Metronome found himself in quite the predicament. His eyelids twitched lazily as he directed every bit of effort in his bones to keeping the things from closing. His cheek began to slowly slide down along the hoof he was resting it on. And his brain tried excruciatingly hard to comprehend the noises that it heard from his ears. The source of Metronome's discontent was seated across the coffee table from him and came in the form of Sauvignon. Sauvignon was a wealthy Earth Pony who owned several wineries and various vineyards, and that was about all Metronome could absorb before entering the state of near comatose that he now found himself, the dull distant whirring of the engines of the airship they were on didn't aide in his fight for continued consciousness either.
Sauvignon may have had a bouquet of mouthwateringly ripe (if a bit over-plump) grapes and a label-less bottle of wine for a cutie mark, but Metronome seriously doubted that his super special talent had anything to do with wines or grapevines. Sauvignon had the remarkable ability to make a 2 hour balloon ride seem like 10. He talked with his tongue seemingly glued to the roof of his mouth; giving the impression that he spoke with a mouth perpetually full of food.
Metronome had just spent the last hour and a half listening (or at least hearing; he didn't actually listen to more than a few disconnected words every five minutes) to Sauvignon babble first how he owned the company that made the wine that was being served, which was originally very interesting, but slowly lost its luster as it developed into Sauvignon's entire life story. One by one, the few ponies that had been sitting around the small coffee table in the little lounge beat a subtle yet hasty retreat as the light tan pony started talking about how fascinating he found his own life to be; leaving poor old Metronome as the sole object of Sauvignon's attention.
"Early bird catches the worm..." Metronome thought to himself as he wondered how great it would be to be one of the ponies that had already taken their leave and were enjoying the surely incredible view from the cabin windows. "... And in this case the late bird gets no worm, and smothered to death by the most reprehensible pony you have ever met or will ever meet."
"Oh, and the fields around my Trottingham winery is quite superb, let me tell you. Absolutely beautiful! I'd make my home there, if I didn't already own three others..." He chuckled jovially at his own joke, completely unaware of his company's utter lack of interest. His corpulent guffaws sounded more like great "Huff-puff"s than anything else; and disturbed Metronome deeply to no end.
"Mmm..." Metronome said in response to Sauvignon's joke. He never really noticed how fascinating the patterns on a Persian rug could be until now.
"Anyways, I'm on my way to Aevusaria to inspect my holdings and oversee the progress of one of my vineyards there. And why are you going to the city my dear boy?"
It took Metronome a solid three seconds before he even registered the fact that Sauvignon had asked him a question.
"Oh, erm..."
Metronome (or just Metro, as he tended to be called) was on his way to the city so that he could... well, once he thought about it, he didn't really have a reason to go to the city. All-in-all, it was probably just for the sake of change. While he loved his family, living with the same five ponies for near two-and-a-half decades that he's been alive found itself tiring to him. For the most part, the farm life was pleasant, quaint, and quiet, if a bit boring. Despite being an Earth Pony, Metronome had no naturally ability with plants or animals. In fact, most times he got his hooves on a plant the thing ended up wilting a short time later. A fact that caused him a great deal of grief as a child trying to discover his cutie mark. Trying to care for a small plant and having it wither; or picking a flower only to have it melt away to ashes before he could give it to his mother usually sent him scurrying back to his room in tears.
"Don't worry son," his father would most often say, clapping a hoof around his son's shoulders, "not everypony's cut out for the farming life."
Metro now understood that what his father meant was, "You don't have to follow in my hoofsteps to be a success." But as a young colt it sounded more like, "You don't belong in this family."
His father was a fairly laid-back and often jovial stallion. Slow to anger, quick to a joke, and always friendly and sincere. His name was Agrarian Oathen Silous, but most everypony just called him Oathen. He was married to Metro's mother, Copper Kettle. Unlike Oathen, Copper Kettle had a quick and fiery temper almost as hot as the tea she brewed daily. Despite that, she was a very warm and loving individual, always taking care of anypony who needed it for as long as they needed it. Her cutie mark depicted a copper tea kettle appropriately enough, and her skill with making and mixing teas was that of legend; at least in the small community near them. While Oathen is, and always has been a farmer, Copper Kettle was raised to be an alchemist, and she had a keen eye for any herbs that would mix well into a fine tea or be used to heal even the most grievous of wounds.
In an odd turn of events, it was she who needed healing when she first fell in love with Oathen. While she was scavenging for any useful herbs or mushrooms that would go well with her collection, she stayed out a bit too long and ended up getting caught in a storm. When a rogue bolt of lightning knocked a heavy tree branch on top of her she thought she was done for. Thankfully, she had wandered close to Oathen's family's farm, and he heard her cries for help over the whistling of the wind. He knocked the branch off her and carried her on his back back home, where he nursed her back to health as her pneumonia settled and her bones mended; giving her his bed, and sleeping beside her on the floor every night in case she needed something.
Not long after they were married; and now they tended to the farm together, with Oathen working the vast fields and Copper Kettle keeping the house and caring for the herb and spice gardens. Nowadays, they live together with Copper Kettle's sister and father, Brittle Brattle and Fiddle Faddle. Brittle Brattle helped Copper Kettle with the housework, and usually did most of the cooking (her Peanut Brittle was almost as famous as Copper Kettle's tea!). Fiddle Faddle was too old to work anymore, but he kept the family entertained with stories from his youth or by playing his fiddle, which was the object of his cutie mark. Altogether they all worked to keep the farm and the family going. They all had their purpose. All except Metro, it seemed.
