If there was one thing that she hated more than anything it was the Gala, even if her dress for it was pretty. It wasn't so much the actual Gala that she hated so much, more so it was the ponies that were attending. Merely because she was a, as they put it, little filly, they thought that they did not need to treat her with respect. Shouldn't they show at least some sort of respect for her? After all, she was a Princess.

She wondered how long she could avoid going down there. How long she could simply sit and stare at herself in the mirror before somepony came and got her. It was truly a lovely dress and had been custom made for her. But that was how all of her dresses were, Miss Rarity wouldn't have it any other way. It flowed and swished in a regal manner, shimmering in bright colors. The contrast of the colors against her black fur was lovely. She hoped Miss Rarity would actually be at the Gala this year, most of the outfits she was going to see would be of her design.

Slowly she got up with a heavy sigh. There were several ponies that she was hoping to not see, but at the same time there were several that she wanted to see. The Grand Galloping Gala was a rare time for her to see several ponies all at once. Her mother might even come, though that was very unlikely. It didn't bother her that her mother didn't attend; she was too busy to be bothered with such trivial things as Gala's and parties. She wished that it was the same case for her so that she didn't have to go.

There was a knock on the door and it opened. “Glass? Are you still here?”

She looked over at the door and then up at Princess Luna. “Yes yes, just fiddling with my dress,” she said as she took one last look at herself and brushed back back her copper colored mane. No matter how hard she tried it always seemed so messy.

“There are many ponies looking for you.” Princess Luna moved back into the hall to let her pass.

It didn't bother her that Luna was informal with her, as she respected her to no end. Princess Luna had been her teacher for most of her life, as well as Princess Celestia. “I'm sure there are...” Glass said with a sigh. “That pony from Griflon no doubt...”

“Sir Burra is not that bad,” she said with a smile as Glass made her way into the hallway with deliberate slowness.

Glass's face scrunched up in disgust as a shudder ran down her back. “He is disgusting, to say the least. And rude. And...” She waved her hoof flippantly. “A jerk.”

“He is the son of Griflon's ambassador.”

“Adopted son,” she retorted and then sighed. “My apologies Princess...”

“Another bad letter?” Princess Luna said as she looked into the room, the floor and desk were covered in pieces of paper.

“She still wont let me come see it...and she has canceled her visit once again...”

Princess Luna moved over to her after closing the door. She smiled down. “It will be all right little filly. She merely wants it to be-”

“Perfect. I know. That is what she says in her letters every time I ask.” They began to make their way down the hallway. “She is not here, is she?”

There was a moment of hesitation but Luna shook her head. “I do not think she is.”

“She wrote that she might come, but I did not believe it...she despises these events more than me.” She could already hear the Gala from here as the noise of it echoed up the hallway. “It's because they remind her of him. I think the reason she doesn't visit me is because I remind her of him...”

“That is not true little one.” They were at the top of a staircase now, leading down to a bridge into the main castle. “She wants to make things better, so that you and her can live together.”

“I understand the difficulties...there's a lot of magic that needs to be undone, but it's been so long...” From there she could see down into the outer courtyard where there were many ponies milling about.

“You must have patience little one. You are still young and have a long life ahead of you,” Princess Luna said as they both moved crossed the bridge and went into the main castle. The place they were looked out over the very large crowd.

Glass looked over at Princess Celestia, who was in her usual spot, greeting ponies. “Princess Celestia says the same...” They were making their way down into the main room. “But it's hard and I don't want to...”

“Things will get better little Glass, when you least expect it.” With that she parted, having other duties to attend to during the Gala.

So she was left alone to think and to look at the crowd that stood between her and Princess Celestia. If she could just make it to her, nopony would bother her for the night. “Ah, Princess Glass. So good I finally found you.” But it seemed that she would not get the chance.

“Burra.” She looked at the roughened little foal in front of her. It bothered her that he was taller.

“I...I wanted to apologies...for my rudeness a few months ago,” he said as he fidgeted. He was the color of mud with a dirty brown mane, but his eyes were a striking red. She would never understand why a griffon ambassador would adopt somepony like him. He was socially awkward and had no sense of etiquette or proper procedure. She was educated, while he seemed to have crawled off the streets.

