The mayors office was warm, and more importantly, dry. Surprisingly, so was copper. That was due to his new cloak. It was large, but not overly so, and looked absolutely amazing. It was magnificent, to say the least. To say the most, it was perfect. It was love at first sight. The color was the perfect shade of copper, the edges where embroidered with gears and cogs, and it even had a gear brooch. But to say that it sacrificed function for form would be so far from the truth you couldn't see it with a telescope. “Excuse me, Miss Mayor?” Copper said, poking his head into the office.
She looked up from her desk, and smiled. “Ah, Copper. Please, come in. What brings you by on such a day?”
“Actually I wanted to talk to you about something.” He said as he moved into the room. There was a sudden flash.
Moments passed, as both of them waited for the roll of thunder. “Those are pretty far off...” She said, looking out her window, it was raining quite hard. “What was it you wanted to talk about then?”
He moved towards the desk, and took a seat on the other side. “It's actually about the clock tower.”
Her head tilted to one side. “The old clock tower? What about it?”
“Well, with your permission, I'd like to take over it's maintenance.” He was trying not to fidget. He had to stay calm, and make sure that he had permission before he began changing things.
“Maintenance? Goodness, is it that bad? No one has complained about it...” She leaned back slightly, if the day where clear, she could have seen the tower at this distance.
“I don't know how bad it is, actually... But there's a hoof deep of dust over everything...” His eyes followed her gaze out the window, but he couldn't see the tower either.
“Really? Goodness...” She turned back to him. “So you took a look inside?”
He hesitated a moment, and then decided to stop beating around the bush. “To be completely honest, yes. And I have to say that it's far more than a clock. Yes it may be able to tell time but... But it seems more of a accidental kind of thing. What I really want is a chance to study it... And clean up and fix anything broken.”
She gave him a smile. “So this is for your own curiosity then?” Her smile was a bit more knowing than Copper would have liked. “Well... It is under the ownership of Ponyville... I suppose you could buy it.”
“Buy it?” He said, blinking at her. Apparently news of Coppers apparent wealth had gotten around a bit.
“Oh yes. Of course, not for some ridiculous price. Average home in ponyville is a few hundred bits, bit since it is quite the fixer upper I'm sure just a hundred will due just fine.” There was a glint in her eye that gave him a feeling that she thought she was coming out on top with this one.
He smiled at her, and opened his mouth to agree. Then he stopped. He refused to take advantage of the situation, since she was not in possession of all the facts. “I'm afraid, Mayor...” He sighed, “That it is worth far more than that. Judging from just the sheer amount of mechanics in there, I would say at least eight hundred bits.” Her mouth fell open. “And at most a thousand.” She mouthed the words. “But since there is so much to do with it... My offer is nine hundred.”
“N-nine... Nine...” Her mouth opened and closed several times. Lightning flashed again, and the thunder was quick to follow. “Nine hundred...” She managed. “Nine hundred bits... I... I had no idea...”
But that was not including the gem cog. That was priceless. No one would be able to afford it. Nine hundred felt like the right amount for it all, since nopony would even hold any value of the tower at all. Except that... Doctor Whooves pony. “Then we have a deal?” He said happily, smiling at her.
She nodded vigerously. “Oh yes. N-nine hundred bits for the clock tower, and all there in. I... I just...” She got up, and began fumbling through drawers. “I'll just find the deed...”
“I'll be right back then with the money.” He said as he stood up, and left the office. Outside the rain was pouring down from the sky. But his cloak was doing a more than adequate job. “Nine hundred bits...” He said slowly, staring at into the rain. “That's almost all the money I have till I get my first payment from Celestia...” He sighed softly, and walked towards his home. It was worth it. He had saved all the money he could over his life, and it had come out to over a thousand bits. It was a cushion he had kept, just in case.
But here he was now, pushing a bag, a large bag, into the mayors office, just for a piece of paper. Of course, that piece of paper gave him something that he wanted, but still. “I...” It was obvious that she was merely at a loss for words. And Copper didn't blame her.
