//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 (After school) // Story: The CMC's New Wagon // by Wiz Ahmad //------------------------------// “But you gotta help us!” Apple Bloom pleaded to her sister with puppy eyes. “It’s important! This could be a great step to attain our cutie marks!” Applejack sighed. “All right, sugarcube, let’s bring that long-lost monstrosity to where it should be.” “Hey Big Mac!” she called to her older brother, who was working in one of the carrot fields. “Could you come over for a while?” “Eeyup,” Big Macintosh replied in his typical deep voice. Together the three of them, armed with ropes and harnesses, walked deep into the forest along the path that Scootaloo had taken until they arrived at the large bush. “Sweet Celestia, that is quite a chariot!” Applejack exclaimed. “Well, let’s get to work.” Together, Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Big Macintosh each wore harnesses, tied ropes to them, and then to the “chariot’s” frame. With all the strength they could muster, the trio pulled the heavy object all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres, where they then heaved it into a spare barn. “So this is where you’ll be keeping it?” Applejack asked her little sister. “Yep, and we’ll do everything we can to fix it up,” Apple Bloom replied with a groan and a back rub. “But for now we gotta get some rest and regain our energy.” The next morning (which was a weekend), the Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to split up to begin work on their new finding. Sweetie Belle would get some cleaning accessories from the Carousel Boutique, Apple Bloom would talk to Twilight Sparkle about their discovery, and Scootaloo would buy some basic necessities in Ponyville’s shops, such as rust remover and brushes. Sweetie Belle entered the boutique in earnest. Her older sister, Rarity, was busy arranging a new pattern for her latest dress skirt design. “Hi, sis,” she said, running towards the storage room. “Rarity, can I borrow the brushes, combs, the soap, the bucket and mop, as well as the rags?” “Oh Sweetie Belle, why would you need those for? Accidents aren’t that big to clean up. Besides, I need to make sure that this place looks clean and proper for my newest fashionistas that will be arriving this afternoon.” “Oh Rarity, please? Pretty please?” Sweetie Belle replied with pitful eyes. “All right,” Rarity groaned, fussing over the alignment of gems on one of her dress designs. “Just make sure you’re back before sunset and that you’ve cleaned the tools as well!” “I promise, sister,” Sweetie Belle replied, and marched out the door onto the streets of Ponyville, carrying the bucket full of items on her back and the mop on her shoulder, using her telekinesis to stop the bucket from wobbling too much or falling over. Meanwhile, Scootaloo was trying to make a bargain with a shop owner over the high price of 200 bits for a single jug of rust remover. Apple Bloom had given her prized allowance, but it was only 175 bits. Finally, the shop owner agreed on condition that Scootaloo pay a slightly higher price of a second item for compensation. Apple Bloom gave a few gentle knocks on Twilight’s castle door. Twilight opened the door in surprise. “What brings you here, Apple Bloom?” she asked kindly. “You normally would be at the clubhouse with your friends.” “Well, we found something amazing, but we don’t know what it is. I thought you might know. It’s quite large, with four wheel-like parts, two on each side, it has this slender profile with a sort of hump on the back…” Apple Bloom trailed off as she described every detail she could remember about the object. “Great detail, but I may need to have a look at it myself,” Twilight said once Apple Bloom had finished her descriptive speech. “Then I’ll do what I can and get back to you in my free time.” “Thanks Twilight!” Apple Bloom exclaimed with joy, hugging her with a smile. “Good luck on your studies!” “Good luck getting that cutie mark!” Twilight replied with a little giggle as the little filly bounded off into the streets of Ponyville. As the Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered in the barn, Twilight Sparkle then arrived, having flown rather than walking. Scootaloo opened the barn door and Twilight Sparkle stepped in. The instant she saw the object, her eyes widened with a mix of memory recalls, surprise, and worry. “Fillies, this is no ordinary ‘object’,” Twilight Sparkle announced. “It is a car, specifically a hatchback. I’ve seen a few like this on the road when I went to Canterlot High in the human world. But how did it end up here? I may have to try and send a letter and a picture to Sunset Shimmer. She knows best about these moving machines.” “Who’s Sunset Shimmer?” Sweetie Belle asked. “An evil girl I faced at Canterlot High,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “But after I defeated her, she repented for her wrongdoings and became my new friend. Now she keeps in touch with me every now and then.” Apple Bloom did a rough sketch of the car, and Sweetie Belle borrowed a small camera from Photo Finish. Twilight took the photo and the sketch and flew straight to Princess Celestia’s castle to deliver the letter. “So, in the meantime y’all,” Scootaloo began, “we can still remove more of the plants and mud that has entangled and encrusted itself onto and into this car.” She paused for a moment. “With the tools and items we have on hand, of course.” The three fillies set to work. Scootaloo removed the last of the entangled vines, while Sweetie Belle scrubbed and wiped down the body, removing the moss and grassy stains on the car’s paint. “Hey guess what!” Scootaloo said excitedly. “The doors open!” With even more enthusiasm she climbed inside and removed even more vines and leaves. The interior of the car was unlike anything she’d seen before, with a circular wheel that had three spokes on it and a large hub. It also had nice leather seats with soft padding. Unfortunately most of that had been worn away. Apple Bloom got a scraper, and with it she chipped away some of the rusted paint and the stubborn bits of dried mud. After many hours of work, the car began to look more presentable, and the white paint underneath was much more visible. The interior was still a mess, though, being full of cobwebs and chipping rust. Following the instructions on the jug and with some help from Applejack, the three fillies removed most of the rust on the exterior of the car. The paint still looked scratchy and uneven, though. “Maybe we should look under here,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing to the front of the car as they took a well-earned lunch break. “There’s bound to be more than just the interior and exterior.” So after a meal of apples, apple cobbler, and some pasta, Apple Bloom tried to lift the hood of the car, but it wouldn’t budge. “I think there should be a latch of some sort inside the car. I’ll look,” Scootaloo said, jumping into the car and examining the dashboard. Most of it was now rusted with brownish holes and ripped-out shreds of leather and fabric. A few gauges still hung loosely in their sockets. After continuous tugging at various switches and levers, she finally found one that made a distinctive loud “click”. “It opens! It opens!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with joy. Apple Bloom climbed onto the car’s roof and used a rope to pull the hood all the way open. Sweetie Belle then aligned the prop bar upwards, Apple Bloom released the hood, and it stayed upright. Now the Cutie Mark Crusaders got their first look at the car’s powerplant. “This must be what powers this machine,” Scootaloo thought. “Now only if there was a way to start it up.” “We don’t even know how this functions,” Apple Bloom groaned with a facehoof. “The least we can do is clean out the interior until Twilight returns.”