1 - Who said that?
Chapter 1: Who said that?
It was hard to see up here, perched in the corner of the room. I looked on with tired eyes. Twilight was performing yet another experiment. The same one. This was her sixth attempt. Mistakes in science were often small and innocuously made. A small tip of the balance here, a miscalculation there, and BANG! Everything falls to pieces.
“Owlowiscious, could you fetch me the condenser? The usual, please.”
I quickly spotted the 3/4 size condenser and gripped it in my talons. This was the sixth condenser she had wrecked.
Here you go, I muttered to myself. I dropped the condenser onto the bench with a slightly impertinent clatter.
“Thank you, Owlowiscious,” she said, oblivious to my discontent. “Could you also fetch the kit? The usual, please.”
I grumbled to myself silently as I flittered across the room to do as she bade.
Usually I would be happy to help Twilight with whatever she needed. It was a good feeling, knowing that you’re helping someone discover something new. Pushing the boundaries of our respective knowledge. I loved knowledge. I couldn’t get enough of learning something new. With how long I’ve been around, looking for something new to do was always a challenge. Luckily, I had found Twilight.
Exciting she was! A world-saving mare, with a neurotic disposition to sorting books and performing world-altering discoveries in science? Quite a unique partner if I do say so myself. I think Angel must be jealous. He has a tough task ahead, to bring his owner around, but I think he’s getting there, poor fellow. Oh well, where was I? Yes Twilight.
She’s amazing.
But this was trying my—admittedly deep—well of patience.
Twilight consulted her notes for the umpteenth time. I plopped the organic kit on the desk. This was a bit heavier so I did it carefully and I didn’t put as much insolence behind it. I don’t break scientific equipment. I’m not a monster.
“Okay,” she mumbled, bringing the notes in front of her. Her half-lidded eyes were fighting a losing battle to remain open. “Add in the phosphonium salt.”
I resisted the urge to face-wing myself.
“It’s the nitric acid and then the phosphonium salt.” My wings momentarily flew to my beak, then I quickly whipped it back to my sides. I worked on smoothing my expression. I needed to make my eyes less wide.
Twilight brought a hoof to her head as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Of course!” she exclaimed, heaving a sigh of relief. “That was it! I can’t believe I missed tha—” She froze, then turned to me.
I stared back at her, trying to give my best impression of a dumb animal.
“You spoke, didn’t you.” It comes out as more of a statement rather than a query.
I continued to stare back at her blankly. My feathers were going to get all matted if I carried on sweating like this.
“Who?” I hedged.
“Don’t ‘who’ me!” she snapped.
I shrank back.
Twilight seemed to regret her outburst. She took a few steps back and took a calming breath.
“Sorry! Sorry! I’m just tired. I thought…” She sighed. “I thought you spoke.”
I watched as Twilight dragged her hooves back to her stool and set her head on the table. I felt a little bad about it, all things considered. Winona likes the ‘invented language’ game but I sometimes get tired of saying ‘who’ all the time. No matter how hilarious it was the first time. Still, I have to play the game. Rules and all that.
I really should have thought of something better to say than ‘who’.
With a small clatter, I realised Twilight had fallen asleep at her desk again. Sighing, I flittered over to a small blanket folded on a shelf. With some difficulty I manoeuvred my claws on the fabric until I got a solid grip. Then I beat my wings hard to bring the blanket out of its slot. With a flutter the blanket was drawn out and I settled it on Twilight’s shoulders.
I studied Twilight after perching on her desk. She was so stressed out. I mean true, she brings a lot of it onto herself, but it’s mostly to fulfil expectations. Expectations so many others place on her shoulders. I sighed again.
“Silly mare,” I muttered, fluffing my feathers.
A gigantic eye popped open and stared at me. Startled I fell on my backside, a couple of my feathers coming loose with how I was back-pedalling.
“I knew it!” Twilight seethed. “You talk!”
Quick! Fall back! Try something! Anything! Something witty to distract her!
“Who?”
Her eye twitched.
Ah feathers.
–––––
I’m not sure how many birds have been in my particular situation. I’m fairly sure that the answer should be not many. The light was bright. Really bright. Doubly so for a night creature as I. Though it pained me to do so, I kept my beak shut tight.
“Spill it, Owlowiscious. If that is indeed your real name.”
