Of Gears and Magic

"Hmm, okay then," White said, eyes looking at a particular post, "We are going to lie, then." She grabbed the poster off the board, then showed it to Ticky. "It says you need experience in plants, and you've got flower power, see? So despite the fact you didn't finish learning, and don't have uh, botany? Botany skills as such, I reckon we can get you a place at this thing. Not only that, it is..." She checked the poster's fine print, and her face fell a bit, before a rapid recovery. "...far away from the clock tower at least! You won't have to worry about it any more!"

She grinned, but it was a grin with a worry behind it.

Ticky tried to read over the sheet but in her slow reading she did not manage to get anything from it before it was pulled away for her cousin to check it again.

The idea of lying scared her. Not so much that it was dishonest, but that she did not know if she could hold up in the event of its creation. She had far too many tells, and any questions would make her want to curl up and hide.

"..What is it?" She asked, wiping a few tears away.

"Working in a...argh, your mother's going to kill me, but you can work in a place called the Smith Gardens," White smiled weakly, "Owned by the Canterlot Council as a 'Wonder of Equestria'. That means you might have to move. Out of this town."

There was an extremely long pause. White's smile faltered.

"...I don't think they have much clockwork there, Ticky."

Ticky's eyes slowly went wider and began to flood with tears. She clutched onto one of White's legs like a foal would to a mother when frightened.

"M-move? Away?" She didn't know of anything that could get more terrifying. Being away from the clockwork was good, but being away would mean no more mother, and no more White. Just imagining that made her feel like the world was completely and utterly against her. Did her sister even want her here anymore? She was so mad at her not so long ago.

"P-p-please...I-I-I don't w-want to g-go away! Don't s-send me away!" She sobbed into White's shoulder and mane.

"Ticky, Ticky, listen to me," White said softly, "I've been thinking about it since last night. And, well, there's no future here. None. Here, you are right. You can't do anything. There are gears pendulums and clocks on every street, every pony carries a contraption of some sort."

She pointed at the noticeboard again. "Look at it, Ticky. This is all this place to offer. Do you see anything there? Do you see a future? Many ponies do, and they bite into it with full force. Now this," She waved around the poster, "This can be a future for you. This is where happiness can lie. Are you happy here? Ticky, that has to be the question you have to ask yourself. Are you truly happy here? With the crowds, and the clocks? All I ever did was make it bearable, but I can't make you happy. I couldn't before and I couldn't now. Only bearable. Ear muffs."

Placing the earmuffs over Ticky's ears, White looked up at the grand clock tower as it chimed the hour, striking its bells to make the ten distinctive chimes. As the town shook with the sound, White held Ticky close. She didn't like the idea of sending Ticky away, but she was convinced that Ticky couldn't live here. She could exist. But not live.

He tilted his head at the inventor. "If you're having a bit of a hangover, you didn't have to come in so early"

Icarus sighed softly. "N-Nah... Hangover was g-gone a while ago. T-This is j-just r-regret." He said softly, looking back up. "A-Anyway, W-What Can I d-do for you, S-Sir?"

"Oh, I just wanted to get to meet the pony who's making my wings personally. Are they a copy of the wings there on your back?"

Ticky heard her world go dead around her as the ear muffs were donned. It was like this place had lost everything to her. It may have not been much to her before, but White and her mother were here. The idea of them being gone to her was a nightmare.

Her whole life she leaned on her mother and White. White made it so she could go out more and not feel as alone. Her mother could only spend so much time with her nowadays. To take them both out of her daily life felt sadistic. Her mind could not even wrap around the idea of the benefits of where she would be going.

"N-n-no...." She cried even more. Only the sounds of her own cries could be heard with her earmuffs on. Ticky knew that White was probably right, but her ultimate desire was to stay with them.

Icarus nodded. "S-Same design, T-Though bigwigs w-would probably want t-them to b-be S-Shinier..." He joked somewhat, smiling softly.

The admiral gave a light chuckle. "I like to think of myself as a more... practical pony. So long as they work, work well, and won't fail on me in mid flight they could look like an umbrella skeleton with bottles on the end for all I care. Looks are a happy byproduct of quality engineering."

(Hey Iccy, it's your turn in the sea ponies thread)

White didn't want Ticky to go, not really, but the truth was she was getting tired of looking after Ticky. So very tired at seeing her flounder across life like a fish out of water. However, White knew that as long as Ticky was in her state, it would be heartless to abandon her. If only she could get started on a future...