“I think you made yourself quite clear. After all, according to you, I'm nothing but a pompous freak. Nothing but a freaky filly,” she said as she moved past him and amongst the legs of the other guests. He had been attempting to court her and doing a very poor job of it. She had thought it...cute, at first. Then it was just annoying. So she turned him down and he got mean.

Those words had hurt. She'd heard them a lot. Most often when ponies thought she wasn't listening. It came with being half changeling and half pony. Burra was the only pony to ever get away with it. Most ponies tended to...well, she never saw them again if they got too vocal about her. After all, she was a Princess of the changelings, as well as of the snow. “Good evening, Princess Glass,” somepony said as she moved past them.

“Please- pardon me, Princess Glass- excuse me, can I just- sorry, please-” He was struggling to try and follow her.

“I am afraid I cannot speak.” She did not recognize the voice, but assumed it was somepony attempting to get to her mother through her. Many tried to get an audience through her, but she always sent them to Chestnut, which sometimes seemed cruel. She moved faster as she tried to get away from Burra and this new pony. She wished that ponies would get out of her way, but it seemed that the faster she wanted to go, the more ponies got in her way. After ducking under a buffet table she seemed quite sure that she lost them. Her eyes closed as she took a few moments to catch her breath. “Jerk...”

Her brow wrinkled slightly as something changed and she peeked out from under the table. It was silent and nopony was moving. In the silence, all that could be heard was a soft clink, a pause and then a clink. Slowly she made her way out from under the table and towards where everypony was looking. And then a voice rang out, “Sorry I'm late. Seems I lost my invitation.”

Then she saw him, standing before Celestia. A gray blue pony with a copper mane, wrapped in a black cloak. She walked slowly up the large path that he had made in his entrance. She should feel everypony behind her staring at her as she made her approach. Her legs felt weak and her heart beat faster and faster. Celestia was looking at her, over the ponies head. She had to do something. Say something. They were speaking to each other. Say anything. She couldn't hear what they were saying over the pounding of her heart. Get his attention. He looked immense, the feeling was indescribable; it was no wonder ponies moved out of his way so quickly. Do something. She would have to get his attention from Princess Celestia. Speak. She stood several hooves behind him. “Father?”

~

If there was anything that Copper was sure of now, it was that he hated time travel. He absolutely hated it, especially now as he stared up at the castle. Of all the times the Doctor could have dropped him off, it had to be during the Gala. But that was not entirely his fault, that was his blue box. He had said that it was as close to when Copper left as they were probably going to get. “Blasted thing...” he muttered as he crawled through a bush and into the garden. He shook his head to loose a branch and made sure that his cloak was not snagged before he headed quickly through the garden.

“I do believe this is quite an interesting year,” a pony was saying not too far from him.

He looked over at the pony and the griffon he was talking to. A griffon at the Gala? Things had certainly changed. “Excuse me,” Copper said as he approached the two of them with a smile. “Would any of you happen to know if Princess Celestia is still greeting attendees?”

The two of them looked Copper up and down with a look of curiosity, the pony with a bit more disgust. “As she always is,” the pony said.

“I do not believe that she gets away from that throughout the Gala,” the griffon said.

Something was vaguely familiar about the griffon, but he couldn't be sure what it was, after all, it had been two years. “Thank you,” Copper said as he made his way towards the ball room. He would have to make his way through that first.

“By Celestia...did you see his leg?” the griffon hissed to the pony.

“That I did,” the pony whispered back.

“You don't think...”

“Impossible.”

Good, they were not following him, yet. They would know who he was soon enough. He looked down at the battered metal that encased his leg. It would be good to get it off, but he was not looking forward to it. There had been quite a lot of physical pain getting it on and he could only imagine how much it would hurt taking it off after so long. “Pardon me,” he said as he brushed past two ponies speaking near the doorway.

They stared at him. Everything looked so much the same, just as it had the last Gala he had attended. Music was playing from one side of the room, but his focus was on the main hall, where Celestia would be sitting. He was not sure if everypony was getting out of his way because they recognized him, or if it was simply the way he looked. He had to admit he was not dressed formally. The battered bowtie and a large black cloak, plus the clink of the his leg that happened with every step. Whispers followed him after several moments of silence and they consisted of, “Is that?” “Who is that?” Then someone finally said it, “It's Copper Feather...”