“Nine hundred bits. I know cus I emptied eighteen bags, and I kept fifty bits in each bag.” He said, part of the bag ripped, and bits spilled out. “Damn, sorry. Uhm... Do you need help counting it?”
She shook her head. “N-no. It's alright.” She took a deep breath, and looked at him. “You... You can go.” The piece of paper in her hand said 'DEED' at the top of it.
He read over it quickly, and then tucked it into his cloak, which actually had several different sized pockets inside. He really had to thank Rarity when he got a chance. A quick stop off at his home, to put the deed away. The back of his book was as good a spot as any. Then it was off to Twilight's. This time, he had questions for her this time.
“How are you feeling today Spike?” Twilight was sitting beside Spike, who was sitting in his basket.
“Better.” He said, sounding a bit grumpy at the moment. “I don't even know how I got sick...”
“Mmm I dunno. But thankfully I've got a few books on dragon illnesses, and with Fluttershy's help, you're getting better.” She walked over to a table, on which was a bowl of soup. It floated up, and over to Spike. “Speaking of which, Fluttershy should be here soon...”
There was a flash of lightning, and Owlicious hooted in surprise, and ruffled his feathers. “Great, more lightning? That's the second bolt in the past hour...” Spike said as he grabbed the bowl. “At least the soup is good.” He mumbled.
Twilight barely heard the knocking, and her horn glowed as the door opened. Beyond was Fluttershy, draped in a soaked cloak, and shivering. “Oh Fluttershy... Come in, quick.”
Fluttershy moved in quickly, taking off her cloak. “I-I-I didn't r-realize i-it was raing th-this b-bad.” She said, shivering.
“I think I saw a spell for drying the other day...” Twilight moved quickly over to a table, and after shifting a stack of books, produced one that opened. “Ah, here we go.” She put the book down, and aimed at Fluttershy. There was a slight flash, from another bolt of lightning, and a sound that could only be described as, pwoof.
Fluttershy blinked, and looked around. “What happened?”
“Uh...” Twilight quickly flipped through the book. “One sec... I can fix it... You're mane just went a bit... Poofy.”
Spike had his hand over his mouth, but snickers where escaping through his fingers. Fluttershy gave him a look. “What. I'm not laughing... A... A little soup went down the wrong way.” He coughed dramatically, and patted his chest.
Twilight had laid down, pages of the book flipping over and over. Back and forth. “Darn it, where is it... I thought it was in this one...” Another book floated down and replaced the one that she had been skipping through. “The lightning threw me off a bit, and I put a little too much into it...”
Fluttershy leaned from side to side. “What happened.” She looked around. “What did you do?” The panic in her voice was quite apparent.
“Nothing bad. Nothing that can't be fixed.” Then suddenly, there was another knock on the door. Twilight looked up, then at Fluttershy, and then back to the door. “Maybe just the wind...” She said doubtfully.
The door opened, and Copper quickly made his way inside, and closed the door. “It is freaking pouring out there...” He turned around. “Hi Twilight, hi Spike, hi Pinkie Pie. Twilight I have-” He stopped, and turned back to Fluttershy. “Oh. Fluttershy...” He hesitated a moment. “Trying a new mane style?”
Fluttershy stared at Copper, and then at Twilight. “Is... Is it that bad?” She said, she sounded on the brink of tears.
“It isn't bad, per-say...” Copper said as he removed his cloak. “It doesn't look bad. It's just... So very poofy.”
“I can fix it.” Twilight said as she started flipping through pages again. “I just put a little too much power into the drying spell.”
Fluttershy sat down, staring at her poofed tail. “My tail...” Suddenly her sadness turned to panic. “Everyponies ganna laugh at me!”
Copper arched an eyebrow. “I wouldn't think so.” She looked at him, her eyes swimming in tears. “It wont be permanent, and worst case scenario, you get someone to fix it.”
“He's right.” Twilight said, and Fluttershy's gaze moved to her. “If I can just find the right spell... I can fix it right now...”
“Aaaanyways... I wanted to ask you something Twilight.” Copper turned his attention from Fluttershy's floofed hair, to Twilight.
