//------------------------------// // The Foreign Merchant // Story: The Impact of Humans on Ponies // by the koopanater //------------------------------// "Yo, Xavier! We brought in a new friend!" "Grr, not now..." "C'mon lad, get out here. Cali too." "Alright fine! Who do you want me to... meet..." "Erm... hello stranger?" After the train ride to Ponyville, her friends watched as her family tackled her to the ground in joyful tears knowing she was home. As expected, everyone didn't care that she didn't win, all they wanted was for her to come home knowing she did her best. Once Applejack and her family rejoiced at her return, it was time to tackle the main issue, repairing town hall. Unfortunately, it was proving to be quite difficult as they were having trouble proclaiming the necessary supplies to repair the building like wood, workers, and some other odds and ends. Even after a week, the building's barely any work done, and Huston was looking at it with uncertainty. "This is not ideal..." He thought out loud. "I can't do that commission if town hall is like this, but-" "Ay Huston, over here!" Interrupting his train of thought, he looked over to see Alex and Jasmine walking over to him. "Ah, Alex. Jasmine. Hello." "Hey, ye got any free time now?" Alex asked. "Me an' Jas are headin' ta Canterlot." "Canterlot?" "I was confused too." Jasmine admitted. "Ay just got a letter from Fancy Pants, an' he says that there's someone up there that we should meet." Alex explained, getting a raised eyebrow from the artist. "Really, who?" "Dunno, but apparently he asked fer us humans ta come. Ay would've told Cali an' Xavier, but..." All three of them sighed at the memory of when they got back. "Yeah, that was something." "I feel bad for Rainbow Dash." "Yeah, but she was the one ta ditch 'em, so she did deserve it." Alex shook his head. "But enough about that, ye wanna come?" "Sure. Looking at town hall isn't helping my mood." He said as he joined his friends, the three of them walking to the train station "Is it because of that commission you got recently?" Jasmine asked. "*sigh* Yep. I don't know why they asked for a painting of town hall, but I have to do it to keep my reputation." "Sheesh, bein' an artist must be tough." "It is sometimes, but it is rewarding." "Ay can get behind that bro." Alex said with a punch to the shoulder. The three continued their conversation as they headed to the train station, ready to see what Fancy Pants wanted to show them. A While Later, at Canterlot Hopping of the train, the tree humans walked from the train station into Canterlot. "Alright, now where ta find ol' Fancy Pants." Alex wondered. "Why don't we ask around?" Jasmine suggested. "Ay good idea." Alex was about to walk up to some ponies, but was stopped by Huston putting his hand onto his shoulder. "I think you should leave this to me and Jasmine." Huston said in a kind tone. "Huh? Why?" Alex asked, only to get two looks of deadpanned faces, looking at him like he should know. "Oh, right." "Don't worry buddy, we'll take care of it." Huston said as he and Jasmine walked over to the ponies. "Hello there, is it okay if we ask about the whereabouts of somepony?" "Oh, sure. We have time." One of the ponies said. "Good. Do you happen to know where Fancy Pants is? We were asked to come meet him recently, and we would rather not waste his time too much." "Oh, I think I saw him walking towards the market." Another pony said as they pointed to their side. "If you don't know where that is, it's that way." "Thank you, have a good day." Huston thanked as he and Jasmine regrouped with Alex. Telling him about where Fancy Pants was, the three moved out to the market. As they were walking (and ignoring the looks from the ponies because Alex), they decided to strike up a conversation. "So, what do you think Fancy Pants wants to show us?" Jasmine asked "That's hard to say since he wanted all the humans to come." Huston mused. "If it was just Alex or Rarity, I would assume that he would want to catch up with you two. But as of right now we'll have to ask him." "Ay really hope it's not too much trouble." Alex groaned. "Things have been crazy lately, an' ay need some time off." "At least you haven't dealt with dragons yet..." Jasmine sighed, getting concerned looks from the guys. "Wait, what?" "Me and Cali came face to face with a dragon trying to save Spike. And apparently Xavier and the girls once had to deal with a sleeping one from covering Equestria in smoke." Jasmine said, getting even weirder looks