There was the wave of realization and then everything went silent as he laid eyes on Celestia. It was like a wave of silence that filled the entire room. The crowd parted in front of him as he walked forward; the only thing that could be heard was the clink of his leg. He would have much preferred to have entered through the main doors, that would have been far more dramatic. It took a moment before Celestia noticed him and she smiled. There was no end to how amazing she looked. “Sorry I'm late. Seems I lost my invitation,” he said as he walked to the stairs and was quite surprised to see that she had come down them to meet him.

“Oh Copper...it is so good to see you,” she said, her voice was surprisingly soft and caught him off guard.

He couldn't help but smile. “I feel the same. I...I-” she held up her hoof, the smile never leaving her face. He nodded and took a deep breath, there would be plenty of time to talk. Nothing but time now. “I trust you have been well?”

She nodded in response. “Oh yes. I see you're a little...worse for ware.”

At least she was honest, that made him chuckle as he nodded. “I'm afraid it has not been an easy two years for me.” His brow wrinkled slightly as he noticed that she was no longer looking at him, but past him.

“Father?”

Copper felt his shoulders sag and his legs nearly buckled. It was such a small voice that seemed so familiar, as though he had heard it in his dreams. Slowly he turned and looked at the little filly looking up at him. There was no doubt in his mind as he took in every inch of her. Black fur, a long crooked horn, black wings with colorful insect like frills for feathers, sharp little fangs, copper mane and copper eyes with slits instead of pupils. He knew those eyes well. Those were his eyes. But...there was no way that this filly was two years old; she was much older.

Words failed him. His mouth was dry and his tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of his mouth. It was as though everything was screaming inside him, like he would explode. He had to says something. He tried a few times but words didn't come until after the tears. “You must hate me...” was what he managed to say.

But before she could respond, a very familiar pony stepped between her and him. “If she doesn't, I sure do.”

His eyes moved upwards slightly and he brushed the tears from his face. “Ah, Chestnut...I thought you might be here.”

“Don't give me that,” Chestnut said and took a step towards Copper. Copper didn't budge; she hadn't expected that and was now only a hoof away. “We've had a number of you ponies thinking you can just show up and say things and expect to just be accepted.”

His brow wrinkled slightly as he thought a moment. “You mean imposters? Ponies were impersonating me?” he said as he looked back at Celestia.

She nodded. “Oh yes. A few of them truly believed they were you.”

“But most of them were just after something,” Chestnut said and Copper turned back to her. “And she supports every single one of them.” Chestnut was looking accusingly at Celestia. “No matter how obvious it was.”

Copper smiled slightly. “I see. I can imagine that they were not difficult to discern?” He knew that there were many reasons to try and be him, as he knew a lot of ponies and had quite a lot influence.

“Some of them were difficult,” Celestia said with a chuckle. “Especially the ones who truly believed they were you.”

“But they were all fakes and we managed to keep them away from her.” Chestnut was positioned directly in front of Copper between him and the little filly. “And they will always be fake. Copper is not coming back.”

“Chestnut,” Celestia was speaking as she moved up beside Copper. “I have had my reasons, but-”

“No!” She stomped her hoof, glaring at Celestia. “Copper is gone. He's never coming back.” She suddenly struck him across the face. “And you need to realize that!” Chestnut took deep breaths, now glaring at Copper.

He was still standing. He had expected to be floored. After a moment he said, “Since when do you hold you punches?” He straightened back up and rubbed his jaw.

“No...you can't. It can't.” Again she struck him, but it was even weaker than the first. “You can't just...show up!”

Copper took a deep breath. He knew he was going to be struck again though it was the gentlest hit he'd probably ever received. “Chestnut, it's all right. Everything is going to be fine.”

“No!” she shouted and hit him again, and then again. “You can't do this to us! You can't do this to me!”

He gently stopped her hoof and pushed it towards the ground. “It's all right, Chestnut...”

“No...” She was crying. He had never seen Chestnut cry nor had he ever expected to see her do so. “You can't do this...not after so long...not after ten years.”

