Chapter 1: The view from the tower
“That’s it!” Yelled out Twilight as she slammed the book closed, a look of both delight and eagerness in her face as she looked over at Copper Wrench.
The sudden noise shocked Copper Wrench out of his thoughts as he jerked his head up, looking over at Twilight Sparkle.
“We need to go on a date!” She said, the excitement in her voice matching her body as she leans over looking Copper in the eye
Copper blinked a few times and shook his head, mentally clearing out what was going on through his mind as he focused on Twilight.
“What?”
His eyes widened as his mind caught up to the situation.Twilight continued to look at him, her eyes shining like she figured out the solution to Celestia’s vault.
“What?!”
Copper could feel his headache starting to flare up again as he closed his eyes, starting to look back over the events that lead to this moment.
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The Ponyville Express chugged down tracks as an Orange coated pony looked out over the countryside as it whisked by. He could see the faint reflection of his brown eyes in the window for a moment before he brushed a lock of his red mane out of his face and looked back down into his lap. Copper could feel the seats under him shift as he was sitting, looking over the work request and documents that were sent to him a few days ago. The request was from a Time Turner,a resident of Ponyville, who wanted to do some fine tuning and maintenance on the town clocktower. Copper was looking at the paperwork when he suddenly felt the train lurch and a loud screech filled his ears before something hit his head and he blacked out.
A moment later he was shaken awake, looking up into the eyes of the conductor. He could feel a slight ache all over his body as he slowly starts to sit up.
“W...what happened?” pain registering in his voice as he groaned and blinked a few times, slowly clearing the blurriness out of his eyes.
“We’re here at your stop sir. It looks like you had a tumble.” The conductor commented as he came into view with Copper slowly started to get back on his hooves, looking around the cabin in a daze. As he slowly began to wake up the numbness of his unconsciousness started to fade and a terrible headache begin to take its place.
“Don’t forget to get your luggage sir” The Conductor mentioned to Copper
Copper looked at him blinking his eyes again trying to get them back into focus, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion. “L...luggage?”
The Conductor nodded and pointed his hoof behind Copper. The stallion looked over and saw a large lump of… something wrapped in wrapping paper, like a gift. He could almost swear it was shaped like a rock. He shook his head slowly as he reached his hoof over to his chair, gathering the scattered paperwork he was reading before the sudden, and painful, blackout.
“I...it’s not mine. My luggage… should be in baggage claims”
The Conductor nodded and stared at the package on the ground for a while before he began to walk his way down the aisle-way, probably looking for the owner of the ‘Luggage’ as Copper slowly moved and stumbled his way to the carriage landing and then out to the platform.
His headache flared up as his eyes took in the bright sunlight. He squinted and covered his face with the folder of paperwork, trying to diminish the pounding headache even a little. He dragged himself to the baggage claim and began to search for his luggage. In the mix of blurred colors he eventually found it and tried to grab it with his magic.
He gave a groan as his head ache gave another harsh flare and he quickly stopped, rubbing the side of his head with his hoof. He abandoned his attempt to float up the luggage case, reaching out with his free hoof instead and sliding it out of the baggage claim. He took a moment to quickly put his paperwork folder in the front pouch, and started dragging his luggage down the path as he started to head towards the exit of the platform.
Upon exiting the platform Copper walked over to a nearby info booth that was unfortunately vacant. However there was still a display map of Ponyville which he began to examine or at least try to. While he glared at it trying to read through the haze of the bad headache and the bright light, the sound of hoof steps came closer to him. The sudden and sharp clinking of glass on glass caught his attention, pulling his head over to see a Zebra. Copper just stared blankly for a moment, blinking a few times as he wasn't sure if his headache or blurry vision, or both, were playing tricks on him. The Zebra eventually broke the silence with a smile.
“Well hello visitor from afar, You look to have need of my bazaar.”
Copper blinked again and started to rub his head, the headache flaring up again making it harder to focus.
“I’m just trying to find my way to.. Dr… Turner’s clock tower?”