from the guys. "Yeah things can get a bit scary." "Well let's hope a dragon isn't what Fancy Pants wants to show us." Huston said, trying to cheer up Jasmine. "Yeah, oh an' speak of the devil." Alex said as he looked in fount of him, seeing who they were meeting. "Aye, Fancy Pants. Over here." Turning, Fancy Pants smiled as he stopped for them to catch up. "Ah Alex, you've arrived. And you've brought your friends." He greeted as the trio stopped in front of him. "Well kinda. Two of 'em are... in a bad mood, so it was best ta leave 'em be." "Oh don't worry about that, ol' chap. As long as some of you are here it works out." Fancy Pants said as he waved to tell them to follow him, to which the humans complied. "Now I know you're curious as to why I asked you to come here so suddenly." "Well, yeah." Alex admitted. "Ye kinda called us out of the blue with an equally confusin' request ta bring us humans." "Well that's because I met somepony that I think you'd want to meet." Fancy Pants said, leaving a vagueness that the humans took note of as they looked between each other. "Uh, how, exactly?" Jasmine asked. "I think you'll understand once you meet him." "Okaaay... So where is this 'somepony'?" Huston asked. "Well he likes to stick around the market. He likes to look around for deals." "Is he some kinda shopping fanatic or somethin'?" "No, you'll see." After some more confused walking, they made it to the market. looking around, they realized something. "Wait, Mr. Fancy Pants? How will we find this pony?" Jasmine asked a bit quietly. "Well, I wouldn't say he's a pony..." Fancy Pants admitted, getting even more confused looks from his companions. "What, is he a dragon?" Alex's friends looked at him annoyed. "What?" "No but he isn't from around-" "Nyahaha. Thanks for doing business, buddy." Hearing a loud cackling nearby, the group stopped their conversation to see who was laughing. What they saw not only cleared up who Fancy Pants was talking about, but also answered why he wanted the humans to come up, as walking over was someone similar to them. "Ah, speak of the devil. Zenix, over here ol' chap." Fancy Pants waved, catching the attention of the guest, a human holding a sack of jingling bits. The most notable feature of this human was his smile, as it was not only wide enough stretch from cheek to cheek like a cartoon, but also that his teeth were pointy like triangles. Besides that, he was a bit shorter than the other humans, wearing a white beanie and a blue, black, and white shawl that reached to his chest over a black shirt along with blue jeans and black boots. What was also notable about this human was that he was wearing a very large rucksack that looked like it had quite a lot of stuff in it. Looking over at them, the stranger smiled. "Nyaha, Fancy! Pleasure to see you again friend." The human said with a short cackle. It was then he noticed the flabbergasted humans by him. "Nyeh, I also see that you brought some more foreigners around." "Haha, looks like it. Zenix, meet Alexzander, Jasmine, and Huston." Fancy Pants introduced. "Everypony, meet-" "Whoa whoa whoa, slow down!" Alex called out waving his arms. "Can ye tell us why an' how ye met another human here?!" "Now now, we can discuss this." Zenix said to calm the situation. "You don't want to cause a scene like last time, do you?" "Last time- Hey how did you learn about that?!" "You can never underestimate what you can buy with a bit of cash." The new guy said with a large smile and a shake of his bag of bits. "Let me take care of this, Fancy. My name is Zenix, friends. I'm a merchant who has just about everything you need. From goods to information, I can get you what you need. Well, as long as you have the coin, nyahaha." "Erm..." The three humans looked amongst themselves, not knowing how to handle the information. "How about we go and find somewhere to discuss this in more depth after we find a nice place to sit?" Fancy Pants offered. After a bit of discussion from the three residents, they nodded and agreed to his proposal and began to walk to a nearby café. Once they made it to one and ordered a few drinks, Fancy Pants began to talk. "Let's see, it all started a week ago..." It was the middle of night in Canterlot, and Fancy Pants was walking home from a nice party he attended. "Ah, what a lovely night. Perhaps I should extend my walk a bit." As Fancy Pants was walking however, he saw a humanoid figure standing in the middle of the street, looking around confused and scratching their head. Unfortunately, it