- Where do you want this one?
- >”Ova theres fine, thanks!”
- >You lug the giant cabinet from one end of Painty’s office over the back and set it down in a corner.
- >For the past half hour or so, you’ve been helping him sort out his store.
- >”Thait jus’ about does I think. Heres your paint, Anon.”
- >He tosses the liquid gold to you and goes back to his desk, writing something on a paper with his mouth.
- Well I guess its time to go back and repaint this beauty.
- >The faceplate comes back down to cover your face as Jahvise begins speaking to you.
- >**Sir, just a reminder, on your way back you may want to think of buying a map that you can program into me.**
- >You exit the store and start on a path for the general store. They usually had maps of things there as well as other nick-nacks and books.
- >”Anon?”
- >More ponies eyed you.
- >Perhaps you should make a announcement of the armor’s completion so ponies don’t keep stopping you to ask whats up.
- >Nah, Pinkie will do that for you. Heck, she might even throw a party to celebrate.
- >Right before you opened the door to the store, you got a bad feeling.
- >One of THOSE feelings.
- >You only got those feelings before impending doom or Fluttershy’s antics.
- >The suit should protect you from anything she can do but just to be sure…
- [Jahvise, keep the scanners up for Fluttershy.]
- >…
- [And anything big.]
- >**Yes Sir.**
- >Before knocking the door off its hinges like you almost did at Painty’s, you slow down your hand before it impacts with the door.
- >It slowly swings open.
- >Too slowly.
- >There has to be a middle ground somewhere! If your only options are public destruction or snail movements, you might have to go with the former.
- >THEN you’d need Jahvise’s scanners.
- >What will ponies think if they see a huge metal man breaking stuff?
- >What are you here for?
- [Um. Jahvi--]
- >**Maps, Sir.**
- [Oh yeah.]
- >”What in the hay!”
- >The store owner falls over as you step in the doorway.
- [Hi, Quill.]
- >He crawls back on the floor waving his hoof.
- >”H-How do you know my name?!”
- >Pinkie better get working on this party soon.
- >You order the faceplate to open again and reveal your skin. You didn’t like it when the armor was open. It felt…wrong.
- >Either have it all the way on or all the way off. That’s how clothes work, why not giant weaponized metal suits?
- >The store owner stops his squalling once your helmet shows who you are.
- >”Oh, h-hey Anon! Is that…?”
- The armor? Yeah.
- >”Wow! I never thought you’d pull it off!”
- >Gee, thanks.
- Look, do you have any maps in stock right now?
- >”Actually I just sold my last one.
- >Drats.
- >At the least, he could still have some books.
- Do you have any literature? I mean stories, dictionaries, history books, anything.
- >”Now THAT I’ve got! You know, I’ve actually been thinking of turning this into a book store.”
- >He talks about his dreams while you follow him to the book aisle.
- >It was huge! Not a aisle or a section either. You would consider calling it a wing!
- Hubba bubba…
- >”Beautiful, righ—“
- >You shove his face out of the way and begin reading books.
- >”Cant wait, eh? I know the feeling.”
- >He smiles at you and goes back to the front desk.
- >When he’s out of sight, you flip the faceplate down.
- [Jahvise. Start scanning this text.]
- >**As you wish, Sir.**
- >Your screen begins to highlight the text and move along at super speeds down the page.
- >**Page scan complete.**
- >Next page, done. Next page, done. Next page, done.
- >Next book, done. Next book, done. Next book, done.
- >Next shelf, done. Next shelf, done. Next shelf, done.
- >Once all the text has been scanned you leave.
- >”Not buying anything?” Quill asks with a frown.
- [Oh no, I was just browsing. You um…have a nice selection back there.]
- >You give him the greatest compliment your human mind can muster.
- >The traditional thumbs up.
- >It takes him a minute, but eventually he catches on that it’s a good thing.
- >You know, after you told him it was a good thing.
- >’Now for maps’, you tell yourself.
- >Theres a mapmaker somewhere around here.
- >They’ve been up since around the start of Ponyville, making maps of the region and eventually more of Equestria.
- [Jahvise quick! What were the names of the generals in the battle of Griffonia?]
- >**General Minnius of the minotaurs and Avior of the griffons.**
- >You weren’t even sure if there was a battle of Griffonia. You just said it because you thought you had seen a glimpse of it in a book.
- [Good job, Jahvise!]
- >Now you wont be flying blind when you need to know something on the go.
- >Again, on your way, a small filly jumped in front of you.
- >Her lavender and white mane bounced with her.
- >”Anon is that the armor you always talked about?”
- >Pinkie pls halp…
- [Yes, Sweetie Belle.]
- >”My sister said you finished it but I wanted to see it on my own! It looks really good.”
- >She squinted at you for a minute.
- >”Well, except for that scratch on your arm.”
- >Holy Godlestia you have to fix that soon.
