"Don't worry about the inventing part. That's for me to worry about. I need somepony to help me get, and stay, organized. Lots of parts and bits, papers and blue prints, orders and bills. That's what I need. I'm awful at that sort of thing and forget a lot." He chuckled as he got his tea brought to him. "No rush. Whenever you've had your fill, we'll get started right away. I need to go to the library right after, so I can make some adjustments to my back ups before the moon-rising tonight."

There were a lot of questions that Quill wanted to ask, about inventing, about the number of parts, about how many bills there to sort out, about when orders were due and... the list went on and on but, finally, he settled on a few questions. The rest could wait.

"Moon-raising? Oh, and, the library. The tea can wait! I mean, when I've got the job, I can pay for the tea, and then I can update my account-papers, so I know how much I have left over, and then after paying for somewhere to stay and the tea, think what can be done with what's left over! Think of all the books we cou... oh, yes, we should visit the library, I think that's a good idea."

Quill looked up to Pinkie Pie, with the pie tin upon her head; the young dragon was obviously quite excited.

"Thank you for sharing the pie with me! I'll pay you back when I can!"

"Don't worry about it, silly-Quilly~!  It got you to smile, so that's enough for me." Pinkie chirped in a rather generous manner given that she'd given him a whole quarter pie without a second thought.  She turned and bellowed over her shoulder: "HEY MRS. CAKE!  MAKE THE TEA TO GO~!" then looked back to Quill and Widget, smiling and blinking in her usual ditzy manner.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:47, Mon 07 May 2012.

He laughed softly. "Don't worry about all that, Quill. At least not today. You've had a very stressful day so far. Just relax, and know that what you need's all taken care of for now." He waited patiently for Quill to get his tea and pie in order, obviously not in a rush. "I have a spare bedroom at my place you can use if you would like. I've been using it as a study, but you're welcome to it."

"It's not been stressful, it's not, I'm fine," he punctuated his sentence with a yawn, then clapped his claws over his mouth, frowning for a moment, "but, you're right, maybe the book-keeping can wait until tomorrow, but we'll really need to make a list of all the parts you've got, and then check what parts need ordering, and..."

Another yawn escaped.

"...I'll probably not take up much space in the study, though, um, could you invent some kind of bed too? No hurry. Maybe after the moon raising. Or the library."

Another yawn.

"Maybe, um, before, boss."

"There's a folding bed that should suffice for tonight. Just needs a clean set of sheets. I'll see about more permanent sleeping arrangements tomorrow," he assured his new assistant. "We'll be going to the shop after the library."

Quill rubbed his eyes a little before adjusting his neck-tie and, while he looked a little bit tired, the smile on his face had yet to subside.

"I'll go and fetch my tea, then we can head out to the library! Wait right here, chief.. boss, um, Widget."

As quickly as he could, he started to head off towards what he hoped was the kitchen, calling out as he went.

"Um, Mrs.. Mrs..." he thought about what he heard Pinkie PIe call the kind pony with the offer of tea, "Mrs Cake! Mrs Cake! Can I get my tea and please, please can I have extra sugar?"

No sooner had Quill neared the kitchen doors than did they swing open, revealing the summoned Mrs. Cake now foal-less.  Her unseen husband had taken Pumpkin off her hooves so that she could tend to their patrons unbothered.  The mare had a small basket clenched in her teeth -- in it was a capped mug of steaming liquid, a little sachet of sugar cubes, and a few frosted cookies.  What was likely most catching about those sweets was the fact that they had a shiny sliver of emerald embedded amid their fluffy cream coating!

"Nnb... here you go, sweetie.  Hot herb tea mixed with sapphire dust and some cookies for the road.  And don't you even think about trying to give me any Bits for them either."  Mrs. Cake said as she passed the basket over to the dragon.  "It's our way of saying welcome to town."

Dragons in pony communities were very rare indeed, but it seemed that Quill had chosen a good town to try and settle into.  Because Spike already lived there, places like Sugarcube Corner already knew how to accommodate his unique appetites.  Even if things got off to a rough start for him, at least Quill could rest safe in the knowledge that he wasn't going to go hungry~!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:35, Tue 08 May 2012.

