Ponyville’s tiny train station was often quite busy due to ponies coming and going from the small town for one reason or another. There’d been discussion of expanding it, or at the very least adding a second platform and putting down more track given the uptick in visitors of late, but nothing had come of it due to budgetary constraints in the mayor’s office. For now, it could only hold one train at a time, which was fine so long as they arrived on time and without incident.
One such train slowed as it came into the station, its passengers unloading within seconds of its carriage doors sliding open. As various ponies milled about and went on their way, a few even stopping to meet and talk with ponies waiting for them at the station, a disgusted whine sounded from inside of the train. “Ponyville! It had to be Ponyville!” Ponies were shoved aside by a bulky, dark brown earth pony mare as the speaker emerged from the train carriage. “What self-respecting fashion designer has a boutique in some hick-infested dump like this? She could at least have some class and live in Canterlot!”
Following a short distance behind the earth pony was a pale white unicorn mare who carried herself as if she were royalty, her head held high as if to show off her fancifully-curled deep red mane for all to see. Disgust was clear in her pale green eyes as she looked about at her surroundings, and she and her entourage made their way off their platform as quickly as they could.
A bulky earth pony stallion with a smug grin on his face and a pale coral pegasus followed her out, the former looking about the place with a condescending look in his eyes. “Place doesn’t even have a stadium. What got it on the map anyway?”
The pegasus rolled her eyes. “Nightmare Moon. O-D-C Primrose, this place should’ve been called ‘Freaksville’.”
Primrose Thorn smirked as she considered her lackey’s remark. “You make a pretty good point, Hot Trail.” The smirk faded from her face as she returned to her earlier disgust. “It’s no shocker that Blunder Bill found his way here. A place like this is perfect for him.”
The stallion made a laugh that sounded something like a grunt and a chuckle mixed together. “Friendship capitol of Equestria? Of course the little fag’s here.”
“And if everything had gone properly, Chum-Scummer would’ve convinced him to come to us.” Primrose turned back to scowl at the pale coral pegasus. “Shame somepony had to blab.”
Hot Trail made a shocked expression and countered, “Like, how was I suppose to –?”
“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you screwed up, and now you and Roxy are gonna fix it.” She huffed angrily and turned about. “Putrid Swill lives somewhere in this two-bit town, and I’ll just bet that one of these freaks will be able to point you towards him. Find him, and convince him to come back for the reunion.” A cruel grin crossed her face as she noted, “I don’t want all that hard work to go to waste, now do I?”
The earth pony mare in their party made an eager grunt. “Nope. Don’t want that. You got his address, Hot Trail?”
The pegasus nodded. “Like, duh!”
Primrose rolled her eyes at her two lackeys’ antics. “Well, then what are you waiting for?! Go on and find him already!” As the pair dashed off, she turned to the stallion and grinned. “Now then Brick, I believe I still have another reason to be here?”
Brick Wall grinned back at his significant other. “Oh yeah. Gotta look nice for your big night.”
-
“You should’ve been here last night, Warbler.” Sour Sweet’s grin was equally teasing and proud as she looked to her cousin while the trio made their way along. “We had quite the adventure, Quiver especially.”
Quiver rolled his eyes. “I didn’t do anything special.”
“You took on a bunch of timberwolves with nothing but a flaming torch to protect a bunch of young fillies. Not everypony can do that.”
“Still had to get my plot bailed out.”
Sunrunner giggled. “That makes three of us.”
Sour groaned, then managed a laugh as the trio continued along. Breakfast had progressed quietly for the three ponies, and enough time had passed for them to work out a rough itinerary for the day, with the first stop coming into view as they reached the southwestern edge of Ponyville, an immense orchard coming into view before them. “Well, don’t be surprised if you get bugged with all the details. One of the little munchkins lives here.”
The pegasus turned surprised as she realized what that meant. “But that means…” She moved forward a little and gave her coltfriend a gentle slap with one wing. “Dang, Quivs! Look at you being awesome!”
As a loud bang sounded nearby followed by several dull thuds, Quiver smiled and countered, “Well, they do it more often than I do.”
The trio found themselves a small distance away from another trio, this one a group of earth ponies setting about their work. The orange mare among them paused in her work to wipe some sweat from her brow, but satisfaction was on her face. “Well, that gets this part’a the orchard done. Alright y’all, let’s…” She caught sight of their guests and laughed. “Well I’ll be! Howdy Quiver!”
