//------------------------------// // 1: A Home // Story: Pony of the Gears // by TheFoxern //------------------------------// She let out a heavy sigh as she looked, yet again, at the empty spot between books on the shelf. “I just don't understand where it could have gone,” she said, as she began to pace back and forth once again, hooves hitting the wooden floor a little harder than they had been earlier. Across the room, a purple bundle of blankets shifted at the noise. Her purple eyes scanned the nearby books, hoping that it could perhaps be tucked behind other books, but nothing seemed out of place. “Spiiiiiiike!” she called and looked to the purple bundle. A loud groan came from the bundle as the purple, green frilled head of Spike, popped out from the blankets and stared at the light purple pony. He took the time to stare at her dark violet mane and tail, with a streak of pink and purple. “Yes, Twilight?” The contempt in his voice rang clear, as he'd much rather be asleep. His eyes wandered up to the window, which shone bright with the sun of a late morning. “Have you seen my copy of Mundane Magical Marvels?” she asked desperately, taking several steps towards him. He groaned and retreated under the blanket. “For the billionth time, Twilight, no.” It had been a question she had asked him many times since she had noticed the book had been missing three days ago. She frowned at the purple lump and turned away quickly. “Maybe it's over here,” she said and moved over to a table, which had two books on it, both of which were open. “Maybe someone checked it out?” Spike suggested for the dozenth time. “This is a library after all.” It had been the first thing he could think of and he had been saying it since she first mentioned that the book was gone. “I mean really, it makes-” the words caught in his mouth as his cheeks puffed up and he let out a belch of green flames. The flames swirled slightly and then took the form of a scroll. “A letter from the Princess?” She trotted quickly over to Spike, her horn glowing again, as well as the scroll. The scroll unfurled and Twilight began to read aloud. “My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight... Please, come to Canterlot at your earliest convenience.” She looked towards Spike. “She wants us to come to Canterlot? What for do you think?” “How should I know?” Spike said as he pulled himself out from the blankets and scratched at his stomach. “So we're going to Canterlot then?” “Of course!” Twilight said, trotting to the door. Her horn glowed again and the door opened. “We should head out right-” she halted as she saw a white earth pony with gold armor on the other side of it. “It...seems the Princess wants us to come right away as well...” “That is correct, Twilight, please come. The train is already waiting for your arrival,” he said as he took off at a trotting pace. They headed down the road towards the train station. Spike sat on Twilight’s back and looked back, watching as the library fell into the distance. “We seem to be in quite a hurry...” He looked at Twilight. “I think the letter was a bit more of a warning that our escort is here,” Twilight said, looking back at Spike, who looked ahead. She followed his gaze to the train station. “Thank you?” Twilight said to the pony, who bowed his head to her, before moving quickly to the head of the train. Twilight moved up into the car they had been left at, noting that it was near the front of the train and empty. “Is this first class?” she asked as she hopped up and laid down on one of the seats. Spike looked out the window and gave a slight shrug. “I guess. I mean, it's roomy.” He seemed quite unsure of it though. “But it may just be a nice car.” A loud whistle from the front of the train and a slight jerk as the train gathered speed. She smiled and looked out the window with Spike, watching Ponyville disappear into the distance. “I wonder what the Princess wants us for. She didn't sound in much of a hurry to get us to Canterlot, but she sent escorts... Maybe some sort of emergency?” Spike rolled his eyes and shook his head. “How should I know? I don't know anymore than you, Twi...” He curled up on the cushion across from Twilight and closed his eyes. Twilight sighed and shook her head. “But why...” She stared out at the window, watching the scenery rush past. “And we seem to be going a tad fast...” She sighed softly, putting her chin on the windowsill. Spike merely grunted in response, as he fell back asleep. The ride took only a few minutes to Twilight's surprise. It was shorter than she could ever remember it being. The whistle blew again and she nudged Spike gently. He groaned in response and rolled over. “What is it now?” Twilight looked at him and pointed her hoof towards the window. “We're here.” Spike blinked and rubbed his eyes. “Already?” He got down and yawned. “How long was I asleep?” Twilight shook her head as she exited the car. “It didn't take long at all. They were in quite a hurry.” She looked over at the front of the train. She could see a group of ponies around a rather large griffon, in a blue jacket and a blue round hat that had the word 'CONDUCTOR' written on it. There seemed to be quite