pessimistically”
“Fine by me”
Conrob shook his head in the over exaggerated why of his. “You really got to change your attitude.”
“I’ll change my fucking attitude when when I find a damn reason to.”
“You might just.”
Armadillo
The next day Bookins had a fairly big problem. He didn’t know whether to meet Twilight at the cafe or at her house, he just remembered she didn’t actually say.
He figured it was best if he just turned up at her house early. But then there still was the problem of finding a book he hadn’t returned. He said it as a sort of joke but he wanted to find a book anyway.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuuck!” He went through piles of books kicking up dust, unable to find a book he was absolutely sure came from the liberty. “Ah Ha” he held up a book titled ‘The Shards.’ He was almost certain this came from the liberty.
Bookins arrived at the liberty and knocked on the door, a small purple dragon answered the door
“Um. you are?” The small dragon said.
“Bookins. I was here yesterday.”
“Oh you. Twilight told me about you. She left about a minute ago.”
“Oh shit.” Said Bookins. He threw the book at the dragons feet and bolted into the sky to search for the cafe.
Spike shook his head “This place is weird.”
Bookins found the cafe and touched down beside Twilight.
“sorry I’m late.” He said.
“Don’t worry I always come too early. Your actually on time.”
“That’s a first.” Bookins shook his head. She almost seemed to glow.
“Thanks for coming. I haven’t talked to anypony who knows as much about books as I do since I came here. I doubt I’ve ever talked to a pony who knows as much about books as you do.”
“Look at my name Twilight, its not like I’m gonna be some racer pegasus.”
She laughed, which surprised Bookins since he knew the joke was terrible.
The rest of the day was mostly talk about books but occasionally they went off-topic.
“You mentioned yesterday that Conrob is your only friend. is that true?”
“Yeah. I guess. I’m lucky, at least I have a friend.”
“What’s he like?”
“Hmmmm.” Bookins tapped his chin “You know that kid who never saw the difference between anything, be it griffin, zebra, pony, male or female, whatever, they just didn’t see the difference?
“Yeah, I know somepony like that.”
“He was that kid. He’s bisexual now, very bisexual and has an unending love of music, I’m just surprised he’s in the inventors and not somewhere else.”
“He sounds perfect for Pinkie Pie .”
“Pinkie Pie is the bakers assistant isn’t she?”
“She works at Sugercube Corner.”
“Conrob went out with her once.”
“Really!? When?”
“Last summer. They went out for two days, then he just stopped seeing her and when I ever mentioned it he just said something about not being able any more.”
“Wow. I never knew about that.”
“Not many do, and don’t go spreading it around, doubt he’d appreciate it.”
“I won’t.”
“Also might have something to do with the way he can’t eat.”
“He can’t eat?”
“Inside of his mouth is melted very bad, he says he was born with but I doubt that.”
“Then how does he get nourishment?”
“Cold soup, strained until its about as thick as water and he can’t drink anything but water.”
“Poor guy.”
“It’s got to do with his past, he has night terrors and his mouth starts bleeding when he’s singing an emotional song and sometimes at night. He’s fairly messed up.
And then there’s the schizophrenia.”
“In which he has two different personality’s?”
“Yeah.”
“I shouldn’t ask but...”
Bookins shrugged.
“I saw his alter-ego once and this isn’t where they go a bit strange, this is a complete mind switch, he has no memory of the incident, which means its quite serious.
It started when I talked to him about his past, found out his mother died of cancer, his mouth was bleeding pretty heavily at this point, then he mentioned his ex I think, and then.
He changed,his chest started bleeding, his mouth grew to his ears, his teeth became pointed like a triangle and he had this huge smile across his face with blood pumping out of his mouth.
One second there was Conrob, then there was this thing smiling in front of me. Not good being a schizophrenic and a morpher.”
“What’s a morpher?”
“those ponys who can change and stretch their body’s.”
“Oh. In Canterlot we call them changers. But I didn’t think there was any true ones left.”
“Conrob isn’t a true morpher, those ponys can change their body’s to become something else completely, all those disappeared a long time ago due to inbreeding and such, he’s just a very good mopher”
"What does he do for a living?"
"Genetic scientist."
"What?"
"Strange job for a pony like him but his mother died of cancer and he wants to find out if there is a connection between cancer and genes and if he can find a cure that way."
"Thats a big thing to be working on."
"He's Conrob. Conrob does things."
“Do you have any other friends apart from Conrob?
Bookins shook his head. “Not really.”
“But don’t inventors live together?”
“We might live in the same building but that don’t make us friends. Your Canerlot upbringing is really obvious sometimes.”
“Yeah. I was overwhelmed with luxury.” She said in a sarcastic tone.
Bookins shrugged “With inventors it’s either better not being their friend or they just don’t want friends, like that pony who lives across from me, Darnles or Darmis or what ever his name is, only seen him twice this year, spends all his time locked away in his bedroom.”
“That...that’s sort of.”
“Sad? Yeah even for an inventor he’s shy. Then again I think he might be a werepony.”
“No way! wereponys only live in the forest.”
The wereponys are a cult of psychopaths who dedicate their lives to making sure the predators stay in the forest during winter. He can live where he likes.
“But a Werepony living in town? that’s just dangerous.”
“Why?”
“If a werepony is found to be in Canterlot the order is to fall back to the castle and wait for reinforcements, and that’s the royal guard.”
“Didn’t know it was that extreme, and I didn’t think Twilight sparkle would know so much about wereponys.”
“Well I only know that last thing because my brother is a guard captain.”
Bookins eyes widened.
“Your brother is guard captain?”
“Yeah...Something wrong with that?”
“Well..No.No. Nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all.”
“Do you know anything about Darmis?”
“I paid somepony to find whatever they could out about him. He used to live in the machine building sector of the Inventors, he’s a talented lightbender, he was taught micro levitation there and after that he went to the lightbending school because of some horrendous factory accident, where he learned to play the piano, because everypony who goes there has to learn how to play an instrument, and then he came here and that his entire life story as far as I know. No history at all before that.”
“How did you find that all out?”
“Pay the right pony and you can find out a lot of things and I was curious about Darmis because of how illusive he is and the pony I paid found out extra because they where also curious.”
“Did that pony you pay check birth records?”
“Yeah they did and they came up with nothing that fitted him, he’s not even from Equestria.”
“Then where’s he from?”
Bookins shrugged “No idea. The information seller I paid is really good so I doubt anyone apart from Darmis knows where’s Darmis is from.”
“Information brokers I know about, they practically set up stalls in Canterlot.”
“It doesn’t matter where you go information always has value.”
“Are you quoting from the Last Shadow trilogy?”
“Of course I am.”
The conversation then returned to it’s normal path of the general discussion of books and everything that had anything to do with them.
Eventually the to leave came.
“I’ve got a lot of going on tomorrow so will I see you here the same time the day after tomorrow?” said Twilight
“Yeah sure, I never have anything going on so I’m always free.”
Twilight smiled and Bookins had to shake his head again “see you then Bookins.” And then they parted ways for the day.
That night Bookins was in the bar with Conrob and Bookins was drinking more heavily then usual, or at least faster.
“And guess what?!”
“What?”
“Her brothers the guard captain! The fucking guard captain!”
Conrob did a sly little smile.
“This is going to be interesting.”
Bookins attempted to stare at the two Conrobs in his vision.
“Shut the fuck up you!”