"No bits? Are you su-" Quill was about to protest until he spotted the cookies, "-cookies! Thank you, and, thank you for the welcome, Mrs Cake! I will be sure to come back as soon as I have Bits to spend!"

Carrying the basket with both hands, he more or less ran straight back towards Whatsit.

"Boss! Boss," Quill almost bumps in to Whatsit's legs before coming to a stop, "did you see these? I got some extra sugar, six cubes to be precise, and cookies, three of them, with... did you see that frosting? You think they'll mind if I eat in the library? Fancy a cookie?"

"I did see! That was very kind, wasn't it? Thanks, Mrs. Cake, and Pinkie Pie, for your hospitality to both of us. Hope to see you at the moon-rising, Mrs. Cake." He looked to Pinkie Pie now, and smiled at her brightly. "Pinkie Pie, as usual, your company was wonderful and surprisingly helpful. Thanks for bringing me here, and for the plans. I hope I'll have a working prototype soon enough. Once I get them to work, you'll be the first to try them out. See you tonight."

With that, Widget looked back to make sure his assistant (it was so weird to think he had an actual assistant!) was following, and made his way out of the shop. "Thank you, Quill, but I don't think the emeralds would be good for pony digestive tracks," he chuckled. "They shouldn't mind, so long as you keep crumbs off the pages. Let's get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back to the shop."

He pulled up the metal wings to keep them out of the way, he moved out into the square, and for the library.

>>> TO: Branches and Books Library

Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie both waved goodbye to the parting persons, soon leaving only themselves and Fung Shui still in the shop proper.  Mrs. Cake went about tidying up the various tea sets and dishes around.

"Take your time sweetie." she assured Fung Shui as she gathered Widget's left over dishes.  Mr. Cake appeared from the kitchen long enough to take the plates from his wife and head back inside, leaving her to trot back to the counter and look over the stock ledger.

"Eeee~!  It's so great that there's so many new ponies and dragons and all sorts of folk coming to town~!  I'm gonna have so many new friends~!"  Pinkie Pie was all giddy as she bounced along in a circle, springy and sproingy as ever.

"I certainly hope so.  Pinkie?  Could you try extra hard to be friends with Ava and Poppy?  I think those ponies need a smiling face more than most these days."  the older mare asked softly.  Pinkie didn't need to be asked twice and simply nodded, still giggling gleefully all the while.

"Maybe you could make an invention that lets you eat them," Quill followed along behind Widget, shifting the basket across to hold it one claw, which conveniently freed up another claw to let him wave goodbye, "like a set of mechanical teeth, that'd crunch them up..."

Quill continued to comment on the possibilities of this mechanical eating assiting thingy all the way to the library.

[Exit to... Branches and Books Library]
This message was lightly edited by the player at 07:08, Tue 08 May 2012.

As the day started to leave afternoon behind and move ever closer toward the evening, a small groan could be heard from a tree in the business district near the edge of the road.  With a rustle of leaves and a small clack of hooves on the pavement below, a handsome young stallion landed to the ground fluttering his wings once to make sure he made it there steadily.  Raising his head to glance at the sky with one open eye, he grimaced.  Why did the sun always have to be so bright when he woke up?  Tree canopies were always so nice.  Nice and shaded.  Dark.  Away from the sun that was burning into his brain.  Letting his head fall for a moment, he shook his head to free it from the remnants of slumber.

Taking a few unsteady steps at first, his hooves shortly became more solid.  Rogue Heart, as he was called, was a handsome stallion.  With his deep midnight blue coat, shock of violet hair, and emerald green eyes, he was every filly and mare's dream of tall, dark, and handsome.  The only odd thing about him was the lack of a Cutie Mark on his flank that would have identified him.  Most of the townsponies were used to it by now, but someone new to the area might stop and stare.  Even though most of the older ponies warned others against him, there were still some fillies and mares who couldn't help themselves.  Even here in the business district Rogue Heart could hear voices.

"Omigosh, did you see him?"

"Isn't that him?  Does he always look that good?  He just woke up out of a tree!" 

