Archimedes Constant

by Wheller

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Twilight Sparkle dashed out of the Library just after Pinkie Pie, while the confectioner loved sweets and ate them at a rate that was certainly not healthy for a pony of any age; she was deceptively fast, by the time Twilight had gotten out the Library door, Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found.

Twilight frowned and galloped down the high street towards Sugarcube Corner, figuring that it would be the best place to start looking. She burst through the front door of Sugarcube, blazing past at such a high speed that the Cakes assumed that she WAS Pinkie Pie, Twilight raced up the stairs and burst into Pinkie Pie’s room. The pink party pony was nowhere to be found.

Twilight calmed herself a little and started to think things through. It was probably just as good that she had yet to find Pinkie Pie, because Twilight had not even the faintest idea of what she was going to say to her. Twilight sat down on the floor in Pinkie Pie’s room and began to look around. She noticed a few photographs of her and her friends. The largest one, however, was one of Pinkie Pie and Twilight. Twilight was looking into the camera and giving a pleasant smile, while Pinkie Pie had her foreleg around Twilight and was giving a ridiculously goofy looking grin. Twilight couldn’t help but smile at this photograph. Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie had always seemed to want to be around Twilight. The pink party pony had been finding a number of reasons to visit the library, and taking out several books on chemistry at a time, and then bringing them back the next day and getting more. Twilight had been somewhat impressed with Pinkie Pie’s interest in chemistry, and figured that the highly random pony was using the knowledge gained from these books to make party favours and fireworks.

Then Vinyl Scratch insisted that they all take a trip north, towards the Hoofson Bay, Vinyl Scratch was cured of her radiation poisoning, Twilight and Rainbow Dash regained their old world memoires, and Whirlwind was turned into a monster, Legion.

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash had gotten together, and Pinkie Pie stopped coming around to the Library regularly. Twilight had never figured it was because Pinkie Pie had feelings for her. Now she felt guilty for not recognising it sooner. Twilight found it hard to believe that Pinkie Pie could be so good at hiding feelings, and attributed her lack of noticing to her rather poor social skills. Twilight had always found it extremely difficult to pick up on the more subtle emotions of others, and it had caused her a number of problems in the past. When she still lived in Canterlot and her classmates at Princess Celestia’s school for Gifted Unicorns had all wanted to spend time with her, get to know her, be her friend.

Since coming to Ponyville; that had been a topic of much regret for the lavender unicorn, and it hurt her to know that she hadn’t taken noticed upon Pinkie Pie’s feelings, they should have been obvious.

Twilight replaced the photograph and trotted down the stairs into Sugarcube Corner proper. Mrs. Cake looked up in surprise. ‘Oh! Twilight! Dear, we thought you were Pinkie Pie the way you went by so fast! Where is Pinkie Pie?’

‘I wish I could tell you, Mrs. Cake, I’m still looking for her’, Twilight said.

‘Is everything all right?’ Mrs. Cake asked.

Twilight could only shrug. I’ll let you know when I find her’.

...

Pinkie Pie and King George had taken up roost on the balcony of the town hall and where looking out onto the country side towards the southern road. King George had pulled a pair of binoculars from his person and was looking through them.

‘There are the South Islanders!’ King George called out. ‘An Infantry section from... Royal Kingsland Fusilier’s regiment, very nice... they have a good record... and what is this? Oh... how interesting! A tank from My Own South Island Dragoons! M3 Light Tank 105... Very interesting! Well we did always take the parade seriously, it’s going to be a good one this year! I can already tell!’

Pinkie Pie sat quietly and politely listened to the ramblings of the King. Pinkie Pie respected him, he was not unlike the way she acted in public and with someone of his status, she could only smile at the antics that he could have been involved in. He was a king! Pinkie Pie could only imagine that he could do pretty much anything and get away with it.

King George looked over to her and smiled. ‘Now, that is what I like to see! You have such a wonderful smile Pinkie Pie; tell me, what’s caused you to want to hide it?’

‘Well... it’s kind of a long story...’ Pinkie Pie said, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof nervously.

‘I have time’, King George said with a grin. ‘I’m a King, they’ll wait for me’.

...

Twilight continued to run through the streets and skidded to a halt when she heard a very familiar sound from around the corner. That sound belonged to tank tracks. Twilight watched as a South Island M3 Light Tank rounded the corner, and rubbed her eyes when she saw the number printed on it. It had to be a trick her eyes were playing on her. She looked again, it definitely was. It was number 105.

