60. Learning to Accept
“Ah can't eat anymore. Ah'm stuffed,” Apple Bloom groans, patting her full stomach with a hoof. In front of her is the remains of her slice of apple pie that we'd finally been able to eat, because Granny Smith is a pie Nazi or something. I don't even know. Next to her, Granny Smith is nodding in satisfaction, having finished her food a while ago. Applejack is still finishing up hers, while I just placed the last piece of my pie in my mouth.
“Seth, how did you like Granny's cookin'?” Applejack asks curiously. Granny perks up at that and looks at me expectantly as well. I look down at my mostly empty plate.
“It wasn't bad. It would have been better though, if there weren't so many daisies in my salad!” I remark in annoyance, lifting one of the daisies that I'd had to pick out from my plate. “Seriously, who the hell puts daisies in a salad?”
“Nopony told me ya couldn't eat daisies. Figured that woulda been somethin' Applejack shoulda said to me,” Granny responds apologetically, and then she gives Applejack an accusing stare.
“Sorry, ah fergot,” Applejack admits with a sheepish grin. That gets Apple Bloom laughing, and then Granny's stern expression melts away to one of good humor as well. “Yer diet's a bit different from ours. Ah'll remember that.”
“You'd think you'd have remembered after months of knowing me. Did it never occur to you to wonder why I didn't put flowers in my sandwiches?” I point out. This earns more chuckles from her family, while Applejack herself just laughs nervously and rubs the back of her neck.
Looking around at her family, I admit to myself that eating dinner with them wasn't a fate worse than death after all. I probably won't make a habit of it, but at least I did it once, so maybe she'll stop asking me now. However, I should probably go. No doubt Rainbow is already waiting for me.
“I need to get going now. Still have a few things left to do before the end of the day,” I announce, getting to my feet. Applejack gets up as well at that.
“Gotcha. Wait a sec, I jus gotta go upstairs and grab yer pay,” Applejack says, and she too leaves the room, much to Granny Smith's annoyance.
“Hey! Don't you be goin' anywhere without cleanin' up yer dishes!” Granny Smith hollers up the stairs after Applejack. “Don't worry, Seth, we'll clean yers up for ya. Yer our guest, and it'd be rude to do otherwise.”
“Ah'll be raht down! Just gimme a sec,” Applejack calls back down. Granny huffs and forces herself to her hooves, shaking slightly. “And don't you try an' do it yerself, Granny!”
Granny sits back down with a guilty expression on her face. Yeah, she is pretty old. I wonder how old she is compared to Captain Blades. Too bad I can't just ask that.
Applejack soon returns with a bag of jangling bits in her mouth, which she passes to me. It's nowhere near as heavy as it usually is, but I didn't work a full day, either. So I'm fine with just this. In just a week, I'll have enough money for an initial payment on a house. “Ah'm back now. Come on, you two. Let's git these plates cleaned up,” Applejack says to her siblings.
“I'm leaving now,” I announce, heading for the door. Just as I open it, Apple Bloom rushes over to me.
“When are ya gonna come back and play?” she asks, once again looking more adorable than she needs to. I don't know if she does that intentionally or not.
“Who knows. Depends on how my schedule turns out. I'll drop by sometime I'm free and in the mood,” I tell her honestly. Doesn't matter how old somepony is, chances are I'm going to tell it like it is.
“Okay! Ah'll be waiting!” Apple Bloom replies happily, and then she nuzzles my leg briefly before cantering back into the dining room, where she starts helping her family clean things up. “Thanks fer comin' to dinner!”
“Whatever,” I respond, and then I leave the building, shutting the door behind me. It's gotten pretty dark outside, the sun just now disappearing beneath the horizon entirely. Okay, so I told Rainbow to meet me after work. She should have been here by now.
I keep walking. Fuck it, if she's not here, we'll plan our hang-out some other time. There's no hurry. I literally have no pressing concerns for the rest of my life. It's an odd feeling, knowing there's no obligations resting upon you that can screw your life if you don't succeed. Like college. Fuck that up, you're left with nothing except the chance for a shitty homeless life. At least, that's what my parents kept telling me.
Except now, there's no obligation. I have a decent paying job, and I'm about to buy a house. I mean, working on the farm for the rest of my life will suck, but it's not like I don't have outlets. I have plenty of time to read, ponies to play music with, and the occasional party. It's oddly freeing. Fuck you college, I didn't need a scrap of your knowledge after all. Funny how life works sometimes.
Just after I pass through the archway of the farm itself, I come to a stop, as I'm seeing something rather random, yet hilarious at the same time.
Rainbow is lying on the grass, rolling around on her back and wiggling rather awkwardly. Um...what the fuck is she doing? In fact, “Rainbow, what the fuck are you doing?” I ask, wondering if I've come across something that is about to scar me.