“Uh-huh.” She said, still turning pages. She'd gone through two more books since Copper had gotten there.
“I wanted to know if you had ever heard of a gem cog.” There it was again, the slight echo to the words.
Twilight stopped for a moment. “A gem cog? Hm...” She looked up at the shelves, and a book came floating down.
“What about gems?” Spike said, his head raising from his mostly eaten bowl of soup.
She gave him a look, and then turned her gaze to the book as it paused in front of her, and then moved on to rest in front of Copper. “That should be it.”
Copper nodded and opened the book. He could feel Fluttershy move closer to look at the book as well. “Pony of the Gears?” He read, staring at the title. He opened it, and read the first page. “In the end, we're all just gears in the world. -Gear.”
Fluttershy leaned a bit closer, getting a better look at the page. “Do you know who that is?”
Copper shook his head. “No... It's probably a pen name of some kind... But... The book title looks very familiar... I... I've seen it before... A long time ago...” He closed his eyes, trying to think. Of course now that he needed for his mind to wander, he was firmly here.
He flipped through the pages. It was all in shorthand. This was when his speed reading came in handy, when reading over someponies writing. “Can you read that?” Fluttershy asked, looking at Copper, and then at the book.
“Oh yeah. It's what us mechanics call short hand. It fits a lot more meaning into a lot less space. Letters certain ways mean certain things, as well as groups of numbers and-” He froze. There it was, in it's own chapter. The Gem Cog. “Not a gem cog...” He mumbled, as there was a slight echo, staring at the picture. “The Gem Cog...” This time the echo was far more serious, everypony, even Spike and Owlicious looked up. “The first one... The one that sparked every piece of technology we have.”
Fluttershy looked at the cog a moment, and then at Copper. “Is... Is that what we saw up in the clock tower?”
He nodded slowly. “I'm almost certain of it...” He skimmed over the pages. “And look here. It says The Gem Cog is a powerful magical artifact, that keeps any machine it is put into functioning, without flaw, indefinitely.” For the first time in a long time, he was truly focusing on words. “Without flaw, indefinitely...” He repeated slowly. “Luna said that the clock tower had been there even before her and Celestia came to Equestria...”
Twilight looked up from her current book. “You... Spoke with Luna about the clock tower? When did you do that?”
Copper blinked at her. “You are aware she can go into dreams, yes?” She nodded slightly. “Well she wanted to talk to me the other night, about what isn't important, but I asked her about the tower...”
“And she said it had been there before they had come here?” Her attention was very moved away from books now, as she stared at the book in front of Copper.
“It makes a lot of sense. Trains and clocks where the most complex mechanical things for a very long time, it's only in the last hundred years or so that ponies have actually started progressing again...” Coppers eyes did not leave the page. “It begs to ask what sparked it this time...”
Fluttershy was looking at the pages as well. “I can actually read these pages... Why is it not in... Short hand?”
“I suppose because it's important...” Copper hazarded, there was no true way of knowing why. “I honestly have no idea. One would have to ask this Gear pony... But judging by the age of this book, that's not possible... Here, look at this... Simply being in possession of the cog, or even simply touching it can give said pony instant clarity of problems they have. This is merely rumor, but from my research I have surmised that it in fact helps the owner simply think more clearly.”
“So it's like some sort of focusing thing?” Twilight was now in front of them, tilting her head to try and read the book.
“Twilight.” Copper said, glancing at Fluttershy, who was mesmerized by the book at the moment. “I think you need to work on one problem at a time.”
“Ah.” She looked at Fluttershy, who looked up from the book at her. Her hair seemed to sproing. Twilight tried not to crack a smile, as she quickly moved back to the pile of books. “I think I've found the right book at least...”
“That's good.” He said, as he started skimming through the rest of the book, looking for any other mention of the cog. “Well... At least we know what it is.” He sighed softly, turning back to the chapter on the cog. “The Gem Cog...” Again that damned echo.
“What... What is that?” Fluttershy asked, looking around the room. “Why does it echo?”
He looked at Twilight, who blinked. “It's... Probably some magic having to do with the cog? Perhaps we're close enough to be within it's magical effect, whatever it is...”
