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.
~~~~~~~
Chapter One: The Oncoming Storm
Chapter One:
The Oncoming Storm*
“So… How was the trip? Sleep well?” Rarity said as they walked down the street.
Brass cringed, remembering last nights’ nightmare. He shrugged the memory off, he didn’t think he needed to make Rarity worry about it. He would research it later; given that Ponyville had a library.
“Yeah, pretty good. I had a chat with the conductor, he said you tailored his suit for him free of charge.” Brass grinned. “Said his name was Fobb Watch.”
Rarity thought for a moment. Brass was surprised that she would even try to remember her customers, she was always so thoughtful to others.
“Oh- Ohhh! Him? Of course, he came to me a few weeks ago, had the most beat up looking uniform I’ve ever seen, more than that detective I once knew.
“Detective?” Brass looked amused.
“Oh yes a detective. Sadly, he’s the only name I can’t remember.” She tapped her chin in thought. “Its almost like someones’ wiped my mind.”* She dropped her head in guilt. “I should always remember. No excuses.” She frowned.
Brass saw Rarity about to start a fit. He didn’t need the whole town staring at them, so he quickly changed subjects.
“Uh… Uh... So! I’ve got to ask, there’s a library here in Ponyville, right?”
He asked the first thing that popped into his mind. He hoped it would be enough to get her mind at ease.“Celestia, please…” He begged, nopony wanted Rarity to whine. Nopony. She looked up at him for a second, her expression undetectable.
“Oh, a library? Why of course there’s one, darling!” She instantly perked up. "It's called the Golden Oaks library. The pony who works there is very cheeky but friendly.” It was now her turn to look amused. “I never knew you had an interest in books.”
Brass rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
“ Ehehehe… well, I never said I wouldn’t pick up a book. I have my favorites too ya know.” He knew he said that to get Rarity off his back but in a way, he enjoyed reading a lot.
Back home Brass would sit in his bed for hours on end, just reading about Western Equestrian history, or fictional tales like “The Last Alicorn” by his favorite author, Rick Rodeian. Some could say he was what Haystons’ weather team called an Egghead.
As the two walked, they neared a building of what appeared to look like a carousel. It was decorated with ribbons, flowers and many illustrious banners. They walked up the steps to the doors.
“Well, before you run off, I need your help with a few things around the boutique.” Rarity chimmed.
Brass looked at her. “Like what, pray tell?”
She looked shocked at his question. “Why, to help me prepare for the celebration, of course! It’s only two days away! Not counting today though!” She exclaimed.
He and Rarity were about to enter when out of nowhere, Brass was pounced by what he could only describe as a pink blur. As his senses came back to him, he now saw a pink female earth pony standing above him. She bounced up and down, squealing in delight. From his position on the ground he saw Rarity just roll her eyes.
“Ooh-ooh! Hi there! You must be new ‘cause I’ve never seen you in town before! My names Pinkie Pie, what’s yours?”
Brass opened his mouth to speak but this pony was quick to cut him off.
“Ooh- no, Wait! Lemme guess!” She was going hysterical. “Ummm… Silver Note! no… Tuner! noo…”
Brass got up and put a hoof to her mouth. “Could this mare be any more hyper? What’s she on? Some kind of sugar rush combined with coffee?” He thought.
“Hey there Pinkie Pie, its nice to meet you.” Brass tried not to look befuddled in front of her. “So. You greet all the new-”
Rarity spoke up. “Uhhh… darling, she’s over there.” She pointed her hoof down the road.
Brass looked to where she was pointing, and sure enough Pinkie Pie was galloping off.
“Hey! Wait! Where are you going?” He yelled.
She took in a deep breath, so deep that she could have floated off if she wanted to, and at the top of her lungs yelled back.
“NO TIME TO TALK! I GOT TO GET THINGS READY!” She sounded louder than any megaphone in existence, the feedback was so thunderous, Brass’s’ ears felt close to bleeding.
He groaned in pain and folded his ears against his head.
As his hearing came back for the second time today, Rarity guided him into the boutique, Brass took a double-take on what he saw next. While the outside was fancy, the interior was amazing. The walls were laced with elegant draperies and cloth, the center of the foyer had a soft, plush looking royal blue rug with many frills along the edges. Near the back was a dressing screen with an intricate pattern.
To Brass, it was enough to make him speechless. While he wasn’t a fashionista like his cousin, seeing all this was astonishing work coming from a mare who only moved out of Hayston a few years ago was hard to believe.
Rarity motioned to him to follow her upstairs.
“Don’t worry. It’s not all fabulous.” She quipped.
