//------------------------------// // Making Impressions (Part 1) // Story: Mane-Six // by Black_Bones //------------------------------// Disclaimers: You know who owns what so get off my ass, only the plot is mine... sweet sweet plot. Well, here you go. -0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o Mane-Six Chapter Two: Making impressions Part one -0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o With a sigh of exasperation, Twilight made her way around the area, looking around from time to time, trying to spot anypony. It was surprising how empty the place was especially for a military complex, no matter how oddly placed it was. After a while she came across a very large building and judging by the smell and large amount of vehicle parts in view, she assumed it was the vehicle depot. Deciding to go in the Librarian made her way through the open garage door and into the depot. There were only a few visible vehicles in the garage and while there might have been a few more hidden under tarps and behind crates, there didn't seem to be enough vehicles to fit in such a large garage. She spotted a flash of orange, yellow, and blue out of the corner of her eye and she turned her head to investigate. Her eyes settled on an orange coated earth pony, another mare, with a blonde mane. She was sporting a blue and slightly grease stained jumpsuit and brown leather gloves. She was just about to call out when the mare started charging at one of the tarp covered vehicles. Just before she would have plowed right into the vehicle the mare shouted a “Yee Ha!” before spinning around and bucking a steel plate into position. Twilight blinked as the mare trotted of towards a table covered in tools without showing any signs of discomfort or injury. Was that normal? She wasn't sure, but decided to put that question aside as she went to introduce herself. “Good afternoon,” Twilight called out. The mare turned towards her with a surprised and confused expression on her face. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The blond mare reached over and took her hand. “Mhm, Howdy doo.” She said giving Twilight a firm shake. “I'm Jack. What can I do ya for?” “I've been sent here from Canterlot,” Twilight muttered looking at her suddenly grease covered hand. With frown she charged up a spell to vanish the grease. Jack eyes narrowed ever so slightly hearing that. 'She don't look like a soldier...' With the grease now gone Twilight looked up with a small smile. “I thought I would introduce myself since I've been looking for somepony to talk about why I'm here.” “Oh,”Jack replied with a frown. “Then ya might be looking to speak with Rarity. She's in the Com building just next door. She's the one you'd want to talk with bout that.” “Thank you, I'll be sure to speak with her next.” She said gratefully. “Well, since I'm likely going to be here for a while I thought I'd uhh... try to know the ponies I will be working with.” Jack turned back towards the tools on the table. 'Workin with, is that what she calls it? She's gotta be a shrink, cause there ain't no other reason some upper class Canterlot mare would be down here with the common grunts.' “Well,” Jack replied as she picked up a welders hat and placed it on her head. “I'm the Chief Mechanic n' Vehicle Specialist, I can pretty much drive anythin, and I do weapon maintenance but that's more Rarity's thing. I also serve as an assault trooper n sharp shooter when the need arises.” “That's pretty amazing” Twilight said slightly impressed. “How do you do it all? Don't you ever get tired?” Applejack shrugged as she leaned against the vehicle. “A bit now and then, but when ya work all yur life like I have you learn to push through the pain and strain.” Twilight nodded in agreement as the memories of pulling all nighters one after another popped into her head. A previous though wormed her way into her head and she asked. “If you don't mind me asking where are all the other vehicles? There seem to be so few for such a large building.” Apple jack frowned and look around. There were only five vehicles in the entire depot. An APC, with a mounted swiveling gun, three scout bikes with side cars and a small troop carrier like the one she arrived in. “This is all there is” Jack said bitterly. “I was expecting there to be a bit more actually.” Twilight said looking around. “Oh there was believe me...” The Mechanic said her tone suddenly somber. With a sweeping gesture at the at the empty stations she spoke. “We had Six A.P.Cs, four heavy armored and two light. Eight scout bikes, four modified troop trucks, a heavy armored truck, and even a small mobile artillery platform.” “Pinkie was mighty pissed when they blew that up.” A faint smile crossed her lips. “Anyway this is all we got now.” “What about that?” Twilight said pointing a finger at the vehicle Jack was leaning against. “Huh, oh this? This is uhh... well tanks are really rare for normal infantry like us, normally you'll only find them in the hands of vehicle specialized companies like Hammer, or Shield Company.” Jack said nervously. “But a logistical error sent this bad boy here. It's been out of commission for three months though, lucky shot too the undercarriage near the end of the tracks.” 