Chapter 10: Delivery
“Excuse me, Major Rush?”
“Yes?”
“… Are you alright Ma’am?”
“Ugh. Yes, I’m fine. You were saying?”
“Package for you.”
“Huzzah! It finally arrived!”
“…”
“What took so long by the way?”
“I am sorry Ma’am. The armory has been on backlog for while now.”
“It’s alright. Oh, and when you get back to Canterlot tell Swift that she owes me ten bits.”
“Will do Ma’am. Is that all?”
“Yep, you can head off now.”
“Have a pleasant day Major.”
“You too!”
Silver wiped a smear of red from her mane as the guard flew off towards Canterlot. Sighing, she looked down at the partially covered hole in the roof. A few nails were lopsided and there was an unattached bracer between two beams. Eh, I’ll finish it later. Biting the rope on the package, Silver picked up the box and casually floated down to the front doors.
Nudging the doors open, Silver stepped into the once pristine schoolhouse. There were multiple science projects scattered around the room. They ranged from model storms to earthquake diagrams and even a miniature tornado-in-a-jar. All of it, however, was covered in a thick red goop that three grumbling fillies were busy cleaning up. The teacher’s desk at the front consisted of a smoldering rock-like creation that vaguely resembled a volcano. Directly above the desk was the aforementioned hole.
“Package delivery!” Silver called. Out from behind the desk popped a purple mane which quickly spun around towards the door.
“Oh hey!” Cheerilee replied, hopping in front of the desk, “It finally came!”
“Yep, and with Swift’s outstanding offer she now owes me ten bits.”
“Does she pay out often?”
“Eh, unfortunately no,” Silver sighed, gesturing to her slightly sagging bit pouch, “she’s usually too punctual for it.”
“Aw, that’s disappointing. I was hoping you could pay somepony to fix up that hole in the roof,” Cheerilee smirked.
“Hey! Don’t you hate on my amazing work!” Silver retorted, putting extra emphases on the amazing. “Work of that quality only comes around once in a lifetime! You can’t appreciate it as the sheer beauty is just incomprehensible to the mortal eye! It should be put on display at the Manehattan royal art gallery!”
“It belongs in a dump, not a museum.”
The patched up hole in the roof gave a groan of disapproval. Foreseeing immanent disaster, the three fillies took cover behind one of the desks. “Oh please, do go on,” Silver grinned like an idiot. Right on cue the mismatched beams and boards let out a huge crack and tumbled down onto the poor, abused teacher’s desk, turning it into a pile of dusty rubble.
A wave of dust and dirt flew out over the classroom, smothering the two mares. Coughing, hacking, wheezing and grunting Silver flapped her wings and removed a good chunk of dirt around her. “Eurg, that’s gonna need a shower,” She groaned, flicking a piecing of wood from her shoulder.
“You were saying?” Cheerilee coughed, still managing a triumphant smile.
“Oh shove it Lee,” Silver deadpanned.
On the opposite end of the room, three heads popped up behind one of the desks. “Miss Cheerilee? Do we have to clean this up too?” one of the heads asked.
“No Applebloom, you girls can go now,” Cheerilee sighed.
Almost instantly the three fillies sprang up from behind their makeshift cover and bolted for the door. “Have a nice day Miss Cheerilee and Miss Rush!” they exclaimed in unison. Within a second only the two adults populated the wrecked schoolhouse.
“You ever think that those girls are more trouble than they’re worth?” Silver asked.
“Eh, they’ll grow on you,” Cheerilee replied.
The two of them turned back to the awaiting mess that was once a classroom. Some of the goop had by this point dried and hardened, caking and crumbling over various objects. There were splinters of desk scattered around the room along with chunks of volcano. Yet all the windows were intact as well as the Tornado-in-a-jar surprisingly.
“Well, looks like we have to clean this up,” Cheerilee groaned, “again.”
“Um, I think this might be a bit much for the two of us to handle,” Silver commented while swiping some loose wood chips into a pile.
“Don’t worry about that,” Cheerilee said, “you finally got the container right? Go see Twilight so you guys can plan out the great heist. I’m going to call a few friends who can better help out with this.”
“So I doubt you’ll be accompanying our little adventuring group.”
“Probably not, it looks like I might be here for a while. Now shoo, I have work to do.”
“Alright Lee, thanks a lot. I’ll see ya' later then,” Silver nodded, giving her wings a stretch and turning towards the door. With a resounding fwoosh she flew out the front door leaving the teacher by herself. Cheerilee just stood there with a smug grin. A couple seconds later Silver came flying back through the doors.
“Forgetting something?” Cheerilee laughed.
“Aw shut up,” Silver huffed as she picked up the package beside the front door.
“Get me something nice while you’re out!”
“Yeah, yeah,” she replied before flying out the door a second time.
“There yah go Spiky, one box of delicious assorted cupcakes!” the pink pony cheered, handing over a multi-colored box.
“Thanks Pinkie!” Spike heartily replied, “I’m sure Twilight and Trixie are going to love these!”
“Oh I know they will! I used my secret recipe on these babies! They’re to die for!” she giggled while spinning away from the library. Before Spike could back out through the doorway however the pink pony was in front of him in an instant. “Oh yeah, tell Silver Pinkie said hi!”
The next instant Spike was once again alone in the doorway. “What the… no Spike. You’re not going down that train of thought again,” the baby dragon muttered to himself.
Taking the chance before heading back inside, Spike opened the magnificent-smelling box of treats. Within was the greatest sight one being could imagine. Each cupcake had its own deliciously delectable design, hoof made and absolutely mouthwatering. Spike resisted valiantly, but the power of the pastries was too great. His defenses crumbled in an instant.
