Chapter 4: Taking Inventory

On the wagon ride back to Ponyville, Twilight catalogued the items the five of them had recovered, and created an inventory to send as a letter to Princess Celestia, that way they would likely know what to do with all the items when they got back to Gearhead’s Gadgets. If the princesses wanted them to bring the items to Canterlot Castle right away, they could have it all there by late evening, or so Twilight thought. They were lucky to have Spike along, since he could send their messages to Princess Celestia almost instantly.

The sun was setting on Ponyville when Gearhead pulled the wagon up in front of his shop. Filthy Rich was sitting by the door, a smirk on his face. “I see you’ve been out again, my boy!”

“Indeed, Mister Rich, but you need not worry about me or my profit margins.”

“I’m not. Worried, that is. Hey, what d’you think you are with all that on, some sort of superhero?”

“A cautionary measure,” Gearhead said. “One never knows what to expect to come out of the Everfree Forest.”

“Including ponies,” Filthy Rich said, watching Gearhead’s passengers get down from the wagon. “I just came by to tell you that I’ve started to run a line of products similar to some of yours. I didn’t want you to feel like I was stepping on your hooves, but I also know that you have an issue with my policies on product quality.”

“I am not afraid of competition, friendly or otherwise,”

“And yet I hear you leave towns behind within a matter of months of your arrival. What’s that all about?”

“A limited demand in highest-quality products. Also, I tend to reach my goals in further research and development fairly quickly. In this case, however, Ponyville is situated far more ideally than the other towns and cities in which I have merely sold my wares. I may even decide to make this my permanent home.”

“The one good thing about competition is that it drives you further than you would go otherwise. A little friendly competition can bring out the best in a pony, but get hostile and suddenly you see the worst of equine nature. If I was you, Gearhead, I wouldn’t get too comfortable: Barnyard Bargains has been around for generations, so we know how ponies’ minds work.”

“I look forward to the competition, Mister Rich.” If he has looked into where I have been, Gearhead thought, he should also have been able to look into how I did versus the local competition. Not that I have ever aimed to put anypony out of business, but my goods are better than ‘good.’

“Is it true you move on in a couple of months?” Pinkie Pie asked as Filthy Rich strolled smugly away.

“In every other place I have been, I stayed long enough to completely saturate the market with my products, and to finish researching my ‘knack.’ The first condition means that everypony in town has whatever gadgets of mine they want, so sales suddenly take a dive unless I can think up new gadgets fast. The second means that I have dug up every scrap of information the town has on unusual ponies and stranger abilities. This is often not a lot. When my only business is from out of town, it has already been time to move on.

“As I just said to Mister Rich, though, Ponyville is different. Being so close to Canterlot, I have two markets and more than twice the demand as normal. Both the town and the city have libraries that are rich in material, along with knowledgeable individuals like Miss Twilight and Princess Celestia. There are plenty of interesting things to do here, with plenty of interesting ponies. Yes, I will soon reach full market saturation, but my supply will soon change again, and I even have a new aspect of my abilities to bring out. So even though my usual decision time is coming up, I do not see myself leaving Ponyville for another town or city anytime soon.”

“Whew! That’s a relief,” Pinkie said.

“Yes,” Twilight said, “it would be a shame to lose you just when we were getting to be good friends.”

“Or maybe something better,” Pinkie said, bumping her flank into Fluttershy so the latter bumped into Gearhead.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry!” The Pegasus said quickly, and blushed furiously in reaction to them brushing head to head.

“Fluttershy, you need not be so quick to apologize. Pinkie might want to consider it, though. Mind you, I do not mind being close to you. Just not much closer than this,” Gearhead said when Pinkie tried to nudge them even closer.

Spike spat out a letter, saving them all from further tragic romantic action. “It’s a letter from Princess Celestia,” Twilight said. “She wants you to bring the items over as soon as possible, but she wants you to take a night’s rest first. And she wants me and Spike to work on combing through the more obscure books. Oh, that’ll take a long time. We’ll have to stay here in Ponyville.”

“Will you be okay with you shop being closed again tomorrow?” Fluttershy asked.

Gearhead looked thoughtful for a moment, and his expression brightened. “I have a plan,” he said. “Miss Twilight, while you are doing your research, could you and Fluttershy take turns minding the shop? The two of you know my gadgets almost as well as I do, so I have every faith you can do it.”

