//------------------------------// // When Falcon Met Ditzy // Story: Tangential Writings // by Desrium //------------------------------// When Falcon Met Ditzy First impressions are lasting impressions. The garage was a busy place lately. Klaxon built the machines he needed at his work bench at the far end of the garage, his tools making metallic chimes when they were put to use making functional components out of scrap and salvage. Steiner then gave them the magic they needed to be powered, enchanting the various mechanisms which Klaxon would then assemble in full. The bronze stallion was currently underneath his wagon contraption, the tip of his tail visible from beneath it, twitching to and fro. Its golden blond color was darkened by the grime of Klaxon's labor in good old mechanic fashion. It was dirty work, but it was definitely work he enjoyed doing. He reached out with a hoof from the side of the wagon, in between its two large wheels and Steiner placed a hunk of metal parts that were cobbled together into it. The blue unicorn would hear a muffled "Thank you," and the rattling, banging and ratcheting of tools would ensue as Klaxon installed the part into the housing he had previously built. This was the extent of their conversation as the two tackled this project. This was the extent of their conversation for most of their projects, really. When they got down to business, they really got down to business. *** By time the two had finished their work on the wagon, the better part of the day had passed. The setting sun heralded blazing oranges in the sky around it while the purples and blues marched onwards from the east. The last of the day's light spilled into the garage from its large door and few highly-set windows. There the sunlight mixed with the white-yellow light of the ceiling lamps dangling from the support beams. "Behold!" Klaxon gave his voice a dramatic flair as he led Falcon Wing and Alana to his building. He had long since cleaned himself up and rid his pelt of the filth clinging to it. Inside the garage, Steiner stood beside the wagon, which was now covered by a large tarp that draped down and ran across the floor for several feet. "You built a ghost!" Alana shouted in a way that made it hard to tell she was joking, bouncing up and down as she neared the veiled machine like an excited foal walking into a candy shop. "I really wouldn't be surprised if they did, actually," Falcon commented, walking beside the hyperactive mare. "though I think there was a mistake somewhere down the line... unless the ghost is meant to look all... chunky..." "Hilarious, both of you. What did Steiner say about being a jokester, Falcon?" Klaxon snorted, stopping in front of his machine and turning to face the other ponies. Falcon Wing shrugged. "She started it," he replied, earning a giggle from Alana. Klaxon sighed and gave Steiner a sidelong look. The blue unicorn simply shook his head. "Your fault for wanting to make a spectacle out of this whole thing." "Just pull the canvas off!" A small smirk crept onto Steiner's face momentarily, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared as his horn glowed dimly. The tarp rippled and levitated off of the construct before being tugged off to the side by the blue unicorn's magic. Unveiled was the new and improved wagon. It was a lot more solid looking now, the cabin area at the front was completely enclosed with thicker metal paneling and that paneling extended backwards, reinforcing the cargo storage area. The front of the machine had what looked to be a smaller version of a train engine, a decently sized cylindrical shape which broadened near the rear where it disappeared into the wagon-mobile itself. It was lacking a smokestack however. The whole thing had a dull yellow painted finish to it, making it look worn though it was technically brand new. "I call it: Big Bird!" said Klaxon proudly. "It looks like the lovechild of a sky carriage, a wagon and a train. It's as much of a bird as Falcon is," Steiner commented. "And it can haul like any earth pony...except better, of course." Klaxon added. "Yeah, except I can actually fly..." Falcon Wing retorted. "but I have to agree, it's a pretty strange name, Klaxon." "Looks more like a Goliath to me." Alana said, cocking her head from side to side as she darted around the contraption, looking at Klaxon's machine at various angles. It was much larger than the wagon it was built from, with two wheels at the front and four at the back portion. "Goliath the... big rig!" Steiner hummed thoughtfully. "It is indeed large; and one can say it is indeed a rig of some kind..." "I dunno," Klaxon replied, rubbing his chin. "something about Big Bird just fits. Must be the color. How 'bout Big Bird the big rig?" "It does have a ring to it!" the caramel mare exclaimed, appearing on the roof of its cabin. She looked down through