Quickwrench Who?by BikerChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1"Don't worry, I'll catch ya!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she came streaking down from Cloudsdale. Below her, a blue-gray unicorn was screaming hysterically as he plummeted to the ground. He was so panicked it almost sounded like maniacal laughter. He was bigger than most ponies, but that wasn't a problem for the best flier in all of Equestria. Besides, she didn't need to actually fly him back up to Cloudsdale, just keep him from hitting the ground far harder than any unicorn was built to. Unfortunately, the combination saddle bags and tool belt he was wearing was constantly shedding tools; approaching him was a risky proposal. Putting on a burst of speed, she pulled even with him and shouted over the air rushing past. "Calm down! I'm here to save you!" Abruptly, he stopped screaming and looked over at her. "Save?!" he yelled in a surprisingly calm voice. "No, that's alright, I don't need saving yet!" "What do you mean you don't need saving?! You just fell off of Cloudsdale and you're not a pegasus!" she said, so taken aback by his reply that she almost forgot to yell loud enough to be heard over the wind. "Well first off, I didn't fall off of Cloudsdale, I walked off it! Though the falling part is quite exciting! I can see why you pegasi like living up there, it'd be a blast to do this every day! Wheeeeeee!!" he shouted, angling his body toward the ground just as Rainbow would while trying to pick up more speed in a dive. "What are you, nuts?" she asked, realizing that his screams had sounded like laughter because they had been laughter. "Some ponies seem to think so, but that's beside the point!" he replied. "Now if you'll just give me some room please." 'Rarity was right', Rainbow thought to herself, remembering back to last week. 'This pony is completely off his rocker.....' "...and I tell you, he's a lunatic. A genius with machines perhaps, but absolutely, one hundred percent, completely mad." Rarity finished saying as she, Rainbow Dash and Twilight walked through the doors to Sugar Cube Corner. "Who's mad? A perpetually cheery voice lofted from the kitchen. "You should get him a cake, that always cheers me up!" Pinkie Pie finished as she walked through the door with a tray of pastries for her friends. "No dear, I don't mean that he's angry, he's just lost his marbles." Rarity replied, knowing exactly what would come next as soon as she said it. "Well I'd be pretty mad too if I lost my marbles. But I don't have any marbles, so I guess I couldn't get mad about that." came the bubbly reply. "Twilight, a little help please." Rarity looked over to her unicorn friend. She could usually get the point through to Pinkie Pie. "What Rarity means," Twilight said, using the brief couple of seconds it took for the three of them to gather around a table to collect her thoughts," is that the new pony in tow---" "New pony?!" came the sudden exclamation, accompanied by a wince from Twilight as she realized what she had just said. "There's a new somepony in town and no one told me? Well quick, I need to get my welcome wagon and party cannon and confetti and some cake and some punch and get over to wherever they moved to and meet them and throw them a welcome party!" Pinkie said as she rushed toward the stairs. "Anyway," Rarity sighed as she watched her pink friend go bounding off. "He's absolutely crazy. I mean, he didn't even charge me for fixing my sewing machine after I told him I would do some work for him and keep it secret. Honestly, I don't see why it was such a big concern to him, he just wanted me to ma-urf!" Suddenly the world went dark and raspberry flavored. "You Pinkie Pie swore you wouldn't tell!" the bubblegum colored mare shouted from behind the counter. "You know you can't tell a secret if you Pinkie Pie swear!" "You're right of course, Pinkie Pie." Rarity said as she tried to wipe the now defunct raspberry cake from her face and mane. "Can you ever forgive me?" "Oh, it's OK now. You didn't say anything, so you didn't break your promise." Pinkie replied, instantly cheery again. "Pinkie Pie, how do you even do that?" Twilight asked, not entirely sure she wanted an answer. "Do what?" "How do you know when someone Pinkie Pie swears and if they're about to break it? Since you weren't there when Rarity made her promise, there's no possible way you could have know about it. It's kind of creepy actually." "I dunno." "What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know?" "Well..... I used to know. But then I made myself Pinkie Pie swear that I'd never ever ever ever tell anyone how I know when someone Pinkie Pie swears, even myself, and then I forgot how I do it. So I dunno." Pinkie shrugged and turned to the kitchen. "Mrs. Cake, we need some more Raspberry Splash Surprise Cake." "Need more, but I just put out a batch of...." She trailed off as she walked through the door and saw the mess surrounding Rarity. "I'm ever so sorry Mrs. Cake," Rarity began. "I made a Pinkie Pie swear yesterday and-" "Oh, I understand dear," Mrs. Cake replied, taking in the carnage surrounding Rarity. And don't worry about the cake, when something like that happens, it's on the house. And the table, and chairs, and..." "Don't worry Mrs. Cake, I'll take care of it!" Pinkie Pie pronounced, just before taking a massive bite of the pile of raspberry flavored pastry remains on the table, hardly leaving a crumb behind. "Super duper de-licious!" "I know dearie. Just be a little more careful next time, please." Mrs. Cake said as she walked back to the kitchen, shaking her head slightly but finding herself unable to keep from smiling a little as she walked through the door. As the friends walked out of the Cakes' shop, Twilight asked, "So why do you think this new pony is crazy?" "Well you see, " Rarity began, and then glanced over at Pinkie Pie. Despite the pink mare not having any obvious sources of pastries, she decided that she had said enough on the subject. "Actually, why don't you tell her Applejack. You were the one to tell me about his services after he was out at Sweet Apple Acres." "I guess there is that." Applejack replied. "Well, you see Twilight, that there new pony-" "New pony! Oh, I almost forgot!" Pinkie Pie turned and ran back into Sugar Cube Corner. Just as the door was closing, there was a crash, followed by Pinkie Pie saying "Well, I guess we need more Raspberry Splash Surprise Cake again." Applejack sighed and continued. "As I was sayin' that new pony what just moved into town, he likes to fix things." "That doesn't seem so unusual," Twilight said. "It's not just that. He is a fix-it man after all, so I reckon he ought to enjoy his job. It's just that when he fixes things, he gets to conversin' to 'em. Like Fluttershy would do when she's doctorin' critters." "Well that doesn't seem so bad, talking to them keeps them calm while I'm nursing them back to health" Fluttershy mentioned, instantly blushing when she realized that she had interrupted Applejack. "Oh I'm so sorry, go ahead." "That's alright, sugar. But it's different when you're workin' with yer animals, seein' as they're alive and have ears to hear you with and all. He was out there by the barn workin' on the plows to fix 'em up from the last Winter Wrap Up, and he was carryin' on like they was talkin' right back at him. It wern't natural." "Oh I know precisely what you mean" Rarity said, her nervousness gone now that Pinkie Pie was out of earshot. "Why when I went over to his shop a few days ago..." Chapter 2Rarity walked up toward the door. 