Son of Invention

by Zman537

Books and Cloth

“I... I’m not quite sure how to feel about this.” I stood near a... I hesitate to say ‘building’ as it was really just a fancy hollowed out tree that was somehow still alive. I was near a structure that had a sign embedded in the wood next to the entryway that declared it as the Golden Oaks Public Library. I sighed and took off my hat before I rubbed my temples with my right hand. “This very sight would make any building safety inspector cringe at the sheer impossibility, and every respectable librarian back on earth either laugh at the irony, or faint alongside the inspectors.”

Thankfully for me, it also was not barred shut like every other building in town. I almost knocked on the door a few times to announce my presence before realizing that this was the public library, I.E. a town’s library. Ergo, knocking not needed dumbdumb, just walk inside already.

That, and since when does a thief ever knock politely let alone at all? It’s just silly.

I pushed open the door and walked into the building to find myself surrounded by bookshelves that were filled to the brim. “Impressive.” I walked over to one of the shelves and started to browse through the selection that was available. “Fictional Adventure, Fiction Romance, Fiction Mystery... ah, Nonfiction. Now let’s see...” I pulled a larger tome with a green spine from the shelf and looked at the cover. “Geography of Equestria and The World. This will be helpful, but lets see if we can find some history first, and maps later.”

I walked around for another five minutes pulling various books from the shelves. While my original intent of this trip was supplies, there’s only so much one man can lift in the first place and the materials I needed to fix the ship were heavy on their own let alone together. Knowledge on how the world is currently in terms of political relations and the status of social and scientific development would have to do for now. I grabbed a few more books from the shelves, a History book of Equestria, a log of all the scientific progress over the past seven hundred years and just for a laugh, a How To book on social etiquette. The rest of my acquisitions were a couple fictional books for Victoria and Boris. While more of one of Victoria’s hobbies, I’m sure the both of them would like a good book to pass the time.

Seeing the sizable stack of books that now rested on the small table in the center of the room, I nodded a little to myself before I suddenly heard a small clinking and a solid thud come from behind me. I quickly drew my blade and spun around only to find nothing that wasn’t in the room before. “What the...” I blinked a few times before I looked down and saw a small bit laying on the floor on top of another book with a black cover. “Okay, that wasn’t there before.”

I sheathed my blade and kneeled down to look at the two new items. The bit had looked ordinary at first, but was emblazoned by not the sisters as some bits were, but instead had a small seesaw with the atomic symbol for gold balanced perfectly above it. The book looked natural at first, but I could feel something that was off about it. My suspicions were confirmed two fold when my blade started reacting to both the moment I picked them up. There was a faint whisper through the air as the coin, then book, glowed briefly.

I am Auric Fulcrum, the light, the candle, the wielder of Alchemy!  Reborn by the Golden Sun, I punish the wicked, no matter their form!  You who would bring back balance and peace, I call friends to my cause!

I am Dullahan, the darkness, the shadow, the elemental wraith.  They that would stand against the darkness that lurks in the hearts of us all, I call my allies!

I felt a small twitch in my lips grow into a smirk as I put the book along with the others and pocketed the coin. Your call I would answer in kind Fulcrum and Dullahan, but I am just a mortal inventor, unable to leave his world. When I have my machines operational once more, I will send a gift that will repay you for your aid in my stead. To you both, from I, the humble creator Invention. But until they are needed, the gifts you have sent me will remain on my person. I chuckled a few times to myself before rubbing the back of my head. In simpler words, I’ll get back to you when I can. I’m a little busy at the moment.

I looked around the library one more time and noticed a stairwell off to the side that was next to a set of doors. I calmly walked up the steps and saw that it lead to a small living area. I could point out a bedroom, washroom, and a small closet. I also noticed a small purple dragon sleeping in the master bedroom while standing. He was leaning against a mop and snoring in the peaceful land of dreams. I chuckled a little to myself quietly before moving a little closer. “Wow, whoever runs this place must have given the poor guy quite a job to do. He’s passed out completely from the sheer exhaustion.” I carefully picked him up by the spines on head and tail and moved the slumbering drake onto the bed, where he promptly curled into a ball.

I moved to the door and looked back for a moment before grinning. “I’d ask for some dragon fire, but I can come back another time for that.” I headed downstairs and rummaged through the librarian’s desk before finding some quills, ink, and parchment. I scrawled a quick note and left it on the desk before heading out the door and back towards the edge of town. “Hmmm.... now that it crosses my mind. I wonder what Boris is up to. I hope he isn’t giving Steve and Ed too much trouble.”

