6. Movements and Machinations
“Trixie?” Cheerilee asked as she caught up with the unicorn outside of the town hall. The blue unicorn ignored her as she focused on her target, a dark blue earth pony mare wearing a brown, hooded winter cloak, though its hood was down at the moment. Trixie was holding up a small bag with magic, and with more magic was levitating ten silver bits into it.
“Lyra Heartstrings,” Trixie said. “She’s staying with her parents at 12 Hayseed Lane. Find her and get her to come to the Representative’s residency at six o’clock.”
The mare stared blankly at Trixie. “Do I look like a message runner to you?” she demanded.
In response, Trixie’s magic placed the bag atop the earth pony’s head. “Everypony looks like a message runner when I’m paying them another twenty bits if they do what I ask.”
The mare’s eyes widened a little. She flicked her head, and the bag fell from it, though she caught it in her mouth as it fell. “Fohld,” she said as best she could with a mouth full of cloth and money as she trotted off, joining a couple of stallion friends.
Cheerilee blinked as she came up alongside Trixie, staring at the unicorn. “You could have just asked me,” she remarked.
“No, you’re going to be busy,” Trixie remarked as she began cantering away from the town hall, towards the Equestrian Royal Bank. “You’ve got that little stand of art projects to set up. You’re welcome, by the way.”
Cheerilee’s eyes narrowed. “You know, I wanted that spot. I really did. But I didn’t want to leave Rarity an emotional wreck just to get it.”
“Please,” Trixie snorted derisively. “She’ll be fine.”
“That’s not the point,” Cheerilee objected. “You don’t know how much of a perfectionist Rarity is – ”
“And interestingly enough,” Trixie said, stopping and glaring at Cheerilee, looking at the earth pony for the first time since she had come outside, “I don’t care, either. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Cheerilee matched Trixie’s glare. “If it’s anything like what just happened in there,” she said, pointing back to the town hall, “then the festival is going to be ruined.”
Trixie’s lips curled into a sadistic smile. “Fine by me,” she hissed as she turned away and began walking again. Cheerilee stared after her for a few moments, before shaking her head and trotting off towards BonBon’s Confectionarium. Lyra may have been theoretically living with her parents, but Trixie obviously didn’t know the mint green unicorn very well if she honestly thought that she’d be staying with them for a significant portion of any given day.
---
Trixie entered the post office and found it in a considerably better state than it had been when she and Lyra had entered yesterday, with no mess of fallen shelves and turned-over carts confronting her. Instead, on entering, Trixie found herself staring into the wide, yellow eyes of a unicorn filly sitting behind the counter, where the receptionist was supposed to be.
“Hello!” the young unicorn exclaimed at Trixie entered, eyes closing and offering a bright grin.
Trixie froze as she stared at the filly. She looked like nothing so much as a miniature, wingless, horned version of Ditzy Doo. The filly was even wearing a mail pony’s cap, though it was too large for her head. Despite her ebon-hued mood, Trixie couldn’t help but feel her heart swell slightly at the sight, most likely because her brain was failing, at the moment, to fully process what she was seeing.
“How can I help you?” the filly asked. Her hat almost slid off her head, but the filly stopped it with one hoof and forced it back into place.
Trixie blinked. “Uh,” she managed, before her brain settled into a comfortable autopilot. “I need to express deliver this letter.” Her horn glowed as she telekinetically withdrew an envelope from her cape and holding it aloft. “Same-day delivery to Cloudsdale.”
The filly frowned a little, closing her eyes tightly. Small sparks sprang from her horn, and a faint lavender aura wrapped itself around Trixie’s letter. Trixie relinquished her grip on it, and the envelope haltingly made its way over to the filly, though she nearly lost her grip a few times. At length, it settled down in front of her, and the filly opened her eyes again, panting heavily as she looked at the package. “Okay…” she breathed. “Okay. Um…to Cloudsdale? Same day? That’s…” the filly’s nose scrunched slightly as she looked over a chart in front of her, and tapped out a rhythm with her front hooves to aid with basic arithmetic. “Twenty bits!”
“Twenty-two,” a voice whispered from under the counter.
“Twenty-two bits!” the filly corrected herself.
