A Gizmonk in Ponyville

by Moheart7

Chapter 9 - Friendly Neighbours

After the Open Day had finished, Goggles’ was kept busy for several days afterward. Not only did many ponies request several copies of Goggles’ previous creations like the wagons he made for the Apples, but some of them had also asked him to make repairs and/or upgrades to any contraption they already had. Not only that, but any spare time he had, he used it as a chance to make something new so he could put it on offer later. About a week after the Open Day, sometime during the late afternoon, Goggles had found himself at the Carousel Boutique working on one of Rarity’s broken sewing machines, needless to say for him it was merely a quick fix.

“I simply cannot thank you enough,” Rarity said as Goggles finished the final touches on her new sewing machine. “This old piece of scrap has had my business in a right state for ages.”

“But don’t y’all have spares?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yeah, I’m no expert but even I know you can’t run a business like this on one sewing machine.” Sweetie Belle added.

As they had originally planned, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been involved with Goggles’ new business since day one, whenever they had free time on their hooves, they would always either travel with Goggles to his call of business or help him out in his new lab in the Apples’ barn, although the latter was more of a simple pastime since he didn’t really need any help there. Granted they realised that they weren’t going to get their Cutie marks being his supposed business partners after the first two days, but they enjoyed helping Goggles out regardless. Today, all four of them decided to help Goggles by using Scootaloo’s scooter and wagon to transport some of the materials he needed from Sweet Apple Acres to the Carousel Boutique, after that they all bared witness to another one of Goggles’ amazing skills in machinery.

“Well I used to have a spare sewing machine but I’m afraid that was broken too,” Rarity explained as she admired her new sewing machine. “Unfortunately it was too badly damaged to repair so I had to throw it away.”

“Shame Goggles wasn’t here at the time eh?” Silver Spoon giggled. “I’ll bet he could have fixed it in no time at all.”

Suddenly as though he were reacting on instinct alone, Goggles’ tail once again lit up and he began to rapidly attack whatever materials and/or scraps he had left and proceeded to build something else, within minutes an exact replica of the sewing machine he had just fixed stood right next to the first one. With one smug look, Goggles blew off the steam from his screwdriver.

“Looks like he proved you right Silver,” Scootaloo chuckled.

“Oh my goodness,” Rarity exclaimed. “You simply must allow me to repay you in some better way other than merely money, I know how about I use this new sewing machine you built to make you a fabulous new outfit! Don’t get me wrong darling, but you simply cannot keep wearing the same vest all the time, you need some variety in your wardrobe choices.”

Goggles didn’t know whether to take Rarity’s sentence as a compliment or an insult, but either way he didn’t care as long as she was grateful for his work, with a simple nod of his head he gestured his approval of Rarity’s offer.

“Marvellous!” Rarity squeed as she used her magic to levitate her tape measure.

As Rarity took Goggles’ measurements, she couldn’t help but feel excited for she had never made anything for a Gizmonk before, granted she usually made garments for her cat, Opal, but a Gizmonk was quite different. When she was done, she then used her magic to levitate several rolls of fabric and rolls of thread towards the sewing machine.

“It may take me a while to get everything ready darling,” Rarity explained as she levitated her sketchpad towards her and pet on her designer glasses. “So is it possible for me to create an IOU for my payment?”

Goggles nodded at that.

“Oh thank you darling,” Rarity said with a smile. “Oh one more thing, if you could just allow me to see those goggles of yours…”

However before Rarity could even go near his name-sake, he quickly growled and slapped her hoof away, much to everyone’s surprise.

“Ah don’t think he likes that,” Apple Bloom said nervously.

“Now there is no need to be rude darling,” Rarity said, looking down at the glaring Gizmonk. “I was simply suggesting that since I’m creating you some new clothes, that we also replace those old goggles with some new ones.”

However Goggles literally put his foot down and quickly scribbled another sentence on his notepad, which read:

THE GOGGLES STAY!

Clearly Goggles was very protective of his personal eye-wear, though the reason why was unclear, Rarity merely shrugged it off.

“Very well, it’s your choice,” she said turning back towards the sewing machine. “Though this does limit my options because there are only so many fabrics that go with such accessories, after all there’s colour and pattern…”

“She might go on like this for a while,” Sweetie Belle whispered into Goggles’ ear as her big sister continued to ramble.

#

When all five of them had finally managed to escape Rarity’s fashion rambles, Goggles and the CMC soon found themselves walking through the streets of Ponyville on route to their next destination.

“So who’s next on the list?” Scootaloo asked as she continued to pull the wagon with her scooter.

“Well the last item on the list today is a request from a Mr Toonmore,” Silver Spoon said as she read off the check-list. “Apparently he needs something that can help him in his Reviewing business.”