the windshield and saw the spell-matrix terminals that were installed into the dashboard; a holdover from the previous 'model' of sorts. *** A few days would pass before the Big Bird would leave the garage. In that time, Klaxon was rigorously testing its performance, and rightfully so. The technology it used was technically experimental -something he and Steiner had developed themselves. Meanwhile, Steiner and Falcon Wing had resumed their research, succeeding in producing a batch of healing potions after much trial and error. With a proper recipe and procedure, healing potions would be in the supply caches of medical facilities all across Equestria, meaning that they would no longer be a blessing of fortune to find while exploring the former Equestrian wasteland. Naturally, the first shipment was meant for New Appleoosa. More specifically, it was going to Absolutely Everything; the store which...had damn near absolutely everything. Crates filled with glass bottles of the purple elixir were being loaded onto the wagon by Alana. She took the rope fastenings which bound the crates in her mouth and dragged them up the ramp at the back of the Big Bird, arranged them and stacked them and repeated the process without any sign of being tired out by the task. By the way she hopped over the side railings to get the next crate loaded, one could get away with thinking she was making a game out of the chore. Klaxon and Falcon Wing were inside the cabin at the time, giving the Big Bird a proper once-over, making sure everything was in order. From the terminals to the magic-tech engine it ran on, everything was as it should be. The cabin sat four, a direct improvement from the pedal-wagon. Unless it was carrying more people than that, no one would have to ride on the flatbed, though the awning remained for a such case. "So what do you make of it?" Klaxon asked Falcon. The red pegasus was fiddling with the straps running across his chest. "Classy," Falcon replied, finally leaving the seat belts alone. "I see you kept the handlebars." "Eh, what can I say. They've grown on me." Klaxon turned the steering column as he spoke. "And if you've got something good working already, why change it?" "Fair enough, I suppose," Falcon replied. When Alana was finished securing the crates on the flatbed, the Big Bird rolled out of the garage, its magi-tech engine rumbling like a growling manticore. Pulling out onto the road and passing through the Hope citadel caused many ponies to turn their heads in shock and confusion. It had been quite a while since any of them actually saw a working vehicle of any sort. It could've been counted as a milestone for Equestria's recovery. After the citadel's main gate was opened, the yellow transport thundered on down the meandering road on the way to New Appleoosa. *** The landscape rolled past outside of the Big Bird's windows. The cityscape fell behind and on the route Klaxon was taking, the big rig neared the edge of the Everfree forest and even passed by Ghastly Gorge. In time, even the forest faded from view, then the greenery of the earth became tan. From that point on, it wasn't long until the yellow transport came up to the Boxcar settlement. It rolled into the shadow of New Appleoosa's wall of steel tonnage and awaited clearance from the guards situated on top. Klaxon stuck his head out of his window and waved a hoof. "Steiner sends his regards!" The heavy gate groaned and trembled, a section of boxcars raising up and allowing the Big Bird into the city. Absolutely Everything was a strange little shop that was anything but little. Being three boxcars fused together and stocked with a wide assortment of utilities and supplies; it was a very impressive place to be in for the red pegasus. "And I thought the cellar was a sight to lay eyes on..." "I'm gonna go see how the unloading is going. Try to stay out of trouble, Falcon," Klaxon said to him before he started to make his way back to the store's entrance. "If Alana were here, she'd probably say something along the lines of 'bad things happen when I'm alone'," Falcon Wing thought. He looked around the densely packed store, shelves stocked to their utmost, things hanging from spans of metal and tucked away in corners. "What could possibly go wrong in here...?" He found it odd that there weren't other ponies perusing the wares, but dismissed it thinking that if anypony needed anything from Absolutely Everything, they would have stopped by long before he arrived with Klaxon. And so, Falcon spent several minutes looking at the store's inventory, finding things that ranged from the utterly mundane to the exceedingly rare for sale. There were even a few books -intact and legible!