“Are you sure Dinky won’t mind that you’re helping me with the derby?” Crackle Pop questioned, a small wagon rattling behind him.
“Oh, don’t be silly,” assured Derpy Hooves. “Dinky’s doing the Applewood Derby next year, and besides, we didn’t have any plans for today.” Derpy looked back at the small pegasus, who paused to think for a moment before pushing away his worry. “Besides, this is your special day. Here, let me help you out, those paint cans can be heavy.”
Flapping over to her nephew, Derpy quickly scanned the wagon for the can of white paint she had given to him earlier that day. She found it rather quickly, and soon she had both hooves wrapped around its silver handle. With a mighty yank, the can came loose. If only Derpy had stopped to notice that many other items were supporting themselves on it. Crackle spun around in shock as a great crash erupted from behind him, only to reveal a rather confused Derpy as well as a number of items scattered around her.
“Oops, my bad,” apologized Derpy. “I’ll . . . I’ll fix it.”
Crackle simply giggled. “It’s fine, reall-”
“Thanks, but I can fix it.” She stood up and took a step backwards . . . onto a tube of glue whose cap had come off in the hassle. The paste coated the ground, and Derpy found all four of her hooves stiff and sticky by the time she’d found the cap and twisted it back on the tube.
“Here, let me help,” Crackle said. He began to stack everything neatly in his kart again. It was still a bit messy, but would last long enough for the pair to reach the building site.
Derpy sighed in defeat before extending a hoof to ruffle Crackle's mane.
"Wait! Glue covered hooves, remember?"
"Oh, right," Derpy said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Crackle, I just really want to make your derby experience the best it can be! Guess I kind of messed that up, huh?"
"Are you kidding? This is gonna be awesome! You won an award when you did the derby. Besides, I'm a bit nervous, and you always make me feel better."
"Really? Well, thanks Crackle. That means a lot to me, you've always been so nice . . . And speaking of calming your nerves, can you grab that paper bag? Yah, the one in the corner. Go ahead and open it." Crackle Pop did so, and he was surprised to find two identical baked goods resting on the bottom.
"I made them myself. I can them 'Bug Banishing Blueberry Muffins.' To get ride of any butterflies in your tummy," Derpy explained with a wink.
"Wow! Can we eat them now?"
"Of course, you're going to need lots of energy!"
Crackle eagerly took a muffin from the bag and pulled his hoof back out, the paper bag crinkling softly in reply. Derpy did the same after rinsing her hooves in a small creak nearby. Crackle caressed the silky smooth top of the muffin, carefully exploring the divots and hills where the blueberries sat. Their skin was thin, ready to burst in the mouth, and some of the juice had already seeped into the surrounding fluff. He carefully freed the muffin of its wrapper before taking a bite. It was moist, and the sugar danced with the tartness of the blueberries in his mouth. They were perfect, and both ate in delectable silence, occasionally exchanging smiles as a ring of crumbs began to form around each of their mouths. Derpy finished hers first, and, after placing her wrapper back into the bag, slid over to Crackle with a hug. Crackle finished soon after.
"Those were delicious, Aunt Derpy!"
"I'm glad you liked them," said Derpy, licking her lips to pick up bits of muffin. "But maybe we should've eaten them a little sooner, you look a bit upset. What's wrong?"
"I . . . I don't know . . . a lot of things." Crackle began to walk back over to the front of his kart. He draped the leather belt attached to the handle over his back, and, after a bit of a struggle, looked back at his aunt. "Can you help me loop the belt please? We should get to the building cite."
"You can't work when your worried! Come back over here. What do you think the biggest problem it?" Asked Derpy, patting the ground to indicate where she wanted Crackle to sit and settling down herself.
"But- . . . okay. Fine" Crackle shook the belt from his back and trotted back to Derpy.
"Go on."
"Well . . . there's just so much to do. I don't know where to start, and I don't even know how to use most of the tools you brought." Derpy could see her nephew's eyes becoming watery, and his jaw shivered.
Derpy put a hoof around Crackle.
"Shhhhh . . . shhhhh . . . It's gonna be okay, I promise. I can teach you licitly-split how you use those tools. As for where to start . . ." Derpy stood up and stepped over to the cart. She eyed each piece carefully, making sure that nothing would fall over when she pulled out what she was looking for. Finally spotting them, she took two pieces of paper and a pencil from the stack and once again sat next to Crackle.
"We start with a plan."
"But how do we start the plan!"
"Well, when you imagine a kart, what do you think of?"
"BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT MY KART TO LOOK LIKE!"
"I know, but I didn't say your kart, I said a kart. When you think of a kart, what shape is it, and what pieces does it have?"
Crackle snuggled close to Derpy, sniffling and wiping his red eyes. He bit his lip, unsure of himself. He looked up at Derpy, wanting her to start, but she silently refused.
"Um . . . a rectangle shape?"
"Perfect!"
Derpy jotted the word 'rectangle' onto one of the papers, and drew one on the other.
"Keep going!"
"A number on the side? Seats? A steering wheel? An Engine?"
"Now you draw where you think they would go!"
"Oh . . . maybe its not so hard . . ."
After a while, the pair had come up with the perfect plan for a simple kart. Derpy encouraged Crackle to make a few changes, but he wanted to play it safe and keep it the way it was. Not only that, but Derpy explained how to use each tool for building, and Crackle picked it up surprisingly quickly.
"Aunt Derpy, thanks so much for helping!" said Crackle, squeezing Derpy with a big hug. Derpy blushed with pride, and, with clean hooves, messed Crackle's mane.
"Please . . . the pleasure is all mine."
