Metal and Magic

Brass Cloud’s red hoof tapped on the door to the factory. The sign above read “Sweet Apple Factories”. He had bought their cider before, and he had some barrels of it in the basement of his workshop.

Huh, I wonder if the basement burned too. It doesn’t really matter, the only thing down there was barrels of cider and some extra scrap metal I never used.

He glanced over at Twilight when no answer came from behind the door. She only shrugged. She hadn’t talked much since her library burned down. He knocked again. The sound of hoofsteps came from behind the door, and it opened slightly. An orange Earth pony poked her head outside, took a look at Brass, and pushed up her goggles.

“Sorry sugarcube, but the factory isn’t offering tours and it ain’t hiring. If you want-” she stopped and she looked over at Twilight, who still seemed to be looking at nothing in particular.

“Twilight! It’s so good to see you! I heard about the library, I’m so sorry that happened. How are you holding up?” she said enthusiastically. Twilight finally looked at her, a smile creeping up on her face.

“Applejack! It’s great to see you too! It’s really been too long since we’ve done anything together! How are you?” she said, avoiding the question about her library and herself.

“Oh, I’m just fine sugarcube. Who’s your friend?” Applejack asked, looking over at Brass Cloud.

“That’s Brass Cloud, he’s a...friend of mine. He helped me one night when I ran into some, uh, trouble.”

Applejack looked at her, slightly curious. “What kind of ‘trouble’?”

“Oh, you know, just some young kids out at night.”

“...Well, if you say so, sugarcube. Anyhoof, it’s a right pleasure to meet you, Mister Cloud.”

“And its a pleasure to meet you, Miss Applejack. I love your cider, by the way.”

“Well thank you Sugarcube. So, can I help you two?” At these words, Twilight’s mood dropped slightly as she remembered why they were here.

“Well,  Miss Applejack, we needed a place to stay. Both our houses were burned down in those fires,” Brass said, taking over for Twilight, seeing as she probably didn’t want to talk about it.

“Well that’s a darn shame. Did he get your house too, Brass?”

“Ya, I guess he did,” Brass said sadly, his mood deflating as well. He enjoyed talking about his life and his passion literally being burned to the ground by a madpony as much as Twilight did.

Applejack shook her head. “I’m rightly sorry about what happened to your house, both of ya. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to. We have a guest bedroom in the house, but...well, it only has one bed.”

Brass and Twilight both looked at eachother, a blush barely visible on both their cheeks. “Is there, uh...somewhere else we could stay?”

“Well, nopony’s using the old barn, but-” Both of them took a quick glance at each other, nodded, and turned back to Applejack.

“We’ll take the barn,” they said, this time in perfect unison.

                                                ****

It was the first time Brass had gotten real sleep since he saved Twilight. He’d been woken up from the smoke at the library, and the next time he fell asleep after that, it was inside a raging inferno taking down everything he’s worked for. Even though it was a crude bed made of hay, it was real sleep, and he wasn’t complaining. However, Celestia had different plans for him, for the sun shone through some cracks in the old barn’s roof, with an accurate shot right on his eyes. He groaned and turned over, but the sun was relentless. After a long struggle with the morning, Brass finally accepted the sun’s cruel plans for him and opened his eyes. On a separate pile of hay, Twilight still slept. The sun apparently liked her better, since no light shone onto her eyes, the only rays striking her tail and hooves.

“For billions of miles away, you sure have a good shot, Mr. Sun,” he groaned as he left the barn and proceeded to walk towards the Apple family’s house. Applejack had told them to come there for breakfast when they woke up. A Celestial Air Force zeppelin buzzed over Ponyville. Brass took the time to admire it. Since he was young colt, he’d always wanted to own one of the smaller, private airships, and though his brass wings made the point of owning one redundant, nothing could beat the seemingly magical feeling of flying, sitting in the cockpit, hull behind you and huge balloon above you, soaring through the air. As he finished his admiration of the huge ship, he reached the door of the house. He knocked, and it opened, Applejack sticking her head out again.

“Well hey there, sugarcube, come right on in. Everypony else just finished breakfast, so you can sit anywhere you like,” she said kindly, opening the door more to let him in.

“Thank you, Applejack. It means alot that you’re letting us stay here, until we get back on our hooves,” Brass said with a smile, trotting over to the huge table. He placed some apple pancakes on his plate, and began eating breakfast. He soon finished with a big grin on his face. “Oh Celestia, those pancakes were amazing,” Brass said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Eeyup, they sure are! Secret family recipe! Passed down through the generations since Granny Smith was a little filly! They pass through you right quick, though,” she said with a small chuckle. Brass soon realized that wasn’t a lie. She was the Element of Honesty, after all.

“Uh...where’s the bathroom?”

“Upstairs and straight down the hallway,” She said, giggling to herself. As he disappeared upstairs, the door creaked open and a very sleepy looking Twilight walked in.

“Good mornin’, sugarcube, did you sleep well?”

“Ya, I guess,” Twilight said, yawning right after. “Do you have any coffee?”

“Sure do, in the kitchen, help yourself,” Applejack responded, giggling again. Twilight was never one for waking up early, choosing instead to cram as much study time into her day as she could. Twilight emerged from the kitchen and sat down at the table, setting her coffee mug down on the table and taking a bite out of her apple. A couple of knocks came from the front door, Applejack rising in response. More knocks sounded.

