The next morning had broken. As per usual, Fire Fight whipped some breakfast. The foals had taken a liking to the cave mushrooms; they had a….strangely unique flavor from any other mushrooms that they’ve consumed. It was almost as if they came already seasoned in this rocky-tasting spice that was almost like mild pepper. They made a note to themselves to harvest more of them when they left.
Just like yesterday, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud waited until relatively early in the afternoon to make their way towards the city. They’d made the right call yet again as foals could be seen in the streets. Shroud flipped into her disguise dress before she and her friend slipped back into the magical city. “So…are we gonna go look for Quantum Tech right away?” Fire Fight asked.
“I’d like to if it’s of no inconvenience. She’s the only foal that made any sort of impression yesterday.” Shroud answered.
“Yeah……I guess. We should still look around for other potential candidates just in case.” Fire Fight said.
“Agreed. I seem to remember seeing her exiting a store that sold metal-based merchandise of some sort. It wasn’t until soon after our encounter with her that I realized that I’d recognized her. Perhaps we’ll find her there.” Shroud said.
“Oh, you mean that scrap shop? Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. But…..what do we say to her?” Fire Fight asked.
“Hmm……indeed…..” Shroud muttered.
“Maybe….we’ll offer to help her with anymore of her little gizmos?” Fire Fight suggested.
“That….would start a steady conversation with her. We’ll do that so long as it doesn’t involve one of us getting blasted by a laser or something.” Shroud said.
Fire Fight chuckled. “I don’t think she’d put the lives of others in danger for the sake of a little experiment if she knew it wasn’t safe.”
“Sure, but the goal of an experiment generally is to test whether or not something is safe.” Shroud argued.
“Furthermore, how safe or dangerous something is. Quantum Tech clearly knows way more about this stuff than we do, so I’d trust her.” Fire Fight said.
Shroud giggled. “You’re either very brave, or very stupid.” She sneered.
Fire Fight shrugged. “Either way, it’s gotten me this far, right?”
“Yes, I suppose it has. I just hope that it hasn't bled onto me without me realizing it.” Shroud sneered. Fire Fight just rolled his eyes.
The two made their way through the commercial district. They more or less retraced their steps from yesterday using visual landmarks to locate the scrap shop. After a tiny bit of bickering over whose memory was right, they eventually did. The shop seemed a little out of place from all the other fancy clothing stores and restaurants and what have you. The only pony that seemed to be in there was an old unicorn stallion whom they presumed was the proprietor, but when they decided to enter, they could hear somepony foraging through the aisles. When they looked to see who it was, it was sure enough their brainy acquaintance.
“Hey, Quantum Tech.” Fire Fight said. Quantum Tech was too absorbed in examining a series of small metal plates to hear him, and continued to do so. “Quantum Tech?” Again, his voice fell on deaf ears. She was so dedicated to her examination that all else seemed dead to her.
Shadow Shroud walked up right next to her, and tapped her shoulder. “Quantum Tech!”
Quantum Tech gasped as her face darted towards them. “Oh! Oh my goodness. H-Hello again.” She stammered.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Shroud said.
Quantum waved her hoof. “Not at all, darling. Is there perhaps something I can assist you with?” she asked.
“Kinda. We were wondering if maybe you had another little invention that needed to be tested. If so, we’d be happy to help you again.” Fire Fight replied.
Quantum cocked her head. “You’d go out of your way to do so once more despite us being strangers? Why so?”
Fire Fight couldn’t quite answer that question. “Uh….well…..”
“We saw how your parents treated you yesterday, and thought that it might cheer you up.” Shroud said.
“Y-Yeah! What she said.” Fire Fight affirmed.
Quantum Tech seemed to lose a little color. “Oh….That’s…..quite kind of you…..” she sighed. She looked down gloomily.
Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud grimaced at one another seeing as they might’ve struck a raw nerve. “Has….it always been like this?” Shroud inquired.
Quantum sighed. “Yes…..shamefully. I’ve been a straight A student throughout school, especially when it came to science. I thought that my parents would be just elated to see their daughter grow into a brilliant mind that would innovate Equestria, but……they told me that my grades only mattered to further my social status so that I may become an elite, which I want no part of. I paid them little heed, and began conducting my own experiments from sciences of almost all branches. Science had just become my absolute passion. I want to learn! I want to discover! I want to use my ingenuity to create a better Equestria! When my Cutie Mark finally appeared, I was sure that my parents would have a change of heart……I couldn’t have been more wrong…. They bribed my school principle to ban me from any of their science programs, took away my science books, and repeatedly dragged me to a number of loathsome social events until I could ‘learn to be a proper lady’ as it were; any time that I brought up the subject of science in any way, shape or form, I’d be horribly punished for it….” She sorrowfully explained.
Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud listened sympathetically to Quantum Tech’s tale. It was certainly heartrending. Shroud looked at Fire Fight with the eyes of somepony saying ‘We found our target’. Even so, Fire Fight was still a little hesitant about taking such valuable talent away from Equestria. “That’s…..That sucks, Quantum……Sorry to hear that…..” Fire Fight said.
