(Because updating at insanely late times is how real men write their stories, Oh YEAH! - N64Fan)
Inventor leaned back in the chair in his workshop back in Ponyville with a smile on his face, Scootaloo had gone to bed for the day recently and it had left the human alone with his thoughts. after standing up to Blueblood the word had spread quickly through not only the capital but also to Rarity, who was always one to listen quickly to gossip, after hearing about the incident the fashion stylist had done two things.
First, she had told the rest of the residency of ponyville, if not through her own actions then through the words of her friends. Secondly though, she had put together an entirely new outfit for Inventor, she had always intended to but the man had always declined her offer. This was an offer she had refused to let be refused. Of course when Inventor had arrived to pick it up the additional fact of one of his arms being metal recalled a few minor adjustments but she had managed those in mere minutes and Inventor had left dressed in an entirely new outfit.
Inventor’s smile widened as he recalled the dress maker’s actions, she did indeed deserve all the praise she had received from everyone who bought her dresses. Not only had the white unicorn made the entire outfit from memory but she had even made a top hat. The madman ran his finger across the brim of the hat in deep thought as he began to ponder what invention to install into the wonderful headgear first.
As he did a spark of stray energy jumped off the hat the same color as Rarity’s magic, Inventor froze as several equations jumped into his mind and he practically jumped forward in the chair as he bent over the workstation, he set the hat to the side and frantically began scribbling down a design on the paper in front of him. After several hours of scratching away at the paper with graphite and eraser he put it to the side and began to bring down sheets of metal.
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Scootaloo knocked on the door to tell Inventor she was going to be heading out, when the man answered the door his hair was a mess yet his clothes remained perfectly set due to Rarity’s magic. It wasn’t a new occurance though, Inventor had pulled a few all nighters before the trip to Canterlot the weekend before. “Just came to tell you that I’m heading to school, hope you finish whatever you’re working on.”
“Alright Scoots, be nice and don’t follow my example.” Inventor said with sad smile at the pegasus, he knew he wasn’t the best role model but he always tried. “Try and solve things peaceably before you get angry.” the orange pegasus nodded and left, he had been telling her the same thing since his run-in with the two bullies from school and Scootaloo had taken the ideology to heart.
Scootaloo was heading towards the school and had just closed her eyes for a blink when a flash of unicorn magic teleported her away randomly, when she opened her eyes she was trapped in a purple prison and a blue mare was sitting just outside clutching her head and crying. “I can’t control my magic, ugh why is this happening?”
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The day ticked by for Inventor as he worked on the odd blueprint that sat in front of him, occasionally he would shake his head and erase parts of the design to replace them with others. Eventually the blueprint was complete and Inventor put his dress clothes to the side, wearing an undershirt and his old pair of pants the madman got to work on the device.
Several hours later as Inventor finished the machine he smiled, a small ring like object sat in front of the man and he picked it up, turning it carefully under the light the human examined the length of the object multiple times looking for flaws. It looked like a ring made of copper with a steel on the inside. With a glance at the clock the man’s smile dropped and his eyebrow raised. “Scoots should have been home at least an hour ago, where has she gone?” Inventor said to no one in particular.
With a quick change of clothes and a newly made ring Inventor left to go check the farm and Rarity’s boutique for the orange pegasus, as he left the house he noticed the two mares heading in his direction already. “That’s not a good sign...” Inventor said to himself as he locked the house and headed off toward the two approaching mares.
“I don’t suppose you two are coming to tell me that your sisters have my daughter over for a party...” Inventor asked, when a negative was answered by both older sister’s Inventor held up his pointer finger, “One second.” Inventor quickly entered his house again and came out with a compass-looking device. “This should pick up on the tracker that I made for her.” Both sisters looked at the man questioningly, “Don’t give me that look, she agreed to it as well you know, It’s not like I’m spying on her or anything.”
The trio of one man and two mares approached the everfree forest with the odd device in Inventor’s hand wobbling back and forth slightly while still managing to give advice about the correct way to go. As they entered the forest the device leveled and the arrow pointed straight ahead. “There we go, wonderful place this forest, somehow manages to block magical interference. I really need to figure out how it does that. I wonder if Zecora would know, I do have a meeting planned with her tomorrow.”