“I’m coming, I’m coming, hold your-” her eyes widened when she saw who was at the door. Two royal guards stood in front of the door, a small, white and gold airship sitting behind them, just in front of the apple orchard. “H-hello officers, how may I be of service?” she said, obviously surprised at the sudden presence of the highest level of the law standing at her doorstep.

“We require Miss Twilight Sparkle and a Mr. Brass Cloud. We received news that they are staying in this establishment, and we wish to speak with both of them immediately,” one of the guards said.

“Uh, I, uh...Twilight, y’all should come here, I reckon.”

“Who is it, Apple-oh!” Twilight said as she trotted up to the door, looking at the two royal guards.

“Miss Sparkle, please retrieve your friend Brass Cloud and bring him outside immediately. We wish to speak with you two,” the same guard said.

“I heard my name?” Brass said, coming down from the stairs. “Oh...”

“Brass Cloud and Twilight Sparkle, please come outside with us immediately, we require an audience with you both.”

They walked outside, and Applejack closed the door behind them.

“Princess Celestia wishes to speak with both of in Canterlot immediately. She has arranged for air transport directly to the castle. We will be departing in fifteen minutes.”

“What?” Brass’ jaw was making an amazing effort to reach the ground without snapping, but it was fruitless. Twilight, however, had a much different reaction.

“Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen the Princess since I moved to Ponyville! Oh, I can’t wait!” She was jumping like Pinkie Pie during a party.

“We could actually leave right now, officers,” Brass said, remembering they both basically had nothing to bring.

“Very well, then. The airship will be ready to depart in five minutes,” the other guard said, turning around and entering the royal airship parked on the factory lawn. Twilight turned and trotted back into the house.

“Applejack? We have to go to Canterlot. I’m not sure when we’ll be back, but thank you so much for letting us stay here, even if it was just the barn.”

“Well have fun, sugarcube. And don’t mention it, really. I may not be Rarity, but I can still be generous.” They hugged, as Brass walked up behind them.

“Sorry to ruin the moment, but they’re ready to leave, Twilight,” he said. He didn’t have a real reason to be in a hurry, but he’d never ridden in an airship before, and with his love of the skies, he was dying with anticipation.

“Alright then, well, bye Applejack!” Twilight waved, before she finally left the house and started trotting over to the airship. A door on the side slid open, and Brass Cloud and Twilight stepped inside.

“The trip will take a while, so you can sleep on those cots if you want to,” the captain said from his seat in the front of the ship.

“Do you have any books?” they both asked at the same time, sharing a quizzical glance at each other, then back to the captain.

“Well, I’ve got Daring Do and the Sky Pirate’s Treasure, or The Guide to Equestrian Flying Machines. Take your pick,” he said, gesturing to two books laying on a small table near the beds. Brass Cloud grabbed Daring Do, while Twilight took the The Guide to Equestrian Flying Machines. They laid down on the two beds and began reading.

                                                ****

Time was passing slowly for the airship, but for the two ponies on the beds, it seemed to pass by in an instant. Twilight had quickly finished her book, and Brass lost interest in a book he felt like he read a thousand times over.

“I’m gonna head up onto the deck,” Brass said, rising from the bed and walking up the staircase. He sat there for a while, taking in the sights. He’d flown high before, but an airship could easily fly higher than a pony with fake wings could. The sight was incredible. He could see everything, from the badlands south of the Everfree to the cold mountains of North Equestria. He particularly liked snowy peaks, something about the white snow flowing down the mountain peak made him feel at peace, like staring at the night sky. He wondered what combining the two would be like. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard somepony coming up the staircase. He turned his head to see Twilight’s head rising from below, a scarf wrapped around her neck.

“Oh, hey, I figured you fell asleep, I was coming to check on you,” she said with a smile.

“Oh, hi Twilight. I was just, uh, enjoying the view,” Brass said. He could never talk to girls, and it was hard to talk to anypony about his love for beautiful views. His mind kept telling him it was embarrassing.

“Ya, its really pretty up here, isn’t it,” she responded, sitting down near Brass Cloud. She could see everything up here, from Canterlot to Appleloosa. The view was...calming. She let her shoulders drop and took in a deep breath of the high altitude air. The sun began to set, making the airborne, moving vista that much more beautiful. She found herself smiling at the view in front of her, forgetting the library and her near-death encounter two days earlier.

Brass Cloud couldn’t believe the picture painted in front of him. He forgot everything from earlier, the library, his workshop, every one of his problems was wiped away as the airship moved through the dusk sky, a quiet whirring coming from the engine in the back of the ship. He heard shuffling next to him, and his eyes wandered from the incredible view in front of him to the mare next to him.

Twilight was subconsciously moving herself closer to Brass Cloud. Beautiful views can do that to a pony. Or was it...something else? She didn’t care, really. She put her head on his shoulders, and closed her eyes, still smiling. Before long, she had fallen asleep, still smiling, the cold breeze making her scarf flap in the wind.

Brass Cloud couldn’t help himself. A grin appeared on his face, and he put his head over Twilight’s. He closed his eyes and he, too was off to sleep.

I am so buying an airship when I get back.

                                                ****

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the latest addition to the story! Tell me what you think in the comments, and don’t forget to tell your friends (or else)!

And I’d like to take this page space to thank the one, the only *drum roll* Vynce for helping me out so much with the whole story. Hats off to you, sir, and may you lead a good life.