Sup! Hope my wonderful readers are having a wonderful life! Too bad I can't say the same, but it'll get there! :)
Now, what happened last time!?
1.) Nicholas thought back to helping Dax with his flying lessons
2.) He went through another day of school and got a project for art class
3.) Nicholas and Button Mash are now partners
4.) Nicholas learns that Coal is Button's father (And his mom is the mare he caught showering XD)
All caught up? Good. Now...
READ!
Disclaimer: I don't own MLP:FiM!
(PS - I'm going to add a few things to the story. Things like Omake Chapters or Q/A chaps involving my awesome readers asking the characters questions about things that have already happened! I will post the questions/reviews that involve a character of your choosing, but only characters that have been introduced already and have been involved in situations related to the question! And for the Omake chapters? I'll probably just dabble a little and make some short mini-stories. Hope you guys are looking forward to it! And if you have any ideas you want to see, just hit me up! Peace!)
Chapter 29: Dumb and Dumber?
(Nicholas' P.O.V...)
"... aaaand done!" I said, carefully molding out the specific edges of the tower's tip.
I took a step back and saw Button Mash walk out from behind the tower, his hooves somewhat covered in glue. He had been holding the tower still for me just in case we measured stuff wrong and the project tipped over. But luckily, my skills with a ruler has saved the day.
"Ooh, it looks so life-like!" Button Mash said in awe, carefully looking over the Eiffel Tower's details. "I didn't think it'd come out looking so cool!"
"Button," I started. I took the moist towelettes that were hanging from my tail and tossed one at him, using the other to clean my hands. "When you have fingers instead of hooves, there's a whole lot more you can accomplish without needing magic. Especially things such as art!" I gestured to the 3 foot tall tower placed on the mini-table before us. As Button began wiping off his hooves "And of course, things like games or more... personal activities."
"What do you mean by personal?"
"Nothing a kid should be worried about." I quickly retorted, momentarily forgetting who exactly I was conversing with. "You're too young to understand."
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad!" Button whined, rolling his eyes. "And we're nearly the same age anyway."
"How old are you?"
"12."
"... Button, we're like 3 years apart."
"Doesn't mean anything!"
Before I could counter with facts, both of us were interrupted by the knocking on Button's door. We saw his mother walk in with a sheepish smile and a brown paper bag in her teeth.
"Oh, I do hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said, eyeing our project and the slight mess surrounding it.
"Nah, we just got finished building it. In fact, we're just about to start painting it when it dries." I said.
"Well if you boys are free for the moment, can I ask you a favor Nicholas?"
"Like what?"
"Coal seemed to have forgotten his lunch before he left," Button's mom began, holding up the bag in her teeth to emphasize. "So I was wondering if you can take a quick trip into town and give this to him?"
Ugh, of course. I'd love nothing more than to decline and waste my time watching our project dry off, just so the bastard could starve. But being the kind guy I was, I decided to be nice and take her up on her request. "Alright," I said with a sigh, finished cleaning off my hands and walked over to the mother. "Sure. Where is he exactly?"
5 Minutes Later...
"Oh. So that's what she meant by 'You'll know it when you see it.'" I mumbled to myself, staring down at the 10 foot-wide hole before me.
It seems Mayor Mare had given Coal the task of going underground and finish fixing the damages done in by Dax. Hell, even the Ursa's giant ass might have caused some problems beneath the streets.
Anyway, a job is a job. And I sure as hell want to get it over with.
After jumping into the hole, the first thing I noticed was the familiar carved in tunnels I flew through in a rush to track down my brother.
Had to admit, even during an uncontrollable magic induced rage, Dax had a lot of skill. I mean, these were perfectly made tunnels and I could guess they were perfectly circular. Something difficult to do when burrowing through the earth a the speeds of a car...
Still, back to the task at hand.
There were also lights posted here and there to maintain a balanced level of lighting the further I walked, something that wasn't there before.
As I walked deeper underground, eventually I noticed the metal pipes lining the walls that dug into the dirt above. I arched a brow as I followed the pipes down the tunnel. They looked freshly made, not a single scratch from what I could see. But I didn't hear anything running through them, no water or gas. They're just empty.
'Guess Ponyville decided to make use of Dax's tunnels after all.' I thought with a snort.
Silently, I continued my way down the corridors until I caught onto the side of metal hitting... something solid. After 10 or so minutes of walking, I eventually made a turn around a corner and saw who I was looking for, Coal, who was currently using a large pickaxe to pick away at a dirt wall. I took notice of the tools littering the ground around him and how the pipes were unfinished. "You making a new sewer system or what?"
