//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Anger is ...? 
// Story: Short Fuse 
// by Hyfnae 
//------------------------------//

Friendship is magic, but is friendship an emotion or a force, a feeling towards one another; a disposition if you will. Is there really magic at work when ponies feel the things they feel? It is hypothesized that exterior manifestations due to persistent dominant and extreme emotions might originate from magic, yet due to the rare occurrence there is no data. ~Equestrian Behavioral study documentation

Chapter 7: Anger is ...?

Fuse and Basher went both their part ways, neither of them unhappy with the results that came from the afternoon’s work. Fuse had learned the virtue of patience so he wouldn’t explode when put under pressure or stress. Basher himself wasn’t making as big a steps as Fuse was making, but this very afternoon he would set another step in the right direction.

Basher made his way to Twilight’s library and knocked on the door. A surprised Twilight Sparkle opened the door and gestured Basher in. “You do know we don’t close for another hour, do you?” she asked with a slight of jest in her voice and a smile indicating she was amused by Basher’s somewhat awkward behavior.

“Oh,” was all Basher had to say in response to Twilight’s jest and he quickly made his way in. “So, I am here to ask you once more for a favor Princess Twilight,” Basher formally said.

“Stop calling me princess all the time mister Basher, you can just call me Twilight like everypony else in town,” she said before turning to the matter at hand: “So, what can I do for you mister Basher? I guess it has something to do with Fuse?”

“Well, yes, sort of. You were planning on letting a grad student from the school come in to study Fuse’s appearance and how he came to look like he did due to his anger. Instead I want to request that particular spot,” Basher asked politely.

Twilights face changed a bit and Basher immediately knew he knew it wasn’t just as easy as that. He sighed and waited for twilight’s explanation.

“Mister Basher, however I’d normally say yes we can’t rule out the workings of magical forces here. But what we can do is let a pony come from the school to check if there are any active magical weavings. Unfortunately I cannot check this myself, there is currently only one pony who is able to check for magical weaves without needing complex machinery and I haven’t been able to read into the subject myself yet,” twilight explained.

Basher’s ears flapped a little. He didn’t have the slightest idea what magical weaves or any of the mumbo-jumbo Twilight just laid on his plate explained. “Okay miss Twilight, if you could give me an explanation in earth pony, that would be very pleasant,” he said and gave Twilight a bit of a flat stare.

“Oh yes, I’m sorry, usually my students tend to be unicorns and thus able to comprehend the workings of magic, my apologies. What it boils down to is the following; before I can possibly assign Fuse to you, we need to check if there is magic present. There is a pony who can do this on the spot so he doesn’t have to go to Canterlot to get hooked up to a lot of machines otherwise needed to do this,” Twilight said.

Basher’s face cleared immediately. “See, now that’s language I can understand,” he said and smiled before turning more serious again. “So as I see it now, it’s possible for an earth pony to invoke a magical effect by a very dominant emotion, or does some form of magic invoke this emotion?”

Twilight stared blankly towards Basher except for some blinks. “You know, psychology isn’t really my thing mister Basher, magic is. And even on the subject of magic there is much I don’t know or ever will know,” Twilight said showing herself not to be the near omnipotent all-knowing princess some mistook her for.

“Anyways, when do you expect to have Fuse examined? There is a lot that needs to be done before Fuse will be on the right track, even though he now did learn to be patient,” Basher said somewhat proudly towards the progress Fuse was making for himself.

Twilight hummed softly thereby acknowledging the progress. “The pony who will check for magical weavings will come Tomorrow afternoon, her name is Zaflore,” she said and paused for a little. “Mister Basher, I would be grateful if you could give me some more details on Fuse’s progress.”

While Basher explained everything to Twilight which took a pretty long time Fuse headed home. He felt content until he was inside and sat on what had to pass for a sofa. He looked around and before long the good feeling he had was replaced by something else Fuse couldn’t identify. Usually he’d get angry at his appalling living conditions but Fuse simply couldn’t get angry about that at this time.

Fuse felt sad, desolate if you will. All his life he was devoted to this one emotion, although one could argue if it was devotion rather than Fuse simply being the slave of the raging flame of anger perpetually burning inside him.

