Metal and Magic

“Hey, wake up, lovebirds,” the captain of the airship shouted as he tossed a bucket of cold water over the sleeping ponies.

“Gah! Huh-wha?” Brass gasped, unable to find the correct words as he woke with a start, opening his eyes and hitting his head on the deck of ship. He looked over at Twilight, also surprised at the sudden cold suddenly drenching her purple coat.

“Wait...” he said, his memory starting to come back. “Were we...?”

Twilight thought for a second, blushing, before she answered, “Um...no, no we weren’t.”

“But I just woke up and-”

“And if we did happen to end up sleeping on each other, we wouldn’t talk about it, right?”

“Huh? Oh! Oh, ya, we wouldn’t. At all. Ever. Gotcha.”

The two guards from before trotted up behind the now soaked ponies. “We were ordered to escort both of you to the castle grounds immediately,” the grey one ordered in the monotonous voice that almost every guard seemed to use. “Please, follow us,” they said, trotting off the airship.

****

“Princess, I have received word that the two ponies you requested an audience with have arrived at the Canterlot Airfield,” a guard poking his head into the Princess’ chambers said.

“Very well. Please have a room be prepared for them, they will be staying overnight,” Celestia told the guard.

“Which room, your highness?”

“Any guest room that has only one bed and no couch,” she said, a small grin rising on her face.

****

The grey guard placed a hoof against one of the guest bedroom doors, opening it and allowing the two ponies behind him to look inside.

“The Princess has requested you stay overnight. This will be your room,” the guard said in that same monotonous voice.

“But...it only has one bed?” Brass asked, feeling even more nervous about staying in Canterlot.

“Special orders from the Princess herself,” responded the guard.

Did the Princess actually order them to make us sleep in one bed? Seriously? Brass thought as a certain white alicorn trotted up behind them.

“Hello, my little ponies,” she said in her calm, regal tone. Twilight turned around, a happy smile on her face.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed, hugging her teacher.

“My faithful student, it’s so good to see you,” Celestia said, returning the gesture.

Brass Cloud, however, lowered his head to floor, eyes wide, as he bowed as hard as possible to the Princess. “H-hello, your highness, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Ah, Brass Cloud. Please rise. I am happy that you could make it here today, we have very important matters to discuss.”

“We do?” he asked, confused as to why the Princess would want to talk to him, of all ponies.

“Yes, both of you. We can catch up later, Twilight, but for now, I think we should take this conversation inside your bedroom,” the alicorn said, turning and walking into the guest chambers.

“Is something wrong, Princess?” Twilight asked. She had figured that the princess just wanted to talk to Twilight, although it would explain why she had her bring Brass along.

“Well...yes, Twilight, something is wrong. I have no doubt you remember the night you were attacked, and the following morning both you and Brass’ houses were burned down. As soon as I heard, I had some of our best detectives put on the case. It was simply too much to be a coincidence, obviously. And what we came up with is very bad news, I’m afraid,” the princess said, dropping her previous demeanor and using a more official one. “Twilight, to put it simply, you are in very, very grave danger.”

“What?” Twilight gasped, her pupils growing to the size of saucers. Brass’ eyes widened as well.

“Yes, Twilight. Before I explain, you need to know that I’m sending you and Brass away from Equestria for the time being until we catch the pony responsible.”

“But why, Princess? Why would he do all this?” she said, mouth agape.

“I’ll explain that very soon. But tomorrow, I’m sending both of you two Ancholtage, in the north. Hopefully you two will be safe there, and as soon as we catch him, you will be returned to Equestria. I hope you two understand. You can refuse, of course, but I assure you Twilight, and you Brass Cloud, that it would be in your best interest to leave as soon as possible.”

Twilight and Brass looked at each other, silently debating their options, before they both turned their gaze back to the Princess.

“Alright, we’ll go,” Brass said before looking back at Twilight for confirmation. She nodded.

“Very good. Now, as to why you’re leaving. You both remember the pony that attacked Twilight, correct?”

“Yes, he had a cloak on though, so we couldn’t see who he was,” Brass said, recalling his brief fight with the mysterious stallion.

