//------------------------------// // Relax // Story: We, Who Are Different. // by Diabeto131 //------------------------------// Andrew flipped the switch, turning off the large saw. He measured the sides of the slab of wood to make sure they were as close to the original sign as he could get it. After determining that it was acceptable, he patted the slab before studying the original's design. Inevitably, his thoughts wandered back to a few days ago when he got the order, and subsequently, the commotion that occurred in the marketplace. Anybody who wasn't there, heard about it pretty quickly. The human let out a weary sigh as he grabbed his tools and began carving the sign. He heard the whispers. They may think he can't here them, but he does. The words, the stares, even the banana was a common occurrence. How could he have let himself react like that? Of course he knew why. Violet. When he saw her shrink at the taunts and jeers. It caused the usually passive human to snap. The way she looked. She didn't deserve any of that. Andrew let out another more frustrated sigh as he took a short break from the carving. He let Violet have today off. She has learned the craft well in the last few days. Leaning forward, he began once again on the carving. Ever since hiring her, his work days haven't been anywhere near as boring as they were. Not that they were boring before, but he looks forward to the day a bit more then before. A small smile formed on Andrew's face as he thought of her. Though, he didn't notice. The sign was coming nicely. Just because Violet had the day off, didn't mean Andrew did. He prided himself in delivering on his deadlines. Even if he had to lose sleep. "WOAH!" THUMP! Andrew flinched as a raspy scream startled him. followed by an orange blur crashing into a pile of old forgotten projects in the corner. When he saw that it was Scootaloo, one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, he furrowed his brow. "Hey, Skittle Jr. What did I say about the scooter?" The filly looked up at the stern human before looking down at the now broken scooter in front of her. "To not ride it into the workshop." She replied. As she stood up, she winced and looked at her left arm. The human saw the scrape as well. His expression softened as he pulled the chair out. "Hop up here Scoots, I've got a first aid kit here somewhere." She complied as Andrew began rummaging through a large trunk sitting out of the way in a corner. "I'm sorry Sully." "It's alright." He pulled out a white, metal box with a red cross on it. A present from Nurse Redheart. Andrew took a knee by the injured filly, opening the box. "As long as you don't make a habit of it." The human pulled out a cotton ball and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "OW! Hey that burns!" Scootaloo shouted as the tinkerer dabbed the cut with the alcohol. The human let out a short, exaggerated laugh. "You should have thought of that before you crashed into a pile of dusty machines and sculptures that I use for spare parts." He threw the cotton ball into a nearby trashcan before pulling out a tube of antibiotic ointment. "So, what brings you to this side of town, and by 'this side of town', I mean my garage?" "We're having a picnic where we have to bring somepony who we think is important to us to the park next Friday for school. Applebloom is bringing Applejack, Sweetie belle has Rarity.." "You have Rainbow, right?" The human guessed. Judging from the disappointing look on Scootaloo's face, he guessed wrong. "She's busy that day." She looked back up at Andrew with hopeful eyes. "I was thinking, if Rainbow couldn't make it, maybe you could?" The human stared at the filly. He stared for several moments, causing Scootaloo to squirm in her seat. "Are you sure? I don't think I'm the best candidate for that." Scootaloo nodded excitedly. "Yes! Ms. Cherilee told us to bring somepony important to us." Her eyes averted themselves as she scratched the back of her head with her free hoof. "And, well, you're important to me." "All done." Andrew stated as he placed a bandage over the scrape. He stood and approached a table and picked up a clipboard containing a list of orders. "I'm glad you think so highly of me like that, but I ask again, for your sake." The human met the apprehensive eyes of the orange filly. "Are you sure?" "I'm sure, with all of the coolness that is in my body, that I want you to come to the picnic." She placed a hoof on her chest. Andrew studied the paper. He had a couple of orders due next Friday. The human let a big toothy smile conquer his face as he casually tossed the clipboard back on the table. "Then I would love to, Scoots." The filly pumped her newly bandaged arm in celebration, then she saw her scooter. Her form deflated as she eyed the disconnected wheels. The human walked over to the workbench where the sign sat. His brow furrowed when he saw that the carved border had a bit more to it then it should. It was a mistake caused by his own flinching from Scootaloo's crash. He lifted the sign and placed it on another table. Scootaloo watched as Andrew began picking up pieces of scooter and placing them on the now vacant workbench. He turned his gaze back at the filly and smirked. "Wanna help me fix your scooter?" Violet sat with the flower sisters at an outdoor cafe. Rose, Daisy, and Lily had invited her to lunch when she told them that she had the day off. While the first couple of days working for Andrew have been eventful, the last few haven't. She was catching on to how some things worked, while she'll never have the ability that Andrew has in finding out what's wrong with something, she has gotten quite proficient at repairing simple things that don't have intricate parts. The human has an almost unnatural talent with tinkering. He could make something new out of something old. Violet remembered the pile of sculptures that the human labeled 'the scrap pile'. Even if they were unfinished, they were stunning works of ingenuity, and art. There was one sculpture that caught the young Thestral's eyes. It had a shape similar to the human's bipedal form made from nuts, bolt, washers, and screws. A rectangular base made of oak held it. The figure sat on its hands and knees with its head bowed. If there was a word to describe the feeling the junk statue gave off, it would be despair. "Equestria to Violet. Hello~" A feminine voice sang, pulling Violet from her ruminations. Daisy