Brass didn’t know what she meant until they got upstairs. There in the room on the left, were piles of fabric strewn around on the floor, almost like a sea of cloth. At the far side of the room were a few mirrors and many ponequins all wearing different outfits, if you could call them that. It was like a tornado had gone through the room.
“WOW… What. A. Mess.” He said, bewildered.
Rarity looked hurt at this.
“What? A mess you say? Certainly not!” She scoffed. “I like to call it organized chaos.” She thrust her forehoof down and held her head high with pride.
Brass just looked at her and rolled his eyes. “Organized or not, its a mess Rarity, besides… Are you working for a client?”
She came down to earth again. While her generosity was good, humility was something she was still working on. She shook her head.
“Well then, no point in having the mess now is there? Shall we begin?” He asked her smugly.
“Oh Brass, how I’ve missed you.” She wrapped a forehoof around his neck. “Sure but only to get you to shut up about this.” She giggled as he gave her a noogie.
With that they began.
~~~~~~~
It had been a long two hours of work. Carousel Boutique was not only Raritys’ workplace but her home too. Next to the designers workshop was her bedroom, which was as in much more disarray than the workshop had been. It felt odd going inside a mares’ bedroom, like one really shouldn’t be there, he was hoping he wouldn’t find anything he didn’t want to.
As Brass had said before ‘A mess is a mess’. Afterwards they tidied the kitchen and dining room downstairs.
Rarity showed him the extra bedroom where he would be staying, thankfully this room was clean. The furniture was simple for the box room, a chest of drawers a bed, bedside table and a vanity table. He unpacked and after lunch when they had finished decorating for the big day, he set off for the library.
~~~~~
Brass walked down the streets of Ponyville and to his surprise, almost everypony greeted him; unicorn, pegasi and earth pony alike said hello as they passed by.
“This town sure is friendly.” He thought. “I should have came here with Rarity!”
He stopped. Brass had forgot to ask Rarity where the library was before he left. He facehoofed. Then he thought of something. He looked around for the nearest pony, above him he saw a cyan pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane whiz by. She dove and rocketed by Brass, who nearly threw him off his hooves. He turned and galloped to keep up with her.
“Umm… Excuse me, but could you point me in the direction of the library!” He shouted as it was hard to keep up with her.
The pegasus stopped mid-flight, pivoted around and looked at him like he was insane.
“What are you? An Egghead?” She laughed.
“I guess so, but that’s not the-” He was cut off when the mare swooped down, and landed right in front of him.
“Ha! I’m only messin’ with ya, the name’s Rainbow Dash; fastest flyer in Pony- No!.. In all of Equestria!… Yeah, I like that…” She closed her eyes and smiled to no one in particular. She was certainly full of herself.
“So. Whats yours, kid?” She smirked.
Brass thought for a moment. “If this is how she’s going to introduce herself, may as well follow along.”
He popped out his Starswirls baseball cap* from the saddlebags he was carrying.
“Brass Pitch is the name, playing trumpet is my game.” With that he struck a pose and slapped on the cap.
Rainbow Dash just looked at him, judgingly.
“Ehh… Needs to be about twenty-percent cooler, then you’ll be rockin’.”
“So… About the library?..” He got back on topic.
“Just keep going straight ‘till ya see the edge of the Everfree, there you’ll see a big treehouse… that’s the library.” She said, without any hesitation.
“Thank you Miss-”
“Its okay, you can call me Rainbow Dash and you’re welcome. If you ever need a helping hoof, just come and get me.” She waved as she sped back into the sky.
"Well, that was... interesting." Brass thought. He then continued his walk down the street.
~~~~
After a minute or two of just houses, Brass began to see more trees and less homes. He came up to where the road met the unpaved gravel. Beyond him was what Rainbow Dash must've meant by the edge of the Everfree Forest.
Brass shuddered. The forest was one of the few places not inhabited by ponies. While it sure sounded nice to preserve the natural environment, nopony ever said it wasn't dangerous. The Everfree was littered with monsters from all walks of life, only a few have ever explored it and lived to tell their tale.
"Oi!" Chirped a voice.
Brass spun around, trying to pinpoint it's owners’ location, he traced it back to a brown earth pony wearing a green neck tie and glasses which had one lens in blue and the other in red. He trotted up to Brass, the pony looked a little nervous.
"You shouldn't be loitering around this neck of the town. Get in the library!" He riled.
Brass was yanked into the treehouse. What surprised him was how big it was compared to the outside and how he’d managed to miss it. The stranger let him stare for a few minutes before talking.