Copper nodded slowly. “Yes... That could be it...” He paused a moment as he thought. “I can't think of any other reason that it would do that.. And it sure feels magical everytime I say it...”
“Perhaps you shouldn't... Say it I mean.” Twilight's eyes where already locked on Copper when he lifted his head.
He blinked at her a few times. “Alright... I mean, there's no need to say it...” The pages of the book where hard to not look at. “But why was it hidden like this? In a clock tower? I mean it's a great hiding place as long as you have somepony-” He paused a moment, his brow wrinkling.
“What?” Fluttershy said, looking from the book, to Copper, then back.
“Twilight... You said that somepony named Doctor Whooves goes and winds the tower, right?” He stared blankly at the page, not really looking at it, but instead looking through it.
“Hm? Yeah. He's around town quite a lot, actually.” She said, looking at him. “Why?”
“Somepony has to be in on the secret.” He said slowly, his eyes focusing on the picture of the gear. “Otherwise... There's nothing to stop anyone from finding out...” Doctor Whooves... That was a familiar name. It hadn't registered at first, but now that he thought about more about it, it did. “Anyways...” He shook his head. “Thanks Twilight.” He said as he got to his feet. “Another question is, do you think you could help me make the door to the tower bigger? And fix the stairs?”
She blinked, looking at him for a moment. “I don't think we can do that... We'll have to go talk to the mayor...”
“Oh no.” He said, smiling at her. “I've already done that. I bought the clock tower.”
There was a long, drawn out silence. Copper could feel everyone taking in the words. Even Owlicious seemed shocked for words. But a flash, and a roll of thunder brought everyone back around. “You bought... The clock tower?” Twilight managed after a moment.
“Mhm.” Copper said, still smiling. He knew now it was a good idea to go to the mayor first. Who knows how it would have went if Twilight had been there as well.
“How much did you buy it for?” She asked, she seemed to be having trouble focusing on him.
“Oh.” He glanced at Fluttershy, who was still in a stunned silence. “Uhm... Ninehundred bits,” He said, deciding that he may as well tell the truth.
Again there was silence, a long, drawn out silence. But it was Spike this time, rather than a bolt of lightning, that broke the silence. “That's... A lot of money.” He felt the need to point out the obvious. Somepony had to.
He paused a moment, and then nodded. “Yes... It is. But with the sheer amount of mechanical things in there, it's fairly close the the correct price.” He hesitated, everypony was looking at him again. “Of course that was before I knew what... It was...” His hoof kicked at the ground a bit, he actually felt bad. “So I didn't count it into the price... And I wouldn't have been able to afford it if I had even made a guess...”
“Well... I suppose that's alright... I'm sure Miss Mayor is more than happy with the price.” Twilight said, looking at Copper, but he was avoiding everyponies gaze.
Why did he feel so bad over this? The cog was priceless. No one could have bought it, not for what it was actually valued for. He cleared his throat, and looked up. “But, anyways... If you would please help me out tomorrow, I would appreciate it very much.”
Twilight smiled at him, and nodded. “Alright. I'll bring Applejack with me tomorrow. She's good at building, they seem to put up a new barn every few days...” There was a slight pause, and then shook her head. “Anyways. She'll be a big help.”
Copper smiled, and nodded as he stood up. “Thank you.” He moved back towards the door and put his cloak back on. “I'll...” He paused, looking at Fluttershy. “I'll see you tomorrow, Twilight.” He smiled a bit. “And Fluttershy. Don't be too worried about your mane. I'm sure Pinkie Pie would love it, but I'm sure Twilight will fix it.”
Fluttershy gave a slight smile, and nodded. “See you tomorrow...” Twilight said, going back through the book.
With that, headed back out into the rain. He took a deep breath, the air was cold, and damp. Everything was sorted. Everything was planned out. Now it was just time to work. He had plans. This felt good. Having plans. He could work to his hearts content now, and there was no one to tell him he had to stop, and go somewhere an insurmountable amount of distance away and deal with someone else's problem. He was his own pony now, and could do whatever he wanted.
