//------------------------------// // Inner Workings. // Story: We, Who Are Different. // by Diabeto131 //------------------------------// An alarm blared throughout the room. Groaning, the human reached out and turned it off. After his morning routine, he checked the calendar. The day of the picnic arrived quickly, and he managed to get all but one of his orders done early. It would be a quick fix, but he would have to get there early. Opening his front door to start his day, he saw a familiar orange filly staring up at him. Judging from her raised hoof, she was about to knock. "Hey Scoots." He tilted his head toward the garage and began walking. "Hi Sully." She followed the human as he opened the garage door and entered. He walked back out with a large wooden door. The door looked familiar to the young filly. "Is that the door to town hall?" "Yeah," Andrew put the rather heavy door on the wagon, "Mayor Mare had me make it. The old door was so rotted that it split in two." He walked around and began pulling the wagon as Scootaloo jumped on it. "It won't take me long to install it, so we should still be on time to the picnic." "Where's that girl that helps you?" Scootaloo got comfortable on the wagon. "Violet? I gave her the day off. All I'm doing is installing that door." They continued in silence as they entered town. Ponies were just opening their stalls and stores. Andrew spoke as Town Hall came into view. "How's your mom, Scoots?" "She's fine," Scootaloo placed her head on her forelegs, "though she's working up in Cloudsdale a lot." "I wouldn't worry too much about it, knowing her, she's trying to get that promotion so she can have more time to spend with you." Andrew looked back at the pouting filly and smiled like a doofus. "Until she does, you got me." His smile made Scootaloo chuckle. As they approached town hall, Andrew noticed the Mayor standing in the empty doorway next to a small box. The old door's pieces were lying on the ground next to her. Upon noticing the human, Mayor Mare smiled brightly and waved. "Good morning, Sully!" Unlike most ponies, the Mayor's friendly attitude towards the local biped was genuine. Immediately after greeting the mayor, Andrew set to work as Scootaloo watched. The human had experience working in, and sometimes on, the Town Hall. He had performed enough repairs and modifications on the building that it almost felt like it was his. The building was old, Really old. It had been around since Ponyville's founding, and in some areas, it shows. Like for instance, the fact that the building wasn't hooked up to any form of electricity. Lamps, lanterns, and candles were the only form of lighting the building had. Remembering this fact as he worked on the door, Andrew brought up his concern that he had since he first learned this fact. "When are you planning to contract an electrician, Mayor?" He had begun to attach the door to the hinges as he spoke. "I would offer to do it for you, but I only know the basic stuff," Andrew took a step back and tested the door, "and I'm not licensed to." Satisfied with his work he turned his full attention to the mayor. "All that fire in there, and the whole thing is made of wood. I'd rather not wake up one morning to a pile of charcoal in the middle of town." Letting out a sigh, Mayor Mare answered. "Electricians are far a few between. The closest pony who would do it operates out of Trottingham." Andrew leaned against the recently installed door. He let out a low whistle. "Bet they would have charged you a pretty penny," He cast a furrowed glance to his feet before looking back up at the Mayor with confusion on his face, "a pretty bit?" The mayor let out an endearing chuckle at the human. "I know what you're trying to say, and yes, they did. We couldn't afford what they offered." Reaching into the box that was beside her, she pulled out a small sack of bits, and offered them to the human. "I understand your concern, Sully. We are doing all we can." Accepting the bag, Andrew spoke. "Sorry if I'm being a pain when I bring this up. I've dealt with enough fires to be wary of their causes." As he said that, he sent a glance to certain tiny pegasus. "What?" Scootaloo caught the glance, though her response indicated that she tuned out the conversation. Chuckling, the human walked past the filly. "Come on, we have a picnic to go to." The human smiled at the filly before positioning himself to start pulling the wagon again. After waving goodbye to the mayor, they were off. The park had all sorts of booths set up in it. Some were selling treats while some had games. It looked more like a small fair then a picnic. Andrew pulled the wagon to an uninhabited part of the park out of sight before placing a couple of wooden wedges under the wheels to keep it from rolling away. Then he and Scootaloo began their walk to the festivities. "So.." Andrew began. "So what?" Scootaloo answered. "So, do I have to give a speech? Do I have to show off my 'Special Talent'?" The human's questions only received a confused stare from the filly. "If that's the case, I can't really tinker at them." Andrew's eyes widened as an idea passed through his mind. "I know, I can dance for them, or ride a unicycle. Ooh, I could