“The Royal Guard did some digging, and found some information about him, based on an eyewitness report from the morning your houses burned down. The owner of a local bakery claimed that he saw a brown pony running from your library, Twilight, before he noticed that there was smoke rising through some of the windows. He was also the one to call the Ponyville Fire Department. Anyways, the stallion said he also thought he saw what looked like some sort of what he described as a ‘jagged horn’ coming out of his head. We quickly found the pony that best fits that description. His name is Coal, and he worked in a coal mine until a couple years ago, when a cave in caused some mining equipment to explode, which embedded a gem in his skull. He hasn’t been seen since. He apparently went insane, locking himself inside his house months at a time. We think, in his fragile mental state, that he blames you, Twilight, for getting the gem embedded in his skull, which is why he’s after you,” Celestia explained, pausing so they could take in the information.

“I...guess that makes sense,” Twilight said as she brought her hoof to her chin in thought.

“So we’re being stalked by an insane pony who wants to murder us?” Brass asked.

“It seems so, yes,” the princess said, concluding her discussion on Coal. “However, there is one more thing. Twilight, could you step out for a moment? I need to talk to Brass Cloud in private, please.”

“Uh...alright, Princess,” Twilight answered. She turned around and trotted outside the door, turning around one last time. “I’ll be right out here,” she said before finally closing the door.

“So, uh, what is it you wanted to talk to me about, P-princess?” Brass asked, still nervous in the presence of the princess, moreso now that Twilight was gone.

“It’s about your wings, Mr. Cloud. I’m sure you’re aware that they were burned to your skin during the fire, correct?” Celestia asked.

“Of course, Princess. The doctors told me before I left the hospital.”

“However, there is one thing that you don’t know about the gem, Brass Cloud. That gem inside your wing mechanism was fused into your skin as well. It takes a lot for that to happen, Brass. Extremely strong fire, or massive force, can cause a gem to...incorporate itself into the body of a pony. Depending on where the gem was fused, it can have different effects.”

“It...it does? What effect did mine have?”

“Well, Brass Cloud, there’s good news about that, and bad news. You may choose which one to hear first.”

“Good news, please.”

“The good news is that since the gem was burned into your midsection, most wounds inflicted on your body will be healed instantly. Any lost limbs, however, will stay lost.”

“I’m sorry if this seems rude, but how could there be bad news from that? I’m practically immortal, aren’t I?”

“Yes, Brass, almost any unnatural wounds will be gone in under a minute.”

“So...what’s the bad news?” he asked, anticipating her answer.

“The bad news is...” She paused, taking in a breath before continuing. “You see, Brass, normal ponies’ bodies such as yours or Twilight’s are not made for magical use. Eventually, your body will become weak. Your organs will begin to fail, until, eventually, you will die. I take no joy in telling you this, Brass Cloud, but your body will shut down at a far younger age than any normal pony.”

“Wha-what? H-how long do I have?” Brass Cloud asked, now extremely worried.

“About two years,” Celestia responded solemnly.

At these words, Brass dropped to the floor. He stood there, mouth open, staring at the wall, mind racing.

Two years...only two. But...no, there has to be a way.

“Princess, isn’t there a way to remove the gem? Can’t you use your magic ability to take it out or something?” he asked desperately.

“I’m sorry, Brass. We’ve done tests, and any force strong enough to break the gem or remove would certainly cause fatal damage to your body. And as I said before, your body is not made for magic. If I removed it, the magic will still disrupt your body and would instantly shut your vital organs down.”

He stared off again, although this time his mind had stopped thinking. Inside his head, Celestia’s words echoed.

About two years...shut your vital organs down...fatal damage...you will die...

He began to cry, tears rolling down his red coat and dripping onto the carpeted floor of the bedroom.

“I understand if you wish to have some time to yourself, Brass Cloud. I will leave you alone for a few hours. Please, get some rest, I know it must be hard for you,” Celestia said as she turned and trotted away, leaving Brass to his own devices in the guest bedroom. She shut the door behind her, giving one last glance to Brass Cloud.

“Where’s Brass?” Twilight asked the Princess as she left the room.

“He needs some rest. Come, Twilight, we have much to catch up on.”