“I need to do something about this, this place is atrocious,” he said to no one but himself. Of course he didn’t say it to someone else since he was the only one present in his house. “I need to get out of here,” he followed up and at that point he did get a little angry.

“Of course I can’t go anywhere because I was such an idiot and fought pretty much everywhere in town. No wonder they all kicked me out, who would possibly want to deal with somepony like me? Except for Basher that is.” He continued, it was as if he barely realized he was talking out loud. It was a painful reflection he had made but a necessary one.

“I could try my luck to go to an inn, talk to the bartender myself (…) oh blast, I don’t have any bits and I can’t possibly get a job...” he said and stopped mid-sentence. Fuse used to be reasonably good at guarding stuff and fending off thugs simply because the red before his eyes would give him the edge. “Fear the mad pony more than any other,” he quoted from a book he had long since forgotten the title from.

“What am I supposed to do now, I studied nothing, all I had was anger that seared my mind. All I can do now is try to find what I am supposed to do before I die from hunger,” Fuse said resentfully. “Oh look at me, I am talking to myself, why am I even saying these things out loud, it’s not like I’m getting any kind of answer,”

Fuse sighed and laid down on the sofa. Now it was despair that filled his feelings. “At least I’m calm,” he said which numbed the despair significantly and even made him feel slightly good about himself again. Hopeful if you will. Knowing there might be a light at the end of the tunnel was very consoling for him. “Red is the color of fury, the color of fire, the color of danger (…) is that what I am? A dangerous fury of eternal anger?” no answer again, not that Fuse suddenly expected it but he did find it a bummer nopony talked back.

Then there was naught but silence and Fuse staring blankly towards the ceiling. Unmoving and stained as it was it mesmerized Fuse. The conversation he was having with himself ceased and left nothing but a whirlwind of thoughts searing Fuse’s brain. Minutes passed as fuse let the mind roam freely.

The pictures forming in Fuse's mind never fully materialized and took the weirdest shapes even he couldn't describe himself but faded again before he could make any sense of them. The turmoil inside his head wouldn't end for hours yet until sleep slowly set in, unnoticed Fuse drifted off to sleep until the break of dawn.

Basher went to Fuse's place but when he looked inside he saw the red pony laying on the sofa, just staring blankly towards the ceiling. “Fuse being at ease? I'm not sure if this is going the way it's supposed to, but I guess I should leave him to process everything and see how he is doing in the morning,” Basher thought and right at that moment he yawned soundlessly. He decided it would be a good idea for him to go to bed as well since the day was just as straining on him as it was for Fuse.

Vague dreams that neither of the two tormented souls would have that night would be remembered and in the morning when the sun rose, Fuse did as well. With a grunt and the vertebrates in his back cracking loudly Fuse say up straight. “Ughh, what a night,” he muttered softly as he looked outside. To his surprise it wasn't noon yet, it was just early in the morning. “Basher will most likely be here any minute,” he grunted and tried to Fashion some breakfast.

Basher's night wasn't any more pleasant and then dawn cracked an orange hue over the night's sky announcing another sunny day in Ponyville Basher got out of his bed. His mane was a complete mess and his eyes were bloodshot red. “Today that Zaflore thing comes to ponyville to study on Fuse, I'd better go kick that no good twat out of his bed,” Basher said resentfully to himself as he headed out without breakfast.

Fuse smelled his milk to prepare his breakfast with, the same milk that gave him the runs two days ago. Now the smell that rose from the milk made Fuse gag and he decided this wasn't suitable for consumption anymore. It wasn't fit for consumption two days ago for any sane pony but beggars can't be choosers Fuse thought and with the very limited amount of income he had he had to make ends meet somehow, even if that meant spending a day on the crapper and cursing all that was breathing, or not breathing for that matter.

Fuse sighed deeply and figured he'd go over to Basher and see if he could bum some food from him, he had to eat something since he already skipped dinner last night due to the turmoil in his head. He headed outside and before he could step outside he saw Basher standing there with his hoof ready to knock on the door.

