Returning home, Flicker could not help but notice that there were rats here in Ponyville. He could feel them, sense them, they existed in the edges of his perception. If left unchecked, this would become a problem. The guild needed to come here and conduct another sweep. Piper’s magic would be useful and safe. Flicker had a fond memory of the last sweep, they had come in under the cover of darkness, aided by Princess Luna’s magic, and there had been killing while the ponies of Ponyville slept soundly in their beds. When they woke up in the morning, they were none the wiser.
Flicker had been new then, and his role had been a simple one—roam the outskirts of Ponyville on stilts and keep an eye out for fleeing vermin. Fluttershy, the local animal handler, had kept a viable population of squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and the like safe and secure in a remote location. When the sweep was done, the healthy animals were released to repopulate the area. It was a very efficient operation and a real eye opener for Flicker.
As he approached the bridge on his way home, he saw a remarkable sight that caused him to come to a complete stop. He stood there, staring, having trouble believing in what he was seeing. There, resting in some shade near the bridge, was…
“Spud!”
Flicker hurried forwards, mindful of his side, and looked at his charming mutant companion. He knew that the guild cats were loyal creatures once they picked a companion, but he wasn’t sure how Spud had made it down to Ponyville and found him. But that didn’t matter, as Flicker was very glad to see his roommate and partner. Not far from Spud was a beheaded dead rat.
Looking around for witnesses, Flicker lifted up the rat remains in his telekinesis, set it ablaze, reduced it to ash, and then let the ashes blow free in the wind after making certain that there were no live cinders that might cause a wildfire. Spud looked unconcerned about the fire, he couldn’t be bothered by such trivialities, and he let out a disinterested meow.
“Spud, I don’t have cat food.”
The mutant cat-bulldog creature did not look amused, not in the slightest.
“Look, I didn’t know you were coming. There are fish in the river and lots of cute, fuzzy little rodents in the woods. If you want to eat, catch your own dinner and don’t give me no sass. You be nice to my sister, no hooks no matter what she does, she’s two and she can’t help herself. If you hook my baby sister….” Flicker left his threat unsaid.
Spud looked up at his equine companion, and then, very much to Flicker’s surprise, Spud nodded.
That was a bit peculiar, Flicker thought to himself. Spud was smart, so he just dismissed it, as there was no sense being surprised by it. “I mean it, Spud. Knick-Knack is very dear to me. She is my reason for living and doing what I do. Don’t be mean to her.”
“Meow.”
“Come on, Spud. Let’s go home.”
“Meow?”
Had Flicker not been so dense, he might have taken a moment to marvel at the fact that he understood Spud. “No, Spud, not Canterlot. Here. Home. My parent’s farmhouse.”
“Meow.”
“What do you mean, that’s not very cosmopolitan?”
“Meow…”
“It’s home to me, Spud. At least, for now. I’ve really missed them.”
“Meow?”
“I’ll tell my mother to let you on the furniture.”
“Meow.”
“You’re welcome.”
In sight of home, Flicker paused a bit, his steps hesitant, as it seemed there were visitors. Everypony was in the front yard, relaxing a bit, and having a nice time. There was a bright pink pony and it took Flicker a moment to think of who it was, but the answer was obvious to anypony looking. It was Pinkie Pie, and she was having an animated conversation with Piper Pie, by the looks of things.
Knick-Knack broke away from the group and started running over to see him, and for this he was glad. He had all kinds of goodies for her, and a fart whistle. But then, something went wrong, and adorable little Knick-Knack came to a skidding halt, so much so that she almost tumbled over when she saw the mutant monster by Flicker’s side.
“Not-kitty!” Knick-Knack howled and then she took off lickety-split in the other direction as fast as her little two year old legs would carry her. “Boogey-kitty!” And then, perhaps because her adrenaline kicked in, Knick-Knack scrammed, leaving her BBBFF with his mouth hanging open as she rocketed away.
The fuzzy little cannonball almost took the front door off of the hinges, leaving the crowd of witnesses all blinking in astonishment. Conk, a brave and rugged sort, got up and came over to have a better look at what had scared his daughter and left her in such a state. He moseyed over, as farmer ponies were prone to do, and he had himself a gander at the ‘boogey-kitty.’
