//------------------------------// // A Guest at the Library // Story: The Brass Conspiracy // by MadHighlander //------------------------------// Ponyville Present Day Twilight Sparkle was reading. This in itself was far from an unusual thing; what was unusual was her reading material. She had just received a shipment of rare books from the Canterlot Archives, among them the full set of Starswirl the Bearded’s Discourses, a set of documents detailing the research of the legendary sorcerer. Currently lying open on the desk in front of her was the second volume in the series, Discourses on Impractical Magical Theory. She had gravitated towards this particular volume because it apparently contained further details on the time travel spell that had once sent her into full panic mode. The Temporal Displacement Charm is theoretically possible, but requires incredible amounts of energy to utilise, increasing exponentially for journeys of greater magnitude. The average unicorn would pass out after moving back about three days. Even power on the scale of an ‘Alicorn’ or similar deity would be sufficient only for a year’s journey. In addition, nothing can be changed while in the past without the aid of a pre-existing dimensional scar (see page fifty-two). Nonetheless, I have endeavored to record what data my research has turned up, in the event further technologies or theorems are developed in the future which may render it useful. “Well, that would have been nice to know last year,” commented Twilight to herself, turning the page. The next page bore an annotated ink illustration of a metal, spring-shaped contraption with nodules along its length composed of a material labeled as ‘Imperial Crystal’. Opposite the illustration was a short paragraph that read simply: Though in theory the Helical Converter can amplify the magical strength of any unicorn to the scale of a deity, none of the many thaumaticists who have thus far attempted to construct one have succeeded in countering the inevitable feedback loop causing detonation. Since the failure of Bright Spark’s containment field and the complete annihilation of the Marenobyl facility, Helical Converter experimentation is generally frowned upon within most circles. Twilight was about to flip the page again when a sudden knock at the door interrupted her concentration. Spike was away temporarily – he had returned to Drakkad to bring Peewee (his baby phoenix) back to its parents – so it was her job to answer the door, however rarely somepony may come knocking. Leaving the book open on the desk, she stood up and trotted down the stairs toward the main room. She sighed momentarily, but then put on a smile for whoever was knocking. The library door opened with a click, revealing a petite younger mare with a coat the color of parchment and a dull gray mane, falling to her shoulders and curling slightly. “Hello,” she said. “Are you Twilight Sparkle?” She gave an awkward little half-smile. “Yes, that would be me. Please, come in.” Twilight opened the door and stepped aside. “And you are?” “My name is Poison Point.” As the other unicorn trotted past, Twilight caught a glimpse of her cutie mark: a partially coiled scroll next to a feather quill. A drop of pale green liquid rested immediately below the tip of the quill. “This is an impressive library, comparatively speaking,” noted Poison. “Though the Canterlot Archives and the Crystal Halls are no doubt more comprehensive, this building certainly has… unique… architecture.” “That it does. I have no idea what inspired mister Decimal to build it inside a living oak tree, but it does hold a certain sense of irony.” There was a short pause. “Were you looking for any book in particular?” “No, thank you. I just came to browse, and perhaps chat while doing so, if you’re not very busy?” “Sure. I was reading, but the book will still be there later.” Poison Point trotted over to the nearest bookshelf and looked at the titles of the books. “Thank you. You’re not a Ponyville native, am I correct? You moved from Canterlot a few years ago.” Twilight followed Poison Point along the bookshelves. “Yes. Canterlot was nice, and much more widely known, but to be perfectly honest I prefer Ponyville.” Poison Point looked up. “Really? Why is that?” “Of course, there’s the fact that all of my friends live in Ponyville, but that’s probably because I didn’t make an effort in Canterlot. Otherwise, generally speaking I mean, Ponyville ponies tend to be more hospitable. Not to say Canterlot isn’t, of course, but it’s been my experience that the Canterlot folk – with a few important exceptions, such as the princesses – tend to be much more snobbish and rude. You find very few ponies like that in Ponyville. Are you from Ponyville? I don’t think I recognise you.” Poison point pulled a book out of the shelf, flipped through it, and reshelved it. “No, I’m from Baltimare.” “That’s quite a distance to travel. What brings you to Ponyville?” “Business. My boss is preparing an annual visit – different settlement every year – and he wants to try for a small town this year. We were in the Crystal Empire last year, Manehattan the year before that, and