Clockwork’s life had become a blur since her move to Ponyville. Without a job or any real responsibilities, her focus fell on the unenviable duty of unpacking while she waited for the last shipment of belongings from her Canterlot home. Due to some sort of paperwork error, the bulkier furniture was set to be delivered sometime next week. The new owners of her workshop weren't very happy as they’d hoped to set up shop right away. Clockwork wasn’t happy she didn’t have her equipment. In Clockwork’s mind, this somehow balanced everything out.
Three days had passed since Twilight had run her “tests” and Clockwork hadn't heard so much as a peep from the princess.
I wonder if Princess Twilight has looked over that data yet.
Her eyes flew to the door, and soon after she stepped up from the table and headed out to the castle. After a quick trot across town, she found herself in front of the heavy crystal doors once more. Giving them a gentle push, she realised they weren't budging.
Once more, with feeling.
Clockwork pushed once again, this time actually using a little bit of her strength. Again, the doors stubbornly remained unmoved.
Odd. Maybe she usually keeps them locked?
Realizing that brute force wasn’t going to win the day, she reached out and gave the door a sound knocking. She waited patiently, hoping somepony somewhere in the castle heard her. She raised her hoof to knock again when suddenly from the other side of the door, she heard the lock click. One of the formidable doors creaked open revealing the baby dragon she met last time she visited. Seeing Spike made her legs twitch on reflex, but she reminded herself that if he planned to make her into a kebab, he already had a chance to do so.
"Oh hey, it’s you… Clockwork, wasn’t it? What are you up to?"
Clockwork went to grab a card from her new necklace before realizing that the likelihood of one of them being labelled “where’s Twilight?” was close to nil. Thinking quickly, she crossed her eyes and flapped her front legs like wings in a display that would make even the most vulgar duck blush and waddle away.
"You're looking for Twilight? She's here alright, but uhhh... you might want to come back later. She's on a real science kick at the moment. Something to do with you, I think. It’s all she’s talked about for the last three days.
A science kick? Did she figure something out? Maybe I shouldn't bother her.
Flipping through her cards, Clockwork pulled the one that simply said ‘Thank you’ and showed it to Spike before walking off.
"I'll tell her you stopped by!" Spike called out to her.
Flashing a smile, Clockwork spun around only to be greeted by a broad grin and two big blue eyes.
"Hiya! I was out rolling in the grass because I decided to try and dye my coat green for the day, but I didn't want to waste any bits for dye and I couldn't really get enough grass to actually color my coat green and I saw you walking around and I went 'Woah! Maybe she's finally ready for her party!’, so I bounced on over and are you?"
The words rattled around Clockwork’s head like lotto balls, each slowly rolling into the slot of comprehension. Peering around Pinkie's head and fluffy mane, Clockwork did see a few green marks on her side and flanks.
She certainly tried...
Clockwork gave her best apologetic smile and shook her head. The result was not pretty. The pink pony seemed to visibly deflate like the balloons on her flank. Her hair seemed to droop, and her tail flopped down like a dead squirrel falling from a tree.
"Awww... I'll never get to throw your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party."
The sight was so pathetic, so gut wrenching, so sad that if a guard had walked up at that moment, Clockwork would have grabbed his hoofcuffs and locked herself up right then and there. With no guards in sight, she tried another tactic. Pulling out her dry erase board, Clockwork wrote down 'Soon, I promise' and showed it to the depressed mare.
If watching Pinkie deflate was agony, watching her spring back to her full height and her tail puff outward was twice as satisfying. Pinkie hopped to her hooves and that signature smile rushed back to her face. "Really? Alright! Well, anytime you're ready, you just let ol' Pinkie Pie know and boom! It'll be going before you can say deoxyribonucleic acid!"
Pinkie bounced off, humming some sort of tune leaving Clockwork to breathe a sigh of relief, no matter how temporary it might be.
I really don't want to suffer through a party, but given everything I've seen about her, I doubt she's the type to just forget about it.
