//------------------------------// // A Day's Work Done // Story: I Am // by Waxworks //------------------------------// They had limited time for shopping, but Gear Grinder was intent on making the most of it. Despite Amperage’s insistence that he could call and ask for help getting down to Ponyville anytime, he still didn’t feel comfortable around all these huge creatures that seemed to dominate the city. He was sure their presence was good for business and trade, and the economical benefits of having such a diverse population were surely impressive, but it didn’t make a pony feel very safe. Especially when pony body parts were such hot commodities for so many of them. That said, Eternal Lights was almost enough to make him want to come back. The place was both an electronic shop and an arcade built into a what was probably once an office building. It filled ten stories, with only the first two selling tech. The other eight were dedicated to arcade machines, and it was glorious. The latest machine for Equestrian Warriors was there, and there was the Luna-vision pod machine for Changeling’s Adventure. Gear had never had the opportunity to play that before. It was supposed to make you feel like you were actually a completely new pony. They said it only used tech, but Gear was certain some techmancy went into it, because you only found it on the upper levels of Canterlot. Sadly, despite Gear wanting to spend time playing the games, they couldn’t stay. They had his antenna, so he bought one, and Amperage got one too, then they were on their way, with Gear giving the store one last sad look as they left. “Hey, dude. Don’t look so glum. You got your antenna, and remember my offer: We can come down any time you like. Within reason, of course,” Amperage hastily amended. “I’m not bringing you down here every second day just to play Equestrian Warriors.” “Well gee, now you’ve gone and lied to me,” Gear said sarcastically. “That’s not really anytime then, is it?” “You got me. I’m a filthy liar. I only tell fibs.” “Damn right.” Amperage chuckles, then his ears flick as he pulls up the map on his HUD. “Let me just find out where we’re going for work. I’ll be right back down after I’ve gotten my bearings, then we’ll be on our way back home.” “I’ll wait here.” “Okay. Shouldn’t be too far away. Just a few streets. It might even end up being closer to the station if this is correct. Be right back!” Amperage leaped into the air and flew upward in lazy circles. He’d made it halfway up Eternal Lights’ façade when there was a loud *SQUAAAAWK!* and a griffin crashed into him! “Amp!” Gear yelled in alarm. The griffin clawed at him, screeching and howling, and Amperage was just trying to hold him off, wings flapping wildly. Feathers filled the air as the two lashed out at each other while Gear was helpless to only watch from the ground. After several more seconds of fighting, the griffin ripped Amperage’s saddlebags off him, and dove out of sight, leaving Amperage dazed and confused. Holding his head, he floated down to Gear, who rushed up to him. “Are you okay?” Gear asked. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little bit scratched up. He got my saddlebags and that was all,” Amperage said, dabbing at his face with a hoof. He looked up at Gear Grinder. “How’s my face look?” Gear gave him a once-over and smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Not too bad. A lot of scratches, but I don’t think anything will need stitches. What did you have in your bags?” “Just the rest of my bits and a set of shoes. Thanks for carrying my antenna, by the way. That was lucky.” “That’s literally why I’m here. To carry your stuff.” “Heh, yeah.” “Also; why do you have a set of shoes in your bag?” “Just in case.” “Just in case what?” Amperage just shrugged. He blinked as a drop of blood dripped past his eye. “I never found out.” “Luna’s ass, dude. You look like you lost a fight with a cat.” “I literally just did.” “Heh. You’re right. Let’s get you patched up. Eternal Lights should have a first-aid kit.” Gear pulled his friend back inside the arcade. The two stallions got Amperage some bandages, then finished their errand for work. They parted ways at the Pony-Can station, with only a little arguing. “Are you sure you can fly home alright? Your eye looks swollen.” “Yeah. It’s nothing I haven’t flown with before. I know a doc in Cloudsdale who can take a look at it. He specializes in griffin-caused injuries.” “There’s a specialty for that?” “In today’s Ponyville, there’s a specialty for most things.” “Understandable,” Gear said. “I’ll drop the supplies off, then contact you online when I’m home safe. Good luck, Amp. And, sorry about your saddlebag.” “Hah, no worries. This was work-related, so I get fully reimbursed. I’ll need to submit an on-the-job injury report, but I’ll catch you online later!” He waved a hoof, then took off into the sky, leaving Gear waiting for the train. Gear didn’t have long to wait. Soon after Amperage flew away, the great steel beast hove into the station. It’s neon trim giving it a ghostly pallor in the dim evening light. Gear Grinder stepped through the doors into the train, found himself a seat and flipped down his goggles to check with his friends before the train got inside the mountain. Gear could see that Balls had left for the night, but Chain Gang was still there. “Hey, guys. Day’s just about over. Just gotta drop some stuff