//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Scootaloo Finds a Truck in the Everfree Forest // by Admiral Biscuit //------------------------------// Scootaloo Finds a Truck in the Everfree Forest Chapter 3 Admiral Biscuit “Dom’f woffy, I’f gof ya sfirt!” Rainbow jumped back—really, more straight up—and the wagon shot out from under the pair, aimlessly roaring across the park. The pair of pegasi watched as it bounded across small hillocks, bounced off a rock, and dove into a gully. Its glowing red hind lights vanished over the edge. As soon as she felt ground under hooves, the grip on her mane loosened, and she twisted her head around to look into the concerned magenta eyes of Dash. The pegasus spit out a mouthful of purple hair before speaking. “What was that monster?” Scootaloo sighed. It was really awesome how Rainbow had rescued her—it was just like something from Daring Do. But at the same time, she’d lost her new toy. “I dunno.” She looked back to where it had fallen over the ravine—and suddenly saw its lights beam up at the bottom of Rainbow’s house. The light wavered across the cloud, until it suddenly swept away like a spotlight. Just then, she saw it crest the other side of the ravine, now splattered with mud and trailing cattails. It almost made it over, but when the front wheels broke over the embankment, its belly dragged along the edge and it jerked to a stop. Scootaloo held her breath as it slid back a foot before finally settling into a resting position, its rear wheels still spinning uselessly against the soft dirt of the ravine. “It’s not dangerous, though! It’s just the same as the parade float!” Rainbow looked at her dubiously. “The parade float that went out of control, careened off a cliff and crashed into a lake?” “Well. . . .” Scootaloo scuffed her hoof against the ground awkwardly. “Yeah?” “Wait right here.” Rainbow flew over the gulley, darting around the strange metal wagon. The angry growling it was making was disconcerting; the unicorn-powered parade floats had been mostly silent. A foul odor emanated from under the tailgate—it was almost like flying around the ceiling in Ponyville’s only dive bar, where the fumes from the guttering oil lamps collected and stayed. She’d only been there once, unwisely choosing to perform a stunt after a dozen glasses of cider . . . on her third loop she’d gotten really dizzy and crash-landed across Snowflake’s table, whereupon he’d promptly ejected her through the front window. She absently rubbed her side—he’d planted one hoof on her shoulder muscle and the other on her thigh. When she tried to stand up, neither of her right legs had worked, and she’d just fallen flat on her face again. “See?” Scootaloo was standing on the opposite edge of the ravine, having forgotten Rainbow’s earlier instruction. “It’s not dangerous at all. It’s just a machine.” “I dunno.” Rainbow looked back down at it dubiously. “As much as I hate to say this, I’ve been, like, everywhere in Equestria, and I’ve never seen anything like this before. We’re going to have to have an expert look at it.” “Aww.” Her ears flattened. Visions of driving this thing around Ponyville vanished like a sandcastle in a tornado. Twilight was going to take one look at this thing, levitate it back to her treehouse, toss it in the basement, and analyze the heck out of it. She’d be lucky to ever see a single part of it again. “So, what do you think?” The mare put down the magnifying glass. “I think it’s a super-awesome wagon! Ooh, we should throw it a party! A welcome to Ponyville party.” “No.” Rainbow crossed her forelegs. “No offense, but your parties for inanimate objects are kinda creepy.” Pinkie’s mane deflated a little bit. “Yeah.” She brightened back up. “Okay, let’s just throw a party for Scootaloo, for finding such an awesome thing!” "Much cooler.” Rainbow boosted Scootaloo back up into the cabin so she could turn it off. Because of the angle, she had to push her hind legs against the back of the driver’s couch to reach the key, but after a few fumbles she finally managed, causing the needles on all the gauges to drop to zero. She remembered to push in the switch for the lights, too, and move the directional lever all the way back to its resting position. The crusaders had learned an important lesson about operating machinery during their brief foray into locomotive engineers yay!  Always make sure the machine is secured before you leave it unattended. “What is it?” Scootaloo asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” “I don’t know.” Pinkie began to study the nose of the truck. “It’s hot in front, so that’s probably where the engine is. It might be steam powered, ‘cause it’s heavy and metal.” “I didn’t see anywhere to shovel fuel into it.” Rainbow sniffed the wheels of the truck. “Don’t rubber wheels seem kind of flimsy? They’re okay for wagons and prams and stuff, but a real wagon ought to have steel wheels.” “Maybe there are instructions in it.” Pinkie jumped up in the bed of the truck and stuck her head through the back window. “My gyrocopter came with all sorts of instruction. ‘Do not operate before reading and understanding all the instructions. Do not operate while inebriated. Do not operate over populated areas. Do not operate without proper personal protective equipment. Manufacturer assumes no liability for death or dismemberment. Warning: All machines—’” “I think we get the idea,” Rainbow muttered to Pinkie’s poofy tail—the only part of her body still visible. She’d managed to jam herself into the operator’s cabin muzzle-first and was rummaging around with her forehooves. “Aha! I think I found it!” She triumphantly slid a thin glossy book from under the seat. “Can somepony pull me back out?” “I’m on it. Stay over here, squirt.” Rainbow flapped up into the back of the truck and grabbed Pinkie’s tail in her teeth. Bracing against the front of the cargo box, she tugged the earth pony back out of the window. “Ya know, you should lay off the cupcakes.” “I’ll have you know I’m a perfectly healthy weight for an earth pony,” Pinkie snarled. “I’m just big-boned in the hips. Some stallions like that, you know. A good—” “Ixnay on the allionstay.” Rainbow muttered, pointing towards Scootaloo. “Oopsie! So, I think I found the instructions.” She flipped the booklet open. A foldout dropped of its own volition and the two mares stared at it intently. Rainbow spoke first. “I give. What the hay is that?” “It looks like a shaved Diamond Dog, but curvier.” “That’s a lot of cutie-marks. Maybe it has cutie-pox.” “Yeah.” Pinkie folded the page back in and closed the booklet. “This isn’t helpful at all. Maybe there’s another instruction booklet in here.” She started jamming herself back through the window again and then thought better of it. “You know, maybe you and Scoots can look through it. I can find some ponies to help pull it out of the ravine. Scootaloo figured out how to make it go, after all. It can’t be all that complicated.” Pinkie looked over the edge of the bed at a beaming pegasus filly. “You wanna look through your new toy with Rainbow?” Scootaloo nodded eagerly. “Ok. I’m gonna get some ponies to pull it back onto level ground. You see if you can find the instructions.” Pinkie stretched out her neck and began whispering. “And I’m gonna bring back some super-special cake, too!” “Nopony’s gonna take it away from me, are they?” Pinkie jumped back down to the ground and pulled the filly close. “I don’t know. If it belongs to somepony else, you’ll have to give it back. I can put up lost-and-found posters around town. I keep pre-written forms stashed all around, just in case of emergency. But if nopony claims it, it’s yours.” “Yay!” Scootaloo jumped out of Pinkie’s embrace. “Cutie Mark Crusaders . . . um Self-Powered Wagon Drivers!” “I’ll be right back!” Pinkie waved a hoof before pronking back towards town. Scootaloo struggled to pull herself up over the tailboard. “Uh, a little help?” “Heh, sorry squirt.” Rainbow hooked a pastern around her foreleg and yanked her up into the back of the truck. “I’ve got to admit, this thing is kind of cool.” Scootaloo beamed. As Dash helped her into the operator’s cabin, she wondered if the day could get any better.