He hated time travel. “I'm sorry.” He truly hated time travel. “If I could, I would never have left.” There were not enough words to describe how much he hated time travel. “But I couldn't.” Copper could fill a thousand libraries with a thousand books each with thousands of pages and it would not even begin to describe how much he utterly hated time travel. “And I tried so hard to come back.”

She was sobbing now, still trying to hit him as if it would make everything better. “You're not allowed to come back,” she sobbed.

Copper placed his hoof gently on her shoulder and gave her a soft smile. “But I am. I know it hurts. I know you didn't want me to leave. I didn't want to leave. I...I thought I could make it back...” He looked back at Celestia. “I couldn't even say sorry for not being able to come back...” He looked back at Chestnut and gently brushed tears away. “Now stop that.”

“I do not hate you...”

He blinked and looked past Chestnut at the little filly who seemed to have found her voice. “I...” He moved around Chestnut so that he could look at her. He did not want to stop looking at her. It felt like at any moment she would simply cease to exist. “I would hate me...”

She shook her head slowly. “No you wouldn't. You would want to, but you would be too happy to be upset.” She gave him a small smile.

There was no doubt that she was the most beautiful thing he had seen in his entire life. “I-” he stopped and took a deep breath. “What is your name little filly?” he said as he sat down.

After a moment of hesitation and a few nervous shifts she moved closer to him. “Feathered Glass.”

He could not help but smile more. “Named for your wings...much like me.” She nodded. “And...where is your mother?”

“Freud Valley,” Celestia said as she moved once again up beside him. “It's where she spends all her time, trying to undo the damage that's been done. She has been trying to make it a suitable place for Glass.”

Copper nodded slowly and for the first time looked around. It seemed that many ponies had left and the ones that had stayed had gone back to doing whatever it is one is supposed to do at a gala. He looked down at the little filly. His little Glass. “I'm sure there is a lot of work to do...well over a thousand years worth of damage...”

He watched as the face of the little filly scrunched up in annoyance. “Oh of course everypony always sides with the Princess,” she muttered.

Celestia laughed and Copper looked back at her in confusion. “Oh she is impatient. She wishes to be with Queen Chrysalis down in Freud Valley but has not been allowed.”

He looked down at the little filly again and smiled. “Well...I'm sure she will be on her way here when she hears of my return, isn't that right Chestn- where'd she go?” Chestnut was gone.

“Probably to go and tell mother you're here,” Glass said as she once again moved towards him. She seemed so hesitant but at the same time curious.

“Oh that is good, that means she will be on her way quickly,” Copper said with a smile. He took a deep breath and looked around. Nothing had changed.

“You wont go to Freud Valley?” the little filly said hopefully. He would not leave her here as he went there.

He shook his head. “Oh no. I...” He hesitated a moment and then sighed. “I am not fit for travel... In my current state I should not even be standing.”

Suddenly everypony seemed very concerned. “Ah! You should have said earlier,” Celestia said as she gently touched him. Copper nearly fell over.

“I will be fine for a little longer,” he said with a chuckle as he struggled a moment.

“Glass, please take Copper up to one of the spare rooms...”

Glass nodded furiously as she jumped up and hopped back and forth a bit. “Yes. Of course.”

He chuckled softly as he began walking. “Unless you have had a major remodeling in the last ten years, I know where they are.”

“Ah. Yes. Of course...yeah,” Glass said as she fidgeted.

He looked back at her. “Well? Come on. I may need some assistance.”

She practically ran to his side. “Y-yes!”

He chuckled softly as he continued walking. The hallway that he was looking for was exactly where he thought it was and it was devoid of ponies. But of course it would be, there was a Gala after all. He paused a moment at a lift and pushed the button beside it. He glanced at the little filly, who had not taken her eyes off him. He gave her a smile and she quickly looked away. He reached out with his bare hoof and gently touched her. She flinched slightly and he pulled his hoof away. “Sorry. I...”

She moved closer to him and placed her hooves onto his shoulder. She was so light. He looked down into those Copper eyes and smiled. “You are more than I imagined,” she said softly.

“Really? A battered pony like me?” He could not help but smile at her. “I would think that you would be disappointed. I knew a lot of the stories that they told of me...all of them were an exaggeration. Painting me in an absurd light.”

