//------------------------------// // Canterlot Armory | Parts 50B - 55 // Story: BuggyCYOA // by Equidaeon //------------------------------// Up until this point, your train ride has been enjoyed in relative silence. However, a thought crosses Twilight's mind... "Oh!" Twilight perks up as she turns her attention to you. "Did you read through those books on the races that you wanted to see again, Anon?" Twilight asks you. "Hah! It's only been a couple days, Twilight. I haven't looked into them again yet, I'm not quite the bookworm like you are, sad you say." You respond jokingly to her. "Hehehe... That's right, sorry Anon." Twilight says while looking slightly embarrassed. "Soooo... What made you interested in those books again anyway? You never got to finish telling me why." Twilight asks you, clearly curious of what your reason is. "Oh, just, you know..." You stumble as your mind races for several seconds thinking how to answer Twilight without potentially exposing Notaulix. "...I wanted to look over that information again now that I've lived here in Equestria for a couple years now." You begin to answer. "Back when I arrived here, I was struggling just to get acclimated with all the new things around me, so I only really scanned through those books... Didn't read them in detail." You continue. "I've lived here for awhile now, yet I've only really interacted with ponies up to this point, so I've just had this growing desire to learn more about the other races in detail lately." You conclude. "I see... That's perfectly understandable, Anon." Twilight says as she brings a forehoof up to her chin in thought. "You should introduce yourself to a griffon next!" Twilight excitedly says several seconds later. "A griffon, huh? They do stop by Ponyville sometimes, like those traders... Tell me about griffons, Twilight." You ask her; an action you almost immediately regret when you see her eyes come alive in excitement. You proceed to sit and listen to Twilight spend the next hour or so of the train ride enthusiastically telling you the history of the griffon race and their way of life, much to the dismay of the other passengers. It is admittedly both interesting and informative, but it's way more information than you want to process at once. Only when Twilight notices that Canterlot is drawing near does she conclude her teaching lesson, to which every pony in the train car breathes a collective sigh of relief. You thank her for sharing all of that with you, and begin to prepare yourself mentally for your arrival at Canterlot. After the train has come to a stop at the Canterlot train station, you and Twilight both depart onto the train platform, where you immediately feel the colder air compared to Ponyville. "Here we are!" Twilight says as she stops to turn and look up at you. "Anon, I'm going to go to the castle right away to see the Princess as soon as possible. Wanna come with me? Or did you want to go find that armorer my brother recommended first?" Twilight asks. "I'd really like to go and find this pony that I'm supposed to talk to. It's the reason why I'm even here, you know?" You answer her. "Very true. Okay Anon, come and find me at the castle once you're all done. I'll see you later!" Twilight says as she waves a forehoof goodbye before turning to walk in the direction of the Royal Castle. You reach into your pocket and pull out a piece of folded paper that Twilight gave you during the train ride. You unfold the paper to study its contents. Upon examination of it, you find that it contains both the address of the armorer and a written note of recommendation by Shining Armor. Holding onto the paper in one hand, you begin casually walking down the streets of Canterlot; the address being somewhere you have an idea of the general location of. Much like your previous visits to Equestria's capital, you attract the attention of many stares as you wander through the streets. It's something that you've never quite been able to grow used to, though you understand why it happens. The ponies here don't see you regularly like the ones in Ponyville do. Regardless of that, you enjoy window shopping the large variety of stores and businesses as you move along. Antiques, clothing, furniture, tools, art, restaurants and bakeries, traders from foreign lands, high end and low end, almost anything one may want to buy can be found here. Your mind drifts to the doughnut shop that you visited once. You make a mental note to try and visit it again at some point. Eventually you find yourself in the area of the city where several different workshops are set up. Rounding a corner, you finally see your destination; a compound comprised of a few different buildings surrounded by a high stone wall, the entrance of which is a metal gate flanked by two royal guards. As you approach, the two who you now identify as unicorn mares look your way and notice you, to which they