I heard the measured pacing of Twilight as she circled around me. My faceplate ensured all the sounds would track her very accurately. It also ensured that I would also hear the sound constantly when she paced in her bedroom as she was wont to do from time to time. I’d fly away then, the repetitive clopping of hooves was something I couldn’t stand for more than a few minutes.
I flicked an eye open.
“Who?” I repeated.
Twilight eclipsed my vision. Not that there was much to see, just the ceiling and such.
“Don’t give me that,” she growled, shining the light directly into my face. I squeezed my eyes shut.
Me and my big mouth, I thought to myself, angry that I had let slip the one secret that would guarantee to pique Twilight’s curiosity. I remained resolutely mute. The light moved away and I cautiously cracked open an eye.
Twilight’s mouth quirked and she drew back.
“Playing hard to get, huh? At least, that’s what Rarity would say. Hmm…”
Strapped to the table I was, I couldn’t see what Twilight was doing as she stepped away, out of sight. I heard her rummaging around in the back. Was she preparing something nefarious? Was this meant to scare me? A psychological game? Hah! I’ve lived long enough. Bring it on. I can take whatever it is. Just—
She brought out a long, slim quill. It was snow-white, possibly sourced from a swan, or some majestical creature as that. I watched as she levitated it towards me, waving it this way and that, making sure my full attention was on it.
I don’t get it. It’s just a quill.
Twilight seemed to know what I was thinking.
“This, Owlowiscious, is no ordinary quill,” she whispered almost reverently. “This is a feather taken from Princess Celestia herself. A gift to me, when I ran out of quills in a study session with her.” She flicked the quill under my beak. My eyes were locked on the feather. “This quill has an interesting background,” she continued mildly. “Because it came from the Princess, I’ve enchanted so many preserving spells on it that it is nigh impossible to destroy.” I didn’t like where this was going. The feather sounded ominous already.
“One time,” Twilight continued, heedless of my growing unease. “My brother challenged me to a fight. A game of tag. He knew I was ticklish just behind my ears. He knew.” I wanted to look away when Twilight locked eyes with me. The intensity of the exchange would have left me silent, had I been speaking.
Twilight paused for a moment. It was all sinking in. Her diabolical plot was becoming clearer and clearer with each passing second.
“So,” she resumed, waving the feather around once again. Her focus momentarily shifted away from me as she studied the feather. “I enchanted the feather. It was simple, really. Something to increase the sensitivity of the touch.” She gave me a particularly evil smirk. “I’ve heard my brother describe it as ‘painfully ticklish’... I wonder how you’ll react.”
The feather drifted closer.
It approached languidly, Twilight licking her lips as if savouring the moment physically. My eyes followed the feather, unable to move away from the terrifying enchanted instrument of torture.
Inches away, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Stop!” I yelled. “Stop! Okay! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
The feather stopped, then withdrew.
“I knew it!” Twilight exclaimed throwing her hooves up in the air. “You can talk!”
I nodded, my heart still pounding wildly from the close encounter. Twilight tossed the quill onto her desk. Then she trotted forward and undid the bonds binding me to the table. I was shocked, to say the least.
“There now,” she said, grinning. “Wasn’t that easy?”
I stared at her, beak agape.
“B-But the quill! The interrogation!” I paused. “Wha-What?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s just to make you more honest with yourself.” She crossed her hooves and gave me a stern stare. “Friends don’t keep such important secrets from each other. Especially when the other thinks she’s going crazy.”
Oh. Well I guess I did go a bit far with the ‘who’ thing.
I shrugged awkwardly.
“It’s something I’ve been used to doing for most of my life. I just didn’t think about it at all.” Gosh, my voice sounded so strange after all this time. I sound like a different owl.
Twilight’s hot gaze cooled down.
“Well I suppose that’s something we’ll have to talk about,” she said, dragging the quill and notepad from the desk. “There’s so much to learn!” She started writing something but the quill snapped.
“Huh,” she said, throwing it in the bin. My eyes widened in surprised at the casual abandonment.
“Wasn’t that quill special to you?” I asked.
Twilight grinned at me and waved a dismissive hoof.
“No that was just some story I made up.”
Well…
“Okay,” I said, as I subsided. I glanced at the window. With a few quick flaps, I could be out of here. I’d have to find a new place of course, and it wouldn’t be as interesting. Not to mention the game was ruined. There were a lot of factors clamouring around my mind. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I should probably leave.