The zebra nodded and reached into her saddlebags ruffling through her belongings for a moment before she pulled out a small, funnel shaped vial
“I’m sure your journey is important indeed, but a little bit of cure is surely more in need. Here take a sip and I’m sure you will find, it will help your head and ease your mind.”
Copper was more than a little wary about an unknown zebra handing out a strange vial of liquid to him, but the headache was making him slowly more desperate as he was finding it harder to think. He reached up and took the vial, pulling the cork out with his teeth and drinking the contents. The taste was a bit tart at first, then slowly replaced with a warm numbing sensation that slowly filled his belly. It slowly moved from his belly to his head and he could feel the headache dulling down little by little and his vision clearing as the pain slowly subsided. He blinked a few more times, finally seeing things clearer as he handed the vial back to the Zebra. She put away the vial as she replied back
“I’m sure that should help make heads clear, now how can Zecora help you my dear”
Copper reached over to his papers and pulled out a paper near the top
“Ah well, I’m here to meet with a Dr. Time Turner. I’m supposed to meet him at the town clocktower."
Zecora smiled and nodded at him “Ah yes the good Doctor is at the clock I see. You can find the tower down this path, near a tree.”
Copper gave a nod to Zecora, and a short thanks as he turned to start heading on his way. He heard a small throat clearing and turned back around to see that Zecora had a hoof held up
“My apologies for stopping you as you can see, but even a Zebra needs to charge a fee.” Copper balked for a little with a small blush of embarrassment, then quickly reached into his luggage.
“Oh yes, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to presume anything. How much for the potion?”
“Well the charge I promise to be light, A cost of 5 bits should not bite.”
Copper nodded feeling a little entrapped but the potion delivered as promised and he definitely better as he handed her the bits, bidding the zebra farewell as she smiled and went on her way down the train platform to other passengers with bottles clinking in her saddlebags. Copper took a deep breath before he turned back around and continued to walk down the path Zecora pointed out to him, walking past the various building and ponies of Ponyville.
He observed the different citizens out of the corners of his eyes as he continued to walk past to his destination. He didn’t want to make too much contact with them and just wanted to keep his space. The sudden visit with the Zebra already jostled him and he’d rather just get to where he was needed and take care of the job. He was more than eager to just finish and go home.
After a while of walking he eventually reached the clock tower. He couldn't help but start looking up at the entire thing. The brick structure was just on the outskirts of the town, softly ticking away. The tower was actually quite the anomaly around Ponyville from the documents and the letter he received. Apparently Ponyville was subjected to quite a lot of random strangeness and attacks, which lead to a lot of the buildings ending up getting damaged and repaired. The tower never seemed to be the subject of these problems, and this required it to actually be tuned and fixed up once in a while. At least that’s what the Doctor’s note stated in the repair documents. Copper did have a knack for these type of things.
After all, when you spend a lot of time to yourself there has to be something to keep occupied. Copper just happened to have a lot of books about mechanical construction and function when he was a foal which helped him get pretty good at making it all work. A quick fix here, a tune up there, and eventually word started to get out. Enough that he could get semi-steady work as a freelance engineer. He would get odd jobs here and there to get some bits and keep his apartment up in Manehatten.
After viewing the tower for a while he went up to the door and knocked on it a few times with his hoof. He heard a sudden mix of clattering followed by an odd crash, then a few quick hoofsteps running up before the door swings wide open. Inside of the door frame was now a tired looking pony that was definitely a little disheveled, his brown mane that was previously styled to poke straight up was frayed around a little. He looked at copper with a wild eyed look before he smiled and grabbed him pulling him into the tower.
“Oh thank goodness you’ve shown up. There’s so much work to do!” Exclaimed the Doctor in an excited tone.
Copper stumbled a little as he was led into the clocktower looking around in confusion as he was eventually guided to the center of the structure. He looked all around him and could see mechanical parts and pieces all over the place, some easily recognizable as parts of a clock, and others a little more curious. He wasn’t given a lot of time to examine them as he was quickly led to a nearby drawing table. He could see the blueprints and plans for the pieces of the tower as the Doctor started pointing from one place to the next on the blueprints in an excited and eager manner.
