More than Magic

Nightfall swept across the grassland, lit by only the moonlight. The sleeper train trundled along through the dark night, puffing and wheezing as it went. Inside one of the many carriages, Brass was sitting on his loft bed, thinking aloud to himself. He looked into his reflection in the glass; he admired his silver coat with a blue mane and tail, from his mane protruded a lengthy horn. His cutie mark was that of a trumpet intertwined with a treble clef.

"It's been a while since I've seen her, I wonder if she still has that hellish cat?" He said, his voice trailing off as he went into deep thought.

He had been invited by his cousin to the Summer Sun Celebration being held in a town called Ponyville. It wasn't nearly as big as Hayston, but he didn't care, he had never seen much of Equestria outside the city. He was an adventurous type, always wanting to see the world but could never find the courage. Brass had never had many friends either, it made him feel; alone, powerless and weak. So when the letter came he decided it was time to make a bold decision.

Someone came knocking at the door, pulling Brass out from his thoughts. He got off the bed and opened the door to find the conductor.

"We'll be arriving at four-o'clock in the morning, so do get some sleep." He said quietly so as to not wake anypony already sleeping.

Brass nodded his head in reply, the conductor tipped his hat and walked along the narrow corridor back to his quarters.

Brass shut the door. He was a night pony, so he decided to stay up a little longer. He looked over at his saddlebags laying next to his bed, on top was a letter, he levitated it up to read. The hoofwriting was in cursive.

"She has got to be the only one to still write like this" Brass mused to himself.

He read the letter.

_____________________

Dearest Brass.

It's been so long since we've seen each other. How have you been, darling? Well I for one have been doing great! Ever since I opened up the Boutique, it's always been busy.  It's in the center of town, so convenience has never been an issue and somepony always wants something.

By the way, I know you have always wanted to travel and see new things, to get away from that boring city life and the Summer Sun Celebration is in Ponyville this year, so I said to myself.  "Why not invite Brass?" surely you of all ponies would love to see some culture. It's in a few days and I know you'll just love it. Of course I know I will. See you there!

With all the generosity in my heart,

Rarity.

P.S: Tell my sister Sweetie Belle I said hi!

________

Brass set down the letter, a small smile on his face.

"She really cares for her little sister and I" He mused to himself.

Brass gave one last look outside, he looked to the moon and the

eerie shadow of the pony etched on its face. He had learned little about the legend of the “Mare in the Moon” when he was in 3rd grade, but now he wanted to know more.

"What are you?" He thought.

Brass yawned, he closed the curtains and flopped into bed. It had been a

long day so in minutes he had fallen asleep.

~~~

Brass found himself inside what appeared to be a castle throne room. It

was dark as night, infact... it was night! There was a large hole in the hammer-beam roof above him. Outside he could see the stars and moon, only now the shadow was missing.

He turned to face the two thrones, in front of him he could see a tall pitch-black alicorn wearing armour with a lunar crest. The mane of the alicorn seemed to be made of stars and swirling streaks of transparent blue. What made him stop in his thoughts was the alicorns’ eyes. They weren't ordinary, they had the pupils of a dragon. Brass's mind froze. The alicorn looked at him and spoke loudly with a intimidating glare.

"You little FOAL! Did you really think your little plan would work? I AM EQUESTRIAS’ TRUE QUEEN!" She bellowed. "Without the Elements, you are NOTHING! And now that I have sealed away your pathetic Princess and the sun, the night shall last... FOREVER!” She cackled, menacingly.

“The Elements? What Elements?” Brass wondered. He looked behind the alicorn and saw five spheres each gathered in a circle.

“Where have I seen those before?...” He pondered. It then hit him like a buffalo punching him in the face. *Gasp* “No! That can’t be them. The Elements of Harmony?” Brass had only heard of them, of their phenomenal cosmic power, how they could turn beings to stone and banish the most evil of tyrants to Tartarus or the moon. He had always thought that they were a myth,  an urban legend. Now another thought reared its ugly head.

“If those are the Elements, is this alicorn…*gulp* NIGHTMARE MOON?”

At the thought of the dark queen, Brass needed to run, to get out, he had heard of the stories; she was twisted. Right now he just wanted to be anywhere but here, however to his surprise and horror; Brass couldn't move at all. Instead his body acted on its own, almost as if it wasn't his body at all. The sensation was odd, he felt detached and all he could do was watch.

He pointed his horn at the alicorn, a lavender aura forming around it. The mare did likewise as she bared her teeth.

"Wait, what? My magic is gold! Not purple! What's going on?!" His mind was racing at nine-thousand miles per hour. He couldn’t think, see or hear straight .

He charged forward. Nightmare Moon did the same, they were about to collide when-

*Screech!*

Brass was shoved out of his nightmare by the noise of the trains wheels gripping the railhead. He was in cold sweat and gasping for air.

“What was that?” he said aloud between his rapid breathes. “Was that really just a nightmare? Or was it something more?” He mumbled, still unsure of what actually had transpired.

He looked up and out the window, even in the early morning dark sky he could make out that  he was finally in Ponyville.

He looked to the station clock; it read three-fifty.

"They probably won't let us off until morning, might as well get a few more hours of sleep before then." He said to himself, he laid back down and went back to sleep.

~~~~~

A few hours later he got up, picked up his saddlebags and walked out the door. The train was too long for the platform so he had to walk along and into the 1st class carriage. The conductor was there talking to everypony else.

"Sorry everypony for the rude awakening earlier this morning." He explained and the pony tipped his hat when he saw Brass. "We'll be unloading in a minute. Don't forget anything, we are not held responsible for the loss of any items during your trip." He said matter-of-factly.

"Thanks. Say, mind me asking something?" Brass asked the conductor when the other ponies had dispersed.

"Not at all, fire away." The earth pony chimed.

“Do you know of a pony called Rarity here in Ponyville?"

"A Miss Rarity Gemstone? Why of course! She was the one who tailored my suit. A very generous mare if you ask me. Why do you ask?" He said enthusiastically.

“Oh, nothing... I've seen her around."

“Well that's nice to hear, now come on the train’s stopped, time to get off.” He said as he walked Brass into the vestibule area. “By the way, I’m Fob Watch, It was nice talking to you, uhhh... what's your name again? The conductor asked.

Brass swiveled around and popped a ball cap on his head.

"Brass Pitch. see you around!" With that, Brass walked off to meet Rarity.

“Boy, this time of hour, its best not to keep her waiting.” Brass picked up the pace, trotting towards the front of the station.

~~~~~~~