an argument going. She noticed one of the ponies was her escort and seemed to be on the side of the Conductor griffon. Another gold armored white pony came up to them and bowed his head to Twilight. “This way, Twilight Sparkle.” He quickly turned and walked off down the road towards the palace, giving her a tiny window to follow. Spike leaped up onto Twilight's back and she followed after the guard, looking back at Spike as she did. Spike gave a shrug to her, preempting her question. She turned back to the guard. “What's going on?” The guard looked back at her and gave her a slight smile. “No need to worry. There's nothing wrong. Princess Celestia just wants to talk with you. The matter is just quite important and merely needed to be resolved today, as soon as possible.” “Oh.” They came up to a large metal grating at the side of the palace and the guard pressed a large button beside it. She remained silent as she heard the soft clinking and the gentle hiss of steam from somewhere in the wall. Then the lift came down and the metal grate slid aside. The three of them entered and the grate shut gently as the guard pressed another button on the inside, which was quite a high floor. There was a soft thud and another hiss of steam before the lift began rising once again. When it stopped again, they were in quite a large hallway. She looked around the hall at the arches, she remembered this hallway quite well. There was a meeting hall up ahead that Celestia had let her use on a couple occasions to practice. Suddenly the memory of lighting most of the furniture on fire and how bad the room had smelled afterwards came to mind. She shook her head, trying to forget about that moment once again. Hopefully the smell had gone by now. The thought suddenly dawned on her that that was where they were heading. There was nothing else down this hallway that could not have been reached faster by some other route. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard loud voices. One of the voices was Celestia, who was saying, "There is no need to shout.” Spike stood up on Twilight's back and put a hand to his ear, trying to hear better. “I'm sorry, Celestia.” The voice she could not recognize sounded odd, definitely a stallion and he sounded quite stressed. “But we had an agreement, and I would have hoped you would have come through with your part, since I've done mine.” “Please, Copper. Have patience.” Celestia sounded quite cheerful at the whole situation. “You have done me a great deal while in my service and I am extremely pleased with the results. But I ask that you have patience.” “Who's that talking with the princess, do you think?” Spike said, looking at Twilight. Twilight looked at Spike and shrugged as she rounded the last corner before the door, and standing in front of it, looking in, was a dark violet pony, with a starry mane flowing behind her. Her wings were tucked against her body, her horn almost pressed into the door. “Princess Luna?” Luna jumped at the noise and turned to look at her. Spike waved his arm to her, smiling. “Ah, Twilight, Spike. We are glad to see you.” She took a final glance into the room as she spoke again. “Please excuse us.” She quickly turned and trotted off down the hallway. Twilight blinked in confusion as she watched Luna disappear around a corner. “I am sorry, Celestia...” There was a heavy sigh from the other side of the door, where the conversation was being held. It drew both Twilight and Spike's attention from the disappearing Luna. “I will have more patience.” The guard knocked on the door with with his hoof, which caused it to open slightly more. “Ah, it looks like you will not have to be patient for any longer,” Celestia said, smiling as the door opened more. “Come in, Twilight and Spike.” Twilight hesitated and then slowly moved into the large room. There was a long table in the center of the room and behind it sat Princess Celestia. She looked as poised as always, looking at Twilight with a large smile on her face. Her crown sitting atop her multicolored, flowing mane seemed slightly tilted. Twilight bowed to her. “So good to see you Princess.” Spike bowed as well, from atop Twilight's back. Sitting across from Celestia and slightly off to their right, sat a gray blue colored pony wrapped in a large copper colored cloak. His mane was short and messy and matched the same color as his cloak. Upon his forehead were two clear lenses surrounded with black metal casing, attached together with a small chain between and a black leather band around his head connecting it all. “My dear Twilight and Spike. I'd like to introduce you to Copper Feather.” Copper looked back and nodded to Twilight before looking back at Celestia. He seemed tired, worn out. In truth, he could barely keep upright, but he was determined not to collapse. Yet. “Ah...uhm...nice to meet you, Copper Feather. My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is Spike,” she said as she gestured to Spike, looking to Celestia again, then back at Copper. She had never seen him before, or at least could not remember ever seeing him. Celestia's eyes never left Twilight. “I am sorry for rushing you out here on such short