Trixie managed to last a few more moments before coming right up to the counter, peering over it. Sure enough, sitting on her stomach on the other side was a gray-coated pegasus, hat missing but otherwise in uniform and keeping one eye on the filly, while the other had previously wandered towards the ceiling but was now looking at Trixie.
“Hi,” Ditzy Doo said.
“Hi,” Trixie returned. After several moments of silence, she stepped back from the counter, and looked to the filly again. “Twenty-two?” she asked. The filly nodded, and Trixie removed the bits from her moneybag. Like any good sales pony, the filly began counting them out, as Trixie once more looked over the counter. “Little sister?” she asked the mare ‘hiding’ there.
Ditzy Doo shook her head. “Dinky Doo’s my daughter,” she explained.
“I’m my momma’s muffin!” Dinky Doo exclaimed happily as she closed her eyes again, using her nascent telekinesis to move the bits into a cash drawer behind the desk. It was slow going, giving Trixie plenty of time to take in the little filly and compare her apparent age to that of the mare who was her mother. The pegasus didn’t look like she was much older than Trixie, and for Dinky to be as old as she looked, Ditzy Doo would have had to of given birth to the filly when she was younger than Trixie was now. It did, at least, explain the maternal authority that she had brought to bear against her and Rainbow Dash yesterday.
“Why is she here?” Trixie asked.
“No school today,” Ditzy Doo explained, “so she’s helping me out. First she helped with my morning rounds – ”
“That was fun!” Dinky Doo interrupted. “But a lot of walking…”
“ – and now she’s helping out around the office. Mail mare for a day!”
“Yay!” Dinky exclaimed, as she finished putting away the silver bits and began using her telekinesis to lift Trixie’s letter once more. Unfortunately, she tried too hard, and the envelope began crumpling up. “Ah!” the unicorn exclaimed, lavender aura instantly dropping from the letter. It fell to the desk as Ditzy Doo stood and Dinky Doo stared in horror. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I thought I had it but then I grabbed it too hard and I only started doing tele-connectics a few weeks ago and sometimes it’s really hard but sometimes I grab things harder than I mean to and this is just like the cup I broke but I didn’t mean to – ”
Trixie held up a hoof even as Ditzy Doo placed a reassuring one on her daughter’s back. Trixie’s horn glowed, and the letter instantly began to smooth itself out. The creases remained, but the letter was flat once more. “There we go,” Trixie reassured the filly, “good as new.”
Dinky sniffed a little, but nodded and smiled, at least until she noticed her mother eyeing her. “Cup?” Ditzy Doo asked.
Dinky offered a guilty laugh, rubbing behind her head with a hoof. “Um,” she explained.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Ditzy Doo promised as she looked over Trixie’s letter to Cloudsdale. Her eyes widened a little. “A weather-for-hire service?” she asked.
Trixie decided not to wonder how the pegasus knew where the letter was going from nothing more than a cloud address. “Yes,” she confirmed. “That Everfree storm is getting worse from the looks of things, and the weather patrol told me yesterday that they’re going to be completely at a loss without their captain. So, weather-for-hire. A dozen pegasi ought to equal one Rainbow Dash, right?”
Ditzy Doo made a face at that. “Raindrops isn’t going to like that.”
“Why not?” Trixie asked. “She’s the one who was complaining about the storm and not having Rainbow Dash. Besides, it’s not her decision. It’s Cloud Kicker’s.”
Ditzy Doo stuck out her tongue at that. “Cloud Kicker just goes along with anything Rainbow Dash tells her to do. Raindrops is the pony who actually keep the patrol together during bad times. She completely, honestly loves her job…and she hates weather-for-hire services.”
This wasn’t precisely news for Trixie. Even from her brief interaction with Raindrops, she felt she had a pretty good bead on the pony’s personality. In point of fact, to an extent, she was counting on it. “Well, she’s just going to have to pony up and deal with it,” Trixie retorted, drawing a glare from Ditzy Doo. Trixie didn’t relent. “Princess Luna is coming tomorrow. Those skies have to be clear for the festival, and if Rainbow Dash isn’t going to lead her team like she should and the pony who is supposed to lead the team isn’t going to be of any use, then as festival overseer it’s my job to get outside help to make things run smoothly.”