While the threat of an unavoidable social function loomed over her head, Clockwork made for home.
When lunchtime came, Clockwork realized Ponyville cared deeply about one thing in particular.
Food.
Vendors and stalls lined the marketplace, offering everything from crêpes to apples. Cafes and restaurants seemed to be strategically positioned as a constant barrage to those who walked the streets. If one style of food wasn’t to a pony’s liking, the next three had a much better chance of doing so.
Clockwork had her fill of baked goods for awhile now. Driven by the notion and need for something new, she decided to spend her lunch today at a nearby cafe.
I might have to start jogging soon to keep these calories from piling up!
Patting her stomach, Clockwork wasn't sure if she was gaining weight or not, but her neuroses were just strong enough to let it be a worrying voice in the back of her head.
"Here you go, Madame."
Clockwork nodded and smiled at the waiter as he dropped off a plain salad in front of her. She waited until he had walked away before letting her smile slip into a frown. She ordered it with good intentions as some sort of penance for eating so much delicious and sugary foods. Now that it was time to atone, it felt a lot less satisfying.
"Looks boring."
Craning her neck around, Clockwork tried to find the somewhat familiar voice when she heard a gentle woosh tickle her ear. Turning back, she saw that same pesky pegasus from a couple days ago, now lounging in the chair across her table. She fired an angry glare at the insufferable pony.
"Hey, hey!" Rainbow protested, throwing her hooves up. "I come in peace. I don't judge other ponies for eating boring salads."
Clockwork narrowed her brows, making sure Rainbow knew that wasn’t why she was angry. It seemed to work as she visibly shrank under Clockwork’s glare. If there’s one thing a mute pony learns to do, it’s glaring at ponies that annoy them.
"Listen," Rainbow began, avoiding eye contact. "I, uhhh... I stopped by to say I'm sorry for the other day. Twilight told me I should bring some sort of card as an apology, but those things are too sappy and dumb. I brought you this instead."
Rainbow casually tossed a bag of Lady Guinevere Chocolates on the table.
Clockwork knew a great many things, but she’d never admit to knowing everything. One thing she knew was that Lady Guinevere Chocolates weren’t the kind of chocolates a pony bought on a whim. They were sold in stores where they didn’t put price tags on anything for one main reason. If you were in the store, money was not an object. She took another look at the bag, making sure they weren’t a cheap knockoff. Despite all odds, they weren’t. These were the real deal and even the plastic packaging looked more appetising than the salad sitting in front of her.
"Of course, it looks like you might be on a diet, so maybe I should take this back and get something el—"
Rainbow never got close to the bag of chocolates. Clockwork’s hoof flashed across the table, taking the chocolates with it. Grasping the bag protectively, she flipped through her cards until she found the ‘Thank you’ card and held it up.
"Somepony seems to be a chocohoooliiic," Rainbow teased. "So, no hard feelings?"
Clockwork shook her head and offered a friendly hoof. The hoof that wasn't holding the chocolates like they were the last savior of ponykind, that is. Shaking hooves, they both reclined in their seats.
"Ya know, Twilight's been acting kinda weird ever since you came to town. It's like you stirred up the crazy in that pony."
That doesn't seem like a hard thing to do.
"For the last three days she's been holed up in her castle doing... something. You got any ideas what?"
Clockwork leveled her eyes at Rainbow.
"Oh, right. It's not like you could tell me anyway."
A sudden clattering from a nearby table caught both ponies' attention.
"Vinyl, could you please take those infernal contraptions off while we're eating?"
The pony talking had an aristocratic accent, probably hailing from Canterlot, or maybe even Manehattan. The pony sitting next to her, a unicorn with a white coat and blue mane, shrugged and removed her headphones.
Clockwork pointed at them and gave a questioning look toward Rainbow, who sat up in her chair.
"Them? The gray one on the right is Octavia. She's some hotshot cello player from Canterlot. The one on the left is Vinyl Scratch. You might know her as DJ Pon-3."