off at work.” There were a bunch of scattered hellos, and the occasional ‘good work’ here and there. Chain Gang didn’t respond immediately, but a pony by the name of Laugh Track popped in with his usual flair. “Runnin’ outta supplies at the power station makes it sound like they should… ‘charge’ more for their services, huh? ;D” Laugh Track said. Most of the chat groaned and emoted themselves throwing fruit, which just made Laugh Track smile harder. “:DDDDDD” Gear left it alone and didn’t say anything. He was just waiting for the action to die down a little before he threw a huge damper on the mood. The back and forth continued, with Laugh Track continuing the barrage of puns until one of the mods kicked him from the room. He hopped back in immediately. “Removed from the room after only five puns. Was that a record?” “No, the fewest pun record was with three,” one of the moderators of the chat room said. He went by the name of Large Hat. “Are you sure?” Laugh Track said. “I’m positive.” “:D” It took him a minute, but eventually Large Hat understood. “Luna’s ass,” he said, then removed himself from the room, only to jump right back in. Gear chuckled, which got him some strange looks from some of the ponies around him on the train. They all turned away and paid him no more mind when they figured out he was on his goggles. It was a pretty commonplace sight, it was just the noise. Most ponies still tried to avoid laughing out loud. “So, my day was an adventure. My pegasus co-worker got mugged while we were down in Ponyville. Lost his saddlebags and got his face all scratched up by a griffin,” Gear said in the chat. “Woah, no shit?” Laugh Track said. “No shit. He was flying up to check our location and a griffin just swooped out of nowhere and attacked him. It was probably like, twice his size.” “Wow. That’s really something else. Was this your first time down in Ponyville, Spider?” Large Hat asked. “Mine, yes. I was only sent at my co-worker’s request, and because I’m an earth pony. I literally only went to carry things. That, and work requires two ponies to go down to Ponyville together. Safety reasons.” “Yeah, that makes sense,” Large Hat said. “Oh, hey Spider! That sounds like quite the adventure. Were your co-worker’s injuries bad?” Chain Gang had started paying attention to his goggles again. “No, he said they were mostly superficial, but they were all scratches to his face. It looked really nasty, though. Blood was dripping into his eyes and everything. He didn’t even really seem fazed, like this was normal.” “Wow. Your co-worker sounds like a badass,” Chain Gang said. “He’s okay. We never really talked much, but he really wanted to hang out, be it online or off, so if he and I end up playing games I’ll probably invite him to the chat.” “Is he good at games?” Laugh Track asked. “I have no idea. I barely know the guy. He’s probably better at Equestrian Warriors than Balls, though. Everypony is.” “Awwww, poor guy isn’t even here to defend himself,” Chain Gang said. “I’ll tell you that he’s really working on Thunderfury’s defensive game. He almost kept me away with that lightning wall …almost.” “Well, that’s neither here nor there until I talk to him tomorrow.” Gear Grinder rummaged in his bag for his new antenna. The train was coming up on the mountain, and now was the perfect time to test it. He found it nestled in a safe corner of a pocket next the miscellaneous parts that dominated his saddlebags. He also found Amperage’s antenna. He’d forgotten to give it to him before he left. Gear rubbed a hoof over his face. Amperage had probably done this on purpose. Asking him to hold it, then forgetting it on purpose just so that he’d have an excuse to call on him again. It was a very clever ploy. Gear’s eyes turned back to his HUD. “Ugh. In all the excitement, I ended up taking my co-worker’s new techmantic antenna. Now I’m going to have to contact him and give it back to him. I think he did it on purpose.” “Oh! I’ve heard of those! They’re expensive as fuck. Where’d you get it?” Laugh Track asked. “Eternal Lights, down in Ponyville. I was saving up anyway, so I thought I’d see if they had one. Half the price of the ones in Upper Canterlot.” “Daaaaaayum. That really boosts my signal. :D I’ll have to go sometime.” “Ahhh, Upper Canterlot. Why you gotta hate me because I don’t have a penis in the middle of my forehead?” “Hey, not everypony up here is an asshole,” Large Hat said. “You’re a bit of an asshole,” Laugh Track retorted. “What, really?” Large Hat said. Everypony in the chat gave an “Ehhhh” or a “Hmmm”. “Seriously? Am I that bad?” “We’re just pullin’ your leg, Hat. Don’t worry so much,” Gear said. “You’re the least stuck-up unicorn I know.” “Other than your boss, aren’t I the only unicorn you know?” “Yes.” “Great. Really means a lot, :/” Large Hat typed out. “You’re fine. Don’t get your socks bunched up. But you’ll have to forgive me while I set up my new antenna. Entering the mountains now.” “Good luck, Spider,” Chain Gang said. “Good luck ‘boosting your signal’ in public ;),” Laugh Track said. Gear took off his goggles so that he could see what he was doing with the antenna. Being a piece of techmancy, it had strange parts that he didn’t recognize, and couldn’t guess the function of. He pulled out the instructions and began reading through them, trying familiarize himself with what each section did. The antenna wasn’t huge. It fit into