was too dark for him to get a good look at them. "Hmm? Who is this?" He wondered. "It couldn't be Alexzander or his friends, right? Well either way I should get their attention so they don't get reported for standing menacingly." Walking closer, he noticed that their figure wasn't similar to any of the humans he knew, but he pressed forward. "Excuse me, are you lost?" He asked, the question causing the figure to jump up in shock before turning to face him. When the figure did, both Fancy Pants and the stranger were shocked at what they were seeing. For Fancy Pants, he was looking at a human he never met, being Zenix. For Zenix, he was shocked to see a unicorn staring at him. "What in the- this is an odd sight..." Zenix said breaking the silence. "I can say the same thing, my friend." Fancy Pants responded. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Fancy Pants and it is a pleasure to meet another human." "Another human?" "Yes. I would assume you don't know where you are?" "Erm, yeah. I don't recognize this place. But then again I don't think there is anywhere in the world where unicorns exist. Nyehehe..." "Well if I'm getting my facts straight, you're actually in another world where us ponies live." "Wait, really." Zenix put his hand to his chin, thinking about something. "Yes, I heard about it from another human that visited Canterlot recently, which is where we are right now." "I see... Oh where are my manners. Name's Zenix, I'm a merchant, nyahaha." Zenix introduced, giving his bag a shake. "A merchant you say?" "Yep. Whatever you need, from information to goods, I'll have what you need as long as you got the coin." Zenix said with pride, at least deflating a bit. "Well, I'm a bit lacking in the information department since I'm apparently in another world, nyee..." "Yes, that would complicate things." Fancy Pants agreed. "Well, I would be happy to give you a room for the night." "Really? Thanks for the offer." Zenix said walking closer to Fancy Pants. "I didn't even have to try and bargain with you for it, Nyahaha!!!" "That's how we met, and the next day Zenix already began to make a name for himself by doing trade around the market and gathering information using the bits he collected." After Fancy Pants' story, the three guests looked between each other. "You... managed all that in a week?" "Well you gotta know how merchants work, nyehehe. We only want something if it can be used to our benefit. Whether it's for a better return, or if it has some personal use. If it doesn't have a use, we don't take it, nyahaha." After the explanation, the three seemed convinced. "Can't see a fault in that logic." Alex admitted. As Zenix took a sip from his tea, he looked over at Huston and there was a glint in his eye. "Good, now down to business." Zenix said, smiling at Huston. "Is there something troubling you, friend?" "Huh? W-what makes you say that?" "Oh don't be like that, it's written all over your face." Zenix said with a smirk. "There's something troubling you. And don't try to deny it, I've worked with plenty of people and learned how to read faces, and yours is quite displeased." Huston looked around hesitantly before sighing and looking down. "Well, it involves a commission I took on recently." Huston began. "I was told to do a painting of the town hall in the place we live at, but it was damaged recently in a storm and the town hasn't been able to get what they need to repair it." "I see." Zenix mused. "Hmm, well what would you need to repair the building?" He asked, getting confused looks from everyone. "Like, do you just need wood and supplies like nails, or would you need some workers to help as well?" "W-why are you asking?" "Well I just need to understand what you need so I can figure out the best course of action to help speed things along." "Wait, ye want ta help repair town hall?!" Alex asked in a state of disbelief, his friends in similar shock. "Is that not what I was implying?" Zenix asked with a raised eyebrow. "But why?!" "Well, let's call it... 