'Well, this seems to be the place.' She thought to herself, looking around the front of the shop. It was a bit run down looking, but having been abandoned for the last few years it was to be expected. After all, no one wanted to live or keep shop this close to the Everfree Forest. And the sign, a pair of crossed silver wrenches in a light blue circle, it would almost look forbidding if it wasn't so bright and cheery looking. Making up her mind, she opened up the door and walked inside. "Welcome to Quickwrench's Fixit Shop!" A suprisingly upbeat voice for the dinginess of the surroundings called from the back room, almost before the bell mounted over the door tinkled. "Be with you in a second." the voice said, followed by a resounding crash. "Or maybe just a couple of seconds." Rarity looked around the front counter space. It was fairly cluttered, with bits and pieces of just about anything you could imagine sitting on any available space. Despite that , there seemed to be an order to things, though what it was she would probably never be able to sort out. "Sorry 'bout that, just had to finish something up." the voice said just behind her as she was trying to figure out exactly what a broken candle holder and a plow blade had in common aside from the shelf they were sitting on. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, turning around to face the shop owner. He was a blue-gray unicorn, a bit taller than most, but also a bit heavier built. Not as large as Big Mac by any means, but definitely somepony that had done plenty of physical labor in their life. It wouldn't have been odd if he had been an earth pony, but it was a bit atypical for a unicorn to have that much bulk. A cutie mark that matched the wrenches on the sign outside the door seemed to indicate he was the owner. "You must be..." "Quickwrench Silverspark" He replied, "Owner, proprietor, and most of the labor. So what can I do for you?" he asked, looking curiously at the bag the white unicorn was carrying. "Well, you see..." Rarity began, "I have a large order of dresses I need to finish and have delivered in two days, and my sewing machine has stopped working. There is simply no way I can possibly finish the order on time unless I can get it fixed." She said with a worried look on her face. "Then let's have a look see at what's going on. I'm guessing it's in the bag?" he said, indicating the still closed bag at Rarity's side. "Oh yes, how rude of me." she replied, taking the machine out. "You see, every time I start a new piece of cloth, it jams up right-" "Is that a Silkenthread Model 60? Did you really just bring a Silkenthread into my shop?" Quickwrench asked, though whether he was excited or annoyed Rarity couldn't tell. "- here." she finished, pointing to the foot. "Well yes, I suppose it is, I do hope that's all right?" "All right? My dear that's simply wonderful! I never thought I'd get the opportunity to work on such a fine machine. Let's have a look shall we?" "Oh, very well then." Rarity replied. A light glow surrounded the machine as she picked it up with her magic and gently set it on the counter. "Excellent. Stand back a bit please." Quickwrench said. "Stand back, why whatever for?" she said as she backed away from the counter. "Oh, just this." he replied as a collection of bright silver sparks began winking in and out of existence around his horn. With a brilliant flash, a stream of almost solid looking magic blasted out of his horn and slammed into the machine, carrying it over and behind Rarity until it was just about halfway across the shop. As she turned to look, the machine exploded into what seemed to be hundreds of pieces. "What ever did you do?!" Rarity cried out in alarm as she turned furiously back to Quickwrench. "I'll never be able to finish my order without my machine, and now that you took it upon yourself to blow it into Tautarus... Oh, this is the worst thing ever! The. Worst! Possible! Thing!" "Oh, I don't know about that. Turn around and have a look." Hesitantly, almost afraid to look at the wreckage, she turned around, expecting to see broken bits of her machine strewn across the shop and undoubtedly mixed in with the rest of the jumble. Instead, every part of the machine was floating by itself in the middle of the room, with an incredibly intricate web of magic fibers holding each piece in perfect relation to everything else. It looked like the diagram in the back of the users manual that showed all the parts, lot of good that was to her, but this was the machine itself. "How did you ever...?" He glanced toward the slightly thicker thread of magic that connected his horn to the web holding up the parts of the sewing machine. "Well, I'm not known as Quickwrench for nothing you know," he answered with a chuckle. Ok, now that I have a clear view of everything, let's get down to business. Do your thing, my little mechanical wonder!" As she watched, all the parts of the machine started to move on their own, just as though the machine was sitting fully assembled on her sewing table at home. Quickwrench moved into the cloud of parts talking quietly to himself, glancing here and there as he went. Or at least that was what it looked like until she caught some of the one sided sounding conversation. "Hello, and how are you today? Excellent. Now does that hurt when you start spinning? No. everything else ok then? Wonderful. And how about you, do you......" he trailed off, barely talking loud enough for Rarity to hear. Every so often a part would float down in front of him to show him something, seemingly of its own accord. He'd turn it this way and that ask a question or two, and then motion for it to go back up to where it came from. After a few minutes, he took a tiny piece down and brought it back to the counter. "You see, here's your problem. This little guy is worn out." he said, motioning to the part. I can fix him up for you, but I'll need to