She lives in Ponyville? No wonder she’s never stopped by my shop. I’ve always wanted to get a look at her deck.
The waiter approached the couple's table and cleared his throat.
"Vinyl, what are you in the mood for?" Octavia asked. The white pony made a sweeping motion with her hoof and shook it around for a moment.
"She'll have the spaghetti and a sweet tea, no ice, and I'll have the caprese salad and grapefruit juice."
The waiter nodded and walked off with the menus. The movements were confusing; the unicorn certainly wasn’t signing. Clockwork waved at Rainbow to get her attention and then pointed at the two ponies.
"Those two? What about ‘em?"
Clockwork mimicked the motions Vinyl made and then shrugged.
"You mean, how did Octavia know what she wanted?"
Clockwork nodded.
Rainbow waved her off with a hoof. "Those two have been together for as long as I can remember. They can darn near read each other's minds, as far as I can tell. Of course, they have to. Vinyl's mute, ya know?"
Dj pon-3 is mute? Huh. I guess you don’t need to speak to spin records.
"Welp, I'm bored. I'll catch ya later," Rainbow announced as she launched from her chair. It balanced on one leg, spinning dangerously before finally falling over with a heavy wooden thunk.
Clockwork gave a friendly wave as Rainbow took off, leaving a chromatic blur in her wake. Now that she was alone, Clockwork stared at the couple, taking in their conversation. Without a word, Vinyl told her friend in great detail all about her day.
I guess anything is possible if you know somepony well enough.
Clockwork gave her salad a few pokes before putting her fork down and letting out a discontented sigh.
Is this what retirement is? Just lounging about, waiting for nothing to happen?
Tossing a few bits onto the table, she snatched her chocolates and walked off.
Back at the crystal castle, the front doors violently shook as if they were under siege. Fluttershy watched them nervously and took a few steps back, hoping they wouldn’t slam open on her face. After a moment, they both stopped moving. A tuft of pink hair followed closely by a pink head pushed its way through the lock.
“Okay, they’re unlocked!” Pinkie whispered in a way that still sounded like a shout as only Pinkie could.
Fluttershy gingerly pushed the door open as if it might explode. When it didn’t manage to do so, she stepped inside, only giving a slight glance to Pinkie whose head was still stuck in the door lock.
“M-maybe we’re over-reacting,” Fluttershy said, taking a few tentative steps into the castle. “I’m sure she’s okay.”
Predictably to anyone who knew her, Pinkie appeared in step with her friend.
“I don't know, Fluttershy. I haven't seen her in long long long long time, and that's four longs!"
"She's probably just studying,” Fluttershy said. “You know how she gets when she's behind on her studies. She just likes to bury herself in her work.”
Pinkie darted in front of Fluttershy, putting herself nose-to-nose with the pegasus. "Yeah, but she almost never misses her weekly scheduled vanilla ice cream cone! I mean, it's on her schedule for pony's sake!"
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. "Oh my. Maybe it's worse than we thought."
"Uh-huh!" Pinkie said as she pushed a door open. "And that's why you’re gonna help me drag her out of the castle."
"Ughhhhh... almost... done."
Pinkie and Fluttershy exchanged worried glances at the pained and tired moans. Equipment and tools uncharacteristically littered the room. Some were strewn about the floor, some were haphazardly left across the tables. The pair of ponies dodged and weaved through the mess until they caught glimpse of a purple head and horn, wavering left and right.
"Let's do this," Pinkie whispered.
Fluttershy nodded.
Poking out her chest, Pinkie slapped the biggest, most irresistible smile she had on her face and trotted up to the weary alicorn. "Twilight, it has come to our attention that the Princess of Friendship needs help… again. We're here to drag you outside and shower you in fun and sunshine. Isn't that right, Fluttershy?"
"Ummm... yes."
"So come on, Miss Nerdy-pants, let's go!" Pinkie said, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. The alicorn shrugged off Pinkie’s hoof. Wavering though she was, it was clear Twilight would not be interrupted.