“Hey Applejack!” The stallion laughed and led the rest of the party along as he approached the three Apple siblings. “Hope I didn’t time things badly, but I wanted to help Sour get acquainted with all the highlights of Ponyville, and I’ve got somepony I want you and the girls to meet.”
The farmmare’s eyes found themselves on the flame-haired mare, and delight crossed her features. “Well Maker bless me. You two found each other again.” She approached the three and kept her attention on the mare in question. “Sunrunner, Ah presume?”
A nod. “I guess Quivs has been talking me up.”
“Not as much as you’d think, but what he has said spoke volumes.” She offered a hoof. “Name’s Applejack, and it’s a right honor meetin’ ya.” After a brief shake, she then introduced her two siblings. “That there’s my older brother, Big McIntosh, an’ my little sister, Apple Bloom.”
“Dang! You look exactly the way Ah thought you would!” The little filly was wide-eyed and awestruck at the mare before her. “No wonder Quiver talked ya up as much as he did!”
The lone stallion among the siblings chuckled quietly. “Yep.”
Sunrunner took on a nervous smile as she admitted, “Well, don’t put me up too high, I’m nopony special. At least, not an Element of Harmony.”
“Gal, all mah hero stuff’s done because Ah needed to do it. You chose to do it, same as Sour an’ everypony else who put on that armor. That’s worth somethin’, and don’t you pretend otherwise.” A tiny bit of shame crossed her face as she admitted, “An’ jus’ because Ah’m me don’t mean Ah ain’t made the odd mistake here and there. We’re just held to slightly higher standards is all, an’ the time comes here and there where we don’t realize it soon enough.”
Big Mac smirked. “Nuthin’ to do about that but try not to repeat it, though.”
Applejack nodded. “Anyway, y’all are fine, me an’ Apple Bloom were jus’ helpin’ Big Mac with the last’a his chores. Now we jus’ need to get all these apples off to storage.”
“Can we help?” Sour cast her gaze on the bushels of apples around them, then gestured towards her horn. “Six ponies will get the job done a lot faster than three, especially with a little of this thrown in.” Applejack gained a hesitant look, at which point the unicorn prodded, “Don’t tell me you’ve got something against magic getting the job done a little easier.”
The farmmare frowned. “Tiny mixed feelin’s. Gonna have to forgive me, but Ah’ve always been kind of a traditionalist, and usin’ unicorn magic feels like a cheat half the time. Plus you’re guests.” She relented and admitted, “But liftin’ bushels into a wagon ain’t easy work with teeth, and ya’ll are volunteerin’.”
“So let’s get on with it.” Sour’s magic enveloped several of the waiting barrels as she helped to carry them to a waiting wagon.
As the work continued, Apple Bloom kept close to Sunrunner and asked, “So have ya heard about everythin’ that happened last night?”
“I’ve heard a little, but it sounds like you had quite the adventure.” She grinned encouragingly. “Wouldn’t mind hearing more about it.”
The filly beamed happily, then launched into her tale as she continued to help load up the wagon. “Well, to start with, y’all should know that Ah’d been puttin’ up with this pair’a bullies fer a while now, Diamond Tiara an’ Silver Spoon. They started givin’ me an’ some’a the other kids in school grief over not havin’ cutie marks a little over a year ago, an’ it got worse from there.”
A grim look settled over the pegasus’ features. “Not a lot got done about it, I take it.”
Apple Bloom noticed the shameful look on her sister’s face. “No, but what did get done helped plenty, and it was a lot more than what got done fer you an’ Quiver from what he’s said, especially after last night.” At her elder sister’s slight smile, she continued, “Anywho, things changed a lot yesterday after Quiver stepped in…”
-
“Oh, this looks absolutely magnificent!” Rarity beamed as she surveyed the garment before her. “You’ve come quite a ways as a seamstress, Sweetie Belle!”
Her little sister blushed, but was nonetheless proud of herself. “Well, it’s nothing like what you can do. I just hope he likes it.”
“Oh I’m certain he will, dear.” The elder sibling looked about and wondered aloud, “Now as for properly packaging this. I should have something about to store it in until we can properly gift it to him.” She wandered off in one direction as the bell rang at her door. “Sweetie Belle, would you see to that please?”
