I try to speed up my morning routine, knowing I have many things to do today. Twilight let me know I could stay as long as I needed, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to move out of her home. I am very ready to resume living under my own capability. I attempt to stifle a yawn, but it comes out anyway as I crouch down near my collection of blankets. Sifting through and rearranging the contents of a few of the bags of bits I possess, I count out four cloth sacks with ten bits in each to take with me. Grabbing them all in my left hand, I stand and walk outside, quietly closing the door to avoid waking Spike.
I take in a deep breath of the fresh, cool morning air, glancing about at the ponies milling around as I clear my head. Alright, first things first. Tools, then supplies. I unconsciously frown in thought. Where would I find some tools? I doubt they have a Home Depot here...I nod in realization. Blacksmith, I need to find a blacksmith for tools. My frown returns as I realize I don't know where to find a blacksmith's shop. I look up, scanning about the ponies around the library. Here goes nothing. I remove my pad of paper and pencil, and quickly write down a question.
I walk towards a bright yellow pony who is facing away from me, wondering if catching them by surprise will work to my advantage, as I hope, or just scare them. My footsteps are nearly silent on the ground behind the oblivious creature; the trick is to roll one's feet. I reach out and lightly tap the pony on the shoulder; they turn around, facing me with a smile that quickly disappears. The pony steps back in a fair degree of panic; I bring my hands in front of me, palms facing out, and step back myself, trying to show I just want their help, not to hurt them. I hold out my paper so they can read the question, hoping they'll actually acknowledge me.
The pony scans the paper cautiously, then glances up at me. "The nearest blacksmith...? There's one in town square, I think..." she says hesitantly, still slowly backing away. I nod, looking and feeling relieved. Okay, that wasn't too bad, at least. I nod again, giving an odd mixture of bowing away and waving in thanks. I start jogging towards the center of town, passing herds of colorful ponies as I do.
Upon reaching the town square, I start scanning around. I look at Applejack's stand for a moment, my stomach rumbling a little. Later. I keep searching, then spot a sign that stands out to me; it appears to be made of metal, rusted by nature, and hangs over a dull, stone building. The sign is shaped like a hammer about to strike an anvil; bingo. I make my way through the bustle of the center of Ponyville, heading for the stone building. Approaching the front, I place a hand on the door and push inside.
A small bell above me jingles as I enter. My pace slows as I walk into the room, looking around. The walls are lined with all sorts of metal pieces, each shaped and honed very exactly. I see everything from simple tools, like shovels, pitchforks, hoes, and so on, to actual weapons, swords, axes, things of that manner. I admire them for a moment, taking a step towards the medieval weapons. The blacksmith here, whoever they may be, seems very skilled; I don't see any flaws on the metal works, and every point and blade is razor sharp, as they should be.
"Need help with anything?" a voice says, bringing me back to reality. I look over towards the source, seeing a coal-colored pony behind a counter. He shows a friendly smile and appears fairly casual, something new from a pony I have yet to meet in this town. I think for a moment, then shake my head. He nods, letting me go back to my browsing. I step over to the tools on the wall, looking amongst them for a moment. Alright, so...I begin going off a checklist in my head, grabbing a few tools off the wall. A small sledge-style hammer, a wood ax, a handsaw, a fairly large bag of good-sized nails, some other assorted objects. I set them on the counter, allowing him to figure up the cost. My eyes drift off to the melee weapons again. I frown as I eye some of the smaller weapons. I really don't need to be scaring these poor things more than I already am, but...
After another moment's thought, I decide I might as well. I walk over to the portion of the wall holding the smaller weapons. Some very nice daggers are present, a few exquisite-looking ones as well. My eye is caught by a few small tomahawks--no, hand axes. Tomahawks are balanced to be thrown, and I doubt these are actually balanced; I grasp onto the handle of one, finding I am wrong. The balance is actually quite nice, but I wouldn't ever throw a tomahawk, anyways; that would be throwing away my only weapon, as the saying goes. Spinning the weapon around in my hand a few times, I decide it shall be mine. I select a nice double-edged dagger, as well, for kicks and giggles.