Seeing as how his attempts to cultivate plants usually resulted in catastrophic disaster, Metro would often just watch his father from a distance or participate in some of the more arduous tasks that didn't require actually touching the plants. This never suited Metro, as he hated physical labor. Possibly as a result of this, Metro was keenly aware of when it was time to break for lunch. He would unhook his heavy plow to a puzzled look from his father.
"What're you doing son?" He would ask. "Why are you..."
"In 3... 2... 1..." Metro would interrupt, pointing his hoof towards the house.
Not a moment later, the ringing of a triangle could be heard as his mother's voice shouted across the fields, "SOUP'S ON EVERYPONY!"
His father would grin and chuckle, impressed; tousling his son's mane and saying, "Well now look at that... My own personal timepiece..."
As the years passed by, Metro found that his skills extended much past timing lunch perfectly. As he observed his father tending to the crops or his mother tending to the garden, he would take note of how long it took plants to sprout, mature, bear fruit, die, and so on. Furthermore, he found that he was able to perfectly time a storm's approach, or how long a drizzle would last, or how much longer an apple pie had to cook before it was golden-brown. His skills proved useful to his family, and Metro finally felt as though he had found his niche within the farm.
"Any rain today son?" His father might ask.
"No, but the gusts will be strong. I'd recommend refortifying the supports for the saplings."
"Sound advice son."
"Metro, will my potato soup be done soon?"
"Not yet, Ma. It still needs 30 more minutes to simmer; and in 17 minutes you'll want to stir it counter-clockwise 3/4 of a rotation 5 times to achieve optimal flavoring."
"Yum! Sounds great, I can't wait 'til it's finished!"
Such exchanges became frequent on the farm. Soon, Metro's handiness with timing lead his father to put the colt in charge of writing up and developing the family's schedules and crop rotation charts. His uncanny ability to determine when a fruit or vegetable would be perfectly ripe was one thing, (and well valued), but his perception in knowing small things like when a fence post needed replacing or a roof shingle re-tarring or saying "Better get the milk out now." and having the kettle begin to whistle just as he finished speaking seemed to border on the precognitive.
"Y'all sure ya ain't gotta unicorn horn poking out from under that mane a yours?" His mother would joke with a tap to the forehead whenever he pointed out something seemingly indeterminable. "Y'all're seemin' to be right psychic!"
"Let's hope not, or somepony owes me a lot of money." His father would chuckle back if ever he was around to hear.
Metronome just considered it as being good with patterns. He would recognize signs of events transpiring, and relate them to the domino effect of other events that typically seemed to follow. It all seemed very simple and fluid to him. "Just like clockwork." Metronome would say to himself when something slid neatly into place in accordance to his calculations. However it wasn't until his 12th birthday that he finally discovered his cutie mark. His mother was teaching him how to play the piano for the first time. She set the metronome ticking and played a beautiful piece that elicited applause from the entire gathered family. Silently, Metronome's eyes had been following the small ticking device for which he was named. After only a few beats, he was able to click his tongue to perfectly imitate it. A little ways in, and he started softly humming each note of the song a mere moment before his mother played them; as if he had been listening to the song all his life.
"Okay hun, your turn." His mother said, relinquishing the seat. "Just try to do what I did. It doesn't matter how long you take or if you hit exactly the right keys, just try your best." She set the metronome ticking again.
"Actually Mom, can I try without that?" He asked.
"Wel- I don't know Metro... It can be awful difficult to try to play a song for the first time if you don't..."
"Please. Just let me try." He pressed.
"Alright." She conceded, backing away and preparing for the auditory violation of her senses that she feared would come from the novice's playing.
Metro cracked his hooves and tapped one key several times absentmindedly. He then cleared his throat, cracked his neck, and proceeded to play the piece even better than his mother had; at Royal-Equestria-Symphony-orchestra-level skill, in fact. Each note being struck PRECISELY when the composer had intended it to be. He finished and turned around to look at his family, who all stared back, each with an open mouth. "What?" He asked. "It wasn't that good?"
His family let out a resounding cheer and leapt forward to congratulate Metronome, tossing him into the air and cheering "Hip, hip, hooray!"
Amidst the mess of clashing cheers and expressions of congratulations and wonderment, hardly anypony heard the small tinkle as the image of a metronome mid-tick appeared on the colt's flank.
"Look!" Exclaimed his grandfather, pointing at it. The whole family quieted and gathered around to get a look at the mark.
"It's a metronome!" His father laughed. "He keeps our time! He makes sure we're always right on cue..." His voice suddenly turning low and quavery, a tear forming in his eye as he nuzzled up against his son's cheek. "My son's finally found his place... And I couldn't be more proud..." He finished with a trembling voice, hugging Metronome tighter than he could ever remember.