I was about halfway through the town when a glint off in the distance caught my eye. “Hmm?” I looked at where the refracted light had come from and saw a large carousel like building in the distance. “That’s odd. I would have assumed that something like carousels would have been seen as morbid to an equine race considering the original use as a fair ride. This is quite peculiar.”

I changed my course to head for the building and vaguely noted that there was a train headed for the town from Canterlot’s general direction. I was a little suspicious, but I eventually decided it wasn’t cause for worry. If whoever was on the train did turn out to be after me, I could always just leave the town and head home the same way I came. If the guards have degraded that badly at combat, then I doubt that a small train of ponies vying for a reward to line their pockets will be a challenge.

The train came to a halt and Twilight exited from the car with her friends. Rainbow finally was awake enough to walk, and the effects of the magic had worn away, allowing her to fly to a modem of success for the time being. The rest of her friends were tired not from the trip, but from the combination of her own rambling and list making, combined with the constant attempts at figuring out how to feel about the current events.

Twilight could only sigh and get lost in her own thoughts. Invention was someone that defied almost everything she knew. Every time she thought back to that moment of when her magic touched him, it was like she was looking with her eyes closed at absolutely nothing. As the train departed, she looked back at her friends tiredly. “Alright, lets just head home and hope that the princesses send word if they find out anything.” She turned back around only to find the town was completely desolate of any signs of life. “What it the...? What is going on?”

Pinkie started twitching as she exited the car, causing her left hind leg to buck out for a moment and then her ears to flop. “Ooo! That’s a new one.”

All of them looked at her for a moment before looking back at the town. Applejack frowned a little as she adjusted her hat. “Do ya think that Invention feller is here?”

Twilight looked back at the group. “There’s the distinct possibility. Let's all check our homes one at a time. We’ll head for the library first, then Carousel Boutique, Sugarcube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres, and then Fluttershy’s Cottage. I don’t think he can get to Rainbow’s house without the use of his ship let alone walk on the clouds, so we can forgo looking there.”

Every one of her friends nodded in agreement before they started their charge for the library. If they could read each other’s minds, they’d all feel the worry each of them had for their homes and families.

I entered the carousel shaped building and a small bell rang overhead. I only gave it a passing glance before I looked at the rest of the building’s interior. To my surprise it looked like a boutique from back on earth had been retrograded to fit ponies and brought to this world. I had a small niggling feeling crawling in the back of my mind as I started finding more modern equipment and the like in the building as I continued exploring.

It was one thing when I saw the steam engines in this world. Seeing as I helped build the blueprints. However, having complex electronic equipment such as a high-power sewing machine and an electrical oven that I didn’t make plans for were starting to ring some alarm bells. “How in the world did they manage to make a perfect copy of the designs back on earth? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

I shook my head and brought my focus back to the here and now. I was still trespassing in a home/business, and I doubted that the owner would like to find me here. I moved back into the main work floor and looked at everything in the room. I spotted a few bolts of fabric and looked back at the sewing machine and then at the books I was carrying. “Time to see if those sewing lessons Robin gave me will pay off.”

It only took a couple minutes, but I had managed to make myself a small satchel out of a dull brown fabric. It probably wouldn’t be able to hold any great amount of items in it, but it was more than enough to hold the books and have room to spare. “There, now onto my more pressing business.” I turned to the large trunk and took off my hat. I fished around inside as I knelt down and pulled out a small set of metal prongs with a small grin.

“Nothing I invented could ever beat a good old fashioned lock pick. Less mess, more profit.”

Twilight and her friends all burst into the building and looked around. “He’s not here now,” she trotted over to some of the shelves and noticed some of the books missing, “but I have a feeling he was.” She looked at her friends and pointed to the shelves. “See if you can find any more missing books, I’m going to check on Spike.”

The five ponies all began their respective searches as Twilight ran up the stairs. When she reached the upper floors, she began searching every room she could until she reached her bedroom. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw her number one assistant asleep on her bed. The mop and bucket that were still on the floor would need an explanation as to why they were there, but that could wait. Twilight trotted up to the drake and slowly started to nudge his sleeping form. “Spike. Spike, wake up.”

The young dragon yawned and slowly sat up. “Huh, wha?” He blearily looked around until he noticed that Twilight was right in front of him. With a shout of surprise, Spike jumped back away from the lavender unicorn. “Gah!” He landed back on his back before climbing up to a standing position and rambling. “Hi Twilight! I totally wasn’t sleeping on the job. Nope, just cleaning the library, just like you wanted for when you got back! No sleeping whatsoever!”

