Torque Wrench shivered as the doors on the train slid open and deposited her into the fierce cold of the north. She was aware that her destination was supposed to be an icy place at the best of times, but boy was it cold here. She shivered again, her coat not offering much protection against the freezing weather, and trotted out of the train door and onto the platform, before heading for the baggage car at the back of the train.
A lot had happened for Torque Wrench in the time since Twilight and her friends had brought the colour back to Hope Hollow. Not only was the town receiving increased tourism, ponies were coming to see them with all sorts of business ventures and offers. Whilst previously content with all her life had to offer (and because the sight of a monochrome pony would probably scare people), Torque Wrench had had a handful of ideas of how to get a hoof up in the world of Equestria.
To this end, she had set up a business, that specialised in doing complex mechanical repairs to virtually anything. As an engineer, she was very good at fixing things, and based on the business she and her colleagues had already received, it appeared as if there was high demand for repair ponies. Even if she did have to repeat herself a few times to make herself understood, as ponies often struggled with her accent.
This job, however, was the most special one yet. When this one had come in, Torque Wrench had nearly fallen off her chair in surprise. The letter had come direct from the Crystal Empire itself. Apparently, the Empire had some sort of problem with the irrigation system in the gardens, and they wanted her to fix it. Keen to help, she had packed her equipment and headed north out of Hope Hollow by train. It also paid well, so there was that as well!
Shaking her thoughts to one side, she trotted over to the baggage car and stood patiently whilst the guard handed out large quantities of bags, luggage, other items, and things that ponies seemingly needed to take with them. After working his way through practically every other pile of coats and extreneaous parathenalia, the guard finally handed Torque Wrench her bag of tools. "Your luggage, ma'am."
Torque Wrench's annoyance faded for a moment at how polite the guard was. It wasn't everyday that people called her 'ma'am'. "Thank you," she said, and slung her bag over her shoulder, before setting off into the cold, confusing depths of the Crystal Empire.
She looked left and right at the street signs to try and recall the instructions she had been given, but the streets were not logically laid out. However, she did know that from an aerial photo she'd been given, all streets led to the centre of the Empire, so she decided to head to the castle in the centre, in order to get her bearings.
Unfortunately, her map proved to be less help than she had hoped for. The map was rather old, and it seemed a bit out of date at that as the streets didn't match up with what on the map. She sighed in frustration. "Where am I?" she asked. "And why is nothin' set out properly?" Navigating Hope Hollow was far easier than a city, it would seem. And it didn't set a good impression if you got lost on your first job in a new place. That would never please the locals. Torque Wrench felt a complete fool as she stood there.
Just then, a voice snapped her out of her internal monologue. "Excuse me, are you lost?"
Torque Wrench turned to whomever had spoken. "No, I'm just star-"
The words died in her throat when she saw who was standing there. Standing there was an elderly purple mare with a curved horn and a greying mane that seemed to be floating in active defiance of gravity. However, the mare's age had seemingly not affected her personality, and she stood there, patient, and smiling, waiting patiently for a reply.
Torque Wrench blinked. "Sorry. It's just that I'm rather lost, and could do with some help finding where I need to go. I've been hired to help with a problem, see, and need to get to the gardens."
The older mare nodded. "Plumbing issues, apparently."
Torque Wrench nodded. "The letter came from somepony called Mistmane. Any idea where I could find her?"
The older mare smiled. "You're closer to finding her than you think."
It took a few seconds for it to click in her head, but Torque Wrench got the meaning behind her words. "You're Mistmane, then?"
Mistmane nodded. "Indeed. Now then, I see your map is rather out of date, as the city has undergone some internal revision and reconstruction since that was published. I imagine Sunburst will be quite eager to see this map, though, as he doesn't have any dating from the era that is from."
"I take it he collects maps?" Torque Wrench asked.
"Indeed he does," Mistmane replied. "I never saw the appeal myself, but he is currently planning a museum of old artefacts from the pre Sombrite era, and although that wouldn't go into that collection, I imagine he would find a place for it somewhere." Her face then turned serious. "But that is quite enough here. Whilst this may be a good portion of the distance in the right direction, the gardens are still a little way from here, and it would be good if we could work during light conditions. I shall lead you to our destination."
The weather had warmed up noticably in the time she had been travelling, and Torque Wrench could finally set aside her coat, stuffing it into a travel bag as she did so. She fiddled slightly with her overalls and then stepped forward, setting off into the sun with Mistmane alongside her, ready to get to work.
The stroll they took through the streets of the Crystal Empire couldn't have been more different in temprament to Torque Wrench's initial arrival in the city. The weather had warmed up considerably since then, and the sun shone superbly down upon all that it saw. In fact, it was becoming so bright that some ponies had even pulled shades on to protect their eyes from the sun.
Torque Wrench was mostly engaged in her own thoughts about many things, such as her past and livelihood, when she was suddenly startled by Mistmane speaking. "So, tell me, miss..."