“Son,” Conk said as he looked at Flicker, “there is something wrong with that cat.”
“This is Spud… he’s… well, he’s hard to explain, but he’s a rat killer. He is my associate. Somehow, he came down from Canterlot to be with me. He’s very loyal and his kind pick my kind. I didn’t adopt him, he adopted me.”
“Oh my goodness, that’s hideous and it’s not coming inside!”
“Mother, he has feelings and he can understand every word you are saying. They’re very smart and can obey complex commands.” Flicker looked down at Spud, who was rubbing up against his front legs, looking a bit a wounded. “Spud, go to Hennessy and smack him three times. Three times. No hooks!”
Annoyed, but willing to prove himself, Spud sauntered through the yard, weaving past Conk’s legs, and smacking Conk once with his fat, sausage tail. He stopped to meow at Twisty, then walked away, ignoring her, as if she was beneath his notice, and then he arrived to where Hennessy was sitting. Reaching out, claws retracted, Spud smacked Hennessy on the leg three times. Then, turning his head to look at Twisty, he smacked Hennessy on the leg three more times.
“Meow.”
Twisty let out a harsh snort, shook her head, snorted for a second time, and then, saying nothing, she went inside to look after Knick-Knack, who was no doubt in hiding somewhere. Conk watched his wife go and when she had gone through the door, he turned to face his son, looking a bit confused and just a touch bewildered.
“That meow struck me as being a little rude,” Conk muttered.
Pinkie Pie was unusually subdued and it caused Flicker no end of worry as he unsnapped the short cape from his coat. In moments, he had something that almost resembled a frock coat that was much, much easier to wear around the house and to sit down in. With a few flicks of his magic, he removed the sleeves, and had himself a comfortable woollen vest that he could relax in. He folded up the cape, did up the snaps, stuffed the sleeves inside, and then tucked that away.
He put his satchel down on the floor and then began to pull his haul out from the bag and his many pockets. His mother and his little sister still had not emerged and Flicker felt a little bit bad about what had happened. Spud was just about the same size as Knick-knack and Flicker was willing to admit that his cat could be a little scary.
“I remember you,” Pinkie Pie said to Flicker as she tapped her chin with her forehoof and closed her eyes. “I threw you a birthday party—”
Flicker froze.
“—you didn’t do much, you just sort of sat there.” Pinkie opened her eyes to give Flicker a smile and a stare. “Flicker Nicker… kind of a party pooper but likes fireworks. You value the happiness of others over your own. A bit of a mama’s colt, is a secret philatelist, and is a confirmed arachnophobe.”
“A secret what?” Hennessy asked.
“You’re afraid of spiders?” Piper, wide-eyed and incredulous, stared at Flicker. “You… Lord Death of Murder Mountain, you’re afraid of spiders?”
“Too many legs,” Flicker replied in a whisper that was almost a whine as he shook his head. “Not natural. Little… hairy… too many eyes… look, it’s a phobia, I can’t help it.”
“I’m gonna go cheer up somepony who needs me!” Pinkie Pie vanished from out of the room, streaking through the kitchen door to get to the other side of the house. “The itsy bitsy spider went crawling up the water spout…”
In a hurry to change the subject, Flicker began showing off his loot. “Chocolate covered espresso beans, not for Knacky. Lavender licks, some honeydrops, nosegay nougats, and a whole bunch of other candies. I wasn’t sure what to get so I got a little bit of everything. Also, I picked up some wiggly gummy slugs for Knacky, they move and everything as you try to eat them. She likes gross stuff.”
“Magical candy…” Hennessy moved a little closer to have a better look. “I can’t get over what ya’ll have and how ya’ll act like it’s just normal stuff… I ain’t never even seen this much candy, ever, in my whole life.”
Flicker, who felt bad, but couldn’t say why, stared at Hennessy, trying to understand his own feelings. He pulled out a wiggling gummy slug and held it out to Hennessy, who stared at it, wide-eyed, amazed that such a thing even existed.
“Go on, take it, Knacky won’t mind sharing, there’s over a dozen more and she won’t miss this one.” Flicker took a step forwards, and without warning or reason, his heart started thudding inside of his ribcage in a most alarming way. He held up the wiggling red, green, and yellow slug that was starting to dribble a little gooey candy slime.