When he was 13, Metro's father took him into town for the first time to teach him how to trade. Metro was amazed by the vast variety of ponies he saw there. Ponies of all colors and marks, sizes and occupations. Though Metro didn't know any of them, he felt an enormous sense of belonging amidst the hustle and bustle of the streets. Throughout his teenage years, Metro felt himself gravitating more and more towards the town than the farm, often leaving to spend whole days there. He would lose himself in the crowds, just watching the ponies go about their business on whatever urgent errands or leisurely activities that would occupy their minds. He would eat at different venues and listen in on other's conversations, eager to hear what went on outside the farm. He talk to ponies and make friends with them and he would go to the library to whittle away the hours reading. He would attend town halls and relax by the fountain. He would flirt with the fillies and, if he was lucky, spend the night with one or two. He would attend public performances and watch the airships pull into the landing field. He would peek in through the windows of the university and try and hear what the lecturers were talking about and he would constantly pester the newspaper's editor to know tomorrow's story today. Finally, Metro became such a bother to the gruff middle-aged pony that he offered Metro a job as a printer. Metro was so delighted! His thirst for knowledge of the outside world was finally being satisfied.
But it wasn't all good though. What little time he didn't spend in town he had to return home, where he had been completely neglecting his chores. As teenage ponies tend to do, he started to become rather distant with his family, and typically spent as much time as he could get away with away from them; sometimes even sleeping in the branches of the trees he would climb just out of want to be on his own. All in all, this was probably fortunate, because Metro was also becoming more and more moody towards his family, often shocking even himself at the level of obnoxious sarcasm he would throw at them; willing himself to stop being so rude to them and quit fighting arguments he knew he was wrong on, but being unable to by some hitherto unknown fear of being proven wrong. His natural gift also gave him a slight sense of overconfidence and a small superiority complex over his fellow pony. All but his sister, that is.
His sister's name was Cattail. She was born when Metro was 10, and was considered very quiet for a newborn; only ever crying when she needed to be fed or changed. Unlike the rest of the world, Metro found his sister's schedule to be completely erratic, her actions unpredictable. Cattail had the uncanny ability to sneak up on ponies without them ever knowing that she was even there. As if to compliment this, she enjoyed to spend her free time in dark and quiet places; which perfectly contrasted her bright and cheery demeanor. She was always good for a laugh and could normally make anypony smile, no matter the circumstances.
She got her cutie mark (a collection of swamp reeds, each with a bright smile) when one night, while frog hunting with her father in the nearby bog, she managed to sneak up on over 45 frogs and catch them without being detected by a single one. Her father found her playing with them all an hour later, none of them seemingly wanting to escape. As the twilight turned to night, and it was time fore her to head hone, she proceeded to teach them all how to sing in a froggy choir before letting them skip away happily; the whole bog having been lulled to sleep by the music she had taught them. Before then, Metro remembered how when she was a foal, objects would tend to disappear when in proximity to her; usually to be found later being sucked on in her mouth. The day she learned how to walk was the start of a whole new set of fiascos for the family, as she would escape or unlock her crib with such finesse that objects would disappear overnight, Cattail having stashed them somewhere. The location of the objects was usually a complete mystery to the family until such a time that Cattail saw fit to return them. Even Metronome had never discovered more than one or two hidden objects before their Cattail-designated time of return. Her's was the only pattern that completely eluded even him. Some of the more memorable heists included the ones for pappy's teeth, aunt's tea kettle lid, mother's seed bag, and, in an unprecedented and completely mystifying turn of events, father's entire plow, which went missing for several days before being found directly outside the kitchen door after Metronome tripped over it while trying to sneak out one night.
He wasn't entirely sure, but Metro had the distinct feeling that she was much smarter than him. She had 10 times his wit, of that he was certain. Metro could always admire her ability to talk herself out of any trouble she ever found herself in, or if desperate, just cry until her parents' hearts melted. He liked to call her 'Smooth Criminal', but she preferred the moniker 'Cat Burglar' because 'cat' was a part of her name and 'burglar' sounded funny to her.
Although Metronome and Cattail typically enjoyed a very close-knit and intimate relationship, Cattail had no problems with selling out her brother whenever he ticked her off enough; leaving little bits of evidence such as a diary page or damning photograph of whatever crimes he may have committed recently wherever a family member might see. An effective tactic that had earned him a stiff beating when his mother first found out that he had spent a night with a filly. But what was worse was his father, who did no more than give a disappointed sigh and shake his head sadly. He shuddered to think what they would think if they discovered he spent a night with a colt. Either way, she had Metro like putty in her hoof; though he was usually there by choice. He could almost never say no to her. Nopony could. Metro often joked that she could singlehoofedly negotiate their country out of the war it found itself in.
His home country of Equestria was in the midst of turmoil. A sizable chunk of the area had been perverted by a maniacal spirit named Discord. There was a lot of hubbub in the areas that he had affected, what with him bending reality and so forth, but the outlying regions like the ones containing Metronome's family's farm and the adjoining township were mostly left untouched. There were rumors of a family of alicorns that were fighting to contain Discord, but Metronome wasn't sure whether to believe they were true or not; being a bit of a skeptic these days.
Either way, Metro found it a good time to leave. Into his early twenties, Metro's relationship with his family had bettered itself, and things were all well and good. However, Metro still always felt that need to be in town and among other ponies. Having already planned out the family's schedule for the next ten years, Metro had taken up a few jobs in town to earn some extra coin for the farm. He found the experience to be invaluable, and the surplus inflow of bits didn't hurt either. He found that he had a certain fondness for clocks and watched while working at the local Horology workshop, and soon began a torrid love affair with the things; taking them apart, putting them together and so on. He loved their exactness, their absolute-ness, their precision. They had an air of destiny about them that Metro couldn't explain. He loved working for the farm, and the watchmaker, and the newspaper, but he could never shake the feeling that his destiny lay elsewhere, beyond the borders of his little town. When one day he over head a conversation between his boss and a client. Talk of a place called Aevurnium, of a city made of clockwork, far to the southwest. He went straight away to the cartographers' guild and got out every map he could find until he found it. A city named Aevurnium; in a region called Aevusaria - far away from Equestria. Metro stared at the dot on the map for what seemed like hours. He finally knew what he was meant to do.