Rainbow immediately starts scrambling around, until she gets to her hooves. She gives an awkward cough. “There's an itch on my back. I was trying to scratch it,” Rainbow admits, blushing slightly at being caught doing something so stupid looking. I blink a few times, and then proceed to burst out laughing. “Hey! It's not funny! It's in a spot I can't reach! What else am I supposed to do?”
“It's totally funny! Oh my god, you were rolling around like a fucking ball,” I snort, barely able to talk. Just the sight of her rolling around like that plus the embarrassed way she's looking at me is enough to keep me laughing for a good while. “So ridiculous looking! Hehehe, you had an itch. Christ!”
“Are you done? It's not that funny.” Rainbow starts to pout, reaching her head around in an attempt to scratch the offending itch, but judging by how she's straining, she still can't reach it. “Agh! It's still there, and it's driving me nuts! Seth! Stop laughing!”
“I can't help it! The great Rainbow Dash, brought down by an itch!” It's getting to the point where I'm laughing so hard, it's getting difficult to breathe. “Oh god, quit looking so indignant, or I'm going to die.”
“Can you stop that and help me? I seriously can't reach it,” Rainbow demands, turning her back to me. I'm now bracing myself against a tree with a hand, breathing heavily and trying not to burst out laughing again. Even still, that image of her rolling around gets me chuckling again.
“What are you talking about? Why don't you just roll around again? That might fix it,” I tease her, earning a glare from her.
“Because I'm not doing that in front of you, it looks stupid! I thought I was alone,” Rainbow snaps. “Would you stop being annoying and scratch it so I can have some peace?”
“You seriously want me to scratch your back for you?” I state in disbelief. This is just too funny. Rainbow asking for help for something so simple and so stupid.
“Only because I can't reach it, and you showed up when I wasn't expecting you!” Rainbow retorts, blushing more. “Stop being difficult already and do it.”
“This is so sad,” I comment, but I do approach her. I'm going to make fun of her for this for a while. Rainbow shivers for some reason when I put my hand on her back, near her neck. I have no idea where the hell the spot that she's talking about is, so I just start scratching, figuring she'll tell me once I find it.
“No, you're too high up. Go further back,” Rainbow instructs me, stammering slightly. My god, I almost lose it from how hilarious this is once more. I do as I'm told, following her instructions until I finally find the source of her discomfort: a thin sliver of wood lodged in her fur that's been tickling her skin for who knows how long. Wonder how that got there. I remove it easily and scratch the spot left behind. “Dear Celestia, sweet relief. That's been bugging me for a while now. Was that so difficult?”
Rainbow jerks away now, putting some distance between us. “It's not going to stop being funny,” I comment, causing her to scowl. Rainbow then takes to the air, heading away a short distance. “Where are you going?”
“Flying! Come on, we've still got stuff to plan!” Rainbow urges me. Well, the only thing I'm carrying with me is my pay, and that'll stay in my pockets, so I guess I don't mind going for a quick flight. I follow her lead and release my magic, propelling myself into the air until I've hovering just next to her. “All right, let's go.”
Together, we fly up into the skies surrounding Ponyville. I think this is my first time flying at dusk, and I think I like it. With all of the lights from the windows and streetlamps shining up at me, it almost looks like a set of toys. It's very serene, especially since there's no sound up here except the faint sounds of the crickets from below, and the rushing of the wind.
“So why don't we do this?” I ask once we've stopped ascending, somewhere just above the cloud layer. It's very beautiful up here.
“What?” Rainbow asks, confused by my unexplained statement. I sweep a hand to indicate the thin layer of clouds beneath us.
“Instead of running every morning, why don't we go flying instead? It's not very physically demanding for me, so I won't be exhausted when I go to Applejack's for work,” I suggest. Then it clicks, and Rainbow's eyes light up in excitement. “Plus I'll get some magical training in as well.”
“That's a great idea! Yeah, we're gonna do daily flights! This is awesome!” Rainbow expresses, doing a flip in the air. Feeling a bit hyper myself, I try to copy her gesture, only to quit halfway through and hold my head. “What are you doing, Seth?”
“I was trying to do a flip...and somehow gave myself a headache,” I groan, rubbing my aching head. “Ow, how do you even do that?”
“The headaches? Ah, those go away after a while, once your body is used to it. If you wanna do tricks, you're gonna have to practice them,” Rainbow points out, snickering at my failure.
“I'm not going to practice tricks. That's your thing. Plus, I'd look pretty fucking stupid trying to do flips,” I tell her flatly. “I was just being stupid, that's all. Anyway, we should probably talk about our plans now.”
