Ponyville Pawn Stars

by TimidWolf

Episode 3: Cash for Cutie Marks

I'm Cash Money, and this is my pawn shop. I work here with my sire, Old Money; and my colt, Big Hoss.

Everything in here has a story and a price. One thing I've learned in all my years in Ponyville, is that you never know what is going to trot through that door.

This is Ponyville Pawn Stars.

Up until about the middle of his day, there wasn't anything remarkable going on at Cash's pawn shop. Ponies came and went, bought and sold, and browsed around just like any other day. The moment all of that changed came while he was pony-watching in his store again. He heard voices that caught his attention:

"See? Ah told you it was in here!" A filly exclaimed.

"Yeah? So what?" Another filly questioned.

"Yeah, that doesn't mean anything," yet another filly said.

I get concerned when I think I've got little ones wandering around the store unsupervised, Cash said on-camera. But I know that this is Ponyville and things are pretty safe around here. Well, aside from the occasional monster or demigod that seems to show up every now and then. In any case, when I hear three fillies talking and no adult ponies answering, I ask myself: where are the parents?

Cash walked out from behind the counter and toward the voices to investigate. He turned a corner and came up behind the three fillies: a yellow earth pony with a giant bow in her strawberry mane, a white unicorn with a lavender mane and an orange pegasus with a cropped purple mane and tiny wings. They were all looking at a plow.

"But it's just like ah told you," the yellow one said, "that's Farmer Brown's old plow. Yesterday ah saw him with a big an' shiny new one and ah asked Big Mac what happened to his old plow. He told me that Farmer Brown got rid of it. An' everypony knows that when a big pony says they 'got rid' of somethin' it means they threw it away."

"So if Farmer Brown threw his plow away," the unicorn said, "then why is it in this store and not the dump?"

"Are you saying that whoever runs this store fished this plow out of the dump?" the pegasus asked. "And now he's selling it?"

"Exactly!" The yellow one exclaimed. "He must be a garbage pony! Maybe all of the stuff in here's from the dump!"

"I don't know," the unicorn said as she sniffed the air. "It smells a little weird in here, but not stinky like the dump." She stepped closer to the plow and sniffed it. "And this thing doesn't smell like the dump either."

"Well," Cash spoke up and made the fillies jump, "that's because I picked it up before it got there."

The fillies turned around and looked up at Cash wide-eyed. "Goodness, mister garbage pony, sir," the yellow one said, "you startled us!"

"I'm no garbage pony, I'm a pawnbroker," Cash said. "There's a big difference."

"That's right," Old Money called from the back, "although that one does talk a lot of trash."

"Aw, can it, Pops!" he yelled back.

"So if you're not a garbage pony, then how did you get Farmer Brown's plow?" the yellow filly asked.

"He sold it to me," Cash explained. "That's what I do here, I buy and sell ponies' things. No garbage in my store, just secondhoof merchandise." He stopped talking, studied the fillies faces for a few seconds and spoke again, "Hey, I know you! You're Apple Bloom, right? Big Mac and Applejack's little sister?"

"Yep, that's me!" the country filly said.

"And you," he said, looking at the white unicorn, "are Sweetie Belle, Rarity's sister, am I right?"

"Uh-huh!" she answered.

"And you're," Cash said to the pegasus before he paused. He furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a moment before he continued. "Hmm. Actually, I'm kind of drawing a blank here. I don't know your name, but I've seen you tearing through Ponyville on your scooter before. I think you almost knocked over my dad yesterday."

"Is THAT pony out there with you, son?!" Old Money bellowed from the back.

"Uh oh," she said. "Um, yes, sir. That's me. Name's Scootaloo."

"I'm Cash, by the way. And don't worry about him back there, he's just old and cranky," he said. Cash looked at all three fillies and asked, "Say, shouldn't somepony be watching you all?"

Just then a country mare called from outside, "Apple Bloooom! Did you an' yer friends go in here?" An orange earth pony with a tri-apple cutie mark wearing a brown Stetson trotted into the store. She turned a corner and found Cash and the fillies. "There y'all are! Tarnation, Apple Bloom, my day is busy enough without you an' yer friends wandering off every time we stop. Howdy there, Mr. Cash! Ah hope my sis an' her friends weren't gettin' in the way of yer business none."

"Not at all, Applejack," he said. "We were just talking about how I came to get Farmer Brown's plow here."

"Hey mister!" Apple Bloom piped up, looking at Cash's flank, "Ah just noticed that yer cutie mark's the same symbol as what's on yer sign outside. Why is that?"

