• Published 20th Apr 2016
  • 13,193 Views, 2,320 Comments

Gazing to the Ocean of the Sky - David Silver



She can swim far and wide across the waters of Equestria, but it's not enough. There are places above those waters, places she plans to reach. Where biology failed her, her mind would succeed. Equestria better be ready, because she plans to visit!

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9 - Neither Quill nor Sofa

With a soft chime, Starlight entered the store, already looking around. The proprietor appeared ready to greet her when his expression faltered at the large tub following her. "Ma'am? Water doesn't exactly agree with my quills or the sofas. Can that wait outside?"

Cherry popped up from where she had been submerged a moment. "I can handle it!" Feeling energized being so close to getting a watch all of her own, she launched herself free of the pool and flopped wetly to the ground. The energetic motion sent water splashing dangerously.

Fortunately, it only created puddles and spills on the floors. The quills and sofas were safe for the moment. Starlight tucked the tub of water outside for the moment. "Sorry for the trouble, we're just looking for some clocks."

"You mean watch, right?" Cherry tilted her head a little as she righted herself. "We heard you had wall watches."

The new pony smiled at the exotic sea pony. "Hello there, are you new in town? I'm Davenport and it's nice to meet you." He offered a hoof.

"Oops, one moment!" She whipped out her wrench and got to tweaking just enough to get her hind legs to deploy against the ground before she could offer a hoof without wobbling dangerously. "Nice to meet you too! I'm Cherry, and I'm hunting for watches."

Starlight shook her head. "A watch and a clock are about the same thing, but clocks are meant to remain still, while watches are often worn on a pony for timekeeping on the go."

Cherry frowned with thought. "That means clocks are probably bigger, right?" Starlight nodded. "Then a clock is good. I'll be able to figure out the parts easier if they aren't teeny tiny."

The idea of disassembling a clock made Davenport raise a brow, but it wasn't his bits on the line. "We have a small selection of clocks, meant to add some dignity to the room, this way." He turned away from Cherry, seemingly ignoring her oddness in favor of remaining professional. "Would you like... this? A grandfather clock is both stately, and as you can see, large!" He gestured over the tall instrument with a bright smile.

Starlight followed after Cherry. "Wherever did you get those mechanical legs? They're working really well."

Cherry's cheeks warmed. Being complimented like that by a powerful friend of Twilight's seemed extra special. "Toying with mechanics is my specialty. You can't see it with the belt on, but it's my cutie mark."

Starlight tilted her head slightly. "You're more than your cutie mark. I'm surprised you even have one, but you wouldn't be less of who you are with or without that mark." Reformed or not, Starlight still held to some of her beliefs. "You should be proud of your accomplishments, cleverness, and ingenuity, not writing it up to 'destiny'."

The idea of not accepting a cutie mark as it was? It clearly confused Cherry and she made a little frown, though it faded almost instantly as she looked over that grandfather clock Davenport was indicating. It was large! She carefully directed her legs up to the clock so she could reach out and brush her hooves up and down its wooden sides. It was pretty and she nodded at it. "I like it. How do you open it?"

Davenport winced before he turned it slowly and pointed to the access port in the back, then turned it back around and flipped open the glass front, allowing access. "You can reach inside from either direction, as you can see."

Cherry clopped her forehooves and crashed to the ground in a failure to balance on her mechanical legs. "Oof! I'll take it!"

Starlight shook her head as she approached. "I can't imagine such a large piece is cheap. How many bits are we talking?"

Davenport reached up with his mouth and pulled down a dangling price tag that was attached near the top of the ticking clock, revealing a large number that sent Starlight recoiling several steps.

Cherry frowned at the reaction as she got herself upright. "It can't be that much."

Davenport gave it a light tug, freeing the tag from its string and showing it to Cherry. Even she wilted at how many zeroes were in the number.

Starlight frowned a moment before a thought came to her with a slowly spreading smirk. "Did we mention we live with Princess Twilight Sparkle? She sees all kinds of important foreign dignitaries. I'm sure they'd be so impressed with some Quills and Sofas furniture."

Davenport perked an ear. "Good ole Twilight? She's been a loyal customer for what feels like forever. She keeps the quill part of things thoroughly in business." He glanced between the two a moment. "If it's for her..."

Cherry brightened with hope. "Oh, it is! She said I was a guest."

