Unfortunately for Twilight's comfort, not only were there no new weapons available at the mobile vendor, its signal was too weak for actual communication with Aphelion given the interference in the area. At best, it was able to send out a confirmation beep that they'd actually found it, and receive one in return.
Thankfully, there weren't any further hostiles in the area, and the rail station they were looking for was directly ahead. The rail and platform, however, were both severely damaged, beyond any capacity for Twilight or Nefarious to repair. "No...we...we were so close..." Twilight whimpered as she sat down heavily.
"We...we could grind the rails?" Alister suggested uncertainly, desperate for something to give them hope.
Qwark, for his part, fell back dramatically to the ground. "This is it for me," he moaned to Nefarious, who bent over him. "The end of President Copernicus Leslie Qwark Sparkle Gyro. I can feel death's icy grip..."
Alister rolled his eyes. "That's probably a tear in your costume," he grumbled to himself.
"Nefarious," he began, looking into the Doctor's robotic eyes. "I'm sorry I pushed you around in high school. You were smart...and I was convinced I was the cool guy, deserving of being at the top of the social order. You...didn't deserve any of that..."
Nefarious glanced away. "I'm...sorry too," he offered finally. "You should know that even as I was wishing the Blaarg would tear you apart limb from limb so I could riverdance around your smoldering squishy carcass..." He paused as he realized just how hostile he was being. Reaching to the side, he picked a wrench up off the ground. "The truth is...most of my hate was because, as bad as you treated me, you at least paid attention...making you the closest thing I had to a friend. And...I suppose now you actually are." He placed the wrench in Qwark's hands.
Qwark gasped happily. "An Intergalactic Tool of Justice Award?" He clung to the wrench tightly, a beatific smile on his face.
"Umm..." the Plumber whispered to Twilight. "Should...I interrupt? I kinda need that wrench to fix the rail platform..."
"I've got a spare," Twilight replied, yanking an identical wrench out of her saddlebags and floating it over to him even as she squeed over Nefarious and Qwark finally making up.
The Plumber chuckled as he walked over to the rail platform as Alister stared at him. "Rule one of dealing with ponies," he told Alister with a chuckle. "Never interrupt emotional moments they're involved or invested in. It's just asking for a buck - or worse - somewhere unpleasant."
"Who are you?" Alister demanded angrily.
"You can call me The Plumber," the Plumber responded readily as he lifted the platform back onto the rail with his bare hand, using his other to forcefully straighten the damaged beam. "I...fix things."
"H-how did you do that?" Alister stammered out. "The tensile strength of that material is-"
"If you tell me, I can't do it," the Plumber replied readily as he popped open a hatch and started tinkering.
Alister started to respond, but decided to classify that under the same heading as Qwark's abilities. "Where did you come from, anyway?"
"The stairs," the Plumber replied, gesturing to a stairwell at the side of an iceberg that seemed to go nowhere.
Alister shook his head, deciding not to try to make sense of any of it anymore. "If you can do all this, why don't you save the day?"
"Not my job," the Plumber replied as he closed the panel. "I'm not a hero, just a repairman. I just fix things, provide unexpected exposition, and occasionally offer cryptic advice to deal with an upcoming threat, and possibly an item needed for a later event that won't otherwise be available. It's up to guys like you four to be the heroes."
As he spoke, Nefarious and Qwark finished their minor reconciliation as Qwark stood up. "So...are we cool?" he asked hopefully.
"Not really," Nefarious countered. "I'm still going to be trying to conquer you as a villain, and I haven't really wanted you dead since the Biolbliterator conflict. It's more like we just resolved our real motivations. So...more lukewarm than cool."
"I'll take that," Qwark agreed happily. He opened his arms wide. "Awkward nemesis hug?"
Nefarious stared at him in consternation. A worried glance towards Twilight showed how excited she was at the idea, and he rolled his eyes. "Awkward nemesis hug," he allowed, spreading his own arms.
The pair carefully wrapped their arms around each other, then patted each other on the back while saying, "Pat, pat."