“Yes Rarity!” The young filly dashed out of one of the back rooms of Carousel Boutique and into the main part of the store. Despite being grounded until her parents got back from their trip, she was in high spirits, mostly thanks to everything that happened last night, and she was already looking forward to giving Quiver his thank-you gift for everything that had happened last night. At this point, she doubted that anything would dampen her mood. “Good morning! Rarity…!”
“Well here we are at last!” The filly was greeted by the sight of two grown ponies, a unicorn mare and an earth pony stallion. The mare had a smirk on her face that reminded Sweetie Belle a little too much of Diamond Tiara as she asked, “This is, Carousel Boutique, isn’t it?”
“Yes ma’am, and…”
“Well, if you’d be so kind as to fetch the dress that was reserved for me.” She raised an eyebrow and beckoned, “Well? What are you waiting for?”
The filly turned apologetic. “I don’t know where it is, ma’am.”
“You don’t? Well, clearly this boutique is lacking in its employees.”
“Oh, I don’t work here, I’m…”
“Apologies!” Rarity emerged from the back room and into the store proper. “I was busy with something for another client and I asked my little sister to greet you. I am Rarity, and I happily welcome you to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique. Primrose Thorn, I presume?”
The mare gave a satisfied smirk. “Indeed.” She gestured to her escort. “My fiancé, Brick Wall. Clearly you’ve heard of us.”
“Of course, madame.” Rarity, of course, kept how she’d heard of them to herself. She then turned to her sister and quietly suggested, “Sweetie Belle, I do believe that Opalescence is due for her grooming. Would you be so kind as to take her off to Fluttershy?”
“Sure. I’ll go and find her, and then I’ll be out of everypony’s manes.”
The filly then scampered off, and Primrose smiled. “Thank you. I’d rather not have any distractions if I can help it.”
A careful smile formed on Rarity’s face. “Nor I.” She then gestured for the two to follow. “Now then, I’ve made your gown to your specifications, though I’ve made a few variations on it, just in case you ended up changing your mind about one detail or another.”
“Wonderful.” A chuckle escaped Primose’s mouth as she admitted, “I always like to have options.”
-
“…An’ when that first timberwolf lunged at us, Quiver hit it right in the muzzle with his torch! Pow!” Apple Bloom punched the air with a foreleg for emphasis as she trotted alongside her siblings and their guests and continued her tale. “An’ then he punched it right in the face, an’ it broke inta deadwood! Two more attacked us, an’ he burned the first one an’ bucked the second one…”
“And that was when Big Mac rushed in and started everyone saving our collective flanks.” Quiver smiled as the group closed in on the Apple family’s farmhouse. “Bucked the third one hard enough that it flew right into a tree and shattered into splinters.”
The filly smiled. “Well yeah, but Big Mac doin’ somethin’ like that ain’t a surprise. Everythin’ you did though, that was somethin’.”
“I’d say so.” Sunrunner gave her coltfriend a proud grin as an elderly mare emerged from the farmhouse and into view. “Always thought you had something like that in you.”
“Yeah, well, you wait until you hear the whole story before you cast judgment.”
“Ah’d take his advice if’n Ah was you, missy!” The elderly mare caught up to them at last and finished, “Fella knows what he’s talkin’ about.”
Quiver chuckled softly and made introductions. “Runnie, meet the matriarch of the Apple Clan, Granny Smith. Granny Smith, this is my marefriend, Sunrunner.”
The pegasus made a polite bow, and the elderly mare looked her over. “Well ain’t you a sight. Can’t blame Quiver fer talkin’ you up.” She frowned. “Shame. I wuz hopin’ him an’ Applejack would end up together.”
A raised eyebrow went towards the mare in question as Sunrunner considered that. “Really.”
Granny Smith chuckled as Applejack turned apprehensive at the mare’s glare. “Don’t get a burr in yer saddle. Ah ain’t one for wreckin’ relationships. Did it once by accident when Ah wuz yer age an’ Ah still feel lousy fer it.” That got Sunrunner to relax, and the elder mare smiled. “Anywho, right nice to see ya, an’ it’s good that you an’ Quiver found each other again.”
