Theanim Mane sweated, his teeth clenched around the handle of a brush. At last, he finished varnishing the bottom end of a long plank of wood. Exhaling, he stepped back and wiped his brow dry. The scientist admired his hoofwork. A perfectly stable horse trough stood on stilts above a sea of sawdust and wood chippings.
“It might be... off by a few tenths of a degree, but I do believe it'll do.”
He swiped his brow again. Hoofsteps tickled his ear, and he turned aside to gaze across the crisp morning light.
Sonikah strolled up from the babbling stream, carrying two buckets stretched across her flank.
“My dear! Look!” Theanim pointed cheerfully at the trough. “Do you like it? I constructed the basin for you and your companions!” He winked. “All you need to do is pour a liberal amount into this once a week, and then you needn't make painfully laborious daily trips to the brook!”
“Mrmmfff...” Sonikah exhaled, braids flouncing as she shuffled straight past him and marched up the stone steps into the crooked, partially collapsed building. “Where there is no labor, there is no meditation.”
“But...” Theanim's eyes blinked below his goggles. “...you can get so many more prayers done without pain and unnecessary hard work!”
“Let us let Verlaxion decide what is or isn't necessary,” she muttered, entering the domain above. “And Verlaxion does not do woodwork.”
“But... it... it only makes sense...” Theanim pointed at the trough, but she was gone. He clenched his teeth... then gnashed them altogether. “Rrrnnngh...!” He flung the brush against the dewy ground. “Quarks!” Kicking at a few pebbles, he shuffled over and slumped down until he sat on the edges of the stone steps. “I should have stayed with Rainbow Dash,” he grumbled out the side of his muzzle. “I'd have built her a flame thrower to do the job in half the time!”
Silence.
“Unnnnghhh...” Theanim leaned forward, resting his face in his forelimbs. “Blessed Goddess... please help me. How can I reach out to these ponies?” His ears twitched as he moaned. “Surely you do not want us all to suffer, do you?” His tail flicked. “Or is this your way of punishing me?”
“Uhhhhhh...”
“... … …?” Theanim looked up.
A pegasus in a thick flight jacket lifted his frosted goggles and squinted down at the stallion. His mane and wingfeathers were freshly coated with flakes of frost from high altitude gliding. “Are you a supervisor of the Shoreline Trade Consortium?”
Theanim Mane muttered, “I'd much sooner be the bloated appendix of a leviathan.”
“Huh?”
Theanim sighed, then put on his best smile. “My apologies, dear sir.” Brushing himself off, he stood up straight and adjusted his goggles. “I am Professor Theanim Mane of the Ninety-Seventh Rohbredden Scientific Order.”
“Oh. Uhh... Nifty!”
“How might I be of service to you?”
“Uhm...” The pegasus reached back into his saddlebag, fished around, and produced a scroll. “I've got a message that's intended for...” His eyes narrowed as he read off the tag. “'The Representatives of the Luminar Retreat as Provided by the Shoreline Trade Consortium in Elm Prefecture.' I was given these precise coordinates.” The messenger arched an eyebrow. “Verlaxion's sleet. This place is a dump.”
“A fact that is not lost to me,” Theanim droned. “I assure you.”
“Heh...” The pegasus chuckled. “Guess you really are a scientist.”
Theanim stared.
“Anyway...” The messenger cleared his throat. “If you can direct me to the nearest Consortium representative, Professor, I can finish this delivery. It's Court Priority.”
“Wait...” Theanim cocked his head to the side. “Did you say Court Priority?”
“Yes, sir.”
“By whose mandate?”
“Uhmmmm...” The pegasus turned the scroll sideways and scratched his head. “There's a seal on it. Like... a circle with sharp claw and wings?”
Theanim squinted. “My good stallion, that's the Talon.”
The pegasus jolted so hard that he nearly dropped the scroll altogether. “The Right Talon of Verlaxion?!”
“You haven't been delivering messages for long, have you?”
“Erm... f-five years.” The pegasus gulped, shivering—but not because of the cold. “I-I've never delivered anything for the Talon before! I didn't even know they mandated deliveries!”
“Well, as a member of the Scientific Order, I'm granted universal authority to receive and transport messages mandated by the Court and its subsidiaries—which also includes the Talon.” Theanim motioned for the scroll. “Please. If I may.”
“Yeah, sure th-thing.” The pegasus gladly hoofed the item over. “Besides...” His eyes nervously scanned the snow-flaked woods surrounding the river-side ruins. “Doesn't look like anypony beside you is here. Jeez. Just what is this place?”
“A dead end,” Theanim said, turning the scroll over. “And a very quaint one at that.” His eyes narrowed on the seal. “Hmmm... curious.”
“What is it?”
“The seal is in green ink,” Theanim said. “That means it was produced by proxy.” His eyes darted up. “Messages mandated directly by the Right Talon are done in blue.”
“So it's a general edict and not a personally written message?”
“Precisely.” Theanim opened it up swiftly, undoing the scroll's ribbon. Once the thing was rolled open, his eyes traced down each word and paragraph. “Hmmmm... 'dear representatives of the Shoreline Trade Consortium and all affiliated organizations, in accordance with the supply operation as mandated by Lieutenant Keris of the Right Talon of Verlaxion'... mmmm... yes... uh huh... hmmmm...” His blue eyes blinked, then widened. “My stars!” He shot up with a gasp. “Why... why this is a goddess-send! HaHA!” He clutched the scroll so hard that it crumpled. “As Verlaxion is my witness, it doesn't get much better than this!”
“Good news, professor?” the pegasus asked.
“Not only good! But timely and fortuitous and... and...” He froze in place. Gradually, his smile faded. “Hrmmm... oh dear...” With a nervous breath, he turned around, staring up at two-story building at the top of the steps. “...will they even care, though?”
“Huh?” The pegasus blinked, craning his neck. “I don't understand. Who else is here?”
Theanim took a deep breath. At last, he neatly folded the scroll up, and spoke: “Hopefully, nopony soon. At least if I have something to do with it.”
“Professor?”
Theanim sighed. “Never mind. You did your job, dear sir. Now... if perhaps you would be willing to deliver a message for me.”
“Absolutely.” The messenger nodded, whipping out the necessary materials. “Where is this to be directed?”
“The Council,” Theanim said. “Wait... in addition to that, I would like to prepare a secondary message to the prison bluffs within Frostknife.”
“... … …?” The pegasus blinked. “The... prison bluffs in Frostknife?”
“You heard me.”
Clearing his throat, the pegasus dutifully began scribbling with a pen. “I only fly the letters...”