“Okay we’ll need to get started with the main shaft here in the middle, we still need to remove gears 5, 6, and 7 and put them to the side as we adjust the side gears and adjust the gear spacing. We’ll need an adjustment here at this spot and then down a few notches we’ll have to disrupt the clock ticker and replace the crystals…”
Copper stared at the Doctor then at the plans and back a little stunned at the sudden adjustment and quick energy as the Doctor kept pointing and talking. He wasn’t sure how long it was until the Doctor finally settled down and then looked at Copper smacking his hoof down on the blueprints.
“...and then we just have to put in the master gear and we’ll be all set. Of course this will take a few weeks with the deconstruction and retrofitting of the gears. We couldn’t have you sleeping on the floor so I had a room set up for you at the nearby hotel. Any questions?” queried the Doctor.
Copper could only stare, his brain slowly attempting absorb what just happened. The information that was just piled onto him was clouded away from the energy and sudden runthrough of the Doctor’s plans leaving only bits and pieces.
He finally raised a hoof and asked the doctor “Um… so… we’re just finishing dismantling and then adjusting the clock?”
The Doctor looked at him for a moment breaking into a big smile suddenly “Yes, that’s much more simpler and straight to the point. I suppose I gave you a bit too much there. I’m just so excited. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time!”
The Doctor turned back over to the sheets and pointed up to a diagram of the top of the tower “Well, this is the area we are going to start this project. Let’s start with the beginning of course. We’ll need to finish dismantling the tower near the top and work down. Here, follow me and I can give you a better look right at the spot.”
The doctor started to trot over to a nearby ladder in a happy skip kind of trot and climb up getting halfway to the first landing before stopping and then coming back down a few rungs. “By the way, you can just call me Time Turner. I hope you don’t mind if I refer to you as Copper”
Copper nodded dumbly, wondering for a moment how he knew his name before his mind finally caught up with him. He reminded himself that the doctor did request his services. He watched the doctor going up the ladder and realized he should probably follow. They both climbed one ladder and the next, crossing random platforms with what felt like an extremely long time Going steadily higher. Finally they reached the top and crossed a nearby platform, and began to look at the gears as the Doctor prodded them a little with his hoof
“Well, we still need to start with taking these down, I would have had them off by now if it wasn’t a two-pony job. After that then we should be able to finish dismantling the rest of it quickly and start fixing up the parts and putting in the new enhancements.” Explains the Doctor as he moved the gears a little.
Copper nodded as he looked at the layout of the gears and noticed the scaffolding ended up going all the way to a door that led to the outside roof.
“Ah I see you noticed the door” the Doctor beamed with a smile “If you saw it in the plans we will also be working on fixing up the clock hands and some of the gears on the outside. Hope you don’t mind heights.”
Copper shook his head as he opened the door and took a quick look outside. His eyes followed a path from the door that snaked around the tower and to the face of the clock. As he was getting his bearings on the pathway and followed it making some mental notes his gaze slowly moved down to the ground.
His eyes scanned the ground a little before they caught onto a flash of pink. He looked back at the sudden color and his eyes locked onto a pink pony in a group down below. He could feel his heart jump a little and held his breath for a moment as he started to take in every bit of her, almost not able to stop. Her pink coat shone in the sun with her long brown hair slightly swaying in the breeze. Those bright red eyes dancing as she laughed at some unheard conversation as they walked together down the street
It was only a moment but it felt like an eternity. He suddenly he felt a tap on his flank shocking him back to reality. He felt his center of gravity shift and quickly grabbed the door frame trying to regain his balance. He looked over at the Doctor who was looking at him with a bit of concern
The Doctor asked, “You okay? Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle these heights?”
Copper looked back where he was looking and the other pony and her group was gone, giving a little sigh before he looked back at the Doctor “Y… yeah. I think I’m just a little light headed”
The Doctor nodded with an understanding smile and waved his hoof over to Copper and motioned him to follow as he headed back to the stairs.
