//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: Feather Steel // by Cold Spike //------------------------------// Feather watched in shock as Scootaloo made her way to a nearby hammock and laid down in it. After a few moments, she turned to look at him. After staring for a moment, the orange filly looked away, idly examining a spot somewhere on the wall. “Sorry about earlier.”   The colt watched her carefully. He was still wary of the pegasus, even though the only thing she was doing was flapping her wings to lightly rock the hammock she occupied. “What do you mean, you’re sorry?”  Though, as noncommittal as her apology sounded, she may as well have been commenting on the weather. He glanced back at the door, checking to see if there was anypony else nearby; there wasn’t. I shouldn’t complain, but what is she doing out here alone? She glanced at him then rolled onto her back, shifting her gaze to the ceiling. “I shouldn’t have freaked out about your wing. I’m sorry.” Feather reached towards his saddlebags and pulled them closer to him. What does she want? Should I run? She has both wings, I’d never get away if she flew after me.  He looked towards the door, it was so close, but still too far. And beyond that, there was nothing but sprawling orchards. A sudden spark of curiosity made the colt ask a sudden, but obvious question. “What the hay are you doing here, anyway?” She turned towards him and gave him a little smirk. Then she stuck her tongue out. It was not a look the colt liked having directed at him. “Duh, I’m doing the same thing you are.”  The smirk faded and she sighed softly. An orange-furred hoof pointed at the ladder leading to the clubhouse’s second level. “There’s another hammock up in the tower, I can help you set it up. It’ll be nice to have some company for a change.” “You’re staying here? But, why? Aren’t there-”  Feather’s eyes went wide as he put everything together; why she was so far outside of town on her own yesterday, why she seemed to be alone at the party, and her presence here. “You’re an orphan too.” Scootaloo gasped dramatically, pressing her hooves against her face. “Oh, no! I am? What gave it away, the lack of parents, or the fact that I’m sleeping in my best friend’s treehouse?” The colt groaned. She’s just gotta be a comedian. He opened the old saddlebag that held his broken parts. At least I don’t have to worry about her turning me in. He sighed and looked out the window. Where he was expecting to see the moon, he saw the silhouette of a pony, a silhouette with a little princess crown atop its head. His lips pulled back in an expression of tired loathing as he dropped his head to his hooves. I hate this town. The silhouette gasped and scrambled away from the window, creating a good deal of noise, and scaring a certain pegasus filly straight out of her cot. “What was that?!”  Scootaloo crouched low to the ground, wings flared in aggression as she looked left and right for the source of the sound. Feather just dug into the bag, looking for any parts he could repair, and forcing himself to ignore the ponies around him. “Diamond Tiara’s standing outside the window.”  He frowned at the little bent gears as Scootaloo rushed out the door. It was going to take all his willpower, but he was going to focus on his repairs and try to get something done. Those two seem like they hate each other, if I just let them fight it out, they may leave me alone. I wonder if there’s somewhere in town where I can get a hammer and a good sturdy block? A moment later, the door burst open and the two fillies rolled into the clubhouse, pulling and tugging at each other’s mane and tails. “It would be worth carrying the extra weight if I could find a dapping block and a jeweler’s hammer. I wonder if I’ll have enough bits left after getting the carrier shaft customized?”  Feather dug around some more as the two fillies fought. “They sure are noisy.”  He wasn’t used to being around other ponies, let alone working around them. The colt picked up a small metal coil, bit down on one end, and tugged on the other with his hooves. It stretched, then snapped in the middle, sending half of the coil skittering across the floorboards, and lashing the colt’s lip with the other half. “So, the springs are completely shot, but I can sell the copper ones as scrap. That’ll give me a few more bits to work with, but I have to test each one.”  The colt rubbed at his stinging lip with a hoof. “Not looking forward to that.”         “Ha! Gotcha!”  