Fixing the balance

by BRITICAL-HIT

Chapter 5; new faces, not-so familiar places

Despite his initial thoughts, Theo rather enjoyed his new job. The small interactions he made with everypony was soothing. He slowly learned to adapt his human dialect, not that it was that hard for him. Theo was used to moving about and changing dialogue was one of his specialties.

Most of his time was spent serving customers and avoiding Pinkies antics. She was annoying and hyperactive, yet Theo couldn't help but admit she was heavily skilled at baking. She also had the unnerving talent to almost make others laugh, wich he thought was quite the ability to have. She kept going on about making a welcome party for him and his friends, and although he didn't want to say, he hated parties. They were always overcrowded and stuffy, with barely any breathing space. He was never very social anyway, but having an open party with a large group of ponies he never met before just scared him. That being said, it was a nice sentiment and Theo was glad to know that pinkie was looking out for them one way or another.

Theo had eventually finished his shift and his interview, and was about to head off to meet his friends.

"Is that all?" He asked, anxious to see his friends. While his day was quite eventful and he managed to haggle the spare room, he really wanted to see how his friends have fared.

"Slow down champ, you might want this." Mr cake called him and threw over a small bag of coins, which Theo caught with his magic. The bag contained 30 bits, bits being the new currency Theo had to get to grips with." Go get you and your friends something to eat, we'll see you later."

"Is that it, when do you want me back?" Theo asked.

"Be back whenever you please, just be sure to get some sleep tonight." The cakes seemed quite kind and caring, similar to his father in some ways. This small reminder gave him mixed feelings. Part of him liked the small reminder of home, but it also came as a reminder of how far from home he was.

"And while your gone, I'm gonna plan yours and your friends welcome to Ponyville party!" Pinkie said out of nowhere. Mere moments earlier she was in the kitchen with Mrs cake, but she bursted into the room faster than Theo could describe.

"Just to note, how often does she do that?" Theo asked, slightly scared. Mr cake sighed.

"Too often. We sometimes have to replace the doors." Mr cake said, slightly embarrassed. Theo took caution.

"Okay then, I'm gonna go meet my friends before something else happens. See you later." This was the last thing Theo said before galloping though the door. Mr cake looked over at Pinkie.

"See? You've got him doing it now!" He yelled, pinkie responding with a giggle.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Theo waited at a table from a restaurant near the clock tower for his friends. He already placed and payed for his order for himself and his friends, the matter was waiting for them. To his surprise, Ivan was the first to turn up. He looked exhausted yet he had a confident grin on his face that could only be described as pride.

"Nice to see you've made it mate, take a seat." Theo said, with a smile on his face. Ivan looked puzzled.

"What's got you so perky?" Ivan asked. Theo's smile was slightly creeping him out, so Theo stopped.

"The bakery was better than expected, it was quite therapeutic even." Theo managed to relax around the comfort of his friend." What about you? How long can you fly for now."

"Indefinitely." Ivan said with pride, Theo gawping.

"Holy shit, I'm impressed." Theo leaned back.

"You were impressed with 15 seconds." Ivan rolled his eyes.

"I'm even more impressed then. Jeez man, what's with the constant need for praise?" Theo asked, getting interrupted before his answer was given.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" Made announced, entering with a hard hat and a jacket.

"Oh look, Bob the builder is here!" Ivan joked, causing Made to blush.

"Yeah, let's wind me up now, I just got here." She moaned. Theo rolled his eyes.

"Just sit down guys, I've ordered us some food. Familiar food." This thought put his friends at ease. For the past few days, all they ate was grass and the occasional flower. Even just the thought of real food gave them comfort. The waiter soon appeared with the food ordered.

"I have your pizza and chips group meal sir?" The waiter said awkwardly. Theo nodded while his two friends mouths began to water.

"Yeah thanks, just make sure these two don't go for it while your still holding it." Theo responded sarcastically. The waiter chuckled before returning to his duties. Theo turned to his attention to his friends, who simply stared at the food before them. "It's not going anywhere, well, it's going in your mouths in a few moments." Ivan took this as a signal to dig in, yet the lack of fingers made eating hard.

