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// 9: Everything is Fine 
// Story: Crossed Gears 
// by TheFoxern 
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	What exactly was a mother? He wasn't entirely sure and had never been sure. There were vague memories of somepony who was a mother but those were long ago. It felt longer than he could imagine. A smudged face in his mind. A feeling of warmth. The feeling of comfort. Of safety. But was that what a mother was? If so, then she was his mother. That was how he felt now. Warm, comfortable and safe. If only he could stop crying. “You have done so much.” Her voice was so soft. So soothing. Comforting. “My little foal...so young...”

He tried to speak but words were hard. Everything was hard. It was hard to move, to think, to breath. Everything hurt in a way that he had never felt. “I-” was all he managed before it caught and he could manage no more.

“You have matured so much.” Every word made everything feel better in some part of his head. “But you are still so young...” She kissed his forehead softly, before resting hers against his. “And you have a fever...”

Sick. Of course he was sick. He could not remember ever being sick before. Perhaps a slight cold but never this bad. He felt as though he were dying. Maybe he would die. Death at this point would be welcome to get away from this pain. “What do I do?” His voice was faint.

“You must rest...you will get better. I will not let Him take you.” With every word he felt stronger. “My little foal...you have taken the world on your back in an attempt to please others...you must think of yourself.”

“Too much to do,” he muttered, his eyes closing for a moment but then opened again. He was fairly certain he blacked out for a second.

Her eyes held him there. “You do too much. You have the world convinced otherwise, but you are still a foal...”

That hurt. It hurt his pride. It hurt his mind. It hurt everything more than he thought anything could. But she was right. Some ponies would still call him a foal, though it had been a year since he had passed out of that age. What he had been through had worn on him when he was younger. He had grown quickly with and without choice, maturing faster than any would guess. But it was out of necessity. Nopony would take somepony so young seriously. So he made himself older, by action and appearance. It wasn't terribly hard. “I...I'm hungry...” It was all he could manage to say. The walls inside him had crumbled.

The smile was so soft and so warm that it ate away at his pain. “Then you must eat.”

It was basic, the food provided. Hay and grass. He wondered where she had gotten it at first but when he had the chance to look around, he found they were in a large cave which looked as though it was well lived in. Pools of water glowed and bubbled with heat. There were several gardens and lots of grass growing down here. Now he got a better look at himself as well. She had gone overboard with bandages. “I'm so tired...” he mumbled, chewing slowly on the grass. His head would not lift and so he had rested it on his leg to get it off the ground enough to actually eat.

She did not leave his side. Caring for him. Tending to him. It was a tad suffocating. “Do you need any more?”

He had not even finished what he had and shook his head slightly. He felt pathetic, laying on the ground, barely able to chew and still unable to stop crying. Unable to move his right leg. He knew something was wrong with it, even with the magic over it. She had cast something over it, for some reason or another. At least his mind was still working decently. But there was the feeling, once again, that he was...broken. But in a good way? “No,” he managed to say softly, after catching the anxious look on her face.

She relaxed and smiled as she laid down beside him. “Everything will be fine, my dear.” It was odd that such a gentle nuzzling could make him actually believe it.

Everything will be fine. It could all be fine, couldn't it? He would just...go back and find that everything is fine. Celestia is back on her hooves and ruling once more. Sombra was defeated without his help. Madam Raven and Don Burrasca were beaten by Gilda and Pots. He didn't have any uncontrollable powers. And Chrysalis loved him and they could live peacefully. Was that the kind of world he was striving for? He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. It hurt to breath. “Where are we, mother?” The last word came out without any provocation, or previous thought.

“We are below my castle,” she said, moving closer to him. She was cold, but with the way Copper felt, he was sure anypony would be cold. “Or...what is left of my castle.”

For the first time, she was not looking at him. She was instead staring at the ceiling. “I broke it.” It was obvious. In his wrath, he must have destroyed the castle, along with everything around.

“Not on purpose.” No, it wasn't on purpose. “You do not have control and that...that woman.” For the first time, her tone was unpleasant, but that soon faded. “She is not welcome in my halls any longer.”

There was a silence that fell upon them. Copper filled it with chewing and attempting to eat. His eyes were continuously drawn to his leg. Finally he managed to ask, “How bad is it?”

She blinked and it took her some time to figure out what he was talking about. But her face sank slightly as she saw it. “It...” She thought a few seconds and then cleared her throat. “I am afraid...that...” Another bit of hesitation. “If you had more practice...more control...then perhaps you could have managed it...but...” She shifted and unwrapped his leg.