“I think it’s a bit more likely that Raindrops will start a fight with the weather-for-hire ponies.”
Trixie managed to conceal both her grin and a response of I hope so. Trixie was either going to fix this Longest Night festival or completely ruin it for everypony, and at the moment she was finding it hard to care which happened, even with two hopeful participants in front of her. “We’ll just have to risk that,” she said instead, then looked down to Dinky Doo. “So I need this letter to be sent as fast as possible, okay?”
“Okay!” the filly exclaimed, taking it in her mouth – apparently she wasn’t trusting her telekinesis at the moment despite Trixie’s re-assurances – and scampering off through a door, out of sight.
“Leeroy Wingkins is doing the express today,” Ditzy Doo explained as she watched her daughter go with one eye. “It’ll be in Cloudsdale in no time.” She turned to look at Trixie again. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“‘Course I do,” Trixie lied – sort-of – as Dinky Doo came back and got back up on the box that had allowed her to be at the desk. She looked to the filly, and found herself unable to resist doing something memorable – like Luna, she loved foals. The blue unicorn reached over and rubbed the filly on her head, nearly knocking her hat off and tossing her mane. “And thank-you, Dinky Doo.”
“Hey!” Dinky objected, though she giggled a little too. “Stop that!”
“Okay, okay,” Trixie relented. “It’s just that there’s something caught in your hair, under your hat.”
Dinky blinked a few times, then took off the cap and checked her head – and found a silver bit falling out. She – impressively for her age – caught it with telekinesis, eyes wide as she looked at Trixie, to her hat, which she hadn’t noticed leaving her head at any point. “How’d you do that?” the young unicorn demanded.
“Magic,” Trixie responded.
“But your horn wasn’t glowing!”
“That’s why it was magic,” Trixie responded knowingly, turning around and trotting from the post office in a slightly better mood than when she had entered. Seeing the sun’s descent across the sky, however, towards the horizon, turned her thoughts dark again. It served as a potent reminder of how little time remained before the Longest Night festival began tomorrow – and how Luna had exiled Trixie to Ponyville, though not before setting her up with a no-win scenario.
Regardless of whether the result of the day was a saved or ruined festival, though, Trixie still had work to do. Grunting, she set off for her residency.
---
“So, Lulamoon – ” Lyra began. Trixie’s glare at the name could have frozen the sun from its coldness. “We’re back to wanting Trixie, then,” the unicorn observed.
“Back?” Trixie demanded.
“Last night. You insisted I call you Lulamoon. You might have been slightly very drunk.” She paused a moment as she considered. “About half of everything you said was in Prench too, I think.”
Trixie stared a few moments, before letting out a groan. “No it wasn’t,” she objected hopefully.
“It was,” Lyra responded, nodding sadly. “Also fell back into what I can only guess is a Neigh Orleans accent. And you called me and BonBon cute.”
“BonBon?”
“My mare-friend. I’d feel threatened, but again: drunk, and you’re not her type anyway. Plus you thought everypony was cute at the time, even yourself.” She leaned forward. “But in purple, you’re stunning. Apparently.”
“Never again,” Trixie swore as she regarded her purple, star-studded cape.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Meh,” Trixie objected. The two were sitting in Trixie’s office, Trixie behind her desk. She had just, in fact, poured herself a glass of something amber-colored to see if it could steady her nerves or at least brighten her mood, but after Lyra’s revelations she was thinking water would do just fine. The blue unicorn began pouring her drink back into its bottle as she eyed her mint-green counterpart. “Anyway. Lyra. First, I want to thank you for showing me around most of Ponyville, and leaving me in capable hooves before ditching me. Which I’m not mad about, I swear.”
“No problem.”
“Which brings me right to why I just paid some random pony thirty bits to get you here. I need your help.”
Lyra grimaced slightly. “Cheerilee warned me about that. Said you were wandering around town today basically on the warpath. Conning Carrot Top into opening a stall on the Longest Night, making Rarity freak out about her decorations, ordering weather-for-hire ponies and using up just about your entire monthly stipend on them…” Lyra blinked a few times. “What are you going to eat, anyway, for the next month?”