“I'm good to do it whenever,” Rainbow responds unhelpfully. Thanks, that tells me absolutely nothing of what I want to know.
“That doesn't help me. We need to set a time, so we can give Pinkie plenty of notice. We also need to find a place to do it. Plus I need to do a little spell research,” I explain.
“Uhm...that's a lot of details...are you sure we need to go to that much trouble just to hang out?” Rainbow questions me, scratching her head.
“Christ, you're no help. Fine, then I'm just going to start listing out when I'm free,” I grumble. “Let's see, I'm busy every day from morning to late afternoon, thanks to Applejack. As for evenings, I think the only thing I have to worry about is tomorrow's trip to the spa, and then whenever it is Pinkie decides to have her party.”
“Let's do it in two days then, after your work,” Rainbow suggests. Hm, that could work, but I also owe Vinyl and Rainbow a drink. Though I suppose I can always do that afterward. “We can just do it at Vinyl's place, right?”
“Yeah, two days sounds good. And no, I don't want to do it at Vinyl's place. I'd rather not have her sticking her nose in it and trying to get involved,” I express irritably. Rainbow looks confused at that.
“But didn't you already accept Vinyl as a friend? Why wouldn't you want her joining in?” she questions. That's a difficult question, and sad to say, I spit out what I'm thinking before considering whether or not it's the right way to say it.
“Yes, but she's not you,” I express, only to realize a second later what the hell I just said. There's a silence, as Rainbow's cheeks turn a light shade of red. I plant my face in my hand. “I mean...we initially planned it to be just us. If you want me talking about anything more personal than my damn hair, it's gotta be just you there with me.”
“R...Right, I knew that's what you meant. Um...” Rainbow trails off as she thinks. “We could always go to my place.”
“Rainbow, you live on a fucking cloud. I can't stand on clouds,” I point out, and then go right back to thinking. Hm, is there any other place in town where we can blast music and not be interrupted?
“You can fly! So it could work,” Rainbow protests. “Come on, my place it totally awesome. You won't find craftsmanship like it anywhere else other than Cloudsdale.”
“So what if I can fly? It takes concentration. If I want to lay back and relax, I don't want to keep exerting my magic the whole time,” I snap back at her. “Besides, what if I run out of magic? I'll fall and die unless you catch me.”
“Oh...well...ask Twilight! I know there must be a spell somewhere that'll let you walk on clouds like we pegasi do,” Rainbow insists.
“That seems like a long shot, but I guess it's worth looking into. Especially since I'm planning on visiting her anyway,” I say honestly, shrugging slightly. “I have to see if there's a way to amplify sound, because you ponies don't a have a speaker system that'll work with my phone, and I don't want to huddle over my phone speaker the whole night.”
“Yeah, definitely do that. Because if you find a way to make your...phone...louder, I can move my house someplace where we can make it as loud as we want without annoying the townsponies,” Rainbow tells me. I give her an askance look.
“You can move your house.” I state in a disbelieving manner. I suddenly have an image of Rainbow's face on a semi-truck, with a slogan like, “Trust the Rainbow Company, we'll help you move...literally!”
“Well, yeah. It's made of clouds, so it's pretty easy to maneuver. Especially for an expert weather pony like myself,” Rainbow brags. I rub my forehead, my headache returning. This...fucking magic, I swear. Rainbow has a house of clouds that can be wherever she wants it to be.
“Right then! Chalk that up on the list of impossible bullshit than can only be explained by the word 'magic,'” I state with false cheerfulness. “But let's put that aside for now, at least until I ask Twilight about actually being able to stand in it.”
“You got it. Anything else?”
“Let's see, we're doing it the day after next, possibly at your place. So you need to go find Pinkie sometime tonight or tomorrow and tell her to whip up some snacks and drinks for us,” I reply, listing off everything we've planned so far. “In the mean time, I'm going to fly down to Twilight's and get that information I need. Knowing new spells never hurts.”
“Wait, you're leaving now?” Rainbow asks, just as I orient my body away from her. When she sees me leaving, she huffs. “Lame. I wanted to fly some more.”
“So fly some more. Do whatever it is you usually do when I'm not around,” I retort, unsure why me leaving counts as being lame. I put on a dumb grin. “Don't tell me you've gotten so used to me being around over the past month that you can't live without me.”
“D...Don't be stupid! Where would you even get that from? I was stuck with you because of Princess Celestia's orders, remember?” Rainbow shoots back at me, crossing her front hooves petulantly. She then breaks off, soaring away from me. “I'm leaving now...jerk.”
Her last insult gets me chuckling. She's just so easy to mess with. Accuse her of anything that could be construed as sappy, and she gets so pissed off. And yet she's really sappy when she wants to be. Shaking my head, I zoom through the sky, angling my body down.
