The house
“There, all finished,” Twilight announced to the empty air as she shelved the final book in her library. She looked around the room, double checking everything, making sure that the room was in order. Satisfied, she looked out of a window, staring at the house in the distance. By now, Twilight has lived in Ponyville for over a year, and she has met just about everypony that she’s come across, yet she has no clue who lives in one house that is apart from the rest of Ponyville. Come to think of it, she hasn’t seen anypony come out of that house. Maybe she just keeps to herself. Twilight though to herself. Well, since I completed my to-do list early, I might as well go say ‘hello’. With this thought in her mind she told Spike that she was going out and walked out the door.
Twilight didn’t realize quite how alone this house was. From the Library it at least seemed to be in Ponyville. But now that she’s here, it’s doubtful that it’s even within the boundaries of Ponyville. The house was on top of a small hill and it didn’t seem very inviting. Twilight almost lost her nerve as she stared at the house, but her resolve kept her going. She approached the door, and next to the door was a ring attached to a chain. On the wall was a note that said, “During daytime, pull if you wish to talk to me.” Twilight gripped on the ring with her teeth and pulled. Three seconds later she heard a male voice. “Hello? How may I help you?” The voice seemed to be right above her head. Twilight looked up and saw a brass pipe.
“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I-“ but before she could finish speaking, the voice interrupted her.
“You mean Princess Celestia’s protégé Twilight Sparkle?” He asked with excitement in his voice.
“Yes, but-“
“I’ll be there in thirty-seven seconds,” the voice hurriedly interrupted her. Sure enough, in thirty-seven seconds the door and a white unicorn wearing a lab coat and black-and-blue goggles greeted her. His red and blue mane looked like it was in an explosion and his red tail looked as if he was electrocuted. His lab coat was stained with blood. However, his smile made it seem as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Umm. . . why is there blood on your lab coat?” Twilight asked with some reservation in her voice. The stallion seemed confused at first, but when he looked down he realized what he was wearing.
“Oh, don’t worry, this is my blood. It was only a minor accident. In fact, this is my lab coat from yesterday. I must have fallen asleep with it on. It would also explain why everything has a blue tint to it. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Sparky Wyre, and, as I’m sure you are aware, I am the head inventor for Celestia. And I, uh, work alone,” The stallion looked away for a bit, almost as if he were deep in thought. But soon he perked back up. “Anyways, I’ll take it you’re here for the new invention?” Twilight had no clue what this pony was talking about.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not here for that.” Sparky Wyre’s ears flopped down.
“Oh, so you’ve found a new inventor.”
“No! That’s not it either! I just didn’t know who lived here and I wanted to say ‘hi’!” Twilight almost shouted.
Sparky Wyre’s ears perked back up again. “Oh thank goodness! But, um, do you want to see my new invention anyways?” He asked hopefully. Twilight didn’t want to upset the pony, so she nodded. Sparky Wyre smiled and led Twilight inside his house. To Twilight, it was a lot cleaner than she expected. As if he were reading her mind, Sparky Wyre told her, “I don’t spend that much time up here.”
Confused, Twilight asked, “What do you mean, up here?”
“Oh, this is the upper floor of my house. I have a rather large basement where I do most of my work. I only come upstairs for food. Even then, I sometimes forget to eat for days.” Sparky Wyre laughed as did Twilight, albeit nervously. Twilight followed Sparky to some stairs that spiraled down into the unknown.
“How do you get materials down into your basement?” she wondered aloud.
“Oh, I have an elevator; I just don’t like to use it.” Twilight heard of elevators before, but she saw one, much less heard of a pony having one for personal use.
Twilight followed Sparky down the spiral staircase which was only lit by his horn. Once they reached the bottom, she found it to be pitch black except for the dim glow of his horn. She then saw Sparky Wyre thrust his horn into the wall. She was about to question what it was that he was doing, but then several spheres lit up in the ceiling, illuminating the room. “H-how did you do that?” Twilight stammered as Sparky pulled his horn out of the hole.
Sparky smiled and replied, “It’s one of my inventions. All you have to do is pump a little magic and it can light a single bulb for twenty-four hours. I modified it from there; this prototype can light up the eight bulbs at a time. I haven’t perfected it yet; I need to find a way for the magic to stay once you turn it off. I need a holding system of some sort…” Sparky drifted off, concentrating on something. It took a cough from Twilight in order to bring him back. “Anyways, it’s over here.” Sparky led Twilight through the room but something caught her interest.
“Are you a fan of music Mr. Wyre? I notice that you have a signed record from Vinyl Scratch herself.”
Looking at the record, Sparky Wyre’s eyes softened. “Please, call me Sparky. And, no, I’m not a fan of music as much as I’m a fan of Vinyl herself. In fact, I went as far as creating a new turntable for Vinyl using the princess’ funding for other projects.” Sparky sighed, “If only she wasn’t in love with Octavia, then I might have a chance with her. Oh well, at least she gave me these great goggles and that vinyl record. Sometimes I go to her performances just to see her.”
“That’s a little creepy Sparky.”
“Is it? I never got around to figuring out what’s acceptable, I just do what I want or need to do. Anyways, it’s over on that table.” Sparky led Twilight to a table that had what Twilight assumed to be the invention on it. She couldn’t decipher what it was. On one end it had some sort of wood that narrowed and stopped and was attached to some sort of cylindrical metal. There was a semicircle that was big enough for a pony to put their hoof through without touching a piece of metal that was curved and was inside the semicircle. Slightly after the semicircle there was a metal box that appeared to be able to detach from the rest of this . . . thing. There were several other buttons and levers that Twilight couldn’t figure out what purpose they served.
“What is this?” She asked hesitantly.
“This? You’re really the protégé of the Princess and you haven’t seen my drawings of these? This, this is a gun. It can fire a single projectile at supersonic speeds over long distances. Sadly, the projectile doesn’t leave a rainbow. I’ve been working on a new model for months.” Sparky said proudly.
“What’s it for?” Twilight asked.
“Preventative measures mostly, but-“
“No, I mean what does it do?”
Sparky stared at her, “It kills.”