proceed to stiffen up their posture. To look more official, you suppose. You stop in front of one of the guardsmares, who looks up at you in response. "Excuse me, is this the place I'm looking for?" You ask as you hand her your piece of paper. The guardsmare takes hold of the paper with her magic and reads it. She hands it back to you several seconds later with a smile on her face. "Yep, this is the spot! You may enter." The guardsmare says as she opens the metal gate with her magic. You hear the gate close behind you as you walk into the compound. Once inside, you look around and find things to appear not particularly busy at the moment. There are three different buildings, where you occasionally see different ponies going to and from. In addition, you see several crates strewn about the area along with a few carts and wagons. You wonder what to do next, as you don't know exactly who you are supposed to be talking to here. You soon decide to make your way towards one of the buildings in an effort to find who you are looking for. As you approach the building, you see what looks like a worker pony of sorts come out, and upon noticing you walks up to meet you. After exchanging greetings, you explain to the pony the reason why you are here, and ask if they could provide you some direction. The pony instructs you to go wait in one of the buildings while they go and inform one of the head craftsponies of the armory, who you learn is named Sturdy Stitch. You follow the direction and walk over to the specified building. Upon entering, the heavy scent of a workshop fills your nose. Looking around, you can tell that you're in the right place. Off on one side of the building, you see a few ponies gathered around workbenches, plying their craft. They all stop to stare at their unusual visitor for awhile before returning to their work. On closer inspection, you watch as they appear to be working mostly on the straps and harnesses the Royal Guards have built into their armor and other equipment. You watch them work for a few minutes before turning your attention to the other parts of the building, which appears to be used mostly for storage. There are sets of armor resting on stands in various levels of completeness, more wooden crates and boxes, and finally neatly organized stacks of raw materials. You then notice several rolls of what to your eyes looks like leather, which you then walk over to inspect. Sure enough, the material feels very similar to a sort of heavy leather, though in its subtleties you can tell that it's not the real thing. As you examine the leather-like material, however, you notice an older looking unicorn stallion enter the building and begin walking towards you. "I see you've already found what you're interested in, huh? You must be Anonymous, the human... Name's Sturdy Stitch, a pleasure to meet you." He says as he comes to a stop in front of you. "Yes I am, it's nice to meet you. I was told that I might be able to get some help with a special request." You say to the older unicorn. "I've been informed already. Come over here and take a seat, we'll see what we can do for you." Sturdy Stitch says as he leads you over to the workbenches where the other ponies are working. Sturdy Stitch comes to a stop by an unoccupied workbench and gestures with a forehoof to a small stool, which you then sit down on. "So you're here for some shoes then? Not the kind us ponies wear, at least..." Sturdy Stitch muses as he stares down at your boots. "That's right. These boots are from my old world, and they don't have much life left in them. I've had trouble because they're made mostly from leather, but that's not really something available here in Equestria." You say. "Real leather... Interesting, if a bit distasteful. You won't find much of that around here. But that's what brought you here, isn't it? You heard about the Glyph Skins that the Royal Guard makes." Sturdy Stitch says. "Glyph... Skins?" You repeat the odd name. "Is that the stuff I saw piled over there that resembles leather? What is it?" You ask him. "Indeed it is. It's an alchemical material made mostly from plant matter, which happens to be mildly resistant to magic; an improvement over an older creation." He explains. "It's just as tough as leather, if not more so..." Sturdy Stitch adds. "So tell me first, Anonymous, what exactly are you looking for out of a pair of these boots?" He asks. You proceed to spend several minutes explaining in detail the general construction and functionality of your boots, making sure to emphasize the need to support the feet properly. During the course of your explanation, you notice the other ponies stop their work in order to come over to watch and listen. "Very interesting... Nopony around here has any need for something that intricate. Do you mind taking those off for me to inspect?" Sturdy Stitch asks you. "And this isn't a circus." Sturdy Stitch says