"An old friend of mine, built this place with only his bare hooves- well, he was a wizard when it came to old dusty books and maybe used a little magic too. I've seen bigger..." He trailed off. Whoever he was, he spoke with a Buckingham accent.
Brass snapped back into reality.
"Well, my names’ Brass Pitch. What's your name?" The pony seemed to be lost in his thoughts until now.
“Oh-yes, well.*ahem* The Doctor."
Brass looked at him.
"Doctor wh-"
"Just The Doctor, or Doctor. Some call me Time Turner but I don't like it." He said with an unusual cheerfulness. "So, now that we've got that name rubbish out the way, onwards to the books. Allons-y!”
"When am I gonna go a whole greeting without this happening? "
~~~~
Brass skimmed through the books on the shelves, looking for anything related to Equestrian legends. He was hard pressed to find anything of the sort. He scrolled past titles like "Our Universe", “The Hitchhikers Guide to Equestria” "A Journal of Impossible Things" and a odd script which was hoofwritten. Brass picked it up and read it.
_______________
“Ponies assume that time is a strict progression of cause and effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint. It's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.” It read.
___________________
Brass slid the parchment back onto the shelf still not quite sure what he’d just read.
“Well that was certainly random..." He thought, bewildered.
The Doctor was sitting down by a coffee table in the foyer. He sipped some hot tea from a cup.
“Looking for any book in particular, Brass? ” He said from his seat.
“ Uh. Yeah... Do you have any books on the legends of Equestria? ” Brass hoped he'd say yes.
“Well why didn't you just ask me in the first place?” He got up. “Here, I'll get them for you.”
He went up a set of stairs, disappearing from Brass’s’ line-of-sight. He had a pretty good guess that it led to more bookshelves. He heard some shuffling, some muted grunts of stress from The Doctor and soon he was back with at least a dozen books all stacked on his back.
“Could. You *Gasp* Be a dear. And *Gasp* GET THIS OFF ME! *Gasp*" The Doctor was fighting for air.
Earth ponies were naturally strong, but this one seemed to have never evolved the natural strength. Brass quickly levitated the books off The Doctors’ back moving them to beside the table. With each book not on his shoulders, The Doctor breathed easier. After all the books were moved, Brass sat down and started reading. The doctor rolled his eyes and smiled.
“You're gonna read every one of them, aren't you? ” The pony asked slyly.
“Yep." Was what Brass replied with.
“ Ah... Tres bien. ” He said, quite elegantly, almost sounding like he was from Prance.
“Where do you get these words from, Doctor? ” Brass quipped.
“Oh, when you're a traveler like me you tend to pick up a few things here and there.” He said proudly. “Let me grab you some tea.”
He walked into the kitchen area for a few minutes. Why this treehouse had a kitchen was beyond Brass.
“Rarity wasn’t kidding, this pony is cheeky.” Brass mused.
He came back with some tea and a plate of muffins. He did his best not to drop the plate or the delicate teapot.
“Well, read as much as you can, because this is my last day on the job."
Brass hadn't even opened the second book when he stopped to look at the Doctor.
“Oh, why is that?”
“I got a letter saying that some mare is coming tomorrow to inspect the Summer Sun Celebration preparations and she's gonna stay here until its over.”
“How exactly does that make you jobless? It’s not like she’s staying forever.”
He chuckled. “Between you and me… I’ve got a feeling that’ll change. Rumour around the town is this mare is the Princess’s’ star pupil.” He winked.
“How exactly could you know something like that?” Brass asked.
“Constants and variables dear Brass, which reminds me. You're not from around here either aren’t you? What are your plans after the celebration?” He asked in a serious tone.
Brass set the tea cup down using his magic; he didn’t know what he was going to do after this. He could go back to Hayston, back to his home, his family, to Sweetie Belle and her parents. Brass’s’ folks were long gone; his mother died young and his father was a Griffon-Wars veteran, and had to remain in an institute. He suffered from an extreme case of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) caused by long periods of service in both Griffon-Wars. Legally, his parents were Raritys’ parents. There was nopony Brass considered a friend back in Hayston. The only thing calling him back was Sweetie Belle because without him she would probably die of boredom. He’d be leaving a whole life behind.
“To be honest, Doctor, I don’t know…” Brass drifted off into deep thought.
“Our past is what shapes us for the future, and we always hope for a better future than our past. We cannot live in what was, nor can we always stress ourselves about what will be, only what is here; now, in the present. Do not let the past define you but use it to determine where you want to be and who you want to be. You do not need to live behind one guise, you could have eleven or thirteen of them as long as you hold what is true in all of them.” The Doctor remarked somberly.
