//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: For the Love of... 
// by themouthofmush 
//------------------------------//

	It was an usual day in Ponyville; the skies were clear with a few clouds here and there, the birds were chirping, the fillies and colts were either in school or playing outside, stallions and mares were busy going about their regular day lives.
The only thing that was amiss throughout the town was the town’s clock tower. Unlike most days, it wasn’t running at all. None of the ponies in town really looked or paid much attention to it unless they really have to, so it wasn’t really noticed by any pony, except for maybe a few.
“Come on. Just a bit more.”
“That’s it. Keep going.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re stronger than me.”
“And you have a bigger reach.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Oh, stop chatting and lets finish this!”
“On the count of three. One…”
“…two…”
“…THREE!”
The two stallions pushed the last gear into place, finally finishing the “easy” job of theirs. With their task over, both of them collapsed onto the floor.
“Seriously, Turner,” the younger pony said while panting, “how was…that an easy…job…Oh Celestia, you’re lucky…I’m too tired to hurt you.”
The older pony, Time Turner, looked at his young assistant with a smirk. “Where’s that youthful energy and strength you talked about when we started?”
“It flew out the window…three ridiculously big gears ago.”
Turner placed a hoof over his mouth to stifle a laugh, but it failed.
“I find it funny that I’m older than you by quite a few years, yet you’re the one who’s tired.”
Giz glared at his mentor, “Not all of us have earth pony resilience, you know.”
Turner sighed. “Leave it to a Pegasus to complain about hard work.”
In a blink of an eye, Giz was inches away from Turner’s muzzle. “Since when is playing around in the dirt hard work?” he snarled.
Turner glared back. “Since as long as lounging on a cloud has been considered ‘working’.”
“Hey! If it wasn’t for us Pegasi ‘lounging on a cloud’,” Giz remarked, “you earth ponies wouldn’t have any reliable rain for your crops!”
Turner pressed his muzzle against Giz’s. “And if it wasn’t for our crops, you Pegasi would starve!”
“Take that back!”
“You first!”
Both stallions were locked in a heated gaze for what felt like hours, that was actually a few minutes. The tension in the room was so thick; it was as if a fog bank was settling in.
Giz slowed moved his right foreleg, causing Turner to flinch a little bit but keeping his whole body rooted to the spot. Giz raises his hoof above both of them, holds it there for a second, lowers it quickly, and then…runs it through his short, messy dark brown mane.
“Looks like you win this time Turner.”
“You nearly won yourself, my boy,” Turner replied with a smile.
“Anyways,” Giz said while looking at the mass of gears that made up most of the clock tower’s machinery. “Are we done yet?”
“Not just yet. All that’s left is to spin the last gear and that’s that.” Turner replied in a matter of fact tone.
Giz looked upon his mentor with a quizzical look. “Uh, Turner, last I checked, the largest gear weighs a whole lot. It isn’t going to be easy to move.”
A grin started to slowly crawl its way across Turner’s face. “Oh, we aren’t going to move it ourselves. It’s going to move soon enough.”
Giz looked from the machinery, to Turner, and back.
“Okay, I give up. How the buck are we go-“
CLICK CLACK VOOSH crankcrankcrankcrankcrank…
In a blink of an eye, the quiet room was filled with the clanks of the clock’s gears slowly moving and the mechanism coming to life that Giz was baffled by the instantaneous change. He looked among all the pieces to see any indication of how the machinery started up.
Feeling something on his shoulder, Giz turned his head and saw Turner’s hoof.
“Come on. Let’s tell the mayor that the job’s done,” he said sing-song.
“But...but…how-“
“Oh, that? I started it back up.”
Giz gave the elder stallion a wide-eyed expression. “You!? But…but how!?”
A goofy grin came upon Turner’s face as a small snicker escaped his lips. “Don’t try to over-think it, my boy. All I did was use this.”
Taking a step to the side, Turner revealed a small lever sticking out of the floor.
Letting out a groan, Giz smacked his forehead.
“Yeah…let’s…let’s just go already,” he said with a sigh.
“Now, now. There’s no reason to get your saddle in a twist Gear Sprocket,” Turner said as he neared the exit. “I know, why don’t I treat you to lunch at the restaurant not too far from here?”
After not getting a reply as quickly as he had hoped, Turner turned, no pun intended, around and saw Giz putting a few of his tools back into his saddlebags.
With the last of his tools away, Giz gave Turner a quick “Sure” on his way towards his mentor and the exit.
Turner smiled and clapped his hooves together. “Splendid! Let’s report to the mayor first. Then, we’ll go and eat. Hopefully Sparkler is working right now. It’s been a while since we’ve last talked and I’d like to catch up.”
“S-S-Spark-k-kler w-works th-ther-re?”
“I think so. Ditzy mentioned something about her sister getting a job as a waitress at a restaurant near town hall. Why? Is it a bad thing if she works there?”
“W-what!? N-no. It’s a good thing she works there. It seems like a good place. They’re lucky to have such an incredible mare working there.”
Turner looked at Giz with a raised eyebrow.
“I know she’s incredible, but I don’t see what that has to do wi-“
It was then that Turner noticed something was Giz’s appearance. There seemed to be a fain twinkle in his eyes since their most recent conversation, his cheeks seemed a little bit more red than their usual reddish-brown, and he seemed to be lost in some sort of pleasing trance, evident by his blank stare and goofy smile.
Turner was lost for a couple of seconds until he pieced all of Giz’s reactions together and letting out a chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Giz asked.
“Oh, nothing nothing.” Turner said as he opened the exit door. “Come on Giz.”
“Uh, sure thing Turner.”
Right on his way out of the exit, Giz abruptly stopped halfway through.
“Turner…”
“Yes Giz?” Turner asked, tilting his head a bit.
“I just thought I should let you know…”
“Know what?” Turner asked while showing signs of both intrigue and worry.
Don’t tell me he’s going to say what I think he’ll say.
Giz let out a sigh. “The thing is,” he said before turning around and revealing a sheepish smile, “that I really didn’t eat breakfast this morning; so, I’m starving.” He then gave a nervous laugh while rubbing his mane.
Turner didn’t react at all for a few moments, causing Giz to get nervous.
I should have guessed he might react this way since he knows how much I eat when I’m starving.
Not being able to stand the silence any longer, Giz opened his mouth to apologize but Turner cut him off with a sigh of relief.
“Oh, is that all? I thought it would be something serious.”
“But you know how-“
“Yes yes. I know you’re worried about me spending too much, but it’s alright.”
“You sure?”
Turner placed his hoof on Giz’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. “Yes, since the amount spent on you will come out of your cut for this job.”
Giz opened his mouth to protest, but closed it soon after and sighed.
“Seems fair enough.”
Turner’s smile grew as he removed his hoof.
“Well, let’s get going. The sooner we report in, the sooner we get lunch.”
“And the sooner we get to see Amey!” Giz said a little too quickly as he galloped straight for the Mayor’s office.
Turner shook his head a little and looked at the young stallion.
“Is this what ponies look like when they’re in love? Or is it just him?”
Turner shrugged and raced off after his assistant, letting the door close by itself.