ask a favor from you in return." "And that would be what exactly?" Rarity asked, suddenly wondering about the motives and sanity of the pony in front of her. "Oh, I just have a small job requiring a skilled seamstress with a keen eye and a good quality sewing machine. A simple job really, and I can pay you well for it. But you must keep it absolutely secret." "A secret? But why would you need a sewing job kept-" He suddenly rushed forward to the windows and slammed the shutters closed, followed by a bizarre assortment of locks on the front door. After checking the back room behind the counter, he walked back over to her, glancing around the shop as though he wanted to make sure nopony had snuck in the locked front door while he was checking the back. "Because," Quickwrench whispered, leaning in conspiratorially, "It's a secret." "Oh very well, I suppose I can keep a secret for you." Rarity replied, thinking of the promise of 'pay you well.' While nopony could accuse Rarity of being greedy, it was the off season for a fashionista, and some extra business would be welcome. "I can even do one better; I will Pinkie Pie swear on it." "Pinkie Pie swear?" "Yes. Nopony in Ponyville would ever break a Pinkie Pie." After a brief pause, she recited "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." "..and hope to fly, How absolutely wonderful." he chuckled as he opened the shutters again. "Very well then. Come on, up and back you go." The part on the desk floated up in front of Quickwrench, and started to glow. It seemed to subtly reshape itself, and then flew back to rejoin the rest of the machine. As she turned to watch it fly back, she could see that a few other bits were glowing, though none as bright as the part that was removed from the jumble. Suddenly the glowing stopped, and all the bits and pieces raced toward each other and reassembled themselves. It happened so quickly Rarity hardly had time to register what was happening before it was done. The machine gently floated back down to the counter. Just as it settled into place, Quickwrench's magic winked out of existence with a gentle pop. "Quickwrench indeed." Rarity said, suitably impressed. "But will it work properly?" "Try it yourself, I think I have some rags or scraps of material around here." He went into the back room and returned quickly with a few pieces of fabric and some thread. While the material Quickwrench had brought her was far from 'rags or scraps' as he had put it, she tried the machine with it. After just a few seconds, Rarity could tell that the sewing machine was working as well as it did when it was new, if not even a bit better. "Oh, it's positively wonderful, you can hardly even see the seam. And in silk like this! How much do I owe you for such amazing work?" "In this case, the pleasure of meeting a skilled seamstress and such a wonderful piece of machinery was payment enough. Have a wonderful day," he said as he turned toward the back of the shop again. "And your sewing job?" Rarity inquired. "Hmm? Oh, nothing to worry yourself over, I'll have it to you in a day or two." he replied as he walked toward the back room where he came from. "Besides, didn't you have dresses to finish?" "Oh of course, of course." She said, turning to leave. "Quickwrench? Could you be a dear and unlock the door?" "Silly me." he turned and a web of magic threads flowed over the door, unlocking all the slides and padlocks at once. As he did, one of the locks got a little more than it needed and disassembled itself as it fell to the floor directly in front of Rarity. "Oh my, sorry about that." "It's quite all right, no harm done," Rarity said as she sidestepped the parts lying on the floor. "What's that?" Quickwrench said as he looked at her quizzically. "Well, you apologized for the lock and I-" "Ahh, yes I supposed that startled you almost as much as it did him," he said, nodding toward the door. "Who....?" "Why the lock of course." Chapter 3"OK, so you think he's a little bit crazy. Do you think he's dangerous?" Twilight asked as she walked towards the library with her friends. "No, Sally. Other'n his talkin' while he worked, he seemed like a downright decent feller. He even offered to help Big Mac carry a couple bushels of apples up to the barn when he saw it was gettin' late and we were behind. Didn't even use his magic, just tossed 'em on his back like an earth pony woulda." "How about you Rarity? Were you worried about him at all?" Twilight asked. "I certainly didn't think he was a danger. He seemed a bit... intense about his privacy, but other than that he seemed rather nice. After all, look at the darling little trinket he gave me along with the payment for his project." Rarity replied, removing a hair clip with a small stone from her mane. Aside from a few flecks of white around the edges, it was almost a perfect match to her hair. In the center facet, Rarity's cutie mark could be seen. "Rarity, that's beautiful! And he just gave it to you?" "Well yes, it is rather lovely. However, it's nothing that couldn't be made in a couple of hours by anypony with a little bit of skill with cutting tools. I've made similar costume pieces quite frequently, to freshen up an outfit or two for ponies that want a little bit of variety to go with their wardrobes. Still, it's nice to know that one can get admirers so easily. Forgive my curiosity dear, but why are you so interested in him anyway?" Rarity asked, as she put the clip back in her mane. "Well, the princess sent me a letter a few weeks ago, letting me know that he was moving to Ponyville; she wanted me to keep an eye on him, to make sure he was adjusting to living in a smaller town and to watch in case anything unusual happened. Unfortunately I've been busy searching the library and requesting information from the Canterlot archives with Rainbow Dash trying to find any information about the Cumulo-fil that the pegasi in Cloudsdale might not know. All we found was this,” she said, holding up a tech manual labeled ‘Cumulo-fil Mk. 4, a Super Speedy Corporation Creation’. “Since I haven't been able to so much as meet him, I thought I'd ask around to see what other ponies thought. So far, everypony who's talked to him has said he seems a bit eccentric, but nothing worth being concerned about. Other than him moving here from Manehatten, he seems pretty unremarkable." "Well, I suppose that when you consider some of Ponyville's residents, he would be-" Rarity started to reply. "Wait, did you say Manehatten?" "That's what Princess Celestia's letter had said." But he can't be the... Of course the coat and the mane are the proper color, and he was doing repair work before, but his cutie mark is all wrong, and he's nowhere near as...." She paused as she took the clip out of her