'making connections.'" Zenix simply said with a smile that actually seemed a bit sinister. "I don't mean to use this as a way to blackmail you all, rather making opportunities for myself to profit. Nyahahaha." As Zenix cackled, everyone at the table looked amongst themselves, felling nervous for once about a newcomer. "Yer... quite greedy, aren't cha?" "Hey, that's just business, bud." Zenix said, leaning back into his chair. "Like it or not, money's what holds the most power over people wherever and whenever it rears itself. You can argue that there are other things that influences how people act day to day, but at the end of each money is what makes them chose their paths." "That's... quite a perspective in life..." Huston mentioned. "Hey, don't try and persuade me in thinkin' otherwise." "I'm not." Huston disagreed, getting an interested look from Zenix. "We all have our own perspectives in life from different events, so I will not criticize you. Instead, I will simply let you understand for yourself what path to take." "Ha... haha... NYAHAHAHA!!!" Once Huston finished, Zenix's laughter began to amplify before going into a full-blown laughing fit, leaving the others confused, even a few passerby's. "You know what, I like you, Huston. You've got some nice perspectives." "Hm. Comes with being an artist." "Well you've got my respect, so maybe I can help out of kindness for once." Zenix said with a smile as he got up. "Hey Fancy Pants, I think this is where we split for a while." "It was a pleasure to know you Zenix. May we meet again." With a goodbye from the humans, the four headed to the train station to Ponyville, with the three residents wondering about how Zenix plans to help them. On the Train "So, the plan is to find this, 'Mayor Mare' pony and see if we can't convince her to give the details of renovating town hall." "Yeah, but don't worry. I believe one of our friends has enough favors to her and the town that we can probably convince her easily." Huston mentioned, confident that his friend's connections could help. "Yeah, he's been saving the world before all of us, so I'm sure that she'll tell us." "Really now? HA, we've got a hero with us, huh?" "Multiple actually. Him an' some other pony friends of ours have apparently saved Equestria a couple o' times." "Nyahaha, well I can't wait to meet him." As Zenix was laughing, Jasmine looked him over. "Hey Zenix, how do you plan on getting what we need anyway?" She asked, getting a look from Zenix. "N-no offence, I was just wondering what your plan was?" "Ay was kinda wonderin' that too, lad. Ye never really said anythin' other than just sayin' ye'd do it." "How else do you think?" Zenix said matter-of-factly. "I'm going to talk to the suppliers for some discounts." Despite Zenix's confident smile, the others suddenly felt a bit uneasy. "Erm, as in simply talk to them?" "Yep." "That's... quite straightforward..." "I mean, sometimes being straightforward gets the best sales." Zenix admitted. "Just trust me on this you guys, I'll get what you need for town hall, nyahaha." As the four humans conversed, they looked out the window to see their destination. "Ah, we've arrived." Huston said. "Zenix, welcome to Ponyville." "Nya, interesting little town." After the train stopped and everyone got off, Zenix let the others lead him to their destination. As they were walking, the resident's of course noticed that there was a new human walking amongst them and looked at him curiously. "Hmm, you would think that these ponies wouldn't look at us since they're living with you." "Well, I think they're looking at you more than us." Huston said. "Yeah, they're probably wondering about what you're like." Jasmine added. "They did that for most of us." "Ay'm the exception since ay was the town hero fer a time." Alex boasted. "Nyahaha, well they look much friendlier than the ponies up in Canterlot." Zenix laughed, his laughter getting more stares from the town. "Plus, I bet they're more negotiable than those rich folk." "Yeah, they are." Jasmine said with a smile. "Oh, we're here." Looking up, everyone looked at the state of the town hall, and Zenix sneered at it. "Nyegh, yeah I can see why getting supplies would be hard." "Ye regrettin' tryin' ta help?" "You kidding?! I love a challenging task." Zenix said with a sinister smile. "Those jobs pay the best, after all." As everyone was feeling a bit uncomfortable from the merchant's smile, Huston noticed that the Mayor was walking around the building, looking a bit uncertain herself. "Ah, there's the mayor." Huston said, pointing to her. When he did, Mayor Mare noticed and saw that some of the humans were walking over, and then she noticed that one wasn't one she knew. "Oh, why hello there everypony. Who is this?" She asked, looking over the new individual. "Pleasure to meet you, mayor. I am Zenix, and I believe that I can be of service." The merchant introduced himself, getting a raised eyebrow from her. "How?" "Well, you need this building repaired, right?" He motioned to