A few months later and there he was, standing in the windy field that was the town's landing pad. The rush of the wind roaring past his ears as he squinted into the horizon; waiting for any sign of the balloon that would take him away to his new life.
"Consonnet Metro! Y'all'll be off soon enough! Can't 'cha spend a bit a time with your family before you go!?"
Metro held up a hoof as he focused his eyes on the the crest of a mountain in the distance. Based his previous observations of airship landing procedures, on current wind speeds, the typical running time of balloon, and allowing time for delays, he should be seeing the balloon right about... And there it was. The cap of the balloon slowly appearing over the peak of the mountain like the sunrise.
"Ha ha!" Metro declared triumphantly. "See? There it is ma! Right when I said it would be!"
"That's great honey, now get yer flank over here so we can all hug ya!"
"Sorry ma, I'm just excited." He said, following his mother back to the small lightly-crowded covered platform that his family also occupied. He went over and sat on a bench next to his sister, the looked back out to the sky. Cattail looked at him.
"Hey." She said with a nudge to his shoulder. He looked sideways over at her. "So you're really leaving, huh?"
He gave her a hollow sort of smile. "You know I am."
She returned that sad smile and looked down at her lap, where she was twiddling her hoofs. She snuffed the kind of snuff a pony makes when they mean to laugh at something. "It's just funny, is all..."
"What is?" Metro questioned.
Cattail snuffed again. "It's just ... I feel like I already miss you, even though you're still here... Pretty weird huh?" She asked looking back up at him. This time Metro's smile was genuine. He put his hoof around her shoulder and pulled her into a one-armed hug. She smiled too, but had to look away to keep her blank eyes from betraying the depth of her sadness.
"Don't worry. We'll see each other again soon enough." Metronome said, resting his cheek on too of Cattail's head. "Once I get a good lay of the land and earn enough money I'll buy tickets for the whole family to come out and visit. I even planned for it. You can take a look for yourself when you get home."
"Really?"
"Of course." Metro said.
She made an odd half-smile, then spoke again. "Well, thanks I guess."
Metro knew that was the best he was going to get out of her, even though he could tell she really meant it. He stood up and looked around. His mother stood back with her husband, and looked over at Metronome. In fact, everyone was looking at Metronome. All his family's eyes on him at once mad him a little uncomfortable, but he understood why. This would be the first time anypony in the family had left the farm since his parents got married. It must be a very alien concept for them to try and get over the fact that one of them wouldn't be coming home that day, or any day for the foreseeable future. The barely contained tear in his father's eye proved it more than anything. It would still be about a quarter hour before the ship was ready to board, so Metro decided to go over to him first.
"How's it going Pa?" he asked.
"I'm fine son." He chuckled, swiping away the tear in his eye. "I'm just... I'M SO PROUD OF YOU-HOO-HOO-HOO!" Oathen had wiped away the tear only to give way to a waterfall of tears, as he began sobbing uncontrollably. He grabbed his son and hugged him with such intensity that Metronome's cheeks puffed out and his eyes bulged. Wriggling his arm free, he patted Oathen's head cautiously.
"Er... Thanks pa... but I think you just snapped several of my vertebrae..."
"Heh heh... Sorry son." Oathen said, releasing his son and clearing away his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "It's just... This'll be the first time this family's been apart since... Well, it'll be the first time. It's just a tough field to plow, y'know?" He said with another massive sniff.
"I know, Pa. I'll miss you too." Metro responded, rubbing his recently scrunched ribs.
"Oh, quit yer blubberin'!" censured his mother, delivering a sharp jab to her husband's torso. "Y'all don't want yer son's partin' memory of y'all to be a buncha tears, do you?"
Oathen sniffed again and wiped a final tear from his eye. "I guess not." he said. He turned back to Metronome, "Good luck son... I know you'll be just fine." He reached out and patted his son on his trap muscles. However, Oathen's massive girth and muscle mass nearly sent Metronome to the ground.
"OOF! Err ... Heh heh, thanks pa." said Metronome. He turned towards his mother, who was smiling at him. Despite the happy expression, he could tell that she was just as sad and proud as her husband, not that she'd ever let him know that.
In classic Copper Kettle stoic fashion, she spoke in a steady voice that betrayed nothing. "Love you son. You do good out there y'here? Stay on the good side of the law an' write often. Y'know, if y'all have the time..." The two smiled at each other, and Metronome saw just the hint of moisture in her eyes before she turned away, to keep him from noticing. "Go say goodbye t' yer aunt." She commanded quickly, eager to divert her son's attention as she burrowed into her husband's coat to shield her son from her slight show of emotion.
He obeyed and approached his aunt, who wore a small, sad, sideways smile."So long, kid." She said with a hug. "I hope you make it big."
"Thanks Auntie Brattle." Metro responded meekly, returning the hug. He felt something against his hoof and looked down to see that his aunt had discreetly pressed a small felt pouch into it. From the small opening, Metro could see the unmistakable glimmer of Equestria's gold coin currency: bits. "Auntie, what's this?" whispered Metro. "I can't accept this..."