As I set the two weapons on the counter beside the tools, my mind starts to wander idly. My reasoning behind getting the combination of a tomahawk and a dagger is not actually random. The Native Americans used the two in a superb fighting style that involved dual-wielding them; the tomahawk was used in the primary hand, for me, my right, and the dagger in the secondary, held 'icepick-style' with the blade facing out of one's hand. In combat, this allowed them to create a devastating attack with the more powerful tomahawk in their most powerful hand, as well as parry off an opponent's weapons or attack. When an attack was parried with the tomahawk, this rendered the tomahawk-holding hand out of action for a moment, as it was busy deflecting and redirecting another weapon. So, to solve this, the Native Americans used a dagger in the opposite hand. While the tomahawk hand parried, a second attack could be delivered to the opponent while their own weapon was disabled. It gave the upper hand because it allowed one to attack while effectively defending.
I shake my head. I don't know why I remember things like that, and don't even know where I learn them from, but I do. Half of my knowledge is information that doesn't really even help me in any way. I snort to myself. Not like I'm going to be using them, anyways. Still, just the knowledge that I have some sort of defense is nice, and weapons are fun to play around with.
"Planning on using those things?" I look at the dark gray pony, following his gaze down to the weapons. I smile, shaking my head. "Good, because if you were, I planned on raising the price." I chuckle quietly, readying my bags of bits. "Gonna' be thirty bits or so." I nod, dropping three of the bags on the counter and sticking the last in my pants pocket. I wait for him to count them out, and he nods in satisfaction. "Don't go terrorizing the town too much, okay?" he says with a grin. I return it with a laugh, carefully grabbing onto my multitude of sharp objects. I cautiously make my way out of the smithy, back into town square.
Needless to say, I get a lot of looks, most terrified. I just try to ignore them, making my way through the streets of Ponyville with my weapons of destruction. At least the ponies clear out of the way fairly quickly, making it easy to avoid poking anyone.
I arrive at my property in good time, and walk up to the door. I ponder going through the pony-sized hole Rainbow Dash had created, then realize I really don't need to. Hastily dropping my other tools, I grab hold of my ax, one hand near the head. Some smashing and chopping later, the doorway is revealed again, clear of boards. I dip my head to get under it, but it's much, much better than having to crawl to get into my new house. I pick up my other tools and weapons and bring them inside, setting them on the floor. I think for a moment, then grab my actual weapons, sliding them into the belt loops on my jeans. Maybe I could have Rarity make me a hilt or something soon...
I look at the tools and the assorted supplies for a moment, wondering if I should worry about theft. Doubt it. There are a few perks to being a big, scary creature from outer space, I suppose. Remaining bits in my pocket and shiny, new weapons at my sides, I walk outside again.
Alright, lumber...I need to find some lumber. Deciding to do what I did earlier, I pull out my paper and pencil again, writing a new question for whichever pony happens to be my victim. It seems a dark blue Earth pony will be the lucky winner; I approach the pony, piece of folded up paper in hand. Noticing me, they start to change course. I wave my hand a little frantically, holding the paper out to them. Staring at me like I might explode, the blue pony walks towards my outstretched arm, scanning the paper for a moment.
"I think there's a mill out on the North side of town, just on the outskirts." I nod in thanks, stepping away from the pony and looking into the sky. Luckily, the sun is still at an angle in the sky, and it is still before noon. I turn around, walking to what I hope is North.
It turns out the sun rises in the East and sets in the West in Equestria, as well. Nearing the lumber mill, sitting only a few hundred feet away from the town, I see a shack of sorts amidst the piles of logs and planks. I make my way towards it, slowly entering through a door upon reaching it. Another bell jingles above my head, and I see a suitably brown-colored pony sitting behind a desk, reading some the newspaper. I think they nearly jump out of their skin upon seeing me.
"M-may I help you?" the pony, a male, asks shakily. I nod, pulling the bag of bits out of my pocket and motioning towards the outside, where the wood is. "You want to buy lumber?" I nod again. "Alright, one moment," he replies, shaking his head in what I believe to be disbelief. I push outside again, looking about the mill. I see a few different piles of wooden planks, ranging from something akin to two-by-fours to wide, flat pieces of cut wood. Doing some quick estimation, I begin musing about what all I need. I pull various pieces of wood from their piles, setting them in a separate pile on a clear patch of ground.
Eventually deciding I have everything I need, I go back over to the pile, finding the brown pony peering at it with interest. Probably wondering what something like me wants with a bunch of boards. Upon noticing me, he turns.