had a brow raised as she made eye contact. "You zoned out pretty hard there." She suddenly had a look of faux surprise at a fake epiphany. "You were thinking about Sully, weren't you?!" "N-No! I was just thinking about..." Violet's eyes bounced between Daisy and the table as she sputtered out her reply, "about things?" Her voice took on a tone as if she were asking Daisy if she'd buy here shoddy excuse. She began to blush, but whether it was what Daisy insinuated or that she actually was, escaped her. Daisy's eyes lidded as she leaned closer to Violet, her voice taking a huskier feel about it. "Can't say that I blame you. He's not bad to look at." If Violet's face was red before, it was ablaze now. "I-It wasn't like that!" She sputtered in response. "AHA!" Daisy shouted as she sat back into her seat, "You were thinking about him!" Rose and Lily giggled at the teasing before Rose spoke. "There's no shame in having somepony on your mind." She motioned at Daisy. "She's only jealous cause you're closer to Andy then she has ever been." Daisy rolled her eyes and looked at her sister with a smirk. "Have you seen him when he helps on the Apple's farm during the hot days?" Rose turned her attention back to the Thestral. "Speaking of, How has the new job been? I hope he isn't working you to the bone." "No, he's been doing all the big stuff like repairing complex machinery. I've only learned how to fix simple things." Violet took a sip of the coffee as her cheeks cooled off from the teasing. They sat in companionable silence as they finished eating. "Do you have anything else planned for today?" Lily spoke up. "Not really, no." Violet answered. When she thought about it, her plans today were to sit in her house and do nothing. At least nothing worthwhile. Maybe she would have went to see Andrew, and maybe talk for a bit. "We're going to Canterlot to get somethings for the shop. You wanna join us?" Lily continued quietly. "Sure, sounds fun." Violet responded with a smile as they began the walk to the train station. Though she couldn't help but think about what Andrew was doing. What did he do on his days off? "You're thinking about him again~" Daisy sang, leaning close to the Thestral. "I was just wondering what he does when he's not working." Violet spoke as the blush reared its head again. "He's always working." Rose answered as she slowed her pace so the two could catch up. Violet saw the look of sadness on her face. "He never stops working." The flower sister's face shifted to anger. "The tall bastard can't seem to realize that others worry about him. I wonder if he noticed that he hasn't stopped working in two years." She sighed and shook the anger off her face. At this point the girls stopped walking. Lily spoke after a moment of silence past. "He used to come out more. He'd supervise the Cutie Mark Crusaders to make sure they didn't do anything too dangerous. If they did, he'd find a way for them to do it with as many safety precautions as he could think of. He also helped Pinkie plan a lot of her parties." "Whenever disaster hit, he was one of the first to help those in need." Daisy added. "When the whole Tirek thing happened, he cared for so many ponies and helped rebuild so many houses, but no one seems to remember that these days." She finished bitterly. "They only seem to remember that he's hairless, or that he has two legs, or that he eats meat. Those ponies are assholes." "He also worked at a soup kitchen in Canterlot every month." Rose added. "Why'd he stop?" Violet asked. "You would think that the fact that every other pony says some of the most hurtful shit to him would be it, but while it is a big reason, I think it's something else." Daisy stated. "He tried dating two years ago, and the mare got as much shit that he did. She ended up breaking his heart, and he probably thinks that it's his fault that she was targeted like that. So that might be why he doesn't get out much, so that others don't have to suffer on his account." The group grew quiet as they thought of their friend. Daisy shook her head and spoke again. "Let's go shopping before I get too depressed to move." She began marching towards the station, the others rushing to catch up. Violet's thoughts raced through her head. If she was going to help Andrew. If she was going to give him the hope he needs. She has her work cut out for her. Smoke funneled out of the open garage door as the human walked out, coughing, and with both arms occupied. Scootaloo came out behind him. The human placed the spent fire extinguisher on the ground as he sat down, holding the now repaired scooter. "That was fun!" Scootaloo shouted as she grabbed the scooter from Andrew. "Thanks Sully, we should do this again!" The human looked up at the orange filly. "Yeah, sure. I would love to Scoots, but," he furrowed his brow, "less fire next time." "Sorry Sully." Scootaloo apologized with a nervous laugh. Andrew's eyes studied the dissipating smoke. He put it out before it could get out of hand. "How? We didn't use anything that produced heat!" He turned his gaze to Scootaloo's cutie mark. "Are you sure your special talent isn't arson? Cause this has happened several times." "Bye Sully!" Scootaloo hopped on her scooter, ignoring the human's question, and speeding off into Ponyville. "Yeah, see you next Friday!" He stood back up and turned toward the setting sun. Walking into the now smoke free workshop, he pulled the sign he was working on out and placed it on the work bench. The human studied the mistake on the border. It was too big for him to just widen the border. His thoughts didn't remain on the sign, though. Andrew thought back on the hours he spent with Scootaloo. It would normally take him only a few hours to fix that scooter, but Scootaloo crashed in the morning, and they worked until the later hours of the evening. They only took a break for lunch. A smile grew on the human's face. He had let her do most of the work, only interrupting her to explain how something worked. As he eyed the large scratch on the sign he thought of the scooter. Then he thought of the general store. He remembered that Knick Knack sold all sorts of things, including scooters. Andrew's eyes began to widen as the metaphorical light bulb over his head clicked on. He quickly grabbed his tools and set to work. It would take him the rest of the night, and maybe an hour or two in the morning, but he was going to finish this sign.