notice, Twilight. But I could not think of anypony better for helping Copper adjust to life in Ponyville.” Twilight gave Celestia a confused look, but Copper spoke before she had a chance to. “Ponyville? I will not be staying in Canterlot?” His tone was of surprise and slight annoyance. Celestia looked towards Copper and shook her head. “I'm afraid not, Copper.” Copper looked as though he were about to say something further, but the look Celestia gave him silenced him immediately. “Please, Copper. I have my reasons.” Copper sighed and closed his eyes. He shook his head slightly. “All right. Ponyville then...” He was too tired at this point to put up a fight. Any place was better than none. “I hope there is a proper building,” he said with a slight sarcastic tone. Celestia nodded. “Oh yes. Your new home has been built, despite some...slight delays with the building collapsing during construction.” He arched his brow at her. “Don't worry, the building is sound and no one was hurt.” He nodded slightly. “All right... It's fine.” He took a deep breath and looked back at Twilight. He slowly got to his hooves. He felt exhausted, but he knew he could rest soon enough. “I trust my things will be delivered as soon as possible...” He closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them once again when he wobbled slightly. He shook his head back and forth a few times. “Of course. I hope that it's alright with you, Twilight,” Celestia said, looking at Twilight now. “I'm sure he won’t cause you too much trouble.” She smiled at her. Twilight nodded and bowed to Celestia. “Of course Princess Celestia.” She straightened up and gave the Princess a large smile. “Now then...off you go.” She made a slight shooing gesture with a hoof. “I'm sure we'll be in contact, Copper.” He bowed to her, looking down at the floor. “Thank you, Princess Celestia,” and he said no more, turning away from her. The look on his face gave the impression of somepony who wanted to get far away, before they said something wrong. He paused by Twilight and looked at her. “Shall we be off then?” He gave her a weak smile as he began walking out of the room. Twilight nodded and followed him. Now that she was this close she could get a good look at him. His eyes were copper, just as his mane, though they were lighter. Something about them seemed to shine, with what it was hard to tell, but there was a lot more to this pony than could ever be seen. Across the bridge of his muzzle between his eyes was a slight scar, where the fur did not grow back. His right leg was similarly scarred, three long scars that started up near the middle of his leg and dragged down to his hoof. His cloak was was covered in blotches of something black and the end was torn and frayed. Her head began to bubble with questions, but she felt it would have to wait. “How far is Ponyville?” he asked, glancing at her cutie mark, noting the large pink star and the five white stars around it. Spike looked at him and answered for Twilight. “Not far, half an hour by train.” He looked at Spike and took a deep breath as he looked back down the hallway. “Good...very good...” But for him, the trip seemed far too long. Down the hallway, down the lift, then the train to Ponyville and then the walk from there to a large tree. It all took far too long for his liking. He blamed it on his exhaustion the entire time and it was almost noon when they arrived. “I'll walk you to your house.” She gestured to the large tree that they had been dropped off in front of, which had been turned into a building. “This is the library, where I'll be for most of the day and tomorrow. Once you've gotten some rest I can show you around.” He simply nodded, looking at the building. He wished that it was his house and he could sleep. Twilight looked at him and then to Spike. “Spike? Why don't you go on and wait inside. I won’t be long.” Spike nodded and hopped off of her back. “Alright then. I can catch up on some sleep while you're gone.” Twilight frowned slightly. “I wont be gone that long.” Spike gave a shrug as he walked inside. She shook her head and began walking down the road. Copper followed after her and was thankful that it was a short walk. He saw a few ponies out of the corner of his eyes, but paid them no mind. He had only one focus at this point. “Well, here we are.” She came to a stop at a building which seemed to be in the center of fairly large empty area. He looked at it for a moment and pushed the door open. It was quite empty, but there was a warm feeling that started to come over him. He had a home and it was his home and that made it a good home. “Thank you,” he said, staring at the empty room. Twilight smiled a bit. “Uhm...you're welcome. I'll...see you...” “Tomorrow,” he said as he stepped in slowly, marveling at the entire place. It was not large, by all sense it was quite small. But it was his and that was all that mattered. Twilight nodded. “Tomorrow. Goodnight?” She closed the door and took a step back. “That was all rather odd...” She began walking back to the library. “I hope he'll be up for answering some questions tomorrow. I might have to make a list...” Copper stepped into the center of the room. There was