//------------------------------// // Manely Mechanical // Story: The Sparx of Friendship // by CaptainSparx //------------------------------// “Um… I don’t think that one worked either.” Flo said hesitantly, looking back at her mangled wing feathers. “I don’t know what could have happened. I followed the instructions perfectly.” “I wouldn’t say perfectly, but yeah I agree with you I have no idea what that one did.” “We’ll just have to try another one.” “Um…Tinker….” “I think I’ll skip to the end of this book and start there, maybe there are some author notes,” the unicorn rambled on. “Tinker…” “Hmm, what is it?” Still fully absorbed in the book. “GET ME DOWN!!!” Tinker whirled around, her roommate was no longer standing where she had been just seconds before. “I’m up here!” Flo panicked. “Now what are you doing up there?” She looked up, seeing the pegasus plastered to the ceiling. “I think I know what that one did” “I’m on it… let’s see, there has to be a reversal spell somewhere in… ah-ha! Found it.” The resounding crash assured her that it had worked. “I think I’ve had enough magic for one night.” “Suit yourself, this was your idea after all.” “Yeah but I didn’t think I’d have to be the test pony.” Flo whined, straightening out her scarlet scarf. “Well I don’t have wings, so it’s not like I can try them on myself.” “Good thing too, otherwise you’d be stuck on the ceiling and I’d have to try and read those crazy books.” “They’re not crazy, just… hard to understand.” “Yeah whatever cone head.” “Just go to bed.” “Will do, g’night.” “Night,” tinker listened to the hoofsteps as Flo dragged herself to bed. Tinker finally had time to look over some of the other books. She grabbed the most interesting looking one and flipped to the table of contents. She alighted her hoof under one title specifically. “’Animation- bringing objects to life’ that sounds like a good place to start…” “Hey Tinker wake up, it’s time to go to work.” Tinker let out a large yawn, smacker her lips together as she looked wearily around the room. She had been up most of the night ready the animation section, a chapter on basic magic theory, even a section on history she had gotten so bored. “Any luck?” “Luck? With what?” “The magic. Did you find any good ones.” “Oh, no I didn’t try any of them yet. I was too tired so I just read a while then I must have dozed off.” “Okay well if you don’t hurry we’ll be late for work, again.” The unicorn bolted to her hooves. “LATE!?!!?!” She dashed around the apartment. “Where’s my….” “By the door, were you left it.” “Oh, right. Thanks.” She flung it over her back tossing in last night’s read and dashed out the door. “Always in a hurry,” Flo headed towards the door when Tinker shot back in. “Almost forgot my lunch.” Bolting to the small apartment kitchen and grabbing a sack lunch out of the fridge. She didn’t even care what was in it. She couldn’t afford to be late. Flo shut the door behind the two of them and they proceeded down the street. They only worked several blocks away from the apartment, even closer than school was actually. But you never knew how the crowds would be. “Sorry I’m late!” Tinker said as she charged into the small shop on one of the street corners. The clerk looked up at the clock, its hand showing fifteen past the hour. “Oh that old thing? It hasn’t worked for at least seven years. Don’t worry about it.” “Hi Mike!” Flo strolled in. “And miss Fluoresce, better hurry up and get going. Several new projects need attending to.” “… it’s Flo,” She mumbled as she headed to the backroom. “So what you got there?” Tinker came up next to her friend. “I honestly don’t have any idea. What did this thing do anyway?” “Beats me, I’m just the janitor.” She teased, continuing to sweep the already spotless floor. “Har har, very funny. You know more about this stuff than I do. You tell me what it does.” “Well now that you asked,” She set the broom down against the worktable. “Hmm… counter-rotating, worm gearing, variable speed motor…” Tinker rambled on. “Well what is it? I don’t need to know everything, just what it’s supposed to do.” “I think it’s an old hoof polisher, but it’s missing the polishing pad.” “Really?” “It looks as if it’s going to need a new thirteen tooth spur gear and a new motor housing.” “Um… that’s not good.” “Huh, why’s that?” “I just used the last thirteen tooth last week, the new shipment hasn’t arrived yet.” “Well shoot, let me think about it and I’ll get back to you at lunch.” “Okay, will do.” Tinker worked hastily at the rest of her duties for that morning. She didn’t really enjoy the work but she was thankful that Flo was able to get her the job. At least she got to work around a lot of really neat, though often times broken, stuff. That’s pretty much what they did here at Manely Mechanical. If it’s broken we can fix; or rather only if we have the parts and a repair manual. At least it allowed her to cover her half of the rent and have a few bits to spare. Flo was very gifted at fixing things when she had the parts, but often times she couldn’t think outside the box. Tinker sat down in the alley behind the shop to take her lunch. She pulled out the book she had brought and flipped through it for any ideas. She put her hoof down on one page in particular. “hmm…. That might… no, it’s too risky.” “What is?” Flo peeked out form the back door. Stepping out with her lunch. “What are you reading?” “Oh just one of those books you got. I had an idea.” “That’s dangerous.” Flo teased, joshing Tinker with her hoof. “Well… there’s this chapter on animation magic. There was an advanced spell…” “There is now? Tell me about it?’ The pegasus took a bite of her sandwich. “It says that once cast on an object that object will power itself, indefinitely, without magic.” Half chewed sandwich pieces and grass flew across the alleyway. “What?!?! Without magic? That’s absurd.” “But then you wouldn’t need that gear at all; at least I think.” “What do you mean you think?” “I can’t make out the last few lines of the text, I think there either smudged or writing in some strange language I don’t understand.” She showed the questionable text to Flo. “Well that’s easy.” “It is? What does it say?” “It says, this spell is far to advanced and is of no use trying.” She stated matter-of-factly. “Really??” “No… it doesn’t.” Frowning at her friend’s lack of ability at detecting sarcasm. “Ugh, it’s no use.” Slamming the book closed. “Well it was a good plan either way.” “But it still doesn’t solve your problem.” Chucking her empty lunch sack into the dumpster. Knocking a tin can out and sending it rolling along the ground. Tinker looked intently at the shiny metal cylinder. “Now what are you thinking? I know that look.” “I got it!!” Tinker snatched up the can and a few more like it and ran inside. Leaving Flo to finish her lunch alone. She snatched a pair of welder’s goggles and the tin snips from one of the work benches and went to work on the flimsy cans. Cutting them into little gears and stacking the thin flakes on top of each other. “Shoot, I need a clamp.” She turned, face to face with Flo, holding out a set of clamps. “I thought you were having lunch?" “I did, and I came to see what you were up to.” “Well you might want to shield your precious peepers.” She clamped the flimsy metal gears together and pulled the goggles over her one eyes. A spark formed at the tip of her horn as she reached down and touched the edge of the gears. A flash of white, several more flashes and a hoof full of burns later she was done. It didn’t look too pretty but it should work and would be far better than any mass manufactured replacement part. She took it up in her hoof once it stopped glowing red and handed it to Flo. “Here you go, that should help you get that thing all fixed up.”