a slot that was on every piece of head-tech and could be expanded or retracted so it would activate or not. It used either electricity or magic, depending on which one the pony using it had available to them, and would connect to the nearest wireless signal, riding ambient magic or ley lines, regardless if you were a unicorn or not. Despite his familiarity with a lot of tech and other machines, Gear could not fathom how it worked. He’d been using tech and working with it all his life, but techmancy was something unique to unicorns. It made him more than a little jealous. Gear fit the antenna into the slot on his goggles, then fastened it in with the provided latch and plug. It shouldn’t fall off no matter how hard he jostled it, and the plug ensured he could make it extend or retract with the in-tech interface. Once he was satisfied it was in, he slid the goggles back over his eyes and turned it all back on just as the train entered the mountain. The setting sun disappeared, and the inner lights on the train clicked on as they sensed the darkness. Gear stared at the stone walls outside the train as he watched the chat log go by in front of him. They were talking about modding the game Yaket. Laugh Track was all about the more risqué mods and making flanks as big and round as possible, while Large Hat preferred mods that improved immersion and Chain Gang liked difficulty mods. Gear ignored them for now. He had no opinion on modding, nor the game Yaket. He turned to the window and stared at the passing stone. It wouldn’t be long before the stone walls would disappear and they would enter the power station. A marvel of unicorn, earth pony, and pegasi combined engineering; the power station collected heat energy from far below Horn Mountain. Sensors had been drilled into the ground until they struck magma and, using unicorn magic to prevent them from melting, they collected the heat energy in multitudes of heat-resistant cables devised by pegasi to collect lightning. The cables themselves were the size of the train Gear was riding in, and had been smithed to the pegasi specifications and transported and set in place by earth ponies. The whole station had been created right before the division of the races had happened, and was the last great thing they all had created working together. It had lasted hundreds of years, and was predicted to last hundreds more with proper upkeep. Gear’s job at the power station was nothing so glamorous as those who had created it. His job was mostly fetching things for others, with the occasional bit of cleaning and heavy lifting. He had no illusions about his position though. He was disposable and he knew it. Hence why he never said no to anything; like going down to somewhere as dangerous as Ponyville. The train roared across the suspended rails, passing over gaping holes drilled into the stone below. Remnants of the unicorn drilling project, some of the holes had gone nowhere, or they hadn’t struck magma like they thought. The huge pits inside the mountain’s core had been left behind and never filled in. The air conditioning in the train clicked on as the ambient temperature rose. Gear could see short sections of the superheated cables, excess waves of heat shimmering off them and being dispersed into the stone nearby. The cables and their sensors came up from below and into the collection area, where the heat was converted into power in areas Gear wasn’t allowed to go. Then all that power went out to power all of Canterlot; upper, central, and lower, with excess power stored for emergencies. The train pulled into the station, and Gear and a several other ponies got off. Co-workers, most of them. He’d seen them in passing, but like with Amperage, Gear never spoke to any of them. He didn’t know what he would say if it didn’t have to do with work, and since many of them were unicorns, he didn’t even have to work with them. He’d just deliver things to them, then leave. Gear trotted through the station, all the way up the tunnel to the building, swiped his keycard and stepped inside the building proper. The cool air of the interior washed over him and he sighed gratefully. It wasn’t uncomfortable outside the building, but it was stifling. It felt thick, and it wasn’t pleasant, no matter how much pegasi and unicorn magic attempted to regulate it. Gear quickly ran to the quartermaster and delivered the materials. He said nothing to the quartermaster and she said nothing back. They just exchanged paperwork, then Gear left. He went straight back to the train station, out into the stifling heat, and got to wait again. He sighed, then flipped his visor down and went back to the chat. “Turned all the supplies in at work, and now I get to go home. Full day’s pay, and all I had to do was carry some stuff. I even got to hang out at an awesome arcade during work. Good stuff,” Gear said in the chat. “Nice work, Spider. You got your antenna working, then?” Chain Gang said. “Yep! Works like a charm. This is going to make those dreary days walking back and forth across the station much more fun.” “You think you’re gonna go hang out with that co-worker you mentioned?” Gear didn’t type anything for a moment as he thought it over. “I guess I will. I have to return his antenna to him since he left it with me. I might as well make a day of it.” “That’s the spirit! I don’t think it’ll be as bad as you imagine.” “You’re probably right. But