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Princess Twilight Sparkle, newest alicorn of Equestria and probably the only one with obsessive compulsive disorder, sat enraptured as I recounted everything I ever knew about My Little Pony. She learned of nearly everything from that first day in Ponyville to the day she became an alicorn.
Her face mixed confusion, curiosity, and the slightest bit of fear, but as my explanation went on, she settled into a neutral expression Luna would have been proud of, although there was a hint of a smug smile when I mentioned everyone who saw the episode with the royal wedding knew she was right about Cadence being Chrysalis all along.
She stopped me to ask how what a television was and how it worked, and was then disappointed I couldn’t tell her everything about how they worked. Twilight was also unamused when I told her it was human magic.
I sang a few of the songs, namely "Winter Wrap Up" and "At The Gala," but the one that really drove my words home was "Celestia's Ballad," which Princess Celestia sang in whatever that weird place was where she told Twilight she'd been stalking watching her since that very first day. Then I told her about the birds and the bees to make sure she was still with me and received a telekinetic flick to the ear for my troubles.
Explaining bronies to her was more challenging, because while she was very familiar with the subject of the show, she had just learned it had fans. Twilight learned of conventions, fanworks, companies capitalizing on the fandom's zeal, and much more than she could have ever believed possible.
However, I did downplay the “dirty” side every fanbase possesses—I told her it existed and gave some vague examples, but that was all I felt like doing. Mostly because it brought up memories of things that made me blush, but it was also fairly high on my Things Not to Tell Royalty list, right below "Purposely Terrible Pickup Lines" and "Pull My Hoof." Also, it gave me curveballs to hit her with later.
Finally finishing, I took a deep breath and relaxed on my seat. It was the last of me rattling off incredibly lengthy explanations while Twilight threatened to ignite her scrolls from the friction of her quill's tip. My throat was hoarse, but it was a good feeling, like the satisfying ache after a day of hard labor.
The light of a late-afternoon sun streamed through the windows. Shadows were growing throughout the library, and it wouldn't be another hour before Twilight would have to turn on the magic lights. Still, the identity of that damn pungent stench eluded me, but it was definitely coming from Zecora's temporary abode. Twilight was emotionless, refusing to inform me if cover was necessary.
"Well?" I eventually asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Hmm."
Just "hmm." No panicking about a civilization that knew much of her last three years. No spamming every anti-scrying spell she could muster. No curling up into a ball and mumbling to herself. Just the sort of noise one would make when trying to decipher a strangely shaped burn on a piece of toast.
"You're taking this better than I expected."
"What did you expect?"
"Smartypants Incident?"
Twilight huffed. "I'll admit it's… weird to know this happened in a different universe, but altogether it looks like it’s barely more invasive than an unauthorized biography—I should know, I've found four about me so far. Even with the large following it garnered, it's not like they actually spied on our entire lives."
"Least you don't have to worry about anyone from my universe doing it again."
She sighed and shrunk back. "There is that. Even if there are more universes besides the two you've visited, and even if some of those hypothetical universes have the same show, book series, or whatever medium it appears in, I don't believe this is anything to be paranoid about." She clapped her hooves excitedly and gleefully added, "But look at all these notes I took! It will take me weeks to analyze all of it, and this is just the first day."
Her infectious glee soon had me smiling. "How different are things here than the show?" Granted, the only difference I really noticed was the changelings going around town unmolested, not that I had a problem with them.
Twilight's eyes rapidly scanned the multitude of notes, tossing aside each piece of parchment as she finished with it. "It seems the show was a bit nicer about certain things. For instance, Zecora's reception was a bit worse than what you saw—there's a reason she doesn't come to town much—and Gilda was much less friendly during her visit—two ponies were hospitalized."
Her eyes widened as she noticed the slowly diminishing daylight coming through the window. "Looks like we need to finish soon so you can get back to the Gem Hills before nightfall. Will you be available tomorrow? Our discussion took much longer than anticipated, but I'll adjust the schedule next time."
