As Normal As Ponyville Gets
The next morning, Sour Grapes was fairly slow to awaken. It had been a harrying few days, and with the culmination of the Nightmare Night party, the poor mare was, frankly, pooped. In all honesty, she was relieved that the whole ordeal was over. Mind you, it had been fun, especially with her inadvertently winning the Scary Story Contest. She wasn’t expecting her history lesson to go over so well, but apparently she had underestimated her storytelling ability. Grapes got out of bed, stretching and yawning hugely, and clip-clopped down her stairs to find Spike was cooking, again, with the help of Fluttershy.
“Oh. Hello, Sour Grapes. I hope you don’t mind me helping Spike here. I’m finally feeling good enough to do something more than just relax, today.”
“I don’t mind one little bit, Fluttershy,” Grapes replied with a smile. “Honestly, I’m not going to know what to do once he and Twilight leave. The little guy’s been spoiling me rotten.”
Spike smiled up at her as he carried a steaming pot of oatmeal from the stove over to a large bowl at the kitchen table and poured it in.
“Aw. Think of it as me repaying you for keeping Twi out of trouble. Usually by this point in a day she’s had three nervous attacks, runs around in a panic and then tries to drag me along for the ride. I hate to say it but she’s still adjusting to life outside of a structured environment.”
“School-to-real-life transitions are always tough… Speaking of transitions to and from school, I should see about getting Earshot so he’ll be up, and ready to go, in a bit,” Grapes said looking at the clock. “Ugh. My sleeping schedule is going to be so screwed up for the next few days.” Grapes trotted out of house and into the bunkhouse, going to Earshot’s room, and looked around.
It always amazed her at the vast array of colors in his room. It took a lot of persuading to get him to pick just ONE for the walls themselves. When the bunkhouse was renovated Earshot had somehow gotten enough paint to do each of all four walls and the ceiling in a different vivid primary color. Now he had settled into a cheery ‘Sunshine’ yellow for the walls and a deep shade of blue for the ceiling. She saw two or three pillow cases on the floor, candy spilling forth from them. Obliquely, Sour Grapes felt a tad jealous. She’d never gotten such a haul in her trick-or-treating. Not even most pegasi kids got that much. Guess Earshot had a cuteness factor that garnered more treats. She glanced at his bed, a modest single-pony model and noting the smooth well-made sheets on it smiled. Earshot had many things it took time to get used to, eating habits, the ability to hear rumors in town from the outskirts, not to mention his bat-wings. His sleeping habits were just one more thing that made him unique. She remembered the first time she discovered them. She had been putting fresh sheets in the closets of each room of the old bunkhouse… and got a surprise when she found him hanging upside down from the armoire’s inner ceiling. With the redesign of the bunkhouse he now had the only room with two ‘closets’. One for storage, and the other… well… he liked dark quiet places to just… ur… hang out.
Grapes trotted over to Earshot’s sleeping nook, which she had persuaded him to paint a dark soothing blue. It was easy to do. She actually let him paint the walls, in there, yellow and the next morning she casually asked him how he had slept. This lead to an impromptu lesson in color theory, and how different colors caused different moods. Kind of hard to have a dark quiet place, when the walls were sunny yellow.
She opened the door to find him hanging there, only partially out of his costume. Grapes carefully undid the cheap cape, and slipped it off him. “Wakey wakey, Earshot, time to get up.”
“Nummugh…” he grunted , face half-visible under the smeared Chalk-white vampony makeup. “Whuh? Izzere a storm?”
“No, Earshot, it’s your first day of school,” Grapes said with a sigh.
“Uhmf… don’ gotta be there until after midday…” he said quietly somehow shuffling his way a little further to the back of the nook. “jus a few m’ere hours… m’kay?”
With a flick of her horn the blinds flipped up the rest of the way on his windows, letting hard sunlight burst into the dark recesses of his nook. He blinked and HISSED like the creature of legend he was supposed to be and wrapped himself up tightly in his wings, looking suspiciously like a big leathery pinata.
“Earshot. You are FAR too young for me to ask you to come out of the closet,” Grapes quipped, then rolled her eyes. “My sleeping schedule isn’t the only one that’s messed up,” Grapes muttered, then used her levitation to gently pry him down from the ceiling of the nook. “You give me no choice, mister. I tried being nice. Time to share a lesson my mother taught ME when I was the sleepy foal who was up too late on Nightmare night.” With that she casually trotted to the bathroom, levitating the little leathery bundle behind her. She moved Earshot under the shower-head, and turned on the cold water, full blast.
She was ready for the ear-splitting cry, although it seemed to have an ‘extra’ quality to it that made the lenses in her glasses shiver in their frames. She wasn’t however ready for the stream of… noises he made after that. It reminded her of musical notes mashed together in a way, it took her only a moment to come to the conclusion that this was probably what Nightpony language sounded like. Whatever he said it didn’t sound happy.
“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth, mister?” Grapes asked sternly, deducing that the lad was probably being very unflattering with his adjectives.
“N… No Miss Grapes,” he shivered as the icy shower turned the water soluble portions of his makeup into streams of white, red and black rivulettes.
“Its later than you think,” Grapes said adjusting the temperature, so he would have a nice warm shower. “I think even Aye Jay’s rooster slept in, today. Now get your shower, and head on down to get some breakfast… brunch… lunch… whatever. You’ve got a couple of hours before you should head out, to be on time.” With that, she left the bunkhouse bathroom, and went to the kitchen to fix him a late-afternoon snack, using the special bread, and grabbing the chocolate cookies from his special cookie jar. The special cookie jar had been decorated with cute cartoony bugs, indicating that the cookies, inside, had ‘extra’ ingredients. The breakfast/brunch table had been set up inside, because there was a distinct nip in the air in the mornings, even late morning, that would cool the food too quickly. Grapes grabbed a bowl of oatmeal, and was mixing in more ‘special ingredients’ to sort of make up for the cold shower. Oatmeal became Oat Meal, a hearty mixture of oats and mealworms… and a few cranberries for color. Just the thing for a growing Night Pony.
“Hey, you guys!” Rainbow Dash said, bursting into the Bunkhouse.
“Somepony’s feeling better,” Grapes observed, adding a touch of honey, and brown sugar to the bowl, just as Earshot came down. Grapes trotted over, and put the bowl on the table, only to have a cyan hoof grab it.
“Oh LOADS better!.After all that sleep I needed a night out to get back in the groove. Ooh! Oatmeal! Thank you very much!” Dash said, hoofing a spoon into the bowl.
“Rainbow Dash, that isn’t yours. It’s Earshot’s,” Grapes said sounding a bit ticked. “If you want some oatmeal, I’ll make it to your specifications.”