“I shall do my best,” Twilight said.

“Um… I’ll have to sell?”

“Do not worry, Miss Twilight can help you.”

“And me!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Maybe a little, but carefully. Items do not tend to sell as well if they have been bounced or dropped around the room.”

“I super promise I’ll be super careful!”

“What am I gonna do?” Spike asked.

“You can take some of the books and do some research of your own, while you keep the library open.” Twilight said.

“If I’m over there, I might as well do my normal chores, too.”

“Great thinking, Spike.”

“Hey Gearhead, won’t you need somepony to help you keep this stuff safe?” Spike asked.

“That is true. I know Applejack is usually busy, but I might be able to get Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and maybe one of the others, too.”

“Oh, I’ll come if you’re short a pony!” Pinkie said.

“That means you will not be able to help out at the shop,” Gearhead said.

“Oh, that’s true. But I don’t want the princesses to get mad at you if I’m not there and you end up losing something. Plus, the shop should be fine with Twilight and Fluttershy helping out. Okay, I’m coming to Canterlot!”

“Quite frankly,” Twilight whispered to Fluttershy, “I think we got off easy.”

When Fluttershy and Twilight came to Gearhead’s Gadgets early the next morning, Gearhead walked them through a tour of the items they usually did not look at, plus some of the more untraveled areas of the shop (at least, the parts that were not hidden away for security reasons). Fortunately, the catalogue volumes Gearhead had created for his inventory did most of the work, so if either mare forgot a detail or panicked, they could easily refer to the literature. Knowing where to look was the important thing.

It was also important that Twilight and Fluttershy knew what to say to the customers, as well as when to leave them alone to browse, and what to look for to know when to lend a friendly hoof. Tending to the needs of a customer at a store meant saying very different things from when you met the informational needs of a patron at a library, so teaching Twilight took a little longer than teaching Fluttershy, whose petting zoo could be said to be similar to a shop anyway.

Neither mare was particularly interested in working the forge or mill, although Twilight was fascinated by how they worked. Neither pony had been upstairs since the friends’ last strategic meeting regarding the Cutie Mark Crusaders, so Twilight was surprised to find that it was no longer as open an area, with the bed area blocked off to the public.

Gearhead showed Fluttershy and Twilight where he was keeping the egg, which had developed a single helix of swirling snow that blew around it. Gearhead did not want the mares to remove the covering orb, since he could not predict where the snow would go. If it was a sign that the unborn dragon was doing well, he certainly did not want to spoil it. The egg was maybe a third the size Spike’s egg had been, and Twilight could not tell how different caring for an ice dragon hatchling would be. It was almost a certainty, though, that the egg would hatch before Gearhead could take it to the Ice Dragon ancestral home in the arctic north, where it was so cold a pony would quickly freeze to death under normal conditions.

While Fluttershy fussed over the egg, Twilight ran a judicious eye over Gearhead’s reference collection, which included the volume he had used to identify Philomena as a Phoenix. It was a respectable selection, if a bit on the small side. Gearhead finished up, giving the mares a list so they would not have to memorize anything. It covered up to four days, since that was the amount of time he usually spent away from Ponyville when he went to Canterlot. Given the different circumstances, though, Gearhead expected to be back by the next morning.

Fluttershy and Twilight started helping Gearhead load the items they had recovered from the Castle of the Two Sisters onto the wagon, taking their time to ensure everything was tied down and secure for the journey. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie soon arrived, and immediately lent a hoof. They were almost done when Rarity got there, all dolled up for the journey. Sweetie Belle was pulling a small cart full of luggage, sweating but smiling. She obviously felt it was important enough to spend time with her sister, even if she was doing all the hard work.

“I hope you don’t mind, Darling, but Sweetie Belle is with me for the day,” Rarity said as the others started loading her luggage into the wagon.

“We may be gone for more than just a day,” Gearhead said.

“Oh, it’s fine, I’m sure. How many days do you think it will take, though?”

“We could be gone for up to four days, depending on what the Princesses would like us to do while we are in Canterlot.”

“Is that four full days?”

“More or less, but most of it will be spent in the city,” Gearhead said.

