Titanium

by PinoyPony

Sparks Flying

Blue and white flame erupted, bathing the room in blinding light. A shrouded figure held the torch and metal rod in gloved hooves as the surface crackled and popped, sending sparks flying. Thankfully, she was protected from the UV light with the hood she wore, equally so with the cloth over her muzzle to block out the sooty scent of metal. Through the window in the hood, she kept her keen eye on the blaze of molten metal binding the two machined metal pipes.

Three thousand Celsius with a lot of Argon is what this recipe called for― as she was working with a very reactive metal: Titanium.

Previously, her work of welding steel had refined her prowess. But now, she faced the unique challenge of working with a non-ferrous metal. The farthest she’d gone with non-corrosive metals was stainless steel, but even that was ferrous.

It was like speaking another language. One that had the same concepts, roots, and principles, yet obeyed them in a different, intuitive way.

She pitched her head back, causing the hood to glide up. Her eyes adjusted to inspect her work, making sure that no blemish escaped. Even the slightest imperfection would cause moisture and rot to build up inside of the pipes. She had to take caution of making sure the void inside was air tight and closed to the surroundings.

Finding the seam satisfactory, she nodded, the hood sliding back down in response as she waited no longer than a second to continue her work.

Titanium was a strong, yet relatively inert metal. It was expensive, but nowhere near to other metals such as platinum, silver, or gold. But the density of such was impractical for her applications. Besides, the more precious the metal, the higher the likeliness of getting nicked by an opportunist.

She could’ve used aluminum, but it was more volatile than titanium, not to mention its tensile strength was inferior to it. So, titanium presented itself as a welcome middle ground; expensive, but not flashy. Light, but strong.

She finished up and lifted her hood, inspecting the weld, slightly admiring her hoofwork. She felt a little hollow as she hauled it over to a protective trunk, holding it as if it were her own newborn. This would be the last time seeing it, her unexpected masterpiece. She smiled, satisfied by both the challenge it offered her to grow, whilst knowing the joy it would bring the pony who needed it.

She shut off the gas and disconnected the power to the torch, making sure everything was in order before she took off. She hauled the trunk into her cart and then strapped in.

Oh, she was excited! They were going to love this!

---

Torque Wrench carefully opened the wooden door. After doing so, she reached a hoof up to dampen the door chime. After wrestling through the door, she carried the heavy box inside.

“Torque?” A pegasus popped her head up from over the dressing screen.

Torque stopped in her tracks and looked up at the teal pegasus. I’m busted… Torque thought.

Kerfuffle, who was hovering above the dressing screen, looked at Torque with tired eyes.

“I didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?” Torque asked, her words being muddled through the handle of the box in her mouth. She was hoping that the answer wasn’t going to be ‘no’.

“Oh nonono… You’re completely fine!” Kerfuffle said, gliding down from the dressing screen. She appeared from the other end, limping. Suddenly, Kerfuffle lost her footing and slipped.

Torque spat out the box and dove to catch Kerfuffle before she hit the ground. Kerfuffle had regained her balance just in time, using her wings to counter her fall. Immediately after, she glided towards the nearest chair and sat on her haunches. “Apologies, Torque.”

“No. It’s my fault.” Torque said, glancing at Kerfluffle’s missing appendage. “Sorry about snapping your peg leg the other day, if I didn’t insist you help me at the shop, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Pfft!” Kerfuffle waved a hoof. “It’s alright, Torque. It happens… I just got to wait until the new one arrives!”

“Well, you see, that’s funny, because…” She picked the box back up and then approached Kerfuffle. Setting the box as near as she could, her eyes quickly caught a glance of Kerfuffle’s nub. “I have a little bit of a surprise for you.”

She opened the latches of the box, and immediately, the gleam from the metal met both of the mare’s eyes.

“What-What’s this?” Kerfuffle asked.

Torque caught a slight hint of excitement in her friend’s voice. She’d almost missed her friend’s expression if she didn’t sneak a glance: Kerfuffle had her hooves to her muzzle, tears coming into her eyes. “You-you shouldn’t have!”

“All in a day’s work,” Torque said with faux-modesty. “Titanium prosthetic, almost an exact replica of your wooden one.”

“And here I thought you were being a little cryptic insisting you keep the peg leg” Kerfuffle said, elbowing her.

“Well, I think this answers your question,” Torque said. “Try it on!”

Like a foal opening a Hearth’s warming present, she took the titanium joint and fitted it onto her amputated leg. As she finished, she winced.

“Metal still a little too hot?” Torque asked. I should’ve checked…

“No, it’s… erm…” Kerfuffle stared at Torque, her mouth hanging open for a moment. “Uhm… tight?”

Torque face-hoofed. “Of course! Metal expands when heated! Why didn’t I remember that when I was making the measurements!?” She held her hooves up. “Sorry, Kerfuffle, but I’ll have to redo this.”

“Nono.” Kerfuffle held the prosthetic carefully, still fiddling with it, she carefully wedged it and smiled. “It fits! No need!”

“That can’t possibly be good for you.” Torque motioned like a mother trying to get her foal to spit out a cookie. “You’ll cut off circulation.”

Kerfuffle sighed as she took off the leg and placed it in Torque’s hooves.