For a moment they were both standing there shell-shocked. Basher didn't expect Fuse to be awake for at least three hours and Fuse didn't expect Basher so early since they didn't make any real appointments. “Good morning,” Basher said with a voice small and unfitting for his large stature. Fuse nodded and wished Basher a good morning as well.

“I didn't expect you were awake yet Fuse,” he finally said after a couple more moments of silence.

“And I didn't expect you at my door at this hour yet,” Fuse replied in kind which made them both chuckle a little. “Anyways, to what do I owe your visit?”

Basher's foul mood due to the short night's sleep vanished instantly when he saw Fuse actually being at ease for once. “Well, today we're going to set a new step and perhaps you get some answers about your appearance,” Basher said optimistically.

Fuse's face turned sour within a few seconds and he growled a little. “Yea right, and the sun sets in the north right?” he replies scornfully.

“It's not just a grad student that comes over, it's some kind of magical expert that doesn't need any machinery to detect magical weaves and identify it,” Basher explained calmly hoping Fuse would understand.

“She does whatnow? And does it mean we have to go to Canterlot otherwise? I guess we don't really have a choice then do we?” Fuse said still with some scorn in his voice.

“Yea, I don't know what it is she does exactly either, but the only thing she'll be doing is check if there is any magic at work. Otherwise I have gotten the opportunity to research into your appearance and emotional state rather than some random grad student,” Basher said and smiled a little, feeling exited for the journey.

“You?” Fuse asked unsettled and grunted a little. “There is no way that can go wrong,” he added sarcastically before Basher even had the opportunity to reply.

“No, nothing will go wrong. For what it's worth I decided to study psychology rather than be a deadbeat bouncer I have been up until now. Your life isn't the only one in need of improvement Fuse,” Basher replied fiercely. For a change it was him who had getting angry rather than Fuse.

“Yea right, Still, I am broke and out of food. I am hungry as can be, any ideas for that mister the psychologist?” Fuse asked and rolled his eyes. “Oi, I'm supposed to be the angry one here, so calm down.”

Basher needed but little effort to calm down and sighed. “Fine Fuse, we'll go to some inn to get some food, but you're paying me back because I'm not rich either.”

“As soon as I can find a job I will,” he replied while at the same time hoping Basher would forget about it later, but for now all Fuse wanted was to get some food in his empty belly. “Wait half a second, don't you remember I am banned from all places?” 

“Turns out we do have something to do this morning,” Basher said with a huge smile nearly splitting his face. “You can get unbanned from an inn before noon, because we're expected to be at Twilight's place.”

“She's not princess Sparkle anymore? Your dates must be getting better and better,” Fuse scornfully replied. “Anyways, perhaps we can give it a shot, or, the easy way would be just to go to the market place and buy some food. Of course there is also a third option but then a coupe of ponies might get mad at me.”

Basher rose an eyebrow and looked towards Fuse. “I hope you're not even thinking about using those sapphires as currency Fuse,” Basher said accusing. “And we're going to an inn, sooner or later you'll have to go there anyways so you might as well get it done now,”

“Yea right, make a hungry pony work for his food, nice friend you are,” Fuse said exasperated.

“Oh Celestia forbid a pony has to do something to get his food on the table, I mean, I just say 'I wish I had some food' and it magically appears on my plate,” Basher replied sarcastically and looked somewhat condescending towards Fuse.

“You've made your point Basher,” Fuse said and rolled his eyes at the obvious sarcasm. “So, how about we try the inn we've got thrown out off a couple of days ago?”

Basher thought for a second and shrugged. “I don't think it really matters but I guess you sorta liked that place, if only for the fact they had tolerated your outbursts the longest,” He said.

Compared to what Fuse had to go through with some other ponies regaining admittance to the inn seemed a breeze whereas he would have deemed it an impassable obstacle mere days ago. Relieved by the swift course of events both ponies sat down at a table which was exactly as the night they first met. The hygiene of the tables had not improved since but the tables they had smashed during the fight were replaced. Those tables were the only ones looking remotely clean shy for some spots on the top.

