It was late, or early, rather, when Cogs finished his clock, complete with a date ticker and alarm, set for six in the morning.  He once again felt too tired to sleep, and began to read through his latest volume of musical history, trying to find deeper meaning in every phrase and sentence; failing at that, he switched back to the electrician's biography.  On a page near the front he found a diagram, one that gave him an odd sense of deja-vu, illustrating a tower of alternating discs of zinc and copper, separated by sheets of gauze soaked in acid. 'Acid; a caustic substance whose characteristics are the opposite of more strongly basic substances.' Cogs rattled off the definition in his head; 'Knowing what it is won't help me get my hands on any.'

He shut the book, moving to the windowsill and gazing over the nearby clouds towards the towards Luna's former prison.

"Fly me to the moon..."

He began to sing a song as his eyelids drooped; he knew not its meaning nor tune, nor even where he knew it from, and yet there was something about the lyrics that seemed to transcend reality, demonstrating perfectly that sort of magic music weaves into the soul.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

The faux reality of the comatose world shattered at the alarm bell's shrill ringing; Cogs came to, raising himself at just the right angle so that he fell out of the window.  Time seemed to slow as the dizzying fall kicked him awake, jolting his senses from stand-by to the hyper-aware mode that engages when one panics; in reality, the fall was only ten or twelve feet, and the landing pad a soft cloud.  A strong gale of wind jolted the cloud forward and he dropped, wrapping his legs around the semi-solid mist lest he fall; after a minute or so, Cogs turned back to look at the inn, which by then was a good fifty feet away.

"Hey slowpoke, get a move on!  We've got a forecast to make come true and your stalling ain't helping!"

Cogs looked through up through his blurry eyes to see a rainbow and a pair of disembodied rose-colored eyes floating in the bright, clear sky.  He moved his hooves to his own eyes and rubbed vigorously, then looked back to the unknown entity before him.  It was a  sky-blue pegasus mare with a rather disheveled, six-colored mane.

"Wait a sec, I don't know you; are you new in town?"

"Um, yes.  I'm Cogs, Helios Cogs; I just got to town a few days ago."

"Well then hey!  I'm Rainbow Dash, captain of the local weather team and the fastest flier in all of Equestria!  In fact, I'm such a great flier that-"

She stopped when she noticed that he was shaking.

"What's the matter, cold?"

"Bit more complicated than that..."

"Then say it!  Well c'mon, speak up!"

Cogs thought it would be a bit less awkward if he warped the truth; he'd rather deal with condescension than pity.

"I'm on a cloud seven stories up and I can't fly."

"Oh, want me to lend you a hoof?"

He was a bit taken aback; he had been expecting at least some note of disapproval in her voice, but found nothing.  His faith in society a bit improved, he gladly accepted the offer.

"Thanks!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

It suddenly occurred to Cogs that Dash had been able to feel his wing stubs when flying him down.  He found a it a little ironic: honesty had been suiting him well so far, and the moment he altered the truth a little he found himself in yet another awkward situation.

"Well it's not exactly like I lied, and it'd have been less awkward to have you look down on me than feel sorry for me."

She continued to glare at him.  He swallowed his pride and said what was going through his mind.

"Though regardless of convenience, it was wrong of me to not be completely honest."

Cogs didn't know what to expect, maybe a lecture or a pat on the head, but of the possibilities that formed in his mind, what came next was most definitely not accounted for.

"It's okay, I do it myself sometimes; just be glad it wasn't Applejack that caught you, or you'd have had to listen to half-hour sermon on lying."

The second alarm sounded on his patchwork clock, reminding him that time soldiered on regardless of his situation.

"I've got to eat breakfast and head to work, so..."

He had never been very adept at ending conversations, though thankfully Rainbow was.

"Okay then, bye!"

She zoomed away, leaving Cogs by himself for a second before he entered the Inn, surprising the owner who had been sitting in a chair facing the stairs, awaiting the early riser.