“But this is ready now,” Dash argued, scooping out a spoon-full, and nomming it. Grapes casually moved the bowl to Earshot, minus the spoonful, mouthing ‘sorry’ to the Night Pony.
“Be that as it may, you’re still Rainbow Dash, not Earshot,” Grapes said with strained patience.
“Hmph. I think you got a stale batch, there, Grapes,” Dash said, licking her lips. “Kinda reminded me of the time Gilda dared me to eat worms, in Junior Flight Camp.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Grapes uttered.
“What?” Dash uttered, then blinked. “There were…”
“Mealworms, yes. Thankfully, they eat clean grains, and not dirt or garbage. Just the thing for a growing Night Pony,” Grapes elaborated.
“So that’s why you made such a big deal out of…” Dash started.
“Oh, look, she IS smarter than she looks,” Grapes quipped. “Note to self, get a special bowl for Earshot…” she muttered, as she clopped back into the kitchen.
Dash continued to sloooooowly chew her mouthful of Earshot’s breakfast, and thoughtfully before making a face and swallowing. No doubt desperately trying to keep her cool under the circumstances.
“Oh man… Sorry about that. Better than the LAST time I ate… stuff. Guess the oatmeal and fruit help, but definitely NOT part of a well-balanced breakfast.” Grapes came back out bringing Dash out a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, honey and cranberries.
“Well, not for just regular, ordinary, herbivorous pegasi,” Grapes observed, plunking the oatmeal, sans mealworms before Dash. “But it is for Night Ponies.”
“Oh. Right… Sorry, again. I just… forgot you’re all that different,” Dash said scratching the back of her head with a hoof.
“It’s ok Miss Dash. Stuff like this is bound to happen. So you really have eaten worms before?”
“Yeah, kid. A Griffon dared me to,” Dash explained, as she dug into her own oatmeal.
“Got you something to eat, later, Earshot,” Grapes said, putting the brown bag beside him. “You should start out, as soon as you’re finished.”
“Ok. Thanks Miss Grapes.” He looked at Rainbow Dash and smiled, a little something like admiration in his eyes. “It’s kinda cool you did that Miss Dash.”
“Yeah? Why’s that, squirt?” Dash asked.
“It means Night-ponies probably really are just a… an offshoot of ordinary Pegasai. We had to start changing our eating habits somewhere, and you doing that without getting sick, well it’s a little piece of proof.”
“Huh. Okay. I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow Dash said thoughtfully. “But don’t you gotta head to the School? It’s kinda a long flight, from here.”
Earshot hungrily dug into his breakfast and nodded.
“Well, my school day starts at the end of the regular classes. Miss Cheerilee thought it would be better if I learned with ponies closer to my age than the younger ones. She calls them the holdbacks. Something to do with not being able to get a space in an apprenticeship program?”
“Makes sense to me,” Dash said nodding. “I was hoping to chat with Queenie. First Snow’s coming up, soon, and I’d like some advice, since I’m in charge of it, this time.”
“She may be still asleep. Tottering about on stilts, most of last night, left her tuckered out,” Grapes observed, picking up the now-empty bowls, and carrying them back into the kitchen. Grapes came back out with her own bowl of oatmeal, and nommed happily on it. “I rather liked how that worked out. Rarity was Princess Luna, and Queenie was Princess Celestia. It’s almost as if they conspired.”
The young Night Pony finished up his meal and trotted off up to his room to get his good suit ready. A minute later the sparkling form of Queenie entered the room, clad in a pale blue and white fuzzy night-coat… and more curlers than Grapes could count. She smiled a dazzling smile and poured herself a cup of tea.
“Good morning all. Wasn’t that a truly WON-derful night? Oh, it’s been awhile since I’ve just allowed myself to enjoy festivities for the sake of the festivities. Good show, one and all.”
“All I did was unwittingly win a scary story contest,” Grapes observed casually, obviously underplaying her part in arranging things. “All she did was give Rarity conniption fits all night, with her costume,” she added pointing at Rainbow Dash. Nopony else was in the bunk house dining room, just then. Rainbow Dash just smirked.
“Oh, the sentiment is what’s truly important, Grapes. The others will catch up soon. I believe I heard Stormfront starting his calisthenics on my way down. ...Granted they are more like the five basic moves of Aero-Dance but still… pleasant to watch if one is into that sort of thing,” Queenie said thoughtfully.
“He does Aero-Dance? Really?” Dash asked sounding surprised.
“Why yes. Yes he does, Dash. Is that so surprising?” Queenie queried.
“Well, duh. Look at the wings on the guy. I’d be worried he’d take his partner’s head off with a Peeroay,” Dash said twirling a hoof.
“Pirouette, Dash,” Grapes corrected absently.
“Yeah, what she said,” Dash uttered.
“I’ll admit one would easily jump to the conclusion that dear Stormfront would be quite, ungainly just from his build, however I assure you he is light as a feather and graceful as a swan when dancing… and flying. I suspect that whatever lessons he took helped spare him from a life of being a minotaur in a china shop,” Queenie asserted with obvious pride in her teammate.
“You know she dances, right?” Dash said pointing to Grapes.
“I’m right here you know,” Grapes grumped grouchily.
“Yeah, I know. But I’m talkin’ to Queenie, right now, okay?” Dash said.
“Really now? Then you should take some time to dance with Stormfront, Grapes. Trust me when I say it’s a real treat.”
“Only if it’s not fifty feet in the air. Last time he tried that, I barfed in the begonias,” Grapes observed, with a slight smirk.
“She’d probably be able to keep up with him,” Dash said nodding. “Hey, she can keep up with Pinkie Pie, taking the lead, even!”
“Oh, you saw that?” Grapes asked.
“Heh, yeah, Grapes,” Dash laughed. “If Rarity wasn’t so hot for a prince, she’d have gone after you like a shot.”
“... And suddenly, I’m grateful for Prince Blueballs,” Grapes quipped.
While they shared a laugh, Spike slid a plateful of lightly fried diced potatoes in front of the trio of mares before returning to the stove to keep an eye on things.
“Oh. Oh that is rich. I keep forgetting your nickname for that distant relative of Princess Celestia. I hope his attitude has gotten better since last I saw him. If not… well… Rarity is a fairly strong-spirited mare. I’m certain she can handle things,” Queenie said giggling.
“You’re going there, too, right? To the Grand Galloping Gala?” Grapes asked Rainbow.
“Well, DUH! Me? Wonderbolts? Same room? I’m gonna do everything I can to wow them and want me to be part of the team.” Grapes looked pained.
