Another Wednesday morning had come, and Quiver rose from his bed and emerged from his bedroom, the house seeming emptier than before. He actually didn’t mind, as it was quiet, and he’d long been appreciative of peace and quiet. Nor did he feel guilty over what had happened the previous day, only that he’d been foolish enough to be strung along as long as he’d been, and that he hadn’t sought help sooner. His father was wrong, at least in this case; you could count on some ponies to save your life.
If he felt anything for Luster right now, it was pity. But she had made her choices, and she would pay the consequences. All that was left for him to do was get her things out of his place. The less reason she had to come back, the better. He just hoped he could find a reasonably cheap public storage place.
But that was a concern for later. For now, it was time to see about breakfast. He quickly cleaned himself up and made his way out the door, locking it behind him before trotting his way towards Sugar Cube Corner. He got to the door just as he caught sight of Carrot Cake flipping the sign on the door to “Open”, the lanky stallion catching sight of him as he approached. “Morning, Mister Cake!”
“Good morning, Quiver! Sorry to hear about what happened with your housemate.”
Quiver waved a dismissive hoof and assured him, “Not your fault in the slightest. Besides, it’s all over now. May I come in?”
“Sure, of course!” The elder stallion led him inside, where Quiver quickly caught sight of the two baby Cakes playing in a playpen. “Some donuts?”
“Actually, I’d like some muffins today. A half-dozen, bran please.”
“Coming right up!” Cup Cake’s cheery voice called from within the kitchen.
Quiver smiled and approached the babies, Pound and Pumpkin both sitting up on their hind legs to greet him. The young colt giggled and gently bopped him upon the nose, and Quiver laughed and responded in kind, albeit with more of a tap to both of the little foals’ noses. He looked up from the babies and asked, “Where’s Pinkie? I’d have thought she’d spend every second she could with these two.”
The couple shared a conspiratorial smile as they produced Quiver’s goods, the wife explaining, “Oh, she had something she needed to take care of. Don’t worry about her, though, Pinkie will pop up when she feels like it.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Quiver handed over his payment, collected his muffins and bid his farewells, waving as he made his way out of the bakery and back towards his home.
As he trotted, a smile grew upon his face as he considered what he’d just thought – he was heading to his home. His home. He laughed as he realized that he felt the same way about Ponyville in general; it was his home now. And he would be happy here. Not could, would.
A flutter of wings, and he felt something large perch itself upon his head and a familiar voice caw, “Hello!”
Quiver laughed and looked up as a familiar raven looked down on him from his perch between his ears. “Hi Edgar. What brings you my way?” The bird pointed towards his house, and the stallion grinned. “Oh, didn’t come alone, did you?” He approached the door and produced his key from his saddlebags. “I wonder who I’ll find inside.”
His door swung open and Pinkie popped out and shouted, “Surprise! Wow you’re fast!” She then pulled the two inside and closed the door behind them. “We aren’t even done!”
Quiver looked to his new living room to find that Twilight and her friends were busying themselves by repairing the desk he’d bought, materials and parts set aside to undo the damage Luster had done while customizing it for herself. The princess turned to him and said, “Quiver, hi! Sorry about this, we were hoping to get done before you got back.”
“No, it’s okay. How…?”
“We asked yer land-mare fer a spare key,” Applejack replied as Rarity went to work with her magic on the carved-out portions. “Gilded Lily was perfectly understandin’, but we’ll give it back once we’re done.”
“Okay, but why not come in and ask me directly?”
Twilight managed an embarrassed grin as she explained, “We wanted it to be a surprise.” At Quiver’s surprised expression, she explained, “I know, you could have done it yourself, but I felt like I needed to do something.”
A smirk crossed the stallion’s face. “So much that you invited yourself and your friends into my home, just to save me a letter to customer service? For shame.”A light chuckle rolled all around through the room, and Quiver sighed. “Seriously though, I do appreciate it. But I don’t want this to become a habit. I want to solve my own problems if I can, but if I need help, I’ll come to you guys about it, I promise.” He smiled and added, “And I won’t hesitate to return it. That’s what friends do, isn’t it?”
“Um, speaking of?” Fluttershy approached and quietly noted with hesitation, “Quiver, Edgar and I have been talking and…”
“Stay with you?”
Quiver’s eyes shifted briefly upwards towards the bird before Fluttershy continued, “It’s just, he’s become awfully fond of you.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” The stallion smiled and added, “I am looking for a new roomie. Wouldn’t mind it being Edgar.”
“Oh, good.” The pegasus quickly amended, “I mean, I’m not saying I’m glad to see him go, but…”
Quiver laughed and assured her, “We’ll visit. I’ve never raised a raven before, so I’ll need to consult you on dietary stuff.” He looked up and asked, “You eat meat, right?”
“Fish is good!”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Spike got out from below as his freshly-repaired desk was lowered to the ground, and Quiver asked, “Well, I’d offer you all some breakfast, but…”
“Oh, don’t worry dear, we’ve already eaten.” Rarity gave him a sympathetic smile and noted, “And your cabinets are rather threadbare. I suspect Luster didn’t think much about the long term.”
“No, but she probably never thought that she’d have to.” He sighed and then shrugged. “But all’s well that ends well and all that.” He smiled and offered, “So, I’ll see all of you around?”
“Of course.” Twilight took a moment to give him a small hug, and then she and her friends departed, the door softly closing behind them.
The smile remained on his face as Quiver approached his desk and lowered his head. Edgar hopped off, and his new caretaker went off to retrieve what little writing materials he had left. “Well, I’d better take care of this before I forget.” Quill, ink and paper at the ready, the stallion set to work and started writing the words he’d looked forward to composing for far too long. After a minute, he finished scribbling down his letter, then put it aside and weighted it down with an inkwell. “Alright Edgar, I can’t get you fish, but maybe I can scrounge something up to go with the muffins. Sound good?” The raven cawed in agreement, and Quiver laughed and led him onto the kitchen, the letter left to be mailed later.
-
“Dear Mom and Dad,
“Well, it’s taken me long enough, but I feel like I’ve properly settled into Ponyville. I’ve made some great friends, in no small part thanks to Princess Twilight, and I should be okay from here. Please send on all the stuff I set aside to be shipped over. I’ll write back as often as I can.
“All my best, your son, Quiver Quill.”