“It’s been magicked,” Hennessy said.
“It’s safe to eat.” Flicker bobbed it up and down with his magic.
Moving closer, Hennessy sniffed the offered candy, and then with a swift movement of his head, he snatched it up in his mouth and began chewing it, his eyes glimmering with amusement and curiousity. As Hennessy stood there, chewing, Spud made himself at home on the sofa, plopping down beside where Piper had sat down.
“It’s strange, seeing this side of Flicker,” Piper remarked.
“He wasn’t always like how he is now.” Twisty stood in the kitchen doorway and stared at her son. “He used to laugh… he used to be more expressive. He had such warmth and kindness. But then his cutie mark came along and almost all of that just went away.”
“I grew up, Mother—”
“No, you got self absorbed!”
“No I didn’t,” Flicker replied, defending himself from his mother’s words. “I just put away foalish things that I didn’t need any more. I embraced what I was meant to be—”
“And everything else was just tossed aside!” Twisty’s raised voice caused every ear in the room to perk. “Sometimes, I feel that your cutie mark took you away from me, and I don’t mean sending you to Canterlot, Flicker. It’s like… it’s like you just gave up on any sense of self outside of what your cutie mark was. I’m good at detecting storms… I can smell feral storms coming from miles away and I can see subtle currents in the wind that might lead to storms later, but I didn’t give up on the other parts of me… I’m a mother, a wife, a member of this community… I’m a cook, I bake bread, sometimes I volunteer at the schoolhouse with Cheerilee now… I try new things that have nothing to do with my cutie mark. And you… you just don’t. It breaks my heart, Flicky.”
“But I’m happy serving my purpose—”
“Flicker, there is more to life than purpose!” Twisty shouted. “If all I did was sniff storms and watch for dangerous weather, I wouldn’t’ve fell in love with Conk! You wouldn’t be born! You wouldn’t exist! Knick-Knack wouldn’t exist! Stop and think about that for a moment! No Knick-Knack! She exists because I have a life outside of my purpose! The thing you treasure most in life happened because having your father fronk me silly felt good and was fun! It was even more fun doing it and trying to hide it from you! It became a game! You know, fun stuff that exists outside of purpose!”
A category five storm of silence descended upon the room, smothering and suffocating all sound. Even the ticking of the ornate clock seemed muted somehow. Conk, a quiet, reserved sort, was stunned and it was clear that he couldn’t believe what his wife had said. Flicker, for the first time in his life, couldn’t stand there and keep listening to his mother. Saying nothing at all, he turned tail, snatched up the removed bits of his coat, and headed out the front door.
The storm of silence persisted, and the door did not slam.
The sound of Twisty’s crying filled the kitchen and Piper couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. However, she also felt that Flicker needed to hear what his mother had said. There was a lot wrong with that colt, but Flicker had been kind to her, good to her, he was her friend and coworker, but there was no two ways about it, Flicker was troubled.
“Hennessy, help me, we need to go after Flicker.”
“We do?” Hennessy asked. “What if he needs some time alone?”
“Lord Death of Murder Mountain is hurting and he needs us.” Piper’s face was the epitome of seriousness as she spoke. “We’re his friends. Maybe the only real friends he has. He would be there for us if we needed him. Somewhere, beneath it all, he has feelings and they’re hurt right now.”
Left ear twitching up and down in time to the sound of Twisty sobbing, Hennessy gave thought to Piper’s words for a time, then replied, “Piper, if’n he’s Lord Death of Murder Mountain, what does that make us?”
“Don’t be a dunderhead, Hennessy!” Piper grabbed the earth pony with her magic, yanked him close to where she was sitting, climbed up onto his back while ignoring his wickered protests, and then scowled down at him. “Giddyup!” she commanded, and then, not knowing where Flicker might be, she looked at Spud. “Flicker’s in trouble, Spud, go find him!”
Yowling like a siren hauled out of a lake and left to cook in the sun, Spud lept down off of the couch, headed for the door, reached the door, opened the door, and stepped out. Hennessy moved along with a smooth gait and went out the door after Spud with Piper riding on his back. She ducked her head to avoid conking her skull against the doorframe and patted Hennessy’s neck to get him to hurry.
“Onward, my faithful steed, we must find our noble protector and rescue him!”