//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Playmaker // Story: Augmented Love // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter 4 The Playmaker Crank sat in Math along side the scholar and took notes as the teacher rambled on about quadratic equations. It was well into the fourth week of school. The class was going slower than a turtle stuck in molasses. He let out a sigh as he heard the bell ring and collected his books. As the two left a familiar blue haired DJ then walked up to him. “Sup dude?” She asked. “Not much. Did those speakers get delivered?” “Yup. Working like a charm.” She said with a smile. “Yeah I didn’t get your name the other day.” “Its Crank Shaft.” He said with a grin. “Cool. See ya around.” The DJ said before running off. The man continued on his way into the lunch room and sat down with the group of girls. The farmer and fashionista were in a heated argument once again. “Con sarn it Rarity.” The farmer groaned. “You gotta stop being so dang fussy, especially in front of Mr. Copper. The man already doesn’t like ya.” “Well, its not my fault I care about my appearance. I just think that there is no need for one to dirty their hands in such a manner.” Applejack was gripping her plastic force hard enough to break it. “I mean we have machines to weld and what not. Crank?” The man gulped a mouthful of food as he looked at the two girls. “True we have robots that are programmed to weld ten times faster and better than a person can.” The man said as he took another bite from his cheddar and salami sandwich. “Ha!” “But, we’ll always need people to fix the machines. What would happen if the robots working at Detrot Steel Industries shut down? The steel has to be made. So until they get a tech guy like me to go and fix it the workers have to do it themselves.” Rarity frowned at the man as AJ stuck her tongue out in victory. The group stopped chatting as Soarin made his way over to Crank. “Hey coach, need something?” “Just wanted to see if you reconsidered.” He said with a hopeful smile. “Crank rolled his eyes. “For the twelfth time this week, the answer is no.” Crank groaned. “Awe come on! Is there anyway I can convince you? We need that arm of yours.” Crank shuddered at the words. “I said no.” “Can I at least have an actual answer?” Crank opened his mouth to speak. "If you give me a legitimate reason then I’ll stop bugging you.” Crank groaned and realized he had two choices. A.) Keep dealing with Soarin’s begging until the end of the year. B.) Tell him about his arm. Crank was searching his mind as the bell rang. The man quickly collected his things and looked at Soarin. “I’ll stop by your office after school. You’ll get your answer then.” “Fine.” Soarin said as Crank left and hurried after the pastry chef. The two took their positions at their cooking stations and looked at the teacher. “Okay class, today you will be preparing a salad dish.” Some of the class groaned. “You will be using knives so be very careful.” Crank pulled out the knives and inspected the blades as Pinkie grabbed the vegetables. Crank selected a plump tomato and started to gently slice it as Pinkie washed the lettuce. “You do any cooking Crank?” She asked. “Not really. My mom is an amazing cook. I can barely scramble an egg and make pancakes.” He said with a shrug. “What can you bake?” “Anything!” She said as her eyes grew to the size of saucers. “Cupcakes, pies, cakes, doughnuts, fritters, eclairs-” Crank help up a hand. “I got it Pinkie.” He said with a smile. He focused on the task at hand and quickly switched to the onions. As he cut the fumes from the vegetable caused his left eye to water. The man wiped the tear away and continued to dice. One drawback his prosthetic eye had was it’s inability to tear up. He didn’t care. In his opinion he’d already used up half his tears. The pink mare kept babbling as the Unicorn was carefully dicing the tomatoes. He let her ramble and zoned out. He felt a cold shiver come over him as he saw a lab that had been blown to kingdom come. Blood stained the ground and he saw the mangled biomass that was left of his arm. A high pitched scream snapped him back to reality. He quickly looked at Pinkie who was wide eyed and was looking down towards the cutting board. Crank looked down at his hand and saw that he had cut the artificial skin open. The chef had mistaken the red lubrication fluid for blood. He quickly grabbed a towel and cleaned it up before the teacher rushed over to him. “Are you alright Crank?” The teacher asked as she looked at his hand. “I’ll be fine.” He said trying to sound tough. “Go to the nurse.” Crank nodded and wrapped his hand in a few paper towels. As he made his way out he deviated and went into the mens room. He pulled out a small spray can and shook it. Crank pointed the end at the broken flesh and pressed the nozzle. A flesh like material shot out and covered the hole. It took a moment for the skin to match the rest of the facade’s tone. He flexed his fingers and sighed at it. What the hell was that about? He thought as he remembered the vision. If I come back too early Pinkie might suspect something. He thought as he exited the stall. The man hurried down the hallway until he got to the main office. He walked inside and stopped in front of the secretary. “Can I help you?” She asked as she looked at the man. “Yeah is