//------------------------------//
// A Visit to the Woods 
// Story: The Apple's Engineer 
// by Christs Disciple 
//------------------------------//

On the evening two days after the timberwolf attack, Sprocket lay belly down in a patch of grass, far enough away from the house that the light would land on it but close enough that anypony lookin’ out a window pointed his way could spot him easy enough. Of course, he was looking up at the stars and getting his eyeful of the night sky. 
 
"Enjoyin' yerself?"
 
Sprocket let out a sigh. Apparently somepony did spot him through a window pointed his way. "Why yes I am."
 
"Mind if I join ya?"
 
"Free country… though, considering it's a monarchy, not quite sure how..."
 
Applejack laid down next to him and fixed her eyes upwards as well. After a few minutes of silence, she asked, "So, whatcha thinkin' about?"
 
Sprocket let out another sigh, brow furrowed in thought. His response was slow and measured, not daring to say the wrong word. "Nothing major.” He sighed. “Just… just my life before coming here is all."
 
Applejack turned her head towards him and asked, "Anything out of all that in particular?"
 
Sprocket closed his eyes, again giving a measured response. "Yeah, I suppose. My previous job’s the thing specifically on my mind. Ya see, I ended up in the Everfree because of an invention that had recently been… put out on the market, so to speak. I used it to escape a rather hairy situation, that one I told you about when we first met and that I still rather not get into, sorry, and to keep any others from following, I had said device set to self-destruct. That was the whole catalyst for that big, loud fireball of doom you and your friends saw when ya’ll found me."
 
"Ah see,” Applejack said, blinking owlishly. “But if you’d rather not get into it, why tell me even that little bit there that ya just did? I mean, sure, it leaves a lot to the ol’ noodle, but I’d say it kind of those paint enough of a picture all by its lonesome even so." 
 
Sprocket sighed. "Because… I was thinking about telling you--and your friends--the whole story.” He let out a cough and was glad the night concealed his blush as he continued, “I mean, you do deserve to know after all you’ve done for me.” He looked down and sighed some more before continuing, “But, I'm still not too sure about it. Too many variables involved. So, please, don't tell nopony else about this. Please."
 
Applejack patted him on the back. "Now don’t ya be worryin’ now, Sprocket. Ya have mah word. Though, fair warnin’: if anypony else asks me if you told me more, while I won’t say nuthin exact about what you said… I kinda can’t help myself but tell them you told me somethin’ in the first place. Element of Honesty and all that, ya know?"
 
Sprocket smiled and nodded his understanding. "Thanks." Suddenly, they heard a single, long  howl, and Sprocket just as suddenly squealed like a little filly before Applejack managed to calm him back down. "Hehehe… sorry. Seems like them no good timberwolves are still around."
 
"And probably none too happy,” Applejack added. 
 
They both stood up and turned their attention towards the woods. "The upside is, ah think they're just stayin' put in them there woods tonight."
 
“And what about in the mornin’? Or hay, later tonight?” Sprocket said, shivering in fright. 
 
“Well then, I guess you and Mac will just have to show ‘em what for and turn ‘em into even more kindlin’.” 
 
“And what are you gonna be doin’? Watchin’ from the sideline in a lawnchair with a bag of popcorn?” 
 
“Nope,” Applejack said, turning right around and casually trotting back to the house. “Apple slices. Duh.” 
 
Sprocket watched her go with as much nonplus as was physically possible to plaster over his face with. It immediately withered and became fear once again, though, when he heard the wooden wolves howl some more, and faster than a jackrabbit on a pogostick, he tucked tail and ran after Applejack and back into the house.   
 
And he didn’t notice the pair of eyes pointed his way and gleaming from inside the orchard... 
 
 

THE NEXT MORNING

 
 
Sprocket fell onto the hardwood floor (as was becoming an increasingly annoying and frequent custom), waking himself up some. He went straight to the sink and splashed cold water on his face, and then hot water afterwards when the cold water just made him feel even more drowsy and lethargic. Finished with the process of waking up (or as close to it as he could possibly be considering he wanted nothing more than to be chained to his bed from now until the end of time because of the hour he was up and prepping for work at), he then dragged his hooves heavily down the stairs, shambling through the kitchen just as Applejack walked in from the living room.  
 
"Well I’ll be. Ah was comin' in ta getcha up, yet here ya already up and at ‘em fer once! Good on ya, Sprocket.” 
 
