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Penguifyer


I write what I want | Ko-Fi

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The five-mile Mackinac Bridge, holding the two peninsulas of Michigan together, never ceases to amaze me. But after working as a maintenance crew member for many years, you never know what it’ll throw at you, especially when there’s something cuddled up inside.


This is another entry in my 24-hour fics collection, although it took me closer to four days due to family shenanigans and life. It still feels like a 24-hour fic to me.

Proofread by Thesomkinguy

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 34 )

Dude, this is great! Have you actually been up in the towers? I got curious and found out that they sell a certain number of tower climbing permits per year (I assume with appropriate supervision).

Suspension bridge towers are great hangouts for pegasi. Either as a temporary, monster-free home, or just a place to sit and eat dinner and watch the boats go by. And I love the little detail of her making a nest out of juniper and white pine branches.

Winter Breeze could totally get a job as a bridge painter or a tower lightbulb changer, although maybe Jack would be smart to not suggest the former to her--he might wind up out of a job :rainbowlaugh:

She should have made her nest in the tower of the Waugoshance lighthouse; nobody would bother her there all winter long.

10351774
No, I imagine that she wants to return to Equestria as fast as possible. And I don't see the Equestrian government as one to abandon its citizens.

Well, lost passport, you need to apply at the EQ embassy (or consulate, if they're not important enough for an embassy).

Missing person, police report

10351774
Sadly, I’ve not been up the tower. However, there are some videos on youtube like this one which show the whole journey up to the top. There’s also the Dirty Jobs episode where Mike Rowe both goes to the bottom of the tower and changes a light bulb which I also used as references. Considering the severity of northern Michigan winters and how overbuilt the bridge is, I couldn’t think of a better place to camp out.

I have an idea for a bonus chapter, although I’m not sure when I’ll get around to it.

10351832
I somehow missed the Dirty Jobs episode with the Mackinac Bridge . . . I did see one where he and some of his camera crew were climbing into the boiler of a ship, and they were lamenting the fact that many modern Americans couldn’t fit through the tiny access holes on older ships (and I presume bridges and other old construction).

I dunno if a bridge tower would be my first choice for a place to camp out; on the other hand, a pegasus is going to want to pick something tall and safe from ground-based creatures like wolves and bears, and aside from that wind turbine in Mackinaw City or maybe a radio broadcast tower, she’s not going to find much else that fits the bill.

I look forward to a bonus chapter when it arrives :heart:

This is a wonderful short story.

It has everything a good story could want:

Endearing characters.

A perilous situation.

And a wonderful description of the setting. (I am somewhat impartial because I've always wanted to go to the Upper Peninsula).

8/10.

I saw the title and had to read. Just had to. I was born on the other side of that bridge, in Marquette, and rarely ever get to head back to m' birthplace. Funny thing, I could see this happening had there been contact with Equestria. I miss da U.P....

Good story, nothing overdone, and about something near and dear to m' heart. Have a fav; only the fifth I've doled out.

Ah the bridge, haven't seen it in years but still remember it being amazing. As a Michigander, it's always nice to see stories that take place in the mitten state.

There's a small road bridge in my home city of Brisbane that has apartments built into the two towers. The Walter Taylor bridge in Indooroopilly, Brisbane is the only inhabitable bridge in the southern hemisphere. I don't think they're occupied now, but I know at least the northern tower had people living in it late last century. I think they were originally for gatekeepers who charged tolls from vehicles and horse-drawn vehicles after it was opened.

The Walter Taylor Bridge Tour

Life Inside The Bridge

This has some information...

The Mackinac is a giving bridge, it seems!

Great fluff! You breathed a lot of life into this bridge, and it really shows; that was the pony of the Mackinac Bridge, after all. You did fantastic with the dialogue, but again, I have to stress that your connection of the bridge to a pony bridged over from another world was wonderful. Good characterization, and better winds to Winter Breeze in her future!

Yeah, I like it. I’m happy.

Wait, its pronounced "Mackinaw?" Well that explains a few things.

This is a great vignette; it feels like it was pulled right out of the middle of a chapter of a bigger story, but now I want to experience that bigger story.

...Wait, so is the pronunciation "Mackinaw" or "Mawkinaw"?

(And thanks for writing. :))

10352801
The first one, MACK-in-aw

The audio here is correct: https://www.howtopronounce.com/mackinac

Source: I'm from Michigan

10352827
Ah, thanks! :D

This was a wonderful story! I haven't been to the U.P. in many years but the bridge and the island are beautiful, each in there own ways.

The idea of Winter Breeze traveling around the country is interesting and would make a neat story by itself, I think. It was also good to see Jacks compassion and concern for another creature. I really enjoy characters getting to know one another and this story did that perfectly.

Looking forward to a sequel!

"The trees and whatever" is a very accurate description of the west coast.

Read because it's Michigan, favorited because it's good writing. Nice job. :twilightsmile:

I grew up in MI, but only got to the UP once on a field trip. Always thought the bridge was pretty neat. Maybe some day I’ll get to swing back by it again.

Very cute story, and nice interaction between The two.

tbf, there used to be quite a lot more people there when northern MI was the tip of the nuclear spear. My dad worked up there when they were tearing down a lot of the old airbases, the place must have had hundreds of bombers stationed there in the 50s

This was cute. Thanks a lot for writing it.

Mackinaw/c Bridge gave me some serious anxiety first time I drove over it, though.

You know, I get that it's a big part of the story and I'm glad people are proud of the history and relevance to them and all... but it still feels a little weird that so many comments here are mostly about the bridge itself and not the pony and human the story are about.

Ah well, cute little slice that I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of. Kudos.

HI My family and i cross that bridge like 3 times a year just to get away from the stress down in the LP and it makes me happy seeing that you wrote a nice FIC around it keep up the awesome work!

I think I made your avatar in Oblivion once.

This was a good slice of life world building story! No wonder Admiral Biscuit liked it. Glad it I read it!

Tried to be cute, ended up pointless

Dan

Are pony artifacts very popular on earth?

Maybe her passport and missing effects will turn up on ebay.

Ah yes, I am quite familiar with this bridge.

10354733
Funny thing is, that’s the risk I run when I write these 24-hour fics. It’s part of the reason why I want to add a bonus chapter, even though I’m still pretty happy with how this turned out. I do it because when I was a perfectionist, I spent three years working on the same story that I never published. It took a lot of failure and stagnation for me to realize that a published story is infinitely better than an unpublished story, no matter how bad it is.

“EEEEEEK!” she screamed, jumping out of her bed.

Be happy you didn't encounter an batpony instead.
Your eardrums might not have survived.

When I got to Traverse City, my friend I was traveling with told me she was stranded in the next town south. Being the pegasus I am, I flew there on a moment's notice. When I got there, I couldn’t find her.

Time to file an missing pony report.


Anyway, good story!
I enjoyed reading it.

I liked that story as it is. While a little bonus chapter might be nice, the open end leaves room for one's own imagination.

Yep, good one to get my cute fix for todat. Nice story, but kind of worried about the pegasus’ friend.

I think that this is a great story. It's also funny because I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and also being over 100 miles away from the Mackinac Bridge. It's not everyday you hear about something that's in your state on a website like this. Overall, this is actually a great story!

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