In any case, the decision couldn't be made now at this very moment, they needed to go home, both to talk and think about it. Inwardly White cringed at the reaction her Aunt would give her for leaving Ticky in that noblepony's house. She wasn't looking forward to trying to convince her that Ticky should leave for greener pastures either. But maybe, just maybe, if Ticky had a steady life, White herself would be able to break free of her own chains and live a life of her own.

She didn't say any of this to Ticky, of course. There was every chance that her timid cousin would take things the completely wrong way. Instead, she motioned her to follow. They were going home, and in White's case, facing the music.

[Is it? I thought it was Mriia's.]

Icarus nodded, smiling softly. "T-Thank you, S-Sir." He said, nodding.

"Come on now, let's speak as equals here. I'm only good at one sided conversation if I'm giving a speech or an impromptu lecture. I want to get to know you, not just talk at you. Decree or not, Inventor or not, I want to know for sure if the pony who designed my equipment is..." He grumbled in frustration at losing his thought. "Ah... bottom line I want to get to know you so I can trust you so I can trust the wings. There."

Icarus blushed softly. "S-Sorry sir... H-Had a r-rough m-morning. I-I, uh... L-Long story." He said, shuffling his hooves. "W-Where S-Shall I s-start?"

Ticky whimpered to herself the whole way home. She felt so small and pointless now. She could not even look at White the same. It felt like she had already left. The trip back home was a long walk.

"Hm... Do you dabble in anything else besides wings?"

Icarus winced. W-Well, Wings are my S-Specialty... Ow..." He said, putting a hoof to his head. Icarus sighed. "L-Look, I-I'm sorry, B-But could w-we move this on?"

Indigo frowned and put his hoof to his chin, thinking for a minute. "I know what you need. Some relaxation, and I know just the place. It's a... spa several blocks from here, we'll take a cab."

Icarus blinked. "A S-Spa?" He asked, blinking. Hadn't heard of it before. And he was so hesitant about calling it such...

THROB

And his head reminded him WHY Indigo offered. "S-Sounds great. O-Ohh, my head..."

The admiral gets up from his desk and dons a great nondescript overcoat hanging from a coat rack by the door. He doesn't even bother to talk to his secretary to tell her where he's going, since she knows full well of what the admiral always goes off somewhere when he arrives in town. He boards a rail cab, a roundish thing that hangs off of rails that criss cross all over town, and waits for Iccy to get in before sliding in his bits into a slot and turns a difficult switch that closes the door and sends them toward the middle class commercial district. "You'll love it. It's called Flare's Fancy. It has a bar and eatery in the front, but the back is where the real magic happens"

Icarus had no Idea what was gonna happen. However, it didn't seem so bad... Maybe it was just because he didn't really know much about the place to have heard about it yet. "I-It sounds nice s-so far..." He said, Nodding.

The cab shifted a bit as it glided across its rail, sometimes making it hard to stand as the rails spun downward into the insides of the tower. When it came to a stop at its station Indigo took the lead and maneuvered through the busy streets and came to the respectable looking establishment, taking the first step inside.

It was a clean and cozy inside, a Violinist stood by the fire place, playing a soft song to break the quite. Most ponies were broken up into pairs and sometimes little groups of three, having quite conversations over a pint, or dinner. A Large colt stood behind the counter at the tap, serving food and drink to all who needed it. The bar maids walked with an extra swish in there tail.

The places decor had a comfortable feel about it, from the plush rugs to the warm light coming from the fixtures. If it weren't for the hardened faces of some of the ponies at the bar.

A beautiful Pegises with long blond hair and a light blue coat came down the stairs. she had a light sheen of sweat, as if she had been doing some hard labor. When her eye's fell on Indigo they hardened to a slight glare. straightening her dress she trotted over to the newcomers.

"Fluffing her wings she looked at the grey colt sidelong as she spoke to Indigo. "Ye' Don' often bring along a friend Sir." Her voice held a bit of cheerful banter. As if she often heckled the customers.

Icarus looked around the "Spa" in awe, before the Incredibly beautiful Pegasus mare that Spoke to Indigo caught his eye. He blushed a little, in spite of himself, and shuffled his hooves.

Woah.