Trixie shrugged. “I dunno. I’ll think of something. But that’s not important right now. What’s important is that Fluttershy is refusing to do the music, so since you’re a musician – ”
Lyra’s eyes widened a little as she realized what Trixie that going to ask. “No,” she intoned.
“Is that a ‘no, I’m not going to do it,’ or a ‘no way, I can’t believe it?’” Trixie asked with a smile on her face, sure of the answer.
“No, I’m not going to do it,” Lyra responded evenly.
Trixie’s smile dropped. That was not the answer she had been expecting. “What?” she asked.
“The festival is tomorrow night. I’d need more time to prepare. A set list at least – ”
“Just play the anthem!”
“For the raising of the moon, sure, but what about the rest of the night? And besides, I’m spending the night with BonBon.”
Lyra matched Trixie’s hard stare without effort. The two unicorns were silent for some time, before Trixie whickered in annoyance, trotting around from behind her desk and horn glowing as she took a letter from her cape’s pocket – the letter from the former Baron Duke Blueblood, which she shoved in front of the mint green unicorn. “This is where I am, Lyra,” Trixie intoned after giving her a few moments to read. “I have one chance, one, maybe, of getting back in Luna’s good graces, and that’s saving everything from going straight into the sun!”
Lyra shook her mane. “If that’s true,” she asked, “then why does it seem like you’re trying to ruin everything? You’re going to start a fight between the Apple clan and poor Carrot Top – ”
“Not just her!” Trixie objected quickly, sliding the letter back into her cape’s pocket. “I’ve actually arranged for a few other stalls, too, spent most of the afternoon. But there won’t be a fight because they’re not selling on festival grounds.”
“That’s semantics and you know it. You think the Apples will care?”
“Of course they’ll care! But they can’t do anything about it. And it’ll give Luna more to eat than just apples.”
“And leaving Rarity as an emotional wreck?” Lyra asked. “She’s still at the town hall, you know. She’ll probably be working her hooves off until right before the festival’s to begin, and it looked great and you know it. But now the decorations will probably end up looking like they were done by a school filly. And weather-for-hire ponies? You’ll be lucky if the weather patrol doesn’t break in here and kill you in your sleep.”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Raindrops herself said that she couldn’t promise anything. If that storm over the Everfree is as bad as she said it was going to be, can I be blamed for wanting to hedge my bets?”
Lyra sighed, conceding the point. “It’s going to end poorly, that’s all,” she promised. “And you want to add me to all this?”
Trixie shrugged. “Know any other musicians living in Ponyville? Ones that are good enough to play for the princess herself?” The unicorn took a step forward. She was playing her entire hoof here, faster than she normally would, but if that was what it took… “If you do, for the love of the stars tell me now. Otherwise, I’ve heard you play that harp – ”
“Lyre,” Lyra interrupted, with the same kind of force that Trixie put behind her demands about her name.
“ – lyre, sorry, that lyre of yours, and you’re good. And you’ve just graduated from the magic school so I’m guessing you know a lot of spells to enhance your playing. Imagine how that must look on a music résumé.”
“Music résumé?” Lyra asked, one brow raised. “You have no idea how being a musician works, do you?”
“I know that ponies with more consistent jobs would never pass up an opportunity like this.”
Lyra’s brow arched higher. “More consistent jobs?” She echoed. “You don’t think very much of me, do you?”
Trixie blinked a few times. “No! Wait…yes. No – whatever! I think you’re just fine. I just…well, it’s just that you’ll be totally depending on the…goodwill of ponies for an income.”
“Goodwill here being synonymous with charity,” Lyra growled.
“No!” Trixie objected, stomping a hoof on the wooden floor. “Look, the point is, you’re just out of the magic school on a music scholarship and your first job would be playing for Princess Luna!”
Lyra’s glare didn’t drop for several moments, but eventually she did look away, tapping a hoof to her chin in thought. Trixie was silent, though she shuffled from hoof to hoof in anticipation. At length, Lyra looked back to her. “The national anthem only,” she acquiesced. “And only for raising the moon.”
Trixie blinked. “What about midnight, or the drawing down of the – ”
Lyra stood up and turned for the door. “See you tomorrow night, Trixie.”