It was cracked. Black cracks ran in jagged patterns up and down his leg. The air caused it to burn along the ragged lines. They appeared to seep deep into his leg. They both stared at it and as they did, it seemed to crackle down the ravines. “It hurts,” was all he could manage to say.

Quickly it was wrapped and whatever spells she had cast upon it were put back into place. “It is magic meant to do more than kill...but it could not take hold of more than your leg with the sheer force of your own...” She kissed his leg gently and as she did, touched her horn to it. 

It burned a bit before the pain faded. But if pain was all it could do he could handle that. Pain was something he could deal with. Or at least he hoped that he could. There was doubt burning within him. “Perhaps...Twilight...” It was the only pony he could think of. The closest. “Or...or Celestia...Luna...” He slumped down and into her.

“You are in no condition to go anywhere.” Her tone was stern now, but Copper was only vaguely aware of it.

“She will know. They...somepony will know what to do.” Resolve. The pain was nothing now compared to the fear inside him. He tried to drag himself up.

“You lay down.” She was over him, keeping him firmly down. “You can't go anywhere in this state, you need-”

“I will not be a cripple!” He had not meant to shout but that is how it came out. He forced himself to his hooves. Three of the four. The one would not move no matter how hard he tried. “A wing is one thing,” fear, “I can live with a wing. I will not lose my leg,” so much fear, “I will not-” he slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. The thought of it was...unbearable. He would be useless. He could not be useless. He would not be useless. “I don't want to be useless.” The tears had redoubled their efforts and he shut his eyes in an attempt to stop them.

The next thing he felt was the feeling of being lifted. “Everything will be all right.” The comfort in her voice barely reached him in his panic and he tried to focus on anything, up until he lost consciousness.

He was laying on something cold. Slowly he opened his eyes. It was a sleigh. “Mother?” He looked around and could see nothing but white. Nothing but the fields of snow stretching off into the distance. He was wrapped tightly in a cloak. The sleigh was moving at great speed, pulled by a large stallion of ice. This was a much better way to travel. With some difficulty he managed to sit up.

The cold wind felt good. Very good. Had he ever had a fever before? He could not remember, but it was awful. Over another mound of snow and there in the distance, was the Crystal Empire. Oh how he must look, speeding down the street pulled by a colt who was not only melting but was cracking against the stones. He was not sure how the sleigh was able to hold up so well. One thing that he did not want to see was the Crystal Heart. Unfortunately that was where they came to a stop. 

He struggled to move at all and when he finally managed to get out of the sleigh, he wound up on the ground. At the very least he had stopped crying, even if it was just because he was out of tears at this point. He was struggling to even do anything at this point. Yet he somehow managed to get up; into a sitting position at least. By the time ponies got to him, the ice pony was mostly melted. He felt, at the very least, he had to say, “Thank you.” Then came a coughing fit, which almost left him on the ground again.

“Copper!” Chestnut; not the pony he was hoping would reach him first but at the very least it was a friendly face. “I- wow. You look dreadful.”

Blearily he stared at her and she froze on the spot. “I don't feel good,” was all he managed to say.

She took a good look at him now and he did the same as well, staring at his reflection in the reflective crystal that was the ground. The cloak he wore was...regal. He realized that it was his mother's cloak. Furred white all around, with a striking blue colored cloth. Under the cloak he was wrapped nearly head to toe in bandages, only his eyes and bits of fur and mane sticking out. “Copper?” And upon his head...a crown of ice.

His gaze turned to Chestnut again and behind her he could see other ponies rushing up towards him. Through the haze he saw her. “Twilight.” Words were hard. He licked the roof of his mouth in an attempt to get them to come out. “Help.”

Wump.

There was something cold on his forehead, but the rest of his body was hot. He forced his eyes open again, for what felt like the hundredth time just today. “Twilight,” his voice croaked and he cleared his throat in an attempt to better it.

“I'm right here, Copper.” It was unmistakably Twilight. “What happened? Did the Ice Queen do this to you?”

Somehow he managed to shake his head. “No...Raven...” He tried to shift as best he could but less so managed to free his leg as he did throw it off the side of the bed. “Magic...something...”

“Copper, you have a very bad fever.” It was hard to even move his eyes, but Chestnut was there as well. “You’re very sick and injured.”

Damn it was going to take a lot more to get his point across. His head felt fuzzy and his mouth felt as though he'd been chewing on leaves. And not the good kind. “Magic.” It was annoying to not be able to get whatever his point was across to them. It wasn't until Twilight attempted to move his leg back under the covers that she realized. Copper knew she realized something because of the gasp of pain when she touched it. 