hair and looked at it more closely. "...sophisticated as he... Oh my." The world hardly had a chance to fade to black before she fainted dead away. "Rarity, um, could you wake up please?" the white mare heard a soft voice say, though why Fluttershy would be waking her up, she had no idea. After all, she didn't have any pressing engagements with her until... Fluttershy jumped back with a startled "Eep!" as Rarity came to with a start. She took in her surroundings, realizing that she was now in the library. "What ever happened, how did I... Oh, that's right." She said, starting to swoon again. "Hold on there, don't go doin' that again! Took you long enough to wake up from the first time. Me an' Rainbow had to carry you the rest of the way here." Applejack said as she went to prop Rarity up. "Don't you see? He isn't just a repair pony, he's Chisel Chip!" Rarity exclaimed, looking around at her friends excitedly. “And this objet d'art, made by his hooves, why it's worth..." Seeing the blank looks on her friends' faces, she changed tactics. "The Chisel Chip, repair pony turned famous sculptor? Artiste à l'élite of Manehatten? Really, am I the only one here that pays any attention to high culture?" "Hold on a minute. You're telling me that the repair pony I just hired to work on the Cumulo-fil isn't just crazy; he's a crazy artist-sculptor-whatever from Manehatten?! " Rainbow Dash blurted out. "Artist-sculptor-whatever, I guess you could say that, but last I checked the jury is still out on the crazy part." came a voice from the still open door. "I didn't think most of it was particularly good, but everypony seemed to like my work. Either way, a pony's gotta eat, and I'd appreciate it if you folks could keep this under your hats. Or should I say hat?" Quickwrench said with a glance at the stetson atop Applejack's head. "That ponies gotta eat?" Applejack inquired with a confused expression, while Rarity managed to mumble out "You.. You're.. It's.." before fainting against her friend's shoulder. "Well, I'm pretty sure that needing to eat is a well known fact, so I won't worry about that getting around. I would like to keep a low profile though, so let's try to keep the whole 'famous artist' thing between us and the walls, OK?" Quickwrench said as he walked over to Applejack. "Hey, let me help you with her." Ducking his head underneath Rarity, he carried her over to a reading couch and let her slide off his back onto the cushions. "So, how did you folks figure out who I was?" Quickwrench asked, looking in particular at the white mare drinking tea across from him. "Well, Rarity was really the one who put it together." Twilight said with a small giggle. "I told her you were from Manehatten, and she started going on about you were a repair pony just like somepony else, and looked just like them with the exception of your cutie mark. Then she passed out." "Twilight Sparkle!" Rarity shouted. "A lady may swoon, or go into a faint, but she most certainly does not 'pass out!'" "Of course she doesn't," Quickwrench replied, taking the white unicorn's gaze back from her friend. "But if my cutie mark isn't a match for Chisel Chip's, why did you think we were one and the same?" "Well, at first I didn't,” Rarity said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “But after Twilight mentioned that you were from Manehatten I looked more closely at the lovely piece of jewelry you graciously gave me. I realized it was a real amethyst, and that it had to have been made by as true artiste such as yourself. Between that and knowing your profession, I was able to put two and two together. As for your cutie mark, why it would be quite easy to cover up those wrenches with a hammer and chisel with a little bit of dye, wouldn't it?" "I guess you got me,” Quickwrench said with a sheepish look on his face. “I knew I should have lost the repair pony bit once people started paying attention, but ponies just seem to love a rags-to-riches story and all that." "Forgive me for asking dear, but why would you ever want to leave all the fame and glory of being a Manehatten Artiste to become a simple repair pony? Or should I say, become a simple repair pony... again? Not that there is anything wrong with that of course, after all, there's so much in this world that needs fixing and... I'm gushing, aren't I?" Rarity inquired, looking both confused and exasperated at the thought of somepony leaving such a prestigious position in society. "Maybe just a little more'n that fancy spring Aloe an' Lotus have over at the spa, but ya oughta be fine once ya get it outta yer system." Applejack said with a smirk. "Well," Quickwrench started off, and continued after a small chuckle, "Rarity, you pretty much hit the nail on the head right there. I wanted to get away from all the fame and glory. That happened by accident. In between repair jobs, I'd do a little jem carving and sculpture work to pass the time. Not much of it sold, but it was entertaining. One day, this high class stallion came into my shop to get a candle holder fixed, and started going on about how 'cutting edge' and 'style defining' my stuff was. I told him it wasn't anything fancy, just something I did in between jobs. Next thing I know, he's got some gallery owner down there and that mare is buying up everything in my shop, and I'm doing more and more sculpture work and less and less fixing. After a while, I just got tired of dealing with it all and decided to pick up and leave." "But I got a letter from Princess Celestia telling me you were moving here," Twilight said. "Why did she let me know about you before you ever got here?" "When I was thinking about leaving, I talked to a friend of mine on the royal guard that was stationed in the city. I told him I wanted out of the spotlight and could stand to know a good place to go if I wanted to disappear for a while. After a couple of days, he told me to wind up in Ponyville, and the rest would take care of itself. I left Manehatten and drifted around for a while, just to make sure the high society ponies back there got tired of searching for me. Since you got a letter from the princess on the matter, I guess he had a bit more influence than I though. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to disappear." Author's Note Ok, at this point the story is going to split two ways. The part included in the following chapters will be the storyline that gradually occurred to me as I was pondering how to get where I was going with this fic; it will be a much larger world than I had originally intended. I'll be finishing up the fic along it's original storyline over here. The delightful picture of Scootaloo hugging Dash will be replaced with fic material as soon as it's written and this sentence disappears. Thanks for reading the story so far!