"Wait, I want to know why there's changelings living in Ponyville."
"They have just as much a right to live here as you do. They’re not the monsters you think they are." Her statement felt well-used.
"Not what I meant, Twilight. They only showed up in the show for two episodes, and they were all in the invasion force. I met Space Home the night I broke my leg. He was the one that sheltered the three of us."
"Star Poem. I'm sorry I assumed you thought they were monsters. It's just… less than a year has passed since the invasion, so it's still fresh in the minds of many ponies.” Twilight's hoof scuffed at the floor as she hung her head solemnly. "There's been some issues, violent ones, especially in Trottingham and Appleloosa."
Things couldn’t be hunky-dory everywhere in Equestria, but the news was still a splash of cold water to the face. "How many changelings are on our side now?"
"Almost a hundred. We have twelve here and most of them are situated in Canterlot, but there are a few scattered among other cities as well," said Twilight. "I can explain it in more detail tomorrow. When did you expect to show up?"
Mentally running through my schedule didn’t take very long. "Later on, I was thinking about taking some of the diamond dogs into Ponyville tomorrow so they could do some shopping and get used to being on friendly terms with the citizens, as well as get the citizens used to them."
"I think that's a great idea! But I don't know if everypony else will feel the same."
"That's why it'd be easier if you were there. Less of a chance of getting garbage thrown at us."
"Surely that wouldn't happen." My deadpan stare made her fidget. "But I'm very busy tomorrow, you see."
"Sleeping in?" Spike had told me several horror stories about Twilight in the morning.
Twilight nervously laughed and looked shiftily from side to side. "No, of course not. It's… princess… things."
With a snort, I tossed in the best method of bribing Twilight. "If you come, I'll make sure to bring Spot tomorrow. He's the closest the pack has to a historian and could tell you all sorts of things about the diamond dogs that nopony else knows." And thus, her internal struggle began.
Her mind pitted curiosity against the urge of sleeping in and pretending nothing existed outside her library. With a groan, she relented. "Fine. I'll be by before noon, so try to be awake." She grumbled, "We better still have coffee."
Another glance out the window told me there was still some time left, even if it meant cutting it a little close. “Have you had any luck with finding the missing ponies?”
The room’s mood plummeted. “No. Absolutely nothing I’ve tried has worked. There hasn’t even been any new knowledge about the specters since learning fire worked as well as magic.” She frowned as she looked at me, her voice as quiet as a church mouse trying to sneak into bed after being out late drinking. “It’s not your fault, you know.” My wince must have been noticeable. “There’s no proof you had anything to do with it.”
“You know the time frame is too much of a coincidence, not to mention I’m the only one who hears them in my head when they get close.”
Twilight’s wings flared and knocked some of her scrolls off the table. “What?”
Maybe I should have remembered to mention that to Luna. “It’s mostly just demoralizing screams. When they attacked that guard, it was so loud I almost couldn’t move.”
“That’s still not decisive evidence. You could just be hearing them because you used to be a diff—”
“You’re just grasping at—”
“And you’re just trying to heap the blame!” she half-shouted. “I won’t let you do that to yourself, Sterling. Self-loathing won’t help anypony.”
“Ponies are missing Twilight, you said it yourself. What am I supposed to do?”
“What else? Tinker. You’re an intelligent pony, Sterling. Those stun-patterns you designed have proven to be effective, and I know that’s not all you can come up with.” Her hoof gestured around the library. “There’s so much more you could create with the knowledge in some of these books. Do what you do best, and the rest will fall into place.”
“I—” She had a point, didn’t she? Two inventions was a good start, but there was always need for something new. “You’re right. I’ll save the self-loathing for afterward.”
“That’s not what I—whatever, we’ll deal with it then.”
“It’s future Twilight’s problem?”
“Because that’s making me confident.” She looked at the reddening sky through the window and sighed. “You need to go. It’s getting really late.”