Soon, I pass into the cloud layer, the condensing liquid streaking across my body and cooling my down to the point where I start shivering. Wow, yeah flying while wet. Not a good idea. Why did I think flying into a cloud was a smart thing to do?
At least now I can say I flew into a cloud...not that it matters in a world filled with pegasi that have done the same thing. Well, any human would kill to do what I'm doing right now. Actually, you know what? Twilight can wait for a bit.
I land in the middle of the clearing in front of Twilight's library and power down with a sigh. That was fun. I'm a bit drained of magic, but that's just because I powered myself up pretty far to do some pretty intense flying.
After knocking on the door a few times, Twilight answers the door, her right eye twitching. “Oh, hello, Seth. It would have been great to know you were going to show up around now,” she complains, but she does beckon for me to walk inside. “Instead, I had to constantly keep an eye on the outside to make sure I didn't miss you.”
“Still finding it extremely hard to care,” I reply lackadaisically, much to Twilight's frustration. I walk past her and into the main room, peering at the books lining the shelves. “So, what do you even have as far as fiction goes?”
Twilight streaks over to the shelves until shes standing next to me, her previous annoyance going ignored in the face of something far more interesting to her. “Oh, you don't need to look on the shelves. I've already picked out several books that I think you might like,” she assures me, guiding me away from the shelves with a hoof and instead directing my attention to the table in the center of the room, where there are small, organized stacks of books, each stack being labeled with what I assume is their distinguishing feature. Like, one stack is labeled “Mystery,” while another is labeled “Adventure.”
“Huh. So you already picked some out. Let's see if there's anything here that'll interest me. I doubt it, considering you're ponies, and I doubt you can come up with the type of intense stories that I'd actually like,” I explain.
“Well, what types of things do you look for in stories?” Twilight asks curiously, sitting down on her haunches. Hm, that's a difficult question. It would be far easier to answer what I don't want to see in a story.
“No tragedy. Fuck tragedy. Seriously, anyone that thinks tragedy is a decent form of entertainment should go straight to hell,” I immediately state, having thought of the promising stories that I've read that were ruined by shitty endings.
“That's a rather strong reaction. I find tragedy to be interesting, but mostly because after reading one, I feel grateful for the life that I have. At least, that's the best way I can describe it,” Twilight responds, perplexed.
“What is wrong with you? There's nothing good about tragedy. It's just some jackass writer putting all this time into making characters just to ruin their lives, wreck their emotions, and then kill them at the end. It's just sadistic,” I rant, as this is a subject I've very passionate about. “I don't read to feel like shit.”
“There's nothing wrong with me, we just have differing opinions. That's all,” Twilight corrects me, looking offended. “Though, I understand what your opinion. Tragedy isn't for everyone. Anyway, what do you like in fiction?”
“I don't like things that are too normal...though I guess that doesn't really apply in this situation, since you ponies all have magic, unicorns, and all that shit. So...I guess I'll just say that I hate slice of life,” I continue. Twilight nods, and then she takes several books out of the stacks with her magic. No doubt they're slice of life stories. Can't stand those. If I wanted slice of life, I'd just go outside and do what I've been doing. “Mystery...I used to read a ton of mystery books when I was young, but most of them don't do it for me anymore. Adventure is mostly a yes, but only if well thought out.”
As I list more genres that I do or don't like, Twilight either adds or subtracts books from the stacks on the table, somehow managing to keep them as organized as they were when she started. Finally, I'm left with a decent sized stack of books. There's about twelve of them, all of decent sizes.
“That's not that many,” I comment, peering at the title of the first book. “Sephylon, the Clock-Maker. Interesting name. I fail to see how that's not a slice of life book though.”
“Trust me, the Clock-Maker is an incredible book. It's the first in the series, so if you like the first book, there'll be plenty more for you to read,” Twilight assures me. “That's why there's fewer than you expected. Some of the books in here are just the first of their respective series. Besides, if you finish with all of these, you can always branch out to other books.”
“I see. I guess I'll start with that one then. Let's hope it doesn't suck,” I decide, grabbing the book delicately and glancing at the cover art. There's the image of an older pony with deep lines in his face and a silvery-white beard standing stalwart atop a ridge, with the image of a dark, imposing clocktower looming behind him. Several other, sinister looking ponies are depicted around him. Okay, the art looks good. I'm interested in seeing what this book is all about.
“Excellent! I'll keep these books labeled for you, so you can find them easily if you need them,” Twilight informs me, and then she proceeds to do just that, until every book except the one I'm holding is back where they came from. Then she appears to realize something. “Oh! I should get you a cushion. I forgot humans don't sit like we do. I'm sorry.”
