//------------------------------// // > A long time ago... nearby the mountainside Twin Peaks // Story: The enhanced Stallion // by Shenzy //------------------------------// “Wake up” Tenet rose his head and blinked a few times, to get the gray pegasus in focus while rubbing his eyes “How late is it?” “According to this clock, you overslept. Working late i assume?” He got himself up into a more comfortable position and pushed his back forward to lose it up a bit. “I... I had to finish this.” “I know you try hard to fix your mistakes, but if would pay more attention in the first place, we didn't have to spend days in order to straighten them out.” Sledge picked the clock from the wall, to put it down in front of him. “How long it would take to repair this if i would destroy it?” “... an unnecessary question.” he shook his head tiredly. “Please, answer.” Tenet looked on the clock. It was the bare bones of what was still functional. “Assuming I got all spare parts?” he looked at him and back on the clock “Four... or five minutes?” “Thank you.” The brown stallion looked to his side, after a while of silence “Something else?” “Same question. How long it would take you to repair this, if I would destroy it and Muse wasn't around?”. The brown stallion turned frowning away “Don't waste my time”. “Please, answer.” he asked once more polite, to add calmly “The door is locked” The answer took a while, it was quiet, more than ashamed and bitter “Two.” “Thank you.” What was he just thinking? He had to lean his head on his hoof, since it just felt too heavy right now. “I can imagine it's hard for you to focus under this circumstances, but we manufacture here something, which is bigger than the sum of it's pieces – and yet, every piece does count.” “That's why i'm here.” he said over his shoulder. The pegasus shook his head slightly “Right now, i'm not inertly convinced, that this is the case. In fact, i had some conversations, which made me believe you are here, for some kind of challenge. Is this the case? Does your talent bore you?” “That's not it.” “Tell me, are you frustrated, that this challenge is to much for your ability's?” “It's nothing I can't handle.” it came a bit sour “It's barely more complex than this” he nodded once to his side. The clock got picked up by the pegasus, which hit it once upon the table edge and put it back onto it. Then he left the room, without any further comment. Bottle-Jack was already waiting for the pegasus. “Everything alright? Is he coming, is he? Maybe i should take a peek, just a peek or two...” it came joyful since apparently nothing could break this stallions spirit and glee. “Please, don't disturb him yet. He will take at least five minutes, to be prepared for your entry.” “Huh? Why five? Why not three of twelve? Does he hide something?” the chemist leaned down to the keyhole in order to see through, but could only see a brown back, leaning busy over the table “does he have cake in there? I would give my gold-teeth for some cake!” “You don't have any gold-teeth.” “I know! Just don't tell him!” he cheered, to clack a few times with his teeth. “Certainly” the steelworker replied dry, without moving a muscle in his face. “Oh... no smile? And I had hoped so bad for some kind of … reaction.” “Almost amusing.” the steelworker admitted with a pull of his eyebrows. “Knew you like it!” he smiled brightly, before rediscovering the key hole and peeking some more. Sledge left him behind to get back to Muse, which sat in her room, trying to make new sketches, but a bunch of paper balls on the ground gave away it wasn't going to good. “How are you doing?” he asked her, on which she took a deep breath and put her pencil down. It was no use anyway. Upset like this, she just couldn't work, so she gave her mind a rest and talked with him instead. “Did you talk with him?” she asked grouchily. “I did as promised. I think we can continue soon, without further issues.” The mare picked a small bonbon, out of a bowl to her side. Sweets helped a lot, to calm her down. “Di- he at le-st apol-gize?” it came less understand able, since she smacked a bit while eating, before simply swallowing the bonbon as a howl. “It wasn't part of our topic, but I think it's possible he will. The stallion walked up to her, to see what she was working on. The drawing was of a landscape, with a wonderfully crafted town in the middle. “Interesting schematics” the stallion said, which made the mare smile. She was one of the few, which got his specific sense of humor. He gave her a glance and pushed the drawing aside, to reveal her real work beneath. It was a technical drawing of highest detail. She must had worked all day on it. “Does it work?” he asked, but she shook her head sadly and was about to crumble up this page as well, when he put his hoof onto hers, to stop her from doing so. The mare looked upon him and let him take the page away, before he sat down next to her, facing towards the door. Muse leaned on his side to watch what he was doing. “It is an interesting concept you created, as well a piece of art” with that said,he folded the paper carefully together “It would be inappropriate to destroy it” he moved his hooves a few more times, but kept them to deep for her to see, what exactly he was doing “My suggestion would be, to modify it instead.” Then there was a paper plane, gliding slowly through the air in a long bow. Now the mare was giggling and even laughing a bit, till the elegant flight was stopped by the door and the well-crafted plane, landed with a crumbled nose on the ground. “It seems, we all make mistakes once in a while.” He took a look on his side and the mare was smiling as it should be, so he smiled back at her, before they kissed. The two sat there side on side for a while, when she nudged him. “Yes?” “How is Ace doing?” “Swift-Move wasn't affected by the problem.” She gave him a more serious glance now. “To answer your question, he does enjoy the spare time.” The mare thought about this for a minute and nudged him one more time. “Yes?” “I want to look after him if you don't mind”. “I do.” the pegasus said strict and put his wing around her, to keep her close “But if you insist, I will send Jack to look after him.” Now the mare pushed him playful away while laughing from the bottom of her heart. The chemist's nose was the first thing to enter the room. This wasn't one of his playful attitudes, but more cause of habit. If he would smell anything suspicious, he would shut the door and run for his life! ...but right now, he just smelled the oil and depressed stallion, so he dared to enter without asking, making a few quick and prancing steps to his most very best friend. “Hey Tenet! Long not seen! Almost too long, how you doing, what you doing!?” it came rapidly, while leaned left and right over his shoulders. “You spied the past ten minutes.” “How you know!?” the stallion got quickly got around his side, to give him a suspicious look “X-Ray vision!? Tisk tisk tisk! Hiding such secrets with a mare around!” and shake his head in disappointment, about such a sacrilegious behavior. The brown stallion sighed “I'm not deaf.” “Oh! Oh! Oh! I'm sorry - dinnndn't mean it! And once more for the spying! Totally sorry! Will write it down, right away, won't happen again!” the stallion hold in for three seconds “Can I write it on your door?” he wondered, to add a whispered “My memory ain't so gooood ...or even average... in fact its...” at this point he forgot what this was all about. The mechanic rose from his seat “Focus on our task” and made his way towards the main construction hall, followed by the green jitterbug... at least for a few steps, till he backed up to the table and bowed backward, to get an unobtrusively glance to his sides, to find nothing more than a pile of screws and gears. “He must have ate it...” he mumbled thoughtfully “... but why would he eat a clock?” If only eating a clock would stop time from trickling through his hooves. Tenet sat on his workbench, staring upwards at the relic. Life seemed incredibly short once you realized how much time rushed by without being noticed. When you were working or talking to somepony... hours could be gone before you knew. Watching it made it seemingly go slower, but who had time to do that?