- that he had read in digital form in the Enclave archives. He took one off of the shelf, careful to take note of where he got it from and took a seat at a nearby counter. A Daring Doo tale, a page turner of riveting adventure; something which reflected the times that it was written in. Falcon didn't get too far into it before a blurry shape on the fringe of his vision caught his attention. He looked up from the book, surprised to see a light grayish-purple filly peeking up at him from the other side of the counter. She had a light yellow mane on her head and blue eyes. . "You're not from around here, are you?" she asked. "I'm not," Falcon replied. "You have to pay for that." The filly gestured to the book. "I'm not planning on taking it with me. I'm waiting for a friend to finish up some work here." "Oh. Okay." And just like that she was gone, scurried off into the depths of the store, disappearing amidst the merchandise. "Well then," Falcon thought. "now all that needs to happen to put the bow on this present of strangeness is Rego making an appearance..." He glanced around the counter; side to side, up and down; nothing. "Huh. Go figure." The pegasus was about to return to his reading when another figure caught his eye... and promptly made his heart seize. "Oh holy shi-!" Falcon nearly tumbled off of the stool he was sitting on. After a brief moment of spastic movements to level himself, Falcon Wing started to breathe heavily, taking in the details of what gave him such a fright. Another pony -a pegasus, like him... except... she was a ghoul. A hide devoid of fur except for the smallest tufts, gray skin having hints of green mottling, places where discolored muscle was exposed... this was not the first time Falcon laid eyes on a ghoul. He had a very good opportunity to get closer than he would have ever liked to one during his time in Baltimare. No, this was the first time he laid eyes on a ghoul pony, however. He instantly regretted his reaction. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act so... crass," he apologized to the mare whose eyes seemed to be staring in completely different directions. He tried not to linger on that... artifact... and instead made it a point to lock his gaze on the chalkboard she was scribbling away on. She turned it around to show what she had written. "I didn't mean to scare you." Falcon raised a brow, but did not bother questioning the mare about why she was writing her responses. He guessed that her ability to speak had long been compromised by her... transformation. How was he to possibly know the much darker truth behind the ghoul's muteness? "You didn't scare me," he said, trying to sound calm, collected and reassuring. "You...surprised me, is all!" She turned the chalkboard back around. Scribble scribble scribble. "You don't seem to like surprises." "Uh... depends on the surprise," Falcon mulled over his words, finding that it was very easy to take offense to them. "that's not to say meeting you wasn't a pleasant one! Just one that... startled me." "I'm sorry to have startled you." Falcon's heart sank. He inwardly chastised himself. "Damn it, Falcon! Have you learned nothing from Klaxon and Steiner?" "Eh, it's nothing. It's not like you tried to kill me or anything. That's already a lot better than what I normally put up with!" The ghoul mare cocked her head in confusion. Falcon cleared his throat and lowered his gaze, seeing an escape route from the awkward topic in the form of Daring Doo. "So uh... good book. Do you have any idea where the store's owner picked up their supply?" Scribble scribble. "Golden Oaks library, in Ponyville. I'm afraid there's not much left there." "How can you be so sure?" Falcon asked, not so much referring to the latter half of the mare's statement as he was about how she knew the answer to his question. He wasn't really expecting a definite one such as that. Scribble. "It was destroyed during the Enclave attack." "No, I mean... how can you be so sure that's where they got it from?" "Because I'm the one who got it! I'm Ditz Doo and this is my store!" Ditzy Doo. In a brief few seconds, Falcon Wing scoured his mind for the name. He knew he heard it before... unsurprisingly the memory that first came to mind was of a DJ Pon3 broadcast. Ditzy Doo, owner of Absolutely Everything. She does deliveries! "Ah... duh, Falcon..." He put a hoof to his face and asked: "How much for the book...?" *** "Well I'd say this was a successful little venture!" Klaxon proclaimed once the two were back in the big rig. "It works like a charm if I do say so myself." "Totally." Falcon replied drably. "Oi. What's wrong?" Klaxon asked. "Remember how you said stay out of trouble?" "...Yeah?" "Well I did. And I made an ass out of myself." "Huh. No shit?" "None whatsoever." Klaxon chuckled. "Well you were always good at that if you ask me." "It's not all bad though," Falcon Wing said, reaching under his cloak and into his saddlebag. He pulled out the Daring Doo book and said: "At least I have reading material for the trip back, right?" End