//------------------------------//
// Certain Kind Of Reputation 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

"Bananas, you guys really wanted this place to look... uhh... neat and tidy?"

Valey glanced around herself, the windigo heart duffel bag slung over a shoulder as Caballeron and Sea Star flanked her, taking her on an introductory tour of the space building. They passed the open doorways to a surprising number of classrooms, all of which were still empty for the weekend. She had expected the place to be smaller and more research-focused...

"Proper conditions for experimentation," Professor Sea Star replied, gesturing to the square hallways, sterile tile floors and metal support beams. "And a sturdy structure in case anything goes wrong. If you have gripes, neither of us know the architect."

They reached a sealed double-door, which opened automatically when Caballeron pulled out a security badge from his shirt pocket and presented it to a scanner. The air somehow smelled even cleaner, and the academic posters on the walls became replaced with lab safety guidelines and warning symbols, and occasional screens with waveform readings.

"Woah." Valey paused, glancing at a screen that looked like some kind of stress testing.

"Never seen a lab before?" Caballeron raised an eyebrow with a proud little grin.

"Oh, I have." Valey shrugged. "It was an isolated stone tower that was built away from the town so no civilians died when it exploded."

Sea Star shook her head. "We cannot tolerate explosions here. They damage equipment, experiments and facilities at best, but Equestria trusts us with their children and our students must absolutely not come to harm."

"Well, it sure looks less ready to fall down than that old scientist hole..."

Valey followed them around several bends and corners. Eventually, they came to yet another side door, this one belonging to a lab. Sea Star regretfully knocked, then let herself in without permission.

The room beyond was very brightly lit, with one wall made entirely of glass and a huge rack of machines lining another. Fans roared inside gigantic tubes that crisscrossed the ceiling, all feeding into the machines, likely to keep them cool. The third wall was lined with lockers and changing stalls, and a series of long, thin tables filled the middle, positioned in tiers for optimal observation of the room beyond the glass. It was mostly empty save for a lone pegasus with a frumpy green mane and glasses, wearing a lab coat that reached halfway across her flanks, reading a report with a pencil in her mouth and sitting on a stool and rotating.

She blinked and looked up. "Aww, come to visit? What's the magic password?"

"Hello," Sea Star replied, looking uncomfortable.

"Yo," Valey greeted, sizing her up. She had cute cheeks, and really made the glasses work... Probably not the best things to focus on. "So you're some uber scientist, or something?"

The pegasus slammed down her report and vaulted off her stool with a midair flip, knocking the stool over in the process. "And you're the one with the reputation," she countered, trotting over to Valey with just a little too much confidence, eyes shining as she flicked Sea Star with her tail. "The whole school says you're the hottest thing this island has seen in five years. The name's Anemone. Show me what you've got."

"What?" Valey blinked, Anemone slightly too close to her face for an average conversation. She unholstered her duffel bag, setting it down to the side. "Okay, so we've got these things that-"

Anemone grabbed her face, interrupting Valey and holding her nose to nose. "Not what I meant," she breathed, sporting a huge smile.

Suddenly, Valey discovered that she wasn't and would never be the most aggressive flirter on the island.

"Aww bananas...!" Valey rubbed her lips and tried unsuccessfully to force her wings closed after she was finally free. "Give me a heads-up next time you're going to do that, okay!?"

Caballeron had the world's politest raised eyebrow permanently fixed on his face. Sea Star looked vaguely ill. "I knew that was going to happen," they said as one.

"Heehee. No offense." Anemone stepped back, adjusted her glasses and winked, pointing at Sea Star with a feather. "I'm her ex, so I'm contractually obligated to make her jealous whenever she visits. And all the rumors said you'd appreciate it. So what have these old crones asked you to brave my lair for, thirsty fellow green-mane?"

Valey took a moment longer to stare and regain her bearings. "But you're like half her age."

"It's a long story," Sea Star groaned, "and I don't have all day. Please stay on topic while utilizing my time."

Caballeron gave her a disappointed look and shrugged. "I mean, I would not mind hearing it again."

"Get a room, you two." Anemone waved them away with a disinterested wing. "I've got business here! With a visitor!" She moved back into Valey's personal space. "It's the duffel bag, isn't it?"

