//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 - Gem Hunting Part 1 // Story: Fred Walsh: Diverted // by Baguettedood //------------------------------// Chapter 08 – Gem Hunting Part 1 "Yeah, I kind of forgot that the locals in Ponyville don't exactly dance in joy to my presence. They can deal with it, I'm sure. Twilight and Pinkie – wherever she went – may be able to help calm the residents down a little, but it's not going to fix anything instantly. "Interesting history lesson there, for both Twilight and I. From the sounds of everything, Celestia played it careful to keep the Potens Daemonium incident under wraps. Also, that changeling invasion sounded bad. Does Equestria have some sort of aura emanating from it that induces likelihood of attack or something? Seriously, this happens way too often.” “At least they're not running in terror this time,” Fred Walsh mentioned. “Not to worry, everypony. He's safe,” Twilight attempted to reassure the townsfolk, without success. “What you lot need to do,” he tried once more, “is to grow a pair. I have a few you can borrow.” Still no reaction. “Screw it, let's go.” With nothing else to say, they moved on. The lavender unicorn led the way to Carousel Boutique, with the human in tow. The train station and dressmaker's shop/house were on other sides of the town, so onlookers were unavoidable. Far off, Fred thought he could see something glowing watching them, more than simply staring in shock. Ignoring the locals, The duo made it to the Boutique. Twilight knocked on the door. “So the weather report today says incoming shitstorm,” Fred commented. “Huh?” she failed to understand what he meant. After a few seconds, a voice sang from inside. “Come i-in!” They passed through the wooden portal. Once indoors, the human looked at his watch and made a motion with his free hand every second. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and-” she turned to face the two and jumped back slightly. “What is that?” Fred turned to Twilight. “It's slightly more insulting when done to my face.” He faced Rarity. “Six seconds, slower than average.” The scholar spoke up. “This is Fred Walsh.” 'I need a bible, just so the two of us can look like Jehovah's Witnesses. Hello, have you found Jesus?' he thought. “I'm suddenly very interested in archaeology.” “What's that supposed to mean?” the dressmaker questioned. Twilight continued. “We're going on a gem hunt. The gems of Princess Celestia's jewellery, among others, contain magical enhancements from the Elements of Harmony, and I think it'd be interesting if we found some of our own.” “The harmonic gemstones are the bane of my recent existence in this universe, and I'm also slightly worried that they might fall into the wrong hands again.” “Hmm, Twilight, are you sure we can trust him?” Rarity still felt uneasy in Fred's presence. It had only been a few minutes after all. “Of course. Princess Celestia trusts him, and he hasn't done anything wrong yet,” the librarian reassured. “The key word in that sentence was 'yet,'” he stated in passing. “Well, I am running low on gems – Sapphire Shores loves gem-laden dresses – so I suppose you can help look for some more. We might even find some of your harmonic gemstones.” 'I'd probably laugh if Sapphire Shores turned out to be a comic book supervillian.' “Spike would enjoy helping out; I'll go get him. Fred, wait here,” Twilight commanded as she turned out the door. “I'll get some equipment.” The other unicorn walked into another room, leaving Fred still at the entrance. As he waited, he sat down cross-legged against the nearby wall and fiddled with the Scavenger Watch. The door to Golden Oaks Library swung open, with the tell-tale ruby-lavender glow of magic able to determine the pony responsible. The librarian's assistant hopped down from the ladder he was dusting books on to greet the entrant. “Twilight, you're back already? Weren't you going to stay in Canterlot for longer?” “Change of plans, Spike. But it works in your favour, Come on, let's go to Rarity's,” she knew the baby dragon wouldn't resist some time with his crush, plus he would be helpful in mining some gemstones as he has before. Rarity looked in a storage room for some saddlebags, which she then stuffed with hygiene products. Since the incident with the Diamond Dogs, she knows to take extra precaution against dirt when mining for gems. The dressmaker also equips some boots to avoid getting her hooves dirty. Overall, very little defensive equipment is selected. Satisfied with her preparations, the unicorn returned to the main room. “I heard everypony running a few minutes ago, is that creature here?” Spike asked. “He is a human, and see for yourself.” Twilight opened the door to Rarity's boutique. The alabaster unicorn returned from the storage room, while Fred Walsh remained next to the door. The baby dragon immediately moved toward his crush, failing to notice the new object sitting cross-legged at the door. The aforementioned object finished his quick task on the watch and locked it. He turned to Spike and cheered, “Hello.” He waved. The dragon just took notice that the thing next to the door was alive, as opposed to what he believed it was – a new decoration that he ignored. “So you're a human, from what Twilight told me. Who are you?” Fred stood up. While everypony had previously gathered various items, he spent a few moments during his waiting attempting to create a quick virtual ID card to place on the lock screen. He turned on the screen and raised his arm. “Fred Walsh: Demon hunter vigilante.” He spent a few seconds looking with his arm in place, then realised something. “What in Inferno am I doing, black power?” He decided not to display the virtual ID card that way again. “I'm not even black,” he reminded himself. “Are we all ready?” Rarity broke the awkward situation. A few seconds of agreement passed before the four left Carousel Boutique and headed North to a nearby area full of gems the dressmaker often visited.