He sniffled and shifted unsteadily in place. “I miss my bed.” 
 
“Well tough crabapples, sugarcube, cuz we got a job fer ya before any of us even get breakfast." 
 
Sprocket hung his head low towards the ground. “Yay.” 
 
After being dragged by Applejack outside, Sprocket finally asked, doing his best (and failing) to stifle a yawn, “So, what I gotta do?” 
 
"We needja ta help Applebloom bring in the eggs. The chickens laid more than she can handle quickly by herself this time 'round."
 
Sprocket nodded and trudged along to the chicken coop. He walked inside the little red and white house and saw Applebloom with a basket full of eggs in her mouth. "Good morning, Applebloom,” he said with another yawn and a stretch. “I hear you need some help gathering up all them extra eggs?"
 
Applebloom nodded and said, as best she could, "Jesshh greb ya a bashkit n fill it wi sum." 
 
Sprocket raised an eyebrow in confusion. 
 
Applebloom rolled her eyes and set the basket down. "Ah said, just grab ya a basket and fill it with some." 
 
She pointed to where a stack of baskets were sitting. 
 
Sprocket nodded, grabbed one, and just followed her lead on gathering up the eggs.
 
When they were done, they each headed in with one very filled basket. They set them next to the door to be taken care of and made presentable for the Ponyville marketplace after their pancake breakfast. 
 
To say Sprocket was a little less than enthused about said breakfast would be like saying he was feeling a wee bit sleepy eyed. 
 
His face fell into his food during the meal.
 
It fell into his food a lot. 
 
 

THAT AFTERNOON

 
 
Sprocket was working with Applejack in the field and Winona had decided to join them today, yipping and yapping happily between them as dogs were want to do. 
 
Upon finishing another of his trees, Sprocket gave Winona a little scratch behind the ear as he went up to his next one. Deciding he’d had enough of the relative peace and quiet and that it was time to shoot the breeze, he asked AJ, "So, what is this I hear about Zap Apples?"
 
Applejack gave a kick to the tree she was working on before answering. "Ya see, we have these special trees that make a special kinda apple with a kick to it like being zapped lighting. Heck, lightning zaps are part of how they bloom, believe it or not! They're only produced fer a few days, but the jam we make outta ‘em are the second biggest money maker we got right after Cider Season."
 
Sprocket nodded. "I see." Sprocket gave his tree a good buck. Seeing that all the remaining apples were knocked down, he made his way to another when Winona suddenly took off like a cannonbolt towards the Everfree, barking like the dickens. 
 
"Winona!" Applejack shouted.  
 
Applejack ran after her collie, and Sprocket ran after Applejack. In both cases, they just barely managed to keep up. Winona suddenly stopped in a clearing, growling at something neither of the two ponies could see. 
 
Wrapping one of her forelegs around her dog’s neck, Applejack asked, "Girl, what's gotten inta ya?"
 
Sprocket looked around when something assaulted his nostrils and caused him to gag involuntarily. "P.U.! What in the hay smells like all those rotten eggs I found helping Apple Bloom this mornin’?"
 
Applejack took a quick whiff, and her eyes widened in fear. 
 
“Timberwolves." 
 
Her fears were further confirmed when glowing, green eyes began to appear through the thick branches.
 
Sprocket groaned out, "God, why do you hate me so much?" 
 
The two slowly backed away, only to turn and see more green eyes. 
 
"And they got us surrounded too. Ain’t that a bucket of creamcorn." 
 
One of the timberwolves growled at them, but before it had the chance to do anything else, Sprocket took the initiative and struck the side of its head, knocking it down… but the only lasting damage being to anger it further.
 
Applejack gave him an incredulous stare. “Now, why in the hay didja go n’do that fer!?"
 
"I just reflexed!” Sprocket yelled, panicking. “These things were surprisingly easy to bust up before, so I just… went!" 
 
The wolf at that moment decided to lunge at him. Sprocket, acting reflexively once more, swiftly grabbed the thing’s head before giving it a twist. The head popped off and the rest of the body fell to the ground, startling Sprocket and AJ both. 
 
Staring at the headless part, Applejack said, “Well dang. That there tactic of yers seemed ta work." 
 