Feather looked up, expecting the earth pony filly to have overpowered the slightly smaller pegasus, but it turned out to be the other way around. Scootaloo had Tiara pinned and was sitting on her back, pulling on one of the earth pony’s legs. “The Scoots wins! Say it!” Diamond Tiara wasn’t about to give up so easily. “Never!”  She struggled against Scootaloo’s weight, letting out a small yelp when the pegasus pulled even harder on her leg. “I still won’t say it!” Feather groaned as the two fought. “Are you two trying to get us caught?”  They both stopped and looked at him. He sighed and went back to sorting through the parts. They were far enough from everything that it didn’t matter how much noise they made, but Feather wanted to focus on his repairs. He found some set screws that were dinged. “I have a tap and die, if I can find a way to clamp these down, I can fix them.”   He looked up to see both fillies glaring at him. He gulped loudly. “What do they want?” “I want to know,” they demanded in unison, “why is she here?” “Is that all?”  The colt breathed a sigh of relief. “One of you lives here, the other likes to snoop. I’m surprised you couldn’t figure that out for yourselves. Now if you don’t mind, I’m a little busy here.”  He went back to looking for a way to make a vise. “I don’t think these two will turn me in, but I’m going to have to be careful that they don’t find out about-”  His line of thought was derailed by Diamond Tiara stepping forward until she was standing snout to snout with him. “So where’s the flying machine?”  It was a demand, not a question, and it came in a tone that suggested that she was used to getting her way. “I want to see it.”         The colt’s heart nearly stopped beating. “What?! How did she know?!”  He started stammering. “W-what makes you think I have a- a flying machine?”  His sputtering words weren’t going to convince anypony of anything, but he was completely blindsided by the pink filly’s question.         “Hmph!”  Diamond Tiara stepped away from him and pulled a folded piece of paper from behind her namesake headpiece. She unfolded it and started reading from it. “It is almost complete, the machine I have designed has consumed all I give it, but it will one day bring flight to those who seek it. It is so close.”  She folded the paper back up. “If that’s not a flying machine, I don’t know what is.”         “Th-that paper.”  Anger poured over Feather. She had part of his father’s journal. He stomped against the floor as rose to his hooves. “That’s mine! Give it back!”         He was about to advance on Tiara when she was tackled by an orange blur. Scootaloo pinned the earth pony, holding her down with her back against the floor. “I knew you were no good, but I didn’t expect you to stoop to theft.”          Tiara glared defiantly back up at the pegasus. “Double standard much? Or do you not know everything about your new colt-friend?” Scootaloo pushed the earth pony harder into the floor. “Shut up! And he’s not my colt-friend.” Diamond Tiara grunted as she struggled against the pegasus. “Then you really don’t know?”  She freed a hoof and reached up to her tiara. She pulled a broken gear out from behind it. Scootaloo scoffed at it. “What, you had to resort to stealing broken parts? You are low.” “I didn’t steal it,” she shoved at the pegasus again, but failed to dislodge her. “He dropped it.” “I was there,” Scootaloo scolded, “he dropped a lot of things, why didn’t you give it back?” Tiara smirked at the pegasus. “Because he dropped this one in my kitchen sometime last night.”  Scootaloo gasped, and Tiara took advantage of the pegasus’ surprise to kick her off. The earth pony stood up and dusted herself off. Then she tossed the gear towards Feather, who was sitting stock-still and staring at them. “I hope you enjoyed my Mallow-Puffs.” “She knew?!”  Feather looked down at the gear that landed in front of him, falling to his hooves like his plans. “What do I do? What can I say? What if they turn me in? How far can I run before I get caught?”  He looked up at Scootaloo. “This has to be from the party, you saw everything that spilled, right?”  It was a desperate lie, but it was all Feather had. “She’ll take my side, right? She’s an orphan too, she has to!” The pegasus stared at him for several long seconds. It felt like forever before she opened her mouth to speak, and the words that came out shook him to the core. “Open your bag, Feather.” A faint gasp escaped his lips. He didn’t know why he was surprised, even if they hated each other, Scootaloo had known Tiara for far longer than she knew him. “But, I-” Scootaloo stomped her hoof. “Just do it!” He stared into the purple eyes of his fellow orphan for a moment. She looked like she was about as ready to cry as he was. “Fine.”  