The man paused and looked at his traveling companions who were both busy paying attention to the trees that were on either side of the trio, “Ah dunno Inventor, this place seems like the last thing ah would want to get info on.” Applejack said as she looked back at the human before immediately turning her gaze once more to the trees on the left side of them.
Rarity, for her part, was managing to keep herself composed as they walked through the forest though her gaze was also focused on the dark treeline to the right. “Indeed, this place is absolutely horrid dear, so rampant and uncivilized, I don’t think I will ever understand why Zecora leaves in this place, or for that matter, why Fluttershy lives so close to it.”
Inventor was quiet for a moment as they walked on before he began to sing a soft melody that both Rarity and AJ had to strain their ears to hear.
“Into the forest, long lost love professed upon the hearts of star-crossed lovers blest.
A few more souls have met their rest.
Do not fear the evil that lives in the trees at the sides of the path,
it misses the light that it once had.”
Sang the man under his breath,
“To her smile the beauty that caused me to sway,
To her desires I could never answer nay.
I miss her as the days run by and my time draws near,
yet my courage is for truth that death is nothing to fear.”
The two mares on either side of him began to relax slightly at the oddly comforting melody and the walked on, in the distance Inventor spotted a flash of purple light that broke him from his song. Rarity and AJ looked at him wondering why he had stopped when he suddenly took off running.
The two clambered after him with Rarity pulling up the rear, upon breaking through the line of bushes that blocked the view Inventor came to an abrupt stop as he took in the situation almost causing the apple farmer to run into him. In the clearing ahead of them there was a blue unicorn mare crying as she curled up in a ball and behind her were three cages, containing Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.
Inventor was about to run into the clearing and attack the unicorn when he caught Scootaloo’s eye, she looked at him with worry, not for herself, but for the unicorn that lay curled in a ball. “Don’t hurt her, she’s just confused. I think her magic is messing with her head or something, she says she can’t control it.” The orange pegasus blurted out.
Inventor glanced once more at the unicorn who had raised her head to see who the new arrivals were, at the sight of the human the unicorn began to try and back away in vain as she couldn’t get enough force into her hooves to actually move anywhere. As she sat up Inventor noticed that she was suffering from malnutrition. Memories of his first meeting with Scootaloo sprang to mind.
Inventor cautiously approached the unicorn as worry grew on her face, “Don’t come any closer, I have a lot of magically power right now and I’m not entirely sure I can guarantee you’ll live.” The blue mare called to the creature that was advancing on his location.
Inventor continued his approach until he was directly in front of the scared unicorn, “Would you like me to lock down your magic, at least until you can get it back under control?” Inventor asked, there was a pause while the mare processed what he had just said then she nodded. With a nod of his own in return Inventor took the ring off his middle finger and placed it carefully on the unicorn’s horn.
For a moment nothing happened, then a pulse of blue magic echoed around the clearing, Inventor took the full force of the blow and he bent over on his knee. After everyone recovered it was revealed that a few things had happened. First, the mare was sleeping soundly on the ground at Inventor’s feet. Secondly, The Cutie Mark Crusaders were on the ground, the cages having vanished in the pulse of energy. Thirdly, magic static sparks were dancing across the length of the Inventor’s fake arm.
There was silence for a moment before the silence was broken by the human, “KNEW IT!” He yelled triumphantly and turned to face Rarity, “You see, magic is kept in two separate yet similar states in a unicorn’s horn. First, there is the raw magic that covers all basic magic usage such as levitation and a few other magical areas. The other is refined magic, it is what is used for more advanced magic. Now the thing about both of these forms of magic is that they leave behind a residue when they are used. A highly unstable residue.”
Inventor paused and Rarity looked at him like was insane, “Right, I’ll just talk to Twilight about it later.” The man turned back to the unicorn that lay sleeping near his feet, “Anyone know who this mare is?” he asked as he picked her up and slung her over his mechanical shoulder.
Applejack was the first to answer, “It looks like Trixie, she came into town and began boasting about all the magnificent acts that she had done, a lot of which she lied about.” The farmer said with a huff, “But, she is in really bad shape and I never was one to do something kick a dog while they’re down.”