“Ah… I don’t think that’s how it’ll work out, Rainbow Dash,” Grapes said, cautiously, obviously trying to let the brash pegasus down as easily as she can.
“Oh I know it’ll be tough impressing them. Especially at a stuffy party like that, but with a little luck and a lot of awesomeness I think I can get my hoof in the door.” Grapes gave Queenie this look, then sighed.
“I hope Rarity and Applejack bring you, and the others, along to the little get-together I planned for after the Gala,” Grapes said rubbing her head, as if she was getting a headache. “I wouldn’t want to miss hearing about your being too awesome for the room…”
“Sweet!” Rainbow Dash said puffing herself up proudly, then blinked. “Hey! Yeah, I wanted to talk to you, Queenie. I could use your opinion on something.”
"Is it your personality? Your appearance? Your personal hygiene? Or will this be more weather-based?" Queenie asked a slight smirk on her face.
"It's weather-based. Heeeeey. What's wrong with my looks?" Dask inquired, eyeing Queenie.
"Nothing. Just asking," the sparkly pegasus said holding up her hooves defensively. Grapes sniggered at the exchange, and scooped herself some potatoes, and nommed on them to help offset the healthy goodness of the oatmeal.
"Who has two wings and has been offered the contract for getting the Ponyville region ready for First Snow?" Dash thumped her chest and made a 'Muscle' pose. "That's right... yours truly. Just got the Cloudsdale Weather Bureau paperwork today. So seeing as you’re an expert on all this winter wonderland weather stuff I thought I’d get your opinion on my prep work later today... You know… expert to expert.”
“Let me finish my breakfast, and we’ll go outside and check the conditions, alright?” Queenie asked.
“Sounds good to me,” Dash replied with a nod.
“Ahoy, lads and lasses,” Squall said, coming from his room. “Hey, the lad’s still here. Good. I got ye a goin’ ta school present. Cost me more than a few bits, lemmie tell you-me, but I think it be worth every coin,” he said, hoofing Earshot a brightly painted metal box with a handle on top.
"Oh, good, then I don't have to brown bag his lunch," Grapes said with a grin.
Earshot turned the colorful box over in his hooves and found a squint-eyed pony with a corncob pipe, a sailor’s shirt, great anchor-shaped brands on his forelegs and a large open can of leafy green stuff. His eyes went wide with recognition and he laughed.
"Hey! That's the pony you were dressed as last night, Squall!"
"Aye. This here is Blackeye the Mariner. He’s been around longer than me but I used to love seeing his adventures down at the Thimble Theatre Puppet shows when I was yer age." the older pony popped a corncob pipe into his mouth whipped out a concertina from under the table and began to sing. "I'm Black-eye the Mar-i-ner.” Toot-toot! "I'm Black-eye the Mar-i-ner" Toot-toot! "When you needs me help, I just eats me kelp. And show 'em all What Fer!” Toot-toot!
Earshot laughed and clapped his hooves together while Grapes just grinned. “If they ever need a live version of Blackeye, you got my vote.”
“Blackeye the Mariner?” Dash said looking confused.
“Before your time, Rainbow Dash,” Grapes observed.
“Aye. I’d think you’d like him and his antics. Next time the puppet shows are playin’ I’ll buy you a ticket for when they play The High-Seas Adventures of Blackeye the Mariner. Loads of fun for a mare of action such as yourself.”
“Well.. I’d feel weird watching a puppet show and everything,” Dash admitted rubbing the back of head.
“Then take that filly that’s always followin’ you around. Little thing with the scooter. Nopony ever questions somepony who is just taking a foal out for entertainment,” Squall asserted.
“Okay, deal,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. “Scootaloo will probably get a kick out of my taking her.”
“Deal. Trust me. Some stuff never goes out of style, and one is Blackeye and the gang.”
Earshot busied himself with a journey of discovery into the workings of a lunchbox in between bites of his breakfast.
“Wow. There’s a small thermos in here, and a space for sandwiches and one for a snack. Hey and a place for… lunch money? “
“Or cookies,” Grapes said, taking out the thermos, and putting the sandwich and snack into the lunch box, and then adding the cookies. “Chocolate weevil, your fave. What would you like to take to drink?”
“Mmmm... chocolate milk?” He asked hopefully.
“Sorry, hon, milk’s not good for long-term thermos storage,” Grapes said. “How about some grape juice?”
“That’s good too,” he said with a smile. That was one thing Grapes liked about him. He wasn’t picky. Grapes saluted, and trotted off to fill the thermos.
Queenie gently took the box from Earshot and examined it.
“My word… this box has seen better days. It’s in good condition, don’t get me wrong, but it looks like it’s already been used.”
“Aye. It has. I picked that up over at Rare Ransoms,” Squall asserted with a grin.
“Rare Ransoms? That’s a veritable treasure trove of nostalgia!” She gasped under her breath as she examined the box even closer. “You mean to say this is an original? It’s… dare I say… Vintage?”
“Aye Queenie. You would be right on the button with that,” the sea green pegasus replied.
“Wait… You got him an antique lunch box that any collector would give their eyeteeth for? And you intend for it to be used?” Grapes asked, as she slotted the thermos back into it’s cradle, having filled it with grape juice.
“Indeed I do. It does nopony any good to sit it on a shelf someplace and gather dust. Books should be read, pictures viewed, toys played with, and lunchboxes…” he took the box and placed it in front of Earshot with a smile “...Should be in the hooves of good little colts whom I know will appreciate it and care for it. Right lad?”
“RIGHT!” Earshot exclaimed enthusiastically before wolfing down the last of his breakfast.
“That’s a good colt. Now go put your clothes on and get going. I’d rather you arrive early than late. Go on… off with ye,” Squall said in a gruff, yet good-natured voice.
“Hm… I have to agree with you about the whole collectable thing,” Grapes said thoughtfully, then grinned at the sea green pegasus. “You’re taking this ‘legal guardian’ stuff seriously, aren’t you, Squall?”
“A little. We’ve always looked out for him before, this is maybe the first time I’ve been responsible for anypony’s actions other than my own... It’s interesting.”
“Be good experience, should you ever decide to settle down with that lady from Seaside you mentioned,” Grapes said with a smirk.
“Well I… that is…” Squall stammered.
“Oh good heavens. He was actually thinking about that,” Queenie giggled, Dash joining on in. “Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is cute to see there’s still life in the old wreck after all.”
“Who are you calling a wreck?” Squall demanded.
“How about Relic?”
“No no, Queenie,” Grapes said with a grin. “He’s vintage. Maybe even retro.”
“‘Retro’?” Rainbow asked.