What was most odd about the tank were the fact that there were 8 kangaroos crammed onto the top of it, riding on the tank and doing their best to keep from falling.

One of the kangaroos looked up at her with an odd look, and then hopped off. ‘Go ahead! I’ll catch up!’ he called as the tank continued to roll onwards.

Twilight looked at him, and then recognised who he was immediately. ‘Benjamin Willoughby?’

Willoughby could only grin at her. ‘Looks like the universe can’t stand to see us apart, huh Twilight?’

Twilight nodded and looked down the street towards the tank. ‘And was that...?’

‘The Lord Stuart?’ Willoughby asked. ‘Sure was, believe me, I was just as flabbergasted as you were, got a different crew now, but it’s still it’.

...

Archimedes had been kind enough to give Vinyl Scratch and Surprise a place to rest for the night. He bid them good night and departed from the room.

Vinyl figured that she shouldn’t be surprised that after trying the door, she discovered that it was locked, from the outside. She had thought it strange that Archimedes had been a little too friendly. Well, so much for friendliness.

‘Locked’, Vinyl said with a frown. ‘Figures, looks like we aren’t going...’ Vinyl stopped in mid sentence as she was turning around to face her friend, only to discover that Surprise was holding her chain knife in her teeth.

Vinyl understood what she was getting at, her friends choice of weapon had been developed as an industrial tool for use in cutting steel. The doors were steel, theoretically speaking; the chain knife should be able to cut through them. Theoretically, anyway, that idea was based on the assumption that the doors weren’t too thick to cut through, and Vinyl would rather not try and fail and run the risk of having angry machine cultists storm the door and kill her, and then do whatever they would do to Surprise since she was immortal.

‘No, put it away’, Vinyl said. ‘We’ll play their game for now’.

Surprise looked mildly disappointed, but nevertheless returned her chain knife to its hiding place inside her thick, unruly mane. Vinyl chuckled as the idea that Surprise probably had to use the chain knife if she ever wanted to get a haircut.

‘Come on silly; let’s get some rest, eh?’ Vinyl suggested as she went over to lie down on the cot, patting the space next to her for Surprise to join.

‘I don’t sleep’, Surprise said, staring blankly at the cot. ‘Ever’.

‘Oh don’t be silly, I’ve seen you sleep plenty of times’, Vinyl said, stretching her legs out and causally pointing her horn towards the corner. Surprise glanced to it out of the corner of her eye and noticed the security camera. ‘You just don’t know when you fall asleep, that’s all’.

Surprise nodded in understanding and joined Vinyl Scratch in the cot. Vinyl pulled the covers over their heads and the two looked each other directly in the eyes.

Can you hear me?

Vinyl Scratch raised an eyebrow, she heard Surprise’s voice, but her mouth had not moved at all. That was when she realised she heard it inside your head.

Can... can you hear what I think? Vinyl thought.

Surprise nodded in affirmation. Not all the time, I have to work really, really hard to hear things, most the time I can only hear myself and the others in my head.

You’re a real messed up pony, Surprise. Vinyl Scratch thought with a grin. She gave her friend a hug and another smile to go with it. Keep a good eye out for me, okay?

Surprise nodded in affirmation, Vinyl Scratch rolled over and did her best to go to sleep.

Comments

[DreadedCandiru2]

Okaaaaaaaaay.....we have 1) Twilight kicking herself for not seeing the crush Pinkie has on her.
2) Willoughby back in town asking after old friends
and
3) The other really important and horrifying thing: Vinyl, Surprise and the Machine Cultists.

I can't wait to see which way to panic next.

[Fallen Knight]

Interesting,its King George the 3rd were talking about here or?

[Wheller]

52730

George's personality isn't based off anyone in particular.

Though his physical appearance is based on King George V.

Why can't it be the future soon so that I don't have to wait?

Whooves, I want you to send me to next month.

Again Wheller, I am so impressed by your ability to add cool meta-world knowledge into the story, like with Zecora and her South African heritage, and the Afrikaners. Pinkie is getting better which is great and all and Surprise is still being a nutcase, which is good/bad/meh and Benjamin is back which is super chill! Things seem to be looking up/down/sideways/?someways? I can't wait to see what happens next!

[oblivion2k]

53092
someways, definitely someways.