“Thanks, ma’am. Believe me, I’m glad that he and I found one another again too.” She then cast a smile towards the Apples as a whole and noted, “And I’m glad he’s found some good friends.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” She turned back to her grandkids and called, “Big Mac, you go ‘n get those apples stored away. Applejack, ain’t you still got those chores to take care of? Take Apple Bloom with ya an’ have her help. She’s still bein’ punished after all fer runnin’ the risk she did.”
Applejack gave her grandmother a curious look, but nodded. “Alright Granny.” She turned to the two remaining mares and offered, “Sunrunner, Sour, Ah can’t ask either a’ ya to help out, but Ah’d appreciate the chance to talk with ya fer a bit while me an’ Apple Bloom work.”
She shrugged. “Sure, why not? It’ll give Apple Bloom the chance to finish her story.”
Sour smirked. “I’ll finish it for her. The little timberwolves pulled themselves together into a big one, and I blew it up.” She and Sunrunner followed the two Apple sisters as she continued, “What happened after that, though, you’re better off hearing about from Quiver. Trust me.”
“Hope ya don’t mind me gettin’ ya away from yer marefriend fer a bit.” Quiver’s attention turned back to Granny Smith as she explained, “Applejack an’ Big Mac told me what ya told them last night. ‘Bout yer family.” She laid a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “Ah’m awful sorry. Nopony should have’ta go through life dealin’ with things like that. An’ fer them tellin’ me without askin’ fer yer okay.”
He softly smiled. “I didn’t exactly swear them to secrecy.”
“Nah, ya didn’t. But those two know better’n to keep secrets from me, even when they probably should.” She frowned and added, “An’ that don’t change the fact that what Ah heard from ‘em was heartbreakin’. No parent should talk to their kids like that.”
An eyebrow rose at the old mare’s tone of voice. “That doesn’t sound like normal disapproval.”
“It ain’t, an’ Ah’d appreciate it if’n ya don’t pry too much into it.” At Quiver’s nod, she continued, “Still, yer daddy bein’ angry Ah get. Ah know the pain’a outlivin’ yer youngin’s. No excuse fer him takin’ out that anger on you, puttin’ you down ‘cuz he could. Ain’t no wonder what you almost did to Spoiled Milk last night.”
“I almost murdered her in an act of rage.”
“Almost, darlin’. That only counts with horseshoes an’ dynamite.” She smiled and reassured him, “My grandchildren ain’t the sorts to make nice with bad ponies. You’ve risked yer life fer my granddaughter, an’ stopped yerself from doin’ somethin’ terrible right in front’a her, even if it was to somepony who probably had it comin’. Had the decency to be ashamed’a lettin’ the worst parts’a ya come to the forefront, too. Tells me that fer all their faults, yer folks did somethin’ right raisin’ ya.” Her expression grew dourer as she amended, “’Sides, Ah get the feelin’ that pain didn’t start with yer daddy. That grandmother’a yers sounds like she got issues, an’ that jus’ made things worse fer alla’ ya.”
A rueful smile crossed Quiver’s face. “The sad thing is, I’ve got an easy time believing exactly that.”
A more pleased one crossed Granny Smith’s face. “All the more reason to be glad yer livin’ here now. Less likely you’ll have that weighin’ down on ya.” She gave him an affectionate shove. “Now you go an’ have yerself a good day with that filly a’ yers. You’ve earned it.”
“Yes ma’am.” He turned away, then paused and looked back, the rueful smile now an appreciative one. “And thank you.”
-
“Awful sorry that we can’t sit down and talk with y’all proper, but this is a workin’ farm.” The four mares approached a pig pen to find a number of full-grown pigs contentedly lazing about in the mud. “Plenty to do, an’ only four’a us to do it. An’ with Sweet Apple Acres bein’ on the short list fer the Best Orchard in Equestria contest, the pressure’s been cranked up a bit.”
“Hey, I understand. You have stuff that needs to get done before a certain point, otherwise the slop hits the fan. And hopefully, that little extra bit helped.”
“It did, yeah.” Applejack grinned at her guest. “Ain’t gonna stop me from sayin’ this, though. Ah’m glad you an’ Quiver found each other again. Way he talked about ya, you lit up his world like the sun.” The grin faded as she admitted, “Given everythin’ he’s been through, fella could stand to have more stuff in his life to lift him up when he’s down. Me an’ everypony else have helped, no question, but somethin’ tells me he can use all he can get.”