“Means either being old, or having an old style, but still is pretty cool,” Grapes explained. Just then Earshot came downstairs, dressed in his white suit, and looking pleased as punch to be heading out.
“Have a good day at school,” Grapes called.
“Thank you, Miss Grapes. Good luck with your chilling thing Miss Dash!” Earshot said, as he was heading out.
“Just Dash…. ‘Miss’ Dash makes me feel like I’m girly or something. That was fun for Nightmare Night but it’s just not me.”
“‘Kay. Good luck, Dash!” Earshot amended, his wings fluttering excitedly as he went out.
“Well. I believe Queenie wanted to finish her breakfast, Dash wanted her expert advice on cold and ice, and… I think Squall has breakfast to eat,” Grapes listed off, as she finished her potatoes.
“And Firestormer is no doubt going to have breakfast in town today,” Queenie smirked. “New Pegasus at the cafe’s been giving him the once-over. I pointed it out to him and I think he’s going to show off a little.”
“Oh of course,” Grapes said with a chuckle. “We’ll see how well that goes, won’t we?”
“Hey, everypony,” Twilight Sparkle said coming into the dining hall. “We finished up the dishes, and will be heading home. Thanks again, Grapes, for having me here.”
“Hey, if anypony else had been able, they’d have done the same thing,” Grapes asserted. “Spike’s totally spoiled me, though, I swear.”
“Oh, and uhm… Thanks for letting me stay, last night,” Fluttershy said in her usually quiet tone.
“I wasn’t about to let you go walking around after dark, Fluttershy, especially not after all the spooky stories that were told,” Grapes replied with a firm nod. With their final goodbyes, the two mares, and baby dragon left. Grapes, honestly, was a bit relieved. Things were getting back to… Well… As normal as Ponyville could possibly get.
“Rainbow Dash, if you’d be so kind as to wait a bit, I really should start packing for my trip back home,” Queenie said, as she was eating her breakfast.
“Hey, sure, I can hang. Clear skies, today, and got that taken care of in ten seconds flat,” Dash said with a smirk.
“Somebody’s glad to be feeling better,” Grapes snarked, as she took the last of the dishes to be washed.
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While things were getting back to their status quo at the Vineyard, Earshot was happily fluttering his way to school. The young Night-Pony was happy to start on this new adventure, and was glad that Sour Grapes had talked him into going forward with this. He came upon the schoolhouse, and saw that the day’s classes had let out, and he still had some time before his classes started. Some of the schoolfoals were playing on the grounds. He even recognised the three that had come to the Nightmare Night party, last night. Earshot felt a bit nervous as he approached them. They were going to see him without costume, and they would know he was a real Night Pony.
“Hey,” Scootaloo said, noticing him coming up the road, “isn't that the colt who told all those awesome scary stories, last night?”
“Why are you still in costume?” Applebloom asked. “It ain’t Nightmare Night anymore.”
Earshot shyly extended his bat-like wings and gave them a little flutter.
“I’m um… not wearing a costume,” he said with a sheepish grin.
Sweetiebelle scooted over to him, looking at his wings. “That’s not a costume?” she asked, squeaking in that cute way she does. “Those wings are real?”
“Real what?” Earshot asked as his wings stiffened at the sound of Sweetie’s squeeks.
“Wow,” Scootaloo said, as she watched him talk. “He’s got fangs! Not really big ones, but I guess you’d be talking funny if you did, huh?”
“Guess yer not from ‘round here, huh?” Applebloom asked. “Those stories from yer home?”
“Well, yes. That’s right. I’m from quite a long ways away from here. My family and community wanted me to see what the world was like so they asked me to go. Foh fahr fings are wookin… uh..” he stopped and blinked as Scootaloo was forcing his lips back to get a better look at his teeth. “Whuh ah hyu ooing?”
“Just getting a better look. Wow… these look way better than the ones you were wearing at the party. Didja get those from Barnyard Bargains?” Scootaloo inquired, looking at the Night Pony’s fangs excitedly.
“Scootaloo, don’ look a guest pony in tha mouth! It’s rude!” Applebloom scolded.
“What? Oh… sorry. Didn’t mean to get all touchie-feely there,” said, Scootaloo contritely.
“His wings feel like velour!” Sweetiebelle squeaked, happily, as she rubbed her cheek against Earshot’s wing.
“Ohh… um… is that good? What’s velour?” Earshot asked, looking at the white unicorn filly.
“It’s a type of fabric. Rarity uses it for… Well all sorts of things,” Sweetie replied, backing up a bit, and blushing slightly at getting a really good look at his face.
“Oh. I’ll have to ask miss Rarity about it when I’m next there for a suit,” Earshot mused, rubbing a hoof against his chin.
“Are ya here for the afternoon classes?” Applebloom asked. “They’re jus’ about ta start.”
“Yeah. I am… I’m just…” Earshot put his Lunchbox down and took a few deep breaths “Just a little… nervous. That’s all. It’s silly I know but… my kin… we don’t have the concept of organised education. KNowledge is passed down from elders to foals, in the homes and from tradesponies to apprentices in businesses. This… put everypony in one room and teach them… it’s… intimidating me.”
“Psh, that’s just first day jitters,” Scootaloo said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Everypony gets that on their first day of school.”
“Yeah,” Sweetiebelle said. “I was so nervous about my first day, I clung to my Mother’s leg, all the way here. Thank goodness Miss Cheerilee is so nice.”
“Yer jus’ nervous ‘bout tryin’ somethin’ new,” Applebloom said with a grin. “If we let every new thing intimidate us we’d never… get inta half tha trouble we get into…”
“Yeah, but that’s half the fun!” Scootaloo asserted.
“So, it’s ok to feel nervous?“ asked Earshot.
“Well yeah,” Sweetiebelle said with a warm smile. “You’re doing something you’ve never done before. Sure it’s kinda scary, but Miss Cheerilee won’t let anything really bad happen. She’s the bestest teacher EVER!” she added, nuzzling his wing again.
“Eep… Well… that’s good then. She did seem so nice. I um, better get going then.Don’t want to be late,” Earshot asserted.
“Tardy,” Applebloom corrected.
“What?”
“When ya’ll are late to school yer tardy.”
“Oh… Yes. Ok I don’t wanna be tardy,” Earshot said, before he trotted into the schoolhouse, leaving his lunchbox outside.
“Hey, Sweetiebelle,” Scootaloo said, smirking, “think you nuzzled his wing enough?”
“No… I mean yes… I mean… I did not nuzzle his wing that much!” Sweetie yelped.
“Ah think she’s lookin’ fer a coltfriend,” Applebloom teased.
“Am not!”
“So are too.” Scootaloo laughed. “You just wanna nuzzle his wings all night long.”