A wolf decided the moment after was the opportune time to leap at Applejack, but she managed to jump over it with a shriek before Sprocket bucked it with all the force he could muster, sending some pieces at the other wolves lying in wait in the brush, who all snarled all the more. 
 
Backing up as close as he could to Applejack, who backed up as close as she could to him, Sprocket asked, “AJ?” 
 
“Yeah Sprocket?” 
 
"We ain’t gonna get out of this one, are we?” 
 
"Stow that talk! We ain't gonners yet!” Applejack said, more annoyed than completely out of her gourd terrified like Sprocket was.
 
Suddenly, out of the top rightmost corners of his eyes, Sprocket noticed a rapidly approaching, rainbow blur over head. 
 
AJ must have seen it too, since she then said, "And we just got ourselves some reinforcements!" 
 
The blur rammed through some of the wolves, causing them to shatter, before flapping to a stop, hooves touching upon the ground right next to him.
 
Rainbow Dash! 
 
Internally, Sprocket thought, “God, why do you love me so, so much!?” 
 
With her usual, prideful swagger, Rainbow Dash said, “Was in the neighborhood. Napping till I heard these things’ annoying as all get out howls. Saw you two. Looked like you needed my expert… uhhh… expertise. I was totally right, right?” 
 
Sprocket nodded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! You’re awesome and you swooped down to save us in the nick of time! Please keep doing more of that and I swear I’ll marry you and pay all the way for the wedding!” 
 
Sprocket shrieked as he kicked a timberwolf he barely caught out of his peripheral vision coming from the side. 
 
Rainbow jumped out of the way of a timber wolf that had attempting to tackle her, causing it to crash right into a tree and subsequently right off into dreamland. 
 
“Uh, come again? Because it sounded like you said you’d--” 
 
“Less talkee, more helpee me survivee thisee!” 
 
“Sprockets right! We need ta take care a these things so we can git the heck outta Dodge, and fast! We can worry about other stuff later!”
 
Rainbow saluted. “Challenge accepted!” She then promptly charged at a group of the timberwolves and barrelled through them with little effort.
 
Though she had a grin that said, ‘I am awesome and you should be happy to bask in my awesomeness so that one day it might rub off on you,’ Sprocket chuckled nervously and said, “Ummm… last time we destroyed several at once they--” The sticks that formed the particular group of wolves started to glow an eerie green color and began to assemble themselves into an even larger, mega wolf. “They did that.”
 
The mega wolf roared right in Dash’s direction, the sound waves so intense (just a tad greater than Sprocket’s girlish screams) that they slicked her hair, Sprocket’s, and AJ’s into three of the greatest cowlicks as far away from Manehatten as they were.
 
Dash, stunned as she was, could only say one thing. “Huh.” 
 
When the thing finally charged, though, she was naturally feeling a little bit more chatty. “Turn tail and run for your lives!” 
 
Not needing to be told a second time, Sprocket and AJ (especially the former) did as they were commanded and made the busiest beeline for the farm house that they could. As they did, the mega wolf practically nipping at their heels, he turned back towards Rainbow, who was taking her own advice and joining him and AJ in their light afternoon sprint away from certain doom, and said, “I thought you said you were an expert on these things!” 
 
“I am!” RD shouted back. 
 
“Then why are we all running!?” 
 
“Because of the giant, wooden, wolfy monster thing! Duh! You don’t need to be a totally awesome expert like me to figure that one out!”    
 
The mega wolf, as though finding a sudden surge of speed from the animating and dark magic that kept it going, managed to get close enough with its strides that it almost sank its teeth in Rainbow Dash’s tail, and would have to if she wasn’t lucky enough to look behind her right as the beast’s jaws were entering the proverbial home stretch. 
 
Rainbow flapped her wings once, but powerfully enough that she soared ahead of the group. However, this proved to be less getting out of the fire and more entering the firing pan, as one of the regular timber wolves suddenly burst out from behind a tree she was passing too quick for her to react in time. 
 
Sprocket, however, had seen this little tricky maneuver coming from the wolf a mile away (after all, he did see what the critter was about to do and did try warning Rainbow) and had just enough time saved up for a counter of sorts. Like a meteor in reverse, he launched himself off the ground with his hind legs, strengthened from now countless hours bucking trees, and soared right on through the wolf, scattering its body as though it were some great, wooden bomb. 
 