“Well let’s back down to solid earth. You just had a long trip to get here. Besides, we won’t be starting for a couple of days since we still need a few more pulleys to move the gears around the clock tower. As I mentioned I did get you a room so you should get some rest and give yourself a chance to look over the plans a little. Maybe even explore the town a little” They both started to head back down the stairs slowly making their way back to the ground. As Copper finally got off the last rung and sat his hooves back on the ground he saw the Doctor looking over at the plans and started to gather them together.
“Huh, I forgot to have copies made come to think of it. Guess I got too excited. Well, I’ll get some done. I hope the shop is still open” The Doctor spoke to himself as he straightened out the papers.
He walked back over to Copper who was still in a bit of a daze thinking back on that filly he saw as he stood next to the ladder staring into the distance. Copper suddenly heard a loud snap as the Doctor put his papers into a nearby case, coming back to reality again as he followed the Doctor and they both left the clocktower.
They started to walk together down the path passing a few buildings until they reached a fairly large cottage that was nearby. Copper’s eyes were drawn to the top of the building which held a bright banner saying ‘Bedspread’s Bed and Breakfast”. The doctor gingerly opened the door and they both walked into the cozy looking building. The interior as they walked in felt kinda rustic and homely, giving the feeling like someone converted a living room into a hotel.
Waiting at the front desk was a white mare with a grey mane, her soft blue eyes scanning a book in front of her for a moment before she looked up and saw her guests. “Ah hello Time Turner, is this the guest you were talking about?”
She looked over at Copper, smiling with a soft politeness as his gaze looked around the front desk for a moment before darting back at her with a little bit of a blush and a forced smile feeling himself freeze up a bit It didn’t look like she minded at all as she reached down under the desk and put a room key down on the desk
“Well dearie, your room is 103. Breakfast is right a sunup and will go for a few hours.If you need anything please feel free to ask for me, I’m Bedspread, the owner” And she gave another soft smile to both of them.
The Doctor gave her a nod of thanks as both him and Copper started walking down the nearby hallway over to the room. The Doctor opened the hotel room door as Copper slowly started to feel a little at ease as he followed the Doctor into the room.
“Well you go ahead and relax, maybe take in the town a little and enjoy some of the local food and sights. I’ll get a copy of the plans made and bring them here to your room so you can look them over later” The Doctor stated as handed Copper the room key.
The Doctor gave one last smile to Copper before he left, closing the door behind him. And with that Copper was now in the room, alone with his thoughts. Hee took a deep breath, sitting down in a nearby chair as he felt the weight of the day start to settle on him, finally have a chance to sink in. He started to relax in the chair when he heard a dark, rasping voice in his ear
“What do you even think you’re doing? Working on a clocktower? That’s for real engineers with real training” Mocked the voice
Copper looked over at a nearby room mirror. Inside he could see his reflection, but it wasn’t his. Not entirely. While his coat was orange and well kept, this coat was like a burned orange with patches that looked like rust. A mane, unkempt and disheveled. A smile that conveyed a mockery. The voice was all too familiar to Copper, and the one he had heard many, many times before.
“You shouldn’t be here. You should be back home, working on those dinky egg timers for old ladies. That’s all you’re good for.” The reflection continued.
“T...that’s not true. I worked hard… I earned this. Right?” Copper half-heartedly replied back.
“You just got lucky, that’s all. They probably just found the cheapest pony they could. Just to use and discard” The Reflection continued on. Copper hoped talking to it would have backed it down a little, but it looks like today it was louder than usual.
“Look, they just put you into a hotel room and left you. They probably don’t care anymore than what you can do for them” Then the voice began to cackle. It sounded like a rusty gate moving around a little. Everything about it reminded Copper of rust. Tarnished, weakening, disgusting.
Copper sunk lower into his chair, averting his eyes from the mirror for a moment as the voice kept going. “And what were you thinking back there? That filly back there? Girls like that are only attracted to strong, strapping Stallions with money and talent and charm. You don’t have anything like that. You’re just nothing. We need to stop fooling ourselves”
Copper couldn’t think. Couldn’t reply. Couldn’t really object. These were all his words. His beliefs. He took a deep breath and decided to drown his thoughts in water as he walked over to his bathroom and started taking a long hot shower.