sing! Maybe I could show them my ability to say the alphabet backwards!" "Um, Sully." Scootaloo tried to interrupt his tirade, but he kept going. "No! Nonononono! I should sing the alphabet backwards whilst dancing on a unicycle juggling bowling pins!" "Sully!" The filly's shout stopped the human in his tracks. "It's just a picnic." Then she spotted the smile on his face. Her face quickly formed into a deadpanned stare. "You've been hanging out with Pinkie too much." She declared as she walked past him. He let out a hearty chuckle. "She'd disagree with you there." He stated as he followed. As they approached the picnic, Andrew began to feel an anxiousness boiling deep inside his stomach. He tried to push it down or at least ignore it. Thoughts began to fly through his mind. Images of the ponies looking down their noses with disgust in their eyes. Not at him, but at Scootaloo, for idolizing him and daring to bring him to this gathering. They were unreasonable thoughts, and Andrew found himself physically trying to shake them out. He stopped and stared at the crowd. They haven't seen them yet. "Hey Scoots." He called out. She looked back at the human and stopped when she realized that had had stopped following. Her face bore confusion as she waited for him to continue. Andrew looked worried about something. His eyes moved to meet hers and he threw on a smile, one that the filly could obviously tell was only a mask, and spoke again. "You're a cool kid." He took a knee in front of her and ruffled her mane. "Don't let anybody tell you otherwise." He then motioned for her to lead the way. They continued, and Scootaloo wore a big smile. While she could tell that Andrew's smile was fake, she knew his words weren't. The crowd of ponies had broken up, some were at the booths, others were sitting on blankets that they had brought. It wasn't long before the filly spotted her friends, and subsequently their sisters. She called out to them and began running. Andrew was caught off guard by the sudden burst of energy from Scootaloo, but after seeing the others he started lightly jogging in their direction. Of course he noticed when the other ponies noticed him. Of course he heard the whispers. Of course he felt the stares. But he had built an outer mask, a fake him. A practiced posture and a straight back. It was no different then his days in the courtroom. Despite how much he detested it, he would enter the room with a polite smile and a soft voice. He would speak with respect to a judge he hated. He would argue and use all the information he could to keep a man, who he knew was guilty, free. Only difference between now and then, is the number of legs. Applejack patted a spot between her and Rarity, who was wearing a sunhat, when she saw Andrew. He sat down between the mares as Scootaloo and her friends began talking excitedly about what they were going to do today. The human couldn't hold back a genuine smile at the sight. He shifted his gaze from the CMC to the farmer to his left. "How's the wagon, AJ?" He rested his arm on his knee as he stretched the other leg out. "It's great! It's easier to pull now." She let out a nervous chuckle and scratched the back of her head. "Thanks Sully." "No problem!" Andrew said as he patted Applejack on the back. "Just remember what I said about listening to my diagnosis. It might sound weird, but sometimes I know what I'm talking about." He turned his attention to the fashionista to his right. "And how's your oversized sewing machine, my lady?" Rarity let out a girlish giggle as she rolled her eyes. "It's fine, dear. However, I don't want to hear you talk about work." The human raised a brow. "Then, what do you want me to talk about?" "How are things between you and Violet going?" Rarity asked at an unconcealed attempt at gossip concerning her human friend and his recent hire. Applejack noticed right away and rolled her eyes. "We're fine." The human answered with confusion laced in his voice. "She's a good worker. She's motivated. And she's fun to talk to. Why?" "Well, she's a very pretty mare wouldn't you say?" Rarity's smirk grew as each word left her mouth. "I guess?" The human never really thought about it. What spurred Rarity into asking a question about Violet's appearance? As Andrew began to think about Violet's looks, mental pictures from the last week flashed through Andrew's mind. Violet was, in fact, a pretty mare. More and more images of Violet flew through the human's brain. One image stuck, however. An image of Violet, face covered in grease and dust after a particularly busy day, smiling widely at him. Yeah. Pretty. He thought as he began to smile again. He was broken from his train of thought by another giggle. He turned towards the mare. She had a look on her face, like she had just accomplished something. Andrew was about to call her on it when the girls called for their attention. "Let's go play some games!" They shouted simultaneously. Then they ran off to the booths. Applejack quickly followed, as did Rarity, giving the human a wink as she left. "Wait." Andrew finally spoke, befuddled by what just happened. "Why the wink?" He stood up looking around before he began jogging after the girls. "Rarity! Why the wink?!"