"Torque Wrench, ma'am."
Mistmane chucked. "There's no need to be so formal. I never was one for flashy titles anyway. I noticed that when I hired you it stated you are originally from Hope Hollow. You wouldn't mind telling me a bit about yourself?"
Torque Wrench nodded. "Oh! Sure. I was born in Hope Hollow and have lived there for most of my life. My father was a welder, and he wanted his foals to take up the work. Or rather foal, in this case, as I was an only foal. Things were fairly normal for a town handymare until the strange incident with the colour happened."
"I recall Twilight writing me a letter about that," Mistmane mused. "She said that everything in Hope Hollow was monochrome due to an unfortunate incident."
"A mixture of faulty machinery and a lack of friendship," Torque Wrench noted. "Still, thanks to Twilight and her friends we got our colour back, and I decided to set up my business. And here we are now." She paused, at the ends of her long sentences and short sentences. "May I ask your backstory, if you don't mind me asking?"
Mistmane laughed. "Oh, you don't want to know about mine. It's not that interesting. Just a mare from the far east who-"
Suddenly, an orange stallion appeared, with a book and quill levitated in his magic. With him was a cream coloured mare with a blue mane. "Can I check something with you quickly?" he asked Mistmane.
"You may, but please be aware that my friend and I have some plumbing to fix," Mistmane informed the stallion.
"According to Stygian's book, you and the other Pillars fought 30 different beasts, but the catologue in the library records 50. Which is correct?"
"Neither. It was actually 33."
"Thanks!" The orange stallion and his friend sped away. "You OK, Miss Pommel?"
The mare snorted. "There's not need to be so formal!"
Torque Wrench was stunned at what she just heard. "You used to fight monsters?" she asked.
"Myself and a group of friends did, yes," Mistmane said, as they resumed their journey. "We protected the needy and those who could not protect themselves. Alas, it was all a long time ago now. The world of that time is long gone, there are few monsters, and I hear that the new government they're bringing in in Canterlot will finally bring a lasting peace."
Torque Wrench hadn't been keeping eye on leadership changes and politics, so she had to take Mistmane at her word. But still, she had no reason to doubt or query that. There was something about Mistmane's temprament and mood that put her at ease, and her mind was soon focused on other concerns that might face them along the way.
She was busy thinking about the job, and what tools and equipment she might need in order to do it, that she was slightly startled when she heard Mistmane speak again, again addressing her directly. "What is it like to live in Hope Hollow?"
It took Torque Wrench a moment to reply. "Oh! It's a nice, really small town. We live in the middle of a forest, we bein' the townsfolk an' all, but it's not too bad a life. True, we are miles from the nearest large city, but with the forests and decent trade links, we're able to get most of the stuff we need fairly easily."
"I must visit Hope Hollow someday," Mistmane mused to herself. As they went along, she posed another question. "Yes, I must. Tell me, are there any places to stay in Hope Hollow or nearby?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact," Torque Wrench replied. "We have one hotel, run by the renaissance mare herself, Petunia Skies. She's the town's librarian, head of tourist information, hotel manager, historian, chef, and a painter for some reason."
"She sounds like quite the extraordinary individual," Mistmane smiled. "She rather reminds me of Starswirl. Speaking of which, I haven't spoken with him in a while. I must find out how he's getting on. Starswirl," she explained, "is a fellow Pillar of mine. It seemed back in the day there was nothing he couldn't do. Except fly. Unicorns can't do that, not yet at least, although I imagine Princess Twilight will find a way to make that happen."
Torque Wrench nodded. "So, where was I? Oh, yes, I remember. There's also two local aristocrats, the Hoofingtons, who run a pie business. I run a repair shop, there's Moody Root the local handystallion, and there's three who deserve special mention."
"It sounds as though everypony in your town is positively delightful," Mistmane smiled, as she looked at a road sign. "Ah! Next road on the left and we'll soon be there." So they turned left.
"There are the Barrel Twins, for one," Torque Wrench continued. "They often cause chaos around town. They're enthusiastic flyers, but not very strong at the moment and prone to crashing into stuff. Mayor Sunny Skies is probably the guy you want to speak to first for much of town history, though."
"You mentioned a Skies earlier," Mistmane noted. "Are they, perchance, related?"
"Yes, actually," Torque Wrench smiled. "They got married recently. It was really sweet. But enough about them. What are the problems you needed me to look at?"
"Well, it's funny you should ask that now, as we've just arrived." Mistmane indicated to a big sign that read 'CRYSTAL GARDENS'.
The convenience of the journey which they had just taken was made clear upon Torque Wrench when they had arrived, as the conversation had been precisely long enough to get them from here to their destination. But at long last they had arrived. The gardens were vast and beautiful. The plants seemed to glow and shimmer in the light as the sun beamed down from on high, and the skies themselves were blue and warm, no trace of the cold air of earlier being detectable upon the wind. Mistmane smiled, once more, and led Torque Wrench to the source of the bother.