a staircase against the right side and an arch like doorway at the back that lead into a kitchen. There was no furniture, or anything. A few windows were the only sources of light. He took a deep breath of the place; it smelled like freshly cut wood. He looked at the floor as he slowly made his way to the stairs; there he knew he'd find a bed, waiting for him. When he reached the top, he found a small landing with a door. He opened the door, which opened into a bedroom. To his right on the wall next to the door, was an open door, leading into a closet and at the far right of the room was another open door, leading into a bathroom, where he could see a decent sized tub. In the center of the room against the far wall, was a large red bed, underneath a large window. His legs wobbled as he headed towards it. It took all of the strength he had left to crawl up onto it. And as his consciousness slowly escaped him, he realized, he was happy. For the first time in a very long time, he was happy. He hoped the feeling would last forever. But deep down inside, he knew that it wouldn't. ~ Evening came and left. Night soon followed and morning was close behind. It was not until afternoon was trying to decide if it should make its appearance, did the copper bundle of cloth atop the large red bed begin to stir. Slowly a hoof began to find its way out of the tangled cloth, followed soon by the head of a copper maned pony. Copper took a deep breath as he slowly stretched out his limbs. “When was the last time I slept that well...” he mumbled to himself as he worked his way to the edge of the bed. He attempted to move off the bed, but as soon as he put weight on his legs, they quickly collapsed under him and the floor rushed up and met him with a thud. “Owch...” He slowly slid completely off the bed and onto the floor, which caused his cloak to become tangled around his legs once again. He grumbled as he untangled himself and slowly stood up. His legs felt unsure of their own ability to hold his weight, but he was determined to get on with his day. The walk to the door helped him to shake the lazy feeling from his legs and the slow walk down the stairs solidified the normal feeling in them once more. He looked out at the empty room as he descended the stairs, pausing several steps before the bottom. “Is this really mine?” he wondered aloud, staring at it. He could see the potential of every corner, every inch of the place. He could not bring himself to leave the spot, simply feeling that he could stare forever at the room. He was unsure how long he stood there, seconds, minutes, or hours, but it was a knock at the door that brought him back. A jolt of slight panic went through him as he stared at the door, thinking for a moment that the true owner of the house had just come home, or worse. He shook his head and headed towards the door. “Must be Twilight...” he mumbled to himself, she was the only one who knew he was there. What he found upon opening the door, however, was not Twilight. A pink pony stood there instead, her blue eyes staring at him and a large grin on her face. Her hair drew his attention immediately. It was a striking magenta, with the texture of cotton candy. Then words began spilling out of her. “Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie and Twilight told me this morning when I went to see her that you were new in town and since she was new in town once I knew that she knew that you must be lonely because you don't know anypony and that's just not right so I came over to make you not lonely!” She practically seemed to vibrate on the spot. Copper stood, staring at her. He blinked several times, before he finally managed to form a sentence. “I'm...Copper Feather...” She hopped in the spot, turning in mid air and hopping off. “Come with me! There's so much to see and so many ponies!” He hesitated before taking a step out to follow her. Turning and closing the door, he turned back to see Pinkie standing directly in front of him once again. “C'mon slowpoke!” She bounded off again. A smile came to his face as he trotted after her. She was so full of energy that he could tell that today would be a good day. It seemed any day with this pony was one filled with fun and he needed that. He needed some fun. Her cutie mark caught his eyes, three balloons, two blue ones and a yellow one in the middle, slightly higher then the other two. “Balloons,” he said, looking at her and then around. They were walking through a marketplace in the center of town. Several ponies were around, talking and laughing as they bought groceries and other items. He saw a stall selling vegetables and it reminded him that he had not eaten. But he did not have any bits on him. He sighed, he would have to wait for his possessions to arrive. He looked back ahead to find Pinkie was gone. He stopped where he was and blinked in confusion. “Whatcha lookin' for?” a voice said from beside him and he turned to see Pinkie, squinting her eyes and looking into the distance. She had quite the serious face on, which caused him to laugh. She looked at him, grinning again. “Where should we go? Oh! I know! Follow me!” She bounded off again and Copper followed