“Wait so this guy’s a Critic?” Scootaloo asked.

“Let’s hope this guy ain’t a MACHINE critic,” Apple Bloom said nervously. “Ah don’t quite think that Goggles is ready to be reviewed yet.”

“HA!” Scootaloo laughed. “Like Goggles would even get a bad review is he was, so what does this guy want?”

“Doesn’t say,” Silver Spoon said, adjusting her glasses. “He only put in a request yesterday but never gave any details.”

“Well whatever it is, it’ll have to wait till tomorrow,” Apple Bloom said looking toward Goggles, who at this point began rubbing his temple. “Ah think Goggles might have used up all of his brain power for today.”

“He DOES look exhausted,” Sweetie Belle admitted, noticing Goggles’ lack of his usual energy. “Maybe you should take him home Apple Bloom.”

“But what about the last customer?” Scootaloo argued.

“We’ll just have to visit him first thing tomorrow,” Silver Spoon said with a shrug. “Besides, I doubt he’d want something made by a Gizmonk who’s not up to his full skill, right?”

“Fair enough,” Scootaloo sighed. “You okay with this Goggles?”

Goggles smiled in response and wrote something on his notepad, which read:

SURE, I COULD USE A CUP OF TEA ANYWAY.

“Then let’s get you home,” Apple Bloom said as she lifted Goggles onto her back. “Same time tomorrow girls?”

“Of course!” the other three said simultaneously.

Satisfied with the response, Apple Bloom smiled and proceeded to carry Goggles home.

#

When he and Apple Bloom finally arrived back at the farm, Goggles couldn’t help but sigh with relief, true he liked his new job, loved it even, but even a Gizmonk needs some time to unwind after spending a good chunk of the day building and fixing. Suddenly the two were welcomed by the loud sound of something breaking from inside the house.

“What in tarnation was that?” Apple Bloom questioned as she opened the front door.

What Goggles and Apple Bloom saw next gave them quite a surprise, as they walked into the living room, they saw Applejack and Big Macintosh trying to pry Granny Smith out of her rocking chair. That was then Apple Bloom remembered, this was around the time of Granny Smith’s monthly trip to the doctor, and of course it was clear that she hated it. Every month, she would refuse to go and the rest of Apple Family has to go through the same routine of trying to coax her into going every single time.

“Come on Granny,” Applejack said as she tried in vain to pull Granny Smith out of her seated position. “We gotta get ya to the doctor!”

“I ain’t going to no doctor!” Granny Smith snapped back, taking a tighter grip on the arms of the chair. “I’m as fit as a fiddle! Say what you like, but there ain’t nothing you can do to get me out of this rocking chair!”

Applejack groaned at that while Big Mac and Apple Bloom merely rolled their eyes. Suddenly Big Mac felt a small tap on his shoulder, when he looked to see who it was, he saw Goggles looking up at him with a note that read:

GET WAGON-4

Of course Big Mac knew what Goggles was talking about in an instant, ever since the Open Day, any of the wagons Goggles made that weren’t sold were all kept in the barn and numbered, so that the Apples knew which was which. Knowing what Wagon-4 was designed for, Big Mac nodded with understanding and walked towards the front door, leaving Goggles to rub his paws with a naughty grin on his face.

#

“DAGNABBIT YA BACKSTABBIN YOUGINS!!! LET ME LOOSE!!!”

That shout echoed throughout the entire orchard as Granny Smith struggled against the ropes that were tying her down. As it turns out, Goggles had known about Granny Smith’s actions regarding her monthly doctor’s appointment, most likely from listening in to certain conversations between the Apple family, and as such, he had designed a special wagon just for the occasion. This particular wagon, recognised as Wagon-4, was made with a reinforced frame with handles along the edges, as well as a built-in ramp that slides in and out of a gap in the base of it. This wagon’s purpose was of course getting Granny Smith to the doctor without any chance of her escaping, which of course meant Goggles tying her down to the rocking chair she refused to leave with rope, and then pulling her AND the chair and tying them down in the wagon. It may not have been a method Applejack approved of, but even she had to admit that it at least got results.

“You all saddled up Big Mac?” she asked taking a seat at the front of the wagon.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh responded as he made sure he was securely fastened to the wagon.

“Then we better hurry up,” Apple Bloom said as she took a seat next to her sister. “Granny’s already starting to chew through the ropes.”

