Chapter 8 – A Place Our Own
The ponies were in awe as they moved through the city, large white and silver structures with glass windows, each a different size as they walked. Restaurants that served vegetarian dishes, museums that depicted a lot of history. Even shops that Rarity just had to look at so see what was in fashion in the new world. "This city is just divine." the white unicorn said as she walked past some of the larger windows, "I was afraid that all of the styles looked like Tusks'."
Instantly the larger Treeopon turned to her, "What's wrong with my look?" he asked.
"Oh, no offense dahling but it takes a certain kind of physique to pull of rainbow hair, and I'm afraid only Rainbow Dash and Pilit have the body structure for it. Your wardrobe is fine for your body structure but you're more of a burgundy hair to me." she explained.
"I get that, it's just a {snort} tradition for everyone on the team to have hair colored like the pilot's hair." he explained, "{snort} It's how we tell teams apart."
"I…guess tradition gets a hard pass?" Spike said, mostly looking to Rarity.
"I'll let it slide for now, but after the race, I'm going to teach everypony about coordination for hair colors." Rarity said as they moved from one of the nicest parts of the city to one that started to smell like old engine oil and grease.
"What is that smell?" Applejack asked.
"We're coming up to the designated garage for our team {snort}." he said and turned the corner. There were buildings that surrounded what looked like a mountain of scrap, wings from ships clearly poking out of the enormous pile behind the large garage looking buildings. You'll like this." Tusks said as he turned to the rest of them, "{snort} I got an entire team, maybe thirty workers to help with our racer. Some of the best {snort} in the business as well."
Pilit piped up as well, excitement streaming from her smile, "Yeah, this is going to be awesome!" she said, "We'll have the best, greasers, mechanics, mechanic assistants…we got everyone!"
And with a chuckle, Tusks pushed the large bey doors open, revealing what looked like an empty garage that they could have easily fit Twilight's castle inside of. "Uh…where is everypony?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Eh heh heh. Probably out in the scrap yard searching for parts." The Treeopon said and heard a gruff hard female tone come from his right.
"No one's coming Tusks." the voice said, and when she moved from the shadows, you could see her rainbow hair, atop a larger head than Pilit's and broad shoulders on an overall covered thick body. "They all left except us." she said as another, a small male emerged from the shadows. The male was lanky, thin but fit, and only one tusk emerged from his mouth. He too had rainbow hair, and his full body outfit was stained in many places with grease and oil.
"Writch, Twiggs?" Tusks asked as he looked to the only two left, "Where did everyone else go?"
"Gone," the female said, "Got better deals or found out your little friend has that flaw of hers. Twiggs and I are the only ones left, only because you're our friend Tusks."
Twiggs, the male, just grinned wildly as one of his eyes wandered around. "You mean her Eidetic Memory?" Twilight asked as she walked up next to the clearly upset Pilit.
"Yeah, the stealer of experience." Writch said almost angrily.
"But she has helped us out a lot with that memory of hers." Twiggs suddenly said and lowered his hand when Writch glared at him.
"Why blame her for this?" Blade suddenly asked.
"That's just the excuse they used." Writch said.
"Then they clearly weren't good enough." the angry pegasus said.
"What would you know about it?" she asked as she walked up to the grey pony.
"More than they would if they passed up an opportunity like this just because of some bias about a misunderstanding." he said as he refused to back down, he let their noses touch as he glared his anger into her eyes, "Are you the one who put that ship we came in on together?"
"Yeah, you gonna insult my work?" she asked, and he turned to Fluttershy, a knowing shine in his eyes.
"No, it's put together solid." he said, "But the hull is on backward, the body is Meltackian, the engine is probably made from spare parts that you slapped together from your scrapyard and the heat moss on the outside is made for desert heat, not reentry heat, it nearly dies completely from the difference each time, I doubt you even had any passion when putting her together."
The others looked a bit shocked at his bold approach, and Writch herself had eyes so wide open you could have mistaken them for golf balls. "Huh…" she said as she calmed down, "How'd you figure all that?"
"I recognized the hull from my time on the Genesis Ark, the engine sounded rough during take-off but steadied out during the trip, I doubt she's got much more in her at the rate she's tearing up her insides, and I've actually used the heat moss to survive on one of my missions, it disperses no more than 200 degrees Celsius. You get well above that during reentry." he told her.
"Wait, you were on the Genesis Ark?" she asked and turned to Tusks, "You never said you fought with a pony!" she said.