For some reason though, I hesitated.
“What now?” I asked, throwing everything to the wind.
Twilight’s hesitant smile broke into a grin as she took a wing into her hoof.
“Just the usual.”
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Owlowiscious should go full Michigan J. Frog.
yay For Owls! A cute story ^_^
5559172
That would be hilarious. Though we seriously need more of the ImmortalPetverse.
Great start
This is marked as complete. Is it going to continue? Please tell me there will be more
Is there going to be more of this? It's marked as complete.
I hope there's going to be more of this.
5559531
5559530 Eh okay, I'll write a few more chapters. Type de type type.
5559540
Loved it! Shall follow for the next chapter.
5559540
Not that i find anything really wrong with the stories, but wouldn't it be a bit simpler if they were all one story with multiple chapters instead of multiple stories with one chapter?
5560762 Perhaps, I just liked the format that each pet gets their own limelight in a separate story. Also the tone of each story will drastically change depending on the character. Think about Gummy's chapter. That'll be Morgan Freeman food.
For a millenia old being he's not really smart is he?Hasnt he ever heard of bluffing?
5561133 Owl's have brains the size of marbles. Those huge eyes of theirs take up almost all the space in their heads, and the rest is filled by the bone structure to support such eyes. I'm actually not surprised at all that Owlowiscious isn't that smart.
I like that you are keeping everything the same as far as their relationship goes. It isn't the most strange thing to happen in Ponyville.
Hey there, buddy!
If you don't update this, I'll find you and do something to you...
SUCH AS HYPE YOU UP ON COFFEE!
Also, Owlowicious is screwed!
My pet owl is an potentially millennia-old immortal who can talk. Huh.
...
Eh, still not the weirdest thing that's happened in this town.
And he fell for the old fake ticklish-feather-of-doom trick! Oldest one in the book!
I'm struggling a little to figure out what this is supposed to say...
5571831 learn to speak British. Technically this is correct however I would word it "she paced in her bedroom as she had the habit of doing from time to time."
interesting story I wonder where you'll take it.
5572530
...I have never heard that word being used over here XD
(I'm from the English North-West)
5572547 it's a mannerism of speaking that hasn't been used outside of the overly presumptuous for a long time. You'll encounter it a lot if you like old books like me. I just realised I act a lot like Twilight, yet Pinkie is best pony... odd.
5572872 Twilight and Pinkie complement each other quite well. That's probably why I publish so many stories with that pair.
Interesting. Do continue.
5559172 IT NEEDS MORE!
And what are you talking about please?
5578111 He only talks to Twilight. When Twilight tries to get him to talk in front of other ponies, he just says "Who?". End result: Everypony assumes Twi is losing it.
5578184 No the person you're referening. Who is he?
5578212 The singing frog in the old Looney Tunes short, which is the Wikipedia article I linked to.
Here, I'll even do the leg work and get you the first Google result: http://vimeo.com/46018110
5578249 Thanks!
might not the next chapter be "Whoop de whoo"
5572530
“Wont” I’m familiar with, but I’m pretty sure the other verb should be “was”, not “were”.
5643793 I think I will revise the sentence to 'as she wont to do from time to time', which I think still maintains grammatical sense. Thank you for picking that up!
5643857
No, that’s not right—it should be “as she was wont to do from time to time". “Wont” is an adjective, not a verb, at least in modern English.
5647650 You're absolutely right. I was actually going for the archaic usage. The whole sentence is revised and now looks a bit strange, I may switch it back to modern English to keep form. Thanks.
5647765
Yeah, the archaic one would probably work coming from Luna or something, but otherwise it’s just confusing. Looks good now.
This is awesome, a lot more existing and interesting than the prequel at least for me.
~Leonzilla
Dear Twilight,
I think my friends aren't telling me the truth, but they deny it every time I ask them. What should I do?
-Suspicious in Manehatten
_____________________________________
Dear Suspicious,
You should simply strap them to a table without their consent and threaten to psychologically tortu- I mean, convince them until they decide to tell you the truth. That's what I do to MY friends, after all. Although Rainbow Dash seems to be avoiding me for some reason, I can't imagine why. In any case, everypony knows forced confessions make for wonderful, lasting friendships.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle, Princess of
InterrogationFriendship[https://youtu.be/l8o5fxnDUjs]
6321510
Who?
Barely started, and he already sounds like Yoda in my head. XD