“I feel somewhat torn: that’s four days in glamorous Canterlot, but also four days in which a little sister can get into trouble.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fun,” Fluttershy said, helping Sweetie Belle clean off.

“Is it okay?” Rarity pouted at Gearhead. Sweetie Belle gave her best puppy eyes look, although both were unnecessary at this point.

“Even if we are struck by bandits on the road we should be fine,” Gearhead said, tapping his ever-present daggers.

“Bandits?”

“Like the Diamond Dogs,” he supplied.

“Those ruffians? Yes, we can handle them,” Rarity said.

“Okay, let us mount up,” Gearhead said. He helped Rarity and Sweetie Belle get up into the wagon, which was quite full of the various items from the castle, luggage, and supplies. Rainbow Dash merely flew inside, while Pinkie Pie bounced her way in.

“Good luck,” Twilight said, waving a hoof.

“Take care,” Fluttershy said. “Oh, please do take care!”

Gearhead smiled reassuringly, waved, and then started pedalling, and the wagon pulled away from the shop. It would be slower going than usual, because the wagon was laden down more heavily than usual, but they would still make better time than they would with a normal wagon. As they got underway, Pinkie Pie burst into song for no apparent reason, with the others joining in. Soon, however, the novelty of riding together gave way to boredom. Rainbow Dash flew around a bit to stretch her wings, and Rarity and Sweetie Belle joined Gearhead for a bit in the front. The filly quickly discovered that she was not tall enough to reach the pedals on the passenger side, so she sat between Gearhead and Rarity. At first Rarity was reluctant to pedal because she did not want to sweat, but it was easy because Gearhead was already doing all the work, and his gear system made pedalling smooth anyway.

As low as the wagon rode under the full load of its cargo, Rainbow Dash’s frequent flights, Pinkie Pie’s antics, and the clearly-displayed daggers on Gearhead’s legs kept any highwayponies that might have been out and about between Ponyville and Canterlot at bay – which was strange, considering they were on land and not at sea.

The Canterlot Royal Guards guided Gearhead to his usual parking space, and then they helped unload its cargo. That they took Rarity’s luggage up to a room meant that the Princesses did indeed have at least one full day of activities in mind.

“Welcome to Canterlot,” Princess Celestia said to Sweetie Belle, since it was her first visit. Pinkie, Dash, and Rarity had not been back since the Gala, and the palace looked very different without all the livery. “Thank you all for bringing so many items back for Luna and me.”

"Oh, you’re quite gracious, Your Highness,” Rarity said, bowing profusely. “Besides, how could we have possibly left these wonderful dresses behind, unused and unappreciated?”

“Oh my, I haven’t seen these in over a millennium,” Princess Celestia said, and indeed she appreciated the four dresses as Rarity levitated them gently. Even the guards, on-duty and all, appreciated the way the sunlight reflected off the fabric. “We had such fun parties!”

“Ooh, I love parties!” Pinkie popped up, spreading confetti and balloons everywhere. Princess Celestia and Sweetie Belle giggled in appreciation of Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.

“Your Highness, I would like to personally return one of the items to Princess Luna,” Gearhead said. “Might I find her on the Sky Terrace?” When one of the princesses was on duty, that was where you would find her, aided by one of Gearhead’s telescopes. Although it was day, the sisters sometimes swapped out when some duty demanded the attention of the other sister. Most ponies did not know that Princess Luna could also raise and lower the sun, as well as the moon, but it stood to reason that she could, since Princess Celestia could do the same. While the latter was older, they were practically in the same power bracket. Their major difference in power lay in their specialized abilities: Princess Celestia could bolster morale with the shining sun, while Princess Luna was a Dreamwalker, an actual Night Mare.

“Indeed. Why don’t you go see her, while I give a tour of the castle to your friends?”

Gearhead bowed, while Rarity said “we would be honoured!” She helped Gearhead put his core on, and then they parted company. It would take a normal pony quite a while to traverse the halls between the courtyard and the Sky Terrace, but Gearhead was anything but normal. Even at a non-threatening cruising speed, the core system gave him a direct path, so he was able to join Princess Luna in a pair of minutes.

“Greetings, Thirdson Gearhead,” Princess Luna said. “We have been expecting you.”

“Thank you for the gracious reception, and also for taking care of my friends, Your Highness.”