"Alright, you know what? Forget it." Valey stood up. "I'm gonna walk out of this room, wait fifteen seconds, and walk back in and pretend this never happened, because I actually forgot what I'm here for."

Anemone glanced conspicuously down at her chest, brushing at a bit of fluff that stuck out through the buttoning of her lab coat. "Doesn't sound like such a bad thing to me."

Valey ignored the multiple meanings that could have, trotting out and back in again. "Right," she greeted, offering a wing. "Yo. I'm Valey. You're really hot for some reason, but I don't know you so let's not make that a talking point. I've got this bag full of bad stuff that's causing harmonic interference with all your instruments. You have any shielding stuff that can make it stop?"

Anemone's glasses slid halfway down her muzzle, and she pushed them back up with a hoof. "Say that again? I'm sorry, your bag has the source of interference we've been seeing?"

"Yeah." Valey hefted the bag. "You got any sort of shielding or containment units so we can stop it from doing that?"

Anemone leaned closer. "I wanna see what's in the bag."

"Suit yourself." Valey opened the bag, popping out a heart and hefting it.

Anemone's jaw dropped. "What is this? Some sort of crystal? Woah..." She looked up, meeting Valey's eyes from a safe distance away with a more businesslike expression. "What do you know about it? Anything about where you got it, what it is, how it works and why you're certain it's the cause."

Valey returned the look. "More than I can say to anyone I'm two hundred percent sure isn't evil."

Anemone glanced over her shoulder. "Don't ask Sea Star, she'll say I'm evil. Is there a safe version?"

Valey raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking to hear it?"

"...Right." Anemone stepped back. "With me, then. We'll just have to do some testing to see what we can do ourselves."

"In here?" Valey pointed to the glass wall. "This place looks pretty decked out for science."

"That's a gravity manipulator." Anemone shook her head. "Kinmari's most expensive toy, but not what you're looking for."

Valey followed along, keeping pace as she rushed from the lab. "So what are you looking for?"

"Since you're being all flank and no brains level of helpful? Basically anything at all."





Jamjars pushed open a hospital door with her telekinesis, her most perfect, angelic grin carefully prepared on her face.

"Uh oh." Saffron Sunflower's voice greeted her. "That look means you're up to something, doesn't it?"

"What!?" Jamjars winced, losing the look. "No it doesn't! It means I'm not up to anything! You don't even know me!"

Saffron chuckled, resting in a chair with Maple on a bed and Shinespark staring out the window. "Whatever you say, sugarcube. Quite the reaction there for being up to nothing at all."

Jamjars briefly fumed. "Well, whatever. Where's Starlight?"

"How important is it?" Starlight's voice came from behind Maple's bed. "If you just want to bother me, I have other things to do."

Jamjars blinked, very conscious that she had towels around her mane and tail and was barely dry enough not to drip from her coat. "It's something you'll actually enjoy. I promise?"

Starlight stuck her head around. "Like what?"

"I..." Jamjars winced. "Need advice with something?"

Starlight blinked. "That doesn't sound very like you."

"I also want my stuff back!" Jamjars snapped, still a ball of tension after watching Amber and Felicity wash each other. "If you didn't mess with it, I'll give you a reward. One like... not bothering you for a while."

"It's right here." Starlight offered the satchel, holding it in a hoof. "I didn't open it."

Jamjars grabbed it in her aura with a sigh of relief. "Thank youuu, I owe you one. Look, can we just talk?"

Starlight came out from behind the bed. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch." Jamjars gritted her teeth. "I just don't want to talk in public!"

Starlight stared at her. "You just want to talk about mares and who we like again, don't you?"

"No!" Jamjars protested. "I mean... not in that way. To annoy you. Look, can you please just..."

"If you have something to say that's fit for the ears of my crew, it's fit for mine, too," Shinespark said, staring out the window.

"Rrrgh..."

"Are you not feeling so well after the voyage?" Maple asked, looking at Jamjars. "If it was hard on you, I'd more than understand."

Jamjars shook her head. "The hard part is preparing for what I'm going to do next. Starlight, please? Look, I'm even saying please..."

"Alright." Starlight came trotting over, her stick laid across her back. "Where do you want to talk?"

Jamjars instantly perked up. "This way! There's an empty room over here."