"It's because I'm a pawnbroker. I've always known that I wanted to run a pawn shop," Cash explained. He looked at the orange mare and asked, "So, Applejack, what's going on with you today?"

"Well, Ah'll tell ya," Applejack said, "Mah day is just packed with all kinds of errands an' things I have to do here in town an' back on the farm. Ah'd have more than enough time to get it all done, but Ah plumb forgot about the girls' sleepover at the farm tonight."

"Yeah, sis, ya promised!" Apple Bloom said.

"Ah know, sugarcube," Applejack told her, "an' we'll get to that once Ah get these things done."

"But that'll take forever!" Apple Bloom whined.

"You know, AJ," Cash said, "I've got an idea here that might help you out, if you're okay with it."

"I'm all ears, Cash," Applejack said.

"Well," he said with a sort of hypothetical tone, "what if until your errands and stuff are done, the girls hung out here at the shop?"

"Huh?" the fillies said altogether.

"Do what now?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, they could stick around here until you're done," Cash offered. "It wouldn't be a problem for me, really. And you know you could trust me, right? I mean, our folks have known each other practically forever."

"Indeed they have," Old Money said in his crusty old stallion voice as he walked up to the group. "Why hello, Miss Applejack. To what do we owe the honor of your lovely presence this mornin'?"

"Oh, just chasin' down my sis an' her friends, Old Money," she replied.

"You know," Old Money said, "you're every bit as pretty as yer Granny Smith was back in my day."

"Aw shucks, sir," Applejack said and blushed. "You're always sayin' that."

"An' it's the honest truth," Old Money said.

"Um, Dad?" Cash asked. "Applejack and I were just discussing a little problem she has here. See, she's got her sis and her friends for the day but she's also got a ton of other stuff to do too. So I suggested that they hang out here so AJ can..."

"Whoa, whoa there, son," Old Money said as he raised a hoof. "Do you even know what you're asking?"

"Sure, pop, I'm asking AJ to help her out," he said.

"But this is a place of business, son. We just can't have three fillies runnin' 'round here doin' whatever, even if Miss Applejack lets us take 'em for the day."

"Hey now, Ah ain't even said yes or no yet!" Applejack chimed in.

While the older ponies debated over this, the camera moved to focus in on Apple Bloom whispering to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, "Hey, girls! C'mere, listen up."

They moved in closer to her, and Sweetie Belle asked, "What is it, Apple Bloom?"

"Ah've got the perfect idea," Apple Bloom said. "Let's work here!"

"What?" Scootaloo asked, taken aback. "Are you crazy?"

"Yeah, have you lost your marbles?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"No, no, hear me out!" Apple Bloom reasoned. "We've been tryin' to get our cutie marks doin' stuff all over this town and we've got nothin' to show for it so far. But we didn't even know this place was here until Ah saw Farmer Brown's plow. Don't y'all see, girls? This could be our chance. Today could be the day we get our cutie marks!"

"Hmm," Sweetie Belle thought aloud. "I suppose it's worth a shot. It is how Mr. Cash got his."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "We could be pawnbrokers! I mean, how hard could it be, breaking pawns and stuff?"

"Well, girls, that settles it!" Apple Bloom declared. "Let's do this!"

The fillies and the camera all turned their attention back to the older ponies. Apple Bloom walked closer to Cash and asked, "Um, excuse me, Mr. Cash, sir?" He stopped talking to the others and looked down at her before she continued, "Yeah, the girls an' Ah were talkin', an' we think it's great that ya wanna let us hang out here. But see, we don't wanna impose on yer business none by just, you know, doing whatever we want 'round here. So Ah thought we could make it worth yer while to have us here."

"Oh?" Cash asked, raising an eyebrow. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

"It's simple, really," Sweetie Belle said as she continued their pitch. "You could let us work here for the day! Then we would stay out of everypony's way and we would be helping you with the store. And since we would be here, Miss Applejack can get all of that other stuff done without us slowing her down."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo chimed in. "It helps you, it helps us and it helps AJ! So whaddaya say?"

"Girls, I say you might be getting in over your heads here," Cash said. "Working here isn't..."

"Now just one apple-buckin' minute, son," Old Money said. "These girls might be onto somethin' here."

Cash gave his sire an incredulous look and said, "Dad, you can't be serious. They're fillies."

"They're motivated fillies," Old Money said, "and I'd be more than happy to entertain this notion of theirs. That is, if we could agree on proper compensation for their day's work..."

"Oh don't ya worry 'bout that none, Mr. Old Money, sir!" Apple Bloom spoke up. "We're here for the experience! We'd work for free if it meant getting our cutie marks!"

"Gee thanks, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo whispered to her through gritted teeth.