Chapter 1"Don't worry, I'll catch ya!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she came streaking down from Cloudsdale. Below her, a blue-gray unicorn was screaming hysterically as he plummeted to the ground. He was so panicked it almost sounded like maniacal laughter. He was bigger than most ponies, but that wasn't a problem for the best flier in all of Equestria. Besides, she didn't need to actually fly him back up to Cloudsdale, just keep him from hitting the ground far harder than any unicorn was built to. Unfortunately, the combination saddle bags and tool belt he was wearing was constantly shedding tools; approaching him was a risky proposal. Putting on a burst of speed, she pulled even with him and shouted over the air rushing past. "Calm down! I'm here to save you!" Abruptly, he stopped screaming and looked over at her. "Save?!" he yelled in a surprisingly calm voice. "No, that's alright, I don't need saving yet!" "What do you mean you don't need saving?! You just fell off of Cloudsdale and you're not a pegasus!" she said, so taken aback by his reply that she almost forgot to yell loud enough to be heard over the wind. "Well first off, I didn't fall off of Cloudsdale, I walked off it! Though the falling part is quite exciting! I can see why you pegasi like living up there, it'd be a blast to do this every day! Wheeeeeee!!" he shouted, angling his body toward the ground just as Rainbow would while trying to pick up more speed in a dive. "What are you, nuts?" she asked, realizing that his screams had sounded like laughter because they had been laughter. "Some ponies seem to think so, but that's beside the point!" he replied. "Now if you'll just give me some room please." 'Rarity was right', Rainbow thought to herself, remembering back to last week. 'This pony is completely off his rocker.....' "...and I tell you, he's a lunatic. A genius with machines perhaps, but absolutely, one hundred percent, completely mad." Rarity finished saying as she, Rainbow Dash and Twilight walked through the doors to Sugar Cube Corner. "Who's mad? A perpetually cheery voice lofted from the kitchen. "You should get him a cake, that always cheers me up!" Pinkie Pie finished as she walked through the door with a tray of pastries for her friends. "No dear, I don't mean that he's angry, he's just lost his marbles." Rarity replied, knowing exactly what would come next as soon as she said it. "Well I'd be pretty mad too if I lost my marbles. But I don't have any marbles, so I guess I couldn't get mad about that." came the bubbly reply. "Twilight, a little help please." Rarity looked over to her unicorn friend. She could usually get the point through to Pinkie Pie. "What Rarity means," Twilight said, using the brief couple of seconds it took for the three of them to gather around a table to collect her thoughts," is that the new pony in tow---" "New pony?!" came the sudden exclamation, accompanied by a wince from Twilight as she realized what she had just said. "There's a new somepony in town and no one told me? Well quick, I need to get my welcome wagon and party cannon and confetti and some cake and some punch and get over to wherever they moved to and meet them and throw them a welcome party!" Pinkie said as she rushed toward the stairs. "Anyway," Rarity sighed as she watched her pink friend go bounding off. "He's absolutely crazy. I mean, he didn't even charge me for fixing my sewing machine after I told him I would do some work for him and keep it secret. Honestly, I don't see why it was such a big concern to him, he just wanted me to ma-urf!" Suddenly the world went dark and raspberry flavored. "You Pinkie Pie swore you wouldn't tell!" the bubblegum colored mare shouted from behind the counter. "You know you can't tell a secret if you Pinkie Pie swear!" "You're right of course, Pinkie Pie." Rarity said as she tried to wipe the now defunct raspberry cake from her face and mane. "Can you ever forgive me?" "Oh, it's OK now. You didn't say anything, so you didn't break your promise." Pinkie replied, instantly cheery again. "Pinkie Pie, how do you even do that?" Twilight asked, not entirely sure she wanted an answer. "Do what?" "How do you know when someone Pinkie Pie swears and if they're about to break it? Since you weren't there when Rarity made her promise, there's no possible way you could have know about it. It's kind of creepy actually." "I dunno." "What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know?" "Well..... I used to know. But then I made myself Pinkie Pie swear that I'd never ever ever ever tell anyone how I know when someone Pinkie Pie swears, even myself, and then I forgot how I do it. So I dunno." Pinkie shrugged and turned to the kitchen. "Mrs. Cake, we need some more Raspberry Splash Surprise Cake." "Need more, but I just put out a batch of...." She trailed off as she walked through the door and saw the mess surrounding Rarity. "I'm ever so sorry Mrs. Cake," Rarity began. "I made a Pinkie Pie swear yesterday and-" "Oh, I understand dear," Mrs. Cake replied, taking in the carnage surrounding Rarity. And don't worry about the cake, when something like that happens, it's on the house. And the table, and chairs, and..." "Don't worry Mrs. Cake, I'll take care of it!" Pinkie Pie pronounced, just before taking a massive bite of the pile of raspberry flavored pastry remains on the table, hardly leaving a crumb behind. "Super duper de-licious!" "I know dearie. Just be a little more careful next time, please." Mrs. Cake said as she walked back to the kitchen, shaking her head slightly but finding herself unable to keep from smiling a little as she walked through the door. As the friends walked out of the Cakes' shop, Twilight asked, "So why do you think this new pony is crazy?" "Well you see, " Rarity began, and then glanced over at Pinkie Pie. Despite the pink mare not having any obvious sources of pastries, she decided that she had said enough on the subject. "Actually, why don't you tell her Applejack. You were the one to tell me about his services after he was out at Sweet Apple Acres." "I guess there is that." Applejack replied. "Well, you see Twilight, that there new pony-" "New pony! Oh, I almost forgot!" Pinkie Pie turned and ran back into Sugar Cube Corner. Just as the door was closing, there was a crash, followed by Pinkie Pie saying "Well, I guess we need more Raspberry Splash Surprise Cake again." Applejack sighed and continued. "As I was sayin' that new pony what just moved into town, he likes to fix things." "That doesn't seem so unusual," Twilight said. "It's not just that. He is a fix-it man after all, so I reckon he ought to enjoy his job. It's just that when he fixes things, he gets to conversin' to 'em. Like Fluttershy would do when she's doctorin' critters." "Well that doesn't seem so bad, talking to them keeps them calm while I'm nursing them back to health" Fluttershy mentioned, instantly blushing when she realized that she had interrupted Applejack. "Oh I'm so sorry, go ahead." "That's alright, sugar. But it's different when you're workin' with yer animals, seein' as they're alive and have ears to hear you with and all. He was out there by the barn workin' on the plows to fix 'em up from the last Winter Wrap Up, and he was carryin' on like they was talkin' right back at him. It wern't natural." "Oh I know precisely what you mean" Rarity said, her nervousness gone now that Pinkie Pie was out of earshot. "Why when I went over to his shop a few days ago..."
