The Shattered Heart

Tap Tap Bzzz Wrrr Knock Tap Tap Tap ...

Just outside her thatched cottage, Sunburst flitted through the air -- hammering here, sawing there, and making a general ruckus as she worked her repair.

"Hey Sands!"  Sunburst waved, hammer in hoof and grin on face, as her friend trudged into view through the snow. "Beautiful aurora today, huh?"

Sand glanced up at the shimmering cyan streak that cleaved the sky into its dusky and dawnlike halves. "Looks ... the same way it always does."

"And it's always as beautiful as ever!" said Sunburst as she returned to her manic work.

Creak Tap Wffff Crak Whump Knock ...

Sunburst often claimed that her special talent was "everything under the sun." And that was not necessarily a lie: given that the sun -- both in the sky and on Sunburst's flank -- rested at the horizon, her statement could be interpreted in a number of ways. It was thus with some trepidation that Sand eyed the object of Sunburst's current ministrations -- at least until the stream of wooden shrapnel thrown about by the carpentry frenzy forced her to turn away.

Crunch Thwack  Wrrrr Whap Bzzzz ...

"I don't think woodwork is supposed to produce so much sawdust. You might want to slow down a little." Sand shouted over the din, a foreleg shielding her face.

"Nonsense! Can't fix a cart without chippin' a few planks!"

Sunburst giggled at her own quip, and the two friends lapsed into a companionable silence -- bar, of course, the ear-splitting racket that continued to fill the air around them.

Tap Tap Thud Tap Ding Ding Ding

"All Done!" Sunburst landed, wiping the sweat off her brow.

Sand lowered her foreleg and approached the cart. It was rugged and utilitarian -- a wooden box on a pair of wheels, with harnesses for two ponies side by side.

She ran a hoof along the yoke. "Wow Sunburst, this will be perfect for --"

Ouch! Splinters! Lots and lots of splinters.

"Um, I mean, I can see you've put a lot of effort into this, Sunburst. Where did you get it, anyway?" Sand turned to hide her bleeding hoof.

"Oh, well, after you came by last night and we had that awesome idea, I remembered that ol' Hayseed Senior's cart broke down a couple months back when I was helpin' him with the harvest. So, figured he might still have it around somewhere. Offered to buy it off him, and here we are!"

"It'll be invaluable on our trip, that's for sure! Just, do you think you could file it down a little?"

"Huh?"

"It's just that the edges look a little rough. Somepony might get a splinter."

Sunburst often accompanied Sand on her scavenging trips outside Appleloosa, which on occasion lasted for several days. Thus, as was her custom, Sunburst made her rounds around town, saying her goodbyes to her family and "friends."

"Hi Mom. Sand and I are going hunting again. Be a few weeks this time."

"Mhmm."

"Seeya later, Mom!"

And, as Sunburst was accustomed to, her family and "friends" would, without turning from their work, respond with a grunt of acknowledgement, if they deigned to respond at all.

"I don't see why you even bother. Everypony in town does that, every time." Sand trotted up to Sunburst, garbed in her winter gear and already strapped into one of the cart's now splinter-free harnesses.

"Oh, they're all just busy ponies.  'Sides, it's what I'd want 'em to do if they were leaving for a while. Anyway, all packed?"

Sand stared at her friend for a moment."Yep. I picked up the hay you ordered, and lots of water -- more than enough to get us to Ponyville and back. Plenty of quills, ink, and paper to document anything we can't bring back with us. Saddlebags, in the event that we have to leave the cart for a bit. Some clothes, too. I've also brought your toolbox, just, um, in case the cart requires further repair on the road. Can you think of anything else?"

"Nope! You've covered everything we could possibly need!"

"So, ready to go, then?"

Sunburst strapped herself into the harness beside Sand, before throwing a foreleg over her friend's shoulder.

"Ready!"