"Fuck sake, how am I gonna eat without fingers?" Ivan cursed, getting a few dirty looks from those around him. Made suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment and shock

"Ivan, careful what you say, people are about." She hissed. Upon understanding what he said, Ivan covered his mouth.

"Sorry, converting dialect isn't my best ability." He said, now cautious of those around him. Theo rolled his eyes.

"Speak for yourself, that stuffs my bread and butter." Theo practically patted himself on the back.

"Does your ego want anything to eat?" Made joked." It's not that hard, most of the time."

"Honestly guys, I've moved so much that it don't make much difference to me anymore." Theo continued." Not something I'm exactly happy about, but at least it made a difference."

This started an awkward silence as the group ate their meal. Well, by awkward silence I mean Theo just sat in silence while his Ivan and Made spoke. Most speaking was about how irritating it was trying to eat the pizza, and those they met prior to now. Theo occasionally picked up a piece of pizza with his magic, clearly irritating Ivan every time he did so. Made just starred at Theo performing the single spell he learned through complete accident and thought to herself, eventually questioning something..

"Is that spell all you can do Theo?" She asked. Theo turned his attention to his friends again, and then to his horn. He failed to realise he was using his magic to spin a fork around on the table, even leaving a mark.

"Meh, never really thought about it," He said." What spells though, I mean, how many are there?"

"Well, you might just find out how to activate that sword on your flank." Ivan added, referring to Theo's sword-like butt-tattoo." If levitation was all you could do, why would a sword be there?"

"Good point." Theo praised." But is there anywhere I can go to learn them? It seems to be common knowledge." It was at this point the waiter re-appeared with the groups drinks, placing them on the table with the same spell Theo uses.

"Hey mate, can I ask you something?" Theo asked him. The waiter turned to face him.

"Sure, what do you need? Sauce? Napkins? Sauce and napkins?" He asked over enthusiastically. Theo rolled his eyes.

"Is there a library anywhere in this town by chance?" He asked. The waiter thought, scratching his hair with his hoof.

"Well, the old one was destroyed during the battle with Tirek, so I don't know anym.. Oh yeah! There is one inside of twilights castle, but you'd need to ask princess Twilight herself." Despite what Theo was just told, more questions arose that were answered. Who was this 'Tirek' person and where is Twilight's castle? Theo shook his head and looked at the waiter again.

"Where is Twilight's castle?" Ivan asked." Were new."

"I can tell that much." the waiter said sarcastically." You don't need to know your way to know that Twilights castle is the giant crystal tree." He gestured to the Crystal structure in the distance.

"Thanks dude." Theo said to the waiter as he walked away. Once he was gone, Theo resumed his conversation. "So, if I can get inside, I will use the library to figure out how this thing ticks." Theo gestured to his horn, still glowing due to his spinning of his fork.

"As for me, my shift is starting soon." Ivan moaned." Well, good luck with the books mate!"

"I'm just gonna sit under a tree for a bit and relax. I'm done." Made said smugly. Getting a dirty look from Ivan, as per the norm when he is jealous. The three were about to go their separate ways, when Theo called them back.

"Wait guys." Theo called to them." We should meet up here once every two days. That way we can catch up on whatever happens." Ivan stayed quiet, not knowing how to answer, leaving the answer for Made to make.

"Good call!" She praised." See you guys soon." After this, the group disbanded to their own goals.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The castle that was before Theo was much larger than he thought it would be. It was composed entirely of purple crystal, and the structure looked like a treehouse crossed with a Christmas tree. Theo walked up to the large door, and then questioned how he would open it. He tried knocking, but nopony answered. He then tried to open the door with his magic, yet it was pointless, wouldn't budge. He was about to hit something when a young mare walked up to him. She was a unicorn, similar to Theo, yet had a pink coat with a purple and teal mane. She gave him a puzzled look.

"Can I help you?" She asked, Looking towards Theo for an answer.

"Eerrm, I'm trying to get in? The dumb door won't open though." He said, continuing to struggle opening the door. The mare rolled her eyes.

"Maybe try pulling the door open." She said opening the door." Now can you explain what business you have here?" Theo sighed

"I hoped I could access the library. I wanted.." Theo said before being interrupted.

