//------------------------------// // Tea with Princess Purple // Story: Gears in the Void // by Lab //------------------------------// Many moments passed before Twilight was able to speak. “Did you just call me Princess Purple?” “Well, your title isn’t ‘Lady’ so I couldn’t rightly call you ‘Lady Lavender’ now could I? Oh, right, forgot to bow or whatever.” How was I supposed to do that anyway? Couldn’t exactly bend half my body forward anymore. She rolled her eyes. “Oh, so now you want to be formal?” Spike returned with the tea at that moment. “It’s not like you mind.” “Spike!” Twilight’s glare was more nervous than angry. “What? You said yourself that you were already tired of all the fancy frou-frou stuff.” He climbed onto a chair at my table. “I also said nopony else needs to hear about it.” She sighed and took some time to relax. Sniffing at the air, she asked, “Is that the jasmine?” The dragon nodded proudly. “I made extra in case you returned tonight. I figured you would want something to wind down from whatever it is Princess Celestia had you look into.” “And that’s why you’re my number one assistant. Are you sure you’re not developing a Spike Sense?” She chuckled, joining us. She glanced at the books’ titles while pouring herself a cup of tea and smiled. “Good to see those dusted off, especially The Comprehensive History of Equestrian Mechanics. Just be careful around them with the tea. Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. Can’t have you calling me Princess Purple.” I still would. “I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle.” “Sporkle?” “Sparkle.” “Spackle?” Spike understood what was going on, if the smile he was fighting was any indicator. “Sparkle” “Smith?” “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” “Definitely. Sterling Gears.” This was the perfect opportunity to find out if they shook hooves or simply bumped them. Her hoofshake felt practiced, but green. “As in sterling silver?” I nodded. “It’s nice. And with a name like Gears, it’s no surprise you’d be interested in mechanics. Why the geology though?” “It rocks.” Twilight’s groan made me grin, while Spike chuckled at the pun. “I’m going to be doing some digging over in the Gem Hills, so I figured it’d be a good idea to brush up.” “Aren’t you worried about the diamond dogs?” “I can handle them.” They both cringed at my smile. “How’d the official business go?” “Ugh, it was a complete waste of time. If there had been any evidence of a disturbance, the storm washed it away entirely.” She sighed. “It’s why I’m back so early.” “I’m glad you didn’t find anything then. Filthy Rich came by three times today to ask when you were going to be back. I thought I was going to lose it before Gears came along and actually just wanted to read.” “Again with the shop thing? Mayor Mare already told him no, so I don’t know why he keeps bothering me about it.” “Like a—” a gulp of tea stopped me from saying ‘child’ and confusing my hosts “—foal whose father told him no, so he went to ask his mother?” The tea was actually pretty good and left me smacking my lips a couple times. Spike brews tea that would put Soft Down out of business. “That fits all too well. Anyway, I take it that was your cart outside?” “Yep. I’m not blocking anything, am I?” “No, but it looks like somepony stole your yoke. If you still have it around, I could see about fixing it for you. Should just take an easy, quick spell.” Excitement flickered in her eyes at the mention of magic. As curious as I was as to what unicorn magic looked like, I had to refuse. “Already sold it to Metalhead. Don’t really need it with the thaumite throttle I rigged up.” Twilight’s spit-take covered Spike in an herbal deluge. “You understand how to work with thaumite?” Her assistant grimaced and stomped off to clean himself. “Saying I know how to work with it might be exaggerating. More like I’ve blown myself up a couple times and am learning how not to.” “Do you have any idea what you’re experimenting with?” Her voice rose slightly. “You’re lucky you haven’t been injured or worse! Thaumite is full of raw magic, you can’t just hit hit with a hammer and expect results.” Recalling the explosion preceding my cutie mark, I burst out laughing. She stared at me with a mix of anger and confusion. “Sorry, sorry. I totally did hit it with a hammer. Actually I used a screwdriver, but I hit the screwdriver with the hammer to knock the thaumite out of a lamp.” For a moment, it looked like she was going to burst into flames. Instead, she reared up and placed her forelegs on the table. The wings on her back twitched in agitation. “How did you not cause any thaumic feedback?” I couldn’t help but laugh again, but part of it was how hilarious Twilight looked when she turned red with rage. In retrospect, the laughing probably didn’t help her mood. “I did. That’s how I ended up with my cutie mark, after all.” She deflated slightly and rubbed her muzzle. “You have a cutie mark in blowing yourself up?” I stood and proudly displayed my involuntary thigh tattoo, a small part of my mind informing me I was shaking my ass at royalty. “Maybe? I like to think it has more to do with