I walked down the street chewing on a piece of gum. The local grocer had given me a pack after letting me in on his secret: sometimes he liked to squeeze the bread. I didn’t know if that was euphuism for something and did not care. I just promised not to tell anyone, and got some free gum out of it.
The secret business was going well. It seemed like the whole town was getting in on it. I wasn’t sure how they all knew that I was a good listener, or why they wanted to tell me stuff in the first place, but I wasn’t about to say no to complimentary merchandise.
When I got to the library, I spotted a note pinned to the door indicating that Twilight and Spike were over at Rarity’s boutique. With nothing better to do, I turned in that direction.
When I walked in, Fluttershy was modeling some ugly outfit. Pinkie, Spike, and Twilight were helping Rarity make modifications to it.
Spike was playing the part of pincushion. He shrugged it off, saying that his thick scales made him invulnerable. I filed that information away for the future, just in case.
Rarity and Fluttershy walked away for a moment. Spike swooned and said, “I'm going to tell you three a secret. But you have to promise not to tell anyone.”
Twilight and I agreed. Pinkie said, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“I have a crush on Rarity!” Spike said.
I gagged.
“We won’t say a word!” said Pinkie.
“Give me a break,” said Twilight. “Everypony already knows—”
“Twilight! You promised Spike you wouldn't say anything. He trusts you. And losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend forever!”
Pinkie’s statement was rather astute. I was about to comment when the door opened and a pony wearing big sunglasses came in. I wondered who she was, but then she told us.
“I, Photo Finish, have arrived.”
“Let me just say, what an honor!” gushed Rarity.
“We begin…NOW!”
She and her assistants set up photography equipment. After half a dozen pictures, they packed up again and left.
“I can't believe I ever thought I could impress her,” said Rarity sadly.
The photographer burst back in. “It seems that I, Photo Finish, have found a next fashion star here in Ponyville. And I, Photo Finish, am going to help her to shine all over Equestria. Tomorrow a photo shoot in ze park. I go!” She left again.
Rarity was very excited and began preparing for the next day. I went with Twilight and Spike back to the library. On the way, she explained who the strange pony was.
Photo Finish was a well-known fashion photographer. Any pony she featured was instantly popular. Despite her eccentricities, she was very popular in her own right.
I didn't spend much time thinking about the photographer. I had a lot of work to do on my next project. Electrolysis of water resulted in oxygen and hydrogen. With the proper equipment, the hydrogen could be filtered off and stored. I would need all I could get in order to build the airship that I had in mind.
Hydrogen was exceedingly dangerous, so I was okay with storing it in a tank below where Twilight slept. I’d like to avoid blowing up the library, but I was willing to sacrifice the tree if it came to that. It’s not like residents of Ponyville read a lot.
Speaking of that, Cheerilee had revealed to me that she was illiterate, which explained why her classroom aids only consisted of pictures. She’d given me the latest Daring Do book since she had no need of it.
While the electrolysis machine bubbled away, I sat down to work on the design of the aircraft. With no other references, I decided to model it after the classic Zeppelins. Hopefully the hydrogen wouldn’t cause similar problems.
There were no internal combustion engines available, so I would have to improvise. The airship would be largely at the mercy of the wind. I hated to resort to it, but solid fuel rockets might be the best bet. Yes, the combination of hydrogen and flame-spewing rockets was a terrible idea, but I was still convinced that this was just a dream.
In the morning, I was finally ready to begin working on the material. For weight reasons, I was going to be using gas-proof fabric. For that, I needed Rarity.
She was rather grumpy when I visited her shop. From her comments, it seemed that Photo Finish didn’t like her. Apparently, Fluttershy, instead of Rarity, had what the photographer called “de magicks.”
I got her to order the proper material and she said that it wouldn’t be any trouble to stitch it up for me. I had specified a tubular shape, but Rarity convinced me to change to a more football-like design. It would still be pretty large.
Fluttershy came in the door ahead of a wave of photographers. By the look on her face, I guessed that she was not a fan of having fans.
I’m sure Rarity thought the same thing, but she said, “I’m so happy for you. You’ve become famous!”
“Um, yes.”
Photo Finish burst in. “Flootershy! I have been looking for you everywhere. We have ze thing at ze place.”
“Nobody like you,” I said. “You’re weird and creepy. You’re only famous because you insist that you are. Everyone only goes along with it because it’s easier than finding someone worthy.”
Photo Finish stared at me for perhaps five seconds. “Who is this? I love it! I love the blunt, unfiltered words! You will be my next star!”
She whipped out a camera. As she raised it to her face, I batted it out of her hooves. It broke on the floor.
“No! Bad pony! I will not be a part of your strange, strange enterprise. Go away.”
“Oh Valiant, what have you done?” exclaimed Rarity.
“Is he a friend of yours?” Photo Finish asked. “I must obtain a new camera, and now I know where to find him. I will buy your things to compensate. I return!” She threw some bits at Rarity and went out the door.
Rarity was dumbfounded. “I don’t know what to say. That’s the second time you’ve been mean to a major face in the fashion industry, and it resulted in a gain for me.”
“Should I come back next week and assault Sapphire Shores?”
She smiled. “Would you?”