With those words, Big Mac hurried down the road towards town, dragging the wagon carrying the rest of his family with him, leaving Goggles on the porch to wave them goodbye with a smug look on his face. Now that he had been with the family for a couple of weeks, Goggles had finally gained enough trust from the Apples to be left on his own while they were gone. Since he clearly has shown enough intelligence to know better and that fact that he now had a business to keep himself busy with, Applejack felt a little more at ease regarding anything involving the Gizmonk, though that still didn’t stop her worrying as she and the rest of the family drove off into town. About an hour after the family had left, Goggles found himself back in his laboratory in the barn enjoying a well-deserved cup of tea after a hard day’s work, suddenly his moment of relaxation was interrupted by a loud knock on the barn door. To say that he was agitated with the interruption would be putting it mildly, since the knock came so suddenly, actually caused him to spill some of the hot tea onto his lap and jump around for a few moments trying to cool himself off from the scalding liquid. When Goggles opened the barn door, he feared that it was the stallion he had decided to skip this afternoon, however instead he found himself looking upon a young, somewhat pretty Unicorn mare with a sky-blue coat, a silver man and tail and wearing what appeared to be a cape and pointy hat, both with a typ of star pattern upon them.

“Greetings!” the mare said. “The Great and Apologetic Trixie graces you with her presence to ask for assistance. For Trixie has heard tale of a great inventor who… what is this?”

The mare’s face dropped upon seeing the Gizmonk looking up at her, Goggles could tell immediately that this was going to be an awkward encounter. He responded to Trixie’s question with a deadpanned expression on his face and a quickly written note on his pad, which read:

THE INVENTOR

Trixie’s jaw dropped upon reading this, this was definitely something she did not expect upon coming here.

“Do you mean to tell me that Trixie has come here looking for an inventor and it turns out the inventor is just a monkey!?!” she snapped angrily, turning to leave. “By Celestia, this has been a huge waste of Trixie’s time!”

Under any other circumstance any pony would have just let the clearly shallow pony leave their property, however since Goggles was both curious and a sucker for a pony in need, he knew he had to at least find a way to help her out. With a heavy sigh, he ran in front of Trixie and stopped her in her tracks.

“What!?!” Trixie snapped. “Trixie thought she made it clear that she didn’t need the help from some monkey!”

Goggles growled at that, if there was one thing he really hated it was being undermined by someone who has only known him for a few seconds. Fortunately, he was also quite stubborn and enjoyed a challenge, so he wrote another sentence on his notepad, which read:

WHAT DO YOU NEED DONE?

At first Trixie snarled with irritation, it was never a good idea to test her patience. However upon looking down at the Gizmonk before her, she couldn’t help but react with awe at the adorable creature, she may have been shallow in the past but even she was a sucker for cuteness.

“Stubborn little fellow aren’t you,” she said with a slight chuckle. “Well not that you can actually do anything, but the Great and Apologetic Trixie has had some trouble of sorts with her mode of transport. It used to run on my magic but due to recent troubles on the road it is now in no condition to travel. The Great and Apologetic Trixie has had to pull it for half a mile before reaching here.”

When she pointed towards the pile of junk that she had brought to the farm, Goggles’ jaw dropped, the caravan was a total wreck. The walls of the caravan completely painted with holes, the front looks as though it was been burnt away with dragon fire and not just one, but all the wheels of the caravan were completely gone. Goggles’ mind boggled upon thinking how Trixie could have possible dragged this heap for half a mile, even if she had used magic.

“Well?” Trixie asked with a slight smirk. “Still think you can help me?”

He may have officially finished his work for the day, but there was something about being challenged that made Goggles want to build something despite his need of rest. Before Trixie even had the chance to even blink, Goggles ran back into the barn only to come out seconds late with his tools and began attacking the remains of Trixie’s caravan. After about fifteen minutes, Trixie was left flabbergasted upon seeing her wagon looking better than new, while Goggle simply blew off the steam from the end of his screwdriver. After a few moments of letting her jaw hang in astonishment, Goggles then walked up to Trixie and gave her another note, which read:

“WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME TEA?”

#

“…And then I hear that she’s now become a princess and every pony loves her even more than ever!” Trixie continued to ramble between sips of tea. “It’s not that Trixie is jealous or anything, granted she has made a few mistakes in her past, but I swear if I see just one more piece of vandalism on my caravan…”

Goggles just wanted to bang his head against the table at this point, all he wanted to do was invite a potential customer inside his laboratory for a nice cup of tea in hopes that it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle for her, but now it’s starting to turn into a hassle for HIM since about another hour had passed and Trixie STILL doesn’t know when to shut up. It’s not that he minded the talking in general, it’s just that every word that came out of Trixie’s mouth seem to be mostly about HER, she may have claimed that she was trying to be humble in recent months, but she clearly had a LONG way to go. Suddenly an idea popped into Goggles’ head and the orb on the end of his tail lit up, he then wrote something on his notepad, which read:

CARE FOR SOMETHING TO EAT?

That got Trixie’s attention long enough to get her to stop talking for at least a few moments.