'Woulda made a hell of a difference...' Jack thought sorrowfully. “Anyway,” Jack said as she put the welders shield over her face and picked up a welding tool. “I got work to do, so why don't you go and meet the others.” “O-oh” Twilight said realizing she was interrupting her work. “Well, I'm sorry to have kept you. I'll be on my way. It was umm nice meeting you, I'll see you later I guess.” Jack waved her off with her hand before flipping on the generator to run her Arc Welder. As she began to weld the metal plates together she frowned beneath her mask. 'I guess this means we'll be havin to deal with her for awhile...' -0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o “Ok Twilight,” The Librarian muttered to herself as she made her way to the next building. “That wasn't so bad...” As she made her way inside the next building. Suddenly out of nowhere the blue and white blur from earlier suddenly rushed by sending another wave of dust into the air. Twilight started coughing and wave her hand trying to beat the dust away. The sound of laughter came unexpectedly and through squinted eyes spotted a cyan coated Pegasus in front of her. “Haaa ha ha! Woah look at your hair its just woosh!” The cyan pony replied with a tomboyish voice. She was dressed in the same exact clothes as the pink mare she met earlier with the exception that her vest was designed to fit a Pegasus instead of an earth pony or unicorn. The mares laughter seemed to cause her wind blown white mane to fall back into its proper place. Twilight frowning ran her fingers through her mane to find it windswept to the side and with a grumble tried to tame it. “Your hair isn't much better... uh...” “Lightningflash,” The mare replied before boasting. “Fastest Flier in the Imperial Army!” Twilight looked at the mare and frowned. “You can fly?” The mare was the size of a standard earth pony mare and while her wings were proportionate to her body size there was no way she should be able to fly. Lightningflash flinched as if struck. “W-what!? Of course I can fly!” Twilight frowned and shook her head. “I take it from your unusual size one of your parents was an earth pony correct?” The mare nod slightly looking mildly confused. “Yeah, my mom and both my Gramps.” Walking a step closer Twilight grabbed Lightningflash's right arm and lifted it up slowly. “Judging by the weight your muscles and your bone structure takes after the earth pony genes meaning your over all mass is that of and earth pony. It's probably why your in the Army and not the Air Corps. Scientifically speaking, you can't fly.” “Oh yeah, egghead?” Lightningflash said angrily, her feathers rustling. “I bet I can fly around the whole camp perimeter and back in ten seconds flat!” Twilight smirked “Fine go a-” She didn't even get to finish her sentence as Lightningflash crouched slightly before taking off in a blue and white blur. The Librarian could only watch as she zipped around the entire camp before landing with a skid right infront of her. “HA!” The tomboyish mare shouted in victory. “What did I tell ya!” “B-but that goes against all of my research...” Twlight muttered dumbstruck. “M-my project... you've just invalidated months of study...” Lightningflash seeing the crushed expression on her face lost her smirk. “Hey, umm sorry about ruining your egghead stuff. I mean, I am pretty amazing, they said I'd barely be able to hover let alone fly back in the academy.” “Do you know what this means?” Twilight muttered softly. “... It means I've got more research to do!” She cried happily. “Uhh, what now?” Lightningflash question surprised at the sudden emotional u-turn. “You've invalidated my research! Meaning there are no definite rules to pony genetics and the effects of increased breeding with earth ponies. It opens up a whole new avenue of stufy!” “O... kay, well glad I could help you with that Professor Egghead,” Lightningflash said looking even more confused. “Anyway I need to make a boarder sweep of the forest line... So I'll catch you later then... uhh?” “Oh,” Twilight exclaimed in slight embarrassment. “Twilight. Twilight Sparkle, I'm from Canterlot and I'll be working with you for a while.” “Oh cool, I guess.” Dash said as she crouched slightly. “Well I gotta go, later Egghead!” And with that she took off flying into the sky. -0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o The Cyan mare frowned as she flew away. “A Canterlot Egghead...” She muttered as she flew by the trees. “Black probably had her sent hear to see if we all need to be sent to the funny farm.” “I wonder what the others will have to say about her...” -0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o It was a smaller building with a tent in front of the entrance. When she neared the sound