Returning Survivor

by Itchy

Old Friends: Doctor Whooves

“So, I'll see both of you at the Gala?” Shining Armor asked.

“Eeyup,” was Big Macintosh's reply for both of them.

“Good. It'll be nice to know someone there,” Shining Armor said.

“Bro!” yelled out Twilight Sparkle.

“Twiley?” Shining Armor questioned, quickly turning to see that it was, if fact, his sister that had called out to him. “Twiley!”

“Shining Armor! It's good to see you bro!” Twilight Sparkle said.

“It's good to see you to Twiley!” Shining Armor said.

Seeing that this was a family moment, Mecha said, “Well, Big Macintosh and I will be going then...”

“Now hold an apple bucking minute!” Applejack shouted! “Ah've got questions, and you've got answers! So, ya'll aren't going anywhere 'till ah get them!”

Sweating, Big Macintosh began, “Now sis, don't ya think you're over reacting just a touch?”

Stomping her hoof, Applejack shouted, “NO! Now, tell me what the hay is going on!”

Gulping, Mecha decided that since it was his idea to come in the first place, he would explain... “Well, you see, a couple years ago, we both decided it would be fun to participate in the tournament and show up the snotty rich ponies who thought they were all that since no one would face them. So we entered... and won. Now at that point, we couldn't very well show our faces, since we were, well, underage. So, we just kept quiet about it, and well, this was the first year that we could both enter in a while... so we did.”

Stomping her hoof again, Applejack responded with, “That is NOT what ah meant! What ah meant was why didn't ya tell me what ya'll were doing!”

Blinking, Mecha looked at Big Macintosh, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “We didn't think it mattered to much. I mean, unless we won the tickets, which we did, would it really matter? And though we did win, we each only won one, and they're stuck with our names on it, so...”

Staring angerly at them for another minute, Applejack sighed, and walked off, muttering to herself about “Wool-head fools” and “Egos the size of the barn.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mecha turned to Big Macintosh and said, “So, I'll see ya at work tomorrow?”

LINEBREAKER

Walking back to the main barn with a saddlebag filled with apples, Mecha muttered to himself, “Just three more days... Three more days until my money comes in... Then I can finally get my own place and set up my shop...” looking up, he saw Applejack and Twilight Sparkle talking with Spike on Twilight's back, going through apples. “Hey girls!” he shouted, getting their attention. “What'cha talking about?”

Giggling, Applejack replied with, “About the bet ah'm about to win with mah bro.”

Blinking, Mecha said, “The one about going into town wearing some of Granny Smith's clothes?”

Still giggling, Applejack said, “Eeyup!”

At this point, Spike said, “Perfect!” while pulling out a delicious looking red apple.

“Ohh...” Twilight started, “Spike, that looks delicious!”

At which point, Spike promptly ate it, earning a glare from Twilight. With a sheepish look, Spike's belly suddenly rumbled, before he belched flames, which turned into two letters, one white with a red seal, the other black with a blue seal.

“Ah, the black letter is mine,” Mecha said, quickly taking his. Ignoring the other three, he quickly read the letter from Luna, which basically said; You are coming to the gala since my sister is making me go, here's an extra ticket so you can bring a friend to be more comfortable. Reading the letter again, Mecha started to chuckle, and then laughing, until he was rolling on the ground, holding his side.

“Now what is so dang funny?” Applejack asked Mecha.

Calming down, Mecha explained, “Princess Luna just gave me tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala so she'd have company and so I'd be comfortable while there, when Big Macintosh and I just won the tickets yesterday!”

At this point, Spike belched another letter from Luna, which Mecha took and read, only to burst back into laughter. “No more!” he hollered, clutching his sides once more. “It's too much! Why oh why must these letters be so funny!”

Staring at him, Twilight, Spike, and Applejack could only wait for him to calm down to tell them what was so funny. After ten minutes, Mecha finally calmed down to the point where he could explain. “Basically,” he started, still catch his breath, “Shining Armor came in the moment after she had sent the letter, and was asked how his day off went. So, he told them, including the fact that I won a ticket to the gala, and so she had to send a letter telling me I could keep the extra tickets. The main thing though, is the fact that you can feel the embarrassment coming off the letter, since in the original letter, she's telling me to come, and then she finds out that I was going voluntarily! I swear, you can see it in her writing!”

Upon hearing the would extra tickets, Applejack immediately asked, “So, what are you going to do with your extra tickets?”

Having finally caught his breath, Mecha said, “I plan on giving them to a friend so he can finally ask the pony he's had his eyes on to go out with him. Don't worry though, I expect things with Twilight's extra ticket to go pretty well for you.” Looking at the two of them, he chuckled, obviously knowing something they didn't. “Look, I'll talk to you two latter, most likely when I need Spike to send a letter to Luna, okay?” Seeing the two of them nod, he walked off.

LINEBREAKER

“Okay then,” Mecha muttered to himself once more, “where could he be?” Looking around, he saw clouds ready to rain, and thus took quick shelter in Sugarcube Corner.

Upon entry, he was accosted by Pinkie Pie, who quickly started talking, “HELLO! How are you doing Mecha! I mean, after all, you are new to Ponyville and as the resident partier, I have to know everypony, and that include you! So you just have to tell me about yourself!”