My sudden voice caught him off guard and he nearly stumbled with the pickaxe in his mouth. He whirled around with a visible face of agitation, his eyes narrowing towards me. "What in Celestia's name are you doing here?"
"Well excuse me for doing your wife a favor." I replied sarcastically, walking closer and rolling my eyes. I lifted the paper bag into the air. "Button's mom asked me to stop by and give you your lunch, something you forgot before you stormed off."
"Tch," Coal Miner sucked his teeth, turning around to resume his work. "Just leave it somewhere on the ground, I'll eat later."
"Will do, Mr. Hard-Ass." I muttered as I placed his lunch on a nearby rock. "And you didn't answer my question. This a new sewer system you're working on?"
Coal said nothing as he continued digging his way through the rocks. I crossed my arms and gave him a bland stare. "Keep ignoring me and you'll find yourself without any fur tomorrow morning." My threat seemed to catch his attention if the way his back stiffened was any indication.
"Grr, fine. If that'll get you to leave me in peace." I heard Coal growl under his breath. "Mayor Mare gave me an assignment to turn your brother's tunnels into Ponyville's new way of getting water from a river near the Everfree. That way, we won't have to make constant trips back and forth. Happy?"
"A little bit."
"Good. Now get out of here and let me work!"
"Not so fast Rocky," I said, earning another growl. "Looks like you're on your own down here. Where's your crew?"
"I don't have to tell you-"
"Snip, snip bitch." I made my fingers look like a pair of scissors.
"... they're all busy repairing damages your tatzlwurm and that Ursa caused."
"Need any help?"
"Why in Tartarus would I need your help?" Coal snapped, taking a moment from the wall and turning to look me in the eye. "I'm not sure if you realize this, but I despise you. I'd rather be trapped down here than spend another 5 minute with you." I didn't make much of a reaction to his claim. All I did was make a plain face and cupped by chin with a hand, nodding little by little.
"Interesting. Very interesting indeed." I simply said. Coal let out an irritated snort from his nostrils. "Shouldn't jinx yourself like that. It's pretty dangerous down here. And I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm not the type of guy to just leave someone hangin' with all the work. Even if that guy is a douchebag like you." That and Fluttershy would be pretty upset if she found out I left Coal alone to build Ponyville's plumbing system by himself... "So here's the deal!" I clapped with a grin. "How about we get to work on finishing this up. We're near the river right?"
"Did you not hear what I just said? I told you to get outta here!" Coal barked.
"And I'm telling you I'm not taking 'no' as an answer." I shot back calmly. I bent down to pick up a shovel. "Plus I'm bored."
"Leave me alone!"
"Sorry, no can do~"
"Don't you and Button have a project to work on!?"
"Yeah, all that's left is painting. I'm pretty sure Button can handle that himself. Maybe."
"Ugh!" I may have been a little too forward with my obnoxious, laidback attitude. Just a teeny bit. I saw Coal stomp his way over to me. His teeth were gritting down on the handle of his pickaxe. "When I tell you to leave," Coal snarled. His voice low and threatening. "I mean it. Get out. Now!"
... I couldn't help it.
I leaned forward with a teasing grin. "Or what, Scruffy?" I challenged.
With a roar, I saw Coal reel his head back and send his pickaxe flying towards me. My eyes widened as I ducked to the side in time, just as the pickaxe embedded itself into the wall behind me.
*Crack...! Crack...!*
'Sweet Jesus on a stick...'
We both stopped in our tracks when we saw the tip of the pickaxe create a spider-web of cracks; cracks that seemed to spread more and more along the wall until a single large crack rose to the ceiling. That's when the cracks went to the extreme. One by one, pebbles began to fall until they grew into baseball sized rocks. And finally, large ass boulders that broke apart from the roof above us.
My nerves kicked into gear and I tackled Coal to the side just as the rocks fell down.
There we go! A little boring chapter for my wonderful readers! Sorry it took so long, but I actually needed time to myself to enjoy life and work on other stories I had in mind. Hope you guys aren't too upset that I'm trying to multitask my life away. Betcha Coal is gonna have a field day in the next chapter, huh? Anyway, there it is and I'll see you guys next time! Questions?
1.) Will we ever learn Button's Mother's name!?
2.) Will Nick ever learn to not be a sarcastic dick!?
3.) Will Coal find rocks where the sun don't shine!?
Find out next time!
PLEASE REVIEW!
(PS - I'm not sure if anyone plans on doing it, but wouldn't anyone mind creating some fanart of Unexpected Turn of Events? I'd appreciate the love if anyone does make or find any artwork!)