mentioning that, I should send him a message. I told him I’d let him know when I dropped everything off and got home.” Gear flicked away the chat screen, relegating it to the ‘most-used’ icons on the side of his HUD, then pulled open one of the more common messengers most ponies used. Gear and his online friends avoided it because it was cluttered with ads and the like, but Gear kept it for work-related messages. His Boss was on there if anypony needed him, so Gear made sure to keep his profile as sterile as possible: No incriminating evidence there! He flicked through the names until he found the one he was looking for: Amperage. Pegasus pony. Works at Canterlot Power Station. Not in a relationship—and with a profile pic of him making a duck face. Classy stuff, Amperage. Gear sent him a friend request and a message. “Hey Amp. This is Gear Grinder from work. I have your antenna still and I need to deliver it to you. I guess we could—” Gear stopped, confused. What did normal ponies even do when they hung out? Did they go drinking? Dancing? (Could two stallions go dancing without it seeming too strange?) Gear had no idea what ponies who didn’t share his interests did with their evenings. His evenings usually consisted of finishing work, coming home, and playing games with his friends online. He had no idea what Amperage might enjoy doing. But, Amperage did say he’d try to play some games. “—hang out?” Gear finished, then hit send. He’d deal with the interpretation of it later. That was too much to deal with at the moment. The train pulled in through the tunnel, and Gear climbed aboard. He looked for a seat but the only one available was one between an elderly pegasus mare and a tech’d out earth pony. The elderly mare wasn’t a problem, but Gear was still weirded out by body-tech. He opted to stand instead. The older mare scooted over a little bit and motioned to the seat, but Gear shook his head. His eyes wandered involuntarily to the earth pony and whatever the augment in his chest was supposed to do. He lingered just too long, and the pony caught him staring. The earth pony looked at the mare next to him, motioning for Gear to take a seat, then he looked back at Gear and smirked. The earth pony pulled back what little his shirt covered, and made a show of inhaling. He inhaled far longer than would have been normal for a pony, and he just kept going. Gear looked away, but he could still hear the pony loudly breathing in. The augment in his chest started making a whirring noise as it started doing something, then the breathing stopped. Gear refused to look, but that whirring noise kept going. Whatever that pony’s chest tech was supposed to do had something to do with breathing regulation, and Gear found that creepy. Gear waited, but no exhalation was forthcoming. He kept his eyes firmly locked on the passing buildings, interspersed with tunnels through both rock and buildings as the subway sped on its way through lower Canterlot. His stop was coming up soon, and he just wanted off the train and away from that unnatural behavior. “Guys, there’s this pony on the subway with some sort of lung augment. It covers his whole chest, and he caught me looking, then breathed in—and he just kept breathing in! Now he’s holding his breath while staring at me!” Gear said. “Oh, yeah,” Large Hat said. “It’s for divers and miners, mostly. They can just take an entire tank’s worth of air with them, without having to carry it. They don’t even need to breath for long periods of time! Useful stuff.” “It’s creeping me out!” “Spider, I know you don’t like augments, but they’re everywhere. You really need to get over it. They’re perfectly normal.” Just then, Gear felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw the augmented earth pony just behind him, chest proudly on display with the dials all maxed out. Gear jumped in surprise. “Gahhhhh!” “fddddddddddddtsbsdajjjjjj” Gear typed out on his keyboard. Ponies on the subway turned to look at Gear, who was clutching his chest and gasping for breath. The large earth pony chuckled and began exhaling. The whirring noise stopped, and he held out a hoof to Gear. Gear ignored it and pulled himself up, grumbling. “Sorry ‘bout that, mate. Just showin’ off, didn’t mean to scare ya,” the stallion said. “Well, you don’t need to flaunt it all over the place like that,” Gear said. “Sorry, mate. Though you were ‘mirin.” “Well I wasn’t!” Gear snapped. “Alright, mate. I’ll leave ya to yer prejudice. It helps me keep my job, and I can’t really hide it. No sense being ashamed of it.” The stallion returned to his seat. Gear just stared out the window until his stop arrived. He ignored the many looks and the muttering of ponies around him, even from the old mare who’d offered him a seat. When his stop arrived he hurried off the train and trotted out of the station. He hurried home, not stopping to get anything from Curry’s place, and locked himself inside his apartment. He heated some water and made himself instant noodles, then sat down in his favorite and only chair, then focused back on his goggles. “I’m home.” “You alright, Spider? You mashed out nonsense then went silent for a while there,” Large Hat asked. “I’m fine. Let’s just play something. I need to get my mind off things.” “Fair enough. Equestrian Warriors awaits!” The sound of the game drowned out the noises from the rest of the apartment, and the night grew longer.