My Little Pony: Worker Birds
Chapter 7: What Friends Are For
Gilda and Gabby live under the same roof as me. As their landlord and their boss, they pay on time and actually enjoy the work that they do. I had surprised Gabby and Gilda by showing them a new gooseneck trailer unit, and the 2000 Peterbilt 379 Extended Hood to pull it. Well, this new unit will be able to get the tracks, cab, and buckets to a work site
"We still need Long Haul and his trailer to help with the stick and boom" said Gilda, I nodded lightly. Gilda grinned back, "it's better than all three of us trying to lift it" she joked, and sat down on the black polished tracks of our mighty excavator, "you know, I wasn't always the griffon you know and care about, Ellie, I made mistakes, and I made amends"
"I think we all have," I replied
"Not like me, there was a time when I'd lost my best friend because of my attitude, working a dead end job with the griffon-scones, I used to think that it was all Rainbow Dash's fault that I ended up where I was before I met you, I knew in my heart that it's all my fault," said Gilda, "I met you and you gave me this construction job, I felt like a new me,"
"Same with me," said Gabby, "I lost my job as a mail delivery griffon after one package went to the wrong address, so after I got fired, I didn't think I had any other skills, and I was willing to work any odd job to keep a roof over my head, then you came along, you see Heloise, you're big fun boss to work with, you feed us and put a roof over our heads"
"How can we pay you back?" asked Gilda
I hugged them both in a big group hug, "Just keep doing what you do best, you're more than just worker birds to me, you're my friends, in fact, you two are my best friends," I replied back, and gave both Gilda and Gabby a nuzzle on their cheeks. Gabby's cheeks are just perfect for nuzzling. I gave them each an extra little squeeze "we got a job today"
My two friends nodded in unison to me "Okay, let me rephrase that, we need to get to the job site today, but the work starts tomorrow, it's in Manehattan, we're needed in the cellar to help dig out the basement, a new skyscraper is going up, so Long Haul should be here anytime now," I explained, and I soon heard the sound of a parking brake outside
"Huh? Would you look at that," said Gilda
"Talk about good timing," added Gabby
"Good to see you, Ladies, quite a fancy new rig you got there, Big Bird," Long Haul complimented, and I giggled lightly to his kind words, "alright then, I can haul the tracks, the stick and boom, and maybe the buckets, and you three will carry the cab," he worked out as a plan for us, and we got set to work. It took a couple hours, but got everything set.
"You're a sweetheart," I said to Long Haul, and made him blush. We put the yellow and black 'Oversize Load' banners on the front of the rig, and in the back of the trailer. Long Haul did the same with his truck and trailer, and we were off onto the highway with out machines chained down. It is a little convoy of gooseneck trailer trucks, and dump trucks.
"Hey, there's a rest stop coming up," I radioed
"That's a big 10-4, I can use a rest," said Long Haul, it was getting dark when we decided to save money and use the sleepers in the backs of the rigs. I'm glad the rig I bought came as advertised with the double bunk sleeper. The nearest town is two miles away. So we'll use the dump trucks to drive over, and get something to eat when the time comes
Sure, there might be a hotel in the next town, but we'd take up all the parking spaces. Not good. The next morning, we are up by six o'clock, and back on the road. We stopped at an IHOP for breakfast. I'm sure those pancakes, and coffee made Gilda's morning. Gabby's got an appetite too. By the late morning and just before noon, we got it to the site.
"Good work everyone," I congratulated them all
Gabby, slowly and steadily, guided the truck and trailer down into the work site via a ramp. Once down there, we unchained the behemoth, and began to work on setting it up to work. Lattice Boom was there too, "You griffs need help?" he asked, I nodded with a grin. Using an 180ft boom on his crane and the heavy duty straps, the excavator took shape
In an hour and a half, and with a sledgehammer, the machine was ready for work. We were then approached by the fore-pony Steam Roller, "Well, good to see you Griffons and uh...Hippogriff made it here, I need the shovel up on the upper level of the dirt pile over there in the corner," he said, there's already a mighty Bucyrus-Erie 500-H hard at work.
"We're on it," said Gilda, climbing into the cab
Gilda put on her hardhat, and fired up the diesel engine. Gabby and I got into the dump trucks after our trailers and transports were parked in the corner of the finished parts of the cellar. The 8 cubic yard bucket was attached to make filling the trucks easier. Gabby and I drove the dump trucks out, and to the other side of the site. Time to get a working