Chapter 6
Open!
Bon Bon had to suppress a laugh at her friend's unabashed enthusiasm. At Bon Bon's urging, Lyra had immediately dashed out the front door with a grin on her face and the banner in tow. She had come back inside just as quickly to retrieve the hammer and nails she forgot to take with her on her first trip out the door, but eventually she did manage to hang the banner and officially open up shop.
What she lacks in sense, she makes up for with spirit, Bon Bon thought with a smile.
In a way, the mint unicorn reminded her of Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's resident party animal. Like Pinkie, Lyra often did things that were a bit mind boggling and, like Pinkie, one couldn't help but overlook her silliness for the simple fact that she was just so likeable. Both ponies rarely seemed to let bad news get the better of them, and would instead either look on the bright side of things, or create a bright side in the absence of one.
Actually, given both ponies's penchant for the strange, it shouldn't have come as any surprise to Bon Bon to see Pinkie Pie bouncing behind Lyra when she came back inside the shop. She couldn't help but think that perhaps Pinkie was like one of the ghosts you might hear about in those stories that young adult ponies like to tell scared young fillies and colts. The kind of ghost who would suddenly appear behind you if you spoke its name three times in a dimly lit room.
Pinkie stopped bouncing just inside the front door and took a quick look around. Her eyes fell upon a random piece of junk and she quickly moved in close to inspect it.
"Ooooh, you have one of those!" she exclaimed before zipping towards another display. "Ooh ooh ooh, a thing-a-ma-bob! And what's this?" Pinkie stopped in front of an old rusted spring. "A doohickey!" she breathed in awe. "How much for the doohickey?"
Bon Bon was about to speak, but she was interrupted by an almost-desperate shout.
"Wait!" Lyra pleaded. Her eyes were wide and panicked as she looked between Bon Bon and Pinkie, who stopped squeezing the spring between her hooves and looked up quizzically. Lyra walked over to Pinkie and looked her in the eyes. "I haven't properly greeted you yet," she revealed.
Bon Bon shook her head in embarrassment, but Pinkie just giggled and nodded. "Alrighty, be right back!" Before anypony could question her, she zoomed out the door and, a moment later, walked back inside and grinned at Lyra expectantly.
"Um," Lyra stumbled. "Oh, right. Welcome to Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium. How can I help you today?" She stole a quick glance towards Bon Bon as if to ask if she had done it properly, then looked back at Pinkie with a smile.
Pinkie bounced back over to the spring and picked it up in both her front hooves, holding it before her as if it were some grand artifact of times long forgotten.
"I wish to purchase this amazing specimen of a doohickey," she announced. "How much?" She placed the spring back on the display and began to hum quietly.
Lyra turned to Bon Bon and raised an eyebrow. "Um, how much should I charge for it?" she whispered.
Bon Bon trotted over to her and leaned in close so that Pinkie couldn't hear. "Well, most shops have a sort of median price for items," she whispered in return. "A base price, if you will. The shop owner then knows to buy that item at any price below the base price, and to sell it for any reasonable amount above it. That's how you make a profit, but we got this stuff from the trash, so there is no base price! It's all profit, so just name a price you think is reasonable and go from there."
Pure profit! Lyra thought. She couldn't help but to hop gently in place. "How about five bits?" she asked nervously.
"Five bits? Are you crazy!?" Pinkie exclaimed. Her wide eyes shifted back and forth between Lyra and Bon Bon. The two friends glanced nervously at one another, then hung their heads in shame.
"I'm sorry," Lyra mumbled, kicking a hoof at the floor. "I guess I shouldn't be charging that much..."
Pinkie frowned. "I'll say." She then picked the spring up in her mouth and tossed it onto the checkout counter. "But there's no way I'm letting you take it back." She shook her head and crossed her forehooves. "Nuh uh, no way! You might be crazy for selling a premium doohickey like this for so cheap, but I'm the one who would be crazy if I let you mark the price up after offering it for only five bits! I mean duh! Who doesn't love a bargain?"