“Sorry to get your hopes up, hopefully I’ll be able to get it adjusted by tomorrow.” Torque placed the prosthetic back in the insulation and then closed it, clicking the latches back on, before proceeding towards the door.

“W-wait!” Kerfuffle said.

Torque spun around, right as Kerfuffle came limping over to her. She embraced her. “Thank you. Truly. Even if it doesn’t fit, thank you for thinking of me.”

“Anytime!” Torque said. She took another couple steps before Kerfuffle interrupted her again.

“WAIT!”

“What now?” Torque chuckled.

“Can I watch you weld?” Kerfuffle asked.

“Not sure if that’s a good idea…”

“Maybe I can be of some help! OH! I know! I can hold the torch for you… or I can―”

Torque had stuffed a hoof over Kerfuffle’s mouth. With a gleam in her eye, she said, “Sure! Let’s go!”

Comments

[Fable Caster]

Fun bite-sized little fic. Not sure where the romance is hidden, though...

[PinoyPony]

10822679
You are right about that. I guess I was in a hurry to get this story up I'm still a newbie at shipping, so best I can do at this point is platonic. I guess it has to be read in between the lines. I will remove the 'Romance' tag just to be safe from misleading

Glad you enjoyed though!

[Trick Question]

It's sad the Writeoff has dwindled this much. When I had my falling out it was still well-attended.

Maybe I'll see if I can drum up some support for the next ponefic contest.

[SparklingTwilight]

For the Comment Club round that you entered!
(https://www.fimfiction.net/group/215930/comment-club/thread/486333/luna-slate-x-comment-period-2021-dec-23-30):

The first sentence is a greatly evocative one! It was a bold choice to address a technical topic. That choice distinguishes this story from many others and provides an opportunity for readers to learn, which is a good thing. This story is a very straightforward slice of life piece. Many readers here love this type of story, but I do not particularly enjoy this genre. However, I hope to be helpful! I think you were trying to evoke an idea or a mood--this story succeeded at that. The story shows the outcome of a mistake, an apology and the blooming of a collaborative "sparking" friendship (e.g. the wordplay-filled chapter title: "Sparks Flying"). I would have preferred the story to travel somewhere beyond its conclusion, but it accomplishes what I think is its goal!

Obviously, this story was well received. However, I have some concerns I am sharing due to the club and I hope they are helpful. Throughout, there are some slightly odd grammatical and stylistic choices that make it a little difficult to read:

• "The figure"--> I suggest "A figure" or "A shrouded figure", or, even better, something that evokes a larger image: "A figure with the broad outlines of a pegasus pony". I suggest this because "THE" figure pops out of nowhere since it has not yet been introduced.
• Does welding involve UV (ultraviolet) light?

• the incendiary of molten metal creating the

  - molten metal "melding" perhaps?
  - I am not sure "incendiary" is the appropriate word here.

• Farthest she’d gone

  This sentence start is abrupt. It can work with some stylistic stories but I don't think it works here. I recommend to start with "The".

• lifted the hood

  Maybe: "lifted her hood" for this instance and several others.

• sub-par to it

  end with "sub-par" OR "inferior to it".

[daOtterGuy]

Howdy, hi!

This was a fun short story. The opening scene in the forge was especially potent and strong in its imagery. Really sets the atmosphere and draws the reader in. I love the back and forth between Kerfuffle and Torque, the borderline romantic undertones to the whole story were absolutely fantastic. It was a short, sweet, heartfelt fic and brought a smile to my face.

Honestly, I was having a down day and this just really cheered me up with how cute it was. Really brightened my mood from "meh" to "yay".

Thank you so much for the read~!

[Bicyclette]

It was like speaking another language. One that had the same concepts, roots, and principles, yet obeyed them in a different, intuitive way.

i really liked this line! likening different aspects of a specialty to "speaking another language" seems to be something that i've seen pop up a lot when people talk about their fields of expertise, so lines like this really gave that first section a feeling of verisimilitude.

the second section was a nice little moment of connection between the two characters, with the bit of back-and-forth on Kerfuffle insisting that the leg is fine despite the bad fit. it definitely feels more like a friend-ship in this little slice we get to see, so removing the "Romance" tag was wise, i think!

[PinoyPony]

As always, thank you all for your wonderful comments!

11098845

Thank you for the helpful advice! I’m at a weird spot where I’ve been advised to step back and observe how other writers do it. As you can tell by my less than adequate writing, I need a whole lotta practice. For the time being, I'll get to fixing those grammatical errors.

To answer your question, Yes, UV light is a part of welding, but not in the convention of an ingredient sense, but more of a by-product. A common warning for new welders is ‘don’t stare directly at the pretty blue light’. I’ve had friends of mine get UV burns in their eyes. From what they say, it feels like sand in your eyes. Not only that, but without long-sleeved shirts or long pants, you can end up with tans or sunburns.

11100980

Good to hear that it helped brighten up your day!

11101241

Glad you enjoyed also!

Yep, I jumped the gun and guessed wrong when adding the ‘Romance’ Tag. Still learning about shipping, but the best I can do for now is friend-shipping. I’ll get there eventually!

[SparklingTwilight]

11102469
Thank you for the educational information concerning welding!
(I just noticed your bio mentions that you are studying metallurgy! It is a great idea to write about your expertise).