Starlight followed her one room over. The moment they were inside, Jamjars set down her satchel and returned to toweling herself off, a lingering redness returning to her face as she finally dropped her camouflage spell. "So," she began. "Brutal honesty mode: exactly what do you think of me?"

"Umm..." Starlight stared at her. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Yes," Jamjars replied, focusing on her towels. "I couldn't care less about what my siblings thought of me, and you're the only other one who was on the airship, so I could do whatever. But now? I have to get serious."

Starlight tilted her head and frowned. "The only other one on the airship? We have nearly a dozen friends. Maybe more."

"Not in our age class," Jamjars replied, furiously toweling herself. "So tell me. Don't pull punches. What do I have to improve on?"

Starlight stared at her. "Well, first off, you're weird."

"I knew it."

"And second, what are you even trying to get serious about?" Starlight shrugged. "This island is supposed to be a safe place where we can relax."

Jamjars hefted a limp, soggy towel. "Not getting stepped on by the other foals our age and showing them who's boss." She fixed Starlight with a piercing gaze. "Look, you don't want that either, right? I know we're rivals, but we could have each other's backs, here! With my brain and your magic... What?"

Starlight was giving her a strange look. "First off, I haven't seen any other foals here. Maybe one or two, but only in the town part of the island, and probably just because their parents work here. But why are we competing with them?"

Jamjars gave her an even stranger look. "First off, you're probably not looking hard enough. Trust me. All those ponies on the docks were just like us several years ago, so unless this island is having an age crisis, those foals are just hiding. And we're competing for resources."

"What resources?" Starlight pointed at the window. "Have you seen how much room there is here? And everyone I've met has been generous. We certainly have more than on the boat."

"Like a place to sleep tonight?" Jamjars raised an eyebrow. "Do we have rooms yet? Private ones?"

Starlight thought for a moment. "Well, no, but-"

"Exactly," Jamjars interrupted. "Look, you may never have had to compete with a dozen siblings who share one medium-sized house and sad, slow mother who does nothing but give you more siblings to compete with, but I saw how big this island is and I saw how many ponies are here. Just you watch. If there's something we want and we don't have a bigger claim to it, they'll crawl right out of the woodwork and take it for themselves. I'm the expert on this, I know how it works. We have to defend ourselves!"

Starlight stared at her, nonplussed. "But we're all really popular here. Valey and Gerardo can get anyone to do anything for them. Nobody's tried to take advantage of us."

"Precisely." Jamjars flung a hoof at her and grinned, spraying a bit of water in her face. "Oops. Sorry. But that's how we do it! All we need to do is convince ever last pony here that we're the best, or at least enough for a majority rule. And if they're already convinced, all we need to do is keep them convinced, which is easier. Which is why I need to clean up my act so our dumb friends don't make my habits of entertaining myself start working against me."

Starlight met her eyes. "Our friends aren't dumb. That's your first thing to work on."

Jamjars gaped at her, then gritted her teeth. "No, they're... whatever! Look, who would you blame if Felicity and Amber are rubbing each other in public and you start getting aroused!? I'm already admitting it's my problem, okay!?"

"...I think your worldview is completely upside-down," Starlight said. "Thanks for trying to be better, though."

Jamjars stewed in embarrassment. "So are you going to help me or not? I am literally kneeling and calling you the expert. There is nothing higher I can give you. I am humbling myself and asking for help. Please?"

Starlight worked her mouth. "I... still don't even know what you want me to do."

Jamjars sighed. "For starters, since you're actually good at it, tell me how you can see someone like Felicity getting-"

The door banged open. It was Gazelle.

"EEEEEEEK!" Jamjars nearly jumped out of her mane, screeching in surprise and instantly camouflaging herself the color of the floor.

Gazelle barely blinked at the outburst. "You're tense," he said, before turning to Starlight. "They told me to come back here. I just wanted to see the library again. Why can't-"

Two nurses appeared panting in the doorway, summoned by Jamjars' scream. "What's going on in here!?"

"He scared us," Starlight said matter-of-factly, pointing to her hyperventilating companion.

One nurse shook her head. "Let's get you back to the other room and dried off. Your complexion is so pale, it looks like the floor! You poor, poor thing..."