the building. "I've heard that you've been having trouble securing the necessary materials and help to repair it, and I happen to be skilled in this kind of market." Walking over to her, he looked up at the building and smiled. "You see, us merchants are skilled in negotiations and deal-making, and I believe that what you need is someone who can help you collect supplies for your projects. I mean, it's taken you at least two weeks to proclaim the necessary materials and workforce, but all I see is a building that looks more like it's ready for demolition than restoration." Everyone took a moment to look at the building, knowing he was right. "But I'll cut you a deal, Mayor Mare. Let me take over the process of securing both the necessary materials and workers, and I can promise you that I can get what you need within the week, all for the low price of simply owing me a favor in the future." Looking over Zenix, Mayor Mare looked like she was considering the option. "Are you sure you can? We've been having trouble with both the lumbermill and the construction workers, so-" "Ah, that's no problem." Zenix said with confidence. "In fact, I think that I can cut that time to about two or three days. Maybe even tomorrow." Zenix then offered a hand to the mayor, ready to make the deal. "Just trust me, all you have to do is direct me to the lumbermill you're using and recommend me a workforce and I'll take care of everything. So what do you say?" After Zenix finished, everyone looked at him with many emotions in their eyes. The biggest one however was awe, as the way he spoke and gave offers was confident and intelligent, enough so to melt away the doubt and worry that the humans had before and the mayor to feel like she could trust him and reached out, allowing Zenix to take it. "I think we have a deal, Mr. Zenix." She agreed, giving a nod as Zenix smiled with confidence. With the agreement between the mayor and Zenix agreed on, Zenix was given many details about the project at the moment. This included details about how the lumbermill has been giving them a hard time with prices and how the workers they wanted to hire were having issues getting supplies. Zenix simply said that he could get them to help and left for the lumbermill. Although he stopped outside the building and went back inside, asking if he could get someone to guide him to the lumbermill. So the other humans decided to do that, and now were in the forest that the lumbermill was in, making headway to it. "So what's yer plan, lad?" Alex asked. "We don't know much about why the lumbermill is givin' high prices, so any ideas?" "Well, we'll just have to see." Zenix responded, leaving the three confused. "What?" "Just wait, there are some trends with this sort of thing, and I can solve it." As they walked and wondered Zenix's plan, they saw a building come into view. "Well that's the lumbermill. Thanks for leading me here. You can go home now, I got this." "Well, do you know where the workers are?" Huston asked, leaving Zenix to look around nervously. "Yeah, no offence, but you kind of need us to follow you." "We also want to see what you're going to do." Jasmine admitted, leaving Zenix to smile. "Well, just watch." Walking up to the lumbermill they saw ponies hard at work. There also was another pony overseeing everything, a stallion with a brown mane and an orange coat with a cutie mark of two wood planks in a cross. "Hello there, my friend. Is everything going well?" Turning around, the stallion looked at the group. "Hmm, you must be those humans..." The stallion said with a slightly aggressive voice. "What do you want?" "Well, we, or more like I, was sent here by the mayor to discuss the price of your lumber." Zenix said with a smile, although the forepony didn't like this and scowled. "Grr, and I'll tell you exactly what I told the mayor! We ain't givin' you or anypony a lower deal!" The stallion yelled out, causing the humans to flinch. Well, not Zenix as he simply kept smiling. "Well, why won't you?" He asked, not intimidated by the large stallion's yelling. "And why should I tell you?!" "Well, it's not exactly good for business." Zenix said, gesturing to the mill. "I can tell you right now that upping prices without telling why isn't good for business. You'll lose your business, and soon enough you'll be out of business. "I'm just saying, but if you want to do you, I won't stop you." Zenix then turned around and began to walk away, joining up with his fellow humans, where they all looked at him confused and