“That'd be nice,” I say absentmindedly, opening the front cover of the book and peering inside. These books will take me a while to read I think, mostly because my reading speed took a hit since I learned Equestrian. It'll take me a while before reading it becomes second-nature. Right now I still have to think about what each character means.
Just as I've started reading, Twilight returns with a few cushions for me to sit on. Without really saying much to her, I sit on the cushions, arrange myself upon them until I'm comfortable, and then I look back to the book.
Okay, so far this book is starting with a pretty solid foundation of detail and world building. I'm getting pretty immersed in this, because the writer really goes out of her (I'm assuming it's a she, because 90% of all the ponies seem to be fucking female) way to bring the world she imagined to life. Pretty soon, Ponyville fades from existence around me, until I'm in the steam-punk city of Trenton, where the streets are filled with the sound of grinding gears.
Twilight interrupts me not long after I get started, bringing me tea. It's only because she brought that epic fruity tea that I don't curse her out for interrupting me. Though, just as I'm about to get back to reading, I suddenly realize that I forgot to ask her something important.
“Twilight,” I call, getting her attention just as she's leaving. I try to think of a way to phrase this without hitting her excitement button. That's taking too long, so fuck it. As much as it annoys me, Twilight's the only one that can help me. “So I wanted to ask you if there's a spell out there that'll do what I want.”
“Of course! What are you trying to do?” As I expected, Twilight immediately sets the plates aside and returns to me, giving me her full attention.
“Well, two things. I'll start with the easiest. Is there a way to amplify sound through magic?” I ask curiously. Judging from the way Twilight's eyes lit up, I think I'm going to get a good answer.
“Absolutely. There's several ways to amplify sound, though most of them are done through a simple wave intensity spell,” Twilight responds. “Come here, I'll show you.”
I place one of the bookmarks Twilight helpfully provides for me into the spot where I left off. Sephylon can wait. Placing the book on the cushion, I join Twilight at the table, where she's already produced a book from the shelf and is flipping through it. She makes a sound of triumph when she finds the page she's looking for.
“Here we go. It doesn't require an incantation at all, but you have to know how to manipulate the mana particles in such a way that you form a wave identical to the one you're trying to amplify,” Twilight explains, pointing her hoof at the passage in the book. Wait, what she's talking sounds a lot like.
“Constructive interference. If two waves of the same frequency intersect at the same point, they build upon one another to create the equivalent of a larger wave with a higher amplitude,” I state, remembering my education. Wow, I can't believe I remembered all of that shit. I blame my dumb teacher from high school. He was nothing if not memorable.
“Exactly!” Twilight exclaims, looking at me in surprise. “That's exactly what you're going for when casting this spell. I'm surprised; I didn't think you knew about stuff like that.”
“Hello, humans invented the damn theory first,” I remind her. Twilight realizes I'm right, and her ears flatten slightly, a sheepish smile crossing her face. “I only remember that because it's one of the few facts I remember from school. Anyway, go on.”
“Right. Sound waves are the easiest to manipulate with this spell, because they're everywhere, and they're a very simple wave to understand,” Twilight continues, excitement evident in her voice. “Once you've learned how to form a sound wave, it takes a bit of trial and error to replicate the waves, because it's difficult to measure their amplitude and frequency without equipment.”
“Hold on, are you telling me that if I wanted to amplify something with different frequencies, like in a song, I'd have to memorize each individual wave's frequency and replicate them, all at the same time?” I demand. When Twilight nods, I groan. I'm getting a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of the task I'm trying to undertake. It shouldn't be this much trouble just to make a song louder. “That can't be right. Isn't there a way I can just amplify the whole song, without having to go through all that trouble?”
“Yes, but that requires knowledge of enchantment, and that's not something I can teach you in the course of one night,” Twilight admits. Son of a bitch. I straighten up and fall back against the wall, disappointed and angry. When she sees my reaction, Twilight smiles. “Don't worry, I didn't say I wouldn't help. I think I can create the kind of enchantment you're looking for. You're just looking to amplify a song, right?”
“Hold up. No. I asked you for help because I wanted to know if the spell existed. I'm certainly not going to let you go that far out of your way to help me,” I interrupt her, warning bells going off in my mind. That's way too much of a favor for her to do for free, especially if enchanting is as difficult as she makes it out to be.
“Wha...oh, not this again,” Twilight groans, facehoofing. “Can't I just help you without you making it into a big deal? It's just an enchantment.”
“What do you mean, 'just an enchantment?' You just said you couldn't teach it to me in one night. That means it's difficult, right?”
“True, your average unicorn can't do it, but every established spellcaster knows how to create an enchantment, and sound amplification is one of the easiest ones. Why, I can name three other ponies in Ponyville that can do it,” Twilight returns stubbornly.