“Ow. Ok, that can't be good,” she said, lifting it this time with magic. It felt soothing, though the burning and pain came back as she removed the bandages. There were further gasps from lots of ponies. Apparently the room was packed full of ponies.

Copper didn't care anymore. Who could care about a public image now? Everything was fine. He had to worry about himself. Nothing was wrong anymore. Was this the fever talking? He wondered where Chrysalis was, perhaps she was here as well? But wouldn't she be at his side rather than Twilight? Fever. It was a thought he struggled to hold onto. But it was the explanation for everything at this point. “What the hay happened to his leg?” Chestnut was beside Twilight now and it was hard for Copper to focus on them.

“I'm not sure...powerful magic...I...I've not read about anything like this...” The touch of her magic on his leg drew away the burning. It felt good.

“What are you doing?” 

“Trying to see if I can fix it.” He knew Twilight's focusing voice and wished he could muster the strength to tell Chestnut to be silent.

Whatever she was doing felt like it was helping. Then the pain stopped abruptly, to the point where Copper had to make sure his leg was still there. It was and now the cracks seemed barely there; just jagged lines on the surface as if painted on. The feeling of magic faded, but the feeling of pain did not return. “Thirsty,” he muttered. It was too much work to say too many words at once.

There was the shifting of ponies, several ponies, helping him to sit up slightly to the point he could drink from a glass. The water burned but it also felt good at the same time. It was the best thing he had ever drank. “All right, now out with all of you. He needs rest,” Chestnut said as she got ponies to leave.

Copper watched as Chestnut practically beat ponies out the door. It put a smile on his face. “So much fuss...” he muttered, getting more comfortable on the large bed. It was...overly large in fact.

He could move his leg again, though it was difficult. Stiff. No, unresponsive. There had been damage to it beyond healing it seemed. “Copper...what happened?” Twilight was the only one left in the room.

“A lot,” he managed as he struggled with the bandages. After a moment she helped him, but stopped once his face was visible. The look on her face was...odd. “What?”

“Copper...you look...” She seemed at a loss for words.

“What?” he repeated and then looked around but there were no reflective surfaces nearby. “I look what?”

“Young.” 

That had not been what he had expecting. “Young?” He stared at her and she nodded. She moved to a table and pulled a mirror from a drawer, showing it to him. It was true. No longer did he look the ragged pony. He looked almost a foal. He looked the age he was. What had mother done to him? Why would she take that from him? The scars he had received from the train wreck were faded to the point where he could hardly see them and his older scars had faded slightly as well. What was the point of this? 

“I...did not know you were so young,” Twilight sounded as if she were trying to think of something to say.

“I am.” There was no point in hiding it anymore. Not like anypony had ever bothered asking. “I'd be older if I hadn't died.” He felt he needed to point that fact out.

“I mean...I thought you were older than me.” It seemed like it was hard for her to understand this.

“No. You're older.” Copper wasn't sure by how much, but he knew it had to be at least a few years. Being dead let everpony get on in years without him. He slumped into the cushions of the bed and closed his eyes.

“I...I mean...Celestia sent such a young pony, to do all of those things? ” His eye cracked open, though he had no strength to retort or to give her a look. It was all he could do. “Copper...”

“I was a foal when I was sent to topple leaders. Negotiate trade that the lives of thousands depended on. Fought. Killed.” There was a bit of the old Copper but he was fading fast. “I have done and seen more than most any pony could imagine...and it has left me battered. Bruised. Scarred. And broken. An older pony could not have managed it. It was my fault.” Again his eye closed. “I asked for it. I agreed to it...” That seemed to be the end of the Negotiator. The voice that was him died away. There was a moment of silence, before he muttered, “Talking hurts.”

That seemed enough to get her to leave. That had not been what he wanted. He did not want to be alone. He just wanted not to be lectured and told things that he already knew. But now he had to rest.

~
In both worlds he rested. Recovered. Detective Copper seemed far less injured, but it took a lot longer for Scootaloo to say that he was able to get up again. He spent his time studying the clockwork, Emily. He couldn't help it. She was fascinating, a true work of genius and he wanted to learn as much as possible from her. They had moved her to The Cat's Cradle; he and Scootaloo were already staying there, both for their protection and partially because Octavia did not want him to leave.