“Well, this went well,” Fuse stated and grinned a little as he looked around. “I can't believe that fight we had that evening would lead up to all this,” he added and sighed a little thereby ending his grin. Mixed feelings were going through Fuse, a sense of accomplishment but also the burden he was still carrying. He still looked like the monster he admittedly was, but he didn't feel like one anymore which vexed him slightly. “Do you think I'll ever look like a normal pony?”

Basher thought for some moments and shrugged a little. “I really don't know Fuse, we'll have to wait and see what the examination turns up, perhaps if it's magical it can be fixed,” Basher replied treading carefully with his words not to aggravate Fuse during his moment of conflict.

“But what if it isn't magical in origin, do I look like this for the rest of my life, regardless of how hard I work to improve myself?” Fuse asked.

Now Basher didn't know what to say to Fuse. He didn't know either what possibly could be the outcome if it wasn't magical. Not that he knew if it could be fixed if the origin was magical. “I don't know Fuse, we could go to Twilight's after breakfast. Perhaps there is something in one of her books about your... condition,” he suggested while sounding somewhat apologetic.

Basher Braced himself psychologically for a fierce tongue lashing from Fuse but instead the red pony just sighed. “I understand. We could indeed go to the library, you could get some stuff done for your studies as well since we're clearly lacking the time to do anything with Applejack today,” Fuse said.

The rest of their time waiting for food and eating they remained mostly silent. Basher was surprised by Fuse's composure, a couple of days ago he was sure to explode from such bad news. Which made Basher remember Fuse laying on his sofa staring towards the ceiling, a sight also highly unfamiliar to Fuse. What was going through Fuse's head when he laid there? What preceded and what followed that? Unfortunately Basher didn't dare to ask during dinner and leave Fuse at ease for now. Basher however intended to remind this and ask him later.

When they finished their meals and Basher paid for their stuff the two of them left. Once outside Basher remembered the question he wanted to ask still, it was burning. “Fuse, Yesterday evening when I was done at Twilight's I came over to your house,” He started innocuously.

“Oh, I fell asleep early yesterday, chances are I simply didn't hear you knock,” Fuse replied and shrugged. “Why do you mention it anyways, it was a long and exhausting day yesterday, a pony needs his rest you know?”

“Yes I know, I was tired yesterday evening as well, but the point is, you were still awake when I got to your place. I only briefly looked through the window and saw you nearly motionless with your eyes open just staring blankly towards the ceiling, I wonder what happened there,” Basher said.

Fuse growled a little. He remembered every second of that evening in great detail, the raging storm in his head and the emotions accompanied with it. “I just needed to process some things,” he said. It wasn't quite a lie but neither was it the complete truth, although in the end everything boiled down to Fuse processing stuff.

“I figured as much, but I think it would help if you could elaborate a little how that went, I mean, there is just regular processing and then there was you, nearly catatonic with an unrelenting gaze never averting or reacting to whatever,” Basher said.

“I wasn't nearly cata(...) cattat(...) whatever it is you said I was, I was just thinking a little about everything that went down, can't you go bother somepony else about processing things?” Fuse asked and huffed a little as he was getting visibly irritated.

“Come on Fuse, I'm helping you a lot, the least you can do is repay me in kind. I mean, you're like the holy grail of psychologists, the one who is able to help you to manage your anger will be legendary in the field!” Basher said revealing quite a lot of what he hoped to accomplish.

“So basically, I'm your school project?” Fuse said cynically and huffed a little more until he relented. “Fine, I first had a conversation with myself and I was everything between angry, calm, desperate and hopeful over the course of five minutes and I actually missed you for having nopony to reply to what I was saying,” Fuse said. “I finally surrendered to the train of thought and laid down on my sofa hoping something would finally materialize in my head but it was just one big incoherent storm of emotions and images that never quite took shape until the point where I fell asleep. Next thing I know was waking up feeling rather calm actually and nearly bumping into you when I wanted to come to your place.”

“That's very good Fuse! Well, at least you're feeling other things now besides anger, hatred or fury which usually rules you. It seems with your hatred to the world dissipating, your anger is making place for the other emotions you possess to manifest. It might be a bit strange at first but you'll get used to it,” Basher said reassuringly to Fuse and smiled gently.