“And let me guess, those three other ponies wouldn't do it for free,” I state flatly. When Twilight looks down, I know I'm right. “Therein lies the problem. I'm not accepting favors.”
“You accept them from Rainbow all the time!” Twilight protests. For some reason, that pisses me off, and my eyes narrow.
“And how is that any of your fucking business? What does it matter to you how Rainbow and I interact? This isn't about her, it's about you and me, and I don't trust you enough not to use a favor like this against me!” I respond viciously, until Twilight's ears flatten once more.
“That's...I'm going to be honest, Seth. That's a little...paranoid,” Twilight tells me, looking extremely sad. I scoff at that. So what? Paranoid means you're safe, and that's better than the alternative. “But...I'm sad to hear that you don't trust me. I thought that after all we went through together at Canterlot, we were a little closer than before.”
“That...ugh, why did you bring that up? Fuck,” I stammer, unable to come up with anything worthwhile that wouldn't make me sound like a complete waste of a human being. Twilight has a point. She did do a lot for me while we were fighting, and after the fact. Between working with Spitfire and Rainbow to save my life by releasing Celestia and speaking out on my behalf against my banishment, she's really done a lot for me, even though I've never really done anything for her. I can't understand her. She's gotten nothing out of the things she's done for me. So why would she bother?
“Okay,” I say finally, breaking the awkward silence that had formed. “I don't feel comfortable letting you put all that effort into making an enchantment without me doing anything in return. Tell me what you want in return.”
“I don't need anything, Seth. It's a very simple enchantment. It won't take me more than an hour,” Twilight expresses, placing her hoof on my leg in an attempt to reassure me.
“Just...give me something I can do. I can't explain, but...just do it. Please,” I tell her, avoiding her eyes. I'm shaking slightly, which is unlike me. I don't know why, but just having this conversation, when somepony challenges my beliefs like this, I can't help but remember why I adopted them in the first place. And that...is enough to unsettle me.
Twilight seems to notice something different as well. Her eyes soften. “Okay. I can give you something to do,” she assures me, and I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. “Keep me company for the rest of tonight.”
“What?” I ask, confused. How is that a favor? Especially since I was planning on doing that in the first place.
Twilight's smile reappears. “Stay the night tonight. I have a spare bed that you can use. It's been a while since I've had somepony to study with as late as I usually do,” she elaborates. “That's something you wouldn't usually do, and I would enjoy it. How about that?”
“I...suppose that's fair,” I say, calming down. God, I don't know why I let that get to me as much as it did. “Yeah, I'll stay here tonight.”
“Excellent! That way I can show you a little about enchantment, if you'd like. Or you could tell me what you think of Sephylon! Oh! I had a book around here somewhere with things to do during a late night study session...” Twilight's excitement level is rising again, and now she's zipping around the room looking for said book.
After a few seconds of watching her run around, I suddenly remember that the sound thing wasn't the only thing I had to ask. “Twilight, I have another question about magic, before we do any of that,” I remind her. Twilight comes to a sudden stop, nearly toppling over from her own momentum. “How can I walk on clouds?”
“Pardon?” Twilight asks, not quite understanding. “Walk on clouds? But you can fly, right?”
“Yes, but...oh fuck it. So Rainbow and I want to know if it's possible for me to stand in her house without having to exert my magic. You know, without falling to my death,” I explain, figuring there's no way to make her understand without being honest.
“Yes, there is, actually!” Twilight exclaims, and she brings out yet another book. “For the Young Fliers Competition, when Rainbow pulled off a Sonic Rainboom for all of Cloudsdale, we used a spell that made clouds solid only when in contact with our bodies. Would you like to learn it?”
“Yes, because the last thing I want is to suddenly fall to my death,” I reply wryly. Twilight chuckles a bit before passing the book to me, open to the page that has a description of the necessary spell. “Hm...might take some practice. Let's see if I can master this in two days.”
“You should. I was able to cast it in less than an hour, when I first tried. It shouldn't take you much longer,” Twilight assures me.
“All right. I'll work on it immediately then,” I say, turning around with the book in my hands. Twilight nods, and she lifts up the book with the sound amplification spell in it, no doubt about to get to work on that herself.
“Good luck! I'm going to sit right across from you and see if I can get this enchantment ready for you,” Twilight declares. Just as she said, she sits down on her haunches a few meters away from me, the book in front of her and a few crystal orbs hanging in midair next to her. Right, I see those all over the place. They're in everything that should be powered by electricity, but isn't, like the toasters or ovens.
