Repair and Deliver

Repair and Deliver

Random Side Story 1

Chapter 1: Transfer

By: FluttersIsAwesome

Waking up early in the morning isn't fun, but I was used to it. With a loud yawn, I shook myself awake and pushed the button on my clock to turn off the alarm. As I oppened the curtains to the window in my room, the sunlight broke through the shadows of the small bedroom, illuminating the grass-green walls and the white ceiling. I had to wipe my eyes as I walked down the hallway to the kitchen in order to wake myself up. I normally didn't have time to eat breakfast at home, so I just grabbed an apple to eat on the way to work. Grabbing the red cooler I always kept on the counter, I set a few bottles of water and an icepack in it to take with me as well.

It was an ordinary, mundane morning. After a shower, I checked the mirror, tidying up my maroon mane and burgandy, orange-striped coat. Before leaving, I grabbed my dark green vest with matching cap; it was like my signature. Nopony other than me ever wore something like this, and sometimes I would tell myself it was out of respect of my individuality. With a final crack of my neck, I left my small house and set off to Ratchet & Hooves, Vanhoover's local mechanic shop.

Thankfully it was only about half a quarter of a block from where I lived. I approached the large, grey building with about thirteen minutes to spare. I tossed the applecore into the trash bin beside the door with a smile. The buzzing, whirring, clanking, and banging of different tools could be heard from inside the three large garages beside the office itself; it was like music to my ears. Working on machines had been my passion ever since I was a foal. My father owned this shop and taught me everything I knew, from something as simple as tightening bolts to something as complex as complete vehicle overhauls. Before I knew it, the socket wrench had appeared on my flank, and I began working for pay under my father.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by a large colt with coloring similar to my own. "Diggs, my boy, early as always!" he explaimed, laughing and patting me on the back.

I shared his enthusiasm; I enjoyed my job. "As always, dad."He led me into his office, which normally meant that he wanted to talk about something. It was a small room, all it really had was a decent-sized desh with a computer and a telephone, and two chairs in front of it. My dad didn't really need much more, anyway. He sat down behind the desk, so I took a seat in front of it.

"Son, I really don't want to do this, but I'm gonna have to transfer you."

My ears perked up. I had never actually been outside of Vanhoover by myself, so although I loved working here, being able to leave the city was welcome news. "Really? That's not so bad. Where am I going?"

If one day my dad lost his ability to laugh, Equestria would have lost a great optimist. "To Ponyville. The shop down there is short a worker, and since you've always been eager to leave this city, I'm sending you down there." He opened one of the desk drawers and handed me a folded up sheet of paper from it. "I've already arranged housing for you. Sadly, it's going to be about a week before the renovations are finished. Luckily I found a kind soul who was willing to let you stay with her until the house is done."

I gave him a perplexed stare, and he cleared his throat. "Do you remember that cute, googly-eyed pegasus that delivered those specialty motorbike parts we ordered last week?"

Nodding, I recalled the blonde filly well. I didn't catch her name, but from what I had experienced, she was very sweet. She was a bit goofy, but that just made her more fun to be around. The more I thought about it, the more eager I became to see her again. I had been feeling a bit down that week after my sister left Vanhoover to go to Manehattan, but meeting that pegasus quickly brightened my mood. "Alright, when do I need to be there?"

Mom always told me that dad's smile was one of the things that made her fall in love with him. "Not to rush you, son, but I think you should get going now. Your mom made you a lunch just in case you got hungry. We both know you don't have much of a house, so she thought it best to take matters into her own hands in terms of feeding you through this trip."

I enjoyed my dad's humerous nature; he always succeeded in making me laugh. "She didn't need to do that. I have my own money, I could've bought lun-"

In the twenty-one years I had lived with him, I learned that when my father held his hoof out when you were talking, you no longer held the floor. "You know how your mother is, Diggs. She'd put every restaurant out of buisness if it would keep her little baby from eating 'cheaply'." He reached behind him and grabbed my lunch: a toasted grass-daffodil-steak-and-cheese sub wrapped with brown paper and tied closed with string.

I closed my eyes and took in the aroma. The smell of each individual ingredient was still noticeable despite the fact that it was probably made a decent while ago.

I left the shop eagerly and began the trek to Ponyville. The town was only about three hours away, and I actually preffered walking to driving anyway. Not having a vehicle of my own yet was probably an advantage; I had nothing material keeping me tied to Vanhoover, which made leaving the city much easier for me. The road marked on my map from here to Ponyville was beautiful this time of year. As I walked, I looked around at the gorgeous, lively trees lining the road. Various greens and flowers were scattered about the open fields, and everything felt like home to me.

It was then that I realized that relocating to Ponyville would most likely be a greatly beneficial change. I realized that I preferred the quiet, country lifestyle as opposed to the bustling city.My only hope was that Ponyville had as much work as Vanhoover did when it came to machines.

About an hour or so into the trip, I began to see the lucious pines of Whitetail Woods. On the map, the forest was about the halfway point, so I began to quicken my pace. However, I was stopped by the sound of distant crying. It was faint, but I could tell it was coming from inside the forest. Running, I followed the noise into the forest and continued until I found the source: a small, light-grey unicorn filly with a blonde mane and tail.

Crying children was one of my least favorite sounds in all of Equestria, especially when they tried to speak whilst bawling.

"M-mommy! I sc-sc-scaaared!"

Upon closer exammination, I noticed that her leg was caught in a mess of throny briers, so I walked up to her and took out the box cutter I normally kept in my vest pocket. After cutting her free, I lifted her on my back. "Are you alright, buddy?"

She sniffled before responding. "I'm lost... I can't find my mommy..."

Common sense as well as my friendly instinct told me to help the poor filly, so I started towards Ponyville again. "Don't worry, little one, I'll help you find your mom."

At this, I began to hear clapping. "Yay! Yay! Dinky's not lost! Yay!"

So her name's Dinky? Heh, that's cute. was the first thing that popped into my head. The forest was large, so it took about an hour to and hour and fifteen minutes to finally get out, but when we did, Ponyville was in sight just ahead.

"Home! Home!" Dinky began squealing. As we approached the town, I heard a shout from above me.

"Dinky! Thank Celestia you're ok!"

Having a pegasus crash into you is not a very pleasant experience at all. I hit the ground with a thud, and the pegasus that had landed on me wrapped her arms around me in a firm hug.

"Thank you SO much for finding my daughter for me, I've been searching for her all morning!"

I couldn't help but grin. "Don't thank me, I'm sure any other pony would've done the same-" Frozen in mid-speech, I stared into the eyes gazing back at me. Well, the one that was facing me at least. When I saw the other eye facing upward slightly, I realized that I had just rescued the daughter of the cheery, goofy pegasus I had met the week before.

She smiled happily. "I'm Ditzy, it's very nice to meet you."

Smiling back, I returned her warm welcome. "I'm Diggs, and I believe we've met before."