There was a smile on her face as she shook her head. “No. You're more than all that...more than I imagined. A little dirty...but...none of the books could have ever come close.”

The lift arrived and his brow furrowed. “Books?” he said as he slowly made his way into the lift. He was wearing down. It wouldn't be long before he collapsed.

“Oh yes. There's tons of them, all about your life.” She followed him quickly inside and hit one of the buttons. “Most ponies have read them now, they're very popular.”

“Books...”

“Mhm. The last two are the most popular. Pony of the Gears and Crossed Gears. I could never decide which were my favorite personally, cus there are just so many...”

“There are books about me?” He would most definitely have to speak with Celestia about this.

“Yes. Nine of them. They start off with your days in flight school and your injury, and then your schooling and how you went and spoke with Nightmare Moon, and your first mission to Zebrica and then you go-” she stopped and her face reddened slightly as she saw Copper sitting and smiling at her. “But of course you know what the books are about...” She kicked at the ground absentmindedly. “Cus they're about you...”

He chuckled softly. “That's a tad unfair...you know everything about me and I know nothing about you...”

She fidgeted slightly and ran a hoof over her mane. Copper noticed how her mane was quite unmanageable, just as his was. “But...you're here now.”

Copper smiled and nodded. The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. “Yes...and I am not going to leave.” He stumbled out into the hall and she rushed to help support him. She had obviously gotten a lot of that absurd changeling strength as she was able to help him stay up quite easily. “I'm afraid I'm rather useless at the moment...” he muttered as they moved down the hallway.

“You just need time to recover,” she said, smiling up at him. “You always get beat down, but you always get up.” She paused a moment. “Eventually.”

He chuckled softly and nodded as they moved into a room. “Fairly sure I said that at some point.” Copper had seen the inside of these rooms quite often as he stayed in them whenever he had been in Canterlot for extended periods of time. It was easy with her help to get over to the bed and he sat beside it. “I think...I will be more comfortable without this...” he muttered as he pulled the cloak and bowtie off. Then he began undoing the straps wrapped around his body.

Glass looked very concerned now. “Are...are you really going to be all right?”

He looked down at himself and his battered form. He was missing patches of fur from where he had been burned and had quite a lot of cuts and dried blood. “I think I will be much better after a bath...but first I need to get this thing off.” He shifted slightly as he began undoing latches on his metal leg. Two years he had not removed it. Bathing was difficult with it on, but he had not had many opportunities to bathe anyways.

“Can...can I help?” Glass said as she watched.

There was a moment of hesitation, but then he nodded. “I need some basic tools.” He tugged on something a moment and then frowned. “And probably a can opener.”

She nodded furiously. “All right!” Then she ran from the room.

“I...” He sighed softly and chuckled. He had not even told her what sort of things he would need. He leaned against the bed a moment and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

“So it's true...” His eyes snapped open and he saw Princess Luna standing in the doorway. “You are back.”

He nodded slowly and smiled slightly. “Yes. As much as it is a surprise to everypony and me.” He had for a moment thought that he had slipped into sleep and gone to the dreamscape. He rubbed his face with his bare hoof.

“I...saw Glass on my way here...she said that you require tools?” Luna came inside the room slowly.

“To get this off,” he said as he wiggled the metal leg. “I've had it on too long. The longest that I had thought I'd have to wear it was a year, maybe two, but that was taking into consideration that I would be removing it occasionally and improving it.” He took a deep breath as he held up the leg and twisted it slightly, looking at it in the light. It was scratched and dented. It had far exceeded the lifespan that would have predicted.

“Does it still have the...blade?” Luna asked hesitantly.

Copper was aware that he made everypony nervous. Probably even Celestia, but she knew that he'd do nothing against her. Luna however, still feared he held a grudge. He nodded slightly in response to her question and with a slight twist of his arm in a certain way there was a shnict and the large blade revealed itself. But it was as battered as the leg itself, the blade nicked cross its length and the tip was missing. Copper stared at it for some time before he sighed and retracted it with a shink. “It has seen more battles than it was designed for...” He stared wistfully at the ceiling. “But the same could be said of me, dontcha think?”