“It is our pleasure,”

“Princess, I found this in your chambers,” Gearhead took out the Codex Verdante and held it out for the younger of the sisters.

“Ah yes, we were reading that shortly before… everything happened. It is a most interesting read, do you not find it so?”

“I have not been permitted to read it, at least not openly, Highness.”

Princess Luna shook her head. “It is a shame for a pony of your potential greatness to have to restrict himself because he does not fit the traditional definition of greatness,” she said. “As you are of the Verdant, and have no doubt contributed greatly to it, you should be able to be rid of your Black Sheep status, as I have been rid of the dark shroud of Nightmare Moon.”

“It is Herd Law, Your Highness. To the Verdant, it stands above most considerations laid out in the Law of the Land. Still, I am certain Council will acknowledge me once I have properly earned it in the traditional manner. In any case, this is yours.”

Princess Luna pondered for a moment. “We will have you hold it for us awhile longer, for there is much to do. My sister may have accepted us back immediately, but most of Equestria still fears us. We can appreciate the need to earn one’s way in normal society, as we must do the same. But sometimes, a non-traditional action is required to resolve matters in the best way possible.”

“I know something about non-traditional action,” Gearhead said, still holding the book out to the princess.

“Indeed, and to that end we ask you to meet Princess Cadence and Shining Armour in the Practice Room. You are to begin the next stage of your training there.”

“We brought one of the fillies with us from Ponyville, so I was wondering how long you and your sister wanted us to stay this time around?”

“That depends on you, and how long you need to accomplish your goals here. My sister and I fully expect your progress to be far greater than before, now that you have unlocked the path to magic within yourself.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Gearhead bowed and took his leave, exiting through the normal corridor instead of flying out among the towers again: The Practice Room was closer to the Sky Terrace than it was to the courtyard.

The bell chimed, and Twilight looked up from the counter where she was reading to see Mayor Mare staring back at her. “Oh, were you working here? I was expecting to find Gearhead.”

“It’s okay, Mayor. Gearhead left me to watch over things while he’s away on business.”

“He did? Who’s watching the library?”

“Spike, of course.”

“Of course. Handy little dragon assistant, although I've always found it a bit on the strange side to keep a dragon around very flammable books.”

“He usually doesn't burn them even if he sneezes on them. And when Princess Celestia gets anything unusual from him, she just sends them back. Anyway, is there anything with which I can help you?”

“Oh yes, the reason why I came in here. You see, I bought one of these doo-dads from Rich’s last week, and it broke. I was wondering if Gearhead’s carried anything like it.” Mayor Mare strode over and placed a bulky, cylindrical device on the counter for Twilight to examine.

“As a matter of fact we do,” the Unicorn said, and then she moved out from behind the counter to lead her customer over two aisles. She used her magic to remove a slimmer cylindrical gadget from its place in the display case and held it in the air for Mayor Mare to examine. “Of course, it costs much more than the one you had, but it’s also only made out of the best materials.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that Gearhead’s gadgets don’t break, unless you really torture them.”

“Well, I haven’t heard of any of them breaking, including the ones he gives to the Crusaders, and they aren’t exactly the most gentle of fillies. So there’s a monthly fee that starts up three months after purchase.”

“After the other one I bought, thinking it’d last long enough to pay for its own replacement, I’ll be happy if it just makes it to the three month mark,” Mayor Mare said. “I’ll take it.”

“Thank you for your business, please come again!” Twilight said, after the deal was done. She saw Mayor Mare glance again at the broken, bulky doodad on the counter, then at the new device she had bought as a replacement. Besides both being cylindrical, there was no true resemblance.

“What was I thinking getting that one?” Mayor Mare asked aloud.

Gearhead, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armour sat in a triangle around the middle of the Practice Room. Gearhead had the Element of Honesty between his unshod hooves where Cadence had placed it, surrounded from below by a faint blue-green glow. Finally, Gearhead finished his preliminary reading and nodded his head once, sharply.

His goggles having fallen into place, Gearhead began his incantation in a soft voice. “Aperite portas quoniam tempor elit. Inveniet tua potentia Lux transmutare alas.” As had happened with the teacup at Fluttershy’s cottage, a wisp of energy stirred up around the Element on the floor, only this time it was composed of Light instead of Wind. Gearhead lifted the necklace off the ground, turned it around so the gem set into it faced the others, and then guided it to clasp around his neck before releasing it from his spell. As before, the system had some notifications for Gearhead.