Blinking, Mecha took a minute to register all of what Pinkie said, and the sighed and replied with, “You'd constantly bug me until you knew everything anyways, wouldn't you?” Merely nodding her head, Pinkie signaled him to go on. Sighing once more, Mecha said, “I'll tell you, but you have to promise to tell me where I can find an old friend of mine afterwords, okay?”

Shaking her head rapidly, she said, “Okie Dokie Loki!”

Sighing, and seeing that it was a good way to kill time while waiting for the rain to clear up, Mecha started, “Well, as you know, my name is Mecha. My talent is, well, I suppose the best way to describe it is handywork. Basically, I do well with and kind of work that involves tools, although I specialize in machine work. For instance, I built my mechanical leg,” at which point he lifted up and wiggled said leg. “I was born in Minot, and ugh, I would not recommend going there.”

Tilting her head at an odd angle, Pinkie Pie asked, “Why not Minot?”

Laughing, Mecha replied, “Freazin's the reason. Place is basically a giant iceberg, and that's durning the summer. Anyways, my old man was a Lt. Col in the air force, he's a pegasus if you couldn't tell, and my mom, well, she was the volunteer for everything kind of mom. Sweet, and caring, you'd be hard pressed to find a unicorn like her. My brother is two years younger than me, and if I recall correctly, he is currently working as one of the Wonderbolts talent scouts. Hm... should probably have him meet Rainbow Dash... Oh well. Anyways, I joined the army a little over two years ago, spent two months in training, and then, well, you know about the rest of my time for that bit of my life. Um... will that do?”

Going wide eyed, Pinkie Pie said, “NO! That's your backstory, not yourself! I mean, if this was a story, yeah, that'd be good, but I want your likes, dislikes, birthday, that kinda stuff!”

Blinking, Mecha laughed, and said, “Pinkie, that's the kinda stuff I prefer to be learned from spending time with friends. After all, a true friend picks up on those kinds of things, whereas a fake friend only memorizes stuff like that. Make sense?”

Calming down, Pinkie Pie thought for a moment, and then rapidly nodded her head... again. Stopping, she said, “That makes perfect sense! That makes friendship all the more valuable! So, who are you looking for?”

Laughing at Pinkie Pie's antics, Mecha told her, “I'm looking for Doctor Whooves. He's a good friend from when I was a colt, and I was hoping to repay a favor or two I owed him.”

Smiling, Pinkie Pie exuberantly told Mecha, “Oh, him! He works in a clock shop down the road. In fact, I have a delivery I need to make to him, but if you're going to visit, could you make it for me?”

Smiling, Mecha said, “Sure Pinkie! I'd be glad to help a friend! Just uh, after the rain clears up, okay?”

Jumping into the kitchen, Pinkie said, “Sure! Otherwise his muffins would get all wet and soggy!”

LINEBREAKER

Walking into the shop, Mecha took a look around. This would definitely be a place Doctor Whooves would work at. Clocks lined the walls, ranging from simple wall clocks to grand father clocks, from simple to elegant, they were all there. Walking up to the counter, Mecha placed the basket of muffins on the counter, and looked into the display case of pocket watches. So caught up in staring at the high quality watches on display, he was caught completely off guard when Doctor Whooves came in and said, “May I help you?”

Jumping into the air, Mecha turned around, and said, “Dear Luna!* Do you have to do that every time we meet?!?”

Taking in a moment to realize who he was talking to, Doctor Whooves said, “Why yes, yes I must! Although, I must say I didn't expect to do it to you again after you had upped and disappeared my fine friend!”

Relaxing his rapidly beating heart, Mecha chuckled a little, and said, “I've been getting that last one a lot lately. Any ways, I've got a couple of things for you.”

Turning his head sideways in a way similar to what Pinkie Pie had done earlier, Doctor Whooves merely asked, “What do you have?”

Smiling, Mecha said, “First off, the muffins you ordered from Sugarcube Corner.” At this point, Doctor Whooves eyes lit up, looking around Mecha to see the basket, causing him to lick his lips. “And as for the second gift, well, you still got your eyes on that one pony?”

Hearing his crush being brought, up, Doctor Whooves blushed, and said, “Yes I do, why?”

Grin still on face, Mecha handed him the two extra tickets to the gala the he had. Seeing what he was being handed, Doctor Whooves's eyes went wide, and asked, “Are you sure you want to give these to me? I mean, these must be worth a lot, not to mention if she says yes she is likely to create quite the stir...”

Chuckling, Mecha replied, “If Celestia is planing what I think she's planing, you should have nothing to worry about. Besides, I already have a ticket, and I know several others who are going, so it's not a problem.”

Taking another look at the tickets, Doctor Whooves sighed before putting them away in the back. Coming back out, he said, “While you're here, might I convince you in buying a watch?”

*Since Mecha is friends with princess Luna, he uses her name instead of Celestia when expressing shock, excitement, etc.

Comments

[TheCarrockPony]

Chuckling, Mecha replied, “If Celestia is planing what I think she's planing you should have nothing to worry about. Besides, I already have a ticket, and I know several others who are going, so it's not a problem.”

Planning, you mean?