"He wasn't a pony when I met him {snort} the first time." Tusks told her sheepishly.
"You're a strange one, you weren't scared of me when I asked if you were gonna insult my work and you didn't hold back the criticism, told me exactly what you discovered. And you're right. I didn't have any passion when I built her." Writch said as she talked to the pegasus, "When Tusks said he'd be recruiting a flyer from your world I guess I just wanted our humiliation to be over, and the rainbow hair; no one's gonna stand for having that. But you…" she said as she looked to him with a bit of envy recognition, "…You still got that pride, don't you, the pride of a mechanic." Blade's only response was to nod, the look in his eyes as he reached to her side, and snatched one of her wrenches, before walking away. "Where do you think you're going with that?" she asked.
"I can't leave that ship in the condition she's in, I'm going to make her right." he said and stopped when Writch spoke again.
"Tusks, if you don't hire that pony, I'm not building your racer!" she said.
"Huh?" he asked.
"I ain't seen raw skill like that in anyone on our planet, he was able to tell that the engine I built for your transport ship was a pile of junk just by listening to it and he still wants to make it right. This is the best mechanic in the galaxy and you're just letting him leave the yard? HIRE HIM!" she nearly ordered him.
"OH, uh, Galaxy Blade." Tusks said almost automatically, "Would you help Writch build our racer?"
He smiled a bit, knowing the look of returning hope in the other mechanic's eyes, "It'd be a pleasure to work on such a machine." he said and turned to Writch, "I suggest we use the hull of the ship you slapped together, I have a few ideas for it."
"I got another one in the back." she said with a smile, "It's smaller, more suited to the size of a racer than the other one is."
"Ah," he said, "a personal-sized yes?" he asked.
"Bigger than personal, more…luxury." she admitted.
"Good, luxury is a better fit." he admitted, and then turned to the others, "How about them?" he asked.
"What about them?" Writch asked.
"We've got a coach, an assistant, two mechanics, and a pilot. I assume we're going to need more members of this team to make it functional, and I can't think of anypony I'd rather work with than my friends." he said.
"Well, if a pony like you is good enough for the team, what can your friends do to lighten the load?" Writch asked.
"I thought this was supposed to be {snort} my team." Tusks said with a few tears in his eyes.
"Then put it together." Writch said, her smile showed a bit of confidence and somehow got Tusks to stop crying. The confidence was contagious, and he turned to the other ponies.
"I need your help. I don't' have a full team, {snort} and we don't have a lot of time. I would be appreciated if you'd lend me your skills {snort}." he said and put his hands together as he pleaded.
"It would be our pleasure." Twilight said as the others got in line for assignments, "Rarity, you've got the best eyes for quality assurance, I don't want any broken or bad parts in our inventory."
"I'll make our part selection flawless." the white mare answered.
"Fluttershy, I want you on medical detail, if anypony gets hurt, you're our go-to pony." Twilight ordered gently.
"Right!" she answered confidently.
"Pinky Pie, you're on public relations." the alicorn said, "If anypony can find a deal, or maybe somepony to aid us on our team, it's you!"
"You got it Twilight!" the pink pony shouted with joy.
"What other positions do we have?" Twilight asked as she turned to Tusks.
"Well{snort}, we need another Scrounger, and a Gunner." he said as he thought.
"I'm sorry…gunner?" Breeze asked.
"Just stun shocks and shield disorienters. Nothing lethal or harmful." Tusks admitted, "It's a rule of the race."
"Breeze, your targeting skills are the best we've ever seen, you're Rainbow Dash's gunner." Twilight said as her smile turned near evil.
"I don't mind." he said, "Just as long as it's not lethal."
"And that leaves…" Applejack started to say.
"You're with me." Twiggs said his voice kind of slurred but somehow coherent.
"What does scroungin mean in this race?" she asked, hoping it meant the same as everywhere else.
"It means getting dirty to look for parts in the {snort} scrapyard." he said happily.
"Well, I don't mind gettin dirty. Sure, I'll help." the orange earth pony said.
"Spike and I will be on scheduling and organization, as well as research on the parts we find. I'll make sure our racer has the best parts we can offer it." Twilight said, and spike jumped up to her back, "We'll be in the museum if you need us." She and Pinkie Pie both exited the facility, running nearly at full speed out the door.
"Well, it's a start for a team at least." Tusks said mostly to himself, "{snort} Good thing the ponies all wanted to come in the first place."
