It was dark, so very dark, and so I was cautious. I moved slowly, but the voices didn't stop calling out. I started moving faster toward them
I woke up early, and got ready for what would be a long day. I showered at a medium pace, ate a quick breakfast, and got dressed in that order. I put on a grey work shirt as was the uniform of the business. Smiling I walked over to the door, and opened it, then the smile turned to a look of shock. The line was huge. "Um... The Workshop is open." As I backed away from the door the building quickly filled, and I was nearly backed into a corner with a never ending flood of questions. I answered ones that I could hear as fast as I could for a good ten minutes before I became fed up, and had to do something.
Using my magic I amplified my voice a bit, and let out a shout. "FORM A QUEUE AND SETTLE DOWN." I then brought a box of markers, and a large pad over to write down whatever I was asked. I am a rather fast writer. For any repeat questions I just flipped back to the page they were on. I went on listening, writing, and answering for a few hours until I made my way to the kitchen for lunch. Some common questions were things like "Where is your cutie mark" the answer of course gone, and it was fake to begin with. At least ten times I was asked "Are you dating anypony?" though I wrote anyone instead. The answer "No, but probably not for long. ;)" I had to write the wink. Four times I was asked "Why did you write anyone?" Answer? I've dated non-ponies before. Gryphon girls are pretty... Anyway, lunch was a quick sandwich, and some kiwi juice.
When I was finished and returned through the mass of ponies, two gryphons, a dragon, and a few donkeys, the flood of questions began anew and in full force. By six the tide had thinned to almost none left. I answered their questions more personally because I was tired of writing, and because there were only seven left. First a very happy foal who was looking around at everything starry eyed spoke to her mom.
"Wow, mommy. They have everything. I could paint a whole murole with this."
I chuckled before responding. "Not everything, but I do have a lot of paint supplies. Ask your mom, and you can come back and paint as much as you want for two bits an hour, plus the cost of the canvases you use."
Her mom raised an eyebrow at that. "How much are the canvases, then?"
I thought for a moment. "Well, the really good ones are fifteen bits a piece, but they would be much more if you bought them yourself. I know the pony that owns the company that makes them. You would probably be more interested in the ones designed for non-oil based paints, which are three bits a piece."
"Really?" She seemed pleasantly surprised. "Why so cheap?"
"Well, because I don't really NEED more money. I only plan on making enough to keep The Workshop running."
She smiled to her daughter. "We have to go home for supper, but I'll bring you here next weekend, okay? You can paint for as long as you want. Only five frames though."
Being a foal that was of course impossible to accept. "Aw! Can't I have at least seven? I bed Daisy's mom let's her use ten!"
I laughed as they left to go home, and I overheard two colts that were inspecting the computers that I had along one wall.
"Bro, I've checked every setting on here, and I don't think these things even have wireless cards in them. Why would we come here for these?"
I moved the mouse to open a program off of the desktop. "Mostly because of this. I have game making and video editing software for anything from two D simple games to three D multi-player games, and animations to feature films. No internet, though. I got the computers made without cards. Left room for a better cooling system."
The one that I didn't startle by taking his mouse out from under him responded. "Why wouldn't you want internet on them?"
"Because," I deadpanned. "I know what folks like to do on the internet... not to mention viruses, and the like. Harder to get them when you would have to code them from scratch ON these computers to get them on these computers. I don't really know how to use the Surreal engine, but I have some manuals and 'how to's downloaded to the computer. If you're willing to learn that way you guys could come here for about three bits an hour and make whatever you want."
They looked at each other and responded at the same time. "Cool." I had a feeling that I would see them again, and after a bit they left.
The three remaining were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Since most of the things were still in locked cabinets and the like they hadn't gotten into much, but were debating on what they would come by to do. Eventually they settled on "Everything until we get our cutie marks." I thought that that was a good option. They were about to leave because it was dinner time when Sweetie Belle walked up to me.
"Um, Mr. Salieri? Can you teach me how to do that thing with the fake cutie mark?"
I passed my hoof over my flank and a record appeared, then it changed to a flamingo, a purple ball, and back to normal. "Sure, if you want to be in your late twenties and still have no real cutie mark."
Her expression said it before her words. "Um... nevermind."
The three went on their merry way and I went to the kitchen to make something. Dinner was pasta with a white sauce, a small salad with a home made apricot vinaigrette, ice water, and some white chocolate fudge for dessert. I finished quickly as I always did when I ate alone.