"Wait, you want to use the library?" She asked. "Nopony has ever asked to use Twilight's library. There is the odd school excursion, but still."

"Would that be a problem?" Theo asked. The mare sighed.

"It wouldn't be if Twilight was here." She moaned." She's currently at the Canterlot royal debate and won't be back for a few days." Theo sighed, his goal having failed.

"Well, thanks anyway." Theo said. He was about to walk away when the stranger walked away.

"I suppose I could let you in." She suggested." Being Twilight's student, I have access to the castle in her absence." Theo gave her a look of disbelief.

"Wait, you'd do that for me?" He asked.

"Sure! What do you want it for anyway?" She asked. She seemed to get straight to the point with every question she asked.

"I was going to try and learn some new spells. I only know levitation and I figured.." Theo said before being interrupted yet again.

"You only know levitation?" The mare asked. Theo was irritated over being ignored, again.

"Can you please stop interrupting me mid sentence?" Theo asked.

"Sorry about that, but still. You only know levitation?" She asked again. Theo sighed.

"Yeah, but I want to learn more." He answered." You never know when you might need it." This straightforward answer seemed to satisfy the young mare.

"I could help if you want." She offered." I am pretty good at performing magic, I could give you a few pointers." This offer sounded pleasing to Theo.

"Really? Thanks! Oh, I'm Theo by the way."

"Starlight Glimmer, nice to meet you."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Made sighed, a habit she tried to avoid for the past few days. Unlike the boys, she knew how to keep things to herself, yet not having any time to herself meant she had no opportunity to vent. Secretly, she was worse off than Ivan. True, she didn't let it show, but she doesn't like discussing things and often goes to quiet areas in order to get over it. But an opportunity to do so never really came about in the last couple of days, with an exploding portal and their sudden form change taking priority over the ability to vent.

"Eerm, excuse me."

She wished she never touched that portal. Theo might be a nice guy, but none of this mess would've started if he took the first day off like regular people.

"Miss, can you?"

But seriously, with everything that is going on recently, she didn't know what would happen next.

"Miss! Please!"

Made opened her eyes to see someone stood in front of her. She was yellow at the coat, with styled pink hair. Made failed to notice her while in thought.

"Sorry, didn't see you there, had something on my mind." She admitted, clearly caught in the act." Can I help you?"

"Can you, erm, move for a second." The mare asked, gesturing to the black rabbit beside her and the rabbit hole Made was sat on. Made moved slightly, allowing the rabbit passage into its home.

"Oh, my bad. Didn't notice that." She said to the mare, who remained silent." I'm Made, nice to meet you." This still failed to get an answer from her, so Made tried a different way." Don't worry, I don't bite, often." This light humour seemed to give the mare a glimmer of courage.

"Erm, I'm, erm, fluttershy.." She said quietly and slowly. Made showed a kind face to her, making her feel much better over the whole meeting.

"See? I'm not some evil half pony half shark." Made joked, getting a weird look from her." No? Dang it, that one would've got the boys good." Fluttershy's look remaining unchanged. Made sighed." I'm new here. I came here with two colts called Ivan and Theo." This explanation Fluttershy understood, relieving her of the confused look on her face and giving her comfort around Made.

"How are you finding things?" Fluttershy asked, her tone changing into a more kind one rather than scared. Made sighed.

"It's great, more than great!" Made said, slightly upset." I mean, it's great here, but it just doesn't feel right." Fluttershy gave Made a warm look, somewhat willing her to keep talking, and it worked!" I spent my whole life growing up around my friends and family, it just feels awkward without them." Fluttershy put her hoof on Made's shoulder to comfort her. Made looked at her, a little confused." How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Fluttershy asked.

"You made me tell you how I felt and i felt better about it immediately. How?" Made asked again. Fluttershy giggled a bit.

"I didn't get you to do anything." She answered." You told me what was no your mind and you felt better about it." Made laughed slightly and nodded.

"Oh, your good." She complemented Fluttershy, making her blush slightly. Made felt somewhat better about the whole 'new world' thing.

Well, a bit anyway.

Comments

[Ephedianroyalty]

Lol, flutters as a psychologist, how did I never think of that?