//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: A Miss-delivered Letter and a Misguided Pegasus // Story: Davenport’s Secret // by Random_User //------------------------------// Davenport’s Secret Chapter 1: A Miss-delivered Letter and a Misguided Pegasus Davenport carefully wrapped the quills, and then placed them in Mayor’s saddlebags. “You could have just sent over Bookend for the quills. I would have sent an invoice to your office, as usual.” Mayor shook her head. “No, I let him go early today. It was a slow day, and his brother has a birthday party tonight. Besides, I like to get out and around in Ponyville when I can. Not only does it let me know what is going on, it also keeps my face in ponies’ minds.” He raised an eyebrow. “As if you need it, I can’t remember the last time that anypony ran against you.” A sly smile crossed her face. “That’s one of the reasons that I get out and about. You take care, and thanks again for the quills.” As she left, Davenport chuckled. Mayor was something, what exactly she was, he did not have a clue, but she was certainly something. He spent the last bit of business time doing small things around the shop: dusting the shelves, making sure his supplies were in order, and other little odds and ends that needed tending to. Nopony else came to the shop that evening. He happily hummed a tune, as he turned the sign on the shop door from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. He drew the shop’s blinds shut, and made sure they were secured. He had been scared out his mind one night, when one of the blinds had gotten loose and retracted, making a horrible racket and causing him to fall out of his bed upstairs. After that incident, he made doubly sure than the blinds were fastened good and tight. The blinds did something more than just help announce that the shop was closed, it hid his nighttime activities. Davenport had a secret. Ponies thought that his cutie mark stemmed from his selling of quills and sofas. His mark did represent his talent, but it had nothing to do with his quill or sofa selling prowess. Davenport gathered his needed supplies, selected a comfortable, supportive couch, and began to exercise his true talent. A talent, he felt, that nopony in Ponyville need know about. ***** Twilight Sparkle staggered down the library stairs. She did not even attempt to stifle her yawn, as she made her way to the kitchen to get the morning’s pot of coffee started. After she set the pot on the stove, the aroma of the perking coffee helped her sleep fogged mind focus. She mentally began to go over her checklist for the day, as she waited for the dark ambrosia to brew, “Check returned books in, prepare late notices for overdue books, reshelf books, dust, study more of Star Swirl’s theories on trans planer teleportation and the possibility of time travel.” Her thoughts were interrupted, as Spike began putting out the bowls for breakfast. “Good morning, did you sleep well?” Twilight asked, noting her beloved assistant looked a little more ragged than usual for a typical morning. “Nah, I had a dream about Peewee getting into trouble with those teenaged dragons. I know he is back with his parents, but I can’t help but feel worried for the little guy.” Twilight gave Spike a gentle nuzzle. “Now you know how I feel sometimes, when I worry about you, especially when you’re off on your own.” Spike wrinkled his nose in irritation, but smiled at the same time. “But I’m a dragon! I have tough scales, breath fire, and sharp claws. I’m the whole package. I don’t have to be afraid of anything.” Spike struck a pose, making a show of his putting his claws out and baring his teeth, in a failed attempt to look tough. Twilight giggled, and quipped, “That would be a terrifying sight, for a sapphire cupcake. You’re not that fierce yet. You’re just a baby, and that gives me the right to worry about your safety, dragon or not.” Spike rolled his eyes, and was about to respond, when a knock on the door interrupted him. He started towards the door, having a good guess as to who was on the other side. “That must be Derpy. She may be a roaming disaster at times, but she is always prompt with the morning mail. No wondered she and Turner are together, they’re both like clockwork.” Twilight did not take the news quite so well. “Horse apples, I haven’t gotten the late notices ready yet. I guess I’ll just drop them in the mailbox this afternoon.” Spike got the mail from Derpy, and thanked her for delivering it. She gave him a rub on the head, as if he was a dog, and then took off for her next stop. As Spike closed the door, he groused, “I know she is just being nice, but I’m not a pet. She doesn’t have to pat me on the head like I did a trick.” “And yet, when she gives you a gem for being so nice, you all but beg, roll over, and sit for it.” Twilight mocked, as she prepared their morning salads. “Oh, ha, ha, laugh it up. Sure, I may drool a little when a see a nice ruby or emerald, but I don’t do tricks for gems!” He began opening the mail, using his sharp claws as impromptu letter openers. “See Twilight, I have good, sharp claws. I don’t have to worry about much around here.” Twilight did not even justify Spike’s comment with a response. She began to look over the mail as he put the opened letters on the table. The typical mix was present: bills, magazine renewal notices for the library, a copy of the Foal Free Press. Nothing seemed to require any special attention, and then something out of place caught her eye. There was a letter that was not addressed to her or the library. Before she could stop herself, she read the whole thing. Her eyes widened at what was revealed by the letter. She did not know whether to be embarrassed that she had learned something this personal about another pony, or excited at exclusively knowing such a fact. Spike caught Twilight’s expression, and asked, “What’s the letter about? I can’t tell if you’re happy about whatever it is or mortified.” Twilight looked at Spike, and blinked in an exaggerated manner as she came out of her turmoil of