“Do… do not,” Sweetie uttered, blushing a bit, now.
“Ah we’re jest teasin’ ya. Gotta admit it was funny the way you were doin’ that,” Applebloom said as she started to leave. “Hey… Ain’t this his lunchbox?”
“What? Oh hey, I think you’re right.” Scootaloo looked it over and tipped it on it’s side to get a better view. “Looks like that stallion that told that cool story about the big hairy giant. Hmm… ‘Blackeye the Mariner’. Looks kinda cool.”
“Should we take it to him?” Sweetie asked. “He’s bound to want his lunch.”
“Yeah but class is probably gonna start any moment now. How about we leave it where he can find it?” Scootaloo suggested.
“Like the swings or the slide?” Sweetie asked.
“Maybe the stairs would be a better place,” Applebloom said, taking the handle in her teeth, and trotting to the schoolhouse, and putting the box on the stairs, in plain view. “There we go.”
“Yeah. Don’t want him to lose his lunch on his first day,” Scootaloo said with a nod.
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Rainbow Dash lay back on her cloud and held a hoof in the air, testing it. Normally she’d be catching a nap right now but after all that time in Rarity’s bed… check that ...Rarity’s GUEST bed she didn't want to spend her first day out cold.
“Thank you for waiting, Rainbow Dash. I’ve got to visit my home to help train some interns, then I’ll get to have a glorious vacation,” Queenie said, landing on the cloud next to her with a smile. “So… Let’s take a gander at the conditions, hm?”
“I think you’ll like what I’ve done so far,” Rainbow asserted with a smirk.
“So far very nice. Breezes are nice and brisk, with just a hint of a nip,” Queenie asserted. “But that’s just the air. Let’s check the ground.” With that the sparkling pegasus hopped off the cloud and flew down to earth.
“The ground? Why do we wanna do that?” She asked following her down.
Queenie ran her hoof over the soil in a wide arc, digging up a little furrow before tamping the dirt with her hoof and frowning.
“Oh dear… No, no. This won't do,” she tsked “This won't do at all. There’s too much of a temperature variance.”
“Woah wait. What kind of temperature variance?” Rainbow Dash asked looking a bit confused.
“Remember ground and water hold their heat longer than air. So any snow that actually lands will turn to slush at best. We’ll wind up with a combination of snow and mud… Snud, if you will. Not really a postcard perfect first snow,” Queenie explained.
“So… I gotta drop the local temperature even more. That’s all?”
“Yes. By at least… oh… to be safe let’s say a full twenty percent.” Queenie arched a graceful eyebrow at the brash athlete and smirked playfully. “You CAN do a temperature drop of twenty percent, right?”
“Hey. I can do ‘20% cooler’ no sweat!” Rainbow Dash asserted confidently. Queenie simply trotted up to to the cyan mare, looked her straight in the eyes, and smirked.
“Prove it,” she said, challengingly.
Queenie stood back as the other Pegasus became a rainbow streak into the sky and began whipping up some good ground-level icy breezes to catch up on her work. “Well now that I've prevented an all-too-common rookie mistake, I’ll get back to my packing.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The air definitely had that fresh nearly-winter chill to it. Thank goodness all the winter-prep work was nearly done. She heard from the local pegasi that the farmers had asked for an extra-deep snow this year to get the groundwater tables up to par. She made certain her scarf was done up tight and trotted up the path to the north field. It’s not like she didn't trust Redline… Okay yes it was exactly like she didn't trust Redline. His ability to cause catastrophe was astonishing so Grapes was going to check up on him.. She stopped at the old rail fence that surrounded the area and touched inquisitively it with her hoof. The rough-hewn lumber had been whitewashed recently. She was surprised, not displeased just, surprised. No doubt this was Moondust's work, probably thought that the old gray wood needed to be 'prettier' and got her big brother to make a batch of whitewash for it. Now it was a pleasant-looking yellow... and so was that old stump over yonder., and those roots there, and that stump over there... yep. Moondust's work.
It did make this foreboding piece of property much more welcoming, not that it made her less on her guard. There were still gopher holes and old roots and rocks hidden in the scrub… now neatly trimmed scrub , thank you Moondust. And of course there was the local hazard of…
There was a sound like a oversized mouth-harp being plucked and a wheel larger than herself rolled past about a dozen or so feet from her to come to a hard crash against a large boulder… cracking the stone in half, and splintering the wheel. A moment later the familiar wild-maned figure of Redline came galloping out of his barn and stopped to stare mournfully at the remains of the runaway item.
“Aw nuts.”
“Care to explain?” Grapes asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Oh! Sour Grapes!” he said finally noticing her. “Ah… just an effort in saving energy in potentia for travel. Basically clockwork on a large scale to power a cart. One of the springs was stronger than the axle for the wheel… an oversight.”
“So you’re, essentially, making a wind-up wagons?” Grapes asked, tilting her head. “Why are you connecting the spring directly to the axle? I would think it’d be better connected to some form of variance, to allow you to control the speed, and the variance connected to the drive-shaft. Similar to the workings of a steam engine.”
“I was inspired by one of the toys I got for Moondust earlier. Simplistic yes, but in the end the simpler something is the less can go wrong. My first mistake, I feel, was having a spring for each wheel to lighten the overall load. Maybe if I put them all side by side working off a central gear or something… Like you suggested maybe I should have looked at the workings of a locomotive first, but on the other hoof sometimes I learn a lot from a failure than an easy success.” He looked over at the broken rock and the bits of wheel before smiling sheepishly. “Some lessons are ‘bigger’ than others.”
“Well at least no pony is hurt, but having one spring, one central gear, and one drive shaft means fewer parts for things to go wrong with,” Grapes observed before turning to the reason that brought her here. “So how’s the weaning going?”
“The weaning?” he asked, picking up a few choice brass fittings from the ruins and walking back to his workshop.
“You know, dialing back of that blasted tea of yours? The stuff that caused the six heroes of Equestria to be laid up for a couple of weeks?” Grapes asked, trotting alongside him.
“Oh! Um… well… it’s getting better. I have to admit that seeing what it did to them really was an eye-opener. Makes me more motivated to ‘clean up’ my act. Although I found myself with a new doctor, unexpectedly. Just showed up on my doorstep and barged on in with a stethoscope. He did some tests, watched me brew a pot of my tea and did some tests on that as well… then checked me over to make sure I was alive.”
“Green coat, grey mane, gruff demeanor?” Grapes asked. “That would be Crabapple.”
“Lives up to his name. You know he’s not really doing or even intending harm but you can’t help but…” he made a wincing motion and shuddered. “Could have at least warmed up that thermometer first.”
