My Little Pony: Highway Haulers
Chapter 5: Mighty Machines
In order to be a good trucker-pony or trucker-griffon, you must be three things: versatile, fast, and reliable. In this line of work, you can't be choosey about where you work or what you haul. My friends and I made it out west with our convoy leading the way. It is a huge weight off our shoulders to get rid of those 'Highway Regulators' once and for all
Once my haul was taken to where it needs to go, I got a call for another job that is still out west here in Califoalnia. There was a building site in San Palomino just across the bay from San Franciscolt. I called back the contractor, and told them that I will be at the site tomorrow. I have to get the dump-end trailer ready for my rig, and I am bringing friends
"Bring all the friends you want, we need all the trucks we can get to help haul away the dirt," said Steam Roller, a stallion named Steam Roller. A new hotel was being built called the 'Bayview' in San Palomino. Just like in the constriction businesses, you won't find any petite or average-sized mares, stallions, or any small griffons in the trucking industries.
"A building contractor needs our help," I replied, "he's looking for some trucks to help out at the hotel site in San Palomino, I recommended you three for the job, c'mon back," I said through the CB and shifting gears, "I asked him to give us a day to hitch up the dump trailers and we'll be on the site tomorrow, and he said bring all the friends you want,"
"That's a big 10-4, Momma Eagle," said Roadmaster, "that's mighty kind of you to help us out like that, it's gonna be fun playing in the dirt," when I first started trucking, I was setting out to make a difference. To show that we griffons are not greedy, lazy, and stupid as some ignorant ponies would stereotype us as. If you do something, do a great job.
Never let anyone judge you on the quality of your work. I got back to the garage just on the outskirts of Ponyville, and near the highway overpass. I traded the tanker unit for the MAC End dump trailer. After one day of rest, a couple ginger ales, and a takeout order of buffalo and garlic parmesan wings, I was back on the road, and so were my friends
"Good to see you"
"10-4, 'Momma Eagle', for sure, for sure, it's good to see you too on the road, that's a nice dump trailer you have there, I thought it was your rear end," teased Sideswipe, "you got the 'Big Mare' and 'Lovebird', and this here's 'The Pony Express' in your rocking chair, we rockin' our dump trailers too, we're ready for the construction job in San Palomino,"
"Vamos, mis amigas!" radioed 'Lovebird'. We took I-10 through the Badlands, and heading out towards Califoalnia. It's the only part of Equestria where you can go from sandy beaches to snowy mountains in just one day of driving. After a stop for some lunch at a border town and stopped by 'Trooper-Ponies', we'd made it up into Califoalnia's Bay Area
"Let's go, Ladies,"
There was a line to be filled by those excavators hard at work. On the mount was a mighty Northwest 100DH and Bucyrus-Erie 500-H. With their 9 cubic yard buckets, they can hold over 12 tons with one scoop. That is nothing to scoff at. Seeing into the cabs, I saw there was a hippogriff at the helm of the Northwest, and a pony operating the big 500-H
I went up to the top of the mount where I backed my rig in from the entrance at the chain-linked fence. Garabina took her rig over to be filled by one of the two 1984 Caterpillar 988B wheel loaders while Roadmaster and Sideswipe were in line for the big Bucyrus-Erie "Hello, happy to be a big help on the site, I'm Gracie and my handle's 'Momma Eagle',"
"Enchanté, my name is Heloise," she replied I can hear it in that Prench accent. She's a 'Mountain Hippogriff'. I gave her a wave, and she waved back. A scoop of dirt found it's way into the trailer. It looks like that bucket is almost as big as my trailer. My trailer holds 43 cubic yards. It's no small animal. In a few swings and in a few minutes, it was filled
Heloise used the huge bucket on her excavator to lightly tap my load to let me know it's good to go. The engine of my Peterbilt rumbled as I pulled my truck out of the work site, and off to where the dirt and rubble is going to go. My rig went through the 'truck bath', and it is off to the landfill a few miles outside the city limits where the dirt was unloaded
I honked my horn to Sideswipe as her trailer was loaded up, and she was heading to the landfill. Hours passed by, and we were making progress. With these kinds of jobs, we are going to be here for a while. If that's the case, we might as well socialize with the workers and make friends. Garabina seems to already have one 'mare-friend', "Garabina?"
"Buena Vista!" cheered the Griffon, This Earth Pony is a big one, as big as my friends. Her flanks wiggled on contact as she hugged Garabina, and nuzzled her. That is a mighty good friendship if I do say so myself, "Chicas, this is my childhood friend Buena Vista, Buena Vista, this is Gracie, Roadmaster and Sideswipe, they are the very best of the best,"