thought. “I’m a little of both, to tell the truth. I just had something added something to today’s checklist that I wasn’t expecting. Do you remember if we need quills or not?” Spike shrugged. “We could always do with a couple more, as fast as we go through them. We really need some ink though. We’re down to our last bottle. Why do you ask?” Twilight grinned, as she thought over the conversation she was going to have with the letter’s intended addressee. “I need to get this letter to the right pony, and thanks to who it’s addressed to, I think I will be able to knock a couple of items off the list at the same time.” ***** Davenport’s morning had been uneventful. It was the typical routine for him: roll out of bed, eat breakfast, groom, open Quills and Sofa’s, and sell sofas and quills. Unfortunately, for the shop’s bottom line, quill sales were good but sofa sales were flagging. Perhaps he could advertise a sofa sale. He could see the flyer in his mind, printed in gold lettering with a bold red background, “Come, and treat your tail to the best seats available. Pay bottom dollar during Sofa and Quill’s huge sofa sale extravaganza!” He grunted at himself in annoyance, as he realized that flyers like that cost bits, something he could not justify on the store’s budget. Maybe, if he gave a little donation, he could get a little spot in the Foal Free Press. Most ponies in Ponyville read it more than the ‘professional’ newspapers anyway, particularly after the Gabby Gums fiasco. The shop’s bell rang, and he smiled at the pony that came in. “Twilight Sparkle, it is always a pleasure to see you.” Seeing her walk into the shop guaranteed at least a set of quills would go out the door, often with some of his best ink accompanying the quills, which always made for a good sale. He had yet to get her to buy a sofa. However, it was not due to lack of trying. “What can I do for you today?” To Davenport, Twilight seemed a little off, as she answered, “One of your writer’s dozen quill bundles, and two bottles of your best ink.” Her eyes lingered on him, as if seeing something in him for the first time. Trying to keep the happiness out of his voice, he asked, “Would you like goose, swan, or pegasus quills?” Nopony ever asked where he got the Pegasus quills. What adult pegasi wanted to do with their feathers was their own business. “Pegasus quills, please. They last quite a bit longer.” He nodded sagely at her words. “They are a bit tougher, I will admit, well worth the price difference. I use them myself. Any particular colors you had in mind?” Twilight winced slightly, before responding, “Any color but light blue or yellow, thank you.” Twilight had gotten a couple of blue and yellow quills from the shop before. As she used them, she had found herself wondering if they had come from a couple of ponies that she knew. The more she thought about the possibility, the more the idea distracted her from the work she was trying to accomplish. Davenport pulled together the thirteen quills and two bottles of top shelf ink, and carefully packaged them. He felt he at least had to try, and asked, “Have you changed your mind about having a couple of sofas in the library? I have a couple that I think you will really like. I could give you a race pony deal, free delivery too, if you’re interested.” Davenport tried to sell her a sofa every time she came in, and it had become almost a joke between the two. With a grin, Twilight waved off his sales pitch with a hoof. “Thanks for asking, but no. But, there is something I needed to talk to you about.” Davenport’s eyebrow rose in curiosity. He wondered where the deviation in their typical dialog was heading. “Oh, how can I help you? Do you need a special order ink, or rarer quills? The griffons won’t be molting for a while, but I’ll see what I can do if you really need quills of that caliber.” “No, that’s not it at all.” Twilight gave him a sheepish look, as she laid the miss-delivered letter on the counter. “I got this in the mail this morning by mistake, and read it before I realized what it was. I thought I would give it to you while I was picking up my supplies.” Davenport’s eyes widened, as he recognized the letterhead. He rushed from behind the counter, ran to the shop’s entrance, quickly turned the sign to ‘closed,’ locked the door, and just caught himself before he closed all the blinds. After halting his manic actions, he took a moment to get a hold of himself. He calmly turned back to Twilight. “Have you talked to anyone about this letter?” Twilight was stunned on a couple of levels. First, she did not know that Davenport could move that fast. Second, his reaction seemed completely out of proportion to what the letter revealed about the typically collected shop keep. “No, I haven’t told a soul.” Davenport relaxed at her words. “Good, very good, forgive me; I’ve been trying to keep this part of my life a secret. It would change how ponies look at me too much. There is just so much baggage attached to this kind of thing.” Twilight nodded and sympathetically replied, “I understand, something like this could bring you attention that you don’t want, especially living in a small community like Ponyville. I promise that I won’t tell anypony about this.” “Really, you won’t say a word to anypony?” Twilight vowed, “I promise never to reveal your secret.” She then went through the whole process of a Pinkie Promise. She even managed not to stick herself in the eye with the final motion. Davenport sighed in relief, reassured by the inherent power of a Pinkie Promise. Twilight reached over, and patted him on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t worry about this getting out so much. It’s a part of who you are.” He gave her a small smile. “I know, but I really don’t know how ponies would act around me if they knew. I just want to be seen as Davenport, the quills and sofas pony.” ***** “Twilight, you there?” asked Rainbow Dash, as she stuck her head in the library door. Spike answered her, from the second floor bookshelves, “She’s not here right now. She had a couple of errands that she wanted to do herself, so she left me in charge, again. Before you ask, I don’t know when she will be back.” Rainbow flicked her tail in annoyance. “Typical, just when I need her here, she’s off running around town. Do you have any clue where she was off to?” Spike walked over to the edge of the landing, feather duster still in hand. “Not really, though she said something about having to deliver a letter that got sent here by accident while she was going to get some quills and ink from Quills and Sofas. The funny thing is she seemed a little freaked out by whatever was in the letter. She wouldn’t even talk to me about it.” Rainbow pawed the ground in frustration. Strange letter or not, she had to talk to Twilight. “I guess I’ll just see if I can catch her there then. