//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Pony work // Story: The Reader // by GnollReader //------------------------------// When the debris of the old barn had been carried away, the gnoll did his best to assist the ponies in raising the new one. Building was something new to him, he had always wondered how they constructed their curious homes. He himself preferred caves, the deeper the better. Any enemies could easily be lost or overpowered in a dark maze. Then again, the ponies weren't exactly a hunted species, plus they had magic, so why would they bother to build safer homes? The construction of the barn was sped up immensely by the Scar's assistance. There was no need to strenuously pull up the frame and walls when the gnoll could simply lift them into position. By the time the sun had started to set, the barn was already nearly finished, much to Applejack's joy. "Well I'll be damned! We ain't never raised a barn that fast!" "Eyup." a big red pony to her side commented. She trotted up to Scar, "Thanks, we'll be able to finish the rest tomorrow. You've been a great help!" The gnoll nodded, "Scar helps." She handed him a small pouch, "And this is for you hard work! Feel free to drop by and help again whenever ya feel like it! You're always welcome." and with that she trotted of. As the gnoll was inspecting the contents of the little bag Purple Haze joined him on his walk towards Ponyville. "So, what did she give you?" He held out a paw, a bundle of bits on his palm. "Strange metal." he commented. "Its called money, you can trade stuff for it." He inspected the little coins, "Gnoll can trade with this?" he picked up a single coin, "Ponies be crazy. Strange metal has no value." "It's called gold. Why wouldn't that be worth something?" He stopped to demonstrate, "First, can't eat it." he brought it up to his teeth and bit into it. He showed her the coin, it had been strongly deformed by his bite, "Second, too soft. Can't be used for anything!" He threw it into the bag. "Third,..." he shook the bag around, the clanking of the coins could clearly be heard, "Is loud. Gnoll can't hunt with this. Is nice bag though, Scar can put food inside." "Look, it has no practical value, granted. But its rare, and its pretty. Based on that it has a certain value to us and because of that, you get it as payment for work and you can buy stuff with it." He judged the bag in his paw, the bag itself seemed useful but the coins were just annoying with their constant clinking. "Buy what?" he asked her, "Scar can hunt food in forest, drink from river and sleep in cave." She thought for a moment, "Well, you can buy food so you won't have to hunt it. You can buy more interesting drinks than water. You can also buy a house with enough bits. Or... you could buy books." This caught his attention, he could buy his own books. "Scar could buy books... but Scar has no place to put books. Cave is bad place for books,... so is tree..." he was silent for a moment, the gears of his mind processing the problem. He reached a conclusion, "Gnoll works." "Huh?" He looked at her, "Scar will do pony work, earns gold. Then buys house for books." "Or you could just store the at Twilight's place." Purple Haze offered. "Tree no place for books, also full already. Scar can't always sit in tree with talking pony. Scar will go mad!" "You do know that a house costs a lot of bits?" "Then gnoll works harder. Where does Scar find work?" "Okay..." if he really wanted to work then she wouldn't stop him, but she'd take care that he wouldn't be misused. After all, he had no understanding of currency or what a bit was really worth. "There's a black board outside town hall. If anypony is offering a job you can find it there." --- Later that evening two figures stood in front of the town hall, reading the notes attached to the black board. "Spa is looking for someone to help with massages, good pay..." she looked at his claws, "Nope." "What is spa?" "A place ponies go to feel pretty. Moving on. Unicorn wanted, nope. Pega... nope." She was getting frustrated, most offers were species specific, those that weren't he wasn't fit for. "What is bouncer?" he asked out of the blue. "Huh?" she was ripped out of her thoughts. He placed a claw on one of the notes. She read it out, "Bouncer needed for the Fat Mare Inn, five bits the hour..." she turned to him, this could work. Or it could go terribly wrong. --- As they were walking towards the edge of Ponyville Purple Haze did some explaining. "Ok, so the Fat Mare Inn is a place where ponies go to drink, hang out, have fun or feel down. Or to just get drunk. Mostly it's guards off duty looking to blow off some steam." she remembered her first visit to the place when she was a trainee. The place was legendary for its bar fights. "A bouncer is responsible for keeping the peace in the inn. When ponies get rude, violent or too drunk, or all of those, the bouncer throws them out and, if needed, subdues them." she saw his look, "It means you give them a good beating if they won't behave. But you're not supposed to actually hurt them, just make sure they remember the lesson and throw them out." The ponies would pay him to beat them up? They really were crazy. He continued to listen to her instructions as they walked. --- "There it is, the Fat Mare Inn." It was a run down place, moss growing up the walls and stones bleached by the sun. There was a faded board shaped like a pony hanging above the door. Whatever had once been written on it was long faded. Light softly shone through dirty and smudgy windows. "Come on let's get inside, see if the job offer is still up." When Purple Haze opened the door and stepped inside she took a good look around first. The place was still empty. An aged stallion stood behind the bar, "Young mare, we open in an hour. Or are you looking for work?" She shook her head, "I'm not,..." she motioned to Scar to come inside, "But he is." The moment the gnoll entered the inn he knew he'd like this place, it was dark, dusty and smelled of rotting wood. It was, comfy. A good place to read and rest. He remembered what Purple Haze had told him, look impressive for your boss. He build himself up to his full height, hairs standing on end as his back came close to the ceiling. He made sure his claws and teeth could be seen as he walked towards the old pony. It was brown with a grey shade and it lightly shuddered as each of the gnoll's steps lightly shook the wooden floor. Two Shots didn't know what to think. Something huge had just entered his inn. Something with many teeth and claws. He had heard rumors of a beast walking the streets but this thing before him looked like it could tear a manticore apart in seconds. "Scar comes for bouncer work." Two Shots blinked in confusion, "I beg your pardon?" "Scar comes for bouncer work." he held up the note Two Shots had put on the board. Two Shots slowly put the gnoll's words together. When it finally dawned on him what the gnoll wanted his shocked face turned into one of pure excitement. This was a gift from heaven, a heavenly gift with huge teeth, but still a gift. "You're hired." This would do. This would do perfectly.