He closed his eyes and sighed. Who was he kidding? This was just a break.
The door to the workshop opened, and Copper looked up from his book. “Evening Horsh... What's going on?”
“Letter for you.” Horsh said, walking towards him, and putting a letter in his way.
He frowned slightly, there was a large C sealing the scroll closed. He couldn't help but to sigh as he opened it and read. His frown deepened. “Damn.”
Horsh was going through things on the table, seeing what he had been working on. “What's happened?”
“Well, apparently... Lady Evale is starting to become a problem...” He put his head down on the table. “She's already signed... But Celestia is worried that she'll change her mind and back out, without some sort of further prompting...”
He frowned, as much as one can with a beak. “But the word is that she's all for the project. She's even been convincing others to join in, and saved us a lot of time.”
“I know...” He sighed again as he stood up. He pushed his goggles up from his eyes. “But she wants me to go and speak with her again.” He picked up, and tossed the scroll into the fireplace. It caught, and went up unusually fast. Faster than regular paper anyways. But Copper knew that it wasn't normal paper. It was designed to burn faster, and hotter than regular paper.
“So, you're heading out?” Horsh shifted things around as spoke.
Copper looked at him a moment. “Yes.” Horsh was a good Griffon, and he got along well. He was his... Well, partner as it where. He had not worked with many partners over his life, but he always enjoyed it when he did. It gave him time to do other things.
“Do you think you'll need the shocker?” He said, pulling the glove like device from under a table.
“Nah. I'll just take the wing.” He flexed his wing out, and it snapped into place as metal glinted off the front. He smiled at it.
“You really ought to take that off occasionally... I mean, wearing it when you go out is one thing... But sleeping with it on? It can't be good for you wing...” This was not the first time Horsh had brought it up.
“Hey, I take it off when I bathe, and when I'm traveling long distances.” Copper snapped, as he pulled his cloak on, folding his wing back up as he did. It was starting to get on his nerve how often he brought it up.
“I know, but that's what... An hour a day? At most. And a few days when you travel?” Horsh folded his arms in front of him, looking at Copper. “I'm just worried that it could be causing damage.”
“How could it cause damage? It's got some padding on the inside... It's almost to the point I don't even need that.” He adjusted his cloak, and pulled up his hood.
“That's what I mean... You're losing feeling in your wing. What if it broke?” He had an odd amount of concern for his well being, Copper thought.
“If it breaks, it breaks. Not like I'll even really notice.” That was a lie, he knew. He used his wing for a lot of things. Balance mostly, slowing down, speeding around corners... A lot of things.
“I'm just saying that you might be a bit too dependent on it.” Horsh was looking over the book now.
“You know what? Fine.” He undid the straps, and flexed his wing, causing the whole thing to come off. He put it up on the table. “I'll only wear it when I need to, if that'll make you feel better.”
“A bit.” He said, glancing up at him. The griffon was quite old, and it had slightly worried Copper that he would not be able to pull his own weight, and he'd have to do the job of two people, but Horsh had surprised him.
But that was the end of that exchange. He moved out into the street, and walked slowly down the cobbled streets. He couldn't understand why Horsh was so against him using things he had made. Like they where more trouble then they where worth. They where too handy to not use. Though, as he walked, he did notice his wing was feeling oddly better. It was about time to re-measure and build a new wing. But that took time he didn't have, there was no rest. The meeting with Lers was not for a few days as it was, and he was a tad worried that Lers would not sign.
He had to sign, there was pressure from everywhere, and he was the only one to not have signed. Ponies and griffons he thought where his friends where turning against him. They all wanted him to sign it, and Copper was confident he could convince him.
He froze at an intersection as he saw across the street, stood two tall griffons. Both where staring at him. He turned off to the right. He had needed to go straight, but he had made a lot of enemies, and it paid to avoid people giving that sort of look. There where two more ahead of him. “Thanks a lot Horsh...” He mumbled, stopping. There where a few other ponies, and griffons on the street. But those two stood out. Quickly, and casually, he walked into the shop he was standing outside. It was the entrance to apartments.