Principle Luna in? I need to speak to her.” The secretary picked up her desk phone and dialed the number. “Luna? Theres a boy here by the name of,” she held the receiver against her shoulder. “what’s your name?” “Crank Shaft.” “Crank Shaft.....Okay I’ll send him right in.” She said as she hung up the phone. Crank nodded and walked up to the office. He knocked on the door and heard a familiar voice. “Come in.” He turned the knob and saw Luna wearing a purple suit and sitting behind a large desk. “Ah Crank, so good to see you again.” Crank pulled a small device that looked like a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He pulled up an antenna that looked like one of the cylinders. He pressed the top and a small light turned on the box. “Can’t be too careful. You never know who’s listening.” He said as he sat down in front of the desk. “What is that?” “Its a small scrambler. It distorts electronic devices like cell phones, cameras and bugs within twenty feet of it.” “Bugs?” “Tiny listening devices that people plant to listen in on certain conversations.” Luna looked at her cellphone screen and saw that the screen was flickering. “Interesting.” She said as she put the phone in her pocket. “How are you adjusting to the school?” “Can’t complain.” “Shouldn’t you be in class?” Luna said as she raised an eyebrow. “Long story short. I’m supposed to be getting patched up by the nurse after cutting my right hand.” Luna looked at him in shock. “I’m fine.” He said as he showed her his hand. “I see. So why are you here then?” “Personal question. Do you think I can trust Soarin enough to tell him about my arm.” The question took the lunar Princess off guard. “Why?” “Long story short, I slammed a ball into your nephew’s face during gym and Soarin wants me to play on the football team because I have such a great arm.” Luna then understood the situation and why she saw her nephew with a bloody nose. “I’ve told him no at least a dozen times now, but he’s persistent. I told him I’d give him a real reason this afternoon.” Luna put a finger to her lips and thought for a moment before drawing a conclusion. “Correct me if I’m wrong but you have a magical defect correct?” “Yeah, my magic doesn’t recharge on its own and I need to feed off electricity regularly.” He said with a sigh. Luna pulled out a book and started to scan the contents. She smiled and tapped a page. “It states in the school rule book that if a student has a handicap. Physical, biological or mental then they cannot compete in extracurricular sports.” “Think Soarin will buy it?” “He will if I tell him to.” She said with a chuckle. “Sometimes I forget how mischievous you can be.” He said with a smile. “Thanks Luna oh and one more thing. The next time Celestia want to tell someone about my ‘condition’ then run it by me first.” “What are you talking about?” Luna said in confusion. “You don’t know? Celestia told Twilight Sparkle about my 'issue.'” He said as he pointed to his right arm. Luna huffed and frowned at the words. “My deepest apologies Crank. My sister sometimes jumps the gun.” The man nodded and deactivated the scrambler before leaving. The man made his way back to the cooking class to see the students cleaning up. “Ah good. Hows your hand?” The teacher asked. “Good as new. I ran into Principle Luna and she healed it up.” He lied with a smile. “Try to be more careful next time.” “Yes, ma’am.” He said as he walked over towards Pinkie. The man cocked an eyebrow as he saw that her normal curly hair was straight and a few tones darker than normal. “Hey Pinkie.” “Oh...hi.” Her tone was lower than usual and she refused to make eye contact. Before he could question the girl’s behavior the bell rang and she immediately picked up her bag and zoomed out the door. Crank put it in the back of his mind and made his way to biology class. During which, the students were learning about plant anatomy. After that, the man made his way into shop class and took a seat next to Applejack who was giving him the death stare along with Rarity. “Hey guys. Whats with the faces?” “What did you do to Pinkie?” Rarity asked as her eyes cut through him like a knife through butter. “Excuse me?” He said in confusion. “Ah just came from math class and the poor girl almost broke down in tears.” The farmer snapped at him. “Ah know she’s got class with you before hand so what did ya do?” “Nothing!” He said in a defensive tone. “We were making a salad. I accidentally cut my hand and went the nurse to get patched up. When I came back Pinkie’s hair was straight and darker than before.” The two girls acknowledged it as they remembered the same signs the last time the baker became sad. “Before I could ask her what was up, the bell rang and she bolted.” “You cut your hand?” Rarity said as she looked at his hands. “Relax I’m fine.” He said as he flexed his fingers. “Okay ya crazy gear heads settle down.” The group looked forwards to see a man with light orange hair and beard. “Today we’ll be learning about the lathe machine. Gents roll up your sleeves and girls put your hair up or stuffit in a hat. That means you Rarity.” A few students chuckled as the fashionista pouted. The group learned the basic functions of the machine and even demoed it near the end of class. As the bell rang the class packed up their belongings. “Crank, AJ.” The two students looked at the teacher who