He undid the top of his oversized saddlebag and lifted it from the bottom. His device, his notes, twelve bits, and various food items fell out onto the floor. The last thing that fell out was a crushed box of Mallow-Puffs. “I’m a thief. I steal food if have to, sometimes I’ll steal maps, and sometimes medicine. I take what I need to live. I didn’t take anything else; these bits are mine, I earned them.”  He almost laughed then. What was he so upset for? Nothing had changed, he was never welcome anywhere before, why should this be any different? He started stuffing everything back into the saddlebag, leaving the stolen food where it fell. “Go on then, go tell the guard, tell your parents. I’ll be long gone by the time they get here.”         Diamond Tiara stepped forward, and gave the crumpled cardboard box a light kick. It was completely empty. She smiled as she looked up at Feather. “I can get you more.”         Feather’s mind blanked. “What?”  He was expecting anger, maybe even pity, but he wasn’t prepared for this, whatever this was.         Tiara pointed at the cereal box with a hoof. “I’m guessing you liked this, the box was nearly full yesterday. I can get you more of it.”         Feather didn’t respond, but Scootaloo did. “Why? Why would you, of all ponies, do that?”         “I want to see this flying machine.”  Tiara crossed her hooves. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work right now, or you wouldn’t have blown up when Frail-Feathers here freaked out over your wing.”  Scootaloo gasped and opened her mouth to say something, most likely over the insult, but the earth pony kept talking. “He said he doesn’t want pity, so he’s not gonna get any from me. What he will get is whatever he needs to get the flying machine working.”  She picked up the piece of paper from where it had fallen during her fight with Scootaloo. “These pictures are blueprints of some kind, aren’t they? I don’t have a clue what they mean, but I’m willing to bet you do.”  She held the paper out to him.         “Yes, but they aren’t finished.”  He took the paper and looked at it. “I’ve been working on it for so long, but I don’t know how long it will take to finish. I also don’t know how you expect to help.”         She smirked. It struck Feather as something he didn’t really want to see very often. “I have three weeks worth of allowance saved up, a total of ninety bits. Plus, as much food as I can sneak away.”         “Ninety bits, and food?!”  Feather didn’t like to think that he could be bought, but that was a very tempting price. That much money could go a long way, maybe even far enough to finish his repairs. He looked over at Scootaloo. “But you’re going to turn me in, aren’t you?”         “Oh, I doubt that,” said Tiara, “but I’ll let her explain. I have to get home before Daddy finds out I’m not in bed.”  She turned and walked out out the door, pausing only once. “See you blank-flanks later.” Feather looked over at Scootaloo. “What did she mean by that?”  He noticed that she seemed upset. He couldn’t tell if she was angry or sad, so he just assumed she was both.         The orange filly took the paper from Feather. “Can your machine really help a pony fly?”         “But you have both your wings.”  Feather picked up his saddlebag. “Why do you care?”         “Why do you think I ride around on a scooter? I can’t fly, my parents didn't get to teach me before-”  She stopped suddenly and studied the blueprint over, as if trying to discern what it meant. She gave up after a few seconds and gave it handed it back to him with a sigh. “Well, I‘m basically living here, aren’t I? You can probably guess what happened.”         “Looks like you’re going to be disappointed, then.”  He took his device out of the saddlebag. “This thing can’t just help anypony; it was designed specifically for me.”         Scootaloo stared at the metallic half-disc shape. She had just seen it when Feather dumped out his saddlebag, but she didn’t realize that it was the flying machine. She was also pretty sure that Diamond Tiara didn’t realize it either. “It seems a little small.”  Feather extended his wing, blue feathers longer than Scootaloo’s wings, stretching out beside him. Then he pulled on the side of his device, extending the retractable metal wing contained within. Once the steel feathers locked in place, it made a perfect wing a little smaller than his real one. “Oh,” she breathed in wonder. “Will that even work?”         “I don’t know, but it’s all I have.”  Feather folded the mechanical wing back up into the body of the device. He stuffed it back into his saddlebag and sat there, staring at the floor. He found himself calming down from the frantic emotions of a few moments ago, and also found himself wondering about the pegasus filly. “How do you do it? How do you let yourself get close to other ponies, knowing that any of them could turn you in at any time?” “Um,” she tilted her head to the side, “what do you mean?”         “I mean how is it that nopony in this town has noticed your, um,” he gestured at the clubhouse around them, “status? I mean, this place is crazy, you saw how everypony acted at the party. I’ve never seen adults that curious. Hay, the way things went, I’m almost surprised that only two ponies found out my secret.”         “You and Diamond Tiara are the first ponies to find out mine."  She looked towards the door that the earth pony left through. “Why she’s so interested in a flying machine is beyond me. Her dad would probably buy her a hot air balloon if she asked, but at least she’s not telling. It’s kind of funny that I caught you though...” She trailed off and started giggling.         “This is serious!” He stomped one of his hooves down to get her attention, it worked. “There is a town out there filled with adults who want nothing more than to,” he put his hooves up and made air quotes, “help us.”  He put his hooves down and took a step towards her. “Do you know what happens when adults get too helpful?”         She gulped and slowly shook her head. True, she had some ideas, and while none of them seemed pleasant, none of the possibilities warranted Feather’s sudden anger.         “I’ll tell you what happens.”  He took another step towards Scootaloo, and she stepped back. “The first thing they do is tell you that everything’s going to be all right, a bold, shameless lie! They want nothing more than to take you, rip away your freedom, and toss you in an orphanage. Game over! Now, I don’t know what kind of life that you’re living here, but judging from your happy little attitude, I’m going to go ahead and guess that you want to keep on living it?” She hesitantly nodded and he continued. “Good, cause you know what? I would very much like to continue living how I’m living now. I need to fix that damn device, and that’s not going to happen from the inside of an orphanage. I have a chance to fly, a chance to be whole again, and they’ll take that away. Then, they’ll try to help me cope. I’m not gonna let that happen, you got that?!”         Scootaloo backed away from him, confused and scared of both Feather and the possibility of being forced from life as she knew it.         The colt just stood there, breathing in angry huffs as the adrenaline-fueled outburst melted from his body. All of his recent failures, all his mistakes in town, and all the stress he had been building up had come pouring out, and they all landed on Scootaloo. “S-Scootaloo?”         She looked ready to cry.         He lowered his head and swallowed loudly. He didn’t mean to do that. He was just stressed, and now, his outburst probably cost him one of the only allies he had in this town. “I-  I’m sorry, I-”         Scootaloo’s expression shifted to anger in a split-second. “You’re sorry?!”  She advanced on him, making him back up. “Do you think you have the only sad story in this world? Do you think anypony else has anything less to lose than you do?! I’m terrified of what would happen if I got taken away from my friends, but you don’t see me yelling at you about it! No, I’m out there everyday, living like it’s the last time I’ll see the sun. I live here, this is my town! I don’t need some hot-headed colt to come in and mess it all up!”  Feather’s flank bumped into the far wall and Scootaloo shoved a hoof into his chest. “You want my help? You want to use my clubhouse? You want to live in my town?”         He nodded slowly.         She leaned towards him and whispered, “Then you play by my rules.”         Feather gulped as Scootaloo walked away from him and sat down. “I know you have a lot to lose.”  She looked back at him, but didn’t move from her spot. “I know because I’m the same, but I have so little left, that I’m that much closer to losing everything. I don’t have any friends to be taken away from, I don’t have a town to call home; everypony I meet is one more chance that I get turned in, everypony that learns my secret is one more chance that I’ll end up grounded for life.”  