//------------------------------// // Home's Done // Story: Returning Survivor // by Itchy //------------------------------// Mecha was standing on the edge of Ponyville, next to an empty lot... kinda. The lot itself held several piles construction materials on it, but no structure, and, more importantly for Mecha, no construction crew. In fact, at this point, he was tapping his metal hoof in impatience, since the construction crew was over an hour late. Looking out towards town, Mecha finally spotted the construction crew coming, and sighed in relief. When they got to him, he said, “I'm not even going to ask why you were so late, here's the plans, I've got work to do,” and handed them the blueprints for his new home. Not even giving the forepony a chance to ask questions, Mecha went into town, looking for anything he might need for his planned shop. Walking up to look at an empty building, Mecha heard s rumbling sound. Looking in the direction of the sound, Mecha blinked. A herd of cows, running full speed towards him. Well, towards Ponyville in general, but considering that Mecha was standing at the end of the only bridge to get into Ponyville, it might as well been towards him. “By Lust's panties!*” he swore, standing still as it would be impossible to avoid the herd at this point. Hearing somepony yell “STAMPEDE!” Mecha closed his eyes, resigned to a world of pain. At least, until he heard Applejack hollering. At that point, he opened his eyes to see said pony rounding up the herd, preventing them from hurting anypony. After seeing her run off in the distance, Mecha noticed his aunt was talking to a crowd. Deciding to see what was up, he walked over. “So it's decided then!” she started, “We will throw Applejack a thank you for saving the town party!” Finally getting close enough to be heard, Mecha stated, “Sounds like a good idea. So what's the plan?” Startled by her nephew's sudden appearance, Mayor Mare said, “Why, the same plan we always have for a town wide party.” Looking around, Mecha realized that he was the only pony out of the loop, and said, “Which is...?” Smiling, Mayor Mare said, “Let Pinkie Pie plan it!” With a loud smack of a face hoof, Mecha merely muttered to himself, and walked off. LINEBREAKER The decorations were in place, the podium up, and everypony was gathered. Standing next to his aunt, Mecha looked around, bored. “I swear,” he said, “between the construction crew this morning and the preparations now, I've spent at least half the day waiting for other ponies.” Blinking, his aunt turned around and asked, “Is you house already being built?” Snorting, Mecha replied, “At this point, I'd be surprised if the basement has been cleared. But yeah, it's being built.” Smiling, Mayor Mare said, “Then you've been paid for your service. That's good to hear.” Smiling as well, Mecha said, “Yeah, they finally paid me. Granted, I would've gotten it sooner if it wasn't for those bureaucrats dragging their hooves! Not to mention, they threw in a bonus for the reports I managed to save and bring back.” Looking around, and seeing that things were almost done, Mayor Mare asked on last question, “What do you plan on doing now?” Looking up at an imaginary plan, Mecha said, “I've been looking around at empty lots and buildings, and I think I've found were I want to put my shop. So, that means I need to buy the materials for the shop, as well as furniture for my place. Not to mention, I've got to get some merchandise to sell, which means I need to get tools as well. Furthermore, there isn't a single blacksmith in town, so I've got to find or make a forge to use. Ugh, I'll be lucky if I have a single bit left after this!” Chuckling at her nephew's plight, Mayor Mare walked up to the podium, where Twilight Sparkle was trying to give a speech. Ignoring it all to take another look at the trophy Applejack was getting, Mecha didn't notice all the hub-bub going around him until Applejack came up to get her trophy. Seeing how tired she was, Mecha said, “Allow me.” And put the trophy on his back, signaling Applejack to lead the way back to Sweet Apple Acres. “Now, ya don't have ta do that,” Applejack said, “Ah can take care of it mahself!” With a chuckle, Mecha said, “I've no doubt of that, but it's the gentlecolt thing to do. Not to mention, I haven't seen Big Macintosh since he was hurt. I'd like to see how he's doing, not to mention getting his opinion on a few things.” Seeing that she wasn't going to convince him otherwise, and that she was wasting