after her. He kept an eye on her this time. “Where are we going?” Now that he guess she had a place in mind, he thought he might as well ask. “To see Twilight, of course,” Pinkie said, hopping backwards as she talked to him. He realized quite quickly that this was not the way to the library, but he guessed that she may not be there. “And where is she?” Pinkie grinned at him. “I dunno.” He blinked at her in confusion. “But that's why we're going to find her!” She suddenly turned to the right, hopping off in a new direction. “I bet Dashie's seen her!” He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “All right then, lead the way, Pinkie.” She lead him through the town, which seemed quite bigger than he had guessed. There were a lot of ponies living here; even though it looked like a small town at a glance, it was bustling. Nothing in comparison to Canterlot, he guessed, but it was still a comfortable sight. It only took a few minutes for Pinkie to find who she was looking for and stop. “Daaaaash!” She called out, still hopping on the spot. “Rainbow Daaaaash!” “Rainbow Dash?” Copper said, staring up at the cloud that she was yelling at. The head of a blue pegasus poked its head over the edge of the cloud with a large sigh. Her short rainbow mane was obviously what got her her name. “What is it Pinkie Pie?” She paused as she saw Copper and slowly she got up onto her feet on the cloud and flew down. “Who's this?” “We're looking for Twilight!” Pinkie said, grinning at her. She looked at Copper. “And this is-” Copper cut her off. “Copper Feather. Long time no see, Rainbow Dash.” He did not move, staring at her magenta eyes, searching for something. “Oooohhh you two know each other?” Pinkie said, moving to stand just off from the center of their line of sight. Dash stared back at him for a painfully long time before he spoke again. “Yeah. From flight school.” “Iiii gotta go,” Dash said before she jumped into the air and in seconds had flown out of sight. Pinkie blinked slightly as she sat down, watching Dash leave. “She didn't tell us where Twilight was...” she said, heavily disappointed. “I don't think she knew,” Copper said, sighing heavily. He stared at the ground a moment and then looked up at Pinkie Pie, who was staring at him. “Uhm...yes?” “You were in flight school with Dash?” Her head cocked to one side as she moved forward, leaning towards him. “So that means you're a pegasus.” He nodded slowly. “With copper feathers, hence my name,” he said, looking away from her and out at where Dash had disappeared to. She moved closer to him, prodding at his cloak with his hoof. “Why do you walk so much then? You're slow on the ground, you should fly.” He glanced at her and then stared up at the sky. “I can't fly,” he said and sighed. He shook his head to try. “Anyways...let's go find Twilight.” Pinkie frowned at him. “What do you mean you can't fly. You just use your wings and flap!” She reared back onto her back legs and flailed her front legs up and down. “Like this!” “Wing,” he said, staring at the ground. He hesitated and then he shifted and his cloak flopped over to one side, revealing a large wing on the left, the feathers starting at a matching color to his body but fading to copper at the tips. But on the opposite side, there was nothing but a stub, four inches long and badly scarred. It looked like his wing had been torn off. “Not wings.” His cutie mark was that of two brass gears, one small and very simple, a solid shape with a hole in the center, the other a bit larger above it and far more complex, with slight designs support struts rather than a solid body, its teeth meshed with the other. “Oh,” Pinkie said sadly, her hooves returning to the ground and she sat down. “I...how did it happen?” He shook his head. “It's a long story.” He looked at Pinkie Pie. She was staring at him. He sighed slightly and pulled his cloak back over himself. “It was back in flight school... There was a little race between me and this griffon... Gilda her name was.” “Gilda? I met her. She's not very nice,” Pinkie said, her eyes never leaving Copper. “No...she isn't and she wasn't...but...I don't even remember why we were racing...all I do remember is that... Well, I beat her, quite badly...and she attacked me... I don't remember the actual fight...though from what I heard it wasn't much of a fight at all...but, I woke up in the hospital, without my right wing.” He took in a deep breath and shook his head. “That's...awful...” Her eyes swam slightly with tears. Copper looked at her and gave a slight shrug. “That was a long time ago, though... Didn't even have my cutie mark. Anyways, can we please just go find Twilight now?” He looked at her, but she did not get up. “Didn't Gilda get in trouble?” She asked, the tears still swimming in her eyes. He looked at her and shook his head. “No one said they saw the fight... I couldn't even remember the fight myself, so they had no way of knowing who did it.” His eyes fell downward, he suspected she had several more questions, so he sat down. After a moment, he looked back up. Pinkie Pie looked incredibly sad and he smiled a bit. “Hey now. Come on.” He stood up. “I'm over it, I've had lots of time