It was quickly decided that Twilight would care for the blue mare, this decision was of course made without Twilight to vote making it unanimous. Upon arrival at the door they told the librarian the details of the events and that Inventor and the rest of her friends were going to be helping with the care as well, they had just decided that she should be under the watchful care of the only unicorn in the town known to defeat her in regards to magic.
Applejack and Rarity left with their younger sisters leaving Scootaloo and Inventor at the library with Twilight, Inventor was quick to begin his explanation of his anti-magic ring. “So you see, because of this unstable residue if too much magic is cast to quickly the buildup will cause a chain reaction, like how if you turn the lights off and on really fast a bulb blows out.”
Inventor paused and looked to Twilight who seemed riveted by the human’s discovery on magic, “So what my ring does is it reverts the residue left on a unicorn’s horn into an opposite charge meaning that it binds the magic and subdues it rather than increasing it to rampant levels.”
Twilight asked a few questions in regards to how he had found the discovery and had Spike write it down in a letter for the princess, after a few more questions for the inquisitive unicorn Inventor and Scootaloo began to head back home, “Adventure every day huh Scoots?
the man said as they walked along.
“Always, Dad. Always.” The orange pegasus replied, “Dad,” Scootaloo paused, unsure whether to continue the conversation or not. Eventually she did “Did you have a family before you came here?”
“Yes, I did.”
“So you just left them behind when you came here?”
“No,”
“So then, they had moved on to the next life right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you ever miss them?” As the orange pegasus asked the question the man’s eyes drifted up to the stars above them, he looked back at Scootaloo with tears in his eyes. The question was never answered verbally but Scootaloo saw the longing in his eyes when he had looked at her.
“And you?” Inventor asked, “What ever happened to your parents?”
Scootaloo sighed, “From what I heard from Miss Caretaker they just left me behind and ran away.” the orange pegasus turned to see what Inventor’s response was to this, to her surprise a smile was splayed across his face.
“Joke’s on them, I adopted the best filly ever.” The orange pegasus returned the smile and the two of them soon arrived back at the house. They each went off to their separate rooms to sleep for the night and they both drifted off, Scootaloo to the music from the music box that still sat on the bed table, and Inventor to the thoughts that danced through his head.
The morning of the next day went by without much of a hitch, Inventor walked Scootaloo to school again to make sure she got there without much of an issue then returned back to the home for a few minutes before deciding to go see the librarian down the lane and ask in on the random pony they had brought in.
Upon arrival a groggy Spike answered the door and ushered Inventor inside, Inventor sat down and watched as the sleepy dragon began to make breakfast. Food was one of the few areas that Inventor had no experience in and, no matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to cook anything correctly. It was one of his own major downfalls that drove him to insanity, not that he wasn’t already there of course.
So as Inventor sat there he admired the dragon’s adeptness with cooking food, perfectly browned hashbrowns and sunny side up eggs of the perfect consistency. “You are, without a doubt, the best dragon cook I have ever met Spike.” Inventor said as he moved some of the breakfast onto his own plate.
“I’m the only dragon you’ve ever met Inventor,” Spike quickly responded, Inventor tapped the side of his nose before digging into the food in front of him. Spike served up a slightly smaller helping before he too started his own breakfast. A few minutes later Twilight joined the group and they all silently enjoyed the breakfast made by the dragon.
After they finished Twilight levitated a napkin and wiped her face before speaking to Inventor, “So, what brings the madman with a mysterious past to my house today?” the lavender unicorn asked.
“Well, first I wanted to ask you about how our, how shall we say, indisposed friend is doing since the rather daring escapades from last night.” Inventor asked as he took seconds from the eggs in front of him. “Also, I was wondering if you got any response from the princess about the letter you sent in regards to the magical theory I cooked up.”
“Well, in regards to Trixie her health seems to be improving, she refuses to wake up but that’s probably out of exhaustion rather than any threatening mental condition, I’ll be casting a spell later today to do a check on her brain waves and make sure that she hasn’t fallen into a coma or anything.” The Twilight unicorn said as Spike walked sleepily over and took Twilight’s empty plate to the sink.