"Just... one more piece..."
Fluttershy walked next to Pinkie and pulled her aside. "What do you think she's making?"
As one, Pinkie and Fluttershy stared at the device sitting on the table. It was mostly made of a white, flexible tube. On one end was a small box with strings or wires inside. On the other there was a strange metal grill with straps.
"Hmmm, well, it's the strangest frosting canon I've ever seen," the pink mare said, scratching her head with a hoof.
A shaky purple aura engulfed a small square panel and floated over to her project. The panel rotated in the magical aura until it butted up against the box, covering the open side. With a satisfying click, it popped into place.
"Finally..."
Pinkie and Fluttershy gasped as Twilight fell sideways out of her chair. Sliding across the shimmering crystal, Pinkie caught the alicorn inches from the floor. Nestled across Pinkie's hooves, Twilight gave a small snort as she fell asleep.
"I know we came here to bring her outside, but I think she might need some rest first," Fluttershy suggested.
"Yeah. She seems too sleepy to sunbathe," Pinkie agreed. As Pinkie carefully positioned Twilight across her back, Fluttershy cautiously approached the table.
"I've never seen anything like this before," Fluttershy said, eying the contraption.
"Come on, Fluttershy, help me get her to bed!"
Fluttershy turned away from the table and started flapping her wings. "Coming, Pinkie."
Once again, Clockwork neglected to buy bed clothes of any sort. True to her word, she slept defiantly on the itchy mattress, using a cushion from the couch as a pillow. Tossing off a coat she had used as a blanket, Clockwork was ready to seize the day.
I should go jogging. After that, maybe a nice dip in the lake. I haven’t been swimming since I was a filly!
The earth pony stopped long enough to pour herself a glass of water and down it one gulp before tossing it in the sink.
It’s going to be a great day! I can feel it!
Clockwork walked over to her front door and kicked it open with a smile.
Unfortunately, the door only made it halfway before it made a feminine shriek and stopped.
Uh-oh.
Peering out of her door, Clockwork’s chest tightened when she saw a yellow pegasus with a pink mane rubbing her nose, tears streaming down her face. A smattering of blood dotted her doorstep.
Oh, Celestia! What have I done?
Rushing to the injured mare’s side, she held up her ‘I’m sorry’ card frantically.
“I-i-it’s okay. I-it wa-wa-was an accident, I-I’m sure.”
Clockwork nodded and eased the pegasus onto her hooves. Slowly, she led the mare inside, and into one of her kitchen chairs. Wasting no time, Clockwork snatched a washcloth, wet it under the faucet, and firmly held it against the pegasus’ bleeding nose.
“Th-thank you…”
She’s thanking me. She’s thanking me after I busted her nose.
Taking another look at the mare, Clockwork realized she seemed familiar. She flipped through her cards and held one up.
“Who am I? My name is, well, it—it’s Fluttershy.”
Somewhere inside, Clockwork’s mind began unraveling.
Just my luck. I made the princess and the Element of Loyalty crap themselves, I’ve busted the the Element of Kindness’ nose, and I stole the Element of Generosity’s sewing machine. I’ve managed to meet and terrorize some of Equestria’s greatest heroes in less than a month. Only two left and I can officially be considered a war criminal!
“Ummm, excuse me, but are you Clockwork?”
Snapped out of her self-imposed doom, Clockwork turned to Fluttershy and nodded.
“Oh good. I was sent by Twilight to come get you. She said she had something special to show you.”
Deep in her chest, Clockwork’s heart skipped a beat. She had an idea of what it could be…
No. She didn’t dare dream. That was the quickest way to disappointment.
“I think the bleeding has stopped. D-do you want to follow me to the castle?”
As usual, Clockwork weighed her plans for the day versus what was being asked of her. Somehow, jogging didn’t seem as important as standing up one of the rulers of Equestria. She nodded and helped Fluttershy down from the chair.
Time to see what that crazy alicorn has cooked up.