[Additional Artifact detected. Identifying…]

[Element of Honesty (Omicron-level) connected.]

[Temporary user: Verdant Gearhead accepted.]

[Element functions now available.]

“The system reads the Element of Honesty similar to the way it did the Element of Loyalty during the incident with Discord,” Gearhead said, checking the power reading. “I might get 60% of what Miss Applejack can get out of it. No more than that, most certainly. Beginning second reading.” With the core system’s rings spun up, Gearhead sent his geomantic energies to the Element by going through himself. This second reading gave him different results because he, the Element, and the core were now connected, which apparently made the Element itself more open to Gearhead’s probes.

Cadence and Armour endured nearly an hour of this near-silent observation, the only change in Gearhead being that sometimes his energy horn made an appearance, only to vanish again a short time later. Obviously the Earth Pony was combining his methods, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Gearhead came out of his trance-like state and removed the Element with his Light spell, his HUD giving him a safe disconnection message when he did so. He put the core back into Repose Mode so it could recover from the exertion. Cadence took control of the Element in mid-air, and Gearhead let go. She replaced it in its chest, and brought out the Element of Kindness. Gearhead again repeated the same process as before, only this time it took twenty minutes for him to pick out the differences between Honesty and Kindness. At this rate, they might finish all of this before lunch, a prospect that pleased Armour, although Cadence did not mind the quiet time.

Fluttershy took over after lunch so Twilight could get some of her research done. With Angel Bunny beside her, she quietly and patiently looked over everything. A few minutes in, Bonbon and Lyra came in, complaining that a pair of gadgets they had bought at Barnyard Bargains had broken down. “It’s not a bargain anymore if it keeps breaking like this,” Bonbon said. “I was hoping Gearhead could fix it, but I guess a replacement is better, even if it’s more expensive.”

“Um, yes. Follow me this way, if you don’t mind.” Fluttershy walked lightly to a display case against the left-side wall, and took out one device with her mouth, then let Angel take it to carry on her back. Fluttershy closed the case again and moved mid-way down the neighbouring case. Again, she passed the item to Angel before returning to the counter, where he put both gadgets down so the mares could look at and test them.

“You know what? I don’t think these would break if you threw them at the floor,” Lyra said. “This is definitely worth every bit.”

“Yeah, I need this one,” Bonbon said. “We’ll take them!”

“Thank you for your business, please do come again,” Fluttershy said. Once the two mares were gone, she smiled down at Angel. “I’m so glad that went so well.”

Princess Celestia led the group into a large room with a set table, a veritable feast ready and waiting to be consumed. “Just in time, we have reached the Dining Room. Please do seat yourselves and enjoy the lunch the palace chefs have prepared.” The princess paused, smiling. “I know I will.”

“Ooh,” Pinkie Pie said, appraising the contents of the plates at different sides of the table at random. “This looks positively scrumptious!”

Sweetie Belle looked pleadingly up at Rarity. “Oh my, that does smell delicious. Very well,” she said, and approached the table with increasing enthusiasm. Despite the princess’s earlier phrase to ‘seat themselves,’ there were service ponies waiting to pull chairs out for her guests. Rainbow Dash settled herself slowly into a chair from above, as though afraid she might break it. Pinkie looked at the ornate chair that one servant had pulled out for her, and casually bounced into the one next to it. Rarity gasped at the apparent affront, but Princess Celestia just giggled as she seated herself. The Unicorn mare looked for approval to start eating, and the princess nodded.

The first bite, it seemed, was the bait, and it was all Rarity could do to resist taking unladylike bites of the irresistible meal. Pinkie and Rainbow, on the other hand, had no such compunction, and dug right in. Sweetie Belle endeavoured to follow her big sister’s lead, but both Unicorns began to slowly lose their own resolve.

It was when Rarity herself was on the verge of shovelling her food into her mouth that Gearhead came in through another door. Rarity froze, and was further surprised that the stallion was on his own, expecting Princess Luna to join them as well. Then again, when the tour had arrived at the Sky Terrace, only the princess had been there. Gearhead had obviously moved on to wherever he went when he came to Canterlot. Perhaps he had gone to sell some of his gadgets. The thought put Rarity in mind of Twilight and Fluttershy, who had been left to tend to Gearhead’s shop. Rarity hoped the terminally-shy Pegasus would be okay.