“Would you like us to walk you home?” Shroud offered.
Quantum Tech was caught a little off guard by the offer as was Fire Fight, but it still felt nice nonetheless. “That would be very kind of you. It seems nothing in stock really piques my interest this time around, such a pity.” As they walked out of the door, she remembered something that the other two couldn’t believe that they didn’t. “What are your names by the by?”
“Oh! Wow, we didn’t introduce ourselves, did we? I’m Fire Fight, and this is…….er, Pretty Dress!” Fire Fight said.
Shadow Shroud’s expression turned utterly befuddled. “What?” she whispered.
Fire Fight discreetly turned to her. “Do you want her to know you’re name in case she doesn’t come!?” he whispered.
Upon hearing that Shadow Shroud immediately played along. “Oh! Ugh….idiot. He always calls me that by accident whenever I wear this. Sorry, my name’s….Precious Gem.” She said.
Quantum Tech seemed to buy into it, and snickered at their display. “I see! Are the two of you dating per chance? You’re quite the charming couple.” She inquired.
The two immediately blushed furiously upon hearing that as they looked at Quantum Tech, and back at each other with flustered expressions. “N-No! We’re not! W-We’re…umm….” Shroud stammered.
“We’re cousins!” Fire Fight blurted.
“Y-Yes!” Shroud affirmed.
Quantum Tech cocked her eyebrow as she playfully smiled at them. “Mmhm. Whatever you say.” She said.
Fire Fight could practically feel Shadow Shroud’s bloodlust just barely being held back by her moral conscious. Quantum was completely oblivious to just what thin ice she was treading. He decided to change the subject quickly. “So, uh…..How did you manage to make those hornbands even though your parents have cut you off from science and all?” he asked. Shadow Shroud seemed to calm down.
Quantum Tech fixed her glasses, and chuckled proudly. “Not to worry, our home has a secret room beneath it that even our butlers have yet to stumble upon before I did. I’ve been discreetly using it as a makeshift laboratory right under their noses! I’ve only enough room for a relatively small assortment of chemicals, biology testing subjects, measuring instruments and what have you. I keep all of my findings in a personal journal that I always keep on my person.” She explained. She reached into her satchel, and pulled out said journal. “Would you like to see some of it?” she offered.
“Uh…sure!” Fire Fight said. He took the journal with his magic, and opened it; Shadow Shroud looked into it with him. As they turned the pages, they became more and more astonished at just what Quantum Tech had been up to. There were notes on cell activity of all kinds, a periodic table with the next few pages detailing the unique properties of each individual element, blueprints for her glasses, meticulous sketched of plants with their parts labeled with a brief description of their functions, something called a ‘gravitational constant’, complex notes on pony anatomy, you name it! Her notes on her hornbands were found within notes describing neuromagical brain activity in unicorns, and how the band functioned with them by essentially bounces a unicorn horns natural magical output, and reflecting it back to the users brain as a bio-friendly pulse that enhanced focus and concentration.
They handed her back the journal, and she put it back into her satchel. “Quantum Tech……you’re amazing!!” Shadow Shroud said. She was suddenly questioning her interest in taking her.
Quantum giggled, and waved her hoof. “Oh, boo! I’m only listening to what the universe has to say about itself. Someday, I’ll change the way Equestria views the world, life itself! I’ll uncover all sorts of mysteries, invent all kinds of useful technology, solve even the most impossible of problems! Oh! How I so yearn for all of the knowledge I could possibly gather, all of the feats I could accomplish with science!” She was having a grand old time thinking about complex concepts that most if not all other ponies could barely begin to grasp. It was clear that she was indeed in her happy place. All of that joy suddenly shattered at what they saw next. “WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME!?”
They had arrived at Quantum Tech’s house, and from the looks of it, you’d think that they were moving at first glance, but only a few hired stallions were moving a certain set of items few by few out of the house with the help of a couple of butlers. Those items consisted of testing tubes, various chemicals and measuring instruments, science-related charts such as a periodic table and light spectrum chart, lab coats and the sort. Quantum Tech’s face looked like one who was watching a murder take place right in front of her- she was horrified. “H…..How!? W-W-WHAT!?” she stammered.
“Young lady…” They turned to see Quantum’s parents strutting up to them. “Care to explain this?” her mother inquired. Quantum Tech just stammered in her horrified state. “No? Very well. Allow me. Your father and I were wondering where all of those strange smells have been coming from lately, so we had an inspector look into it.” She explained.
“And lo and behold, it seems a certain somepony has been conducting quite a variety of science experiments in a room that was unknown to us. What was most fascinating was how the scientists had taken notes in your handwriting” her father growled.
“F-F-Father…..I-I” Quantum was still somewhat at a loss for words at what was happening.