Twilight squeed happily, rushing forward to hug both of them.
Once the hug broke, the Plumber cleared his throat. "Got the platform all fixed up!" he called out. "It was just a broken versa-fuse the head office heard about."
"I didn't know you could work with versa-fuses!" Twilight called out as the group climbed onto the platform.
"I normally stick to toilet related catastrophes," the Plumber replied easily, "but you know, filling in for a guy. That's just how it is."
Twilight chuckled at that. "Any chance you have any cryptic advice for us for handling...whatever's waiting for us at the other end?"
"Sorry, fresh out of that," the Plumber replied. "All I can do is guarantee that nothing's gonna get in the way of you taking this all the way to Uzo City...which is exactly where you need to go. Good luck."
"But what about the last hidden lab for the last RYNO part?" Twilight asked desperately as the platform began to move.
"It's in Uzo City!" the Plumber called back as they rode away.
"Well...that was fortuitous," Alister observed dryly.
PLUMBER-EX-MACHINA FOR THE WIN!
I have so much love for you. Juse as I was getting bored I get a notification that this was updated FIMFICTION HELL YEAH!!
Anyone else get the feeling this guy might be related to Discord?
7533866
I was thinking Pinkie myself.
7533879 Either one would explain a lot.
Maybe he works for one/both of them?
"I'm sorry I pushed you around in high school. "You were smart...and
1. Extra quotation mark.
love the Gravity falls reference
Gravity Falls reference won me over this day. *tears up*
First and greatest pwny ship
7533866 or pinkie
he's related to Discord and Pinkie and Screwball and that one other one that's going to surprise EVERYONE.....
7533866 No, take a closer look at what he says.
Sounds awfully similar to Quark's ability, doesn't it?
You do realize there needs do be a sincere nemesis hug now.
7533866 Considering in the new game he dropped the line, "See you in the next reboot."?
That Gravity Falls reference. Twilight was adorable!
7533882 It's hinted in earlier chapters that he's actually Pinkie's "Father"... though how that's possible I don't know nor particularly want to think about very hard...
Probably for the best that I don't...
7534957 Yeah, forgot that one until I reread the story. Though a relation to Discord would explain Pinkie...
Almighty Plumber/Janitor to the max. Plus, we got the feel good from Quark, Nefarious, and Twilight.
7534859 Seriously.
As of late he's been giving deadpool a run for his money on fourth wall shattering.
Yay, Gravity Falls reference!
I have to be honest: after brushing up on my Ratchet & Clank... well... THIS was what I was waiting for.
Huh...So a reference to the Wreck-it Ralph/NMM crossover? Nice...
Well that is a little wrongly written but here's the rightly done.
Biobliterator
Had to check myself to be sure i wrote it right. Hope i was at least some help
7543014 ditto
Yay~ Gravity Falls reference.
Here's a good place to put that Ratchet and Qwark moment you skipped in the "crack in time" arc. You know, where Ratchet, disguised as a short Nefarious, blows up his fleet in the space station; then Qwark, still in his nurse disguise, holds Ratchet and says "I feel very close to you right now."
That would make the awkward nemesis hug more interesting.
Hmm Gimli
As he spoke, Nefarious and Qwark finished their minor reconciliation as Qwark stood up. "So...are we cool?" he asked hopefully.
"Not really," Nefarious countered. "I'm still going to be trying to conquer you as a villain, and I haven'treallywanted you dead since the Biolbliterator conflict. It's more like we just resolved our real motivations. So...more lukewarm than cool."
"I'll take that," Qwark agreed happily. He opened his arms wide. "Awkward nemesis hug?"
Nefarious stared at him in consternation. A worried glance towards Twilight showed how excited she was at the idea, and he rolled his eyes. "Awkward nemesis hug," he allowed, spreading his own arms.
The pair carefully wrapped their arms around each other, then patted each other on the back while saying, "Pat, pat."
Gravity Falls "Awkward Sibling Hug" Reference For The Win!
I kind of just realized qwark and nefarious relationship is kind of like megamind and ultra man in a way