“You have been through a lot...” Luna agreed and finally she sat down.

“I hear there are books about me?” He looked at her and she nodded. “That is...curious. I am sure that must have taken quite the effort.”

“You will have to speak with Celestia on that matter. She seems to be the only pony who knows the author...but I have read through them...”

“I am sure you hate the first one.” She sagged noticeably. “You must not punish yourself so much. It...” He hesitated a moment and then sighed. “It was my fault. I have found out a lot in the two years I was trying to get back...and it's my fault, not yours.”

There was a clattering as Glass came back into the room with a large bag of tools. She was out of breath. “I didn't know what you needed, but when I told the pony who it was for he gave me this bag.”

“Ah...this is one of my old tool bags,” he said as he watched Glass pull it over to him quickly. He stood up and headed towards the bathroom. “If you do not like the sight of blood, I suggest not watching.”

Glass hesitated. “You're going to bleed?”

“Probably. Just a little I would think though, if at all.” He stopped at the tub and looked at her, she was standing beside him with the bag open.

“Could...I perhaps help?” Luna said as she came into the bathroom as well.

“Do you not wish to return the the Gala?” Copper asked, tilting his head to the side.

She shook her head. “I'm afraid that what little entertainment there was has left with you.”

He chuckled softly as he climbed into the tub. “Right then...”

It took several minutes to explain to the two of them that it wasn't dangerous to him to remove as long as they listened to him. In the end they hardly helped, besides handing him tools. “All right...let's hope this goes-” he grunted softly as he tweaked the last thing and blood seeped from a few cracks in the metal. He took deep breaths. That had hurt a lot more than he was ready for, but as the device came apart and revealed his leg, it wasn't that bad. The black lines that had been the source of his injury had faded away, leaving nothing behind. He tossed the device from the tub onto the floor, it would need to be destroyed as soon as possible.

“Are you okay?” Glass said, leaning over the tub to look at his leg.

“Yeah...” He tried to reach for the nozzle to turn the tub on but couldn't seem to reach it. It glowed and twisted on its own. “Thank you, Luna.” He let the water run over the leg. It burned slightly, but it also felt very good. “Doesn't seem to be any damage,” he said as he took a deep breath and examined it. It was the first time he'd seen the leg in two years. He'd almost forgotten that he had the three long scars.

“That is very good,” Glass said as she smiled at him.

Copper started to wash the dirt, grime and dried blood out of his fur. He felt odd. It was as if he'd just torn off his own leg and thrown it aside like garbage. He could not remember the last time that he had actually washed in an actual bath tub. The last time he had cleaned himself up was in a stream. “Honestly it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would have been. I was worried about a lot of things, but it seems that I still have feeling and the legs mobility has returned...” Luna turned off the water and there was a towel that floated to him and positioned itself as though it were ready to begin drying him. “Luna, there is no need to treat me as a child.” He couldn't help but chuckle as he took it and began drying off.

Luna shifted slightly and looked away from him. “My apologies.”

“It's fine. It's nice to know that ponies are still concerned for me after so long.” He made an attempt to get out of the tub, but failed. He sighed softly. “But I do believe I'm at the end of my rope now.”

It was easy to get out of the tub with Glass and Luna's help. “You just have to take it easy now,” Glass said, smiling at him. “There's no need for you to work so hard now.”

He looked at her and smiled slightly. “There's always more work to do...”

“Ah but she is mostly correct,” Luna said as they helped him onto the bed. “We are at this moment, stable. There are little things going on, but they are domestic things with little to no consequence either way. Equestria has not known this level of tranquility since its founding.”

His brow furrowed slightly, but then he relaxed. “So I'm not needed...”

“Not at the level you were,” Luna says with a glance towards Glass. “Equestria does not need you, but there are many ponies who do.”

Glass climbed up onto the bed and sat looking at Copper. She had a very thoughtful expression on her face and Copper couldn't help but smile at her. “What is it my little Glass?”

She smiled even more and shook her head. “You look more like I imagined you now.”

“Good,” he said softly as he sank into the comfort of the bed. This was a rest that he knew was well deserved. But Luna was right. Equestria may not need him, but there are ponies like Glass who need him. Next Chapter: 2: Storytelling Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 32 Minutes