“I don’t know what else we need to do, Quantum Tech. This is becoming quite the issue. We gave you leniency, but now it seems that we need to drain this madness from you completely.” Her father said.
“WHAT!? Madness!? Mother, father, did you not read any of the notes that I took? All of the experiments that I’ve conducted? All of the theories that I’ve been so eager to test? Think about what we could learn, what we could apply to our society! Perhaps one day we’ll be able to build cities at the floors of the oceans, or give magic to earth ponies and pegasi, or perhaps even travel to the moon and beyond without magic!!” Quantum Tech ranted.
Her mother put her hoof down. “THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!!” she shouted. Quantum Tech flinched back. “From now on, you’ll be attending every little party, gala and otherwise social gathering that we will until you’ve completely rid yourself of this science-crazed nonsense!”
“Equestria does not need its own little Dr. Frankenstallion!” her father added. They strutted towards their house as the workers continued to move her equipment into a series of wagons that read ‘Canterlot City Dump’.
Quantum Tech was utterly crushed. Her dream, her life’s work…..gone…..taken from her. Sure, she had her journal, but it mattered little if she had no way to fill it. She fell into despair as she began to sob. It’s a miracle that her parents didn’t figure anything out about her glasses, but it was a good thing that they were waterproof, because her eyes became flooded with tears filled with anger and frustration. Why? What was so important about being a ‘proper lady’ that it overrides learning about the world they lived in!? Why did they reject the idea of experience and discovery so much!?
Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud looked at her and at each other in deep sorrow. It was worse than they thought, but still…. “Now you see? She’s not wanted here. Who she is as a pony is unwanted here. We have to take her.” Shroud said.
Fire Fight sighed. “Shroud, look, you read that journal. She has real skills that could better Equestria. This is something between her and her parents that they just need to work out. I feel as bad for her as you, but she’s just not the kind of foal that we’re looking for.”
Shroud began to glare at him. “Then what is? Look at her!” Quantum Tech continued to lay on the ground sobbing profusely into the soft soil beneath her hooves.
“Yeah…..I know…..but what’s she gonna do for us? We don’t have lab materials for her, she’s clearly not cut out for combat, and….she just wouldn’t enjoy the trip altogether.” Fire Fight said.
Shadow Shroud narrowed her glare onto him. “So this is the extent of your conviction? I’m quite disappointed in you, Fire Fight.” She hissed. “As I recall, you said these exact words: ‘I’m going to go around Equestria, and save them! I have too! I have to free them from being outcasts because of who they are. They must be suffering so much… And I know exactly how they feel! I don’t want them to suffer like that anymore! I’ll take them with me, away from their prison, and give them a place where they can be happy, and live like they were meant to… no matter who they are!’. Hmm…. ‘no matter who they are’ you say. Clearly, you were exaggerating. All you seem to care about are foals with skills in fighting like you! That’s really all you’re concerned about! A filly suffering under any other circumstances is chopped liver. You’ll leave them to drown in their own tears until they’ve sunk so deep that they can never again reach the surface. Perhaps I was a fool to think that you were as noble as I made you out to be.” She growled.
Fire Fight’s eyes widened at her little rant. He thought to himself for a moment……she was right. How could he be so biased? All of the other foals that they’ve rescued have in one way, shape or form have had talents that revolved around fighting. Perhaps his vision was narrower than he’d realized. He said back in the ancient subways that he wanted to be a better leader……now was a good time to show that.
“You know what……you’re right. I’m sorry….Her suffering has been made perfectly clear, and I denounced for no good reason! She’s coming with us, but we’ll have to make a point of protecting her……and figuring out how we’ll let her do science experiments and all.” Fire Fight declared.
Shadow Shroud’s glare turned into a genuine smile. “There’s the Fire Fight I know….” She whispered. With that, they approached the sobbing Quantum Tech. “Hey….Quantum?” Shroud asked.
Quantum Tech peeked up. “What…<sob>….What is it you want?” she asked. Her frustration was clear. The two explained what they were doing along with their own history apart from Shadow Shroud’s real name and her nature as a Shadewalker.
“Look….I know it sounds crazy, and…..you don’t have to come, but you’re suffering pretty bad, and-” Fire Fight said, but was cut off when Quantum Tech shot up, and grabbed his shoulders.
“YES! PLEASE! TAKE ME FROM THIS WRETCHED PLACE! I DON’T CARE HOW MAD THIS ALL MAY SOUND! EQUESSTRIA CAN ROT WITHOUT ME FOR ALL I CARE! JUST GET ME AWAY FROM HERE!!” she screamed.
Shadow Shroud had to calm her down. “Ok, ok. Look, wait until nightfall, and I’ll come to get you. Try to pack whatever you can, ok? Leave the rest to me.” She whispered. Quantum Tech nodded. With the deal sealed, all that was left was to allow Shadow Shroud to work her magic this coming night. While Fire Fight might have been able to swallow his pride, uncertainty about what to do with Quantum Tech continued to loom in his mind.