//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Inventory // Story: Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium // by Thunderbug80 //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Inventory With a final blow of the hammer, Bon Bon dropped the tool out of her mouth, gave a long sigh and stepped back a few paces to admire her handiwork. "Not bad, huh?" she asked, turning to Lyra. "I'd say it looks pretty good for being my first time making something like this." She turned back around and indicated the rest of the room. "We'll need to make a few more things later on, but this should get you started." Lyra tilted her head and examined Bon Bon's creation. It was hard to tell at first, but if she squinted her eyes a certain way it almost resembled a small wooden checkout counter, upon which would sit the rusty cash register they had purchased. She marvelled at the way some of the wooden planks stuck out at awkward angles, and how some of the nails protruded from it as if it were some kind of spiked beast lying in wait for unsuspecting prey. She raised a forehoof up and warily prodded the counter. "Oh wow, it held together!" she marvelled. She turned to Bon Bon and grinned. "I was certain it was going to collapse, what with all the loose joints and the lack of any overall structure and..." she trailed off as she noticed the glare Bon Bon was giving her. Bon Bon huffed. "I didn't see you helping out much," she scolded. "It's hard work to put something together like this you know, and swinging that hammer around has made my neck hurt! Couldn't you have just magicked one of these together by yourself?" Lyra balanced on her back legs and raised her forehooves in the air defensively. "No no, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful," she assured her friend. "I really am quite amazed at how well it's holding together, you did great! Besides, I couldn't have done any better myself." Lyra tapped her horn with a hoof. "My magic is best suited for small, accurate movements. That's why I'm pretty good with my lyre. Moving something heavy like wooden boards would be far too much of a strain for me to do for more than a few minutes." "Yeah, well try doing it all by mouth," Bon Bon muttered. She took a good, long look around the room and nodded absently. "You can use dressers and end tables as temporary display areas. Be sure to put a few in front of your windows, that way potential customers can look in and see what you have for sale." Lyra blinked. "But we're selling everything," she stated. Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "Yes, but you don't have everything right now, do you? You can't sell what you don't have, so you're going to want to put your best items on display by the windows in order to attract customers. We can't do that until you actually have something to sell, though." She trotted over to the front door and looked back over her shoulder. "This place is almost beginning to look like an actual shop. We can sort the rest of the details out later, but for now we need to actually go obtain something to sell. We can have a good browse around town, or even head out to somewhere else like Appleoosa to find out what we can pick up at a bargain. Don't underestimate the power of convenience! Many ponies are willing to pay a little extra if they don't have to travel too far to get what they want. Now, how many bits do you have left?" Lyra hopped over to a small shelf upon which sat a glass jar. She took the jar into her front hooves and pried the top off with her mouth, emptying its contents onto the floor. She then took a quick count of her findings. "After paying for the selling permit, the wood for the counter and that old register, we have a grand total of fourteen bits left!" she announced happily. Bon Bon lowered her ears with a groan. "Well, it looks like we may as well just go digging through the trash then," she remarked sarcastically. There were times in a pony's life when he or she would be put into the awkward kind of situation in which they feel like they have to do something, and yet they would give almost anything to not actually have to do it. Perhaps they were caught in a lie and felt the need to clear the air, but were nervous about the reaction it would cause. Maybe they had to face a terrifying hydra in order to save Ponyville, and feared for their lives. Or perhaps the pony had a friend named Lyra Heartstrings and she had made the mistake of suggesting something completely ridiculous as a joke, not expecting her friend to take it seriously. "You do realize that I was kidding, right?" Bon Bon complained. She was having a hard time keeping the stench of the trash heap from forcing her lunch to make a sudden reappearance. A small pile of rubbish moved and Lyra's head appeared. "But your idea was brilliant, Bon Bon!" she exclaimed. She waved a hoof at the garbage. "I know it may not seem like it, but I do know a thing or two about selling. One of the golden rules of sales is that you buy high and sell low." "Buy low, sell high," Bon Bon corrected. "Right. Anyway, what can possibly be lower than climbing through the trash?" Lyra asked. A banana peel slid off her shoulder and landed in the pile with a wet plop. "You're right, Lyra," Bon Bon replied, putting on a fake smile. "This has to be the lowest of the low..." Lyra grinned. "I'm glad you agree. Ooh! Look what I found!" She bent her neck down and dug around the trash pile for a moment, then lifted her prize up triumphantly. Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "A sock?" she asked unenthusiastically. "Not just one sock," Lyra beamed. She bent down and retrieved another item. "A pair of socks! There aren't even any holes in them or anything," she managed to say around a mouthful of socks. "Help me find the other two!" With a small shudder, Bon Bon began to tentatively nudge and poke at the trash with her snout and forehooves. The things I do for her, she thought with a grimace.