Over the time, he learned how to truly separate his thought process from either world. It wasn't hard once he was given enough time. There was no hesitation after the switch now, or at least there hadn't been as of yet. But with one fever racked brain and the other absorbed with work, it was hard to tell. In the end, it was a month before the Copper in the Crystal Empire was up on his hooves. And for him there was work to be done.

~
“Where is he?” Cadance was looking left and right down the hall as Twilight emerged from a doorway across. 

“I don't know. He's been running all over the empire from what I've heard. Everypony says they've seen him and all of them say he was going someplace different,” Twilight was slightly out of breath. 

“You'd think a pony with a limp would be easier to find.” Both of them shot Shining Armor a glance, Twilight's was the harsher. 

“Chestnut's got him cornered!” Spyglass called from down the hall and the group of them galloped off down the hall. 

They found Chestnut banging on a door. “Copper! Open up right now! Just cus you look younger don't mean you are! Now stop acting like a damn fool and open this door! You can't be up and about yet!”

“What's he doing in there?” Twilight moved and gently pushed Chestnut out of the way before she could beat the door down.

“How should I know? Somepony told me he locked the door hours ago and won’t answer or anything.” She sat down on the ground. 

“Maybe he's killed himself.” Everypony looked at Shining Armor. Except for Shining Armor, who was staring at Spyglass. Everypony then looked at Spyglass, who had been the one who was speaking. “What? He's done it before,” Spyglass said in defense of his comment.

Chestnut pushed Twilight out of the way. “I swear to Celestia! If you're dead I'll kill you!”

“That's redundant.”

~
Copper could hardly hear them on the other side of the door. “Everything will be fine,” he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. “Everything will be fine, because I will make it fine.” Click, pop.

“I will make it fine. She wants Sombra, who cares why. Sombra wants the Crystal Empire. Again, who cares. The way they're going about it is wrong. So I have to stop them.” He felt like he had either achieved clarity of the situation or gone insane. It was hard to tell. All he knew is that mother had given him back what he had given up. Perhaps insane was the proper word? Whir, pop, pop, click.

“I can't beat them the way I have been going. Let's make this a griffon hunt.” Shnicht.

There was a smile on his face as he moved to the door and pushed it open. “Now, stop it right now.” He probably looked like he had gone mad. His mother's cloak around him, his goggles securely over his eyes, bowtie and to top it all off, what looked like a metal leg. They all stared at him and when he caught his reflection, he realized that he clashed something terrible. Perhaps he needed the ice crown to top off the look? But as he stepped forward, his leg clinking with every step, he realized it didn't matter. 

“Copper?” He looked at Twilight, pushing his goggles up from his face. His improved leg worked perfectly now. No more limping or loss of movement. Emily had been a treasure trove of information and with the blueprints safely in another dimension, there was no way anypony could copy this. Not unless they took it from him.

“I'm sorry.” It was something that needed to be said. He sighed and sat down in the hall. “I know I've been...cold. And rude. And a jerk at times. But it was who I had to be. But now, today is a new day. Or is it night?” He wasn't sure, as he didn't know how long he had been working.

“What is that?” Spyglass was low to the ground, as was Chestnut, staring at the metal leg.

“Obviously, it's my new leg. Can't do much if I'm limping around everywhere. Don't worry, it's overlaid atop my leg. It's more of a casing, really. I won’t bore you with details.” Though the extra weight was going to take some getting used to. “It'll both work as a, hopefully, temporary construct, as well as strengthen my leg back to its original mobility.” He adjusted his goggles slightly, which were still, annoyingly, cracked. “Eventually I should be able to walk with minimal limping without it and-” he stopped. Everypony was staring at him and he realized that he had started going into details after saying he wouldn't. “Never mind.”

There was quite a lot of silence now and Copper felt slightly embarrassed. He cleared his throat, but it was Chestnut who spoke. “Well, since nopony is going to tell you, I guess I will.” He turned to look at her.

“Easy Chestnut, it's not like there's any rush,” Twilight said, giving her a look. Copper turned to look at Twilight now. He had missed something. There were seconds of him staring at her before she finally spoke to him. “Celestia wants you to come back to Canterlot. Just for a little while,” she added, seeing the look on his face. “She wants me and Chestnut to come back, too.”

“Which one?” he said slowly. Honestly it didn't matter which one and he was already walking. It was a long walk back to the train station. 

“Both, I think,” Twilight said as she walked quickly to catch up, as did the whole group.