Nightfall would miss me by seconds, but I could still make it. “Yeah. See you tomorrow morning.”
“Just stay safe and remember what I said. We can get through this, and we will find those ponies.”
The door was open before me, but I took the time to look back over my shoulder. “Count on it.”
It felt bizarre for the word “home” to actually mean something pleasant. Before, home had just been where all the supplies were stashed. No decoration, no personal touch, just me struggling to stay alive.
The slow trot evolved into a speedy gallop, and it felt exhilarating to have full range of motion once more. The sun set slowly, like Celestia was postponing the night as long as possible. Behind me, the moon was ahead of itself, and halted just above the horizon to watch its sibling descend.
The protection of the early moonrise was unnecessary, as the sun had just touched the horizon when home loomed in front of me. After quickly dropping my purchased goods in the now-empty building, I wandered down into the tunnels, sticking close to every source of light.
The feeling of safety from the previous night was still present, but there was also a growing tension lurking in the shadows. Some of the darkened tunnels whispered, but it was so faint I could almost believe it was just me imagining things. Almost.
Dave was waiting for me at the main cavern’s entrance, and his earlier abduction surprisingly hadn't covered him in ink. We chatted discreetly while I tracked down Spot and told him of my plans for tomorrow. He eagerly agreed to join me, though he was less interested about speaking with Twilight Sparkle and more about finally getting to try ice cream. Explaining my idea for fire-based defenses was met with some skepticism, but he grew more compliant as I went on, until he politely cut me off and told me it would be taken care of, chuckling about some plans of his own.
He agreed with my decision to get Fido away from the forge for at least a few hours, and scurried off. I felt a twinge of guilt for using him as a gopher all the time, but damn if he wasn't great at it. Predictively, Fido was working at the forge, but there was more than just him waiting for me.
"Is this what I think it is?" A hubcap-sized spool of brass-colored wire about as thick as a pencil sent a familiar tingle up my foreleg. Could it only be shaped into wire?
"Just as you asked, Beta. Fresh thaumite just for you. And my thanks to pony princess for good inferno crystal."
"You can tell her student tomorrow if you'd like. I'm sure she'd pass it on for you."
"Why she visit?" He drew himself up and balled his paws into fists. "We been good."
Dave sighed. "This is already going well."
"Relax, big guy. You, Spot, me and a couple more if they want to will be going into town just to do some shopping, and maybe catch a bite to eat."
He grumbled and I could feel a low rumble run through my legs. "Don't know. Ponies not like us."
"That's what we're trying to change. We'll show them there's nothing to be worried about." I patted his arm, noting it was like patting a fur-covered pillar. "Plus you need to get some fresh air now and then."
Casting a worried look back at the forge, he whined.
"It will still be here when you get back. I don't think anydog else is crazy enough to use your forge, don't you?" Though I was worried Pinkie might try to bake in it if she got bored.
With another whine, he reluctantly agreed. I told him to be ready early and then left with the thaumite in tow. Because of its weight, it had to be rolled the entire way instead of just balanced on my back, which inevitably led to more than one Sisyphian reminder. Gravity wouldn’t stop me—the night was still young, and there was thaumite to play with.
Thaumite was more reactive than I remembered. It felt good to be working with the alloy once more, and though it wasn’t anything too serious, I’d be feeling some of those bruises and burns tomorrow.
With Dave's insistence, a dozen of the "Come to Life" spell patterns soon sat on the table. He didn't interrupt my random tinkering afterwards, but it still didn't help me stumble upon any new patterns. However, I did find several ways to create a small explosion or make my entire leg numb. Sleep came to me eventually, but only when exhaustion and pain won over the rush of aimless building.
——
A rapid knocking at the door roused me from my dreamless slumber, and Twilight called out, "Gears? Are you in there?"
She jumped as the door opened, and I yawned while looking at the sky behind her. It couldn't have been more than an hour since sunrise. The cool morning air stole all sleep that remained.