Starlight leaned forward with a little smile. "I'm sure she'll take care of any reasonable expenses incurred by this important diplomatic guest. Can you have this delivered up to the castle?"

Davenport looked a little spaced out for a moment. "Oh, yes, important guest, of course." He bobbed his head. "I'll have it brought up before the end of the day. Will there be anything else?"

Cherry leaned forward dangerously. "Have anything else mechanical by any chance?" Her eyes darted around the room. Besides a few other clock/watches, she saw nothing obvious.

"Afraid not. That's not really our specialty." Davenport shrugged softly. "I do hope you enjoy it!" He dipped his front in a bow.

Starlight nodded at him. "You're too kind. Thank you." She grabbed Cherry up in a secure field of magic and moved to depart.

Cherry blinked softly from her suddenly higher vantage point. "Are we going?"

"Sure are." Starlight gently set Cherry back in her pool. "We should get ourselves back up to the castle before Twilight notices you're not there and starts to worry where you might be." She leaned towards Cherry a little. "She's especially good at worrying. Let's avoid that."

Cherry did a quick lap around the tiny pool, her tail slapping at the water. "We don't want her to be upset. Let's get back. Besides, the big clock is going to be brought up there anyway! We should be there to greet it." She flashed a smile, likely already thinking of tearing into the machinery and divining the purpose of its countless parts. By the time she came out of her daydreaming, they were already at the castle.

Twilight came rushing out of the castle with a relieved expression and a loud gust of breath. "Oh thank goodness. Starlight, I hope everything went well? Did you enjoy yourself, Cherry?" She looked between the two with bright smiles. "You haven't seen anything yet until you see your new room!"

Starlight perked her ears. "What have you arranged? Oh, there's going to be a grandfather clock brought up from Quills and Sofas."

Twilight blinked. "I didn't order one of those..."

Cherry raised a hoof. "I might have."

Twilight tilted her head at Cherry, then glanced at the nervously grinning Starlight. "You know better than that, Starlight. I'll let it slide this one time, for our guest, but no ordering things 'for' the castle without my express permission." The magic holding up the pool changed in color as Twilight took control of it and started bouncing away with an energetic canter. "Now come on! I'm sure you're going to love it."

Cherry blinked as she was carried. "You must be really excited." Twilight wasn't having any trouble holding her up, or was there less water? Cherry splashed a little at the water, quickly determining that there was indeed less water, lost to splashing and evaporation over time. She hoped whatever room Twilight prepared wouldn't have that... problem? "Wow."

They were at the edge of a submerged room. It was still tiny compared to, say, the ocean itself, but compared to the pool she had spent the day in, it seemed like a small piece of home. Twilight was smiling brilliantly. "This is actually the second story door to this room. I flooded the entire first floor, and it's yours while you stay with us. I even PH balanced the water to the average sea level." She clopped her hooves excitedly. "I plan to get some plants and small fish for you and I even have an aerator to keep the water fresh." Twilight thrust a hoof to where bubbles rose from the depths constantly.

Starlight whistled softly. "You've gone all out." Her expression turned understanding even as her brows waggled. "You always do. You have a book on it?"

Twilight glanced away. "What? I mean... of course..." She lowered the tub until it floated on the surface of the water, from which Cherry launched easily into the water and began exploring her new home.

Starlight shook her head a little. "How do you have a book on what sea ponies need?"

Twilight's smile turned a little nervous as a book appeared beside her. The book was not about sea ponies, but how to create large fish tanks for ocean-dwelling fish. "I figured it was close enough to keep her happy."

Cherry suddenly broke the surface, soaring through the air with her momentum before she came down and surfaced smoothly, her head above the surface and the rest concealed. "I love it! It's not the ocean, but it's as close as any place in The Dry is ever going to be. You're the best, Twilight! Thank you for taking me around, Starlight." Her hooves came up, clopping excitedly. "Dry ponies can be so thoughtful! I'm glad I ran into you two."

Starlight dipped her head towards their guest. "We're both happy to have you. I'm a guest here too, so I know what you're going through, in part. If you have questions getting around, let me know and we'll get it straightened out."

Twilight nodded. "That goes for me or Spike as well. Even if you feel overwhelmed, you won't bother us with your questions, promise."

Once his name was uttered, Spike came running. "Twilight! Letter!" He was waving a scroll excitedly in a clutched claw. "It came from Celestia!"

Author's Note:

What could that letter be? You'll have to wait to find out! Let's hope there are no royal typos in it.

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