Chapter 2Rarity walked up toward the door. 'Well, this seems to be the place.' She thought to herself, looking around the front of the shop. It was a bit run down looking, but having been abandoned for the last few years it was to be expected. After all, no one wanted to live or keep shop this close to the Everfree Forest. And the sign, a pair of crossed silver wrenches in a light blue circle, it would almost look forbidding if it wasn't so bright and cheery looking. Making up her mind, she opened up the door and walked inside. "Welcome to Quickwrench's Fixit Shop!" A suprisingly upbeat voice for the dinginess of the surroundings called from the back room, almost before the bell mounted over the door tinkled. "Be with you in a second." the voice said, followed by a resounding crash. "Or maybe just a couple of seconds." Rarity looked around the front counter space. It was fairly cluttered, with bits and pieces of just about anything you could imagine sitting on any available space. Despite that , there seemed to be an order to things, though what it was she would probably never be able to sort out. "Sorry 'bout that, just had to finish something up." the voice said just behind her as she was trying to figure out exactly what a broken candle holder and a plow blade had in common aside from the shelf they were sitting on. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, turning around to face the shop owner. He was a blue-gray unicorn, a bit taller than most, but also a bit heavier built. Not as large as Big Mac by any means, but definitely somepony that had done plenty of physical labor in their life. It wouldn't have been odd if he had been an earth pony, but it was a bit atypical for a unicorn to have that much bulk. A cutie mark that matched the wrenches on the sign outside the door seemed to indicate he was the owner. "You must be..." "Quickwrench Silverspark" He replied, "Owner, proprietor, and most of the labor. So what can I do for you?" he asked, looking curiously at the bag the white unicorn was carrying. "Well, you see..." Rarity began, "I have a large order of dresses I need to finish and have delivered in two days, and my sewing machine has stopped working. There is simply no way I can possibly finish the order on time unless I can get it fixed." She said with a worried look on her face. "Then let's have a look see at what's going on. I'm guessing it's in the bag?" he said, indicating the still closed bag at Rarity's side. "Oh yes, how rude of me." she replied, taking the machine out. "You see, every time I start a new piece of cloth, it jams up right-" "Is that a Silkenthread Model 60? Did you really just bring a Silkenthread into my shop?" Quickwrench asked, though whether he was excited or annoyed Rarity couldn't tell. "- here." she finished, pointing to the foot. "Well yes, I suppose it is, I do hope that's all right?" "All right? My dear that's simply wonderful! I never thought I'd get the opportunity to work on such a fine machine. Let's have a look shall we?" "Oh, very well then." Rarity replied. A light glow surrounded the machine as she picked it up with her magic and gently set it on the counter. "Excellent. Stand back a bit please." Quickwrench said. "Stand back, why whatever for?" she said as she backed away from the counter. "Oh, just this." he replied as a collection of bright silver sparks began winking in and out of existence around his horn. With a brilliant flash, a stream of almost solid looking magic blasted out of his horn and slammed into the machine, carrying it over and behind Rarity until it was just about halfway across the shop. As she turned to look, the machine exploded into what seemed to be hundreds of pieces. "What ever did you do?!" Rarity cried out in alarm as she turned furiously back to Quickwrench. "I'll never be able to finish my order without my machine, and now that you took it upon yourself to blow it into Tautarus... Oh, this is the worst thing ever! The. Worst! Possible! Thing!" "Oh, I don't know about that. Turn around and have a look." Hesitantly, almost afraid to look at the wreckage, she turned around, expecting to see broken bits of her machine strewn across the shop and undoubtedly mixed in with the rest of the jumble. Instead, every part of the machine was floating by itself in the middle of the room, with an incredibly intricate web of magic fibers holding each piece in perfect relation to everything else. It looked like the diagram in the back of the users manual that showed all the parts, lot of good that was to her, but this was the machine itself. "How did you ever...?" He glanced toward the slightly thicker thread of magic that connected his horn to the web holding up the parts of the sewing machine. "Well, I'm not known as Quickwrench for nothing you know," he answered with a chuckle. Ok, now that I have a clear view of everything, let's get down to business. Do your thing, my little mechanical wonder!" As she watched, all the parts of the machine started to move on their own, just as though the machine was sitting fully assembled on her sewing table at home. Quickwrench moved into the cloud of parts talking quietly to himself, glancing here and there as he went. Or at least that was what it looked like until she caught some of the one sided sounding conversation. "Hello, and how are you today? Excellent. Now does that hurt when you start spinning? No. everything else ok then? Wonderful. And how about you, do you......" he trailed off, barely talking loud enough for Rarity to hear. Every so often a part would float down in front of him to show him something, seemingly of its own accord. He'd turn it this way and that ask a question or two, and then motion for it to go back up to where it came from. After a few minutes, he took a tiny piece down and brought it back to the counter. "You see, here's your problem. This little guy is worn out." he said, motioning to the part. I can fix him up for you, but I'll need to ask a favor from you in return." "And