waved them over. “Something wrong sir?” Crank asked. “Not directly.” He said as he cleaned his glasses with a cloth. “You two are without a doubt the best in my class.” “Thank ya kindly sir.” AJ said as she tipped her hat. “However, Rarity is brining you both down.” “How so?” The teacher pulled out a chart with every student packed into groups of three. “Ya see every member of the group has to maintain at least a C average through the course in order to graduate.” Both students nodded. “You two are doing A grade work, but Ms. Belle is barely passing and if she fails then it’ll bring down both your averages.” The two students gulped. “I could switch her into another group, but I doubt that’ll solve the problem.” “Ah don’t think it will. Besides Rarity’s my friend, maybe she’ll listen to reason.” Applejack said in a hope filled tone. “For both your sakes I hope you’re right.” He said as the two left the workshop and went to their final class. Crank sat next to Rainbow who was constantly tapping her foot on the ground or her finger on the desk. “Something wrong Dash?” He whispered. “You seem a bit....jittery.” “Well duh! Don’t you know what today is?” “Um, Thursday?” The cyan flyer face palmed as she groaned. “The Xbox One comes out today genius!” “Oh right.” The man had completely forgotten that he had pre-ordered the new console that was hitting the market that day. The man was suddenly filled with excitement. “Totally forgot. Did you pre-order?” “Duh! Dead Rising 3 for the win! What about you?” “Ryse: Son of Rome.” Dash rolled her eyes at the name. “Boring.” “Hardly. The ancient Greeks are fascinating. Aqueducts, first civilization and Roman metal clashes agains barbarian steel.” He said with a slight school girl giggle. Dash was stifling her laughter. “Wow, I think you just overshot Twilight in the egg head department.” Crank frowned at the flyer who buried her head in her arms. “Shut up.” He pouted. Dash just kept chuckling to herself. “Besides I have to see coach Soarin about something.” He said with a grumble. The two perked up as they heard the bell rang. Crank gathered his things and made his way towards the gym with Dash in pursuit. “Why are you coming?” “Its no fun if I go to the store by myself.” She said as the two walked through the hallway. Rainbow waited outside the boy’s locker room as he went inside. The blue winged Pegasus was going over a game plan on a white board when he heard a tapping. “Ah Crank.” He said with a smile. “Have an answer?” “Yes and its still no.” Soarin had a disappointed look on his face. “I have an actual reason.” The man capped his marker and crossed his arms. “Have you ever heard of MRD?” “Mana Regeneration Disease?” Crank gave a nod. The coach scratched his head. Um, I think its when someone can’t regenerate their magic right?” Crank nodded. Soarin silently thanked his word of the day calendar at home. “My magic can’t regenerate on its own. I have to take a dosage of electricity every once in a while.” Soarin raised an eyebrow at him. “Electricity?” “Its what my magic turns into and its the easiest way for me to keep my dosage up.” “So let me get this straight. You need to lick a battery every once in a while to stay on your feet.” “Yes, and it says in the school rules that a student with a handicap like mine cannot participate in any type of physical extracurricular activity. I already talked with principle Luna about this.” Soarin sighed and hung his head. “Sorry coach, but I don’t want anyone to get in trouble because of me.” “Nah I get it.” He said with a sigh. “Thanks for being honest at least.” “No problem." He said with a smile. An idea came to the young Wonderbolt and he shot up and raised his hand as he pointed at the Unicorn. “Wait, I just had an idea. You can still be part of the team.” “I just told you that I can’t-” “No, the rules say you can’t do anything physical. Would you consider being the playmaker for the team?” Soarin looked at him with a wide smile. Crank tried to think of an excuse but reluctantly sighed. “You just don’t know when to give up do you?” “Perks of being Wonderbolt.” Crank rolled his eyes and extended his left hand. Soarin looked at it for a moment and shook it. “Okay, I’ll need stat sheets on all the team players along with standard background information.” “Why?” “You never know what you might find when you go digging through someone’s past.” “I can have it to you by tomorrow.” “Okay I’ll see you then.” Crank said with a smile. The man walked out to see the cyan flyer talking with the pink pastry chef. Her hair was still straight and dark. “Hey Pinkie.” The pastry chef immediately wrapped him in a tight hug and cried into his shoulder. Dash looked at her friend in confusion and then at crank who raised his arms in confusion. “Um, not really sure why you’re hugging me.” “You got hurt because of me.” She cried. “You cut your hand and-” Crank broke the hug and looked at the woman. “Pinkie, you didn’t do anything. I have a tendency to zone out at times.” He said as the girls sniffled. “I just lost focus and accidentally cut my hand.” The girl looked at him with teary eyes. “I’m all better see?” He said as he held up his right hand. “Trust me Pinkie, I’ve been through way worse than a simple cut.” The woman’s hair then seemed to explode and return to its bouncy bright pink color. Pinkie then wrapped the man in