of muttering could be heard from within the tent. Looking inside she spotted another mare this one a unicorn with a white coat and purple mane in short stylish curls. She was dressed in what was beginning to look like the standard uniform of the company. She was dressed almost exactly like the pink mare from earlier, except that instead of a mesh under shirt, she was wearing a long sleeved white blouse and a brown vest. She was currently pacing about picking up different colored cables before shaking her head and muttering. She then turned to an older looking radio and magically disassembled it almost instantly taking care to keep all the parts floating about. Quickly and expertly she began to remove bits and pieces from within before reassembling the old radio and taking the parts with her towards another opened radio. Quickly and precisely the mare started to insert the gathered parts and cables before closing the radio console and flipping the power switch. Suddenly radio static blared to life and the mare smiled in delight. “Finally, I was beginning to think I would never get this thing up and running again!” Twilight was rather surprised to see such a skilled unicorn in the Army core, from the skill's she'd just shown, she could have been a Librarian like herself or at least a high ranking Soldier in the Magic Battalions. “Umm hello?” She called out. The mare spun around in surprise and smiled sheepishly. “Oh hello, I'm sorry If you had been waiting for long, I get so caught up in my work sometimes that the day just seems to fly by.” “Believe me I know the feeling,” Twilight said with a knowing grin. “Um I was told to come here, I suppose that means your Rarity?” “Yes I am actually, and you are?” She asked taking in her Twilight's Appearance. “I'm Twilight Sparkle, I'm from Canterlot and-” “Your from the Magical Archives!” Rarity gushed as she rushed forward. “Oh look at your robes! They are so tasteful even despite the fact that they are mostly a dull, dull orange.” “Oh yes I am,” Twilight said with a slight blush. “I'm actually surprised that your not at the Archives yourself or in the Magical Forces at least. I mean the level of control you just used was amazing!” “Oh thank you darling,” Rarity said smiling at the compliment. “As for why I'm not... I'm slightly embarrassed to say this but I was a late bloomer magically.” She admitted. “I couldn't use my magic very well when the scouts came searching for gifted foals, and when it came time to enlist I wasn't magically strong enough to join the Magical Forces for training. So when my power level finally stabilized I was already in the Army and that they say is that.” “I see, that's a shame, your very good.” Twilight said sympathetically. It wasn't the first time a late bloomer had been passed up and most certainly wouldn't be the last. “Thanks again dear, now enough about me.” She said straightening up. “I take it that since you are from the Archive that you're here to finally appropriate the books from the old library? I was beginning to wonder if anyone would, some of the books in there are really old and rare.” “Oh um no actually...” Twilight said her eyes gleaming. “I actually wasn't aware there was a library here, where is it?” “Oh,” Rarity said surprised. “Um, did you happen to see the tree that when you came in?” Seeing Twilight's nod she continued. “Its actually inside the tree. I've never seen a building quite like it anywhere else and it's still in good condition even if no one has been inside to dust in ages...” “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I thought I was going to go crazy without something to read.” “It's my pleasure,” Rarity said with a confused expression. “but if you're not here for the books, what are you here for?” “Oh, that's right.” Twilight said reaching into her satchel and pulling out a folder and a few papers. “I'll actually be joining you here for the time being.” “W-what?” The white unicorn took the papers and scanned them over her eyes widening ever so slightly. “Y-you're being stationed here?” “Yes,” Twilight muttered slightly annoyed. “The Empress thought it would do me some good to leave the archive and make som- “THE EMPRESS!?” Rarity cried shaking slightly. Twilight flinched at her sudden increase in volume and nodded slightly. “...C-could you umm leave me be for a while?” Rarity said as she stumbbled towards the radio. “There are a few calls I need to make and they will take up a lot of time.” “O-oh no problem,” Twilight said as she backed away towards the tents door flap. “I guess I'll go see everypony else then. It was nice to meet you Rarity!” “T-the same dear.” As Twilight walked away Rarity scrambled to grab her headset and started looking for an open connection. After a moment she heard a familiar voice reply. “Hi there Rarity, I wasn't expecting any transmissions from you for a while. How can I help you?” “Patch me through to the Mane Company Office!” -0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o-0-O-o