"Who else do you think that could be?  Of course it is!  Do you think he has a date?"

At that point Rogue Heart's mind tuned out their voices as they continued talking about him.  There was another voice he heard that was quite a bit more important to him at that moment--his stomach.  Its rumbling was enough to divert his attention quite effectively.  Well, it was quite late in the day to have not eaten anything, after all.  Glancing around, the young stallion began to consider his options.  He was getting to be close to broken once again.

"One of these days I really need to find a steady job," he sighed.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:22, Wed 09 May 2012.

<<< FROM: Widget Whatsits' Wondrous Works

Making his way through the crowd, Widget popped into Sugarcube Corner at last. He saw Rogue Heart ahead of him and gave him a bright expression, setting the basket down on the open counter. "Well, hello there, Rogue," he said, grinning as he looked over his bed-head. "Just wake up?" he laughed. "One day, you're going to have to get a real job. You can't make money being handsome, unless Photo Finish finds you."

He turned his head, still grinning. "Mrs. Cake, I'll take two blueberry muffins, two chocolate chip muffins, and two vanilla confetti cupcakes, please."

A slightly bleary-eyed gaze was turned to the professor as he trotted into the shop.  "Hey, Widget," the dark-coated young stallion began before planting his face flat on the counter.  "Yeah, thought about that.  Her hours and mine just don't agree with each other.  And could you imagine Rarity's face if I managed to get recognized officially by Photo Finish?  She'd probably go catatonic at the thought that a pony like me would become a fashion idol."  Raising his head enough for his face to come off the counter, he continued.  "Now that I think about it, that might be a good enough reason..."

The orders in pairs caused Rogue Heart to pause for a moment.  Something wasn't adding up.  And when something didn't add up, it always caught in his brain.  Lifting himself up fully, he actually took in the inventor fully.  Dressed better than usual, ordering two of several different dishes, not just one.  Without batting an eyelash, he asked a question that seemingly came out of nowhere but was fully connected in his mind's quick analysis.  "So, who's the lucky mare, Widget?"

Mrs. Cake was a bit surprised to see Widget back in the shop so soon after having left, especially looking all cleaned up as he was.  She seemed to have the same sort of idea in mind that Rogue Heart did, but didn't make a comment beyond smiling wryly.

"Sure sweetie, just a second." she said as she took his basket and trotted off into the kitchen.

"WIDGY~!  Ooh~!  And Rogue too~!  Hi~!"  Pinkie Pie was her usual bundle of energy as she bounced up to the two stallions, placing herself in between them to catch them both in a fond squeeze with her forelegs.  "Did you get a date, Widgy?  C'mon, spill~!  Details!  Inquiring ponies wanna know~!"

Widget felt a hot blush come up over his cheeks. He supposed if anypony would have been able to tell he was getting ready to go on a date, it would be Rogue Heart, who had been on more than every other pony Widget knew combined, and he figured Pinkie Pie was just intuitive, like usual. He was quite unaware of how obvious it was to everypony else. He smiled and adjusted his glasses shyly, looking sideways at both Pinkie and Rogue. "Hi, Pinkie Pie... Well, alright, I'll tell you two, but do me a favor and don't tell anypony else," he said. He wasn't usually the type to 'spill', as it were, but considering it wasn't exactly a secret (there had been others at the library when he had asked, after all), and Rogue Heart was one of his closest friends, and Pinkie was one of Twilight's closest friends, he couldn't see much harm in just telling them.

He spoke in a quiet tone so only the two of them could hear him, which wasn't difficult in the busy shop full of ponies preparing for the moonrising. "I finally got up the courage to ask Twilight Sparkle. She said yes. We're watching the moonrise from her balcony." His blush grew heavier and he began to dance on the tips of his hooves in nervousness, his body tense under Pinkie's hoof. "Well, the truth of it is, I chickened out the first attempt to ask her. Then she's the one who suggested I come back to the library to watch. I found my courage again and asked her if we could spend the evening just the two of us, and she agreed. So, I guess we asked each other out, in a round about way."