like he was crazy. "Wait, are ye just givin' up!?" Alex asked. He was about to continue, but Zenix put a finger to his mouth to shut him up. "Three." He said, confusing the humans. "Two." He put his hand down. "One." "Well we didn't want to you know!" The heard the stallion yell out, Zenix gave his fellow humans a smirk before turning around. "And why's that?" "We've been gettin' hit with some bad luck recently. First we managed to damage some of our saw that we refine the trees we cut, then some of our best workers retired, and the worst part is that some beavers came 'round and cut off the part of the woods that have the best trees 'round." "Ah, now I see." Zenix said as he put a hand to his chin. "Your raised prices are because of your supply, that makes sense." "See, what can we do?" "Well, I can help solve two problems." Zenix said as he walked up to the stallion. "For the saw, I can sell you one. I have quite a few. For workers, I do know advertising methods that can help you get ponies involved in even temp work. I... Can't exactly do anything about the beavers though. I'm not the best with animals." Zenix shrugged. "Wait, you're carrying saws on you?" "Yeah. What's the problem?" "Erm... nothing." "Hey, why don't we ask Fluttershy to help with the beavers?" Jasmine suggested, getting the two's attention. "Nyeh, who's that?" "She's a friend of ours. She's an expert with animals, so I think she can help out." "Well if she can why don't you bring her over. I'd love her help and meet with her." "Sure." Jasmine said as she conjured a cloud, startling Zenix. "I'll be back with her soon." Floating off, Zenix didn't question the cloud much as he turned to the remaining humans. "You two, can you guys help out as well? I need you to advertise the lumbermill like I say so I can focus on getting this fine gent fitted with a saw." "Oh, uh, sure." With the two guys joining into the plot, Zenix began to explain the plan. Later Once Alex discussed the plan to his human allies and the forepony, they split up with Alex and Huston going into town to find help and Zenix to talk to the forepony about what size saws they needed inside. As the two were finalizing the transaction, they heard a voice call out. "Zenix! I got Fluttershy." Looking outside, he saw that Jasmine was floating back over, this time with Fluttershy in tow, the pegasus looking surprised at the sight of the human. "Ah, Jasmine. Perfect timing." Zenix said as he let the forepony leave with the circular saws to install. "This must be Miss Fluttershy. Hello, I am Zenix." "U-um, i-it's nice to meet you." Fluttershy greeted in both curiosity and shyness. "Hmm, the shy type huh? Well no matter, I just need some help." Zenix said as he walked over. "Did Jasmine fill you in on the situation?" "U-uh, yes. She did." Fluttershy nodded. "I think I can get them to leave, though it might take a while. Beavers are a little stubborn." "Well if you can get them to let us do business in that section it would help a lot." The forepony yelled out as he was working on the saws. "I don't mind them bein' there, but they are quite territorial. Won't let us two steps into that part of the forest without them tryin' to attack us. An' you helpin' us find new workers is great too." "Oh... I think I know that family." Fluttershy mentioned. "I think I can convince them." "Good. Hey, you there!" The forepony yelled out, catching the attention of a worker nearby, a smaller stallion with a purple mane and tail and grey coat. "I need you to guide the pegasus to those beavers." With a nod from the pony, he began to walk over to Fluttershy. "You get them to back off for a while, I can lower the prices for the town." "Great, thanks for doing business sir." Zenix said with a bow, finishing his transaction. Once he stood up straight, he noticed that Fluttershy was staring at him. "Is... there a problem, Miss Fluttershy?" "Oh, no. Sorry, but I was just curious." Fluttershy admitted with an apology. "It's just that, when Jasmine said that a new human was here in Ponyville helping with repairing town hall, I was-" "Taken aback?" Zenix finished, leaving the pegasus to simply nod. "Well it was quite a surprise to find myself in a world similar to feudal Europe's government but with ponies and some technologies that you find in our world." "What's Europe?" "Don't worry about it." Zenix said avoiding the topic. "For now, I have a job to do from the mayor so we can talk later. Next time you can bring your other friends." He said as he turned to the