“There is still plenty left to punch you in the nose if you keep analyzing me a bit longer,” Fuse growled and frowned towards Basher. He however didn't seem the slightest concerned with the threat Fuse tossed at him.

“Fuse, you're a horrible pony sometimes,” Basher said jokingly hoping Fuse would pick up on the joke, it was some kind of test Basher though of on the spot, to really test Fuse's patience.

“Don't try your luck buddy,” Fuse replied but the intonation was what surprised Basher the most, along with the slight grin that followed on Fuse's behalf.

Basher smiled contently and sighed in relief. This truly indicated what progress Fuse had made in such short time.

When they arrived at the library Basher kindly kindly greeted Twilight while Fuse barely managed to grunt a 'hello'. “You guys are early,” she said and shrugged. “You guys want to read something while you wait?”

“That was the plan,” Basher replied and smiled not unkindly. Fuse just went for the bookshelves and grabbed two books both related to extreme emotion and sat down at a vacant table, remaining completely silent.

Before long Basher followed his example, yet where Fuse was reading things specific to his issues Basher was reading the assigned books he needed to complete his studies. The more he read, the more he thought to understand Fuse's problems, but also with each question answered three more rose.

Fuse on the other hand seemed only annoyed that he couldn't find decent information about something next to nothing is known about and he seemed surprised about this and complained more than once about this fact which annoyed twilight a little. “Fuse, we have to let somepony from Canterlot come here because we aren't even sure if there is magic at work here, so if you can't find something you need but still want to wait here, read something else, I've got work to do as well,” She finally lectured Fuse.

This captured Basher's interest who immediately readied himself in case he needed to intervene with Fuse but fortunately Fuse just nodded, although it was accompanied with some grunting and teeth grinding.

“Stupid books, they know everything except how a pony gets to look like I do. What kind of gifted unicorns are they breeding up there in Canterlot, it's more like 'selectively gifted' unicorns,” Fuse muttered out of Twilight's earshot but Basher could enjoy the entire show and he grinned a little.

“Do you think this is funny? I'm trying to find out stuff here,” he said rather loud and grumbled.

“Take it easy Fuse, soon enough they'll know more about this and we'll have you to thank for it,” Basher said hoping to cool the angry pony down a bit. “If there was a lot known about it they wouldn't need to have somepony come over,”

“I guess you do make a valid point there, but it's still annoying since I can't find anything,” Fuse said somewhat disappointed.

Annoyed Fuse put back the books he had put his hopes on and dove right into the fiction section, when browsing the section Fuse's eyes fell on another book in an adjacent shelve. “The works of fire” it was called. Somehow this intrigued him and he started reading it.

Basher noticed Fuse's choice of books and shook his head slightly. “Fuse reading about explosives? This can never turn out to be good,” he muttered softly but then he noticed something else. Fuse wasn't smirking or having any vibe over him that would indicate any malignant plans. He looked amused and interested. “Hmm, perhaps I was wrong there,” Basher muttered just as softly correcting himself and carried on reading his own material.

An unknown amount of time passed when another pony entered the library. It was a unicorn mare with a puffy and somewhat messy mane colored purple and anthracite. Her coat was cobalt blue. Immediately Basher noticed she observed the entire room and kept her sight just a moment longer on Fuse.

When the mare walked onwards Basher saw her cutie mark, it was something he couldn't identify, a line making two ninety degree angles with arrows in it and two wavy lines emitting from it so it seemed. Whatever it was Basher figured it must have to do something with what she was here to do.

“Greetings Princess Sparkle,” The blue mare spoke formally towards Twilight who was unaware of the mare's arrival.

“Hi miss Zaflore!” Twilight responded and they both laughed a little. “How was your trip to Ponyville?”

“I never thought flying a carriage for such a small distance could get me this nauseous, I think I'll take the train back to Canterlot, flying certainly isn't my thing,” Zaflore said and chuckled softly. “Anyways, I presume I am to examine the red pony there?” she asked while pointing towards Fuse who was still fully absorbed in his book.