to recover and right now I just want to have some fun.” She smiled a bit as she stood up as well. “Okey dokey.” She looked around and then up at where Rainbow Dash had been. Copper followed her gaze up to the cloud. “Welp!” He looked at her. “She was no help. Who else could we ask?” Pinkie's face scrunched up a bit. “Hrm...oh!” She smiled and began hopping off in a seemingly random direction. “Rarity! She might know!” Copper laughed softly and followed after her. He knew he was fine with his loss of wing now. But coming to terms with it hadn't been easy. He shook his head, he didn't want to even think about bringing Pinkie Pie down once again from her happy hopping. He glanced back; it was weird seeing Rainbow Dash again, he wondered why she was here. His thoughts were interrupted, however, quite abruptly as he ran into a cart. He tumbled and as he did his goggles slipped over his eyes. “What in tarnation has got you in such a hurry?” The accent was quite surprising to hear, though it had not been the first time he had heard it. He pushed his goggles back up onto his forehead and looked at her. The area around Appleloosa was the first thing that came to mind and the pony he saw seemed to fit that area correctly. Orange with blonde hair, tied into a ponytail. She stared at him with green eyes and he guessed it was the light brown stetson hat was what really reminded him of Appleloosa. “You alright sugar cube?” “Ah.” He rolled over, realizing he was on his back, staring up at her. “Yes. Quite fine, thank you. Sorry. I was trying to follow-” he looked around. “That.” He pointed a hoof at Pinkie Pie. “Ah. Pinkie Pie!” she called out and Pinkie looked back. “Think ya lost somethin'.” She pointed a hoof at Copper, who was sitting on the ground. Pinkie hopped back to him. “What's he doing on the ground and what happened to your cart?” “He happened,” she said, still pointing a hoof at Copper. Pinkie looked at him, as he helped push the cart back up onto its wheels. “And I'm very sorry, I'm afraid I wasn't watching where I was going...” “Ah, shoot. Ain’t nothin' broke, so no harm done.” The orange pony began to pick up the things that had fallen from her cart and Copper quickly joined her. Pinkie helped a little as well, by eating a few of the apples that fell. “My name's Copper Feather. I'm new here in Ponyville,” he said, half way through cleaning up the mess. “My name's Applejack, pleased as apple pie to meet ya',” she said, shooting Pinkie Pie a look and she quickly started helping rather than eating. “So what ya'll doin' besides knockin' over carts?” She smiled at Copper. “We're looking for Twilight,” Copper replied as he placed a group of apples into a basket on the cart. She seemed to have quite a bit of them and his hunger was suddenly apparent. The realization of not having eaten since early the previous day caused his stomach to growl in protest. Applejack chuckled softly. “Well, I ain't seen her. Go ahead and help yerself to a few apples, Copper. Any new pony should get some free apples from Sweet Apple Acres.” “Sweet Apple Acres? Is that close by?” He looked at Applejack and then back at where she had come from. There were a lot of trees far off in that direction beyond some sort of marketplace, but he could not see any apple trees. “Oh yeah. I was just headin' back there now,” Applejack said, as Copper returned his gaze to her and then off in the direction she was heading. He could see a large farm house off in the distance and several apple trees in that direction. “Ah. I'll have to go and visit that then.” He smiled a bit and took one of the apples carefully, holding it in his hooves. How long has it been since he had eaten an apple? Too long he guessed, as he bit into it and the sweet taste filled his mouth and made him smile. “Now that's a good apple.” He regretted not having time while in Appleloosa to try one. “Glad ya like 'em. We're pretty famous 'round here for our apples,” Applejack said, stating it very much like a fact, rather than a sort of boast. “Mhm! Bear wa besh awou,” Pinkie said with her mouth full of apples. She'd gone back to eating them, rather than picking them up. Copper laughed and ate the rest of his apple. Pinkie gobbled up a few more, before grinning at Applejack. “Thanks Applejack! We'll see ya around!” She then proceeded to bound off. Copper chuckled softly. “Thanks for the apple, Applejack.” He followed after Pinkie Pie, feeling a lot better. “Anytime Copper, have fun followin' Pinkie and good luck findin' Twilight!” Applejack called to him and he nodded, trying to catch Pinkie as she rounded another building. He decided this time, he would watch where he was going. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep track of where Pinkie was going and as he rounded the corner he found the street empty. He stopped immediately and looked left and right. “Pinkie?” His voice was a tad softer then he meant it to be and shook his head. “Great. Lost my guide...” He looked about and saw an interesting store. It was all sorts of bright colors, pinks and blues, golds and purples. There was a purple door at the front, with a large oval window on either side. Above the door was a painting of carousel pony of gold with a purple bridle. He could see somepony inside near the window and the idea got to him of asking if they had seen Pinkie. He approached the door slowly, before he tapped his hoof on the door. The door swung open and as he went to ask if there had been sign of Pinkie, the words caught in his throat. In front of him was a lovely unicorn, pure white with a violet mane that swirled and curled itself in the end. She had a great smile on her face. