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Another Broken Cart3,313 words
A Broken Heart. 3,383 words
A Lonely Mare.3,900 words
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Another Broken Cart

There was no chance of riding that day. Indeed, the sun was shining through a patchwork of dark clouds, and golden leaves of autumn were so inviting, especially in the cool morning breeze. However, last night's rain, so penetrating, left the roads full of puddles and deep ruts from the wagons loaded down with fresh produce. And with clouds so sombre threatening another soaking downpour that would cause everyone to run for shelter, riding simply wasn't possible.

Although she didn't want to go out in the weather, Scootaloo knew she would have to get out there, and not being able to ride her scooter didn't help motivate her the slightest. While she lay in her bed considering taking the day off to relax in front of the fire and drink cider as the rain poured relentlessly... maybe even curl up with a blanket and a good book. It certainly was the season and the weather almost begged her to stay in.

So Scootaloo wished, but she chided herself at the mere thought. It was the time of year when ponies needed her most. She wasn't the type to let anyone down and she really needed the bits, if she was going to keep a roof over her head.

The hardest part of Scootaloo's day was actually getting out of bed. Especially on a day like this, where she wanted nothing more than to lay about enjoying the comfort and warmth a little while longer. Her bed has never been so comfortable as it was right now. The temperature of the room was cold but not cold enough for the blankets that covered her.

Scootaloo stretched and rolled over, pulling some blankets with her. She wondered if other ponies were like this. Not lazy, just really hated getting up on a morning where everything seemed so gloomy yet so perfect. Certainly not Apple Bloom, she was an early riser, ready to conquer the day; no matter what the weather was. She also knew Sweetie Belle never liked to sleep in much but Scootaloo always figured the day wasn't going anywhere.

With a groan, the tangerine colored mare rolled out of bed. Her hooves connected with the cold hardwood floor and she shivered. She turned back to her bed and straightened the blankets in a haphazard way; so it looked somewhat neat. She didn't find it necessary to make a big fuss, after all no one was coming over so it was good enough to her.

She lived alone, Scootaloo, in a small one bedroom apartment just outside Ponyville. Ever since she earned her cutie mark in mechanics she has been the local handypony. She mostly repaired wagons for the local farmers but she also helped repair locomotives on occasion, whenever one happened to breakdown in Ponyville. She also fixed just about anything else in Ponyville that she was hired for: pipes, heaters, wiring, windows, sinks and other household items. But despite all the work, she barely scraped by. The work was never consistent yet she always somehow managed. Except in Autumn, the only time she had a heavy workflow due to the harvest season, wagons always needed repair.

Her apartment was a single room, well almost, the bathroom was separated only by a half wall partition Scootaloo herself put in. Her small bed was placed along the far wall, in the center was a small table and two chairs, a bowl of fruit sitting atop of it. Along the other wall was a tiny stove with a couple of pots and pans and next to the stove was a sink, with a single bowl in it. Across from her bed was the door and a single couch that was covered in a thick layer of dust. It was nothing remarkable but it was nonetheless her home and she was content.

With a sigh she made her way across the room, stopping at the table to pluck an apple from her fruit bowl, which she ate quickly. Today was going to be busy, she just had that feeling. The previous day she managed to repair a cart and the oven in Sugarcube Corner. With no pending or continuing projects the proverbial flood gates were open. Not that that's the way it worked but there seemed to be an ebb and tide to the workflow. Still, it was autumn and there hasn't been a dull moment yet.

She never complained, not once. She liked fixing things, she'd do it for free if she could. It gave her life meaning to get into the inner workings of some machine or device, figure out how it worked and how to make it work again. It all started in high school when she finally wrecked her scooter so badly she had to rebuild it completely. It was then she received her cutie mark, as she beamed down at her new and improved scooter, it appeared on her flank. She was the last in her class to get it but since then she's been fixing everything she can. After school she started charging fees for her work until she saved up enough to open her own shop.

Scootaloo was blasted with chill wind upon opening her front door, interrupting her thoughts. In the distance a low thunderclap could be heard, a storm was definitely moving in over Ponyville. She only wished she remembered to ask a pegasus when. As the chill winds of autumn rushed over her coat, making her shiver slightly, the sight before her was bleak at best. Rays of sunlight poked through the thick clouds and the air was opalescent with fog and smoke from near by chimneys. In the distance she could see the rolling hills of Sweet Apple Acres. If she looked carefully she could make out the red apple and arrow that topped the farmhouse. Or as she liked to call it, 'the thing that showed which way the wind was blowing.' With another shiver she tore her gaze from the distant scenery and stepped out her front door, making sure to lock it behind her, she set out on her walk into ponyville.

The journey to her shop wasn't a long one, just a few minutes walk from her home. The ground below her made loud squelching sounds, her hooves sinking in the mud after each step she took. As mud splattered her fetlocks she thought about the road conditions and wondered if they would ever lay down cobblestone like so many other towns in Equestria have. They. Who are they? I could do it. Shouldn't be too hard. But as quickly as the thought came, she pushed it out reminding herself she was only a mechanic and someone else more important would do it.