“Interesting,” he said. Normally he would have probably been more conflicted. It didn't make sense to leave the Crystal Empire as it was Sombra's target. But he was so far out of commission that it probably didn't even matter. If he hadn't made a move in the month that Copper was out, there was either something else stopping him or he was more hurt than he had thought. Odd how his thoughts seemed so clear now. “When does the train leave?” 

They had been talking about something behind him, he wasn't sure what but he was aware that it was about him. “Uh. It's waiting for us actually.”

“Oh good. No hurry then.” He smiled and took a deep breath. It was so odd at how alive he felt right now. “Where's Gilda?” It had just occurred to him that she was not part of their little group.

“Uhm...I don't know.”

“Probably at the bar,” Chestnut said, coming up beside him. “That's where I saw her last, anyways.”

“Right then!” Copper took another deep breath, smiling. “To the bar. We need to collect her. As well as the rest of our little troupe of ponies.” It felt so good to be alive. He'd probably gone crazy. He was probably out of his mind. But if he was out, who, or what, was in?

As they passed it, he noticed that somepony had placed the ice crown on the sleigh, which now had quite a crowd around it. “There he is,” somepony whispered. What rumors would be caused by this, he wondered? But they did not linger and moved off into the city.

Thankfully, Gilda was right where they thought she'd be, as were the other changelings and the surviving pony of Burrasca, who had apparently switched sides. “I see you're up and about,” Gilda said, eying the metal device over his leg.

“Oh yes. Now, come along. We're all heading to Canterlot and I simply shan’t leave you here,” Copper said, trying not to grin. Madness was fun.

However, she simply stared at him. “I suppose I can't really say no, considering the circumstances.”

“Nope,” he said as he turned and trotted down the road. He wanted to run. When had he ever wanted to run? Run for the sake of running. Perhaps this was simple youth rather than madness? He had not felt young since that time in the snow... Oh how he wanted to play in the snow. Was that strange?

“Could you slow down?” He looked back to see Twilight and the others further back than he had expected. He must have been running after all.

“Nope! See you there!” And he ran. Full gallop. Why shouldn't he run when he wanted to? He wanted to run. He wanted to play. He wanted to do whatever he wanted. 

When he got to the train station he collapsed onto a bench, completely out of breath. Yet he could not stop laughing. By the time everypony had caught up, he had caught his breath but was having quite a case of the giggles. “What has gotten into you?” Gilda said, staring at him.

“Lots, I think.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Or perhaps a lot has gotten out? I'm not sure. Either way, I am having a blast.”

“The Ice Queen did something to him,” Twilight said slowly to Gilda. “She like...gave him back his youth or something. I'm not sure.”

“She made him young again?” Gilda stared at Copper, who was not paying full attention and pretending that the wheel of the train was extremely interesting. 

“No. I don't think so. She just...I don't know. She just...I guess made him young. But he was already young and just seemed older.”

“I had thought he looked too old; he was a class behind me and Dash in Flight School. Yet whenever I saw him after, he looked so...old.” They were getting on the train.

“Imma ride up here,” Copper said as he got up onto the top of the train.

“That's not safe,” somepony said, but Copper ignored them as he sat down. He wanted the wind through his mane. 

“Nothing fun ever is.” He pulled down his goggles and pointed his hoof into the air. It glinted in the sun. “Onward!”

Despite his provocation, the train did not get moving for a few more minutes. But the time he spent up there gave him time to think. This youth, or madness, that he had now was glorious. He felt better than he could remember ever being. But he could already feel it settling down. It wasn't until the train went out into the snow that he decided to go down into the car out of the cold. With every flake, he could feel her. But it was too cold. Even with the cloak.

The conversation stopped immediately when he came in. “No please. Don't let me interrupt you. Please, continue talking about me.” It was obvious they had been, just from the way they were looking at him. Yet he just stood there. Smiling.

But nopony said anything.

“All right, fine. I'll talk about me then,” he said as he moved to an open seat in the group and sat down. “I feel better than I can ever remember feeling. I will be honest and quite blunt.” He cleared his throat. “I'm fairly certain I've either gone insane, or I'm just acting a tad too much like a foal.”

“Well, at least you're aware of it,” Gilda said, frowning at him.

“Gilda,” hissed Twilight. “This is not the time.”

“Oh? And when will be the time, little miss magic mane?” Twilight frowned at Gilda’s words.

Copper raised his hoof and everypony stared at it. “Easy now. Whatever it is, it's wearing down. But I refuse to give it up entirely. I am not gonna be a stick in the mud anymore.”