exit, walking out. "I'll see you later." "W-wait for me!" Jasmine called out as she ran after him, before pausing to bow to Fluttershy. "I'll see you later, Fluttershy." With that, she went to follow Zenix, leaving Fluttershy to wonder more about the new human. "So, now what's you're plan?" "For dealing with the workers?" Zenix asked, leaving Jasmine to nod. "Well, the mayor said they need supplies, and I am a merchant. I'll leave you to figure out the rest." "B-but do you know what they need?" "No, but I'm sure I can give them what they need." "B-but-" "Hey, don't ask." Zenix said, stopping her by putting a finger to her lips. "Know this, a merchant should always have a variety of products, else they risk losing costumers. Besides, I'm helping you out, so who are you to look a gift horse in the mouth." Zenix then turned and walked away, leaving Jasmine to look in confusion. "W-was that a pun?" All she heard as she restarted her following was cackling from the merchant. They walked in silence for a while before they reached where the construction worker were stationed, not doing much with their time. "Hello there everypony, is there a possibility to talk to your boss?" Zenix asked to the workers, getting their attention. "What is it?" A mare called out, walking over to them. This mare was taller than most others, with a red and blue mane and a white coat. "Ah, are you the boss around here?" "Yep, name's Ground Trotter. How can I help you?" "Well, I was sent by the mayor to help you deal with you're supply troubles." "*sigh* Right, that..." Ground Trotter sighed, turning away and taking a few steps. "We were all set to help out in the repairs to town hall, but the stuff we needed got lost in the mail, so we're at a loss until we get new supplies." "Hmm, I see. And what are those things you needed?" "Things like screws, nails, rope, that sort of stuff." "Well, I would be happy to supply those things for you." Zenix said with a smile, getting Ground Trotter to turn around with a confused face. "H-huh?" "I'm a merchant, so I take pride in knowing that I can handle any needs my customers need. If you need it, I'll supply it." As Zenix spoke, he reached behind him and into his bag, pulling out a box of nails. "If you need this sort of stuff, then I'll sell it to you. I can even send the bill over to the mayor to have her pay. So what do you say? I'll even cut the price a bit below market value for good measure." Looking at his smile, Ground Trotter took a moment to think about his offer. She made a decision though and turned to her subordinates. "HEY YOU LAZY LUMPS! GET UP 'CAUSE WE'RE GETTING TO WORK ON TOWN HALL!" "Nyahaha, I take it you're going to take me up on your offer?" "Yep. Come over with me and I can tell you what we should need for right now." Ground Trotter said, waving for him to follow. "Alright. Jasmine, would you tell the mayor that everything should be settled?" Zenix asked. "S-sure. I can do that." "Great. I'll be over to report as well, so I'll see you in a bit." With that, Zenix followed Ground Trotter to settle the deal, leaving Jasmine to report his progress. At Town Hall Once Jasmine make it to Town hall, she saw that not only was Alex and Huston there talking to the mayor, but the forepony was also there in the discussion. "Hey guys, over here." Jasmine called out, catching their attention. "Ay, Jasmine!" As she joined them, they noticed that Zenix was missing. "Hey, where's the merchant?" "He's settling things over with the construction workers, he'll be over soon." "Ah, gottcha." "So he managed to solve all our problems, huh?" Mayor Mare said, thinking about his skill. "I guess he really could help us." "He must really know his stuff." Huston commented, clearly impressed. "Yeah, I mean you should have-" "Guys!" The group's conversation was cut short by a call, and turning to look they saw that it was the girls running over to them. "Oh, hey girls." Alex greeted. "What's the hurry for?" "Don't give us that!" Rainbow said. "Where's the new human?" "You mean Zenix?" Huston asked. "Yeah, when we heard from Fluttershy that there was a new human, we wanted to see him." Twilight explained. "Well he's with the construction workers right now, so..." "No, he's right there!" Pinkie yelled out as she pointed in the direction Jasmine came from, pointing at Zenix. "Well well well, looks like I have a welcoming ceremony here." Zenix said with a cackle. "Hello there, the name's Zenix." "Hmm, what a particular look you have." Rarity commented as she and her friends