as he turns his head to look at the other ponies. "Back to work, all of you. There will be time for looking later." He says to them. You can't help but smile as you hear a quick "Yes sir." from all the other ponies before returning to their work. "Sure, go ahead." You say as you unlace your boots and remove them, which Sturdy Stitch promptly places on the workbench with his magic. You sit and watch as Sturdy Stitch begins by using a brush to clean off any dirt before carefully inspecting the construction of your footwear. While the minutes tick by, the older stallions expression changes into one of increasing interest, as if he's discovered a new toy to play with. "This is very interesting indeed." Sturdy Stitch begins as he turns to look at you. "Do you mind if I spend the time to break these down?" He asks you. "Uhh... What do you mean by break down?" You respond, slightly worried by the choice of words. "I want to undo the construction of these boots in order to both make patterns to work off of, and to see exactly how these are built." Sturdy Stitch begins to explain. "Seeing as how you're the only human around, I have no references to work from. Having those patterns would give me something to work off of and make life easier." He continues. "I would wager I can have the job done in about two or three hours... And don't you worry, I'll put them back together exactly the way they were." He reassures you. "You'll have to wait around here for awhile, but I imagine you can entertain yourself by watching the apprentices. What do you say?" Sturdy Stitch asks you. "Sure, go ahead." You answer him after thinking it over for a moment. "Great! I'll get right to work then." Sturdy Stitch says as he levitates over various tools next to him, in addition to sheets of paper along with a quill and inkwell. You watch in amazement as Sturdy Stitch, true to his word, begins to quickly deconstruct your boots one stitch at a time. Within only about fifteen minutes, the old craftspony has most of the outer panels of one boot separated neatly on the workbench, in addition to the sole. You can't help but notice as Sturdy Stitch works that he appears to be genuinely enjoying what he is doing. Not long afterwards, what was once your left boot only a short while ago is now completely in its original pieces. You then watch as Sturdy Stitch slows his work down to carefully write down measurements and notes before tracing the contours of the individual pieces onto the paper. "You know, I've heard that the griffons make natural leather... But why should they? This Glyph Skin stuff seems like it has no downsides compared to the real thing." You say in an effort to strike up some conversation. "Hah! The downside is that it takes a lot of time to produce, and above all it's expensive." Sturdy Stitch says as he continues writing down notes. "Anypony could make it if they really wanted to, but for the average pony there's little benefit over using the predecessor to Glyph Skin: Barkmat." He continues. "Barkmat...? What's that?" You ask him. "It's a similar material to Glyph Skin; a much older creation. Slightly less durable than natural leather." Sturdy Stitch begins to explain, pausing his explanation to bring over a new sheet of paper. "Most ponies who really need something rugged will make use of it. The process to make it is significantly easier, and as a result is much less expensive." He explains. "That's interesting. So what drove the use of this Glyph Skin if it's so expensive?" You ask in response. "The ponies protecting the land deserve the best, don't you think?" Sturdy Stitch says, followed by letting out a heavy sigh. "In the past, there were problems with the straps, buckles and harnesses used with armor, chariots, wagons, and other equipment being a weakness." Sturdy Stitch begins to explain. "You see, for nearly as long as Equestria has been founded, the special metal used in the creation of the Royal Guards armor is fortified to be magically resistant." He says. "However, there have been times where especially clever threats learned to directly target with magic those very straps, buckles and harnesses that were made from ordinary material, be it heavy cloth or Barkmat." Sturdy Stitch continues. "So that's what eventually spurred on the creation of Glyph Skin. It's been a very valuable addition to the Royal Guard." He concludes. "Wow. Thanks for explaining that to me, I had no idea about any of that." You say to the older unicorn, to which you get a grunt of sorts in response. Several more minutes pass in silence as you ponder what Sturdy Stitch told you, until a particular detail suddenly sticks out in your mind. "Wait a moment." You say, breaking the silence. "Just how expensive is Glyph Skin? How much will I owe you for this?" You ask. You sit in embarrassment as Sturdy Stitch breaks out into a laugh. He then looks at you after settling down. "Don't worry