Pinkie Pie gave a loud peal of laughter, rocking back on her haunches and holding her tummy like her sides were about to split.  Her giggle-snorting ways kept going until she peeked open one eye at Widget, realized he was being sincere, and instantly sobered in a snap.

"Holy buck, you're serious?" she blinked, instantly as earnest as he'd ever seen her become.  It was rare that Pinkie's bubbly demeanor would waver for even a second, but it did happen from time to time.  "Wowie, I didn't think Twilight even knew what dating was!  You fox~!  Er... pony~!  Pony-fox...thing?"

Rogue had not managed to spot Pinkie Pie before he was suddenly swept up into her squeeze.  The dark stallion found his cheek pressed up against hers with a death lock on his neck.  "Pinkie...!  Air!" he managed finally, tapping on her hoof with one of his.  Once released, he gasped a little bit to get air back in his lungs.  He never was quite steady with Pinkie Pie around.  She was always so spontaneous that it was hard to get a read on her.  If he ever managed to understand her it would be the day that a meteor would come crashing down on his head.

And knowing Pinkie Pie, she would be riding it into Ponyville.

Listening to Widget's story, Rogue was quiet for a few moments, putting a hoof to his chin in thought.  Twilight Sparkle?  And Widget managed to ask her out?  Something wasn't adding up here.  Knowing how much things she didn't understand could unbalance her and make her freak out, something like romance which was so out of her league wouldn't have left Widget looking so calm.  Maybe he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't help himself.

"Did she hesitate at all when she responded to you asking her to spend time alone together?" he began, setting his hoof back down with an inquisitive glance.  "And was there anypony else there?"

Widget tried not to glower at Pinkie Pie as she laughed at him, still looking highly nervous, and let out a small snort when she acted so shocked that he was serious. However, the latter part of her comment about him 'being a fox' got him to blush sharply again, and drew a smile at the corners of his mouth. Rogue's comments, however, were a bit more confusing. He honestly didn't understand why those details would mean anything...

"Um... No, she didn't hesitate at all when I suggested we spend time alone tonight," he said. "And no, we weren't alone. Applejack, my new assistant Quill, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and this little pony I haven't seen before, what was her name... Xing, I think. They were all there." Rogue knew a lot more about mares than he did, and he watched the darker colt with an anxious expression.

Pinkie sat back and shared a knowing sort of look with Rogue Heart, obviously thinking the same thing he was.  She wasn't sure if she should really say anything though, especially since she didn't know what Twilight's angle in all this was...

Tilting his head downward, Rogue Heart put a hoof to his face.  "The sad part is, Pinkie Pie isn't far from the truth at all," he stated with a sigh.  Putting his hoof back down, the dark stallion gave Widget a wry smile.  The poor pony had no clue what he was getting into.  It was no surprise either--if Rogue himself had been in the inventor's position years ago he probably would have been similarly up the creek.  He needed to phrase this gently.  After all, who knew how Widget would react if he came down a little from the cloud of elation he was on?  The only way to do it he could think of was to appeal to his friend's strength: Logic.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Twilight had no idea that this is a date, Widget," Rogue began, tilting his head to the side.  "Though, from what you've told me, I can infer that she probably does now.  I'm pretty sure she's never been on a date before.  Usually, there's some hesitation when accepting an offer like that.  Especially if it would leave the two of you alone.  It doesn't matter if one is receptive to the idea or not.  The hesitation is always there while they think about it.  The fact that she didn't hesitate at all means she probably didn't think you were asking her on a date."  Putting a hoof to his forehead once more, he shook his head.  "Twilight can be brilliant in some ways, but in ones that ponies might find most mundane she flounders.  I wouldn't put this one past her."

Setting his hoof back down, Rogue trotted closer to face his friend, putting a hoof to his friend's shoulder reassuringly.  "Though, don't fret too much.  I'll help you out.  I want to see your night be a success."  Mind whirling, he knew that if Twilight freaked out as she was bound to do once something she didn't understand occurred without warning, she would need a stable pony to be with her.  Out of the list of ponies that Widget had listed only Applejack fit the bill.  At least Rogue knew how she worked and what she might do.

At least, he did before.