that would be what exactly?" Rarity asked, suddenly wondering about the motives and sanity of the pony in front of her. "Oh, I just have a small job requiring a skilled seamstress with a keen eye and a good quality sewing machine. A simple job really, and I can pay you well for it. But you must keep it absolutely secret." "A secret? But why would you need a sewing job kept-" He suddenly rushed forward to the windows and slammed the shutters closed, followed by a bizarre assortment of locks on the front door. After checking the back room behind the counter, he walked back over to her, glancing around the shop as though he wanted to make sure nopony had snuck in the locked front door while he was checking the back. "Because," Quickwrench whispered, leaning in conspiratorially, "It's a secret." "Oh very well, I suppose I can keep a secret for you." Rarity replied, thinking of the promise of 'pay you well.' While nopony could accuse Rarity of being greedy, it was the off season for a fashionista, and some extra business would be welcome. "I can even do one better; I will Pinkie Pie swear on it." "Pinkie Pie swear?" "Yes. Nopony in Ponyville would ever break a Pinkie Pie." After a brief pause, she recited "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." "..and hope to fly, How absolutely wonderful." he chuckled as he opened the shutters again. "Very well then. Come on, up and back you go." The part on the desk floated up in front of Quickwrench, and started to glow. It seemed to subtly reshape itself, and then flew back to rejoin the rest of the machine. As she turned to watch it fly back, she could see that a few other bits were glowing, though none as bright as the part that was removed from the jumble. Suddenly the glowing stopped, and all the bits and pieces raced toward each other and reassembled themselves. It happened so quickly Rarity hardly had time to register what was happening before it was done. The machine gently floated back down to the counter. Just as it settled into place, Quickwrench's magic winked out of existence with a gentle pop. "Quickwrench indeed." Rarity said, suitably impressed. "But will it work properly?" "Try it yourself, I think I have some rags or scraps of material around here." He went into the back room and returned quickly with a few pieces of fabric and some thread. While the material Quickwrench had brought her was far from 'rags or scraps' as he had put it, she tried the machine with it. After just a few seconds, Rarity could tell that the sewing machine was working as well as it did when it was new, if not even a bit better. "Oh, it's positively wonderful, you can hardly even see the seam. And in silk like this! How much do I owe you for such amazing work?" "In this case, the pleasure of meeting a skilled seamstress and such a wonderful piece of machinery was payment enough. Have a wonderful day," he said as he turned toward the back of the shop again. "And your sewing job?" Rarity inquired. "Hmm? Oh, nothing to worry yourself over, I'll have it to you in a day or two." he replied as he walked toward the back room where he came from. "Besides, didn't you have dresses to finish?" "Oh of course, of course." She said, turning to leave. "Quickwrench? Could you be a dear and unlock the door?" "Silly me." he turned and a web of magic threads flowed over the door, unlocking all the slides and padlocks at once. As he did, one of the locks got a little more than it needed and disassembled itself as it fell to the floor directly in front of Rarity. "Oh my, sorry about that." "It's quite all right, no harm done," Rarity said as she sidestepped the parts lying on the floor. "What's that?" Quickwrench said as he looked at her quizzically. "Well, you apologized for the lock and I-" "Ahh, yes I supposed that startled you almost as much as it did him," he said, nodding toward the door. "Who....?" "Why the lock of course."
Chapter 3"OK, so you think he's a little bit crazy. Do you think he's dangerous?" Twilight asked as she walked towards the library with her friends. "No, Sally. Other'n his talkin' while he worked, he seemed like a downright decent feller. He even offered to help Big Mac carry a couple bushels of apples up to the barn when he saw it was gettin' late and we were behind. Didn't even use his magic, just tossed 'em on his back like an earth pony woulda." "How about you Rarity? Were you worried about him at all?" Twilight asked. "I certainly didn't think he was a danger. He seemed a bit... intense about his privacy, but other than that he seemed rather nice. After all, look at the darling little trinket he gave me along with the payment for his project." Rarity replied, removing a hair clip with a small stone from her mane. Aside from a few flecks of white around the edges, it was almost a perfect match to her hair. In the center facet, Rarity's cutie mark could be seen. "Rarity, that's beautiful! And he just gave it to you?" "Well yes, it is rather lovely. However, it's nothing that couldn't be made in a couple of hours by anypony with a little bit of skill with cutting tools. I've made similar costume pieces quite frequently, to freshen up an outfit or two for ponies that want a little bit of variety to go with their wardrobes. Still, it's nice to know that one can get admirers so easily. Forgive my curiosity dear, but why are you so interested in him anyway?" Rarity asked, as she put the clip back in her mane. "Well, the princess sent me a letter a few weeks ago, letting me know that he was moving to Ponyville; she wanted me to keep an eye on him, to make sure he was adjusting to living in a smaller town and to watch in case anything unusual happened. Unfortunately I've been busy searching the library and requesting information from the Canterlot archives with Rainbow Dash trying to find any information about the Cumulo-fil that the pegasi in Cloudsdale might not know. All we found was this,” she said, holding up a tech manual labeled ‘Cumulo-fil Mk. 4, a Super Speedy Corporation Creation’. “Since I haven't been able to so much as meet him, I thought I'd ask around to see what other ponies thought. So far, everypony who's talked to him has said he seems a bit eccentric, but nothing worth being concerned about. Other than him moving here from Manehatten, he seems pretty unremarkable." "Well, I suppose that when you consider some of Ponyville's residents, he would be-" Rarity started to reply. "Wait, did you say Manehatten?" "That's what Princess Celestia's letter had said." But he can't be the... Of course the coat and the mane are the proper color, and he was doing repair work before, but his cutie mark is all wrong, and he's nowhere near as...." She paused as she took the clip out of her hair and looked at it more