about it. Your recommendation here doubles as a requisition order, the cost is covered for you." Sturdy Stitch explains. "And even if it wasn't I still wouldn't charge you. You don't know how much joy it brings to an old colt like me to work on a unique project like this." He adds. "Besides, if the rumors I've heard are true, you sound like somepony who could use the absolute best yourself." Sturdy Stitch says with a smile before turning his attention back to his work. "Seriously? I don't have to pay for this...? Thank you very much!" You say with gratitude. "Don't thank me, thank the royal treasury." Sturdy Stitch replies. "That's true, but still..." You trail off as you think about what was said. "Wait a moment, what kind of rumors?" You eventually ask. "I've heard you're the crazy type who makes a living out of trotting around the Everfree Forest. Is that true?" Sturdy Stitch asks in return. "Well yes, it is... But where are you hearing that from?" You respond, prompting Sturdy Stitch to turn his head, looking at you with surprise on his face. "Really? You're the only known human in the land, ponies are bound to be interested in you. Word gets around from out of Ponyville." He says before focusing back on his work. "I really had no idea things like that were getting this far... But you're right, it makes sense I guess." You say. Silence falls between you once again for several minutes. You take the moment to look around the room to see what the other ponies are doing. "So... Got any stories about the old Everfree? You surely have some." Sturdy Stitch eventually asks, prompting you to chuckle at his interest. "Yeah, of course I do. Let me first tell you about the time..." You say as you begin to regale Sturdy Stitch with some of your more notable experiences, barring the one involving Notaulix. The minutes quickly pass by into over an hour as you do so, during which Sturdy Stitch has begun reconstructing your boots. Sturdy Stitch isn't your only recipient however, as during the course of your tales you notice that you captured the rapt attention of the other working ponies. Eventually you decide that you've shared enough and conclude your story telling. "That's something else, Anonymous. Thanks for sharing all of that." Sturdy Stitch thanks you. "No problem. Besides, it made a great way to pass the time." You say in response. "By the way, what sort of threats are out there that made Glyph Skin needed?" You then ask. "Ohhhh..." Sturdy Stitch begins with a heavy sigh. "Evil unicorns mostly, along with the occasional magical creature." He continues. "I see." You simply respond after several seconds go by. You get the impression that he doesn't want to elaborate on the subject further, so you decide to leave it be. The remaining time passes by uneventfully as Sturdy Stitch finishes reconstructing your boots. Soon enough, they look exactly like before he started. "That'll do it. Here you go." Sturdy Stitch says. After putting the insoles back into each boot, he levitates them over onto the floor in front of you. "Hey... This is really incredible. Thank you." You say in appreciation as you carefully inspect one of the boots, finding it to be indeed rebuilt the same way it was before. "No, thank you." Sturdy Stitch says as he takes a moment to stretch. "Go put them on, I'll be back in a moment." The older stallion says as he begins walking off to some other part of the building. You do as instructed and get your feet back into the boots before lacing them up. About the time you stand back up, you see Sturdy Stitch returning with something in the grasp of his levitation magic. "Here, take this home with you." Sturdy Stitch says as he hands over a small nondescript container, which you grab hold of. "What's this?" You ask as you turn over the container in your hand, looking for some sort of indicator as to what it contains. "Some hydrating grease. Your current boots need some badly, and your next pair will need it too." Sturdy Stitch answers. "Oh wow! I didn't know this kind of thing existed here. Thanks!" You say as you take a moment to put the small container in your backpack. "No problem... Now, I don't mean to be rude, but there are other things I need to attend to today. When your new boots are ready, they will be sent to Ponyville. You can be on your way now." Sturdy Stitch says. "Okay, I understand. Thank you again for everything Sturdy Stitch, I really appreciate it." You say to him. "You're quite welcome, Anonymous. Take care." He says in response before walking away. You then proceed to depart from the building, making your way back over to the metal gate, which the guardsmares open for you once more. Now back on the streets of Canterlot, you take a moment to stretch out your muscles as you look up at the sky. You would guess that it's around the middle of the day now. With that in mind, you begin your walk back towards the heart of the city.