Sunrunner turned alarmed, then looked to Sour Sweet and asked, “Anything specific I need to know about?”
The unicorn frowned. “Better that Quiver tells you, Warbler. Trust me.”
The pegasus gave a grim nod, then turned her attention back to Applejack as the farmmare set a bucket full of slop onto a fencepost, then approached the gate to the sty. “Um, not to question your methods, but what are you doing?”
“Feedin’ the pigs.” Applejack opened, and then closed the gate to the pig sty, then made her way over to the opposite side of the pen. “Ah know what Ah’m doin’ looks a bit silly, but there’s a reason fer every step in it.”
Sunrunner and Sour Sweet shared a perplexed look as the farmmare babbled and made silly noises at the pigs, then turned to Apple Bloom. The filly shrugged. “This is the first time Ah’ve had to help her with these chores. All’a mine’re done.”
“Got up proper early to get ‘em done too.” Applejack made her way back closer to the other three and proceeded to dance and cluck about like a chicken.
Sunrunner’s eyebrow was raised as she considered the sight before her. “Okay, fine, but you want to explain that reasoning?”
“Well, the gate use’ta squeak so loud, the pigs’d run off’ta the other side’a the pen an’ never come out! Ah open an’ close it to show’em it’s safe.”
Sour put a hoof to her forehead, already anticipating a headache. “But it doesn’t squeak anymore.”
“Yeah, fixed it a few days ago. Anyway, Ah realized givin’ ‘em a good fright would get ‘em outta whatever corner they’d rushed to.”
The pegasus gave the pigs a glance to see they hadn’t stirred from their muddy comfort. “Yeah,” she dryly remarked, “they look terrified.”
“They got used to it. That’s why Ah started doin’ the chicken dance, to let ‘em know that if’n they don’t get their food, the chickens will.” She produced some rope and gestured upwards towards a pulley system. “An’ Ah couldn’t open the gate if’n Ah was a chicken, an’ after a fortunate…”
“Oh for the love of…” Sour took up the bucket in her magic, shouted “Soo-IE!” and slopped its contents into a trough. The pigs instantly came running to gobble up their food as the unicorn sighed. “There. Chore’s done.” At Applejack’s gobsmacked expression, she reasoned, “What? You didn’t need all that rigmarole. Like you said, you fixed the gate, and if the pigs don’t recognize those sounds, then there’s something wrong with them.”
“Well yeah, but…!” The farmmare groaned. “But now Ah feel right foolish.”
Sunrunner chuckled. “Don’t be. It’s easy to get stuck in a routine, especially if you’ve been doing it every day for Maker knows how long.” She shared a grin with her fellow soldier and remarked, “Sour and I know that especially.”
“And sometimes it takes an outside perspective to point things out.” Sour gestured towards Apple Bloom and noted, “Good thing you’ve got your little sister to help out, don’t you?”
“Me? Really? Ah ain’t so sure, ah mean, Ah’ve made mistakes too.”
Applejack chuckled as she approached her little sister and affectionately ruffled her mane. “An’ been more sensible than me sometimes too, if’n Ah’m rememberin’ that mess with the poison joke right.”
Sour chuckled. “Sounds like I’m not the only one to straighten out a relative.”
“Hey! No talking about me behind my back!” Quiver finally caught up with them, but the grin on his face undermined his words of protest. “So what have the four of you been up to?”
“Just doing for Applejack what I once did for you.” Sour turned her attention back to the farmmare and noted, “Anyway, the two of you should be able to streamline things from here.”
“Ah’d say so. Thanks fer that, and fer helpin’ with cartin’ those apples. Saved us some time an’ trouble.”
Sunrunner shrugged. “Glad we could help, but I do wish our timing had been better. We caught you guys working, after all.”
“Gal, Ah ain’t complainin’ that y’all came by. If anythin’, Ah’m glad Quiver brought ya by to meet us. Means a lot meetin’ ya, after everythin’ he had to say about ya.” Applejack turned to Quiver and asked, “Speakin’ of meetin’s, anypony else know she’s in town?”
“Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie so far.” Quiver laughed as he realized, “Oh no, I should’ve realized.” He turned to Sunrunner and explained, “Pinkie’s gonna throw you a party.” He laughed again and turned to his cousin. “And it’ll probably double for your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party.”