Running down the hall to the other side, yielded a door leading into a back alley, but when the door shut behind him, without him closing it, he cursed his luck. “Good afternoon Mr. Feather.”
“Afternoon.” He replied, not turning around. Two of the griffons appeared at the other end of the alley. “So, who sent you then?”
“Our employer does not wish for you to know that.” The griffon said coldly, and Copper risked a glance behind him. It was probably the biggest griffon he had ever seen.
“Understandable...” He said slowly as he looked back ahead of him. There was a garbage can a few feet ahead of him. All he had to do was wait for the two at the edge of the alley to- ah. Here they come. “Most people are smart enough to know...” Just a few more seconds. “That your average thugs wont be able to stop me.” He used his wing for leverage, hit the top of can, jumped again, over the two other griffons, lost his footing for a moment, and then ran. It was not like him to run, so it caught them off guard. It probably wouldn't have worked if they had been expecting it, but thankfully, they weren't.
He didn't even dare risk a glance behind him, in front of him was far too important. It wasn't too terribly far to Lady Evale's mansion, and he just had to make it there. Then he'd have a better idea of who hired them. If they followed him in, it was someone not from around here. If they didn't, it was someone in the city. If they hesitated too long, it was Lady Evale.
He hoped that it was someone in the city. He clattered around a corner, and nearly ran straight into the guard at the front of Lady Evale's estate. “Ah. Afternoon.” He said, breathing heavily. “I was wondering if Lady Evale was available?” Now he had the chance to look behind him, there was no one there. Had he lost them that easily?
“Ah. Copper Feather... Her ladyship was expecting you... But you are early.” He opened the gate, and Copper frowned at the gate. “Please, head on in.”
Copper eyed the guard with a bit of suspicion. This seemed at tad odd. But there was no real reason to suspect a trap, yet. He entered the building, looking around as he did. No reason to be suspicious, there seemed to be nopony around. That was almost disappointing. But what he did note, where voices off in a side room. “Please, I'm just trying to satiate my curiosity on the subject.” That was Lady Evale.
Copper moved slowly to the open door, not exactly stealthily, merely slowly. He did not want to interruption, and he needed to catch his breath. “And I'm just saying that it's a touchy subject. A lot of people strongly, very strongly, believe that it does not even exist. And asking about it can get you into trouble.”
He rounded the corner, and stood in the doorway. This appeared to be a study of some kind, with large windows, and a large desk. Behind it, sat Lady Evale, and by the window, there was a pony. He was beige in color, with brown mane. Copper stepped in, and both of them turned to look at him. “I do hope I am not interrupting anything.” He said as he walked slowly around the room.
“Ah, Copper.” Lady Evale smiled at him. “You are early.”
“So I understand... But being pressured into moving quickly tends to cause that.” He was looking at the other pony, who was putting things from the table into a bag. What caught his attention was the book.
“Copper, allow me to introduce you to Doctor Whooves. Doctor, this is Copper Feather.”
He sat bolt upright. “That's it!” A cord snapped in front of him, and lashed him across the face. “Ow! Dammit!” His hoof went up to is face, rubbing the area. “Dammit...” He said again, and sighed. “So I had met him before...” He focused on nothing for a moment, trying to bring up that image in his head once again. “The book...” He leaned back over his work. “I'm certain that that was Pony of the Gears... I knew I'd seen that book before...” The cord fought him a bit as he worked a new one into place, but now that it was hooked up, it stayed. He stared at it a moment, and then nodded in satisfaction. “Now...”
He hooked the device on his back, then to his wing, and threw his cloak over it. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find, that it was night. The rain had stopped, and the stars glittered overhead. He set off at a slight trot. Height. He needed height, it'd be pointless to try it from the ground at this stage. This was, after all, the first test run.
He made good time to the clock tower, and it didn't even take him that long to get up the rope. Though he was a bit tired, he knew that he could sleep later. There was lots of time to sleep now. When he reached the top of the tower, sunlight was filtering in through the clock faces. He blinked in the light, as he moved out the window, and onto the outer rim. He looked up at the clock, it was early in the morning. “I didn't sleep at all...” He mumbled, as he tucked the cloak back in through the door, and closed it behind him.