another bone crushing hug and smiled. “Pinkie.....need air.” He said as he was going blue in the face. “Sorry.” She said as she let go and the man gasped. “So where are you going?” “To get our Xbox Ones.” Dash answered. “Cool. Well, if you need me then I’ll be at Sugar Cube Corner.” The girl said before zooming out of view. The only thing Crank saw was a pink blur that shot down the hallway with enough force to make some papers abandoned students shoot up into the air and settle on the floor. “How did she-” “Its Pinkie Pie. Don’t question it.” Dash said with a sigh. Crank was about to argue but let it go. “C’mon we gotta get going!” The flyer grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway towards the exit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two arrived in front of the local game shop. A line of a few other people from school was inside the shop. Dash was stamping her foot impatiently as she waited. “Relax Dash, theres only four more people.” “What if they run out?” Crank deadpanned at the flyer. “Dash, they’ve had nearly over three-hundred thousand pre-orders. I’m pretty sure that they won’t run out.” He said with a chuckle. Dash glared at him and pouted as her cheeks tinted red. “Name please?” The game clerk said as the pair approached the counter. “Rainbow Dash.” He clicked a few buttons on the computer and smiled. “Okay, looked like you still owe some money on it.” Dash felt her joy slowly drain away. “What? How much?” “One-hundred fifty dollars.” Dash frantically dove into her bit bag and looked around. “I-I don’t have that much.” The clerk sighed. “Look we can hold it here till the end of closing tomorrow.” “I get paid next Tuesday.” Dash said in defeat. Crank looked at the girl and knew her pain. That slow, torturous feeling of having something taken away from you. “Sorry, ma’am. Rules are-” “Cash or credit?” The two looked at the Unicorn in surprise. The clerk shrugged and looked at his register. “Um card machine is busted.” “Cash then.” Cash is always King. He thought as he fished out the money from his wallet and paid the man. “Here you are.” The man went in the back and grabbed one of the wrapped consoles and gave it to the woman. “Right then, my turn I suppose.” Crank gave him his name and received his already paid off console. “Thanks.” Dash said as the two exited the shop. “No problem.” He said with a nod. “No really you just spent like a hundred bucks for me.” Is she blushing? Nah. “I was just helping you out. See ya.” He said as he vanished from her sight in a flash of light. Crank found himself in his living room and almost dropped his new console before resting it on the couch. He looked over himself and saw his reflection in the mirror. Good nothing singed this time. He thought as he saw the red battery indicator light up. Crank quickly walked over to a wall outlet and stuck his finger in the socket. The electricity danced across his arm and lightly burned the fake skin. The man brought his new console up to his room and saw the small A.I. on his desk. “Xbox One?” “You know it.” He said as he unwrapped the machine and started setting it up. He kept his gamer tag and booted up the console. He instantly got a friend request from Rainbow and accepted it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in Canterlot, Luna’s eyes snapped open as her clone disintegrated and the information went to her head. The Princess quickly got dressed and marched towards her sister’s office. The two guards quickly saluted her as she stormed in to see Celestia sitting at her desk. “Ah Luna, a package arrived for you today in the mail. I think its that new gaming console you were telling me about.” The Princess said in a happy voice. “Putting that aside. I have just learned that you told Twilight Sparkle about Crank Shaft’s....condition.” Celestia sighed and motioned for her guards to leave. After they had closed the door Luna sat across from her sister with a scowl on her face. “Lulu I-” “Don’t Lulu me Tia.” She said in an almost spiteful tone. “It took a lot of trust on his family’s part to tell us about his secret and then you go and tell Twilight Sparkle without notifying him?” Celestia sighed at the words. “I’m not saying that your student isn’t trustable, but you had no right to tell her his most precious secret.” She stammered. “I realize that,” Celestia began. “but from what his father had told me Crank has nearly been spending all of his time cooped up in his workshop after the accident.” She sighed. “He asked me to help so I mentioned it to Twilight. She doesn’t know the full story. Even I dare not tell her about what happened.” Luna shuddered as she remembered the story. “I don’t even need to imagine the horror of losing something like that.” Celestia said as she hung her head. “I do see your point and it was wrong of me to tell her that.” Luna got to her feet and made her way towards the door. “It is not I you should be apologizing to sister.” Celestia nodded and smiled at her sister. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have barbarians to kill and zombies to decapitate.” She said before teleporting down to the mail room. Outside Celestia’s office Blueblood continued on his way with a small smirk and pondering what he had just heard. Whatever that peasant is hiding. I’ll find it. He chuckled to himself as he went back to his room.