Twilight could barely contain her eagerness and shifted her weight often. The tips of her folded wings came within an inch of the saddlebags covering her flank, containing enough paper to give an environmentalist a heart attack. I would owe Spot after today.
"Are you hurt?" Leaning to the side, she looked me over. "What happened?"
"Science happened. I just need to clean myself up a bit so I don't look like I just lost a bar fight with a candle."
That done, I jogged into the tunnels. "Follow me. I told them you were coming, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise." Twilight followed me eagerly, all thoughts of my injuries missing from her attention. She had a scroll ready, and the occasional silence between drips of water or distant echoes let through the scratch of a quill.
More than once, a diamond dog looked at my minor injuries, saw the princess, and aggressively started towards us before remembering the racket my work had caused last night. I had hoped for a few more in addition to Spot and Fido, but Balsa was the only one comfortable enough around ponies to join us. Twilight wasted no time in bombarding poor Spot with an arsenal of questions. He looked to me in fear, and I mouthed an apology.
Many stares greeted us in Ponyville, and many opened their mouths to address the princess before spotting her company. More ponies awaited as we went further into town, and their reactions didn't differ from their predecessors'. It was like a soundtrack comprised entirely of record scratches.
Two changelings gave us empathetic nods, but didn't react otherwise. I shared my pack's unease, and Twilight, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, continued asking questions as fast as Spot could answer them.
"Hey, Twilight," I whispered and nudged her. "Did you tell them diamond dogs were going to be visiting." There weren’t any ponies running around, screaming about an attack, so things were still going better than expected.
Twilight stopped mid-question, and I heard her infamous nervous laugh. "I may have forgotten in my excitement." She cleared her throat and raised her voice. "Attention citizens of Ponyville. These diamond dogs are here as guests and should be treated as such. There is nothing to be afraid of, so please, return to your business." There were too few shameful faces, and all too many ponies grumbling creative insults.
"You sure this good idea, Beta?" Fido asked quietly.
"Yes, I'm sure there are some ponies around who aren't bigots," I said loud enough for a few of the closer ponies to hear.
"I'm sorry. If I would have prepared an announcement, we could have avoided this."
"Not really. They still would have done this, and you wouldn't have had time to alert them anyway with how early you must have gotten out of bed." Gone were the unfaltering, smiling faces and jovial laughter. All they had for the diamond dogs was suspicion and hate.
A minty green unicorn missing her usual companion waved nervously and approached. Twilight was visibly relieved when she didn't bow and instead just gave her a polite nod. "Princess."
Lyra swallowed audibly and looked up at the two towering diamond dogs, halfheartedly smiling at them. She eventually let out a weak "Hello."
They waved back and gave their own nervous greetings, and Lyra jumped when she noticed Spot. I sighed, wishing I could pinch the bridge of my nose. "Lyra, it's okay, they're just here to visit. Didn't Mayor Mare tell everypony about me and Pinkie being in charge of the pack?"
She snorted, her usual exuberance quickly returning. "That's a good one. Mayor Mare didn't say anything about that, just that we didn't have to worry about them anymore."
Twilight caught my annoyed glare and nodded. "I'll speak to her and make sure she tells the whole story."
"No way! It's true? I heard rumors from Pinkie, but you know how she is. That's amazing!" Lyra squealed as her eyes widened, proving it wasn't just Pinkie Pie who was possibly made of rubber. She stretched a hoof out to the diamond dogs. "Lyra Heartstrings."
They blinked in confusion, dumbfounded by the carefree pony and her foreleg. A sneeze alerted me to the crowd that had formed around us. Needless tension filled the air, and I rolled my eyes at the collectively held breath. "It's just a hoof-paw-whatevershake."
Spot was the first to return the gesture and introduce himself, Balsa then Fido following soon after. Apparently satisfied, the crowd dispersed, just in time for Pinkie to arrive on the scene with her welcome wagon. The other two ponies joined me in stepping to the side as she began singing, dodging the blast of cake batter that followed. I was pretty sure I saw gems in it, so dodging was an excellent idea.