He closed his eyes, and shifted. It was heavy, but not uncomfortably so. He had made it as light as possible without sacrificing any strength. The awareness of a vast space in front of him was becoming more and more apparent as he moved slowly foreword. How tall was the tower? Would this fall kill him? He shook his head, those thoughts where pointless, and a waist of time. The edge was in front of him, his hooves hanging slightly over. “Copper!” Someone called his name bellow, and he opened his eyes, seeing Twilight, and Applejack bellow. “What are you doing?”
“Hopefully...” He took a deep breath, and spread his wings. “Flying.” He leapt.
It worked, for the most part. He did not plummet, and he pounded his wings to gain height. It had been difficult to work out how to get the wing to work right, but with slight rigging to the other, and using the stub as a sort of reverse joystick made it quite easy. He couldn't help but should, and yell as loud as he could. The feeling of wind was amazing to say the least. He had felt it before, on the front of airships, but that was nothing. Nothing compared to this. This was freedom.
Unfortunately, there where still a lot of things to work out. Like the landing. He blinked as he tried to get to his feet, and untangle himself from the bush. “Oof... Ok... Landing is the next step...” Thankfully he hit the bush, and not something more solid. “Damn...” The cloth was was in tatters. “Right then... Mental note, the cloth is fragile...”
Twilight and Applejack came running around a bend in the road, as he tried to get the device out of the bush, it had tangled itself in there quite well. Twilight spoke first, “That was amazing Copper! What is that?”
“Well, it was a wing...” He said, frowning at the jumble of parts now, it would take him a long time to repair all that.
“That was mighty impressive sugarcube.” Applejack moved and helped pull it out of the bush. “Shame about that landin'.”
He paused a moment, and then nodded. “Yeah... Well, it's been a really, really long time since I've done any sort of landing.” He stretched a bit, trying to shake away the pain in his leg.
“Fascinating.” Twilight was examining what remained of the wing, many things where twisted now, and most of the cloth was shredded at this point. “So how exactly do you use it?”
“Well...” He stretched out his other wing, which had a sort of light weight version of his metal wing. “Wires run from inside here, to the other wing to help stabilization, and most of it is actually steered by... Uhm... The stub.”
“Why not just make it copy the other wing in it's motions?” She was now examining the part on his wing, which was not so gently clamped on, but he had had o many knocks and blows to it that it was fairly numb.
“I wouldn't be able to turn then. Or really gain height all that well. The wings need to be fairly independent from one another. There's a lot of different things that I've done... I've been trying to have them completely independent of one another... It'll allow for a lot more maneuverability.”
They where walking back to the clock tower now. “Well, shoot. Ya had us a might scared when ya jumped offa the tower.” Applejack said, giving him a look.
He chuckled softly, trying not to limp. “Sorry. I honestly didn't expect an audience... But I was certain it was safe. At the very least, I would have simply glided down.” He looked at the battered remains of the wing, and sighed. Once they got to the clock tower, he struggled a moment, trying to get it off. “Uh... Can this pony get a bit of help? Seems it's stuck on from the crash...”
Both of them looked at him, he was on his side, his leg caught in part of the cloth that wasn't quite all the way torn through. They all laughed, and Twilight's horn glowed. “There you go.” She said as Copper escaped from the mess.
Copper sighed. “Well I think this was a great first shot... And I can already think of improvements...” He smiled at them. “But first, we gatta get the job done on this tower.”
It took most of the day to finish the tower. First thing Twilight did was use a spell to increase the size of the door to five times it's size. Almost too big. Almost. Next was the cleaning, which took a very long time. There was not just dust on the floor they found, but also lots of machinery. Some of it was rusted onto the floor and Twilight had to use magic to get them off. Copper convinced Twilight to leave the large cog that was stuck in the floor, it added something special to the place that he quite liked.