“I don’t suppose you have any Peanut Butter Crackers?” she asked.

Goggles nodded in response and dove under his workbench, where he kept his own personal cooler, just another one of his inventions that he had made in his spare time. When Goggles came out from under the workbench, he had a small jar of crunchy peanut butter and a small pack of seasoned crackers, it may have been a little tacky but regardless it kept Trixie satisfied enough to keep her quite for a little bit.

“Trixie is satisfied with your generosity,” she said, keeping her posture as she chomped down on one of the goo-covered crackers. “Now why can’t ponies be more like you? Granted you are an animal but at least you’re polite, not to mention a good listener.”

Goggles merely shrugged at that, in all honesty he didn’t really know how else to react to such a statement, especially since he was trying to avoid listening to her for the past hour.

“Alas, I suppose life just isn’t meant to be grand for the Grand for the Great and Apologetic Trixie,” Trixie continued. “Even though I try and I try my best to change my ways and make a living, Ponies continue to scorn me for my past mistakes. I cannot tell you how much Trixie’s audiences have dwindled over the last few months.”

Actually she HAD told him that, in fact for the past hour Goggles had been hearing everything from her first stop in Ponyville to the incident with the Alicorn Amulet, with the amount of stuff this mare’s been going through, Goggles is merely surprised she hasn’t made a book deal yet. Goggle then noticed a genuine look of sorrow upon Trixie’s face, obviously she was feeling rather low about what has happened in her past.

“Then again I suppose it’s only fair,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve lied, I’ve cheated, and I almost made every pony’s life here miserable. And now here I am talking to a monkey, who while proven to be very skilled with carpentry, is still just listening to Trixie’s problems like he’s her therapist. Why is that?”

Goggles wrote a nod in response, which read:

JUST BEING FRIENDLY

Trixie, merely snorted at that, it clearly wasn’t much of an answer.

“Friendly huh?” she chuckled. “Well I’ sorry to say that being friendly isn’t going to make my problems go away, I’ve already lost so much money and with audiences not showing up for my shows, I can’t really afford to pay for anything anymore. I suppose I could always beg for my job back on the Rock Farm if I get desperate enough”

Goggles raised an eyebrow at that and wrote another note, which read:

THEN HOW WERE YOU PLANNING ON PAYING ME!?!

All Goggles got back in response was a nervous chuckle from the blue unicorn, Goggles then narrowed his eyes and looked at her with a demanding glare.

“I… I thought that since I was a new customer you would give me a discount,” Trixie whimpered, not wanting to upset the Gizmonk. “Or at least come up with some sort of I.O.U.”

Goggles faced palmed at this, he was too tired to make an argument about this right now. Suddenly his eyes widened and his tail lit up, he had an idea. He then quickly wrote down another message on his notepad, which read:

WORK FOR ME

Trixie’s eye widened with surprise upon reading this.

“W… what?” She stammered. “You’re offering me a job?”

Goggles responded another note, which read:

YOU SAID YOU NEEDED MONEY RIGHT? AND YOU CAN PARK YOUR CARAVAN JUST OUTSIDE. CONSIDER THIS YOU’RE WAY OF PAYING ME BACK.

Trixie couldn’t believe what she was reading, just an hour ago she came here looking for a way to fix her caravan, now she was being offered a job from what she had first considered to be just an animal that had possibly escaped from some circus. Was she really so desperate as to accept? She didn’t even know what kind of job it was supposed to be, then again in her mind anything would be better than going back to the Rock Farm. Looking down upon the confident looking Gizmonk, she let out a deep sigh.

“What have I got to lose?” she said, with a slight smile.

Goggles grinned at that and wrote another note, which read:

GREAT! YOU CAN START TOMORROW.

He then outstretched his paw, which Trixie hesitantly took in her hoof and shook, indicating that the deal had been made.

Suddenly the moment had been interrupted by the barn door being swung open as Applejack and Bi Macintosh returned with Wagon-4

“Goggles are you…” Applejack said, suddenly noticing the blue unicorn in her barn. “Huh? Trixie!?!

“Hi Neighbour,” Trixie said apprehensively.

Applejack’s eyes then turned from Trixie to Goggles, who looked back at her with anxiety as her eyes narrowed into a glare. Goggles had a feeling that this was going to be awkward.

Author's Note:

The character Toonmore (mentioned by the CMC) is the Brony OC by Hewylewis on DA, I hope he doesn't mind his chracter being used in the story.

Image of Toonmore:

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Hewy-Toonmore-Pony-440670818

Comments

[Tatsurou]

Oh lordy...wonder how the Apples will react to Trixie as Goggles' assistant?

[Moheart7]

5437832 Indeed

[Shadow-DJ]

And this is why you're not the element of generosity, AJ. You're kind of rude at times