Insanity is a funny thing, really. It can sneak up on what would otherwise be completely normal ponies and cause them to do some pretty weird things. The kinds of things that might cause a bystander to quickly look the other way as if they hadn't witnessed what had just occurred.
Then there were the ponies like Pinkie. Well, nopony else was quite like Pinkie, but there were a few who shared some common traits with her. These were the sort of ponies who had not only been struck with insanity, but had apologized to it for being in its way and then embraced it as if it were a new friend. In Pinkie's case, it probably was.
Bon Bon, who was an honest sort, addressed her pink friend. "Look, Pinkie, we can't charge you five bits for that. It's just an old rusty spring."
Pinkie's eyes narrowed. "Oh no you don't!" She took the spring into both forehooves and held it close to her chest. "You're not gonna fool me. No way, no how! This here is not only a doohickey, it's an S-model doohickey from a modified whatchamacallit! I know it, you know it, and I'm not taking no for an answer." With that said, Pinkie placed the old spring back onto the checkout counter and produced a coin purse from out of nowhere and began digging bits out.
"Look," she continued. "The highest I'll go for it is ten bits, and that's only because you're my friends and should have just named a ginormous price in the first place." She tossed the coins onto the counter. "Do we have a deal?"
Lyra looked at Bon Bon, whose jaw had dropped, then back to Pinkie. She shrugged. "I guess?"
Pinkie jumped over the counter and scooped both Lyra and Bon Bon up in a warm hug. "Wheee! Thanks girls! I've been looking all over for one of these things!" She set them down and picked up the spring. "Keep up the hard work, you two. I might come back later to see if you have any new stock. Bye bye!" With that said, she disappeared out the front door in a blur.
Two minutes is not a very long time, but it can feel that way when the shop you're standing in is completely and utterly silent for the duration of said minutes. When she finally recovered, Lyra turned to Bon Bon and beamed.
"I sold something!" she shrieked. She caught Bon Bon off guard with a hug. "I sold something, I sold something, I sold something..."
A fair distance away from Lyra's shop, Pinkie pranced through the lanes of Ponyville, her newly-acquired spring in her mouth. She was humming a cheerful tune around it, and occasionally stopped to wave at a friend or three. After many greetings and distractions along the way, she finally arrived at the trash heap on the outskirts of town.
Upon hurling the old spring into the trash heap, Pinkie thought back to the cheer and jubilation she had witnessed as she had secretly peered through the window of Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium. Lyra had looked absolutely ecstatic over her sale.
Totally worth it, she thought to herself as she cheerfully made her way back home.
Might need to sell a bit more than that to pay off your debt Lyra. Still, baby steps.
Pinkie is best friend.
D'aww! This chapter was hilarious to begin with and then it just got insanely sweet.
Words cannot describe how much I love this story.
Yay more Lyra!
Right Lyra, now take that 10 bits to the market and buy some apples to sell.
Just don't *buy some apples* with Bonbon. She's worried enough that ponies might talk.
Another funtastic chapter. You're making it harder to keep from picking up Recettear on Steam.
Also, Pinkie cunning is win.
The cynical b!tch in me immediately thought of this.
On the other hand, I really like the light hearted silliness of this story. Here's hoping Lyria can make enough to pay off all her debits!
Everybody deserves a friend like Pinkie Pie.
Man, Recettear would have been so much easier if there were customers like Pinkie in it.
And that was also one of my favorite Pinkie scenes ever.
Yep. Totally glad I faved this.
Keep it up.
Loving the concept and the story so far!
Also, nailed Pinkie to a T - her special talent to make ponies smile. It's one of the things that I love about that silly filly.
This chapter made me smile so much!
To quote RD: "I love this story!"
I kept hearing Claptrap read the chapter title.
Anyhow, that was cute. Pinkie is certifiably crazy, but it's the nice kind of crazy. Usually.