Gearhead kept his expression as neutral as he usually held it, but something glinted in his eyes as he strode up to the table across from Rarity. He whispered something, and the chair moved back before the nearest servant could reach it. At Princess Celestia’s nod, he sat down and joined the others in the meal, holding back from gobbling it down almost as well as the princess herself.

“So!~ Did you manage to study the Elements like you wanted?” Pinkie Pie asked, her mouth apparently free of food.

“Is that what you came here to do? Study the Elements of Harmony?” Rarity asked.

“What’re the Elements of Harmony?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Indeed,” Gearhead said, cutting off the awkward moment. “And they are every bit as powerful a set of Artifacts as I previously believed, and more. Mind you, I look rather silly in them as they are not designed to be worn by a stallion.”

“You didn’t put on Twilight’s crown-thing… did you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Not only did I put it on, I looked far stranger wearing it,” Gearhead said with a grin. “But my subsequent Read on it confirmed what our Draconequus acquaintance was saying about Miss Twilight.”

“What’s a Draco… oh, like that statue in the garden. It has a lion’s paw and a serpent’s tail, and lots of other things, too!” Sweetie Belle said. “But I think they moved that statue or something, because I didn’t see it anywhere.”

“We did indeed move it,” Princess Celestia said. “It turns out it wasn’t safe enough there.”

“The only thing still bothering me about the Elements is that I am still no closer to finding a clue about who the Artificer might have been. Such things have to come from somewhere, as it is impossible for items that powerful to make themselves. Yet each Element is free of all of the usual signature markings that Artificers reportedly put on their Artifacts.”

“And what is your mark?” Princess Celestia asked.

“If I have a mark it is the hat-bearing geared head that I use as a sign for my shop, but I am not an Artificer anyway.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Quite sure,” Gearhead said, and the princess shrugged.

Rarity thought a moment as she continued to eat, more slowly now. If the pony who created powerful items like the Elements of Harmony was called an Artificer, and Gearhead had created a number of powerful gemstone items, plus his core system, wouldn’t that mean he was an Artificer as well? Well, he might not have enough confidence to call himself an Artificer, but he still called himself a Gadgeteer, and he was a capable businesspony.

“This is so good,” Pinkie said, salivating disgracefully. “I never want this meal to end!”

“Say, what’ll we do after lunch?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No! Talking about ‘after lunch’ will make it come faster!” Pinkie protested.

Princess Celestia ignored Pinkie Pie’s comment. “There are still some parts of the castle you haven’t seen yet. Finishing the tour will let Gearhead finish up his work here for the day, and then we can meet for dinner.”

“If dinner is as good as this, I’m all for it!” Pinkie said.

“Can we see the guards’ training grounds?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Of course,”

“Where do the great wizard ponies cast their great spells? Can we see that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Princess Celestia said. “You know how wizard ponies are, don’t you? They like their privacy quite a bit. Even when you think they aren’t there!” When the filly shivered, the princess winked, causing her to relax. “We can get started again once you’re all finished with your meals.”

“No,” Pinkie said. “It’s the end of lunch as we know it!”

“What is the meaning of this?!” Filthy Rich burst into Gearhead’s Gadgets like he was his own one-horse stampede. He zeroed in on Fluttershy, who was working at the counter again, and her appearance made him stall out for a moment. His momentum was lost, but he quickly found his anger again in his purpose for coming. “I need to speak to Gearhead,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, “he’s out right now. But you can come back tomorrow, if you don’t mind, to speak with him directly.”

“No, no, that’s quite alright,” Rich said, seeming to calm completely. “Maybe you can help me. After all, Gearhead’s left you in charge all on your own. That means he trusts you, my filly.” That made Fluttershy blush, and she looked down at her hooves, pleased. “In all probability, he’s taught you how to make his wondrous gadgets, too. Isn’t that right? Don’t you know the method behind it all now?”

“Actually, Mister Rich, I don’t know about that at all. Gearhead didn’t tell me, and I didn’t ask.” She shrunk back from his resurging glare. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“Fine, so you don’t know anything,” Rich returned to the business at hoof. “I came down here, all the way down to the river at the edge of the Celestia-forsaken forest, to get the answer to a single question.”