“Wait wait wait!” Trixie objected, dashing forward and in front of Lyra. “Okay. Fine. Just the moon – and the stringing up of the stars. They’re part and parcel, you can’t do one without the other. It’ll be all of five minutes.”
Lyra waited a moment, before nodding her head once. “Deal,” she agreed, and watched Trixie let out a sigh of relief. After a moment, Lyra leaned in. “But only because this really is a once-in-a-lifetime gig. I don’t like you basically calling me a jobless bum.”
She didn’t wait for Trixie to apologize before pushing past the unicorn, heading for the residency’s door. Trixie let her go. Had Lyra waited around, Trixie was certain she would have apologized – or said the words, anyway. Her heart would hardly be behind it, as after all she did end up with what she wanted.
Instead, Trixie trotted back to her desk, running over a mental list. Catering – saved, at least to her own satisfaction. She had just enough bits left for a decent meal tomorrow. Music – saved, the most important part, anyway. Weather – still iffy, but at least the matter was now in hoof, if volatile; Raindrops seemed far too professional to do anything more than complain about the weather-for-hire ponies. Decorations – well, admittedly, Trixie had possibly ruined them, but if that was the case it was so worth it to get back at Rarity for the dress and her shallow behavior.
Speaking of getting back, Trixie still had one particular pony she needed to lash out at. Trixie was certain that come tomorrow, Luna would see that Trixie was capable of bringing a festival back from the brink of disaster, that she was more than ready to handle the more demanding responsibilities of the Night Court and to finally put both her sociological studies and her magical knowledge to practical use.
So the final step, then, was to show Luna how Trixie would waste that talent - and all the long years of teaching that the shepherd of the moon had invested in her - if the princess really did intend to simply dump Trixie in Ponyville like so much trash.
Stats
Page generated in 0.048 seconds
Total duration
1,016 users online
33,742 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
There! It's published. Now it can't bother me anymore. Forever.
If it seems like I couldn't decide whether Trixie is trying to torpedo the festival, or else "save" it, it's only because Trixie herself can't decide.
Now I get to the bit that I actually wanted to write...
The final lines of this story have me on the edge of my dodgy chair. I think I know who Trixie will be getting back at, but I'm not going to say in case I guessed wrong.
Looking forward to the next chapter, everything is coming along swimmingly.
356122
Um, she's trying to get back at Luna. The question isn't who, it's how.
Hmm, maybe I should clean that part up a bit. In my defense, it's 2 AM where I am.
Ooooh. I can't wait. I'm genuinely looking forward to finding out how all of this will play out in light of the coming Nightmare Flare or whatever name for her you've decided to use. I mean sure I know in theory that all will end well but I'm still trying to guess just how these random ponies will end up on a quest for the elements of harmony.
356130 Perfectly understandable it's 6am here, but I know what a hassle it can be writing at 2am. I thought it might have been Rainbow Dash since I thought felt she had a bone to pick, considering how bad Rainbow Dash has allowed the storm to get.
Getting back at Luna. Hmmmm I can see that possibly ending well or perhaps hilariously backfiring near the end of the story when they return to Ponyville.
Pass the popcorn doods. This is quality entertainment.
Now comes the question of whether or not we'll see Luna's reaction before or after Corona shows up.
Ah, my. It's obvious that Trixie is planning on either currying favor or telling her boss where she can shove things and how far. Too bad that Corona is about to torpedo her revenge for her. I'd have loved to see the resultant blow-out argument.
I think she's trying to show Luna, "You gave me less than nothing and I give you something. HAH!"
Yep, definitely Springtime For Hitler.
356455
PONIES:
Equestria under Discord was such a sad sad story!
Needed some new leaders to restore Its former glory!
Where, oh, where were they? Where could those mares be?
We looked around and then we found the mares for you and me...
LEAD ROYAL GUARD:
Springtime for Luna and Celestia! Equestria is happy and gay!
We're trotting to a faster pace, look out, here comes the pony race!
Springtime for Luna and Equestria! Ponies are happy once more!
Springtime for Luna and Equestria! Watch out bronies, we're going on tour!
