Engineer Part 1

"So, Scoots. What's got you down?"

>"Some bullies from school have been bullying me about not being able to fly lately."

"Really now? Hmm."

>Suddenly, inspiration strikes.

>You're already setting out the schematics in your head.

>Sure, they're half missing and most of it's just blabbering about how cool it'll be, but it'll probably work.

>Probably.

"Say, if I build you some sort of flying machine, would you be willing to test it?"

>Her eyes light up like Christmas trees.

>"Would I!"

"Meet me back here this time tomorrow. I'll have it then."

>You part ways.

 

"Sup, AJ. Mind if I use one of your barns for something? Thanks."

>"Now wait just a minute there, mister!"

>You turn to face her, and put on your most displeased expression.

"What?"

>"The last time I let you use one of my barns, half of it was gone and the rest was on fire!"

"I thought it would liven the place up a little. Now, if that's all, I'm going."

>You ignore Applejack's protests as you walk into one of the barns.

>She wants a barn that won't be destroyed by your work? You'll have to build her one!

>With indestructible panelling, and fireproof supports, and a whole mess of defences against those that would disturb you while you work!

>But now, flying device.

>You push open the door to a barn, then sweep off a table.

>Hmm. You'll need parts for this.

>You whistle sharply.

>And a brass frog hops up onto the bench.

>He was the first thing you built upon coming here.

>You were looking at a pocket watch, then decided to make a frog out of it.

>His name's Rivets.

"Good boy. Now, I'm gonna need some things. Can you fetch 'em for me?"

>"Rivet, rivet!"

"Thanks. I'm gonna need quite a bit of iron panelling, a steam boiler, some copper tubing..."

>You list off some more ingredients, then dismiss Rivets.

>He hops away to get you what you need.

>He's so helpful.

>Now, to fill in the blanks of this design...

>You start to carve a blueprint into the surface of the table.

>Rivets returns some time later, towing a pile of spare junk.

>Lots of scrap metal and tubing, a steam boiler, a coil or two of copper wire, some panes of glass, and some assorted chemicals.

>Close enough to what you had in mind.

>You start to lay out the parts in order of when you'll use them.

>Hmm.

>This thing could be dangerous.

>You whip up a nifty pair of safety goggles, then get to work.

>The next few hours are filled with bolting plates of metal together, welding things on, and copious quantities of napping.

>Being an engineer is hard work!

>As you work, the sun rises to it's apex, then sets to the horizon.

>You tighten the last bolt and stand back to admire.

>She's a beauty, for sure.

>And you calculate a mere 40% chance of critical failure!

>And by calculate, you mean guess.

>Well, time to turn in for the night.

>You make a pile of the softer bits of scrap Rivets has brought you, then fall asleep upon it.

>You rest easy, but have the niggling thought all through the night that there's something out there that doesn't like what it can see in your head.

>Not sure why you think something can see inside your head, but it's probably nothing.

>You awaken at about midday.

>You stand up, and brush yourself off, and stretch.

>You gaze upon your creation, and realise a few things.

>There's no way that's running for long without overheating.

>There's no way to turn it on or off.

>And there's no way to fuel it, much less get the fuel for it.

>You grab some trusty tools, and start to fix your contraption.

>You wire up an ignition switch, then slash a few vents into it.

>Grabbing a few bits of metal, you weld on some fins to dissipate heat, as well.

>And you carve a hole in it to the fuel tank that you can seal up with a cork later.

>Now, fuel.

>You grab a few barrels of chemicals that look combustible, and mix them together into what is no doubt some sort of rocket fuel.

>It is now time to show Scootaloo your new flying device.

>You heft your new device and it's fuel, and lug them to where you told Scootaloo to meet you yesterday.

>Maybe you should've built this out of something lighter?

>But then again, not much else would stand up to this much strain.

>You sit around for a while, before a familiar orange pegasus approaches.

"Hey, Scoots!"

>"Hi, Anon! What do you have there?"

"A jetpack!"

>She ooohs and aaaahs at it, before asking the inevitable question.

>"What's it do?"

"It flies. Strap yourself in."

>Scootaloo finally seems to notice the rather rickety construction of the jetpack.

>"I... I don't know, Anon. Seems kinda unsafe."

>You kneel down beside her, and gaze into her eyes.

"I solemnly swear that this machine is completely, one hundred percent, safe."

>You tap her on the noggin.

"Now are you ready to fly or are you ready to fly!?"

>"Yeah!"

>She's got a grin on her face! Spitting image of yours when you're working on something.

>She crawls under the jetpack, and pulls the belt tight around her waist.

>You take off your goggles and give them to her.

"For safety, you understand."

>She nods eagerly, and prepares herself for takeoff.

>You pop the cork out of the side, pour the fuel in, and pop the cork back in.

>Then, you turn the ignition knob, and the contraption roars to life.

>Flames jet out the back, and after a few sputtering coughs, the rocket takes off, Scootaloo along with it.

>You can hear her raucous laughter as she soars through the sky, before it nosedives into the ground and explodes into a fireball.

>You rush over to see if your machine can be salvaged, and see Scootaloo crawl out of the crater, singed but otherwise fine.

>The goggles are perfectly fine.

>"That was fun! I wanna do that again!"

"You wanna help me fix this hunk of junk, then?"

>"Yeah!"

>And that's how you got an assistant.