"The main technical room is where we've been having the bother," Mistmane said, as they went into the room. The room in question was full of pipes, controls, and technical gauges, all of which served strange and myriad purposes. Some of them hissed, and others hummed, but the room was oddly quiet given the function of the room. "Only a few days ago the irrigation system stopped working, and now the plants are being watered manually. When we have this system up and running again, we'll be able to water them more efficiently."
Torque Wrench pulled her goggles on to protect her eyes, and pulled a welding mask on on top of that, taking a wrench and a spanner with her along the way. Sliding under the main set of machines, she looked around inside the pipework and along it. Her senses were looking carefully for many things that could denote the problem, but at last, after a few minutes of searching, she thought she had located the issue. Not far from where she was, the bolts on the piping didn't quite look to be in the right place. Something seemed off about it, so she shuffled over and brought her spanner up.
"One moment, let me adjust this," she said, the spanner quickly locking into the bolt. The bolt soon began to move, and as it did move the valve began to adjust. As this happened, water began to shift through the blocked pipes. The pipes finally began to rumble properly, and within a few short moments the problem seemed to be over. The panels lit up and began beeping normally, and Mistmane seemed to be pleased.
"It says that the water flow was back to normal," she said. "What was the problem?"
"An engineer had left a valve shut by mistake, which prevented the water from flowing through correctly. It was a simple fix, but it's good that it's working properly." Torque Wrench slid back out from underneath the pipe work and smiled. "Glad to be of service."
Mistmane nodded. "Thank you, Torque Wrench. The gardens will be back to normal in no time, I imagine, and I have you to thank for it. Will you be staying for much longer?"
"The train home doesn't leave until this evening, so I haven't got much of a choice," Torque Wrench replied.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and soon it was time for Torque Wrench to be heading home. She and Mistmane had spent a pleasant afternoon and evening simply exploring the gardens and the city. Whilst she wasn't a horticulturalist, and most of the discussion of plantlife and growing of plants had been completely lost on her, Torque Wrench had come to admire Mistmane's dedication to her task, ensuring that all was growing and blooming properly. Her further concerns over Mistmane's health had thankfully been alleviated when she had heard the story of how she had saved her village from an evil empress. She had only sacrificed her looks, after all, not her health, or indeed age for that matter.
As they trotted back towards the station, Mistmane spoke up once more. "Torque Wrench, I want to thank you once again for your work today. I don't know what we would do if you hadn't fixed those pipes. We'd probably still be washing the flowers with brushes and mops to keep them moisturised!"
"Just doing my job," Torque Wrench said in return, through secretly she felt a surge of pride. It felt good to have done good. "I imagine anypony would have done the same in the circumstances."
"I hope to visit Hope Hollow myself," Mistmane said once more, as they reached the entrance to the station. "Maybe I can return the favour some day and help you with a problem of your own."
Torque Wrench thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Alright. I'll take you up on your offer someday."
The station loudspeaker cranked into life, saying something unintelligible.
"The train to Hope Hollow is just arriving now," said the station master. "Please be ready to board when it arrives."
Torque Wrench trotted onto the platform and put her bags down next to her, looking up into the sunlight as the sun shone down gently upon the landscape.
Mistmane, to her surprise, joined her. "Have fun back in Hope Hollow. I will be sure to recommend your services to my friends," she said. "Where there are friends who help one another out, friendship and all that is good in this world will always endure."
Torque Wrench processed these words for a moment, and then smiled herself. "Thanks," she said, as the train rolled to a stop and the doors slid open. She dragged her bag onboard and put it in the luggage rack, then took a seat next to the window so she could start her long journey home to Hope Hollow.
The guard blew his whistle. The doors slammed shut, and the brakes were released.
"STAND BACK FROM THE PLATFORM EDGE! THE TRAIN IS NOW DEPARTING!"
The guard called up the train. "RIGHT AWAY!"
The train dug into the rails and pulled away, roaring into the distance, smoke and steam pouring from its funnel as it stormed down the line.
Mistmane stayed until the train was out of sight, and then headed for home. She would never forget the young mare from a small town, and would always cherish her friendship.
Author's Note
This is my first ever entry into the May Pairings Contest. I got the idea for this story whilst looking around the site for stories relating to Torque Wrench. Not only are there not that many, a remarkable number of them were shipfics where she was paired off with Kerfuffle. This is what gave me the idea to try a story where she interacts with Mistmane, a character whom we never saw much of. The fact that the Hope Hollow ponies are never seen outside of Hope Hollow in the show is a goldmine for story writing.
These stories are referenced during this one;
EStuck in Canterlot
When the train to Ponyville breaks down, Sunburst and Coco are stuck in Canterlot, but they find a way to make the most of it.
SilverStar7 ·
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[Unpublished stories cannot be embedded]
Interestingly, the first of those two was also written for a May Pairing event.
I am also proud to confirm this story has no distracting technobabble or trains, which is probably a first for me.