"Welcome to Ponyville, you three!" Pinkie said to the stunned, batter-covered trio, small eyes blinking away the goop. "I'm so glad you got to show up, because that means more will come and then I get to give more welcomes and throw more parties, and oh my gosh there's going to be so many parties I need to get started right away. I can't wait to introduce the entire pack to Ponyville. Oh, look at the time, I have to put the muffins in the oven five minutes ago!" She grabbed the tail of a speeding, grey pegasus without her notice and waved goodbye.
"I will never get used to that. At least she didn't take me with this time."
"Pinkie Pie," said Twilight Sparkle as she shook her head. "Hold on, I'll get you cleaned up with some magic."
"Wait." Spot struggled to hold up a dripping paw. He licked off some of the batter and nodded. "Okay."
"So, Pinkie's in charge?" Lyra asked the newly cleaned diamond dogs incredulously. "How does that even work?"
"Do you want to be the one to get her to step down?" The diamond dogs shivered at my question, shaking their heads at Lyra. "She's doing a good enough job though. Where's Bon Bon? I think this is the first time I've seen you and not her."
"At work. I'm not allowed in the store when she's working, too distracting I guess. You usually show up after noon, what gives?"
"Just showing these guys around town. With the way things are, you'll probably be seeing more of them from time to time, so I figured it'd be good to start with a princess for an escort."
"Good idea, you almost had an angry mob on your hooves. And paws." She giggled.
"I guess I could see a pony using a pitchfork, but a torch? Not without using one of those freaky hooves they need to walk or just holding their head sideways while it's in their mouth."
"What?" Twilight gasped, dropping her quill.
"You didn't notice? Half of them were ready to fight."
"But that can't be right. They should know better than that." Her mind was actively refusing to see the townsfolk that violent, and the conflict showed.
A passing changeling snorted. "They should." Those two words ended Twilight's mental war, and she huffed but said nothing.
"So… did you have any plans for your tour of the town?"
"Twilight wanted to ask Spot questions until she either runs out of ink or his ears fall off—"
"Hey!"
"—Nothing specific for the rest of us though. Twilight?"
"I don't have that many questions… I really didn't think this through beyond showing up in town and requesting information." So much for her usual organization.
"Spot still hasn't had that ice cream you promised him the day you got out of the hospital." He pointed at the small figure.
Resisting the urge to nod at the more-or-less invisible human, I tried to piece together a suitable plan. “Twilight, do you know a good place to get ice cream?”
Spot perked up and looked to Twilight as she replied, “Yes, but why?”
“No why. Beta say ice cream good, so I want some.” He fidgeted as he looked around, no doubt trying to find the fabled treat.
“Easy, Spot. Twilight, you won’t find another diamond dog that knows more about their history than Spot. Also, I kinda promised I’d get him some ice cream. While you do that, the rest of us will go around town to mingle and shop or whatever. There shouldn’t be much of a problem if Lyra’s with us.”
“Yep, nopony’ll cause trouble with me around!” It was hard to tell if she or Spot was more excited.
“And after that, Lyra will lead all of you to the parlor. Not exactly the place I would have chosen for a diplomatic milestone, however small it is.”
“You can pick where to go next time this sort of thing happens.” I smirked at Twilight, then looked to the rest of the group. “Any questions?” They remained silent except for Spot and Lyra’s inability to stand still. “Awesome. Let’s go.”
Things went smoothly, oddly enough, and aside from the constant staring and murmurs, the open hostility had pretty much vanished. Balsa took a liking to hats, much to the amusement of the hatter, and purchased four garish ones to wear simultaneously, much to everybody's amusement. Fido grumbled about being away from his forge, but didn't deny he was enjoying himself.