He looked over at his saddlebag, at the gleaming metal poking out of it. “I am alone, and I have to stay that way.”         Scootaloo looked away from him. “You can’t.”         He let out a mocking laugh. “Why not?”         She turned to face him. “Because you’re not alone.”  Feather turned his head to look back at her. “I’m here, aren’t I? And even Diamond Tiara. We both have our own reasons, but we both want to help you. Even though I’m having trouble believing her.”         Feather shook his head. “Why would you still want to help me?”         Scootaloo shrugged. “Somepony’s gotta keep an eye on you. If you keep stealing stuff, ponies’ll get edgy, and that could cause problems for me.”         He sighed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but if you don’t steal, how do you eat?”         “Ah!”  Scootaloo dove for a pile of junk in the corner of the clubhouse. Feather groaned as she dug around, tossing items back and forth. She shoved something big, causing a loud crash. “Stupid vacuum cleaner. Ew! Now I’m covered in tree sap!” Feather shook his head in confusion as she resumed her rummaging. “Why do you have a vacuum cleaner, and why is it covered in-”         WHACK!! Something smacked feather in the snout. To his surprise, it stayed there. He reached up and tried to pull it off, but it ripped, leaving a good chunk of whatever it was, stuck to his nose.         Feather glared at the sticky item in his hoof. It was a newspaper, dated yesterday and covered in tree sap. He sighed and looked up at Scootaloo. “Please tell me you’re going somewhere with this.”         She smiled at him and hopped up on a nearby box, striking a pose. “You’re looking at the fastest paper delivery filly this town’s ever seen. With my scooter at hoof, Ponyville doesn’t have to wait more than five minutes for its morning paper!”  She hopped down from her perch and took the paper from Feather, tearing it further. “It doesn't pay much, but it’s enough to get by. Plus, I sometimes get food for free, but that’s another story.” She tossed what was left of the paper back in the pile.         “So, you have a job?”  He tried to remove the torn bits of paper from his hoof, but only succeeded in getting his hooves stuck together. “How did you manage that without parents?”         She glanced over at him before hopping into her hammock. “To be honest I’m not entirely sure, I have had suspicions though...”         “Suspicions? What kind of suspicions?!” He ran up to her, fearing the implications of her words, but she leaned back in the hammock and started rocking, keeping him from getting too close.         “Will you relax? Geeze!”  She let the hammock slow to a stop and sighed. “I got this paper route from Apple Bloom. She had been bugging her folks, well, her brother and sister, for a job of her own, but she couldn’t handle most of the tasks around the farm, so they started selling subscriptions to the Canterlot Gazette. Apple Bloom would deliver them everyday before school, but as she started helping around the farm more, I started helping her. After a while, I ended up taking over full time, but the Apple family keeps buying the papers for me to deliver. I pay them out of the subscription fees I collect, but I don’t see why they haven’t stopped yet.”         Feather sat down near his bags, being careful not to get any sap on them. “You think they know?”         “Hmm.”  She swung the hammock again, a little slower this time. “I’m not sure. Maybe they’re just being nice, but I’ve suspected a few ponies might know about me. That or they suspect,” she let out a yawn, “but  they don’t know how to confirm their suspicions without just asking me. Like Pinkie, she’s never asked before but always acts odd around me.”         Feather groaned. “Define odd.”         “I dunno, just kind of, nice? I guess?”  Scootaloo yawned. “She’s nice to everypony, but wow, can she cook.” “I’ll have to avoid her, anypony else-  Wait, cook?”  There was no answer, and the colt looked up. “Scootaloo? What do you mean cook?”  She still didn’t answer. He got up and walked over to the hammock. “If you’re ignoring me, I’ll-”  As he got closer, he started to hear snoring, faint and quiet, but still there. “Really?”  He sighed and went back to his saddlebags. As he sat down to get back to work, something caught his eye. There was a blanket in the junk pile. With a sigh, he got up, took it, and threw it over the sleeping pegasus. “Good night.”  He turned to walk away, but his sap-covered hoof caught on the blanket, ripping off a large portion of cloth. “Oh, she’s gonna kill me.”