Suppressing the twinge of emotion that threatened to surface, he gritted his teeth and moved on.  That time was over.  Even if he regretted it.  Now, he needed to focus on Widget's problem.  Giving the inventor a reassuring smile, Rogue nodded to him.  "I have a feeling we can do just that."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 01:33, Thu 10 May 2012.

It was rather a depressing sight, watching the lovely pink color drain out of Widget's expectant and happy face, his smile curl into a confused, alarmed frown, his ears drop back, and his entire body fall until he was sitting on the ground. He was quiet for a long time as he thought about what Rogue had said... He thought he had been quite clear in his intent, obvious (embarrassingly so) in what he was asking of her. He'd thought she was just pleased and that was why she had accepted so quickly. But the more he thought about it, the more depressed he felt. Rogue was very right. Twilight hadn't had any idea what he had asked.

"What... What should I do?" he asked in a weak tone, looking up at Rogue and Pinkie with something like panic bubbling in his eyes. "I didn't mean to mislead her... What if she didn't want to go at all...? Should I ask if she wants to cancel?" He looked even more depressed at having to call it off. He made a face when Rogue said he wanted to see the night a success. He couldn't help but feel jealousy bubble up into him; what did Rogue know about being awkward, about being inexperienced? He had always been good looking, always gotten dates with fillies, ever since he was young. However, that jealousy was quickly swallowed. Widget's inability to communicate with mares was hardly Rogue's fault...

"What... what should I do?" he asked again, calmer than before, but a little emptier somehow.

Using his nose, Rogue pushed his friend back up onto his hooves.  "Hay, didn't I say I'd help you, Widget?  Stop panicking," he said with an encouraging tone.  "You're still in a position where you can work things out.  The moment you panic is the moment you'll lose out.  So, calm down."

Thinking over the information he had gleaned from their conversation once more, the charming young stallion considered some possible scenarios once more before speaking once again, giving the inventor some time to calm himself.  "So, I'm pretty sure Twilight knows what you were intending by now.  I have a feeling Applejack probably told her.  Or even Rainbow Dash.  Both of them can be pretty blunt sometimes.  But, I would bet ten bits that Applejack is with her right now.  If they haven't sent word to cancel things, I'm pretty sure Twilight may ride it out and see where it goes."  Giving Widget a broad grin, he continued.  "So, why would you cancel if they haven't already?  It means she's giving you a chance.  I don't think you're one to throw that kind of thing away, right?  After all, it means that Twilight is at least open to the possibility of dating you."

Rogue was about to further elaborate from there, but he was interrupted by the rumbling of his own stomach.  In his curiosity and desire to help Widget, he had forgotten about his own predicament.  With a sheepish grin, he chuckled at the inventor.  "I'll tell you more, but would you mind helping me out?  I'm starving and haven't had a chance to eat all day."

Pinkie Pie sat back idly as the two stallions chatted, looking suitably sympathetic for poor Widget when he practically deflated on the spot.  She wouldn't have phrased it quite like that for the sake of his feelings.  But Rogue's continued advice made her perk a brow curiously.  The mare reached up inside her fluffy mane and dug around for a moment before producing a bound stack of papers...

"Wow, that's a lot of deduction, Rogue.  Did you peek at the script?" she asked as she flipped through the pages for a moment, then shrugged and tucked it away back in her mane again.  She opened her mouth to speak again, paused curiously as if she'd forgotten something, and then quickly dug out the manuscript a second time.  She mouthed over a few lines for a moment and then tucked it back out of sight.

"Ahem." the pony cleared her throat, then shifted back into her bubbly tone.  "Relax Widgy, I know Twilight~!  She's my most bestest-best smarty-smart friend in the whole wide worldy-world~!" she assured him as she threw an arm around his shoulders.  "Even if Twilight's kinda socially inept, she'd a good pony~!  And so are you~!  Any mare would be lucky to have a guy like you ask them out, so make the best of it!  Maybe we're totally wrong too and she really was aware you were asking her out.  I mean, you were gonna sweep her off her hooves anyway, so what difference does it make one way or another now?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:47, Thu 10 May 2012.