Then there was the staircase, that took the longest. The wood that had been the stairs took a while to clear, even with magic. Then they had to go and get new timber, and things for the new staircase. Thankfully Applejack had plenty back at Sweet Apple Acres, but that was a long trip there, and then a seemingly longer trip as the hauled everything back.
With lunch breaks, and the occasional pony coming and asking what was going on, it ended up taking the whole day. But everything was clean, and built. “If you ever need help around the farm, AJ, don't hesitate to ask.” Copper said, sitting outside of the tower, looking inside at the staircase.
“Ah shoot. Aint no problem helpin' out a friend.” She said, giving him a large smile.
“Still.” He said, returning the smile to her. “It'd be great to have a chance to help somepony out, rather than everyone just helping me.”
“Well, yer new 'round here. It's only natural ponies would be wantin' to help ya.” She said, and crossed her legs, still smiling at him. “But I gatta get back to the farm. So I'll see ya around.”
He nodded. “Alright, thanks again for your help.” She trotted off, and Copper looked back inside. “Twilight?” He looked inside, and saw her staring up into the mess of gears.
“Can... We go and see it?” She asked, her gaze not shifting.
“It?” He said, before realization managed to knock. “Oh. Yeah.” She stood up, and the two of them headed up the stairs. “Don't touch anything though... I don't know what this thing does, yet.”
She nodded. “Of course. I will keep my hooves off.”
He chuckled softly, and the climb seemed really quick for some reason. That was odd. They hit the wrap of gears, which is what he decided to call the point where the staircase goes straight through the mechanism, a lot sooner than he had expected. Then they where at the top. “There. In the center of the actual clock.” He pointed a hoof at it.
“Wow... Fluttershy was right... It's...” Her voice seemed to fade as she stared.
“Hypnotic...” He said, giving her a soft nudge.
She shook herself, and looked around at the inside of the clock. “It's so empty in here... What do you think is with all of the gears bellow?”
He shrugged, and sat down. There had been very little dust up here for some reason. Blame was put on the cog. “I'm starting to think it's just... Busy work.”
Her gaze turned to him for a moment. “Busy work? Why would a machine need busy work?”
Again he shrugged. “It just seems the most logical thing to me... You've got a powerful gear, that magically keeps a machine running forever, it's expected that it needs something big to power... Maybe it was just an experiment to see if it could run something this big.”
She looked at the cog again. “But... Who would do that?”
His eyes narrowed slightly at the cog, and he frowned. He had his suspicions, but there was no need to start pointing hooves. “I don't know. Someone who was a genius, though... I've never seen machinery this complex.”
“It must be the cog. I read the chapter of it.” She managed to pull her gaze away, and look at him. “It-”
He raised a hoof. “Yes, I know Twilight. I read it too... It helps you focus, and gives you ideas.” But it wasn't the cog that gave him the idea for the wing, that was Luna. Or did she just claim credit? That didn't seem like her, but maybe she was influenced by it, and merely thought it was her idea?
“Where you tempted?” She said, still looking at him.
“Tempted to what?” He said, staring at the cog. Why was it not effecting him as much as every other pony?
“To use it...” She said, leaning closer, scrutinizing him.
He did not like that look, and he turned to look at her. He opened his mouth to speak, but the lie that was forming stopped dead. “Yes.” He managed, and looked back at it. “I was so tempted, I even put in a similar cog, and built my wing around it.”
“I'm glad you didn't use it... Magic like this seems... Dangerous...” She suddenly started moving to the stairs. “I'm going to write the Princess about this, and see what she has to say about it.”
“Yeah...” Copper said, staring at the cog, his thoughts where suddenly becoming clearer. “You do that... But...” She paused, looking back at him. He shook his head. “Nevermind, I'm sure it's safe to tell her about it...”
She stared at him a moment. “Do you have anyone you can send a letter to? Someone who might know?”
Doctor Whooves seemed like a good start, but there was no way of knowing where he was. Then a second person came to mind. “Yes.” He said slowly. “Horsh. A griffon friend of mine back in Griflon.”
“Maybe send a letter to him?” She suggested, slowly making her way to the stairs.
“Yeah...” He looked up at the clock face. “Yeah. I think I will.”