“Yes my precious, I must get you somewhere safe. These fools cannot understand your true meaning of beauty,” the slave whispered.
“Go my minion, take me far away from the non-believers,” the delicious king commanded.
“As you wish my lord.”
“Spike.”
“Yes your majesty?”
“Are you there?
“Sire?
“You in there little guy?”
“Huh? What?” Spike muttered as his fantasy swiftly came to an end. Ever-so-gently he fell backwards onto the ground with a resounding thud. “Ouch, what’s going on?”
“Heh, I should ask you the same question,” the pony replied.
Blinking his eyes, Spike sat up and vigorously shook his head. In front of him was the still-open box of delicacies and two large grey hooves. “Oh, hey Silver. Good to see you again.”
“You too Spike. Need any help with that?” she replied.
“Nah, I got it.” Spike was quick to stand back up and close the enchanted box. He wanted to salvage what little of his pride he had left. “So what can I do you for?” Spike asked, noticing another box at their feet.
“Well as you see, I finally got the package in from Canterlot. Is Twilight home?”
“Yeah, she and Trixie are practicing some spells inside. They ordered this treat box as a kind of lunch,” he said, gesturing to the still delicious smelling box.
“How healthy,” Silver smirked.
“I know right? “ Spike smiled, pushing open the library’s front door. “C’mon in. Oh, and um, Pinkie says hi. I think.”
Carrying their respective deliveries, Spike and Silver entered the library. Once on the inside, Silver had already begun thinking of plans on acquiring the crystal. Counting with so many variables was very difficult. The main point to work around was how many ponies would be able to come and if any of the shadows would be there. The group had to prepare for the worst. Silver’s planning was cut short as she heard words of praise and approval coming from the living room.
“Wow! That’s amazing Trixie!” Twilight cheered.
“Hey Twilight, Trixie, cupcakes and a pegasus delivery!” Spike called, placing the box of goodies on the nearby table. Twilight was quick to notice, spinning towards the table and taking in the amazing smell of pastries.
“Oh my, that’s smells great!” Twilight exclaimed. Noticing Spike wasn’t the only one who had just entered the room, she was quick to correct herself. “Oh hello Silver. Good to see you again.”
“Likewise,” Silver smiled.
Quietly, the lid of the pastry box began to open. A single cupcake floated out and into the middle of the room, catching everyone’s attention. “Hey Twilight, are you going to eat that or something?” Spike wondered, the pastry still floating in the air.
“That’s not me,” Twilight giggled. The entire top half of the cupcake instantly vanished, much to the surprise of Spike and Silver. Now just the bottom half of the cupcake remained floating in the air.
“Okay, what’s going on here?” Silver asked, getting suspicious.
“Alright, you can stop that Trixie,” Twilight sighed.
“Aww, but it was just getting fun!” said a voice out of nowhere. The air around the floating cupcake began to shimmer and glow. Trixie became visible in the center of the room.
She ate the rest of the cupcake with a large grin. “Mmm! That’s delicious!”
“Gah!?” Spike yelped. “Where the hay did you come from Trixie?”
“That was an invisibility spell Spike,” she explained. “That’s the one spell I managed to master during my years as a traveling magician. As long as I wasn’t too distraught, it made a good cover if one of my performances went, well, sour. At peak condition I could cast the veil over my caravan if it was necessary. I just kinda hope that touching that stupid stone didn’t have any lasting effects.”
“Wow,” Silver stared, “that’s very impressive Trixie. I’ve only known a few unicorns who could cast invisibility itself, let alone veil it over external objects.”
Twilight walked up beside the showmare, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Yep, I guess the cutiemark matches the magician,” she said, gesturing to the blue moon and wand on Trixie’s flank.
“Thanks Twilight, that means a lot coming from you,” Trixie said, gentle nuzzling her.
“You’re welcome.” Twilight affectionately returned the gesture. After a quick few seconds they released and Twilight turned back to their guests. “Now as I understand it Silver, the containment box arrived from Canterlot?”
“Yep, got it right here and good to go,” Silver replied, nudging the box by her hoof. “So do we know who will be coming?”
“Rainbow Dash said she would be accompanying us and Applejack as well,” Twilight explained, “We’re going to be meeting outside the clock tower tomorrow at noon. Once we’ve retrieved the stone we’ll be bringing back here into the basement. I want to run a few test on it to make sure it’s safe.”
“Damn, looks like you didn’t need me and my brilliant planning after all,” Silver sighed, partially used to this. She could come up with the most amazing plans and strategies, which usually got sat on the sidelines by Sergeant Swift’s simple but effective ideas. When Silver did have a good idea however, hell was it a good one.
“Brilliant’s not the word I’d use,” Spike laughed.
“Ugh, everyone’s a critic,” Silver grumbled, “So uh, I guess I’ll see you two tomorrow at noon?”
“Yes, but uh, would it be possible if you could leave the package here?” Twilight meekly asked, “Magic suppression technology is extremely rare. I’d love for a chance to examine it.”
“Oh, um, I suppose that’s alright. Just please don’t break it. As you said it’s not a simple piece of hardware,” Silver replied.
“Great!” Twilight thanked Silver, magically lifting the package away from Silver. She was instantly all over it, scanning every nook and cranny of the mysterious object.
“So is that it?”
“Yes Silver, we’ll be seeing you tomorrow at the clock tower.” Trixie smiled. “When Twilight gets her hooves on something new, there’s no end to it.”
“Sounds good, have a nice afternoon you three.” Silver nodded, turning towards the front door. Soon a quick breeze flew through the door as Spike closed it after the flying pegasus.
Big thanks to Dr. Jekyll & Nikitakitten for proofreading and editing this chapter!