"Is this all?" I nod in affirmation. "That's going to be..." He trails off, apparently doing some mental calculation. "Seven bits." Removing three coins and sliding them into my pocket, I toss my last bag of coins in front of the pony. He opens it with his teeth, peering inside and counting the coins. Satisfied, he looks up. "Uh...have a nice day," he says, scurrying off. I begin picking up my materials, hefting the longer boards over my left shoulder and pinning the wider boards against my side. The wood seems to be of good quality, nice and sturdy.
I walk for a few minutes, thanking Fate for the lumber mill happening to be fairly close to where I live. I bring the lumber inside, leaning it against one of the walls. I look between my tools and my materials, then around at the sun-lit interior of my house. Time for a little home improvement.
***
I grab a new nail from the group I hold between my teeth, placing it against the surface of the shingle and holding it there with my left hand. I carefully tap the head a few times with my hammer, then remove my hand, driving the nail in with a few hard hits. There we go. I survey my roofing work, having now patched up the last of the holes in my roof.
"Boo."
I jump, rocking back and losing my balance. I nearly fall off my roof, but manage to throw a hand forward and grab the peak of the roof, hanging tightly. I look behind me in surprise; there hovers a rainbow-maned pony, stifling laughter with a hoof. Unable to hold in her mirth, Rainbow Dash bursts out laughing, holding her sides as her scratchy laugh fills the fairly quiet air. Finding my balance on the roof again, I release my grip on the top of the roof. Falling off a roof or a heart attack, either way, your pranks are gonna' kill me someday, I quietly think to the laughing Pegasus. I smile and start to chuckle, shaking my head. Before I seriously injure myself, I decide to hop down off of the roof.
Dash wipes a tear from her eye, sighing merrily. "That was priceless. The way you almost fell off the roof..." She is hit by another fit of giggles. Smiling at her, I walk inside my house. Rainbow drops down, trotting inside and looking about. Noticing the stairs, she comments, "Well, it still doesn't look that great, but it's clean and the stairs are fixed. Were you fixing the roof?" I nod. She glances about again, looking at the open doorway. "Might want to fix that, next." I snort, then nod in agreement. I look over at the collection of planks against the wall, about half-depleted from making the stairs. No, I'm going to have to get an actual door. Getting out my writing material, I scribble down a question, having a feeling it might sound stupid.
Is there a furniture store in Ponyville?
To my surprise, Rainbow Dash replies, "Oh, yeah, it's in the center of town. Pretty much every shop's there." I write out another question, smiling as I hold it down to the pony.
Feel like a field trip?
She brings a light blue hoof to her mouth, feigning deep thought. "Yeah, I don't have anything else to do, so why not?" I smile to her, then head out of the doorway. Alright, need to grab some cash, first. I start off towards Twilight's tree house, the sky-blue Pegasus coming to a steady hover beside me. We walk through town, most ponies clearing out of my way a little more than usual.
Rainbow leans down towards my ear, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You shoulda' seen it earlier. When you bought all that stuff, and how everypony tried to stay away, it looked awesome from high up. It was weird, like you were using magic to force everypony to split apart or something," she explains with a snicker. I try to imagine what it would look like from above, and guess it would probably look like a zipper, or maybe a boat cutting through water. Despite the fact I would rather have these ponies like me, I can't deny that that probably does look awesome.
We approach Twilight's door a moment later, and I open the door for the rainbow-maned pony. She smiles and trots inside, followed by me. I walk over to where I've been camping out in the library, grabbing a bag of fifteen coins or so. I figure it will be more than enough for a door, which is about all I figure I'll need today. Doubt I can get much else done.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash, hi Mark. Can I help you two with anything?" I shake my head, holding up the bit-filled cloth in my hand. "Buying some things for your new house?" I nod, smiling. "How is it coming along?" Sticking the bits in my pocket, I grab my paper and scribble out an answer, frowning as I show it to Twilight.
Good, but I still can't sleep in it. No windows, no bed, no door, for now.
"Well, those are certainly some necessary items," Twilight comments with a laugh. "Like I said, stay here as long as you need, it's no problem." I nod and smile gratefully, then turn and start for the door. I notice Rainbow Dash hangs back for a moment; she leans in close to Twilight Sparkle, looking around nervously.
"Hey, do you have...it?" she whispers, or attempts to whisper. The violet unicorn rolls her eyes and sighs.
"Yes, Rainbow, I have the most recent Daring D--mmph!" Twilight exclaims as a blue hoof is jammed into her mouth.