“You try being a young stallion with stubborn patients,” Grapes snarked. “You’d develop a grouchy demeanor to get ponies to take you seriously, too.”
“Young? He’s young?”
“Yes, he’s my age,” Grapes replied.
“Guess it’s true what they say. The job ages you.”
The door to the workshop opened wide and he stepped inside with Grapes. She had never actually SEEN the inside of his workshop before. She had tried to avoid it in most cases but the conversation had caught her up. She looked around at the clutter, wires and gears and tools were everywhere. Half-completed machines of dubious purpose loomed in various locations as were ones that whirred and hummed of their own accord. They bore blinking lights and long scrolls of paper with wiggling pens and one thing had two metal sticks with small arcs of lightning sparking up and down between them. She wondered if this was like walking into his head.
He put the pieces down in a box marked ‘Recyclables’ and moved over to a drafting board where a chessboard was laid out. He moved one piece and smiled.
“Check.”
“Check-mate.” came a second voice. One that was strangely… un-ponylike.
“What in Tartarus,” Grapes asked, trotting over, “was that?”
Approaching the drafting board she could now see towards the back was a metallic doll’s head. The Pony-like shape was painted white, and had bright green eyes that swiveled about in their sockets to look up at her. It blinked with a soft clicking sound before looking back at Redline who was moving one of the other pieces in place.
“Huh. You’re right… well played.”
“Would. you. like. to. play. again? Too. bad.”
“... What is that?” Grapes demanded.
“Oh.. this? This is my attempt at making a friend for my sister. Never got past the head stage… or even picked a tribe for her. I just wanted her to have somepony to have fun with, play games with… “
“You. lose.”
“She needs some fine-tuning in the personality department.”
“Redline, that’s… really really creepy. Also, there are foals in Ponyville. She could, you know, go out and make actual friends,” Grapes asserted.
“Actually… she has.” he said looking a little saddened. “She’s met a few recently and has been spending time with them… guess it was bound to happen. Ponyville is the first place we’ve stayed long enough for her to make some.”
“So why do you sound so sad?” Grapes said with a frown. “Real friends are better for her than some wind-up construct.”
“Wind-up? I. wound. up. on. his. desk.”
“I just… well… I worry one day she won’t need me anymore. I’ve been taking care of her all this time. I’ve been father, mother and big brother all rolled into one and… It makes me both happy and sad that she’s growing up and making friends.”
Grapes sighed hugely. “Congratulations, you’re a parent. Now get over it, and use it as fodder to embarrass her with, when she’s older. You can’t keep her wadded in cotton batting forever. She has to get out, make friends, get her knees skint, and all that other wonderful childhood stuff.”
“Yeah. I know that’s for the best. Certainly will make her more well-rounded than I was.” He moved away from the desk. “Never really had friends growing up… more like an entourage.”
“An… entourage?” Grapes asked, an eyebrow raised.
“I was… gifted. Star pupil on the Artificer fast track at CSFGU. Acing every test and displaying all-around brilliance… and ponies collected in my wake to enjoy the glow of success. It was a popularity that made my ego swell to new proportions. Then… well… the bubble burst. Parents disappeared but dropped by long enough to leave Moondust in my custody… And suddenly she became my world, and world didn’t benefit from those who previously orbited around my old one. I found out that there is a big distinction between acquaintance and friend.”
“Fair weather friends,” Grapes spat. “Only seeking to use you to better their status. I hate those.”
“Yeah. Although I could have stayed at the school, I had no money to pay for it or raise Moondust. Courts seized all the family assets and so I found myself out on the open road taking odd jobs to give her a comfortable life. I’d… like to think that it made me a better pony. Gave me for the first time something other than myself to think about.”
“Except for your weapon of massive caffination,” Grapes quipped, looking at the chess bot. “But I’m sure even you know that enchanting an inanimate object with the intelligence of a pony is a never a good idea.”
“Set. phasers. to. HUG!”
“I don’t know… she might say strange things at times but all in all I’ve had great progress in making her likeable and loving.”
“I. love. my. sister. Apple. Jack.”
“What…?” Grapes said raising an eyebrow.
Redline chuckled and removed a tarp from a strange green and red box-like contraption with stylised apples on it and a crank handle sticking out from one side.
“She’s talking about this. A cart-jack I made it for the Apple family. Big Macintosh might be able to lift a cart but he can’t hold it up and fix a wheel at the same time. I jokingly called it an Apple-Jack and our friend there took me literally. Considers any device I build to be a brother or sister too. She hasn’t a mean bone in her body… figuratively speaking of course.
“Well right now, she doesn’t,” Grapes said. “And… she’s a machine, Redline. You can never be certain of what they’re thinking. You can never tell when the slightest bit of neglect would cause her to turn on you. You don’t know all of her motivations, or anything else. There’s a reason that warning is on that particular spell.”
“That’s why I made her just a head first. And to be honest she turned out a lot better than the toaster did.”
“You used the intelligence enchantment on a toaster,” Grapes stated, gazing at Redline flatly. “Seriously, I’m going to take away your advanced spellbooks until you’re completely off that tea.”
“Would you like to meet the toaster?” Redline asked.
“May as well,” Grapes sighed.
He lead her over to a small table at the back… with a complex machine next to it with what looked like a Cast-Iron version of a teapot with brass banding and rivets sitting next to it. He motioned to a small metal box on the table with an eerie cherry red glow coming from a slot on top.
“BEWARE FOOLS! YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF… THE TOASTER! MUAHAHAHAH!”
“Not only did you use the intelligence enchantment on a toaster, you ended up with a megalomaniacal toaster. Okay. I am REALLY going to take away your advanced spellbooks, now. Seriously. You need some remedial study in WHAT NOT TO DO.”
“Oh he’s troublesome but he can’t really get into any trouble. He’s a toaster! What is he gonna do?”
“FOOL! The difference between a raging magical inferno and a toaster is just a larger power supply. COWER BEFORE MY ARCANE HEATING COIL OF DOOM!”
“That’s the question that worries me, Redline,” Grapes said. “Also this proves my point.”
“You really think so?” Redline asked.
“She sees my terrible potential for horror! I will BURN Equestria in magical fire if given half the chance!”
There was the sound of little hooves behind them and Moondust walked past with a plate and several slices of bread upon it. She set it down on the table and smiled.
“Hello Miss Grapes. Hello Mister Toaster.”
“Hello child.”
“Can I have some toast please?”
“Certainly… where was I? Oh yes. WORSHIP ME FOALS! WORSHIP ME!
Moondust fed the slices into the slot and sat patiently.