“Yes?”

“How in blazes did you, or your boss, get so many of my customers to complain about product defects all at once?”

Fluttershy blinked. “We didn’t do anything.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“Actually,” Twilight said, coming out of the stairwell, “she’s right. Gearhead builds his gadgets out of the highest-quality materials in order to make them high-quality too, and they complete their function with extremely minimal wear. Why, in three or so years the most he’s had to do is repair the gadgets he first made. The only replacements I’ve heard of him doing has to do with the original items.”

“Nothing he can sell can be that different from my inventory, or do you expect me to believe that he knows some special way after all?”

“Gearhead is a very special Earth Pony with his own unique knack,” Twilight said.

“That’s right,” Fluttershy said. “He’d never make anything that wasn’t good enough he wouldn’t buy and use it himself.” Having said her piece, Fluttershy shrank back again.

“So yes, he has his own special method, one which I don’t know how to duplicate. Plus, even if he showed us how to use his forge, I’m not sure about the quality of the works the two of us could produce. So only Gearhead can make a ‘Gearhead Gadget.’”

“I beg to disagree,”

“I have the feeling someone would end up begging, provided you continue to try to reverse-engineer Gearhead’s inventions. They just don’t work quite as well as their original version, as your customers have already found out.”

“There’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing,” Rich said. “There’s a market and I’m trying to fill it at a more affordable price.”

“Well, that’s up to you. I would suggest making your own stuff to sell, though, because a Gearhead design will always be a Gearhead design first. If you can’t duplicate it, you’ll likely end up with more trouble like today.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe all I need to do is come up with something original. Then again, maybe I want the competition anyway. Well, I guess we’ll wait and see who corners this market.” Rich turned around and cantered out the door.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said.

“’Wait and see?’ I already know who’s cornering the market in Ponyville – from Canterlot, at the moment.”

Gearhead returned to the Practice Room to find that Princess Cadence and Shining Armour were once again waiting for him. Sometime during lunch they had returned the Elements of Harmony, in their chest, to Canterlot Tower, where they were once again secure under Celestia’s spells. Gearhead took his place within the inner circle.

“For this session’s first exercise in magic, Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna want to determine your magical capacity,” Cadence said.

“We’ve expanded a barrier at full power, so that nothing should be able to break it,” Armour said. “Still, it’ll be easier for our purposes if you only use Magic Arrows.”

“Fully open your magic aura field, and then start shooting Magic Arrows into the sky. Start a little higher than you know you can already go, and keep increasing the number until you can’t increase them anymore. From that point, decrease the number to keep it manageable, until your magical energy is completely exhausted, and then we’ll have a count. That will directly give us a clear picture of what you can do.” Cadence and Armour exchanged a look and a nod. “Begin when you’re ready.”

Gearhead took up a position facing the sky and drew the geargem dagger, which he would need to properly manage the amount of magical energy he was going to be using up. “Cantus de Proelio,” he intoned, and a wide area of turquoise energy enveloped him, describing a flame all around him.

“Oh, one more thing,” Cadence said. “You’ll be using your internal energy, not the energy contained in this room. That’s the point of completely exhausting it yourself.”

Gearhead nodded, and then continued to focus on drawing his magic out from himself. “Aperite portas quoniam tempor elit. Inveniet tua potentia. Veni Spiritus Lumenet viginti novem. Consinnant sagittas meas complebo. Percusserit me inimicus. 29 Magica Sagitta Lucis!” At his command, twenty-nine points of light gathered and shot out, striking a barrier that had, until that point, been invisible. The shield appeared to take the salvo without being damaged, but then Gearhead had expected that.

Gearhead continued, taking advantage of the fact that his magic gateway was already open. “Veni Spiritus Lumenet triginta unus. Consinnant sagittas meas complebo. Percusserit me inimicus. 31 Magica Sagitta Lucis!” So it went, through 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, and 101 Magic Arrows of Light. At that point, Gearhead had already been feeling the strain, so he started to back down on his own. The problem was that when he reached 23 he started to feel like he was getting a second wind. When that feeling had not changed after three salvos of 23, Gearhead raised the number back up to 29, and stayed there for five additional rounds before he had to back down again. He did not hold for an additional round until he was down to just seven arrows per round, and then he slowly succeeded in completely exhausting his supply of magical energy, so that he could not even cast a single arrow.