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique,” she said with a slight accent that Copper didn't quite recognize. “Please, come in, come in. We've anything for anypony.” With that she turned quickly and headed back into the room. Finding himself quickly, he headed in after her. “Actually, I was wondering-” but he didn't get anything more than that out before the pony cut him off and the door shut behind him softly. “Oh please, darling.” She turned to smile at him again and he saw the glow of her horn fade. “Rarity knows exactly what you need.” She crossed her hoof over her chest as she looked him up and down. “Now...first of all you must lose the drab cloak of yours.” She walked around him, lifting up a bit of the cloak. He tensed slightly, watching her. “It's beyond saving my dear and simply MUST go.” She turned and moved quickly towards drawers that began to open and spill out cloth as Rarity reached them. He hesitated, watching her. All his thoughts wandered to the lack of his wing and wondered what her reaction would be. With a deep breath, he pulled the cloak from himself, allowing it to rest on the floor. Once he had done that, the immediate thought of what he was doing popped into his head, he had been chasing Pinkie and surely now if she had come back to look for him, she wouldn't be able to find him. He turned towards the window and tried again. “I was actually following a pony just now, Pinkie. She was helping me to find Twilight Sparkle, who was going to-” Again she cut him off. “Oh? Pinkie Pie is rather hard to keep track of... I'm surprised you managed to follow her anywhere...but that can wait.” She continued to fuss with fabric. Movement at the corner of the room drew his attention, a small white cat had come into the room. It paused as it saw him and stuck to the other side of the room, before laying on the cloth Rarity was fiddling with. “Opal, sweety... Mama needs that.” “Opal? That's a very interesting name for a cat.” He was gazing at Opal now, as she lay on fabric that Rarity simply moved away from, as if ignoring its existence for now. “Oh yes, short for Opalescence.” Rarity smiled and moved to towards Opal. “And she's just mommie's little sweety.” She moved a hoof to pet Opal, who immediately hissed and she quickly backed away, chuckling nervously. “Ah...yes...” She shook her head and turned to Copper. She gasped loudly, just short of repressing a scream. His wing flexed slightly, realizing that he no longer had his cloak on. He looked at her, before sighing and looking towards the door again. “Yes. It's quite a sight, isn't it.” It was then the door opened and the poofed mane of Pinkie, showed itself in the door. “Rarity? Have you seen- Oh! There you are, Copper.” She smiled at him, trotting over. “You found Rarity before I did!” Copper smiled at her and nodded. “Appears that I have.” He took a deep breath. "Not sure how, since you went this direction before me." Pinkie looked at Rarity, who was staring at Copper. “Have you seen Twi?” she said, hopping towards her a bit. Rarity blinked. “Huh, what? Oh. Uhm. No, I haven't. Have you checked the library?” She managed to turn her gaze from Copper and look at Pinkie. Pinkie clapped her hooves together. “Of course!” She looked at Copper, who was watching her with a bemused smile. “We should have checked there first!” She dashed out the door and then a few seconds later, as Copper headed after her, her head popped back in. “C'mon slowpoke!” He laughed softly, heading quickly after her. “I'm coming. Goodness, always such a hurry.” He turned at the door. “Goodday Miss Rarity.” He closed the door and then rushed after Pinkie, which was a bouncing pink pony quickly disappearing into the distance. He smiled as he chased after her, it was nice being in such a place. Not having to worry, no cares. He assumed that it was a sort of magic that Pinkie possessed. She could make anyone feel happy about anything. He rounded a building, which opened into the market he had seen earlier. Then he realized two things. There were a lot of ponies, none of which were Pinkie and secondly, he was lost. He took a deep breath and sighed softly before heading towards the market. A nagging suspicion that everyone was staring at him was beginning to grow. He took in a sharp breath and came to a stop. A third realization had come up. The one about having left his cloak with Rarity. He closed his eyes and let out the breath slowly. No, it didn't matter anymore. Yes, he was missing a wing and it was time that he stopped caring that people saw. His eyes opened again and he managed to find his walk once again. They would have to deal with it just as he had. Although the whispering behind him was slightly annoying.