Upon arriving to her shop, a small garage, Scootaloo found a pony with a cart outside waiting. She recognized the mare instantly with that pale gold coat and orange mane and tail. It was Golden Harvest but most of the ponies in town called her Carrot Top.

"Oh, Scootaloo. Thank Celestia you are here. My cart is... broken."

Carrot Top had been a customer for Scootaloo a few times before. She had fixed her heater last winter and over the summer she installed an automated sprinkler system. She couldn't help but smile, seeing the troubled mare standing frantically in front of her shop. "Good morning Carrot Top, what seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, it's just terrible. I had just finished delivering a ton of carrots in town when the cart got really hard to pull... and it was empty. Some stallion helped me drag it here, he said one of the back wheels isn't turning." Carrot Top said, worry in her voice. "I need this cart soon. I have more carrots to deliver."

"It's probably just a seized bearing. It's common on these old carts. When the oil in the bearings dry up they get hot and melt." Scootaloo explained as she walked around the cart. She had already found the seized bearing, knowing the tell signs. This was the most common problem she fixed this time of year.

"Oh no, is that bad? Do I need another cart? But you can fix anything –"

Scootaloo held up a hoof to silence her. "I can fix it. It's easy. Fifty bits for the part twenty for the labor and another fifteen to check the other bearings and grease them. Let's just call it eighty bits. I should have it done tomorrow morning at the latest."

"Oh thank you, you're the best." Carrot Top said with relief. "I'll be back tomorrow."

She disliked getting out of bed but she loved opening her shop every morning. The sound of the metal garage door made is it rolled up along its metal track. No matter how much oil she used, she could never get rid of that awful squeaking sound the door made as it reached the end of its track. Like hooves on a chalkboard, she hated that sound, her ears would fold back as she cringed in a few brief seconds of agony. Then with a flick of a light, the shop was open and Scootaloo was ready to begin the day.

Staring at the wagon in front of her shop, Scootaloo sighed. She has had her share of dragging broken carts in, but in times like these she wished she were a unicorn. She could then move the cart effortlessly in, but no such luck... not for a pegasus. Between the yoke was a harness which she donned. She knew the wagon wouldn't steer properly due to the non-moving wheel. The hardest part would be getting it centered on the lift.

She dug her hooves into the ground, her head forward as she attempted to move the cart. Her hooves sunk in the mud and she grunted and snorted. She tapped into her reserve strength and finally the cart budged. And as she had anticipated the cart began to turn on the frozen wheel like it was a pivot point. Scootaloo countered steered then straightened out again, then counter steered again. Slowly, inch by inch the cart was making its way into the garage.

Come on Scootaloo, just a little bit more. This is what you get for skipping out on exercise these past weeks. Scootaloo panted, her shoulders were aching and her hind quarters were strained but she didn't stop.

"Hey, let me help you with that." An all too familiar, slightly raspy voice, said from somewhere outside the garage.

"Oh- no, that's okay. I got –" Scootaloo broke off as she felt her burden become less. She quickly aligned herself with the lift then moved the cart over with ease. She hastily removed the harnesses. "Thanks Rainbow."

"It was nothing." Rainbow Dash emerged from behind the cart. "Few, that thing is heavy, and you were moving it by yourself?"

Scootaloo shrugged, "it's not the first time I've moved one of those things by myself." She stared at the cyan pegasus, observing her brash expression. She knew Rainbow Dash wasn't just stopping by, she could see beneath that brash-nonchalant expression was a pony that was really concerned. Misguided but concerned. "So you just happen to be in the area?"

"Well... okay you caught me. I'm just checking up on you kid, I haven't seen you around lately." Rainbow Dash walked around the small garage, avoiding Scootaloo's stare. She casually picked up a wrench and observed it as if she had never seen one before. "I worry about you."

"I've been busy." Scootaloo responded simply. She tore her gaze from Rainbow Dash to the control panel for the lift. She pushed her hoof over the switch activating it. There was a loud clanking of gears as four beams rose from the floor to the chassis of the cart, lifting it off the floor. She stopped the cart once it was high enough for her to stand under.

"I can see that. Who's cart do you have here?"

From a near by tool box Scootaloo retrieved a heavy iron pry bar. She returned to the cart and pried off the hubcap with ease. It hit the ground with a clatter. Next she removed the bolt that held the wheel on the axle. "This one is Carrot Top's. It's an older model, they stopped making these five years ago but they are sturdy. I don't get to work on these too often." Scootaloo responded as she jammed the pry bar behind the wheel. Her voice strained as she pushed with all her strength in vain to remove the wheel from the axle.

"Need a hoof?" Rainbow Dash asked casually. She knew Scootaloo probably didn't, she just wanted to make conversation.

