Of Gears and Magic

A knock on the front door was heard going rat-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta.

With each word, new tears arose. It all hurt. Every bit of it. It was all true. She never could take care of herself.

Everything in her life had been so good up until the day she got her cutie mark. After that, her parents began to split up, and her phobia of clocks and soon most things mechanical started to take over. They almost put her away in an institution when her mother could not keep up with taking care of her. She had become so dysfunctional and afraid of everything. She was afraid of crowds in a crowded city. Her cousin, though, was a blessing as she helped kept her afloat almost every day. It made the days bearable.

Now it was like father all over again. The screaming, the tears, her inability to 'do things right'. She didn't even know what happen the other night save drinking. Ever since Father left it seemed drinking was not something anypony was trusted with.

Mother was so overprotective of her now. She knew how bad White had got it. It only made her sob more as she curled up and barely was able to get by a few words.

"I-I-I'm....S-s-soooooryyyy." She wailed and hid her face under her mane.

... Icarus looked down, then back up. "T-This is my fault. N-Not hers. I-I'll do anything and e-everything in my power to m-make it right." He said, Standing up. "I-If you'd be s-so kind, M-Miss woods, I-I'd like t-to see Ticky's mother l-later t-today." He said, Almost Curtly.

Celestia damn it all. White was still angry, but seeing Ticky cry still made her feel bad. "I know you're sorry," she said softly, "But that's not the problem." She glared at Icarus. "The fault lies with both of you, and I expected better from Ticky. I wasn't expecting anything from you. If you do go to her mother, I know what you're going to say. That it wasn't her fault. That she shouldn't be angry at her daughter. And ponies like us can't be angry at you creator lord types 'cause you are above our place in society. She'll be polite to you, I reckon. It's why your legs aren't broken yet."

She heard the knock.

"You better get that," she said, "Ticky, we're leaving. We've overstayed our welcome."

The knock got more insistent.

Icarus wanted to protest more, but he had to open the door. So, With a glance behind him, He trotted up to the door and opened it. "O-Oh! H-Hello..."

Ticky wailed more tears. She was well on her way to a massive pity party. What her cousin said hit her deep. Seeing White driven to tears over it was something she had never seen before. It would be a long time before she got over this.

"Im soooooryyyy!" She bawled, but got up all the same. She wanted to get out of here. To leave. Maybe once they got outside she could bolt for it. She could get some time alone...If she could take care of herself.

"Shh, shh," White said, trying to calm her down. She sighed again. This is always how it went. Always. Trying and failing to find a back entrance, she led the bawling marechild to the front door, hoping to leave with the least amount of fuss.

"Pardon me," she said to both Iccy and the messenger as the pair walked past.

The young earth pony officer saluted Icarus before presenting the wax sealed envelope in his teeth. "Gran' Admral Surprise wishes ta see you at the earliest time possible, sah." He scooted to the side when the two ponies made their leave. "Heh, acts like mah senile ol pap when he can't get a drink."

Icarus watched the two go by sadly, before opening the letter. "T-Thank you... T-Tell him I'll be there as s-soon as possible."

Ticky wanted to run. She wanted to run away so much, but she just couldn't gather the courage. She didn't know how to. For the time being, she simply trudged along next to her cousin, afraid to even speak. Only sobs and sniffles.

White hated the silence. Hated it in its entirety. It's reason for being, its oppressive nature. She hated it, so she decided to break it.

"Ticky," she began carefully, "I think you need to start a real job. We, no. You need to try looking for one again. You need to learn responsibility, and to face that fear of yours. We won't be around forever."

The letter simply read: "I want to see you. Keep the letter in case somepony tries to stop you from seeing me. Grand Admiral Surprise."

"Very good then, sah." He turned around and promptly left.

Icarus sighed and went inside to make him look "Proper." So far, He ruined his one chance at having a friend, all because He wasn't stern enough. When Icarus Exited, One could almost see a Storm Cloud.

Shala continued to wimper to herself, having calmed down enough to not get the attention of every passerby. She winced at the mechanical contraptions that grinded on the street. Her eyes were glued to the ground, afraid of that clock tower that was on the horizon.

"But...I can't....It's everywhere." Her pace slowed and even recoiled a bit as a cluster of ponies threatened to engulf them. The more crowded streets were never an option for her.

White thought long and hard about it. Ticky had a fear of clockwork, which was everywhere these days. She was right about that. Therefore, the solution was an occupation that required no interaction with ponies machinery or the outdoors, where the clock tower can be seen in full view.

That left not a lot of options, really.

"Why don't you try the library again?" White suggested, "It was quiet, not very many ponies and I didn't see any major machinery there. Don't know why you left in the first place, though."

Ticky began to get over her wimpers, now just sounding mopey to herself and staring at the ground.

"T-they said that...that I n-needed to have more s-schoolins....So..I left..." She squeaked the last few words. Another failure among many of hers. She had to be taken out of school ever since mother and father split. Up until then, she was such a bright student. She wanted to be like some of those book smart ponies.

"Eh? But all they do is put books on shelves and take them off again!" White remarked crossly. "How that requires learning I have no idea! It's not your fault you were..." She shook her head. What about The Church of Celestia? No, wait, bad idea. Can't stand those religous nuts..."

Despite her comments the cook stopped in front of one of the churches, where a noticeboard was placed. "Let's see if there's any jobs that are available, shall we? This is where I found my place in the world of cooking."

White looked up and down the board, looking for a job Shala could do. This meant ignoring the poster that dominated the board featuring an old stallion pointing at the reader with a stern look on his face.

As with most government buildings in Equestria, the Sky Naval Offices were grand and beautifully decorated with the statues of distinguished heroes and banners galore. Ponies walked around going about their business, the only pony that didn't seem busy was the receptionist who greeted the downtrodden inventor. "Good morning, sir. Is there anything I can help you with today?"

Icarus gave a bleary eye up. "I-Icarus t-to see t-the grand Admiral..." He mentioned, Showing the letter he received.

She nodded. "Down the hallway to the left, make a right, then up the stairs... Let me write it down for you." She quickly took a pencil in her mouth and swiftly wrote down the directions before sliding the paper over to Icarus. "That should see you to him."

Icarus nodded and followed the Directions. Simple enough. Soon, a knock knock knock came to the Grand Admiral's Door.

The door opened magically to reveal the interior of the office. It was fairly large with the proper office are to the immediate front with a marble desk top and a huge map of Equestria on the wall. To the right were several book cases, a jukebox, and a couch completing the obvious resting area. The Grand Admiral himself sat behind his desk with no chair or any chairs around it, instead there were cushions. His general unkemptness contrasted to the expensive clothing he wore. His grand gold cloth uniform glittered in the magical lighting, though since he was the only pony to wear it it was more like formal attire. His mane was a mild tangled mess and the hairs of the mutton chops on the side of his face were long and irregular.

He looked up from some paperwork, his face showing that he was a pony around the same age as Icarus. His face lighted up when he spied the wings on his back. "Oh come in, come in Sir Inventor, please have a seat. Can I get you a drink?"

Icarus shook his head. "H-Had enough of d-drinks f-for a w-while..." He mumbled, sitting down.

Ticky looked up at the board a bit herself. She skimmed over them and only felt tears begin to well up. Almost everything she could see was something she could not do, or was not qualified. She began to whimper again and lowered her head down to hide her face.

"I...can't do anything..." She sniffled. Ticky would have asked about going back to school, but she knew that they could not afford that. All the income they made was spent on keeping them all afloat and....herself.