Though Rainbow Dash managed to get off with a light shower of high velocity splinters that, at worse, poked her skin a little through her fur, Sprocket didn’t get off so light. After barreling through the wolf, he crashed head first into the three ahead of the one it had been positing itself behind before going after Dash, and before he could even yell, ‘OWWW!’ another of the smaller  wolves leapt at him and tried its darndest to maul him, even managing to get its teeth to sink into one of his sides for a bit before Applejack charged and bucked the thing into pieces just as small and numerous as the bits from its comrade just a few seconds early currently dirtying up her coat
 
Sprocket couldn’t do nuthin but let out a long delayed yell at the pain now wracking him and as Applejack placed him roughly on his back and just barely managed to get him out of the path of the mega wolf in time before it got him, the big monster instead crashing into the three Sprocket had, only with enough force that it actually managed to tip it over. 
 
“Ya’ll okay!?” Sprocket dimly heard Applejack ask through the haze clouding his, well, everything, especially vision.
 
“WHAT DO YOU THINK!?” 
 
“Alright already, I get it! If you’re gonna yell somepony’s ear off, do it to the timberwolves!”
 
Sprocket grumbled incoherently before saying, “Faust! If that big one just wasn’t on our tails, we’d be home free by now! Ahhh!”
 
“No argument here!” Rainbow said from up ahead. 
 
Applejack frantically looked around, looking for anything and everything that could get them out of this proverbial pickle and have a shot of getting back to her family’s apple orchard, or, hay, anywhere else that was safe and not where they were. Like a bone falling from the sky before a famished pooch, she noticed something near enough to their path that would fit the bill quite nicely. 
 
“We need ta go over ta that pond!”
 
Rainbow looked towards her, confused, and replied, “WHAT!? WHY!?”
 
“‘Cause a the wood they’re made of!”
 
“Desert ironwood!” Sprocket suddenly blurted out. 
 
“Exactly! That ain’t a type a wood ya wanna make a raft out of! The biggin’ll sink faster’n a brick!”
 
Rainbow grinned, “Alright! Those vines hanging over should get you two across! I’ll fly ahead and get them ready just in case!” 
 
Applejack nodded as Rainbow flew towards the pond before the farm pony made a sharp right turn that way like her pegasus friend did. “Hold on Sprocket! Whatever you do!” 
 
“Holding!”  
 
When Applejack got close, true to her self appointed title as fastest flyer in equestria, Dash already had a couple of vines at the ready. Applejack then leapt with everything she had, the mega wolf mimicking her actions. Unfortunately for the beast, it didn’t have any vines to grab a hold of with nuthin, and even if it did, they’d probably snap under the weight. 
 
Even though Applejack had managed to land quite the distance away from the pond on its opposite side, the mega wolf’s splash was big enough that the water soaked her, Sprocket, and Rainbow Dash. 
 
However, they didn’t have so much as to let out a simple, ‘Wahoo!’ before they saw the rest of the pack circumventing the pond to avenge their sunken comrade. 
 
Sprocket groaned and said, “Back off to the races… why don’t they just give up already!?”
 
Without answering, Applejack took off again, Rainbow quickly catching up and taking the lead, of course.
 
Though Sprocket’s question was grim, soon enough, Applejack and Rainbow were able to begin outrunning the wooden canines, as their biggest, fastest, and most visible was too busy taking a permanent swim rather than serving as means for them to know where to go to try and outmaneuver and intercept their prey like they were fond of doing. It also helped that the two toughest ponies of the elements used branches to their advantage, pulling them and letting them swing back to hit the wolves made out of so many such branches (among other things). 
 
After about twenty minutes of only the third greatest cardio related workout of their lives, they came to a clearing. Since they didn’t see any wolves chasing them no more (for the time being, anyways), they decided to take a quick break and examine Sprocket’s side.
 
Despite herself, Applejack winced.
 
Despite herself, Rainbow whistled. 
 
“Wow… and ow… that looks like it really, really, REALLY hurts, dude,” Rainbow said with all the bluntness of a giant, golden frying pan. 
 
“Well gee whiz! How in the great wide WORLD of equis did ya’ll go and figure out that one, Rainbow!?” Sprocket shouted back. 
 
“Uh, because it looks bad? Duh,” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. 
 
Applejack nudged Rainbow roughly once in the chest with one of her elbows.
 
“Hey! What was that for!?” 
 