closely. "...sophisticated as he... Oh my." The world hardly had a chance to fade to black before she fainted dead away. "Rarity, um, could you wake up please?" the white mare heard a soft voice say, though why Fluttershy would be waking her up, she had no idea. After all, she didn't have any pressing engagements with her until... Fluttershy jumped back with a startled "Eep!" as Rarity came to with a start. She took in her surroundings, realizing that she was now in the library. "What ever happened, how did I... Oh, that's right." She said, starting to swoon again. "Hold on there, don't go doin' that again! Took you long enough to wake up from the first time. Me an' Rainbow had to carry you the rest of the way here." Applejack said as she went to prop Rarity up. "Don't you see? He isn't just a repair pony, he's Chisel Chip!" Rarity exclaimed, looking around at her friends excitedly. “And this objet d'art, made by his hooves, why it's worth..." Seeing the blank looks on her friends' faces, she changed tactics. "The Chisel Chip, repair pony turned famous sculptor? Artiste à l'élite of Manehatten? Really, am I the only one here that pays any attention to high culture?" "Hold on a minute. You're telling me that the repair pony I just hired to work on the Cumulo-fil isn't just crazy; he's a crazy artist-sculptor-whatever from Manehatten?! " Rainbow Dash blurted out. "Artist-sculptor-whatever, I guess you could say that, but last I checked the jury is still out on the crazy part." came a voice from the still open door. "I didn't think most of it was particularly good, but everypony seemed to like my work. Either way, a pony's gotta eat, and I'd appreciate it if you folks could keep this under your hats. Or should I say hat?" Quickwrench said with a glance at the stetson atop Applejack's head. "That ponies gotta eat?" Applejack inquired with a confused expression, while Rarity managed to mumble out "You.. You're.. It's.." before fainting against her friend's shoulder. "Well, I'm pretty sure that needing to eat is a well known fact, so I won't worry about that getting around. I would like to keep a low profile though, so let's try to keep the whole 'famous artist' thing between us and the walls, OK?" Quickwrench said as he walked over to Applejack. "Hey, let me help you with her." Ducking his head underneath Rarity, he carried her over to a reading couch and let her slide off his back onto the cushions. "So, how did you folks figure out who I was?" Quickwrench asked, looking in particular at the white mare drinking tea across from him. "Well, Rarity was really the one who put it together." Twilight said with a small giggle. "I told her you were from Manehatten, and she started going on about you were a repair pony just like somepony else, and looked just like them with the exception of your cutie mark. Then she passed out." "Twilight Sparkle!" Rarity shouted. "A lady may swoon, or go into a faint, but she most certainly does not 'pass out!'" "Of course she doesn't," Quickwrench replied, taking the white unicorn's gaze back from her friend. "But if my cutie mark isn't a match for Chisel Chip's, why did you think we were one and the same?" "Well, at first I didn't,” Rarity said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “But after Twilight mentioned that you were from Manehatten I looked more closely at the lovely piece of jewelry you graciously gave me. I realized it was a real amethyst, and that it had to have been made by as true artiste such as yourself. Between that and knowing your profession, I was able to put two and two together. As for your cutie mark, why it would be quite easy to cover up those wrenches with a hammer and chisel with a little bit of dye, wouldn't it?" "I guess you got me,” Quickwrench said with a sheepish look on his face. “I knew I should have lost the repair pony bit once people started paying attention, but ponies just seem to love a rags-to-riches story and all that." "Forgive me for asking dear, but why would you ever want to leave all the fame and glory of being a Manehatten Artiste to become a simple repair pony? Or should I say, become a simple repair pony... again? Not that there is anything wrong with that of course, after all, there's so much in this world that needs fixing and... I'm gushing, aren't I?" Rarity inquired, looking both confused and exasperated at the thought of somepony leaving such a prestigious position in society. "Maybe just a little more'n that fancy spring Aloe an' Lotus have over at the spa, but ya oughta be fine once ya get it outta yer system." Applejack said with a smirk. "Well," Quickwrench started off, and continued after a small chuckle, "Rarity, you pretty much hit the nail on the head right there. I wanted to get away from all the fame and glory. That happened by accident. In between repair jobs, I'd do a little jem carving and sculpture work to pass the time. Not much of it sold, but it was entertaining. One day, this high class stallion came into my shop to get a candle holder fixed, and started going on about how 'cutting edge' and 'style defining' my stuff was. I told him it wasn't anything fancy, just something I did in between jobs. Next thing I know, he's got some gallery owner down there and that mare is buying up everything in my shop, and I'm doing more and more sculpture work and less and less fixing. After a while, I just got tired of dealing with it all and decided to pick up and leave." "But I got a letter from Princess Celestia telling me you were moving here," Twilight said. "Why did she let me know about you before you ever got here?" "When I was thinking about leaving, I talked to a friend of mine on the royal guard that was stationed in the city. I told him I wanted out of the spotlight and could stand to know a good place to go if I wanted to disappear for a while. After a couple of days, he told me to wind up in Ponyville, and the rest would take care of itself. I left Manehatten and drifted around for a while, just to make sure the high society ponies back there got tired of searching for me. Since you got a letter from the princess on the matter, I guess he had a bit more influence than I though. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to disappear." Author's Note Ok, at this point the story is going to split two ways. The part included in the following chapters will be the storyline that gradually occurred to me as I was pondering how to get where I was going with this fic; it will be a much larger world than I had originally intended. I'll be finishing up the fic along it's original storyline over here. The delightful picture of Scootaloo hugging Dash will be replaced with fic material as soon as it's written and this sentence disappears. Thanks for reading the story so far!