"I've been saving up for months. I want you to have some spending money once you get to Aevus... Aevurn... wherever it is you're going." She saw the hesitation in her nephew's eyes, and pressed the pouch further into his hoof and clasped hers over it. "Keep it." She insisted, matching his hushed tone. "I'll feel bad if you don't."
Metro looked uneasily down at the pouch, but then subtly tucked it into his saddlebag. "Thanks auntie." He murmured, giving his aunt a peck on her cheek. She wrapped her arms around her nephew's neck once again. Gave him a quick once over before glancing towards the airship, which had just landed and begun the disembarking process. She gave him a wink, which he returned before making his way over to his grandfather, who was absentmindedly looking at the ceiling and humming tunelessly. "Hey Pappy. How's it going?" Metro asked in a voice slightly louder than would be necessary for any other pony.
Fiddle Faddle swiveled his head towards Metronome and raised his hearing trumpet. "WHAT!?" he cried in a carrying voice that turned the heads of several nearby ponies.
"The airship's here now!" shouted Metronome back.
"WHAT!?" repeated Fiddle Faddle, shoving the trumpet further into the jungle of tangled silver hairs that poked out of his ear.
"I'M LEAVING NOW! LEA-VING!"
"YOU'RE TEETHING? DIDN'T YOU ALREADY DO THAT!?"
Metronome was about to answer back when he noticed the smile that was creeping over his grandfather's face, accompanied by a soft chuckle from the back of his throat.
"You think I didn't notice the massive airship directly in front of me? Honestly boy, how senile do you think I am?"
Metronome grinned apologetically. "Sorry, pappy. I just..."
"Seriously though boy, speak into the horn. I can't hear your mumbles."
Metro leaned closer to the trumpet and talked directly into it. "I'm leaving to go to Aevurnium now pappy! I'll miss you a lot, but I'll write to you whenever I can, alright?"
"Right! I look forward to it! Safe journeys! Here, let me help you with your bag." He hobbled over to Metronome's luggage and attempted to lift it up before a sickening crack rang out and he clapped a hoof to his spine. "Oh cripes, my back! Agh, why don't you take that Oathen?"
"Don't worry Pappy, I've got it." Metro said, grabbing his suitcase and motioning for his family towards the queue leading up to the gangplank.
The conductor near the entrance punched holes into the passengers' tickets before sending them to clamber up the ramp. "Ticket-holders only past this point!" she cried, so the whole of the queue could hear her.
"Well... I guess this is it." Metronome said. He faced his family once more. They regarded each other, and Metronome took a few moments to look at their faces; first his mother, strong and dignified, then to his father, extremely proud and barely containing his tears, to his aunt, sad to watch her nephew go, but glad to see him reaching for happiness, to his grandfather, who smiled placidly, and finally his sister, who's expression was, as usual, completely unreadable to Metronme, although he had a strong idea of what she meant to convey.
A final hug to each of them before Metro hoofed his bag to one of the luggage loaders and held out his ticket for the unicorn to check and validate. He thanked her politely and took the ticket back in his teeth. He climbed to the top of the plank and paused underneath the threshold. He looked back, the wind in his face towards his family, who all stood together; a row of somber smiles and proud eyes. He wanted to wave, didn't want to spoil this picturesque view of his family. Everything that could be expressed was being said in the way they stood. The way they looked up at him. The way their eyes told him how much they loved him. He knew there was no need to wave, and no need to say anything else. He took a deep breath, and turned away to step inside the airship. This was it. Metronome's adventure, his new life, had just begun.
And now here he was. He found himself aboard the A.A.S. Galeforce, flying high above the Zephyr mountain range, sitting across from the most boring pony in existence and being asked a question that he had no real answer to.
"Erm... Erm..." Metronome stammered, trying to pull his brain out of the haze it had been in for the past bit while Sauvignon looked on with polite interest. Finally, Metro just pulled something out. "Erm... Business! I'm going on business. I'm going to work for a news paper. My old boss knows the owner. He made a recommendation and promised me I would have a job there. I guess it's his uncle or something..." he finished halfheartedly.
"Ah yes! The newspaper! The good old printed press! Ink on the paper and all that. You know, that reminds me of this rather fascinating time I was reading a newspaper and..."
Metro's attention was already lost again. Here he was on the final stretch of his 8 day long journey, when he should of been the most excited, and yet he could barely keep himself awake.
"...and then this one time, I made the terrible mistake of falling asleep with my hoof resting on the paper. Ooh! Terrible, terrible mistake! Apparently the ink can come off the paper and rub off on one's hooves! Did you know that? I'll tell you, I simply could NOT get the ink off, no matter how hard or how often I washed my hooves!"
Thankfully, the sound horn that transmitted important announcements around the ship began to shake and tremble violently. Moments later, a voice began speaking from it. "Stallions and Gentlemares, now that we have cleared the fog surrounding the the mountains, we will begin making our final descent into Aevurnium. In fact, if you look out of the starboard side of the craft, you'll be able to actually see the city as we make our final approach."
The excitable chatter of the other passengers cued the perfect opportunity for Metronome to escape his torment as he leapt from his chair and made his way across the lounge to the windows where the other ponies had begun to gather, mumbling something incomprehensible to excuse himself from Sauvignon, who was still talking and seemingly unaware of anything other than the words coming out of his mouth.