And someone with a better sense of rhyming and who is more creative than to just replace a word here and there can finish the song if'n they like.
good god you're making me root for background ponies subverting the mane six. awesome story.
And the most important part of it all is that even as background jerks, they're still conceivably in-character.
356744
I can see why you were struggling with this, as you have Trixie juggling several different things all at once, each with the potential to go right or very wrong. It's a lot of setup, which makes the wait for the payoff that much harder to bear.
I really liked the sweet scene with Dinky. I can see how Dinky would be involved with Trixie's show later on. The two are cute together.
I'm waiting to see Corona's character, and if Luna's stringing Trixie along even more than she knows...
Gah! Blast you for making me wait!
Another great chapter!
Dinky was really cute. And I like the soft spots you gave Trixie.
I'm really looking forward to the alternate six becoming the Elements of Harmony and taking on Corona. Mostly because I can't see it happen right now, at least not going as smoothly as it did for the main six. But judging from your writing so far, I'm sure you'll pull it off
Hey, RDD, did you know this chapter got you fanart?
http://hureno.deviantart.com/art/Dinky-the-post-master-310085014?q=boost%3Apopular%20lunaverse&qo=4
'She didn’t wait for Trixie to apologize before pushing past the unicorn, heading for the residency’s door. Trixie let her go. Had Lyra waited around, Trixie was certain she would have apologized'
You know, Trixie's kinda nice in the fanfiction universe!
'– or said the words, anyway. Her heart would hardly be behind it, as after all she did end up with what she wanted.'
You know, I'm now thinking that's not true.
356744
You are awesome for knowing that the word 'gay' used to describe something bright, colorful and brilliant.
1318097 I thought everybody knew that? Everybody who matters, at least.
360378 Well, note that in the original story, Corona is referred to as being out there somewhere, recovering her strength, so clearly they don't do as good a job at harmony as the Mane Six.
I find it very interesting that the Element of Loyalty is being paid an exorbitant number of bits to accompany Trixie.
Well it looks like everything has been set up for the Longest Night festival and next chapter we will get to see how it all will play out.
355948
//fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/066/2/5/pinkie_pie_forever_with_sponges_by_jonnydash-d4s1p77.png
Nothing like options Trixie. Clever pony, although I feel her brashness in dealing with her peers is unwarranted if in character sort of..either way it makes me want to keep reading if a little worried.
356744
RDD... Mate, I love ya, but... You completely butchered that song>.< Excuse me while I curl up in the corner and cry
Is that a Turnabout Storm reference?
2196466
And still manages to ditch her less than halfway through...
By Luna's mane! Dinky was SOOOO ADORABLE!
3255295 I think it was a reference to this:
3255295
True Loyalty must be earned, Trixie has yet to do that.
If Dinky Doo was voiced, what would she sound like?
I think you should make Trixie a bit less pushy.
YOU'LL BE SORRY!
Darn this chapter, no it isn't bad or anything, but because the little filly introduced-DINKY! Her voice is hard on the chords, and I mean hard. Why did you make such a cute little thing that warms my heart, why?
But I love her for more than just that. She is going to be well developed during this series and more importantly, gives Derpy something that is rare in most of the alt verses...with the exception of the Manehattenverse. Derpy is a mother and that introduces some nice conflict, as certain stories have shown. also, Dinky helps to give trixie some more character as both a teacher and a sign of what her life could've been. Look at her, she somehow fits right into the teacher style and the showmare life like it was a glove. Also, the scene was so sweet that I think it killed my daww meter, let me check...
fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/074/6/e/mlp_fim___pinkie_pie_and_maud_pie_by_joakaha-d7acv2o.jpg
Nope, still good- (DIES)
Oh-hoooo! I think I'm gonna need more popcorn!
Lyra: You don't know anything about music do you?
Trixie: I am French, we do not concern ourselves with such frivolity!!
Lyra: ....I'M DONE!!!!
keeps
_____________
3554811 Who is the element of loyalty?
2196466
Just what I get for showing up late, I guess.
here's the video to anyone wondering where the reference is from:
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121219171651/mlpfanart/images/f/f7/Mother_of_Me.png
Just wanted to say I'm really loving this so far.
He'll get there. No telling what he'll bring with him, but he'll get there.
"I'll graze."