Twilight nodded and gestured Zaflore into another room. “Miss Zaflore, I must warn you. Mister Fuse has very little patience and is easily aggravated. So please be careful around him,” she warned Zaflore.

“Oh stop calling me miss already, we've known one another since we attended the school,” Zaflore stated and smiled a little.

“Then you stop calling me princess, I haven't changed. Well, except for these wings then, but I'm still the same pony as I always were,” Twilight said. “Anyways, Can I watch while you examine him? I'd love to see what you'll do.”

“Sure, I can even explain to you what I'm doing although I won't be able to give you all the details I'm afraid, it's rather complex and quite specialized,” Zaflore explained.

“No problem, I was meaning to read up on it anyways but I find myself to be busy more oft than not. My research is slow as is,” Twilight said somewhat disappointed but not as if she regretted the choices she had made ever since she got to Ponyville.

Zaflore nodded and headed back into the main hall of the librairy where she slowly approached Fuse who was reading. “Are you mister Short Fuse?” she asked somewhat sheepishly

“Who wants to know(...)” he started bluntly until he saw the blue mare was accompanied by Twilight. “Ah, you must be Zaflore,” he continued a lot more politely. “I am Short Fuse yes.”

Zaflore got a little nervous since she was all but used to dealing with emotional ponies. “Very well then mister Fuse, if you would please stand in the middle of the room where there is plenty of space we can start the examination,” Zaflore offered wanting to get this over as soon as possible.

Fuse reluctantly dropped the book, he was bummed he had to quit reading. “This better give me some answers, else you won't need a carriage to get back to Canterlot,” Fuse said briskly feeding off the nerves he sensed in Zaflore.

“Fuse!” Basher interjected. “Behave yourself a bit, you want answers to let miss Zaflore do her work, else you won't be needing a carriage to get to Canterlot either.”

Twilight looked a bit dissapointed towards Fuse and Zaflore, however nervous she was getting remained a calm exterior and said with a level voice: “Mister Fuse, I am aware of your anger problems, but one more outburst like that and I'll be returning to Canterlot whether I have done my work here or not.”

“Fine, I'm sorry. Old habits die hard,” Fuse replied. It somewhat passed for an apology however reluctant, forced and unmeant it sounded.

Both Twilight and Basher looked visibly impressed by Zaflore's composure and how she dealt with Fuse. Zaflore of all ponies knew knowledge is the greatest gift one can get, thus can it be used as leverage.

“Okay mister Fuse, try to stand as still as possible now, I will be casting a spell which visualizes the magical weave around you, it will look a bit strange perhaps but you won't feel a thing,” Zaflore said and shortly after that her horn lit up in a bright green color similar to her eyes.

Lines forming a three dimensional grid surrounding Fuse which startled him for a second but he did remain still as Zaflore had requested.

Twilight and Zaflore seemed to point to several places in the grid and they whispered with each other discussing what they were seeing. Finally Fuse could hear: “I don't see any strong anomalies here but there are a few I need to examine further, see that wriggle there in the grid? I think this might be magical but nothing easily solved,” Zaflore said and sighed a little when she dismissed the spell.

“What do you mean it's not easily solved?” Fuse said in a harsh voice and gritted his teeth a little.

“Well, I have just visualized the magical weave, which is usually just like you saw it, a grid of straight lines which unicorns can manipulate to create the effects they wish, these effects can be temporary or permanent, but once cast they cannot be changed, at least, they couldn't be changed until I found out how,” Zaflore started to explain.

Fuse closed his eyes half shut and looked blankly towards Zaflore. “Miss Zaflore, with all due respect, I haven't got the slightest clue what you're about,” he said calmly.

“Right, I'll try to tell you the easy way. There is nothing working in the weave itself, so no magic in the sense that we call it magic. But there is something working beneath the surface, which reminds me, I just discovered there is something beneath the known weave!” Zaflore stated enthusiastically 

“So bear with me, see if I understand what you're trying to say. You say there isn't magic at work, but there is some kind of magic at work?” Fuse asked with eyes as wide as dishes.