- >”What under the mask? Is it your face or another mask? Can you fly too—“
- [Sweetie why are you out alone?]
- >”Oh, my sister said I’d be alright if I found you.”
- >Baby sitting again, Anon.
- >You sigh internally and look to the mapmaker’s shop down the road.
- [Well if you’re coming with me, want to swing by the map shop?]
- >Her smile wavered for a second.
- >”OK I guess.”
- >Your insides! Gah! Curse you, emotions!
- [And then we can do something fun after!]
- >You patted your knees and she jumped into your arms.
- >”Alright!”
- >**You’re too kind, Sir.**
- [Shut up Jahvise.]
- >”Who’re you talking to, Anon? I thought I heard somepony.”
- [Just my conscience is all.]
- >”Your conscience can talk?!”
- [In a way, yeah.]
- >”That’s so cool!”
- >You hold her up to the store door and let her kick it open before slinging her over your shoulder again.
- >A bit of dust flies into your face and it swept up by the wind, floating into the sky.
- >Sweetie Belle coughs over you.
- >”Ack!”
- >Oh yeah, she doesn’t have high tech iron armor protecting her face.
- >As you walk in, the smell of ancient tomes and ink fills your helmet.
- >Just like on Earth, the old stores still have that SMELL to them.
- >Just like on Earth, the clerk is busy reading a book.
- >He looks up at you for a second and raises a eye brow before turning back to his book.
- >You think you heard him mumble something about ‘fillies these days’.
- >Apparently with Sweetie manning your head, you appeared to be a children’s toy.
- >Better than a giant monster you suppose and go to the closest aisle you see.
- [Sweetie we might be here a while. Why don’t you go play with something?]
- >”OK Mr Anon.”
- >She runs off into the maze of shelves, never to be seen again.
- >For another hour.
- >Welp, better get started on this.
- [Jahvise, start scanning these images.]
- >**Right away, Sir.**
- >You pick up a map of Ponyville and have it scanned.
- >**Map downloaded, Sir.**
- >Next is a map of Canterlot. Then Appleoosa, Fillydephial, Trottingham, and so on until all the cities of Equestria are in your database.
- >Now you scan a map of Equestria itself.
- >The next aisle is full of Griffonia maps.
- >After that is Minotaur Valley.
- >That’s just three of the 28 shelves…
- >You better never get lost after today.
- >”Mr Anon, Mr Anon!”
- >Sweetie Belle comes running over looking distressed.
- [Whats wrong?]
- >”Oh Anon, its AWFUL!”
- [What? What happened woman?!]
- >”I’m BORDE!!”
- >…
- >How’d you get stuck with kids?
- >She now enjoys a seat on your head again, looking at the maps with you.
- >She doesn’t squirm too much, almost as if she enjoys looking at these old things.
- [Whats this? You actually like reading?]
- >Suddenly she jumps.
- >”N-No! you’re the one who likes reading!”
- >Got her.
- >Now all that’s left to scan is a very dusty aisle.
- >The candles above it are all out and the shades are down, so minimal light is let is.
- >It looks as if nopony has been in there for years.
- >Its titled the Changing Isundz.
- >No, wait, Jahvise begins filling in blanks on your screen.
- >After going through all the possible letter combinations, he displays the result to you.
- [Changeling Islands, eh?]
- >A small shiver runs up your spine.
- >You heard stories about them before, what they did to Canterlot.
- >The girls told you much about them before you sentenced yourself to the cave.
- >You decide to leave this aisle alone and leave.
- [Come on Sweetie, lets go.]
- >You turn and exit.
- >”Yay! Now we can do the fun you promised!”
- >**You did promise her fun, Sir. Shall I plot a course to a park?**
- [Jahvise I know where the parks are. I live here, remember?]
- >**Terribly sorry, Sir. It was my understanding you had taken up residence in the cave.**
- >Come to think of it, that cave was sort of your home now.
- >You ate in there, slept in there, built in there.
- >You and it survived many storms together.
- >Yeah, not your best idea to build electrical systems during rainy season.
- >”Oh! Oh! Can we fly?!”
- >It sounds nice in theory.
- [Jahvise, how we doing on power?]
- >**34 percent, Sir.**
- >Heh, 34.
- >Eh, that’s enough until you get hom—to the cave.
- >”Anon who are you talking to?” Sweetie’s question breaks you from your thought.
- [Nopony. I’m just insane.]
- >”Oh yeah.”
- [Hey Sweetie Bell.]
- >”What is it, Anon?”
- [HOLD ON TO YOUR UNDERWEAR!]
- >You burst off the ground like a bullet from the barrel of a gun.
- >She holds on to your head for dear life screaming.
- >Her cries of terror soon change into giggles and yelps of joy.
- >You sure now how to make kids happy.
- >Way to go, Anon.
- >Way to go, Iron Manon.