Twilight cut off any further rambling when she picked up Spike in her magic and brought him into a hug. “I don’t really care about any of that right now Spike. I do need to ask you something though.” She loosened her hold on the drake before looking him in the eye. “Spike, did a tall bipedal looking creature wearing a brown suit come in here?”

Spike looked at Twilight like she had grown a second head. “Uh... no? I don’t think so at least.” Spike put a claw on his chin and tapped a few times while thinking. “Everything was going pretty normal when I started to mop the room. Nopony came into the library either. I thought It’d be fine to take a small break and I was leaning against the mop for a moment before I uh... yeah.” Spike’s sudden realization that he’d managed to fall asleep standing made a sheepish grin and blush cross his face.

Twilight would have inquired more when she heard Rarity calling from downstairs. “Twilight! We found something!” Rushing downstairs and meeting her friends in the center of the room, Twilight looked over at Rarity as a note levitated next to her friend. “It seems you were right about Invention being here.”

Twilight took the note from Rarity’s magic and began to read. “To whoever owns the library, I am sorry but I am in need of some of your tomes and the knowledge they contain. If I am able, I will try and return the tomes and smaller literature that I have taken when they are no longer needed. Inv.” Twilight pulled her head back when she read what was written next. She looked up at her friends before glancing back at the letter and continued reading. “P.S. Don’t work the drake so hard. I found him sleeping on a mop ready to fall on his face.”

Rainbow was chuckling a little at the last bit of the letter as she finished reading over Twilight’s shoulder. She looked over at Spike as he came down the stairs before her laughs got a little harder. “You fell asleep on a mop?”

Spike grumbled something but it was overwritten by Twilight’s more authoritative retort. “That’s aside the point Rainbow. If Invention left this behind recently, than he couldn’t have gotten far. He left in that ship of his not that long before we got on the train home.” She frowned and rubbed her chin. “But if he arrived earlier than he’d already be long gone by now...”

Rainbow frowned and growled as she started hovering near the door. “Then what are we waiting for!? If there’s a chance he’s still in town we need to catch him!”

Twilight nodded. “Right. Everypony, spread out and find whatever is causing the townsfolk to hide.” All six of them charged out of the library and started to spread out through the streets and alleys of Ponyville.

Spike just blinked a few times before sighing and heading back upstairs. “Left behind. AGAIN!” He trudged up to his room and climbed into the basket he normally took catnaps in. “If you need me world, I’ll be in the land of ice cream and rubies.”

Scootaloo was looking around at the top of a hill as Applebloom laid down next to her dragging circles in the dirt. “Come on... it’s got to be around here somewhere.”

Sweetie was laying in the wagon and sighed as she stared up at the sky. “This isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.”

Applebloom rolled her eyes as Scootaloo reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a pair of binoculars. “It wouldn’t be this dull if somepony would just admit that she didn’t see nothin’ and we could go explorin’ like we planned.”

Scootaloo looked over at Applebloom and glared at the earth filly. “Hey! I know I saw an airship! I can’t see it right now, but it is here somewhere!”

As the two of them continued to bicker, Sweetie Belle rolled her own eyes and reclined in the wagon. She almost missed the two figures walking through the fields. She got up and looked over towards they were standing in the open and pulled out Scootaloo’s binoculars before looking over in their direction. “Hey girls.”

Applebloom was pressing her face against Scootaloo’s. “No, there, wasn’t!”

Scootaloo pressed back with a glare to match her friend’s. “Yes, there, was!”

Sweetie facehooved before looking back and shouting. “GIRLS!” The two of them stopped and looked at her. “I think I found something.” The other two came up and Sweetie gave Scootaloo back her binoculars before fishing out two more for herself and Applebloom. Once they all could see the two figures, they began to talk amongst themselves.

“What are they?”

“Ah don’t know.”

“Maybe they’re aliens!”

“I don’t think that they are.”

“Ah’m with Sweetie.”

“Should we get closer?”

“Totally!”

“No way! They could be dangerous an’ try ta hurt us!”

“Pffft. Like some lanky whatever they are could hurt us. We’d just give them a good old dose of Cutie Mark Crusader Teamwork if they even try!”

“Well Ah don’t think we should get too close still.”

Sweetie Belle got up and gasped a little as she kept looking at the figures. “Hey! They’re getting away!” She ran over to the wagon and jumped in before waving the other two. “Come on!”

Applebloom blinked a few times before shrugging and joining Sweetie Belle in the wagon. “Well if ya think it’s a good idea ta follow them, Ah can’t argue.”

Scootaloo put her helmet on and started buzzing her wings. “Let’s go!” The three of them darted off towards the mysterious figures in the distance. Surely and slowly, the gap between the two groups began to close.