Aww, that was nice of Pinkie.
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now you've done it. I don't know what you've done, but it was something.
Invoking Claptrap like that, you don't even know.
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Was there ever any doubt?
Love it when Pinkie's illogical logic is actually perfectly reasonable
Oh, come now, Pinkie Pie isn't that scary, Pinkie Pie is just overly excited. You should give Pinkie P
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1) Racettear was really easy, I don't think you could make it easier. I had six times the wealth every given week past the first in the main story. (Free tip, don't adventure, it isn't worth the return compared to pure economic power, and level up quickly by underselling and chaining instant sales)
2) There WAS someone like that: The guildmaster, who would Perfect Buy at 127, could have bought nearly anything in your store at his own store for half the cost, but he bought from you anyways.
Pinkie just made my night! This story is amazing!
...Pinkie.
Okay, I'm sold.
I can't get over how sweet and clever Pinkie was <3
I suspected as much. Clever Pinkie is best Pinkie.
You know a story is gold when it makes you go "awww~!" aloud.
Only Pinkie Pie could be so hilarious and so heart-warming at the same time! I have seen this said before many times, and I am so glad I finally get to use it... TheSlorg, all my feels.
Heh, of course the mare who will do anything for a smile would be her first customer.
I like Pinkie when she is written like this. She doesn't often make sense, she's strange, and downright confusing some times, but there is definitely a method in her madness.
This chapter made it an Instant Fave, Like and Follow.
Daw. That's our pinkie. Crazy as hell, but a heart of pure gold.
3541768 *Alondro ear-perks* Pinkie's heart is PURE GOLD?!
*Some time later, in Alondro's evil lab* Hey! You lied! Pinkie just has a regular old flesh heart full of blood like everypony else! *sighs* Well, I guess I'll just go dump the body on the pile..
Awwww! Gotta love that Pinkie Pie.
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Sir, I salute you. This is the most Pinkieish representation of Pinkie I have ever seen in fanfiction.
...
YOU SIR, have made my day, the day that I get to see Pinkie, not being Pinkie, but being a great personality at simply wanting to brighten another ponies otherwise lousy day. For that, you have officially gained my like and favorite, this is already shaping up to be a GREAT series...
Hang in there Lyra, I had to make do with selling lousy pieces of bread to immature, penny pinching kids, but soon, you'll be hiring warriors to gain golden statues and selling priceless gems and other commodities in NO TIME.
... Just, don't dig through trash again, please?
Pinkie is an evil genius, except she uses her powers for good.
D'aaaaaw...! Pinkie, I love you more now...!
Awww pinkie is awesome. And that other than that other person i love your cover photo. Lyra is so adorable
Oh yes. I like your version of Pinkie
As someone who works in retail now as a cashier, rereading this chapter, I can honestly say that what Pinkie did is one of best things she could have done.
If she'd bought everything in the store, they would likely have been suspicious of her intentions, seeing them as coming from pity.
But your first successful sale with a customer, where you convince them to get something, and they thank you like that, that really means something. It means "hey, I can do this!"
And when you think about, Pinkie's been there. She had a first day working with customers and selling things, once upon a time. That first customer who she helped and thanked her probably made her day then, too. It probably still makes her day.
And as others have pointed out, Pinkie is about more than just being funny, or breaking the fourth wall (not that I haven't read good fics about that, mind you). She's about making others happy, making them smile. And this time, the best way to make Lyra happy was to be a confidence boosting customer.
Should of expected Pinkie's chaos was being used for a method
Oh pinkie You're a something else but your awesome lol
Oh Pinkie.
This is very much in character for Pinkie Pie everything that makes a pony smile is worth it for her.
This is reminding me- could I pick a more obscure reference- of the Little House on the Prairie episode where the protagonists’ possessions are auctioned off and everyone pays absurd amounts on purpose so their friends will be able to buy their house back <3