Stalliongrad during the Nightmare Moon crisis. He sent me out to find a nice, pleasant place, no crowds, that sort of thing.” “Oh, so you’ve been asking around, then?” “Yes. So far, Ponyville seems like an interesting choice. It’s had an… eventful… few years. We were planning to go here the year before last, but we had to make some last minute changes due to errant chaos magic. And last year, of course, he thought it appropriate that we give the ponies of the Crystal Empire an appropriate welcome.” Poison point plucked another book from the shelves and set it down on a table, letting it fall open. It displayed illustrations of several hundred ponies, mostly unicorns, but a lone stallion partway down the fourth column was a Pegasus. Every last one bore the same ornate, jeweled crown. “So what work do you do, anyway? You didn’t say.” Twilight looked at the illustrations. She wasn’t familiar with the crown, but it must have been of some importance for so many ponies to be depicted with it. “Nothing much,” answered Poison Point. “I’m just an administrative assistant to the Guildmaster of Mechanics, with the Equestrian Guild of Skilled Tradesponies.” She looked pointedly at Twilight, waiting for a reaction. “The Guild? I don’t know much about it myself, but a few of my friends are involved with it. That’s hardly nothing much.” “I suppose not,” chuckled Poison. “I don’t really think about it as much more than a job, myself. I just handle anything Mr. Axle Grease needs done. He’s getting on in age, and he can’t handle some tasks as well as he used to. That, plus his injury… Well, you get the picture.” “Injury?” asked Twilight. “What happened?” “You know, I never asked. It’s an old wound, from before I was born, let alone working for him. But it causes him constant pain. He walks with a limp, can’t speak very well, and can only consume some medication specially brewed by a Zebrican herbalist down the road from the office. He still doesn’t let that get in the way of his job, though. I admire that about him.” Poison flipped through the book in front of her. “You know, it’s getting kind of late. I need to be on a train back to Baltimare shortly, but thanks for this conversation.” “Not a problem at all. Perhaps we’ll meet again.” Poison closed the book and walked out the door. “Perhaps, indeed.” She closed the door behind her. Twilight was about to return to her book when a sudden crunching noise caused her to turn around. A grapefruit-sized vase containing three slightly wilted daisies shuddered slightly on its shelf. The crunching noise repeated and the daisies shot into the vase. Twilight stepped back. The vase shuddered again. “Hiya, Twilight!” Twilight jumped. Without any warning or explanation, Pinkie Pie’s head and neck had popped out of the vase that should, by all logical sense, be too small to hold her mane, let alone the rest of her body. “Was that Poison Point that just left?” asked Pinkie, chewing slowly on the bunch of daisies. “Um, yes? How and why – never mind. Yes, her name was Poison Point.” “I met her before, once. She’s nice. Did you know she works with the Guild of Skilled Tradesponies?” Pinkie swallowed the daisies. “Yes, she mentioned she was looking for a location for their annual visit. She-” Pinkie gasped loudly, cutting Twilight off midsentence. With a loud crash, the tiny vase shattered, the rest of her body springing back into its proper shape. “That means the Guild is coming to Ponyville!” She climbed down from the shelf. “Did I tell you one of my friends is a Guildmaster? Her name is Macaroon but we just called her Mac for short. When I was young she lived in Baltimare, and I lived on my family’s rock farm just outside the city limits-” “Pinkie…” Twilight started to speak, but couldn’t get a word past Pinkie. “-And my sister Inky helped her get her cutie mark once! They were talking to each other and Mac asked what Inky would like if she could have any meal she wanted. Back then Inky was really boring, see, so she just said ‘oatmeal’ and Mac said-” “Pinkie!” said Twilight with a little more volume. “-So Mac invented the bestest food ever for Inky, and even I can’t get them to turn out the way she does, so she called them ‘Macaroons’ and they were always Inky’s favorite, so of course Mac got one as her cutie mark-” “PINKIE!” shouted Twilight. “-Guildmaster of baking – yeah, Twilight?” Pinkie cut off her own train of speech. “Nothing’s certain yet. She still has to talk to her boss in Baltimare. Ponyville may or may not be hosting the Guild.” “Silly Twilight, that’s basically all that’s happened this chapter! Of course they’re coming!” Pinkie chuckled and rolled her eyes. “…This what?” Twilight was completely confused, a feeling she experienced only rarely in situations not involving Pinkie. Pinkie chuckled again. “I should go tell Rarity. She’ll want to get underway preparing something to show Shimmerthread as soon as possible.” She gasped again. “And then, Applejack needs to be expecting Mr. Chaff. See you later, Twilight! Sorry I interrupted your reading!” Then Pinkie vanished, running off somewhere faster than Twilight could follow. She heard the front door open and close.