At Sour’s huff of displeasure, Applejack advised, “Best accept that it’s gonna happen, Sour. Pinkie can’t avoid throwin’ a party no more’n she can avoid candy on Nightmare Night. Hopefully, though, she can keep it peaceful, like she did with Quiver’s party.”
“An’ hopefully it’ll happen after Rarity’s finished her business with that Primrose mare.” Apple Bloom turned sympathetic as she explained, “Quiver told us about her, too.”
“And thankfully, I know exactly where to go next in order to avoid her.” Quiver turned to Applejack and gave her an apologetic smile. “Hope you don’t mind us getting on our way like this.”
“Not at all, darlin’. You’ve got catchin’ up to do and a few more introductions to make on the way. Sunrunner, you enjoy the rest’a yer day in Ponyville, y’hear?”
“Will do. Thanks for having us.” The trio then departed with a few friendly waves exchanged as Sunrunner asked, “So what’s that about poison joke?”
Quiver chuckled. “Oh, that’s a long story, and a ways before my time.”
The stallion continued his tale as the two Apple siblings went about the rest of their duties, certain that the day would progress well for them and hoping that the same could be said for all of their friends.
-
As they made their way through town, Hot Trail and Roxy found themselves wanting to get out as quickly as possible. There was nothing wrong with Ponyville per se, of course, but…
“Ugh! This place is so, like, dull!” The coral pegasus gagged as she reviewed the address for their target. “Why’d Sunrunner have to stick her nose where it didn’t belong?”
“Cuz she’s stupid.” The earth pony mare’s laugh sounded more like a grunt, but her mirth faded as she turned her attention towards a nearby house. “Hey, you think that’s the place?”
The pair paused as Hot Trail checked the address. “Think so.” She trotted up to the door and knocked, then waited a few seconds before knocking again. “Maybe he’s not home?”
A scoff. “On a Saturday morning? Where else would he be, at a job? Who works on Saturdays?”
“Excuse me!” The two looked up to find a pale grey pegasus hovering nearby, clad in a postal worker’s uniform. “I’m sorry, could you move aside so I can get to the mailbox please?” They stared at her, which prompted the postmare to explain, “Believe it or not, some ponies do work on Saturdays. Neither rain nor sleet and all that.”
The two moved aside to allow the mare to do her work, with Hot Trail smirking once she got out of the mare’s eyesight. “Hey, do you, like, know the pony who lives here?”
“Quiver? Hm-hmm.” The postmare dropped off a few letters before she turned back to answer further. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, well, we’re friends of his from back in Indianapoloosa, and we’re trying to reconnect.” She gestured to the door and explained, “But he doesn’t seem to be in…”
“Oh, and you’re wondering where he might be?” At Hot Trail’s nod, the postmare smiled apologetically. “Well, I’m pretty sure Quiver doesn’t work on Saturdays, but if he isn’t at home, there’s only two or three places that he could be. I’d check at Sugar Cube Corner or the Golden Oak Library. If he’s not in either of those places, he’s probably on his way to one of them or heading back here.” She turned from the door and went aloft. “Sugar Cube Corner’s the building over there that looks like a gingerbread house, and you can’t miss Golden Oak Library – it’s an actual oak tree! Hope that you find him!”
“Thanks!” The mare went on her way, and as she got out of earshot, Hot Trail snorted. “Did you see that pony’s eyes? Talk about weird!”
Her companion snorted in turn. “The little weirdo probably feels right at home in a place that has a derped-up retard like her living in it. Come on.”
The two went on their way to Sugar Cube Corner, grins on their faces as they quietly made faces at one another to mock the postmare who’d helped them on their way. They still had their goal in mind, of course, but nothing was stopping them from having a little fun on their way. After all, it wasn’t as if they’d face any consequences for it. They never had before, after all.
-
A chill went up Pinkie Pie’s spine as she finished putting together party invitations, another signal courtesy of her Pinkie Sense. “Oooh, somepony just tempted fate.” She shrugged, then gathered up her invites. If she was quick, there was the chance that she’d get back to Sugar Cube Corner before Quiver made it there himself, and if she was lucky, he and those closest to him wouldn’t see it coming.