At the same time, the barrier had held magnificently. “Over 2,400 Magic Arrows is quite impressive, especially using a stronger element like Light,” Armour said, adding up the numbers. “Now, while Cadence is healing you, take in the ambient magic and show us your most powerful spells, one at a time, until you’re exhausted again.”

Gearhead nodded to Armour, who nodded to Cadence, who nodded to Gearhead in turn before focusing her healing magic on him, enveloping him in her own turquoise magic aura. Gearhead reached out to the golden and blue fogs of magic and pulled them in toward himself, through the middle of his expanded geargem dagger, as he had always done before. He soon felt reinvigourated, the fatigue fading into memory as he and Cadence worked in tandem to recover the energies he had spent in the past few minutes. As soon as that was done, Cadence disengaged and stepped back to stand beside Armour and watch. Gearhead recovered his original stance.

“Aperite portas quoniam tempor elit. Inveniet tua potentia. Evoco Spiritus Lux et Spiritus Solis. Maturarent procella Ventis Austrinos. Torquent Aquae Aquilonis gelida. Congregate, et efficiamini mei ensis. Iovem Tempestas!” At Gearhead’s summons, balls of Light and Fire Magic developed to both sides of him, which he gathered together with a gesture from both forehooves, mixing the energy until he could release them in a single continuous blast, blue-white light racing against, and spiralling around, crimson-white energy. The spell, Jove’s Thunderstorm, hit the barrier and dissipated, but the shaking sensation and impression of it remained for a couple seconds even after its last light had faded.

“Do you have another one?” Armour asked.

“Aperite portas quoniam tempor elit. Inveniet tua potentia. Evoco Domine Ignis et responde contractum. Congregate ad me ecercitus vestros. Incedant sub manu mea ut ad comburendum solum me inimucus. Contra me positum est adolebitique quod Creatio. Reducere eos ad cinerem. Vincula eorum dirupit. Omnia purifica ante me ab omni imperitatem. Obedite mea ensis esto contractum. Incendium de Caelum et Inferno!” This time a deep red ball of pure flame formed. When Gearhead launched it, it was slower than the previous spell, but on impact with the shield there was no doubt that the Fire of Heaven and the Underworld was the more powerful of the two. At the same time, its incantation was longer and generally harder to use. As it was, Gearhead did not expect to get a lot of time to chant his spells in combat. Besides, he could not see himself using a spell that ‘burned everything,’ even just those things he designated as targets, in actual combat – not unless he was up against an extremely powerful and utterly evil opponent.

From Cadence’s and Armour’s expressions, they fully agreed with Gearhead’s resolve not to use that spell except under the most extreme of circumstances. “Please tell me your next one isn’t so sinister,” Armour said.

“It is not,” Gearhead said, and launched into his third high-level, middle-tier spell. “Aperite portas quoniam tempor elit. Inveniet tua potentia. Veni Spiritus Terra, et congregate et foras cum florebit pleno vigore. Circumda calido sole universum orbem. Fiat clypeo pro invalidis et ensis pro illis qui eis. Resurgere subtus lenissimam auram et vivificantem pluvia. Protege amicos meos. Percusserit inimicos meos. Gale Terra!” This time emerald vines struck at the shield alongside a rain of amber earth, silver stone, and metal. Upon striking the barrier the constructs fell apart, once again becoming magic energy before they dissipated. This made it clear that Gearhead was not creating matter out of the energy he was using: it was all still energy, just more tightly packed together.

Gearhead was panting heavily, and although he could have focused enough to pull off a mid-level spell or two, Cadence held up a hoof. “I wouldn’t want to push you too much further on borrowed energy. Lets end the session for today. Tomorrow you can show us the rest of your repertoire, but for now you should rest and recover your own powers.”

“I think… I can agree with that,” Gearhead said. He sheathed his dagger and, with Armour’s help, made his way to his room. The Unicorn promised to summon Gearhead for dinner, but the latter was out as soon as his head touched the bed. Next Chapter: 5. Friendly Bouts and Read-Abouts Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 54 Minutes