//------------------------------// // The Invention // Story: Easy Access, the Story of Quill // by Graphite Quill //------------------------------// Fuck. I have the same magical potential as Twilight, the mare that eventually becomes an Alicorn and yet I can't even lift a feather. I failed to realize how complicated magic would be, though it makes sense considering I'm not from this world. I'll just have to keep at it until I can find somepony that can help me feel my magic. Hopefully I can figure things out before the month is up and I have to go back through the portal. That is of coarse if it will even open with nobody on the other side to start the process. What if I'm stuck here? God I hope not, don't get me wrong this world is better but I still want to go back to my planet every once in a while. I mean how else am I going to get rich? Currently I'm trying to figure out writing with a quill without magic. I'm pretty damn sure its impossible, so I'm going to stick with using one of the pens I brought with me. That is of course if I can figure out how to write with my mouth or hoof. I still don't understand how ponies use their hooves to pick stuff up, I blame magic. As I returned to the parchment with my favorite pen my boss passed by glancing at what I was holding, she then began to stare. "Graphite? What is that you're scribbling with?" She said. Ouch. I was trying to write my new name on the paper, I guess I need allot of practice. "This? Just a pen I made a few years ago using a wood lathe." Wait do they even have pens? "But how.. You can't use magic! How are you writing in ink with that piece of wood?" Said the confused old mare. I put the pen on the table and pushed it towards her. "The wood is just the outer casing, inside is a small tube filled with ink that dispenses a small amount of ink through the tip. Have you never seen one of these before?" I said hoping to confirm my suspicion of ponies lack of common technology from my world. "No. I've never even heard of such a thing." She inspected the pen for a moment before asking, "May I try using it?" I nodded and she picked it up in her magic slowly writing her name out perfectly on the parchment next to my mess of an attempt. "Amazing! Such a small device makes it so much easier to write, and it seems sturdy enough that you wouldn't need to replace it after every page like you have to with quills. This is a genius invention Graphite! Have you Patented it yet?" I did say I made this pen, but in reality I didn't come up with the idea. Though she makes a good point, if I patented the idea in this world I would probably make a killing in bits. "No I had never really given it any thought, its something I use on a regular basis so I guess I forgot that its the only one that exists. Do you know where I can go to legally make it my idea?" "You have no idea how many ponies would kill to have one of these, if you patented this and started selling them you could be rich in no time! Most legal things are handled at the castle but I don't know where specifically. If I were you i'd set an appointment as soon as possible, but don't lose this!" She levitated the pen back down onto the table where I could reach it. "I hope i'm not asking too much of you but could you make another specifically for me? I'll pay you of course, I know it must take a while to make with no magic." Actually I could give her one of the many others I have in my bag right now, but I don't want to get caught in a lie so i'll have to act as though i'm making another. "Its no trouble really. You're already paying me to work here so you don't need to pay me anything extra." She creased her brow in concern before she said, "At least let me cover the patent fee, I hear its a bit costly. I can even give you the bits right away if you'd like to head there now, it should be rather quick and easy considering how late in the day it is." With a sigh I accept her offer and watched as she left to get the money for the fee. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I walked through the city heading towards the castle with the borrowed saddlebags on my back. Inside them was the pen, a crude drawing of the design, the bits for the patent fee, and a map of the city with the exact path to get back to the library drawn with my own pen. As per usual most ponies ignored me, the only ones who didn't were the guards but they would only nod as I passed. I made it to the main gate into the castle and told the guards my reason for entry, they insisted that two guards should accompany me so I don't get lost. It was most like to keep an eye on me but I was just happy to have someone leading me through this massive place. Eventually I was led to a room full of shelves that were stuffed with random trinkets and in the center of the room a desk with several designs drawn out. The first guard asked me to wait while he left to retrieve the royal inventor, meanwhile the other guard stood outside the door. I found a comfy spot and sat down to wait for the inventor and wondering about how this was going to go. I didn't have to wait long as a few minutes later the door opened and a unicorn stallion that I recognized walked in. "Fancy Pants?" "Yes, hello good sir have we met before? I'm sorry to say I don't seem to recall your name." I really need to learn to stop thinking out loud. I held up my hoof in greeting. "I'd be surprised if you did, my name is Graphite Quill. We've never formally met but I've seen you around Canterlot. Pardon me for saying but I was surprised by your appearance, no offence but I didn't think you'd be the royal inventor." Technically true, I'd seen him in Canterlot in the show. He shook my hoof then said, "None taken, you are correct I am not actually the inventor but merely a stand in while he is being treated for a rather nasty case of poison joke. Sompony thought it would be a good idea to test their poison joke purifier for the first time in the midst of getting it patented!" He chuckled then pulled out a quill and parchment. "Now, what is it you brought? I'd be happy to take a look at it as long as it's not poison joke related! HA" "Well I brought something that is hopefully going to replace that flimsy little feather and ink pot that you just brought out." I said pulling out the pen and the sketched design. "This is what I call a pen. Inside this wooden casing is a small tube of ink which is attached to the point where there is a small free rolling ball that gets coated in the ink. When lightly pressing the point to paper the ball evenly distributes the ink with no messy streaks and no accidental spilled ink pots. Here give it a try and tell me what you think." He picked up the pen with a skeptical look on his face as he put the quill down. In fast fluid movements he started writing his notes about the pen, with the pen. He barely wrote anything down before his jaw dropped and he looked up at me with an awestruck look on his face. His immense reaction at something so simple reminded me that I need to be careful with what I bring into this world. "I.. How... I must show this to somepony immediately!" He jumped up suddenly and ran through the door startling both me and the posted guard. Fancy always seemed trustworthy in the show so I followed after him at a brisk trot with the guard not far behind us. A short run later we arrived at a set of intricately carved wooden doors, a large sun emblazoned across both doors. As he knocked on the door he and the guard were both breathing heavily as if they had run a mile. Fancy i can understand he's a noble why would he ever run anywhere? The guard though is a different story, a two minute run and he's about to pass out. Don't they train these guys? This one could barely be considered royal guard as far as i'm concerned. Just before I was able to go off on the guard I heard the door open and saw his face freeze with wide eyes. I turned to see none other than the beautiful Princess Celestia herself standing there in all her glory. "Fancy? Is something wrong? Who is this stallion you brought with you?" She spoke in a regal voice. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- That wen't surprisingly well, i'm pretty sure we all came out on top of this deal. Celestia obtained something to make her time spent on paperwork lower by a large margin, I got 'my' pen idea patented, and Fancy? Well Fancy was just excited by all the possibilities that came with the production of 'such a wondrous device' in his words not mine. I doubt he even noticed that I was very blatantly hitting on his princess or the fact that she was flirting right back. I figured I would have to wait while to find a sponsor for my product but Celestia offered to pay for the production of my pens from her own pocket. All she wanted of the profit was the reimbursement of the bits she put into the making of the them, and the rest of the profit was to go directly to me. I obviously took that deal, anyone else would want in on the profit but she had no use for it considering she's a princess. I only have one place to stop on the way home, the bank. I needed to open an account for my future revenue using the sealed parchment Celestia gave to me after all the paperwork was done. She said the scroll would tell the bank everything they needed to know about the incoming funds. She also said that I would receive a letter when the first batch of pens was made and that I should return to check them for defects. I would also decide on what they would cost when put on the market. As a last thought just before I left I said "Then maybe if you're free after we can go somewhere private to talk about more of my ideas." The meaning behind that was not lost on her, she simply smirked and waved as I walked out of the castle.