Grapes sniggered. “Every...body likes Moondust, apparently.”
A moment later the toast popped out and onto her plate with pinpoint accuracy. Grapes had to glance again at the toast when she realised each had in the neatly toasted bread the shape of a cutie mark burned into it. One was Princess Celestia’s and the other was Twilight Sparkle’s. Moondust collected her plate and smiled.
“Thank you Mister Toaster.”
“You're welcome child. SEE? SHE APPRECIATES ME!”
“Why do you have the coils in the cutie marks of Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle?” Grapes asked.
“Because they look neat!” Moondust chirped as she left with her toast.
“When I built the toaster I made it so it could make any pattern on the toast that was suggested. From cutie marks to the Pony Lisa. I thought it would be a great feature… however he doesn't get artistic as much as I’d like.”
“Of course not, he’s a megalomaniacal toaster. Megalomaniacs don’t tend to be artistic, they’re more dramatic, and bombastic,” Grapes observed. “And you need to get out more.”
“Really? Well I guess I have been a little… busy lately.” Redline pulled the teapot out of the larger machine and poured himself a drink. “Caring for Moondust, repairs and keeping track of.. well.. everything has been time consuming.”
“Yeah. But you’ve got to take care of yourself,” Grapes said glaring at the teapot. “That is a weaker version of your tea, right? If it isn’t, I am so going to kick your flank. I say this as a friend.”
“Oh yes. Crabapple came up with a comprehensive plan to dial back the dosage over a four season period,” Redline assured.
“Good. I, as your friend, am still going to take away your advanced enchantment books to keep you from experimenting with artificial intelligence. The early creators of those spells did discover that it is, indeed, a crapshoot, and you found that out, for yourself, with mister toaster, here. What are you going to do with mister toaster, anyhow?” Grapes said looking at the device. “I’ll admit he’s amusing in a ‘what the Tartarus is wrong with him’ sort of way.”
“Well he IS still functional. He can’t help but make toast properly when you ask. It’s hardwired into him. I just don’t have the heart to just melt him down or something. I feel responsible for him.”
“You, also, could do with more than just one friend, Redline,” Grapes observed. “Or else you wouldn't be so tempted to try and make them, literally. Could send him to Princess Celestia as a gag gift.”
He nodded with a slight bit of amusement. Before walking back to the desk. He began sorting through a small pile of little pieces of paper.
“I’ll add it to my calender… soon as I find it. Everypony’s been giving me odd jobs lately and it’s hard keeping them all in order. I think I’m supposed to fix the plumbing at Rarity’s tomorrow… apparently she had a houseguest who left things in a mess. Or am I supposed to fix the ovens at Sugarcube Corner? Sugar crusting in the jets are a common occurrence.”
“You know, you really need something like an intown office. You can keep your appointment calendar, and customer files, there, and be better able to keep them organized. Also you’ll be able to set working hours, and keep ponies from calling on you when you’re trying to care for Moondust, and be able to better set appointments,” Grapes suggested.
“That’s… that’s actually a good idea,” he mused. “Must be a few little bits of office space in town I can rent. I’d need a secretary.”
“I. volunteer. I. would. make. an. excellent. secretary. If. I. had. limbs. I. would. have. impeccable. shorthoof.”
“I would strongly suggest against it, Redline,” Grapes said. “For one thing, ponies prefer a personal touch. Also, it would give somepony, in town, a job. There are one or two that could use a good part time job to help their families make ends meet. Lastly… I wouldn’t trust that thing with hooves. Call me paranoid, but I’m not ready to bow down to automata masters.”
“But. I. love. ponykind. so. much.”
“Be that as it may, it is said that the road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions,” Grapes replied.
“Awwww. Occupational. aspirations. failed.”
“You’re setting hours, Redline, and you’re getting out and making some living, breathing friends,” Grapes said poking the inventor’s chest. “Get me?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Good…” Grapes said, eyeing the animatronic pony warily.
__________________________________________________________________
Earshot had to admit, he had over thought his first day of school. He dressed a little overboard but still, that was normal, he had put far more than enough pencils and pens in his saddlebags, that was understandable, and he had worried far too much about all the what-ifs, but if those nice three fillies were to be believed, that was ordinary. He smiled as Miss Cheerilee let them out for their ‘lunch’ to unwind and have something to eat. He suddenly realised upon walking out into the sun that he had lost track of his lunchbox. Come to think of it he didn’t remember putting it down inside either. Panic began to come back, Squall had implied that he trusted him with the responsibility of owning that box… That EXPENSIVE box.
He rewound his memory and tried to think of the most likely location he would have put it down… then realised somewhere on the playground when he was talking to that pegasus, earth pony and unicorn. He looked out across the playful landscape where the younger foals were folicing and playing, using both his eyes and ears to search for a very recognisable piece of square metal… then he got a PING.
Earshot trotted in the direction he heard his sonar bounce off of tin in the right shape… and came across two fillies with an open box between them, gorging themselves on the contents. He eyed the box, quickly to be sure it WAS indeed his before the gray filly with a lighter gray braid and the pink filly with a purple and white mane became aware of him, and looked up at him as if he were intruding.
In the words of Summer Squall he had ‘several options open for dealing with this’. He opted for the best possible one to give a good impression.
“Hiya. My name’s Earshot. I see you’ve found my lunchbox. Thank you for watching over it until I came to get it.”
The two earth ponies looked at one another and smirked in a way that made his ears wanna go flat against his head.
“Oh.” the pink one said. “Is this yours?”
“Yes. Yes it is.”
“I don’t see your name on it. Unless your name is…” she flipped the lid over to scrutinise the cover. “...‘Black-eye’ the, uh… Mariner.”
“Oh wait,” the gray one snickered. “You said your name was ‘Earshot’, didn’t you.”
“Well. Yes, I did.”
“Well I guess you won’t be getting this back, will he Tiara?”
“Nope. Pity though, Spoon. These are very tasty cookies.”
“MmmmHmmm,” Silver Spoon agreed, “very tasty.”
“I didn’t know that other ponies would like chocolate weevil cookies as much as I did,” Earshot said, looking surprised.
The fillies stopped chewing a moment, a look of pure puzzlement on their faces before they looked at the last cookie still sitting in the bottom of the lunchbox. Like sharks being drawn to wounded prey, the other foals from nearby, sensing something awry, had started forming a small crowd around the event.
“Chocolate… what… cookies?”
“Chocolate Weevil Cookies,” he said in his best upbeat manner. “Miss Grapes knows that I don’t mind the extra protein in my diet so when she winds up with weevils in her flour, instead of throwing it away she doesn’t let it go to waste and bakes it into stuff for me. This batch is chocolate chip cookies, but with Weevil infested flour. Chocolate Weevil cookies, see?”
