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Chapter 1: Lost in the Fog1,922 words
Chapter 2: Highway 5022,514 words
Chapter 3: Home Again938 words

Chapter 3: Home Again

Highway 502
Chapter 3: Home Again

At the back of my mind, it was nagging at me that there would be trouble if anyone saw them—but out here, no one would. Still, I needed to be somewhere where rescue would be close at hand; if they left me here, I'd be no better off than I was before.

As the truck jerked back into gear, Poppy tapped my shoulder with her hoof. “So, you could, like, make a call from here without wires or a sub-etheric transmitter?”

“Let me show you.” I opened my contacts list, and began thumbing through. “I'll even let you talk, to prove this isn't some pre-recorded message . . . but you can't say anything about being a pony, okay?” Who would she want to talk to?

A sudden inspiration hit me, and I tapped a contact. “I'm going to let you talk to my buddy Danny. He works at the dealership that sold me my Cruze. He's a mechanic and likes old cars, so you can ask him mechanic-y stuff and that'll prove this isn't fake. Just let me talk to him for a moment.”

She nodded eagerly. I hit the call button, still working out what I was going to say.

“Al?”

“Hey, Danny, what's up?”

“Where were you last night? Monica texted me, said you weren't texting her back.”

“It's a long story, Danny. I'll tell you later. Hey, listen, you got a moment?”

“Yeah. I'm on lunch.”

“I've got a friend that wants to talk to you for a minute.”

“Uh . . . okay.”

I held the phone beside Poppy's head. “I'm not sure what your horn would do to it,” I said. “So let me hold it.”

“Danny?”

“Hello? Who is this?”

“it's Poppy. Poppy Mallow.”

“Where are you, Poppy?”

“I'm in the wrecker with Al. His Jeep broke. We're towing it back to his home.” She took a deep breath. “Do you—Al said you're a mechanic.”

“Yes.”

“I'm building a hot rod,” she said. “And I haven't got a whole lot of money to spend on it. I found a high-rise intake off an old tractor that I can make fit the engine so it will breathe better, and I'd have enough then to put a performance camshaft in it. Or do you think I should just buy the right aluminum intake for the engine, and change the cam later?”

“Well . . . I think—are you planning to use a turbo or a supercharger?”

“I wish.” Poppy sighed. “Maybe if I can win some races with the thing.”

“Go with the intake first. If the engine can't breathe properly, it won't perform, no matter how good a cam you've got.”

“Okay, thanks,” she said brightly. I put the phone back to my ear. “Danny?”

“Al? What was that all about?”

“I'll tell you later. I've got to go; my battery's dying.” I ended the call before he could ask any more questions.

“That was amazing,” Poppy said, looking over at me. “What about messages? Are they like telegrams?”

“Better.” I changed to my messaging app. “Let me show you.”

I'd gone through most of the functions of my phone before we got close enough to see Stanley. It was just as well; my battery really was dying now.

That wasn't the only thing low, either. The fuel gauge on the wrecker was hovering near empty.

“Orchid? What does this truck run on?”

“Gasoline.”

“That's what I hoped.” I pointed towards the nearing town. “Here's what we're going to do.”

٥٠٢

I was sweating bullets the whole time I was fueling the wrecker. Orchid and Poppy stayed in the cab, but I had the impression that they were watching everything around them intently. I didn't want to devote too many glances in their direction, lest I reveal that something hinky was going on, but if things were heading south, I wanted a chance to run before it was too late. I breathed a sigh of relief as the pump finally clicked off.

I didn't even get a receipt from the pump, just jumped back into the cab. Orchid fired the engine back up and roared away from the gas station in a cloud of blue smoke, following my directions until we came upon an empty parking lot that was well off of the main drag.

Poppy ran the controls from inside the cab, neatly setting my Jeep down. I unchained it, and motioned for Orchid to pull the wrecker forward. Once it was clear, Poppy lowered the boom while I tossed the chains into the locker on the bed, before returning to the cab.

“Are you sure you're going to be all right here?” Orchid asked.

“Mom, he's got his cell phone. He can, like, call anypony with it.”

“Be safe,” Orchid cautioned me.

“You, too.” I reached up and bumped hooves with her and Poppy. “And thanks for everything.”

“Maybe we'll meet again,” Poppy said. Her face lit up. “Ooh! I wonder if we can push small things through the thin spot? Sometimes that works, even when it's not big enough for a pony. I learned that from one of Princess Twilight's books.”

“I don't know,” I said. “But you can bet I'm willing to try.”

I watched as Orchid drove out of the parking lot and across the main road. My heart nearly stopped when I saw a police car rolling down the highway, but he passed them and went on his way, none the wiser.

I stayed there long enough to see the wrecker disappear down the two-track, before I turned back to my cell phone and punched in the number for triple-A.

To Be Continued....

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Redemption

Redemption #1 · Oct 28th, 2014 · 1 · ·

What? What do you mean "to be continued"? I DEMAND MOAR NOW!

PegaSeraph

PegaSeraph #2 · Oct 28th, 2014 · · ·

this was something (someting good)

Iron Sides

Iron Sides #3 · Oct 29th, 2014 · 1 · ·

An ancient ford wrecker drivin by a pony that is planning on building a racecar with the intake off an old tractor... Just how much about vehicular travel do you know? Cause that is just brilliant my good friend.