“Girl, I have half a mind to whoop yer flank ta the moon an’ back even worse than Sprocket’s right now,” Applejack said, surprisingly calmly for the seething anger drenching her voice. 
 
Rainbow backed up slightly with her hooves held up in defence. “Sorry, sorry. I guess I’ve just ended up in even direr straits than the poor guy here enough that I’m kind of… uhhh… what’s the word? Starts with the letter ‘b’? Right on the tip of my tongue? I think it rhymes with hooray?” 
 
Applejack quirked an eyebrow. “Ya’ll mean blase?”  
 
Rainbow’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! That’s the one… I think. I mean, yeah! I guess I’ve just ended up in a hospital bed worse off than Sprocket here enough times that I’m kind of blase about the whole getting hurt thing. I mean, you did see me after that one stunt I tried to pull off that one time I ended up at Ponyville General and had to read that first Daring Do book I did to keep me going crazy from boredom, right?” 
 
Applejack winced again. “Yeah, you were pretty banged up… but still! Buck up and show some decency, missy! Not everypony’s as tough as you, and in Sprocket’s case, he’s a lot less!” 
 
“I’m right here! And I helped Mac out with that first pack a few days ago!” 
 
Applejack turned slightly to him and replied, “Hush up, now. This don’t concern you.” She then turned back to Rainbow.
 
Sprocket growled out in a rage before placing his head back against the ground and taking in some shallow breaths as he examined his wound (and ignored the bickering mares), which turned out to be not as bad as it could have been… though his body was acting like it was the complete end of the world. His closer inspection proved the bite marks to be surprisingly shallow, and they went from two inches past his ribs and stopped five inches before his cutie mark began. 
 
He sighed and said, “Ya’ll two can stop with the squabbling. I’ll live and live without too much complainin’ about my cuts here. They ain’t too bad, all things considered."
 
His statement caught the two mares off guard, causing their conversation to come to an abrupt end. 
 
Applejack turned to him and asked, “And ya’ll’re sure ‘bout that?”
 
Sprocket nodded as he stood with a grimace. “Yeah. ‘Sides, the bigger problem’s finding a way to take care of these things in the long term so that we ain’t gotta worry about heading into the orchard and meeting a pack a these things no more.”
 
“Dude, I think finding a way to get out of these woods in one piece RIGHT NOW is little bit more important, what with you getting nommed on, don’t ya think?” Rainbow Dash said. 
 
"Well, once either of ya’ll find a way for either of those things, let me be the first to know, a'right?"
 
Sprocket nodded and replied, "Sure thing. In fact, for the here and now, I think I got a sure fire way of getting us back to the farm all nice and safe like before we’re up to our necks in reinforcements.” 
 
“Oh yeah? And what’s that, genius?” Rainbow asked. 
 
Sprocket then took off running (or rather, lightly jogging, given how hurt he was) as fast he could, wincing all the way. 
 
“Running like your tail’s a’burnin’!” 
 
Applejack and Rainbow turned to each other, the former shrugging and saying, “Sounds like a mighty fine plan to me.” 
 
“No argument here.” 
 
The two then took off in the same direction as Sprocket at considerably faster paces, enough that Sprocket had to shout, ‘Wait up!’ after them and put his light jog into overdrive till it was a bonafide mild jog.  
 

 


*****

 
 
Once the trio reached the safety of the orchard (thankfully without any more timberwolf encounters) Applejack trotted back to put a hoof on Sprocket’s shoulder to stop him and asked, “Are ya sure you shoulda been runnin’ with a gash like that? Even a little bit like you were?”
 
Sprocket looked at his cut before turning to Applejack and replying, “While I appreciate the concern there, AJ, there wasn’t another way to get the hay back fast enough. Besides, it wasn’t all that aggravated by the run and we’re now at the home stretch to the medicine cabinet.”
 
Applejack held her grip firm, keeping Sprocket from continuing despite his very overt protests to the contrary. “Ah git thatcha want ta be some sorta macho stallion, but a run like that coulda turned a simple cut inta a major problem and then where would we a been?”
 
“I’m not trying to be macho, Applejack,” Sprocket said, still trying (in vain) to trudge past her, but not gaining an inch. “It’s just this ain’t a life-threatening injury, is all, and there wasn’t and still ain’t a way for us to get back in a timely manner otherwise, which is what we needed and need to be concerned about, considering we were and still are escaping from a bunch of scary monsters.” 
 
