Cogs and Steam and Halcyon Skies

by Alacardkane

Chapter 2

“Over the clouds, I see the sky, like a never ending ocean....” The ghostly white and silver unicorn mare sang softly as she watched the clouds drift by overhead. Her blue eyes and large round glasses reflected the sky as she smiled and hummed the tune.

“You're getting better, Steam Pipe,” a familiar shadow said as it moved to blocked the view, “maybe you should think about singing instead of wrench pulling.”

The pale unicorn sighed as she got up and shook her mane and adjusted her patchwork leather coat, “I do find myself rather torn between my two passions, yet I cannot ignore the fact that I have a highly marketable and an innate capability with understanding steam mechanics.”
The sound of the clock tower of Fillydelphia chimed its ten am tones as Steam Pipe gave one last long look at the sky, following a raven as it flew overhead.

“Well dear Brink, I believe it is time for us to be getting back to work, father would like to have this custom order completed this evening,” Steam Pipe said with a smile as she looked at the crimson haired earth mare. Brink smiled back as she adjusted the worn bowlers hat and smeared some grease across her muzzle, adding to the fading and fresh smears of paint that dotted her buckskin coat and the white button up shirt she wore with the sleeves rolled up.

The pair walked across the roof top landing and into the spiral staircase that took them down through four story building, the top two floors were the Steam family's home, which was at the moment just Steam Pipe and her father Steam Valve with the addition of Brink who had been more or less adopted when the pair were young enough to not even have their cutie marks yet. The spiral staircase stopped on an observation landing that had a number of communication pipes and control levers for the various material moving automations that were used in the workshop that took up the ground and second floors of the building, as well as the renovations to include the basement level. The walls were crowded by large tools and presses, clockwork and hydraulic arms and cranes, as well as a few unfinished pieces that were either discarded or waiting to be finished.

“Confounded thing!” they heard a voice call up as they saw a mass puff of smoke and the screeching of brass gears stripping themselves, drawing them both quickly to look over the railing as the aged gray unicorn stallion stepped back, trying to reach with his telekinesis for a rag to wipe his oil covered face and glasses clean. The assembly of one of the larger press tools had blown an oil line and stripped its gears, turning the center of the workshop into a splatter of black.

“You alright, Dad?” Steam Pipe called out as she trotted quickly down the stairs.

“Huh? Oh yes dear, just seemed to need a decent bath now,” he was wiping his glasses clean after he got as much off of his face, leaving him a dark oily charcoal color.
Steam Pipe levitated her saddlebags onto herself and adjusted the holding strap before pulling out a wrench and wrenching off the fittings that had broken, “Dad, I told you to stop buying fittings from Heavy Press, while he might know a thing or two about selling tools, he clearly can't tell the difference between a high pressure fitting and a structurally faulty piece of brass that looks like a fitting.”

“Easy dear, I understand, but I just can't bring myself to take my business elsewhere, his father helped me build most of this and...”

“I know...I'm not asking you to stop buying everything from him, but please, I'll pick up new fittings from Josie's.” she cut him off with a respectful sigh as she screwed in a new fitting from a box high that was settled on a forty foot tall set of shelves.
Brink walked up, handing the stallion a clean rag, “so what else do we have to get done on this thing?” she asked as she looked over the oil coated brass object that sat, still clenched loosely by the press as Steam Pipe finished fixing the armature.

“Well....” he said as he stepped up as his daughter moved the press away so that she could fill it with more hydraulic oil, “I suppose just a nice steam bath, and then as soon as you get the engraving done we can box and you two can take it on over to the docks, but I suppose I should tell you that a telegram came today asking if we could hand deliver it to the Crystal Empire.”

“Huh? Hand deliver....” Brink's eyebrow was raised as she looked at the gray stallion,”you mean we get to go to the Crystal Empire?” the last bit was uttered with a soft squeal of joy.

Valve Smiled and nickered as he nodded, “yes, though I'm afraid it will be a short visit, I'll need you both back soon....”
His words were cut off the by the hopping of Brink which was shortly joined by Steam Pipe as they chanted, “Crystal Empire,” over and over again.