It was about seven thirty when I heard a knock at the door, and opened it to see Spike, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack.
I gestured for them to enter. "Hey, come on in. Want anything? Pasta? Wine? A tour?"
"Ooh! Ooh! The third one! Tour!" Pinkie erupted. "Show us all the secrets of your lair."
"That sounds great, actually." Added Twilight.
Spike pointed to my mailbox. "You got a letter."
"Ah, so I do." I opened the box, and put the letter in my shirt pocket with my magic without looking at it. "Tour then?"
"Thank ya', sugarcube." Aj said as she walked in. "Sorry that Rarity and Rainbow couldn't be here. Rarity is busy today with some crazy job, and RD is... well ah don't rightly know where she is, but we couldn't find her."
I shrugged. "Probably busy."
Fluttershy didn't really say anything, but she seemed happy to be there.
I led them from the front room to the kitchen first. "First stop, kitchen. Three ovens with a total of fifteen stove top burners, three sinks, wrap around counter on three sides of the room, an island in the middle, all with metal cutting surface tops, and a great big refrigerator for all of the food that would go bad in the cabinets."
Pinkie was staring at the ovens with her face only a few inches from the middle one. "I could make three cakes at once here, and still have burners to make caramel on." She seemed rather happy, but we had to keep going.
Next stop was the paint room. "Paints, canvases, inks, and pretty much everything needed for any kind of painting, or calligraphy." It didn't really interest anypony all that much.
I kept on at my slow but steady pace toward the main workshop. "This is my favorite room, where I have most of the tools. A lathe, two computers which are probably going to be moved soon, some statue making supplies," I paused for breath, "some hammers, nails, everything needed to make fifty pocket watches, and fifty regular watches, drills, screw drivers, screws, saws, other carpentry things, some things to make simple robots, and some extension chords."
Spike immediately took a few steps toward the computers. "Oh, have you read any of the Batmare web series? It's getting really interesting."
"Can't on those computers." I shook my head. "No internet allowed on the work computers."
He stopped in his tracks. "I guess that makes sense."
Aj chimed in next. "That's right smart of ya'." She looked around the room a bit. "I reckon you could spend days in here, and still never make the same thing twice."
Twilight responded before I could. "Technically you could go on forever without making the same thing twice with any amount of supplies. You could spend all of your time on one thing, or do different things with each item, or since it's impossible for any two things to be exactly the same-"
Spike interrupted her. "Twilight. You're doing it again."
She blushed. "Oh, right. Made my point, don't need to keep making it."
I chortled at that. "It's fine. I liked hearing about the endless ways that you could make endless amounts of things. Science can be fun, but what's more fun is upstairs." I began leading them toward my living quarters. The top of the stairs opened up to my main living area with a table and chairs to one side, and the entertainment area opposite that. A coffee table in the front, and a projector hooked up behind and above the large couch which was flanked by two big comfy chairs. "Down the hall on the right is the bathroom, on the left is my bedroom, and straight forward is a closet." I took the letter out of my pocket placing it on the coffee table, and put my work shirt on the back of one of the table chairs, and sat on the couch.
Fluttershy was looking at the letter wide eyed, and said something that I couldn't quite hear.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" I held a hoof up to my ear to help me pick up the sound.
She repeated herself a bit louder. "I, uh... think you should open it. It's from a doctor, and says urgent."
Since I hadn't payed attention to it I hadn't noticed the big red letters that read 'URGENT!' or that it was from my family doctor. I opened it, looked at it, and then everything is sort of a blur, because next thing that I remembered we were all on the couch, and I was sobbing into Twilight's shoulder while Fluttershy and Applejack were hugging me from behind, Pinkie was gently brushing my mane, and Spike was resting a claw on my knee.
"I..." I managed between sobs after I calmed down. "I think I just need to be alone for a bit to sort out my thoughts, okay?"
Twilight gave a sad smile and a nod, and they all let go slowly. After seeing them out the door I made my way back upstairs in a bit of a haze, and I began to write. I always write when I can't think of what else to do, and I need to find the right among all the wrong. Whenever I need to find out if it's all worth it. I am very glad that Ponyville brought me so much good before all of the bad. It's almost sunrise, so I'll stop writing for now.
Dear Journal... I don't know what I'll do if my parents die from this. I... I just don't know.