tinkering.” “How can you not be sure what your cutie mark means?” “I was a little dazed.” At least I didn’t turn my parents into potted plants. Twilight sat back down just as Spike returned from the bathroom. “I’m sorry I snapped at you like that, but this is serious. You can’t just experiment in an underdeveloped field of study without the proper precautions.” “The only pony I’ll endanger is myself. You don’t have to agree with my methods, but you can’t deny the results.” Spike decided it was the perfect time to clean up the leftover tea. “And what would those be? A throttle wouldn’t be of any use on anything that lacks an engine,” she stated plainly through her frown. “If you want to be all technical about it, just call it an accelerator. It moves the cart, that’s what matters.” “Wait, you, an earth pony, successfully designed a new spell pattern by accident?” The anger dropped like a stone, replaced by pure curiosity. “I guess? I don’t know if somepony else already did it, but what does being an earth pony have to do with it? Way to be racist, Twilight.” Wait, it should have been “tribist” or something like that, right? “Metal comes from the earth, after all, so maybe I’m better at using what’s below ground than above it.” It would have been easier to grasp at straws with hands. Twilight stumbled over her words, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that.” After taking a deep breath and regaining her composure, she continued. “All I meant was you can’t direct magic like a unicorn can. You were working with charged thaumite, so you couldn’t have relocated it temporarily while you shaped the metal. I need to see this. Please. We could be looking at a tremendous technological advancement.” “Alright, grab your notes. I’ll be outside.” “Just how much did you say about me, Spike?” His voice called out from the kitchen, barely audible over the sound of clinking dishes and sloshing water. “I didn’t say that.” “Twilight, everypony knows about your note-taking.” The night air was crisp, and my chuckles sent out faint puffs of mist. Taking a deep breath of the crisp, oddly tasty, and not-full-of-insane-storms air felt great. Thinking back to the storm made me wonder if I wouldn’t get in too much trouble for turning the Everfree Forest into the Everfree Crater, now with extra smoldering. Couldn’t solve everything by blowing it up, but I could try. Wait, what about Zecora? I couldn’t blow up best zebra. “I know that look,” Dave said grimly as he sat on the wagon. “Don’t do it. Oh, and thanks for ditching me.” “You looked like you were having a good conversation.” I giggled. “How did that even work anyway?” “Hell if I know. All she said was something about being imaginary doesn’t make me nonexistent, and then she dragged me off to a bakery and we spent three hours trying to make imaginary cupcakes.” “You went to Sugarcube Corner? Lucky!” I was earnestly green with envy. “Maybe to you, but I think I have imaginary diabetes just from walking in there. Oh, and she says you’re invited to the imaginary party when she figures out how to throw one.” He visibly shuddered. “Do you have any idea how much that girl can talk and eat? It’s like she breathes sugar instead of air.” “I’m glad you had a wonderful time.” “You’re dead to me.” “Who are you talking to?” A very confused Twilight asked from the open doorway. Several scrolls poked out the top of her bulging saddlebags. “Nopony in particular, don’t worry about it.” “Nopony indeed. If you need me, I’ll be relaxing in the wagon.” He unceremoniously dropped out of view. “Are you sure? If you’re hallucinating, you should be checked by a doctor. I’ve read of several things that could cause a pony to see things.” Twilight’s voice held an honest concern for my well-being, odd for a pony she’d known ten minutes. “I have a firm grasp on what exists and what doesn’t. I’ve been through far worse.” I frowned at her. Never again with the hospital. Never. Again. “We didn’t have very far to go. I don’t see why you needed the entire library.” She let out an exasperated huff, clearly aware of, but not wanting to confront, the attempt to change the subject. “Well, some ponies prefer to document their research.” She lit up her horn to illuminate the area. “Alright, let’s get started. Can I examine the object before the demonstration?” “Be my guest.” Twilight levitated the accelerator out of the cart and mumbled the words she was writing down. I could catch bits and pieces when her volume spiked out of excitement, and every time she caught herself doing it, she would clear her throat and nervously laugh. I was certain many of her words and phrases were made up on the spot—words like ‘thaumawatt,’ ‘thaumic polar resonance capacity,’ and ‘magic prachoo.’ I realized the last one was probably a sneeze, but you never know when you might need to know what a magic prachoo is. “Positively astonishing.” She breathed as she sketched an uncanny resemblance of the thaumite. She set the item down inside the cart, careful not to trigger it, though I found myself curious as to how she’d learned, just by looking at it, which side would set it off. “Sterling, you’re a genius! A completely irresponsible danger to yourself, but a genius nonetheless.” She bounced about, her wings fluttering to give her an extra bit of height with every bound. “I’m flattered, but what, exactly, did I do?” “You established a connection between a spell and this pattern! It’s an effective, stable, three-dimensional representation of the elementary animation enchantment developed by Clover the Clever.” I found myself less than an inch away from Twilight’s drawing. “See? The interaction equation that allows the thaumite to effectively cast the spell is possible because of the bridging you have here and here between the thaumic foci. How did you come up with something this complex? There’s even evidence in the device itself of further trials to reach a near-optimal performance!” “Damn, girl!” Dave exclaimed, sitting up to watch the show. “Twilight, breathe.” I peeked around the scroll at the manic alicorn. She looked at me and then at the paper she had forced on me. She hadn’t even used her magic to float it, opting for just using a hoof to hold it in my face. “Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.” A lavender glow surrounded it as she pulled it back and inspected it, frowning at the wet spot she found. “Did you lick my notes?” “Indubitably.” “Why would you do that?” She blanched as she wiped off the mark. “It smelled like ice cream?” I shrugged. Tentatively, Twilight smelled her notes. “How does that even remotely smell like ice cream?” “It doesn’t, but I did just get you to sniff your notes. That’s a rather silly thing for a princess to do, don’t you think?” I had no idea where my mouth was trying to bring the conversation. Twilight facehoofed while I giggled. “I don’t understand you, but I do understand your work. The connection between this and the spell’s instructions seems so simple after seeing this.” “You haven’t even seen it move yet.” “Oh! How could I forget?” She rifled through her notes. “It’s not in here at all. Would you mind possibly moving it now?” Her excitement stayed level as I moved the cart aimlessly. I changed speeds a couple times but she urged me to stop when I nearly crashed into her tree. “Spoilsport. I didn’t even get it going that fast.” “I don’t need you waking up Spike or spooking Owloysius.” She stifled a yawn. “How long have we been out here? The moon’s position suggests it isn’t that late, but it’s really dark. Maybe Princess Luna isn’t feeling well.” Another yawn: this one so large her jaw audibly popped. “Sorry, the tests I conducted earlier must have taken more out of me than I thought.” “I should probably get going anyways.” “No, no, that’s not what I meant. We still have so much to figure out about this new pattern. It’d be a shame to stop now when we’re so close.” “Close to what, another all-nighter spent looking over your notes? I can show up again tomorrow and you’ll be nice and rested. And no, Spike didn’t tell me that.” I hopped into my cart, taking care not to tread on Dave’s napping form. “Good to know I still have some habits that aren’t public knowledge,” Twilight said sarcastically. She deftly packed up her supplies and smiled. “Good night, Sterling.” “Mmhmm,” I nodded. “See you tomorrow, Princess Twilight.” She mock-gasped and then chuckled, “No alliteration this time? And please, just call me Twilight if it’s an informal occasion. It’s only been nine days, and I can already see why Princess Celestia insists on the same thing with her name.” “Couldn’t think of another one to use.” I grinned. She stood in the open doorway, the light creating a definitive zone in the darkness. “Be careful out there.” “No.” I almost tumbled out of the back as I sped away from the dumbfounded pony, hoping the ghostly aura emanating from the wagon would be enough light. Crickets serenaded her stunned silence. “What kind of response was that?” Twilight’s shout was the last I heard from her. —— The aura my cart gave off was barely enough to navigate by, and I was glad the streets were devoid of life. I was headed towards the Gem Hills, which if I remembered correctly, were the foothills at the base of Mt. Dragonshy—that was actually its name, much to my surprise. My plan was to set up a small camp and see what I could do about staking my claim there if Equestria was as unsettled as it looked. “It really is dark out here.” Dave’s snoring drowned out my mumbles. Shadows writhed around me like ephemeral tentacles, ready to pull me in before they disappeared. I found myself wishing I had the forethought to purchase a light source. A fire was close to being a necessity this night. Instinctual panic gripped me—the typical result of being alone in the dark of unfamiliar territory. I barely wrestled it down, burying it under years of practice. Although I wasn’t feeling fear anymore, adrenaline still pumped through me, and I jumped at everything that looked out of place. I could almost hear the moans, the long, rattling sound amplified by the thousands of mouths screeching it over one potential meal. But I would be fine outside of Ponyville. I had to be. Once you get away from the city, there aren’t as many to pursue you. I wouldn’t be trapped again.