Scootaloo dropped the pry bar panting. "No, I'll get it. These things are so well made, no pony has probably ever had to take it apart, ever... until now." She moved underneath the cart running her hoof on the underside of the chassis. The wood was smooth from wear and tear but the frame was perfect, intact and free of rust. This thing is in great shape! "I have a way with these things." A smile crept across her face and she planted her fore-hooves on the ground, raised her hindquarters and bucked her back legs.

With a series of loud whacks, her hind legs connecting near the center of the wheel, there were signs of movement. Several dozen kicks later there was a loud pop and the wheel was ejected from the axle. It flew a couple of feet before crashing to the floor.

"Well... that's um, one way to do it." Rainbow Dash tried to hide her look of surprise, hoping her smile would show she knew Scootaloo was going to do that all along.

"It's one of my favorite techniques, works every time." Scootaloo rubbed the sweat from her brow with a foreleg. She had used that technique several times before. Inspired by Apple Bloom many years ago when she watched the farm filly buck a rusty pipe into place then casually say, 'that's how we fix things 'round here." Scootaloo liked the approach, she knew sometimes brute force was eventually what somethings needed.

Over the latter years in school she had become more taken with the farm filly. She had always admired Apple Bloom but in the last couple years of school the feelings intensified. She knew what they were but for the sake of their friendship she never acted on those feelings. She had always suspected Sweetie Belle knew, that unicorn had a knack for knowing those things. She always knew who was together and who liked whom. Scootaloo believed Sweetie Belle never said anything for same reasons she didn't. It's one suspicion she would never learn the truth of. She just couldn't bother wasting a letter to Sweetie Belle on such nonsense.

"Well, if it works..." Rainbow Dash trailed off. She picked the wheel off the floor, inspecting it for damage but found none, she set it aside. "I'm pretty sure I've seen Apple Bloom fix a couple of things doing that." Her face lit up with a grin upon mentioning Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo furrowed her brow at cyan pegasus' grin. Great... one little rumor gets out like five years ago and everyone thinks it's still true. "I got the idea from her or one of the Apples a long time ago." She did her best to sound casual about it but she was holding back what she really wanted to say. Her voice strained a little in her frustration; however, Rainbow Dash didn't seem to notice.

She crossed the shop to her workbench, removing a collection of tools from the wall in front of her. She grabbed a grease gun from one of the drawers along with a box containing the new bearing. The great thing about these older models... the bearings come in pieces! She opened the box and dumped out two large metal rings and some other smaller pieces, which she quickly sorted into neat piles.

"So what are you working on now?"

She let out an audible sigh, "the wheel bearing. I have to put it together, then pack it with grease."

"Sounds complicated. I hope Carrot Top can afford it..."

Rainbow Dash of course knew she wasn't charging enough, it had been an argument they had had many times before. "I'm charging her a fair price. The part is the most expensive thing, then I just charge her a little extra for the service." Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she pushed metal beads into the metal race. Next she grabbed the second smaller metal race and dropped over the bigger one. With a quick adjustment and a smack with a hammer, the bearing was sealed.

"How much?"

"Rainbow, it's fine. Okay?"

"How much?" Rainbow Dash asked again a little more forcefully.

"Thirty bits." Scootaloo murmured as she smeared grease all over the bearing. She used her hoof to rotate the bearing to work the grease into it.

"Thirty? Are you crazy?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "It's all I need. I already have this month's rent I only need a little bit to get food for the month."

Rainbow Dash shook her head smiling. "One day you'll want to have some extra bits. You may wish to take a special somepony out on a date. And if it gets more serious, what then?"

"I'm not dating, don't plan on it either." Scootaloo snorted in a mareish fashion. She worked with extra vigor packing the grease in the bearing. Her hooves gripped tightly as she used more force than necessary squeezing the grease gun, oozing out an excess her rag couldn't remove. With a frustrated groan she slammed the grease gun on the workbench causing several wrenches to bounce from the impact.

Rainbow Dash's ears twitched from the noise of Scootaloo's outburst. "I'm sorry, I just thought that maybe you'd... you know... like to find a –" Scootaloo shot her a reproachful look that caused her to stop mid sentence. "You’re busy, look the real reason I came here was to check up on you and ask if you wanted to go to Applejack's little get-together tomorrow." Scootaloo maintained her glare causing her to speak softer and softer, caving under the pegasus' glare. "I – I'll leave you alone now." Slowly she spread her wings taking flight without a backwards glance.

Scootaloo stared at her workbench as a single tear ran down her cheek. She didn't mean to lose her temper she didn't want Rainbow Dash to leave. She had no idea what it was but something inside her lost control. And for what? She was only trying to help me! She slammed her hooves on the workbench with a loud clatter making her tools scattered. With her foreleg she swiped the surface sending tools flying across the tiny shop as she slowly slid down to the hard floor, crying.

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contodaslasganas

contodaslasganas #1 · Sep 7th, 2014 · 1 · ·

It's always nice to read one of your stories when I get bored with doing my homework. I swear, this proofs class can give out very loooooooong homework.