“Right, you do that then,” I remark, and then I sip from the teacup that I'd left on the floor from before hand. Unfortunately, it's now cold. Fuck. Well, at least it still tastes good. Now then, let's take a look at this spell.
Huh, from what I see here, it consists of forming a barrier of constantly oscillating mana particles that would react with a high concentration of water, like clouds. I'm okay at controlling individual mana particles, so this shouldn't be too hard for me to learn.
With that, both Twilight and I delve headlong into our individual projects, and silence fills the library.
I hope to get this done quickly, because I want to go back to reading the Clock-Maker before the end of tonight.
Still though. It's not the worst way to spend a night.
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who cares what rank you are? You're still one of my favourite authors
Don't worry about ranking bro, you and your story are number two (whatmustido's diaries of a madman is number one) in my heart!
Pfft- rank is overrated.
Back to the buildup, eh? Just don't have an accident or get too sick! It'd be a terrible situation for you, and for the story to end abruptly on such a quiet moment.
(I'd at least prefer an abrupt death outta nowhere- unsatisfactory, but an ending's an ending.)
Why am I so grim today?
Awesome a new update already
Starting off we have Seth finish his dinner with the Apples. He seems to get along well with the whole family at this point. Apple Bloom is his friend, Applejack is a good employer and close enough he can talk to without much issue, Granny Smith provided a good meal and seems good to talk with like Applejack, and Big Mac is silent which immediately puts him on good grounds with Seth
. While only Apple Bloom is his friend, it's good Seth has managed a decent report with the family and likely won't have any issues with them in the future. I wonder though if this is where he wants to work forever or whether he has any goals to pursue. He said he wanted to be a musician, but due to his money situation it will likely be sometime before he can really pursue that safely.
Meeting up with Rainbow was awesome. I can just picture Seth walking up to Rainbow rolling around on the ground like a dog trying to scratch her back
. Seemed odd that she flinched when he touched her neck. Maybe all the sappiness throughout the Canterlot arc has made me a little too noticeable of things like that and it was just her flinching at his contact. Still makes me wonder when stuff like that happens. Them deciding to go flying in the mornings is awesome. The jogging was great, but now they can continue to hang out without affecting his work performance and both enjoy themselves with an activity they love together. Great to see them finalizing their plans for the music night. We see as they discuss location that once again Seth hasn't really censored or thought out his wording correctly. Still saying that Vinyl isn't Rainbow was kind of touching, even if he didn't mean it in that way. I really love how close these two are. No matter how many other friends Seth makes, the bond these two share is always going to be the strongest I think 
. I had wondered wether Seth knew the cloud walking spell or not. Weird that it never came up in that month and a half he was training in Ponyville before the changling arc, but perhaps his flight wasn't strong enough for him to really think much about cloud movement. Still, the sound spell idea was a good call, as I had been wondering how they were going to listen to the music on the phone, whether they were just going to sit in a corner and listen to it or something. This way they can really get into it.
While there wasn't much detail stated, this Clock Maker book series has an interesting name and the theme sounds intriguing. Be interested to see what Seth thinks of it and whether he wants to pursue the rest of the series once he has finished with the first one. Very interesting discussion with Twilight. After discussing the mechanics of the sound spell, Twilight asks him why he still can't trust her. Now if this had happened before Canterlot, he likely would have just told her to fuck off and mind her own business, but now, due to how guilty he feels about the whole thing and how Twilight helped and defended him, he feels somewhat closer to her. He still doesn't consider her a friend, but he certainly doesn't hate her anymore. However because he couldn't use his default anger here, he was left feeling vulnerable and upset about how he began his belief system of never trusting anyone that wasn't a close friend. While Rainbow (and Vinyl) know at least to a degree how sensitive this is for him, Twilight is a very blunt and nonsensitive pony when she doesn't have all the information. She didn't realise how strong his belief was and how painful whatever Janna did to him was to alter his worldview. She could tell that he wasn't going to back down or discuss the issue, but because he wasn't angry with her, she could for once see how difficult it must have been for him. She may have caved and given him something to do as restitution for helping with the sound enchantment, this whole discussion has likely left her very curious, and we all know how dangerous a curious Twilight can be
. Hopefully she uses some common sense and doesn't try to push him for answers, or try and do the same to Rainbow, else the mutual association that Seth has built up with her is going to come crumbling down quickly. Still she respected his trust issues this time and asked him to pay her back by staying the night as her study buddy. Vinyl will probably make some crack jokes in the morning, but by this point Seth seems too use to it to get annoyed. He can always prank her for some revenge 
.