Metronome pressed his entire face up against the glass like a schoolcolt at the aquarium. In the distance, he could see a massive bronze-colored structure. He recognized it's top-like shape from the pictures he's seen of it, but nothing had prepared him for the awe he felt at the sight of Aevurnium. The massive city stood a little more than 5 kilometers tall, and the tip of it closely surpassed the snowy caps of the nearby mountains. It's reverse-hourglass shape astounded Metronome, and he wondered how such a marvel of engineering was even possible yet alone conceivable. It started what seemed to be impossibly narrow at the bottom, and gradually grew wider towards the center. The very middle of the city's height was in fact a massive cog, which served as the base for the remaining top portion. The cog turned in time with the hours of the day, meaning the whole city revolved and meant that you always had a different view when you looked out to the horizon. Above that, stood the rest of the city which was layered on top of itself. Towers upon towers upon towers until the very top spire which housed the royal family. Metro could spy hundreds of other airships, all going about their business, making their way to or from the city; carrying cargo, produce, or even other ponies like the Galeforce was. Metro marveled at the extravagant colors and designs of the yachts that were floating lazily about in the jet streams, trying to get good views of the quilted fields or vast forests that comprised the landscape below for the aristocrats that they carried on board.
Metro jumped as he suddenly realized that a pair of eyes were staring back at him. A pegasus was flying just outside the window and waved cheerfully at Metronome, laughing jovially at how he had startled him. Upon closer inspection, Metronome could see that there were several other pegasi flying parallel to the airship, and one near the bow was flashing a series of hoof gestures at what Metro could only presume was the bridge. They all wore identical uniforms and matching goggles with the symbol of Aevurnium on them, apart from the one up front which wore slightly a differently hued uniform.
Metronome assumed that they were there to assist with the docking procedure, but something about it seemed curious. None of the connecting flights he had sailed on had required a team of pegasi to help guide the airship to the dock. Then again, the Aevurnium air docks were a busy place, and famous as a terminus for international trade. Perhaps such a crowded city required precise directions to get their airships in and out efficiently, but surely a single pegasus was sufficient to convey a plan and not a whole team?
The smiling pegasi outside the window suddenly snapped his head forward. With a furrowed brow, he turned his attention to the lead pegasus who was shouting behind her and pointing somewhere above the aircraft. Metro looked up but couldn't see what she was pointing at. The pegasus that had waved to him a few moments ago suddenly shot up and traced the underside of the balloon until he was out of sight. Several other pegasi followed suit. Metronome wondered what could possibly have caused them to break formation with such hasty purpose. No sooner had the intellection crossed his mind when the lounge suddenly gave a slight shake. The china and silverware rattled noisily, and various wine glasses wobbled dangerously.
Metronome looked around. Some of the ponies in the lounge had looks of unease at the abrupt break in the otherwise calm and smooth balloon ride, but most had shaken it off as a mere moment of dismissible disturbance, and gone back to looking out of the windows. Metronome decided to join them.
He looked back out the porthole only to see the pegasus from before toppling downwards in backwards somersaults. He stabilized him self and shook his head briefly before speeding back up and out of view again. What on earth err... in sky is going on up there? Metronome wondered. As if in answer, a great rumbling could be heard from outside prompting the passengers to hush their excited voices and listen. "Was that... thunder? But there isn't a cloud in the..."
Suddenly, a great crashing and a blinding light came from outside and the whole ship shuddered more forcefully than it had before. Metro heard the shattering of a wineglass and the sound of Sauvignon's voice saying, "Oh my! A perfectly good glass of Cresswood merlot wasted! One of my favorite years too! In fact, that was the same year that I..."
Metro looked back outside to see his pegasus friend from before. He was falling again, head first. The thin trail of smoke he was weaving in his wake revealed that he was in an uncontrollable downward corkscrew and spiraling towards the earth 15,000 feet below. And his wing... was his wing on fire!? Metronome gasped. He watched two more pegasi suddenly drop from the sky, both clearly unconscious. The squadron commander yelled something else to the bridge before darting away from the ship and towards her fallen comrades. She was out of view before Metro could see whether she reached her squad mates in time. However another blast of thunder sounded accompanied by another flash of light. This time, the airship shook so violently that everything inside the cabin was tossed about like dice in a backgammon pocket. Several ponies lost their footing and tumbled to the ground. A few pegasi instinctively lept up and started floating in the air.
The announcment tube began to rattle again, and a voice came from it for a second time. "Err... Attention stallions and gentle mares. This is your captain speaking... again. We seem to be experiencing some er... unforeseen electrical anomalies. Please remain calm. We may briefly experience some slight turbulence; if that is the case, please just uh... remain seated or wrap your hoof around a railing. We now advise that any guests on the sun deck please return to the interior of the ship. Erm... Thank you."
Electrical anomalies? What on earth did 'electrical' mean? Metro had never heard of the term before. Did he refer to the cloudless lightning outside? That certainly was an anomaly if ever he'd seen one. He hoped that they would land soon; this 'anomaly' was causing Metronome to actually become quite frightened. He pressed his cheek against the glass once again and looked out toward Aevurnium. He could see a long dock-like protrusion from one of the levels, and could make out the small jellybean-sized balloons of other docked airships. The little barely-registrable specks of color speeding about the flat surface he assumed were the dock workers busily preparing for a new arrival. They may have wobbled a bit, but they were still well on course to land safely on the dock.