Lyra took her role as tour guide as seriously as she could, which is to say she zipped around at a nearly impossible pace and enthused about everything. She wasn't as random or off the wall as Pinkie, but with how much energy she had, I wouldn't be surprised if they shared the same sugar intake. Also, it seemed the hoofshake had gone a long ways with the other townsfolk, and some of them even gave meek hellos as we passed.
Dave ended up finding various ways to amuse himself, most of which would have been inappropriate if anyone else could see him. It's just like they say: invisibility makes you an asshole.
As we passed the “eye-catching” colors of Carousel Boutique, a small sign had been tacked onto the door. Rarity, while still trying to keep her script elegant, had quickly scribbled, "Closed Due to Fashion Revolution." The faint sounds of the dramatic unicorn working frantically came from within. Fido hurried us onward with fear in his eyes, insisting there was nothing we could want in such a place.
When they had their fill of the town, Lyra led us to an ice cream parlor called Frosty Flavors. The white-and-blue building was a little smaller than Sugarcube Corner—while they couldn't have easily rented the place out for parties, there was still ample room for the booths and a bar. Two unused benches sat in a small area to the right of the building, their matching color scheme the only indicator they were intended for customers who wished to enjoy their treat outside.
Pony furniture continued to baffle me. While the beds and many of the chairs were reasonably shaped for ponies, there was still the occasional piece of furniture, like the booths in this restaurant, that could not have been designed with equine shapes in mind.
Behind a counter covered with labelled jars full of toppings, an orange unicorn's eyes widened in shock as two ponies entered with two diamond dogs ducking through the doorway behind them. He cast a quick glance over at two of his current patrons before he gave the four of us a sincere grin. "Welcome to Frosty Flavors, what can I get you?" He gestured towards a glass window over several, labelled tubs of frozen goodness.
A laugh escaped as I spotted the large corner booth where Spot and Twilight sat. Four empty bowls stained with varying flavors of ice cream wobbled dangerously as a tan-furred paw added a fifth to the stack and patted his belly with a content sigh. I really hoped none of them were lactose intolerant. Ventilated or not, I didn't want to be stuck in a cave with that. The purple pony sitting across from him was still engrossed in her notes and didn't notice us until she saw Spot wave.
"Thanks for showing them around, Lyra." Twilight called out to the clerk as she waved us over, "They're with us, Mr. Stripe."
He nodded back to her. "Sure thing, Twilight. Well, if you folks are as new to this as your friend, keep in mind this stuff is colder than a winter night in the Crystal Empire. You eat too fast, you get brainfreeze, simple as that. If you're curious about something, I'd be glad to let you have a sample. No sense in ordering something you dislike after all."
"Isn't chocolate poisonous to dogs?" Dave asked from behind the counter, pointing down to the rich brown tub of ice cream.
I looked over the ten tubs of ice cream. "Can you guys eat chocolate?" Balsa and Fido shrugged. "Hey Twilight, can diamond dogs eat chocolate?"
"Yes. There's no indication it has the same effects as on smaller canines, and their innate fortitude would keep them healthy, even if it was toxic to them."
"Awesome. I'll take a two scoops of raspberry in a co—bowl. In a bowl." Wasn’t even going to try and figure out how I'd carry the cone to the table, let alone eat it. I didn’t have a raspberry problem, I could quit whenever I wanted. "You guys feel free to take as long as you need."
Getting ice cream: awesome. Getting ice cream scooped and floated over to you by magic: double awesome.
"Good choice of place, Twilight." I'd missed ice cream more than I thought and had to fight back a delighted moan. It meant nothing to me that it needed to be eaten straight from the bowl.
"Mr. Stripe's a nice stallion. He didn't bat an eye when the changelings moved in, so I figured he wouldn't have a problem with diamond dogs."
"Of course not." The aforementioned unicorn scoffed. "Long as they like ice cream, who am I to complain? Still no luck on that love-flavored ice cream for the changelings though. They like the other stuff just fine, but they would be lining up all the way to Canterlot for it if I could just get the recipe right." While curious, I knew better than to ask at this point.