looked him over. "Well one mans trash as they say." Zenix shrugged, not letting Rarity's comment get him down. "I take it you're the famous 'Elements of Harmony' I've heard about?" "How did you know that?!" Twilight asked, clearly concerned. "Hey, word travels fast. And in a place like Canterlot it's easy to buy information." "Wow, you're pretty interesting." Pinkie said, popping out of Zenix's bag, holding a whirligig and spinning it. "We have to throw you a party." "Nyahaha, sounds like a plan pink." Zenix laughed, not phased by the fact Pinkie popped out of his bag and acting like he's known her for years. "Woo hoo!" "Let's just leave them for now." Twilight suggested, everyone nodding in agreement. "How did you meet him?" "Well Fancy Pants invited us humans ta Canterlot ta surprise us with him. An' we ended up spillin' the truth about town hall ta him. What surprised us though was that he decided ta help us in repairs, an' he pulled through." "Why did he want to?" Applejack asked. "...Let's just say he wanted to make some connections." Huston said, leaving his real reasons in relative obscurity. "Well, what's the plan now?" Rainbow asked. "Well, maybe we can talk ta Xavier ta let him stay with us." Alex suggested. "Are you sure he'll allow that?" "Well, he's been offering the option ta all of us, so ay don't think he'll worry much." Everyone looked at each other, knowing his reasoning was pretty reasonable. "Yeah, let's follow that plan." "Right, hey Zenix!" Huston called out, getting his and Pinkie's attention. "We're about to go home. Why don't you join us so we can convince the owner to let you stay." "Sounds like a plan to me." Zenix said as he joined up with the others, Pinkie jumping out of his bag. "We'll see you later girls." "Yeah, we can talk more later." Zenix said with a smile and a wave, prompting the others to follow suit as they parted ways. In front of the Human Household After everything was settled and Zenix was introduced to the girls, the other humans took him to their home to introduce him to the others and maybe ask if he could stay. "So who are these two others, anyway?" "Well one is another girl, she's Cali." Alex explained. "She can be a bit skeptical around new people, but she's a good person. Then there's Xavier. He's the owner, so we'll be askin' him fer permission." As they approached the door, Zenix for once hesitated at the last name. "Wait, Xavier? I-it couldn't be him, right? I mean, there are dozens of people with that name..." Zenix kept thinking about this as they entered the house. "Yo, Xavier! We brought in a new friend!" Alex called. "Grr, not now..." They all heard the inventor say from his room. When he did, no one noticed that Zenix's eyes shrank a bit. "C'mon lad, get out here. Cali too." "Alright fine! Who do you want me to... meet..." Xavier exited his room irritated. When he set eyes on Zenix however, that anger was removed and instead was a face that had panic, fear, and confusion all at once. "Erm... hello stranger?" The merchant said awkwardly, clearly nervous as well. After a few tense moments between them staring at each other, Xavier moved at a speed similar to Pinkie and grabbed the merchant by the shoulders. "Yeah, I'm going to borrow your new friend for a second." Before anyone could react or ask, Xavier dragged Zenix into his room, slamming the door to leave the three confused. In his room, Xavier leaned on the door with Zenix standing nervously. "So, this is awkward, ey?" "You didn't say anything, right?" Xavier asked, worry and pain in his voice. "I didn't even know you were here, old friend." Zenix admitted after a brief pause and sigh, his smile reduced to a small, sad frown. "Even if I did, you know I couldn't due to our contract." "Yeah, I know..." Xavier stopped leaning on the door and looked Zenix in the eye. "And even if there was no contract, I would never say until you were ready." Zenix said, walking up to Xavier and putting a hand onto his shoulder. "You and your family were my family's best customers, you know I wouldn't break that trust." "Y-yeah..." Xavier took Zenix's hand off his shoulder and turned to the door. "I guess you'll need a place to stay? You can crash here for as long as you need. Just-" "Yeah, I won't. Don't worry." Looking behind him, Xavier gave one last look of sadness before motioning for Zenix to follow, leading him out of his room to talk to the others, prepared to get questioned. The merchant knew however that no matter what, he would keep his contract intact, for them.