There was a certain look that seemed to get passed around the room. There were the eight changelings, who seemed unsure. There was the other pony and the two griffons. “I never thought you were,” Twilight said, looking at him. Of the ponies here, he probably trusted Twilight most, followed by Chestnut. Spyglass wasn't there.

“Well I was. And it bothered me, though I couldn't tell that it had until now.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. Looking down at himself, he felt slightly silly. The cloak was perhaps too grand? Copper noticed how it sparkled slightly, as if it was dusted softly with snow. 

~
The ceiling had held his interest as Octavia played softly. Frederick and Scootaloo were talking about something. Today was the day. This time, he had to mentally push away the other world. This body was older. He was older here. And it was time to get things started. “The ship leaves tonight...” he muttered.

Octavia stopped abruptly and he heard her coming over to him. It was odd to see her so often. He wondered where the Octavia was in the other world, but shook those thoughts from his head. When he was here, he had to focus on being here. He took a deep breath and looked over at her, smiling. “Must you go?” she asked.

Of course she didn't want him to leave. She cared about him, though he had found it was not in the way he had thought. Part of him had felt disappointed, but the more he thought on it, the more he felt that it was mutual. His eyes wandered to the other...pony in the room. Chrysalis. “Yes.” She looked at him. Apparently she knew Burrasca more than Copper did. Which was interesting. 

“I wish you did not,” Ovtavia said as she sat down. 

Again he shook his head. “I have to. There's just no other way around it. I have to go to London and find the Doctor.”

Chrysalis moved over and sat down on the other side of him. She did not like the attention Ovtavia was giving him judging by the look on her face. Apparently she still felt that he belonged to her. But as the days went by, he realized how much she cared for him. How much she loved him. If only the other Chrysalis acted like this. Every time he saw the ring on her finger, he felt a slight pang of pain in his heart. “It's not going to be easy to find him.” She had convinced Burrasca that she knew where to find ponies that could help, but she would have to come as well.

Of course, Copper had agreed to it. There had been a lot of truth to her words. She knew London a lot better than he did and Scootaloo didn't know anything about it, other than what she had heard. He needed her. “Doesn't matter how difficult it is going to be. Still have to find him.”

“And figure out about the Clockwork,” Scootaloo said, standing in front of him. 

“I don't like how everypony is crowding me all of a sudden,” he said, looking around. 

“Sorry.” It was Octavia who got up, who was the one pony he didn't want to leave him alone right now.

Scootaloo took her spot and Copper watched her as she walked back to to her cello and begin playing once more. He sighed softly and stared once again up at the ceiling. “There's a lot to do. But Burrasca has offered us a lot of resources.”

“I'm still not sure how you convinced him.” He looked at Scootaloo and couldn't help but smile. But she just frowned at him. “I'm serious. I know he helps ponies and stuff, usually not legally, but this is pretty ridiculous. A ride is one thing. But for him to offer even more assistance, to the point where he damn near was about to come with us-”

“We're also getting his daughter,” Copper suggested, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes.

“That's another thing,” she pointed a finger accusingly at him. “I wasn't even aware he had a daughter. Yet you not only knew that, you also know her name.”

Again he sighed and leaned more back into the couch. “We've been over this before, Scootaloo. You're just disinclined to actually believe me.”

“Yes...well...” She continued to frown at him but then glanced over at Frederick and Octavia, before she sighed. “All right...so maybe I just don't want to believe you...but with the amount of crazy stuff that's been going...I guess I sort of have to.”

He laughed softly and stretched his arms up towards the ceiling. “You don't have to. But it'll keep you from losing your mind.” He stood up, stretching his legs now. He felt like he had been laying on that couch for days. Which he sort of had been. He was either here sitting, or sleeping, on the couch, in the side room with Emily, or out watching Octavia perform. 

It was amazing to watch them on stage. The place was packed every night and Burrasca said that this place had never been so popular. Copper felt pretty proud about that in fact. It was thanks to him. Well, mostly it was to Lyra's amazing voice and Octavia's playing. Symphony and Frederick were impressive as well, but it was the Lyra and Octavia combination that truly shined. At least, as far as Copper was concerned. “Maybe, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.”

The door opened and Burrasca came in. “If you are ready, the ship is fueled and staffed. I hope you are all right that it took longer than expected, but I could not simply let an airship go without properly filling it. It's also far less suspicious. There's cargo and guests. It will slow travel quite a bit, but-”

“There is no need for you to explain yourself, Burrasca,” Copper said, looking at him. Burrasca arched his brow. He was not used to be interrupted. “It is, after all, your airship.”

He smiled slightly. “Quite so. Now then, let us be off.”