time she could be using to buck apples, Applejack said, “Okay.” LINEBREAKER Having brought the trophy into the house, Mecha looked around for Big Macintosh after Applejack left. Seeing him in the kitchen, Mecha walked over, asking, “How you holding up?” Looking up to see his friend, Big Macintosh said, “Good. You?” Sitting down at the table, Mecha replied, “Okay. Listen, I need your opinion on a couple things. You okay with that?” Happy to be able to help somepony in his condition, Big Macintosh said, “Eeyup.” “Kay, you see it's like this...” Mecha started. LINEBREAKER After several hours of conversation, Mecha finally knew what he needed. Walking into town once more, he heard a sound, and looked up. Sure enough, there was the source of the sound, flying over his head, and into the library. Sighing, he walked over to ensure that nopony was hurt. He caught the last snippet of the conversation, “Applejack?” “Yep.” Looking up, he saw it was Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash talking, and judging by the state Rainbow Dash was in, she was the one who had been flying moments ago. Sighing, Twilight Sparkle said, “I'll take you to the hospital, then I'll go talk with Applejack.” Deciding, that it would probably be better if Applejack got help sooner, Mecha spoke up, “I can take her to the hospital. It's on my way anyways, and it sounds like the sooner that talk happens, the better.” Caught off guard, Twilight Sparkle looked down from her balcony, and seeing that it was Mecha, said, “That would be great. I'll just levitate Rainbow Dash down, and you two can be on your way there.” And with a glow of her horn and around Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash was on the ground, leaning against Mecha due to still being woozy from her crash, and they walked off. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Rainbow Dash finally spoke up and said, “Sooooo... how's it going?” Mecha blinked, having not expected her to speak to him, and said, “Good. I've finally gotten things straightened out, so I can't complain.” Rainbow Dash, having not really talked to Mecha, was confused and asked, “Straightened what out?” Sighing, Mecha told her, “The crap with my pay. Due to having gone missing for nearly two years, the bureaucrats wanted me labeled as a deserter.” Shocked, Rainbow Dash said, “But it wasn't your fault! After all, you couldn't very well send a message saying you got stuck in Hell, could you!” Chuckling, Mecha replied, “Yeah, but they didn't see it that way. After all, I am but a mere scout whilst they are the all-knowing all-powerful bureaucrats. Furthermore, I clearly have been dipping into funds for the un-planned un-approved expedition of Hell, and thus shouldn't be paid for my time spent there.” Seeing the shocked look on Rainbow Dash's face, Mecha said, “Yeah, they really tried to pull that. Not to mention, the supplies used were meant for six months at most, not two years, and thus I must have been able to pull it from the castle. I tell you, I absolutely despise those idiots. Only reason I got paid at all was because the sisters flat out told them to pay me or lose their jobs.” Laughing, Rainbow Dash said, “They can't have been happy with that!” Grinning at the memory, Mecha said, “It gets better.” Quirking her head, Rainbow Dash asked, “How?” Mecha told her, “Because they delayed the payment for so long, Celestia decided that I should get a bonus for managing to keep all the documentation in one piece.” Seeing the grin on Rainbow Dash's face, Mecha continued, “And then Luna decided that it should come out of their paychecks.” Roaring with laughter, Rainbow Dash, held her sides, imagining the faces of the unlucky ponies who pissed off the royal sisters. When she looked up, she saw that they were at the hospital, and said, “Thanks for helping me get here, as well as for the stories. We should hang out some time!” Chuckling, Mecha said, “I might take you up on that offer sometime. However, at the moment, I need to get some things done. Have a nice day though!” And with a wave, Mecha walked away. LINEBREAKER Having gotten a lot of chores done, Mecha was relaxing in Ponyville square, when he heard “STAMPEDE!” Bolting upright, Mecha yelled, “By Sloth's hundred pounds of fat!