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Now, I just have to catch an egghead on the move. That shouldn’t be too hard.” Spike snorted, and reminded Rainbow, “She did beat you during the Running of the Leaves, so I wouldn’t get too full of myself if I were you.” Rainbow gave Spike a glare that would have taken the scales off a lesser reptile. “That’s just because Applejack and I… You know what? I’m not even going to go there.” Spike chuckled as Rainbow shut the door. He was going to pay for his remark later, probably by way of a prank from Rainbow, but it would be worth it. Twilight was an egghead, no argument, but she was his egghead. ***** Twilight had started back to the library, her saddle bags filled with fresh writing supplies and groceries, when she saw Rainbow flying her direction. “Hey Rainbow Dash, are you through with the weather today?” Dash zeroed in on Twilight’s voice, and made a perfect landing. She accented her decent with a tight loop, as she got close to the ground. “You know me. I took care of the sky in ten seconds flat. I still need to train some this afternoon, but I wanted to see if the library had gotten any news about when the next Daring Do novel was coming out yet.” “Rainbow! I told you last week there hadn’t been any notices, and nothing has changed. Give it a little more time, these things can take months.” Twilight internally laughed, I’ve created a monster. Rainbow did not take the news well, and pranced in place out of vexation. “Aw, but the last book left everything in such a lurch.” Rainbow began acting out scenes from the book, as she excitedly spoke: “There was Daring, caught in a slowly sinking ship. The horrible pirate, Brine Mare, had sealed her only hope of escape from the outside. Daring pounded away at the cargo hold door, trying to get anypony’s attention.” Rainbow pounded the ground with a hoof, just as she envisioned Daring did against the wooden door. Ponies passing by started to stop and stare at Rainbow’s antics. Rainbow continued, oblivious to the audience she was attracting, “Daring tried to buck her way out, fly and bash through, anything she could think of, but the water was getting too high, and she was running out of time.” Rainbow dramatically, slowly let herself sink to the ground. “Then her struggles slowed, and she began to black out as the need for air got too great.” For a moment, Rainbow lay motionless, feigning the same fate as Daring Do. She suddenly leapt to her hooves, causing some of the on looking ponies to draw back at the quick motion. She all but growled in frustration. “Then the book just stops, with a message ‘to be continued.’ What kind of horrible pony does that to their readers?” Rainbow, after looking around for a moment, became aware of the small crowd that she had garnered. She tried to play the whole scene off, she boldly addressed the gathering, “Yeah, yeah, nothing to see here, keep hoofing it.” There were more than a couple of smiles in the crowd, at her expense, but they did break apart, going on about their day after the unexpected entertainment. Twilight grinned at the whole scene. “I’m sure the author had a very good reason to do that. You’re just going to have to be patient.” Rainbow sighed, and reluctantly agreed, “Yeah, I guess you’re right, but that ending doesn’t make waiting any easier.” Rainbow shifted the conversation, remembering why she had to find Twilight in town to start with. “Spike said you had to deliver some important letter to Davenport. What was in it?” Twilight involuntarily stiffened. Rainbow would be exactly the kind of pony that Davenport would not want knowing his secret. She settled for telling a half-truth, and hoped it was enough. “It was just a business letter of his that got mixed in with some of my mail. It happens all the time. I’ve even gotten a couple of things that should have gone to Rarity.” Rainbow could tell Twilight was being evasive, but she played along. “Having a cloud house cuts down on that kind of thing a lot.” Rainbow looked up towards her house, as she spoke, “An address that includes altitude makes things easier to sort for us pegasi.” “Rainbow, I’m glad to see you, but I need to get back to the library. I know Spike can handle things on his own, for the most part, but I have to get a few things done before we close for the day.” Twilight hoped she had not sounded rude. She just wanted to get out of the conversation as quickly as she could. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ve got to get going myself. I can’t get the Buccaneer Blitz right by standing on the ground.” Twilight wished Rainbow luck, and headed towards the library. She was glad that Rainbow had not pressed her about the letter. It would have been awkward, and she did not want to have to lie to her friend, even if was to keep her promise to Davenport. Rainbow watched Twilight go with a calculating look on her face. She thought, Why was Twilight nervous about me asking about that letter? She certainly wanted to leave in a hurry. I wonder what’s going on with her. Or should I be wondering what’s up with Davenport?” She took off, having formed a plan of action. “I’ll get a quick practice in, and then get Pinkie in on this. Between the two of us, we’ll find out what is going on in no time.”