The crowd of foals was thick now, watching with rapt attention as Silver Spoon slowly picked up the last cookie out of the box and with deliberate care broke it open. The silence was nearly palpable as the two fillies took a closer look at the content of the baked dough.
The two were almost in perfect harmony as they shouted out “EWWWWWWWW!” and dropping the cookie made a mad dash to the water fountain. The circle of foals were all laughing and jeering Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as they fought over the right to rinse and spit while fighting a case of the heaves.
“That… was… AWESOME!” Shouted Scootaloo as she leapt up in the air.
“Wow… you made them EAT BUGS!” Applebloom laughed.
“Does this mean you eat bugs?” Sweetiebelle asked.
“Not all the time. I love daylight pony food, I just have the option of eating other stuff too. Bugs just happen to be part of that… but don’t worry. Unless you eat other ponies lunches without asking first you don’t have to worry about it,” Earshot replied with a nod.
“Oh… oh ok,” Sweetiebelle nodded before looking over at the two royal pains who were now losing the war against their gag reflexes. “Ewww… those might have been your cookies but they’re really tossing them now.”
“Points for distance tho,” Scootaloo roared with laughter.
A weary and sick-looking Diamond Tiara staggered over to Earshot and growled up at him with as much nerve and bluster she could.
“You… You’re gonna be SO sorry! I’m gonna tell my DADDY on you, you… you…”
Earshot instinctively smiled in his most disarming manner. The result was all the color draining from Tiara’s cheeks as she suddenly became aware of things like his teeth… and cat-like eyes… and those bat-like wings. She whispered, “....Night Pony,” before turning and running off with just the hoots and hollers of her classmates in her wake.
“I ain’t ever seen Diamond Tiara run like that from a pony. You didn’t even say nothin’ bad to her,” Applebloom said sounding amazed.
“Yeah. And nopony here saw you so much as raise your hooves to her,” Scootaloo observed with a smirk. “Witnesses rock.”
“She won’t get sick from eating your food, will she?” Sweetiebell asked.
“She shouldn’t. I mean it was just some weevils in the cookies. She just thought it was really gross… She’ll be ok,” he said then stopped and looked at the swiftly shrinking pink dot. “So why do I got this terrible feeling something bad is gonna happen soon?”
_________________________________________________________________
All in all it had been a good day for Queenie. She was pleased that she could help a friend… well, an acquaintance sort business out in a department she was proud of. Her choice of personals were collected, not that she needed to carry many. Going home meant a wardrobe always waited for you. And her friends had all had a small quiet going-away party for her. Even Earshot had come home in time to wish her well. Sour Grapes had broken out the cheese and crackers with an accompanying wine of excellent vintage and gave her a bottle to share with her family in the Valley.
It took a lot of convincing on her part to have them stay at the vineyard while she traveled to the train station alone. Bless them but she didn’t want them standing out in the cold if her train was late, and she hated long goodbyes. So now she was on the back of the Grapevine Hills cart with Big Macintosh pulling her to the station. The view back tugged at the heartstrings but the view forwards… well… Big Macintosh was a nicely built stallion with a nicely built posterior. It gave her something to look forward to.
He also was content to do his work in silence, a stallion of few words. She appreciated that. As the cart passed by the fairgrounds she noted a certain brightly colored mare face-to-face with a white pegasus mare she recognised as Carte Blanche, The Cloudsdale director of winter affairs. Blanche was a stickler for details and right now she was looking at the cane-length thermometer she had sunk into the ground at Dash’s hooves.
“Well now,” Blanche said making a note of what she saw. “I am well aware of your reputation Rainbow Dash. Lazy, undisciplined, self-centred… but immense amounts of raw talent. I do not impress easily and yet you have done so. I am pleasantly surprised that you have somehow managed to get everything right. Wind speed, ambient atmospheric pressure and temperature and, alarming enough, you even achieved optimal ground temperature by a margin of twenty percent. Somehow you avoided the most amateurish of mistakes. This will look very favorably on your permanent record.”
Rainbow Dash looked past Blanche’s shoulder and saw Queenie smiling enigmatically at her. She just beamed and spoke just loud enough for her voice to carry the distance.
“Oh hey, that earth temperature thing is SUCH a rookie mistake. Nopony who could be considered a professional at her job would ever let something like that slip past her notice."
Queenie arched an eyebrow then giggled softly before settling back onto the hay lining the cart. The great Rainbow Dash, mistress of the long-lost Sonic Rainboom, bearer of the Element of Loyalty… had in her own way, said ‘Thank you’. It gave her a nice warm feeling inside and actually made her look forward to the upcoming task at hand.
“Onward, Mister Macintosh. The Train awaits.”
“Eeyup… m’lady.”
She laughed nearly the rest of the way to the station.
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Well deserving of RD.
He he, Aero Dancing
Has anyone ever wondered how Popeye managed to remain in the US Navy if he was missing one eye?
Strange. Game. The. Only. Winning. Move. Is. Not. To. Play.
And agan, well deserving of RD and SS
3256566
Yep. Aero Dancing is the Pegasus analogue to Ballet. Stormy as a foal was a walking disaster, his oversized wings often getting him into trouble, so his mother had him take lessons to make him a little more graceful. Fortunately for all involved he loved it and it worked.
Maybe Popeye's eye is all squinty.
*Laughs* Thanks for the reference JAM. What can I say. I love the Friendship is Witchcraft's take on Sweetibelle that I HAD to give a nod to it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doUruDWov3o She's just so darn fun! Fortunately my co-writer thinks she actually fits into this world as a creation of Redline.
Sour Grapes on the other hand is worried the end result of this new Artificial Intelligence will wind up more like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5bubWyRwoA
I hope Mr. Rich will be open minded with Ear Shot I really do. A lot of stories I've read so far have him being rude, very snobbish and other things. The show really doesn't portray him as such though. So I'm hoping Filthy Rich is going to be portrayed nicely in this story... and that he give his brat of a Daughter a talking to.
Just so you know, there are references to Fallout New Vegas, Baldur's Gate, Friendship is Witchcraft, and the ever popular 20% cooler meme.
Hehe i love parts with toaster - they should get Twilight to supercharge it
He should get into more stories 
Love your story. Its awesome!!!
3285289 That's just a little bit cryptic...
3285289
Would you care to elaborate on which character and which chapter?
3281050 I'm glad you think so. ^^
Also the Baldur's Gate reference is to one of my favorite random throw-away lines of Jaherira's. "You are... amusing... In a 'what the hell is WRONG with you' kind of way."