“As for the letter, the princess says that she will have a few of her trusted magicians try a few tests on the theory, if it turns out to be correct she will send you a fair sum of money for your efforts to improve the kingdom.” Twilight paused as she looked over at the man. He had stopped shoveling food into his mouth and was now paused looking at Twilight with expectation. “With the same circumstances as before obviously, she promises the discovery will not be used for any kind of weapon.” The man nodded and dug back into his food.
Inventor quickly finished his breakfast and with his thanks to the lizard and the unicorn he set out into the everfree with his destination being Zecora’s house. A few moments of time that were measured by the clockwork arm later and he had arrived at the small hut. With a light knock on the door a voice answered him, not the voice of the zebra who he expected rather a muffled ‘meep’ noise as he entered the house.
Sitting at a table was Fluttershy, despite whatever the human tried he couldn’t get the timid pegasus to come out of her shell around him so he left her to her own devices for the most part. She did the same, except his devices were a bit more real and a lot more complicated. With a slight smile to the shy pegasus Inventor sat down at the table.
“So, where’s our kind host right now?” Inventor asked almost intending it to be a rhetorical.
“I see my friend the human has arrived in my house, I assume you already know this pegasus as quiet as a mouse?” Came the reply from behind one the doors nearby, after a brief moment the zebra opened the door and walked into the room with a collection of candles. “This pegasus mare just came for some candles to buy. She was just about to leave when you came in to say hi.”
“Ah, I see,” replied Inventor as he looked back to the pegasus who sat at the table and was standing to leave. “Well, we really should get together sometime, I would love to get to know you better Fluttershy.” With a small nod in his direction the pegasus put the candles into her saddlebags and left the house.
The zebra and the man enjoyed several pointless conversations as the day passed by, they touched on the topic of the magic displacement that the Everfree seemed to have, the two foreigners passed some ideas back and forth but never actually came to settle on anything. Eventually the time came for Inventor to leave as he really didn’t feel like walking back to Ponyville in the dark.
As he left the cottage Inventor immediately began his trek home, he was walking a peaceful pace until a high pitched animal shriek rang through the air, picking up his speed Inventor found the source of the noise a little ways along the path. A yellow pegasus was holding an injured bird to her side with her wing while a pack of Timber wolves slowly surrounded the pair.
Inventor sprung into action letting instinct guide his movements, “Just like the radioactive ghouls, they act on instinct, that means that I should be able to beat their pack leader and they’ll go away.” Inventor said to himself as he approached. The first beast jumped into the air to attack the two winged animals and Inventor punched it in the jaw with a whine of the gears in his arm.
The beast hit the ground and backed away, with its tail between its legs, as it moved away Inventor spotted what he was looking for, one timber wolf was acting differently then the others, while the rest of the group approached their not so helpless prey this one walked around behind the circle looking for an opening.
With one last look to the alpha Inventor made his move by turning his back to the pack leader and feigning an attack on one of the wolf pack. Inventor heard a crack from behind him and ducked on instinct, The alpha soared above his head and Inventor launched himself from the ground with all the strength he could manage.
The mechanical fist hit solidly into the chest of the pack leader and sent him sailing into the side of a nearby tree. The leader hit the ground and backed away from the foe who had just sent him flying into a tree. As he retreated the rest of the pack left as well and Inventor turned to fluttershy who still had the bird under her wing.
“Well, we should get going don’t ya think?” Inventor said to the yellow pegasus, with a nod she lifted the bird into her mane and stood as well. The two of them continued along the trail and eventually left the forest.
“Thanks for saving me, you really were quite brave back there.” Fluttershy said.
Inventor barked a sharp laugh and looked at Fluttershy, “You were the brave one, you put your life on the line to save an innocent life, I’m just insane and decided to fight a bunch of wolves, out of the two of us you are obviously the wiser.” he said.
Fluttershy blushed a little at the compliment before heading into her home, Inventor made it back to his house as well, he messed with a few sketches that sat on the workshop table then went to bed. The nightmares that danced behind the mathematical equations seemed to be slowly disappearing in his dreams but Inventor didn’t dare to let up for the night to see just how far gone they were. The jagged claw mark that ran down his back didn't help matters, turns out that the Alpha hadn't missed completely after all. "Rarity's going to kill me for this." Inventor mumbled in his sleep