Applejack sighed as she released her grip. As she opened her mouth to respond, they heard a growl and turned around to see a few pairs of glowing eyes on the edge of the Everfree just before they disappeared deeper into the forest. 
 
Sprocket gave a sigh of relief before remarking, "The last of them, I don’t think we’ve rightly seen."
 
"You said it partner. Now, let’s git to the house, slowly and gently now, we can patch you up."
 
Sprocket shook his head, “It’s nothing major. I can take care of it myself, ya know. Hay, last I checked, I’ve got about nine months over you.”
 
Sprocket looked ahead of AJ’s scowling face to find something odd, or rather, a lack of something odd. Turning back to Applejack, he asked, “Stupid question, but, where’d Dash run off to?”
 
Applejack huffed. “More like flew off to. The moment she thought we were all in the clear, she took off with the usual claptrap about how she’s behind on her weathermare duties and about Wonderbolt practice. Went away faster than I could ask her for help carrying you all the way back to the house.” 
 
Sprocket raised a brow. “You planned on carrying me all the way back to the house?” 
 
“Yes. I did. But since Dashie ain’t around to help lugging you around, and since ya’ll seem perfectly fine to limp on back, well then, I’ll leave you to it, I reckon.”  
 
With a firm slap to the back that left Sprocket more wobbly than he’d normally be if his leg wasn’t hurtin,’ she did an about turn and casually trotted back to the house. 
 
After grumbling something about pushy, apple crazed mares, Sprocket called to her, “Yeah, well… uhhh… I'm gonna to go take care of this, then head on to the library and see what it has on timberwolves. See if I can figure something out from that. Don't worry about making a meal for me if I'm not back in time for supper. I'll get something from a restaurant."
 
"A'right. Ah'll finish up what we got here," she called back. 
 
Sprocket looked at her like she just admitted she was secretly a space princess from the planet zibowitz. “What? You’re goin’ back to work after all… that!? With those things still out and about!?” 
 
Applejack waved him off as she went. “That? That was no thing but a kale wing, sugarcube? Honestly, it’s like you don’t know what me and my friends have already have to handle at all!” 
 
After standing there for a bit longer with a stupefied look on his face, Sprocket managed to get out, “Well then… uhhh… see ya later… I guess,” and ran off as fast as possible to the house. On the way, he saw Applejack had stopped and was already hard at work bucking the trees she hadn’t gotten to before their little impromptu misadventure. 
 
When he was a distance away, he looked back at Applejack doing her thing behind him, watching so closely, and wondering how she still had such strength of mind and body considering recent events, that he ran right into a fence, sending him toppling over it. 
 
"Ow. That hurt." 
 
He shook his head and began running again.
 
 

THAT EVENING

 
 
Sprocket was out in the orchard, reading by the moonlight, back to an apple tree.
 
"Ah see ya'll are interested in that book."
 
Sprocket jumped higher than you’d think for a pony as big as him at that before trying in vain to regain his composure and dignity when he realized it was just Applejack. "Ahem, errr, yes. One of many that I'm gonna be perusin’ to see if any of them got a way of fending off them timberwolves."
 
"Well, granny found an effective tactic is ta bang a spoon on a pot."
 
"Well, if you see them soon enough, you can easily do that… but I'm looking for something that would be more easily carried on the fly, ya see.” 
 
Applejack nodded and scooched up next to him so that her eyes could dart over the pages in tandem to see if she could find something his couldn’t.  
 
After a few minutes passed in silence, Applejack sighed, her task fruitless, and stood up. "Ya can read more tomorra. All them big, fancy, schmancy words’ll keep. Right now, we should both head ta bed." 
 
Sprocket nodded and packed up the book. 
 
As he was about to walk in the direction back home, though, Applejack said, "Also, now that I think about it, in the future, I need ya need ta pay more attention ta where yer goin' than somepony workin'."
 
Sprocket's face was covered in a blush in negative ten seconds flat. "How did you know about that?"
 
"Big Mac saw ya trip over tha fence, so he assumed ya were lookin' at somethin' else. I assumed ya were watchin' behind ya. Seems Ah was right, with whatcha just said."
 
Sprocket shook his head. "I'm never living these moments down, am I?"
 
"Nope."