The discomforted murmurs of the assembled ponies turned suddenly to screams of terror as a flash of bright light accompanied by an explosively loud noise rand out and the airship gave a great shudder. Several wine glasses toppled to the floor and shattered. Another great blast of sound and flash of light, and the airship suddenly lurched violently to the side. Metronome and many others were thrown off their hooves. Metronome's eyes widened as he saw the armchair he had been sitting in minutes ago sliding quickly towards him. He scrambled to his hooves and jumped to the side, missing the chair by inches as it slammed into and broke the window he had been looking out of.
The speaking tube began to rattle violently for a second time and the captain's voice once again came through it, amidst what sounded like the muffled and frantic screams of other crew mates. "Stallions and Gentlemares, as you can see, we've hit some ... SOMEPONY STABILIZE THE DORSAL RUDDER!!! ... rather rough erm ... turbulence? But it's nothing to worry about! Really! Please remain ... FIRE!? WHERE!? WELL GET IT PUT OUT! ... calm. The crew has everything completely under ... OW! IS THIS ... WHERE DOES THIS GO? WELL PUT IT BACK TOGETHER! WE NEED THAT!" The speaking tube cut out at that moment, leaving the assembled crowd even more distraught than before. Metro righted himself and turned to look out the porthole. He could no longer see the city, and could tell that the ship was spinning slowly clockwise. This didn't seem good at all. If they kept spinning like this they might miss the landing pad. Judging by how fast they were going, their distance from the dock, and the severity of their rotation, they would still land; crash land yes, but still land. However if the angle of their spinning descent changed by much more it was entirely possible that they could miss the landing pad and crash into the city. Or even miss the city completely and plummet thousands of feet to the ground and most likely their doom.
Meanwhile, the ponies behind him had begun regaining their hoofing. Their terrified screams had subsided, and instead been replaced by groans of pain as they removed themselves from the wall or from underneath various pieces of furniture. Metronome felt an odd sense of foreboding as he looked back outside the window; this time, he inspected the ship itself. From what he could see, the bow-starboard outrigger propeller was functioning normally. Looking to his right, he saw that the stern-starboard propeller was smoking and had completely stopped turning. Looking up yielded a view of the very bottom edge of the balloon, from which he could see the optical distortion from the super-heated air that was escaping through several very conspicuous holes. Metronome was no aeronaut, but even a born-and-raised farm pony could tell you that holes in your balloon was not a good sign.
"I have a bad feeling about this." he thought aloud; then something caught his eye. Behind the wavering distortion of the boiling balloon air, Metro wasn't quite sure, but thought he could see a small grayish-black cloud of mist forming. He squinted and adjust his glasses. The wisps had begun to come together and form a very dense and very dark cloud. It condensed into a tight swirling angry sphere as it started glowing from the center. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out of it and straight towards the ship. Metro shielded his eyes from the blinding light and screwed up his face in pain from the explosive blast of thunder. The collective screams of ponies once again rang out as the balloon suddenly dropped from the air and leaned at an almost perfect 45 degree angle. Metronome wrapped his arm around the side rail that stuck out below the windows. They weren't quite falling at terminal velocity, but they were falling faster than any planned descent could have been.
The blast from the thunder was still ringing in Metro's ears, but he could just hear the captain's voice over the sound of the screaming passengers say, "All hands, prepare for emergency landing procedures! Passengers, please brace for impact! Nothing to worry about! It's really not that bad!" through the speaking tube. The unearthly wailing of an aircraft descending far too quickly could be heard over the tumult of terrified cries from the flattened ponies. Metro gritted his teeth and opened one eye a fraction of a centimeter. He spied the docking pad through the porthole that the g-force pressed him against. They were approaching fast- much too fast. He could see the dock workers scrambling frantically around the landing pad; attempting to prepare for the ship's landing, but simultaneously trying to make sure that they weren't crushed by it. Looking up again, and he could see that the balloon was entirely engulfed in a terrible inferno. It was at this point that Metronome resigned himself to the fact that he was about to perish in a blaze of humiliation in a tiny little humdinger of a balloon with the last conversation he had been in was about how the most boring pony in existence couldn't get ink off his hooves.
Metro closed his eyes again and waited for the impact. It seemed like an unbearable eternity, but finally Metronome's neck was thrown violently forward, then back, smashing his head against the glass. The high-pitched screeching of metal against metal violated his ear drums, and he felt the hull and keel scraping roughly against the dock. A large bump sent all the ponies stacked against the wall flying. Metro did several flips in the air before crashing headfirst into the staircase's banister, knocking him out. He came to a moment later. The ship had stopped moving, for very long apparently; several ponies were standing up again and trying to gain abreast of the situation, but most were still lying on the floor or on furniture in various positions and states of consciousness. Metro rubbed his eyes furiously to clear the blurry vision that swam before him and the little neon stars that popped in and out of it.
Over the mishmash of groans, moans, and "My leg..."s coming from the jumbled up passengers the speaker pipe began it's telltale rattle as the captain's voice once again began speaking from it. "Stallions and gentlemares," came the voice, sounding oddly dazed. "as you can see... we had a um ... heh heh ... a bit of a bumpy landing there, but uhh... we're fine, we're all fine ... here ... now ... How are you? No ... no NO! Let go of that! I'M THE CAPTAIN, I MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS! Anyways, we apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience you may have experienced during the landing process. We thank you for flying with us today and we hope you enjoyed your time with us this afternoon. We will have somepony to come around with a tray of tea and small boxes of assorted cookies while you await our disembarking protocols. What do you mean the cart is gone? ... How in the hay did it fall out the window!? That's not even ponily possible!"