"Shh!" Dash says frantically, glancing over at me. I act like I didn't see or hear anything, looking about idly as I wait for her. Twilight sighs again, then trots off to go fetch something. The light blue pony shoots me a nervous smile, looking very much like a drug addict, I think. Maybe she is a drug addict, I think with a frown. Might explain the psychedelic colors...
Twilight comes back to Rainbow Dash with a book in her mouth. The title reads Daring Do and the Lair of Ahuitztol, and shows a picture on the cover depicting a mustard-yellow pony with a gray mane standing before an odd, blue, demonic-looking creature. It reminds me vaguely of the old Indiana Jones movies. Rainbow quickly snatches the book in her mouth, storing it away on her. The idea of pockets pops into my head again.
"Thanks," the Pegasus whispers to Twilight Sparkle, who just chuckles in reply. Rainbow Dash puts on a smile and trots over to me as if nothing had happened, though there is an air of nervousness about her. Too cool for reading, are we? I start writing a note with a sly grin as we walk outside. I hold the note over for the flying pony to see.
What kind of books do you like to read?
She groans, wincing. "You think I'm a total egghead, don't you?" I smile and shake my head. "You don't?" I shake my head again to confirm that no, I do not. I quickly add a few words to my paper.
Reading is awesome, not lame.
"Yeah..." she says, trailing off with happy smile. I tap my original question, snapping her back to reality. "Oh, uh, I read the Daring Do series, mostly. It's about this Pegasus who goes on adventures in search of treasure, and old stuff. And along the way, she has to dodge traps--" she says, taking a moment to mimic darting out of harm's way, avoiding a trap that isn't there, "--and outrun bad guys, and use her awesomeness to get out of traps this crazy guy, named Ahuiztol, sets for her! Daring Do is so awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, pushing her hooves against her cheeks and scrunching up her face. Oh, man, that is really cute. I smile at her excitement over the book series.
After a moment, she seems to realize I am watching her, and gives me a bashful smile. "Heh, uh...what do you like to read?" she asks, probably just wanting to change the subject. I think for a moment, then write her an answer.
Action, mostly. Sometimes mixed with government and history, egghead stuff.
I could use a good Tom Clancy book right now, I muse for a moment. We approach the town square, and Rainbow directs us over to the furniture store. She enters first, followed by me. I start looking around; the shop is very open, with various types of furniture on display about it. Some are simple in design, combinations of unstained wood and cloth, but look comfortable; others are very lavish, and look like a lot of time was put into them. I decide to take a better look around tomorrow. For the time being, I find the selection of hand--hoof?--made doors, looking at them for a moment. They all appear to be around the same size, the average pony door that is just half a head too short for me; I can live with it, though. I find the simplest door, a simple wooden base with a small, square window in it.
I turn around, and find that a peach-colored pony is approaching me tentatively. "May I help you?" the pony, a mare, asks, attempting to sound amiable. I nod, tapping the door behind me and holding up my bag of bits. "You would like to buy that?" I nod again. "Of course. It will be four bits. Can I help you find anything else?" I shake my head, pulling out the right amount of coins and dropping them into the pony's outstretched hoof. "Thank you, sir. Please come again," she says, quickly stepping away. I return my focus to the door, assuming I just take it. I remind myself that, given the practices of whatever time Equestria is in, display models don't really exist; and if they do, they can likely be purchased, anyway. I grip either side of the door, hefting it up and flipping it on its side so I can more easily carry it. Rainbow Dash follows me out of the furniture store, hopping up into the air beside me once we get outside again.
I readjust the door at my side after a minute. "Want some help?" Rainbow asks, apparently noticing. I look over, thinking for a moment. Well, I'm not going to deny help if she wants to give it. I nod and smile gratefully; she dips down, hovering just above the ground, and grabs a part of the door with her hooves. I flip the door around so that I am walking backwards, holding one side as she carries the other a few feet in the air. We travel along like this until reaching my house-in-progress.
The Pegasus releases the door, allowing me to take it and prop it up outside the house. Looking at it again, it still looks pretty bad, but the roof is decent. And the stairs inside look nice. And at least most of the cobwebs and dust are gone. There's still a lot to do, but I know it's easily doable. Dash trots inside, grabbing some nails and my hammer in her mouth and bringing them out. I smile at her, and together we begin the last work on the house for the day.