It sure was hot out Tinker thought to herself. She scooted out from under the wagon and wiped her mane out of her eyes. She can’t believe that the wagon still even seemed to hold together after all these years of abuse it had endured out on the family farm. Not that it really mattered. It looks as if time had taken its toll at last.
“Well, shoot.” Tinker struck the side of the wagon with her hoof as she turned to watch the sunset. The resounding crash startled her back to reality.
“Hock-Nippers!! I swur I’ll never get this old thing back together.” She frowned on the broken wheels, the rotting frame, even the metal joint plates had rusted straight through.
“TINKER!! Supp’r time!” A sassy voice echoed past the barn where she was working.
“I’m coming ma…” Tinker gave the old heap a disgusted look and walked off to go get cleaned up. She had been at it all day. Usually she could jury-rig anything up and get it to work better than it used to. But this today things just didn’t seem to be clicking. Was she that worried?
“Well there ya are Sugarloaf, any luck?” He father asked, he needed the wagon in a few days to take some produce to market.
“No, I think’s it’s gone done and fell apart for the last time.” She pouted as she took her place at the table with her brothers. They were all older than her and worked in the fields all day with their father. She looked over to the head of the table. Her father was a striking stallion, back in the day that is. He needed more help than ever now just to keep the farm going.
“Hey sourpuss, pass the gravy.”
“Huh??” Tinker looked up, had she really just missed the blessing? She must really be losing it to have missed that.
“Sage, that’s not the proper way to talk to your sister” Her mother scolded the younger of her brothers. There were two of them, Sage and Trim.
“It’s okay mum, sorry, I was thinking.” She passed the gravy and then continued to roll her food around on her plate.
“Whatcha thinking about honey, I’m sure you did fine on that there test last week.”
“It’s not that… well kinda.” Tinker pushed her plate away, not hungry. “I was hoping my results would come today, I guess I didn’t pass.”
“Ah come on Sugarloaf, you did your best, it’s not your fault if they can’t see your potential.” Her father reassured her.
“I’m not hungry, may I be excused… I want to finish the wagon.”
“Sure, go right on ahead, just make sure you’re back and in bed before midnight.”
Tinker nodded in answer as she walked out the door. She really had wanted to get the scholarship. Her family wasn’t too well off enough to send her to a fancy school. This would likely have been her only chance. Well oh well, as disappointing as that was she needed to get that wagon working. She caught something out of the corner of her eye. Hold on a sec, that might work! She dashed over and knocked some junk off the pallet.
“Well, I say where have you been this whole time.” She scolded the pallet, talking to herself. “I wonder if you have any more friends hiding around here somewhere.
It felt good to get her mind off of the test, do what she loved most, making things. Even though sometimes she didn’t really know what she was doing.
“Well shucks, it’s looking better than I thought.” She levitated the makeshift cart up on its side as she affixed the last wheel. It might not be the prettiest thing on two wheels but Tinker knew it would stand up to many years of good hard work.
“Oh shoot! I’m in trouble.” A quick glance up at the moon sunk all her elated feelings back down to earth. “Oh, daddy’s gonna kill me.”
“No he won’t.”
“What!?!! Trim! What are you doing here?” She turned around startled.
“Well, I came to fetch ya, but you seemed so lost in your work that I decided to wait. That was ‘bout an hour ago.”
“You stood there for a whole hour?” Tinker’s eyes widened in embarrassment, hey cheeks turning a light red.
“Well, I did clean up the mess you made outback.”
“What mess?”
“All the spilled paint when you nabbed that there pallet.” Trim scolded her, half laughingly.
Tinker turned to look at the pallet her brother pointed out. Well, maybe she did manage to spill a ‘little’ paint.
“Well, we can repaint it later, I didn’t quite get that far.”
“Don’t worry about, come on sis. It’s time to head to bed, we’re all heading up to town early tomorrow.”
“Okay Trim, I’ll be right in.” Grabbing a few tools and levitating a few more with her horn, organizing them neatly into her grandfather’s old tool chest.
She slept well enough, but maybe not long enough. Evident by her inability to stay awake in the back of the rainbow speckled wagon. They usually made a trip to town once a week, and most times she’d stay home to work on something she had thought up. Most of the time it never turned out quite like she had imagined but every so often, one project would far exceed even her expectations.
“Hey wake up Sugarloaf, we’re here.”
“I’m up,” Tinker let out a yawn. She must have feel asleep, she couldn’t even recall most of the trip.
“Come on Tinker! Hurry it up!!” Sage exclaimed, bucking the air in excitement.
“I’m coming… Wait why are we here??” As she took notice of the store front they had come to a halt in front of. “No WAY!! Da…. No way… it’s too expensive.” It may not be the most elegant restaurant in town but it was certainly her favorite. She had only been a few times, but she could still remember those wonderful deserts that were imported from all over Equestria. Here favorite was the sweet apple pie they would have around harvest time.
“Well are you coming or not?”
“I… I don’t…. I’m not sure…”
“Oh I almost forgot,” Her father grinned, pulling out a piece of paper with some writing on it.
“What’s that? What’s it say??” she asked curiously.
“Eh-hem... it says, ‘Dear miss Tinker Sparx, We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to receive the Gear-Head scholarship for your score on your entrance exam of 109/110. We formally congratulate you on your accomplishment and look forward to your enrollment in the mechanical engineering program we have at the University of Manehattan.’”
Tinker’s jaw dropped, could it really be true? She missed ONE QUESTION!!!
“Well, I don’t know about y’all but I’m hungry, come one boys lets go grab a table, your father and sister will be coming shortly.”
“Daddy… you… you knew?!?”
“Well of course, it came yesterday, your mother and I are so proud.”
She couldn’t believe it. She had no words, she almost bowled her dad over with her hug. Tears wetting her cheeks.
“I love ya to Sugarloaf, know what do ya say we grab a bite to eat.”
“Sure thing!” Her excitement was almost uncontainable. This was just music to her ears. She couldn’t wait for the big city!