Metro stood up and shook the little bits of splintered wood and glass from his coat, mane, and tail. His glasses had miraculously remained on his face, if a bit askew, and he adjusted them to see the image of Sauvignon stumbling in his generic direction, hoof clutching his head as if it were about to fall off. "Metronome my dear boy! What a mess! Oh my, that was quite a ride eh? It reminds me of this time I was on the most dreadful carriage ride around one of my vineyards. It had rained previously you see, which meant that the road was all muddy or rocky and it was very bumpy, I could barely keep my wine from sloshing over the side of the glass! In fact at one point.." Metronome looked back at where he had just been laying. Why couldn't he have hit his head a bit harder?
A little less than an hour later, and the Aevurnium ground crews had managed to vacate the airship of all its passengers and crew. Miraculously, aside from a few scrapes, bruises, and minor concussions, everypony had survived the crash with no major injuries. Metronome now watched as the dock workers attempted to retrieve the cargo from the bay. From the outside, Metro wondered how they hadn't simply plummeted straight down from the sky like a stone. The hull was completely shredded on the starboard side. The bulwarks were bent at odd angles and the forecastle was entirely charred. The balloon had completely disintegrated after having caught fire and was now nonexistent. Two of the outriggers that held out the propellers had snapped off, and pieces of them now laid strewn about the landing strip. Several workers were out collecting the pieces of scrap as well as some items of luggage that had fallen out of one of the large gashes in the bilge. Over by the shattered remains of the bridge, Metro could see a short tan stallion whom he presumed was the late ship's captain being cursed out by a massive blue stallion who has apparently his superior. He couldn't hear the words that were being spoken, but he was pretty sure that the captain may be going down with the ship in this case.
Metronome sighed. He hadn't really imagined his new life would begin with a balloon crash. Well, at least my luggage made it. Metronome thought as he looked down at his bag with a hollow smile. He suddenly noticed a creamy coral-colored liquid oozing from the seam. He furrowed his brow and knelt down to investigate, it smelled familiar. Opening his suitcase revealed that a small thermos was lying amidst the jumbled clothes and personal items. It's lid had apparently popped off in its jostling aboard the Galeforce and leaked its contents all over his bag. But Metronome hadn't packed a thermos, had he? He saw a crumpled and soaked note taped to the side of the thermos. Squinting, Metro could just barely make out the smudged writing on it. It read:
Dear Metro,
I know how cold it can get at the heights those balloons fly, so I figured you could use some of this to keep warm.
Love,
Ma
P.S. Don't tell your father I did this; he'll just tease me for worrying.
Metronome chuckled and sighed again. "Thanks ma." he mumbled to himself. He shut the clasps and stood up again. His hoofs were now coated in his mother's soup. Well, it'd be a shame to waste what I can salvage. thought the colt with a wry smile. He began licking the soup from his hooves and even though it wasn't hot, it was still as delicious as anything from his mother.
"Should I come back after you've finished grooming yourself?" Came a cool voice. Tongue still sticking out of his mouth, Metronome glanced up and noticed that somepony was looking at him.
There stood a filly; with a grey coat and striking features. She wore the sly shadow of a smile(/smirk). Her heavily-lidded eyes were half closed, which added an effect of both subtle disinterest and a slightly mocking amusement.
Metronome gave one last lick and turned to face her completely. He couldn't think of anything clever to say, so he simply asked, "Who are you?"
Her right eyebrow raised a fraction of a millimeter. It made Metro feel like he was being foolish, and his quickly reddening cheeks revealed that. "My name is Gravestone Rose. I work for The Daily Clockhand. I've come to collect you and show you around the city a bit; so you don't lose yourself." She glanced over to the wreck behind Metro. "You're the type of pony who wouldn't arrive anywhere without flair, are you?"
Metro was bemused. Even though her entire demeanor reflected a sort of satire, he couldn't be entirely sure if she was being serious or not. He looked into her brilliant opal colored eyes, slightly obscured by a rogue strand of hair that had floated down from her mane which was otherwise impeccably styled. They betrayed nothing, but were fascinating nonetheless. Like a two-way mirror, Metro could tell that there was a lot on the other side of them, and the faint outline of somepony was visible on the other side, but he couldn't quite tell who it was that was looking back at him. All he could see was himself, which reminded him of the quasi-rhetorical question she had just asked.
"Gravestone Rose? That's rather..." Metro took a moment to lean slightly to his right to take a peek at her cutie mark. Indeed it was rather striking, as it depicted a rose of three colors: vivid blood red near the top, which slowly turned to a sallow grey near the center, and finally a deathly white at the bottom, where a single petal had seemingly *just* detached itself to drift serenely down to the nonexistent ground. The misty image of a gravestone was background for this, and over-all made for a very beautiful albeit sepulchral effect. "… morbid. Wouldn't you say?" he finally finished. He wondered what her cutie mark meant, but it was usually considered bad form for a pony to ask the meaning behind another's mark.
"Yes, I like to think so." she answered coolly. "Either way, come on. We've got to get you set up." She turned and began walking towards where the dock met the city perimeter. Metro quickly collected his effects and trotted after her. He looked up at the city, it's gleaming bronze towers reflecting the soft orange of the evening sunlight. He looked back at the crash, then towards Gravestone Rose and felt an odd feeling of anxiety and exhilaration mixed. For the first time in his life, Metronnome had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next.