"Did you get the answers you wanted out of Spot?" Brainfreeze did nothing to slow me down.
"Oh yes, he's rather informative with a bit of incentive." Twilight smiled at the stack of dirty bowls.
Spot burped. "Ice cream good."
They didn't match Spot's gusto, but the other two diamond dogs enjoyed their ice cream as well, opting for a medley of flavors and toppings in their indecision. Lyra, surprisingly, had just two scoops of vanilla. No toppings, no sauces, just two round spheres of white ice cream.
White Stripe—he'd gladly told me his first name, insisting that he didn't need more who called him Mr.—was glad to join in on our menial conversations between the occasional customer. Twilight even packed away her writing supplies and joined in, laughing at the anecdotes and sharing a couple of her own. Apparently, Rainbow Dash's methods for training Twilight were very ineffective… and painful, but as Dash often told her, "Gotta slow down somehow."
The three diamond dogs were eager to share their adventure with their packmates, and the next day six of them came with, without Twilight's protection, on my way to get grilled about biology of all things.
If anypony thought more dogs was a sign of trouble brewing, they didn't act on it, and by day four, the pack didn't need me at all to visit Ponyville. No idea how it happened, but it might have had something to do with an apology letter from Mayor Mare that Pinkie had delivered one of the days she stopped by.
Several of the dogs voiced their concerns about their Alpha's infrequent visits, but I managed to convince them just how busy she was. Between work, parties, and being Pinkie Pie, she had a heaping plate as it was. Heck, I couldn't remember a time outside the party where she was around for more than a few minutes. They begrudgingly accepted the explanation, but they’d need a better solution eventually.
Vinyl came by one of the days, but she didn't spend much time away from Octavia now that she was back in town. Truth be told, nearly everypony was reluctant to go outside when the sun wasn't plainly visible. Tall Order was a bit easier to find and hang out with—he had picked up a temporary bartending job in town while his nightclub was still too dangerous to reach in the dark.
Thankfully, Twilight didn’t need to be educated every day. Sometimes, we spent the entire day trying to come up with a method to track the missing ponies or fight the creatures. We spent hours buried in book after book, with new ones being delivered nearly every day, but there was never any progress. She refused to let me fiddle with thaumite when we were researching: light one book on fire and suddenly you’re a villain.
Twilight continued to bother me about reading all of those books she’d set aside—her pestering intensified when she found out about the bookcase delivered to my home. The one on marehood remained unopened—it made me shiver each time I so much as looked at it.
Each night, hours were spent tinkering with thaumite, teaching myself to mine with an overly large pick, or chatting with Dave. It turned out that my current supply was ridiculously plentiful and was enough to last about six months if used properly. No doubt it would be only a month before my stock ran out.
It was hard to focus on creating anything new—the tension I felt was only growing stronger and stronger, and with it came the voices in the darkness. The creatures didn't appear, but it would only be a matter of time. The uneasy feeling growing within distracted me constantly, and I slipped up on simple tasks many times. Fortunately, it wasn't like I could get any worse at digging.
Though they couldn’t hear the voices, the pack felt something and grew irritable, snapping at each other over the smallest things. Even Dave couldn't hear them, and that's what truly spooked me. I refused to mistake the warning for something benign and requested as many patrols as we could afford without stretching ourselves thin. Meanwhile, I threw together blasting rods as quickly as I could, promising to invest time later in finding a way to not burn out the thaumite.
I really should have known better, but I couldn't help it. Even with the foreboding feeling, I went to bed one night with the misplaced confidence that I'd finally found a safe routine.
“Beta! Beta! Wake up! We under attack!” The world churned as Meeko shook me awake, screaming in my face the entire time. My thoughts were more difficult to unravel than a tangled Slinky covered in oil, but I managed to roll out of bed and run after him. I had a feeling that some of us weren’t going to see the next morning.