Brass looked at the Doctor and chuckled.
“You speak as if you’re one-thousand years old”
“Ha! you know, maybe I am.” He gave him an uneasy smile.
He walked back to sit down.
“Now lets get reading.” Brass found his place in the second book and off he went.
~~~~~~~~
Sadly Brass was unable to find anything about Nightmare Moon or anything about strange dreams if it hadn’t been for the tea and biscuits then Brass had come away with nothing. As Brass walked back to Raritys’ house, he noticed barely anypony was outside, like they all had gone somewhere else but on the other hoof it was now early evening.
“Where is everypony.. Maybe they’ve just gone to sleep.” He thought aloud to himself.
He came to the middle of town, it was deadly quiet which was odd. Even if ponies had been sleeping, usually some ponies were always walking up and down the streets, visiting bars and other nighttime activities. That was always the case in every town or city, even Brass knew that and he’d only been to Ponyville and Hayston.
He walked up to the doors of the boutique, he stopped to listen for anything, any sign that Rarity was still awake. Nothing.
He opened the doors quietly and walked inside. The lights were off, and it was silent.
Before it had started playing, Brass recognised the ‘1812 Overture’ in particular the finale. This was the sound he was greeted to as he stepped into the room. The lights went on, the music played and then came the cannons. They weren't real cannons that fired cannonballs but ones that fired confetti and ribbons but the deafening noise was still the same.
In front of him he saw three pink ponies all vibrating, as the ringing in his ears subsided and his hearing returned once again. The pink ponies began to form into just one pony.
“Hey Brass! I was just wanting to surprise you. So surprise!”
Somehow despite all laws of physics the pink pony had somehow managed to grab a white pegasus who looked exactly like her. The pegasus snarled at her and Pinkie Pie let go. She smiled at Brass as the pegasus left them.
“So I thought I’d throw you a welcome to Ponyville party. I mean its your first day in Ponyville and I thought Brass doesn’t know anypony so I thought I’d throw him a party where he can get to know everypony.”
She grabbed Brass and led him to a table filled with snacks and drinks. Among the group on the table was the cyan pegasus he’d met earlier, Rarity and a yellow pegasus who had a light pink mane. She had that look like "please don't hurt me"
“So these are some of my best friends Rainbow Dash, you already know Rarity and this is Fluttershy.”
The one called Fluttershy looked ready to bolt from the table.
Before Brass could say hello he was directed to two more ponies. One was a marine blue unicorn with a ruffled brown mane and a gusting cloud cutie mark. The other was a white furred pegasus that covered in scars and also seemed to have metallic wings.
“This is my 4th wall club. The first rule of 4th wall club is tell no one about 4th wall club.”
Again Pinkie Pie led him off before he could say anything.
“I doubt it you’ll meet those two again, they’re very secretive.” She said.
Pinkie Pie had somehow managed to direct them both onto a makeshift dance-floor in the centre of the room. She held his forehooves and led the dance which was odd because they were performing a waltz while everypony else was dancing to electronic music. Pinkie seemed to be leading the dance well despite the fact the stallion was supposed to lead, thankfully Brass knew all the steps.
It felt like hours had passed when Pinkie finally stopped dancing with him. She smiled at him and went to talk to some other ponies. Brass walked to the buffet table and used his magic to collect bits of food, he was quite peckish. He was going to get himself a drink when he saw a purple pony with a grape cutie mark with her head in the punch bowl, he decided against it. Two ponies came a long a mint green unicorn and an earth pony with a two-toned manestyle. They dragged the mare off as she protested loudly.
Rarity walked over to the punch and levitated it away. After that the ponies slowly started leaving and heading off to their respective beds. Brass could hear himself yawning as he watched Pinkie Pie dance the chicken dance by her lonesome. Rarity eventually intervened.
“Darling remember we have a big day tomorrow and you have a big party to plan for in the City Hall.”
Pinkie Pie was the last guest to leave.
“I thought the party was in a few days?”
“It is, but time moves at a different rate for her. I tried asking Time Turner about it but he said that was normal for some ponies.”
It took a second for it to register that Time Turner was The Doctor. He slowly walked to his box room where he took a look at his trumpet and set it down on the chest of drawers. He flopped onto the bed completely exhausted. Over the course of the party he’d completely forgotten about the nightmare. it was just a few minutes before he fell asleep.
~~~~~~
“soon, my time will come. and then… Only then… My empire will rise...
My world of eternal darkness…”