* How many stampedes does this town have?!?” Looking out to see how much time he had, he stopped. It wasn't another stamped of cows like he thought, but rather, a stampede of bunnies, heading straight towards town. “Why in Greed's treasure chest* are bunnies of all things stampeding!” he yelled, confused. Seeing no real answer, and noticing that no real damage was being down, Mecha shrugged, and walked into his final stop for the day, the residence of one Filthy Rich. Looking around, he saw lots of shiny and useless trinkets, all ridiculously expensive no doubt. “AH! Mecha was it? I've been waiting for you all day!” said Filthy Rich, coming out of nowhere. Blinking, Mecha said, “You have?” “But of course!” Filthy Rich said, “With you being new in town, it was inevitable that you come to me at some point to buy a house!” Staring at Filthy Rich for a second, Mecha burst out in laughter, confusing the other pony until he said, “I'm sorry, but I already have a house being built. But I am here to buy an old building off your hooves.” Blinking, Filthy Rich just nodded and listened to Mecha speak. LINEBREAKER Walking up to the construction site where his home was being built, Mecha's jaw dropped. The building was almost done, missing only the roof and siding. Looking around, he spotted the forepony and asked, “How in Luna's name did you guys get so much done!” Jumping a little, the forepony turned around and said, “With unicorn magic. You'd be surprised at just how fast excavation and cement pouring goes with it, as well as other stuff.” Blinking, Mecha just nodded his head, surprised that his house was all but built in a week. Turning around, he walked back into town to start buying the furniture, when he ran into Big Macintosh again. “Hey there,” he said, “do you need something?” Looking over at Mecha, Big Macintosh said, “Eeyup. Applejack is finally willing to get help with the bumper crop, and ah was wondering if ya could help.” Thinking back to the size of the orchard from the last time he was there, Mecha knew that they could use all the help they could get. So, nodding his head, he followed Big Macintosh to Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack and her friends were still getting sorted. Hollering out, Mecha said, “Got room for another hoof?” Startled, the six ponies looked over at him, with Applejack getting a relieved face. “Sure, go ahead and get started with the east fields then.” Nodding his head, he went over, ignoring the looks from the other ponies as he quickly set up and bucked the first tree. LINEBREAKER At the end of the day, all the ponies had gathered round a table, drinking apple juice. “So Mecha,” Twilight Sparkle started, “Why'd you come over and help?” Putting down his juice, Mecha replied with, “Big Macintosh asked me to. Probably because I'd work for him earlier this year.” Getting a resounding ahhhh from the group, Pinkie Pie remembered something from the last time the two talked and asked Mecha, “Didn't you say something about mentioning your brother to Dashie here?” Blinking, Mecha said, “That's right! Totally forgot about that. Should've mentioned it to her earlier, but you know what they say about hindsight.” Confused at this point, Rainbow Dash asked, “What does she mean about mentioning your brother to me? Cause, I'll have you know that I'm not looking for a date or anything right now.” Laughing, Mecha said, “Oh no, nothing about that. In fact, he already has a marefriend. No, you see, my brother is one of the seven talent scouts for the Wonderbolts. Heck, he was the one who found Soarin' for them.” Eyes going wide, Rainbow Dash jumped up and tackled Mecha, shouting, “You have to bring him here! He can help me finally get into the Wonderbolts!” Pulling Rainbow Dash off Mecha with her magic, Twilight Sparkle said, “Hold on a minute Rainbow. We don't even know Mecha all that well, why should he ask his brother, who is probably a very busy pony, to come all the way out to Ponyville for you?” Dusting himself off, Mecha said, “Don't worry about it. You all are going to the Grand Galaping Gala, right?” Blinking, Twilight Sparkle turned and asked, “How did you know that? As far as I was aware, only us and Princess Celestia knew all of us were coming.” Chuckling, Mecha said, “With how close you six are, it wasn't that hard to guess that you'd mention to the princess that it'd be an all or nothing for you guys, and that she'd say yes. Anyways, my bro goes every year with the Wonderbolts, so you can meet him there. Furthermore, he sent me a letter recently that he wanted to visit afterwords, so you can show your stuff then. Now then, it's getting late, and I've got a building to clean out, so I'll see all of you around.” And with that, Mecha walked off.