“Well, that's pretty much what it boils down to,” Zaflore stated and smiled a little. “But hey, you've helped me discover something entirely new nopony knew about until now,”

“Great, I am ever so glad I could help you discover something. But there is nothing you can do for me?” Fuse asked and sighed deeply.

“Not entirely, I can smooth the manifestation in the surface weave perhaps, it might take some edge off the way you look, or not, I don't know to be honest,” Zaflore said and looked uncertainly towards Twilight.

Twilight shrugged, she clearly was at a loss as well. “I was way better with the practical uses of magic, not so much the theory behind everything,” she said and looked with a neutral face towards Fuse.

“Funny how one answered question can invoke so many more, don't you think it's exiting?” Zaflore said as much to herself as to anypony.

“Exiting? Do you actually think this is exiting?” Fuse uttered in disbelief and profoundly rolled his eyes. “So I am stuck with this for years to come?” Fuse asked and then brought his hoofs to his head in sheer frustration.

“Fuse, take it easy,” Basher said with an empathic voice. He could understand completely why Fuse was frustrated, anypony would be in his position. “Just let miss Zaflore see if she can straighten out whatever she suggested should be straightened.”

“I suggested to straighten the surface weaving, but I do want to do some more examinations before I straighten it and might lose the reading I'm getting. Mister Fuse, would you be willing to come with me to Canterlot so I can hook you up to the most sensitive equipment in order to find out more about this? My spell isn't near as precise as it needs to be for this purpose,” Zaflore asked.

Fuse narrowed his eyes a little and frowned slightly. “Wasn't the purpose of you coming over here so I won't need to go to canterlot for exactly what you've just suggested?” Fuse asked somewhat sarcastically and tossed an unfriendly gaze towards Zaflore, Twilight and Basher.

“Well, Yes, But that was before I knew you were pretty much holding the key to something we didn't know yet, and we didn't know you had this key because we didn't even know of the existance,” Zaflore said cryptically.

“Start making sense for one flaming sentence, seriously, I am no scientist nor will I ever be one. Anyways, I guess you'll refuse to straighten the weaving if I refuse, right?” Fuse said in anticipation since he was pretty much expecting the worse, which he always got in his perspective.

“No, if you really insist I will remove the manifestation I saw, but it would be a shame the secret you hold the key to would be lost once again,” Zaflore said in a neutral voice and looked somewhat anxiously towards Twilight.

Fuse remained silent while he was contemplating his options. Basher, Twilight and Zaflore all three looked at him with different levels of anticipation all with different reasons. “You know what, I've looked like this for so long and since you were willing to change me anyways, even though it might have costed you one of the biggest discoveries ever, I'll come to Canterlot so you can check me out further,” Fuse stated politely and even attempted to smile towards Zaflore, which somewhat resembled a snarl which unsettles Zaflore at first.

Basher immediately addressed Zaflore: “he's still learning to smile, but trust me, that had to pass for a smile.”

Zaflore immediately calmed down and smiled now herself. “Phew, for a second there I thought you were mad at me Mister Fuse,”

“Anyways, when will you be going back to Canterlot? I can't come right away, there is something else I need to do before I can come to Canterlot for Celestia knows how long,” Fuse said sounding adamant.

“I can stay here for a week, I just finished a big project anyways and wanted to take some vacancy, so I might as well spend it here with Twilight, if she is willing to let me stay here, else I'll have to look for another place to sleep,” Zaflore said and smiled a little.

“Of course you may stay Zaflore, Perhaps I can even consult you on some of my personal work, but of course I won't be too much of a bother while you enjoy your free time,” Twilight said and smiled.

“Mister Fuse, we will see each other again, good luck with whatever you need to do,” Zaflore said.

“I guess we should be going now Basher, give those two some time to reminisce since they seem to know each other,” Fuse said with a voice similar to somepony who lost all fight in him.

“I don't know what I've gotten myself into now. What lays ahead of me in Canterlot in only a week and will I be able to finish my task here in Ponyville before the week is over? So many questions. Every time one gets answered more rise and I can't even begin to imagine what more will come once I finish my task here in Ponyville. Also, on a lighter note, Fireworks are very interesting, I should definitely read more about those!” ~Short Fuse Journal en