Overall the chapter gave use some fun with Rainbow and helped to remind us of the fun night they have planned, as well as show us how his relationship with Twilight currently stands and how deep his trust issues run. Great work man. Also, don't worry about the ranking system man. This whole new system might look nicer, but it's confusing, stupid and certainly not very accurate. Don't worry about ranking, your story is awesome. Just look over the last 60 chapters of comments and see all the people who love it. Keep up the great work dude
5118207
Got a few things I wanted to point out. I wouldn't say Rainbow flinched upon being touched. It was more like a shiver, like you're not used to that much contact.
The Clock-Maker was actually a reference. While the world I mentioned in there, as well as the characters' appearances are all my creation, the name Sephylon actually came from a particular card that my friend is obsessed with.
You know, you may have noticed by now, but I've actually taken several of your suggestions in this fic, and other ideas I've incorporated have been inspired by these comments of yours. So thanks, man.
5118471 Ah, then I am just seeing things. Oh well, never mind then. I think I am just thinking into stuff too much by this point. I kind of do that with a lot of stuff actually, so I'm not surprised.
Cool, I had no idea whether it was all your idea or whether there were any real elements to it. This Sephylon sounds pretty awesome.
I have noticed you've included several of my ideas over the fic, the latest being the flying instead of running idea. It really makes me happy to know you actually value my opinions and think some of my ideas are worth using. This story is completely awesome with its ideas, its characters and all its world building. That you let me help to shape certain elements really makes me smile. Thanks man. Keep up the great work here, you have a serious talent and this story has been one of the best I've ever read
For someone who doesn't care what others think Seth sure does spend a lot of time getting angry at them. Well, at least he isn't as self destructive as he was initially.
Edit: I think the main reason for your fic not being highly ranked is that the start isn't great and I'd recommend you reread your whole fic (or at least the start) at some point. Also, it is being updated quickly so many people might be scared off.
Edit2: For some reason this didn't appear in my feed and I only found it because I was looking through my unread chapters in my favourites. Did this happen to anyone else? It's happened to a few other fics as well.
5119873
Interesting. While I know the story as a whole needs rewrites, what in particular about the beginning would you say isn't great? Specifics would be great.
Also, obscurity has always been an issue with me. I just don't know the right people or have the right resources to get my fic out there.
5120842 2 things, the style and characters aren't very consistent. And it starts the same way as most other HiE fics. Sadly there's not much you can do for the latter but I think you'll see what I mean if you read the start again. Your writing ability has improved with each chapter, yes. Well, the start looks like it was written by a different author than later chapters.
Bearing in mind this is from memory I may have gotten confused with another fic, my apologies if I have.
5121386
Definitely PM me with extra details, if you wouldn't mind. I keep a notebook for future revisions to make, so anything you can give me would help. For example, which characters are you referring to, and can you give me two sections where their characterization was inconsistent? Secondly, when you say style, what exactly do you mean?
Thirdly, by starting off the story, I believed I was starting differently than other HiEs, because most of the ones I've read have had little to no mention of the world before arriving in Equestria. Nor did they take time to establish a rapport with the characters they were leaving behind.
5119873 I know this comment is from a super long time ago, but what is commonly referred to on YouTube as the "Burnout Effect" happens to a lot of people. There is a game theory about it by the Game Theorists.
And how about now? Just curious where you went in a year =)
Also, I can't believe you are seriously considering rewriting this monstrous story. It is so huge and honestly there were quite a few grammatical mistakes along the way, so together with plot alterations it would take a shit ton of time without anyone to really read it from the scratch once it is done. Are you sure you are still up for this?
When Twilight was asking Seth to trust her, and he couldn't explain why he needed to do something in return, I imagined there mental processes this way: Twilight likes order, and Seth likes being debt-free. From Twilight's perspective, a messy room is bad, and to Seth owing someone for something is bad. to explain to Twilight the compulsion, I would tell her to imagine a building with many rooms, countless in the number, and the default is perfect order in each room. But each time Seth makes a deal that results in a debt, it would mess a room up according to the value of the debt, which means that a bigger debt means more disorder. That would probably get Twilight more-or-less off his case. of course this is simply my opinion, but still true.
And another shipping moment! I swear I mostly read this story for its adorableness, comedy and shipping moments!
Love that idea!
I like how the new story has a tragedy tag.
If I was more full of myself, I might have assumed this:
was directed at me, having actually done something quite similar.
You can amplify sound with a round glass jug.
I'm pretty done with Seth's shit right here. It's like beating a dead horse. This exact situation has repeated itself a dozen times already. And after that battle that was in large part due to himself he still doesn't trust? Not even a little? Learn friendship like Celestia told you to already dude.
At least he makes progress. I don't have much patience for Seth, but I'll take what I can get.
Looking forward to that Seth x Rainbow x phone scene tho.
I take it back.
I lied...
I read this story because it is probably one of the best stories that I have found so far.