"Eyes on the prize, Scootaloo," she whispered back.

"Aha! I figured all this might have somethin' to do with those blank flanks of yours. Now let me think," the old pony said as he rubbed his chin with one hoof. "Tell you what, girls: y'all work for free whether you get yer cutie marks or not and I'll promise not to work y'all too hard. An' like y'all said, this'll be a favor to you, to us and to Miss Applejack." He looked at Applejack and said, "The final word, of course, is yours. What do you think?"

The orange earth pony looked down at her sister, who smiled and looked up at her with sweet eyes that seemed to plead her to let them stay. She looked back at Cash and said, "If Ah say yes, then you've gotta give me yer word that you'll have somepony with them while they're here. Remember what Ah told ya about their little club, 'cause my sis an' her friends can be a real hoofful when they're together."

"I've already got somepony in mind, AJ," Cash said. He looked at Old Money and continued, "And in light of my father's ridiculous idea, I'll make extra sure they listen to every direction my employees give them."

Applejack sighed and said, "Well, Ah think they'll be in good hooves here. All right then, they can stay."

"Yay!" the fillies cheered in unison.

Applejack looked at them and said, "All right, girls, y'all better listen to an' obey every word Mr. Cash and his employees tell ya. Ah'll be back at closin' time to take y'all back to the farm for the sleepover. Deal?"

"Deal!" They shouted back.

"Well, Ah best be goin'," she said. "Ah really appreciate yer help, Cash. Ah'll be here to pick 'em up the minute y'all start closin' up shop!"

"Not a problem, AJ!" Cash said. "See you then!"

"Say howdy to yer Granny for me, Miss Applejack," Old Money said.

"Why don't ya come on by the farm an' tell her yerself?" Applejack asked on her way out. "Be seein' y'all!"

"This is gonna be great!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Today we're gonna be..."

"Cutie Mark Crusader pawnbrokers!" They yelled together. "Yeah!"

Their call to duty left Cash's ears ringing.

Okay, let's recap, Cash said on-camera. This is the first time in the history of the store that my father is allowing fillies to work the counters. I mean, young fillies. Nopony has ever started working here that young. Even Big Hoss and I were older than them on our first day on the job. I've got my suspicions about this, but I really have to know: what in the world was my father thinking?

What my son doesn't understand is that this is a unique opportunity to try something new, Old Money explained on-camera. He sees three little fillies, but I see an investment in the future. We won't know what these girls are capable of until we put them in the thick of it. This might seem like a risky venture, but Ponyville and this store wasn't built upon safe and predictable certainties. In my day times were tough, and my pa had me working at their age. Fillies and colts these days don't know how easy they got it, you know.

"Girls," Old Money said, "welcome to my new apprenticeship pilot program. Let me take y'all to our office so we can get started."

Cash and Old Money led the trio up to the office nook area, where Big Hoss and Derpy were doing paperwork. Hoss looked up from his stack, saw the three fillies and gave Cash a quizzical look.

"I know," he said. "I'll explain."

"Now, if y'all are gonna work here, y'all gotta look like y'all work here," Old Money said. He walked up to a box behind one of the desks, opened it and rummaged around inside. He stuck his face in the box, then pulled out three black uniform shirts with his mouth and tossed them to the fillies. "Those are the smallest ones I got," he said. "Try 'em on."

The three slipped into the shirts, which looked more like dresses on them. "These things are huge," Sweetie Belle said. She took a step forward and one of her rear hooves stepped on the low-hanging hem, which made her stumble and fall forward. As she got back up she grumbled, "Dumb fabric..."

Apple Bloom sniffed the sleeve and remarked, "They smell kinda funny, too."

Scootaloo wriggled about in hers. "And they're super uncomfortable!" she complained. "Where are the wing holes in these things?"

"I'm afraid those are the best we've got for you," Cash told them. "Don't worry about the smell, they're clean. And as for the wing holes, we're a three-generation earth pony business. Wings never became an issue with the uniform until Derpy showed up. Sorry, Scootabout."

"It's Scootaloo," she told Cash as she glared at him.

"Gesundheit," he said. He turned to Hoss and Derpy, then spoke again. "All right, listen up. These three girls here will be our apprentices for the day. From now until the store closes they will be part of our regular operations."

"Dad, I know you're always looking for cheap labor, but this is ridiculous," Hoss said. "What are they going to do here, anyway? Sweep floors and bring customers in with their cuteness?"

"Actually, this was your grandpa's idea," Cash told him. "And they're not sweeping floors. They're going to learn how to be pawnbrokers."

"What?" Hoss asked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious. They're going to learn all about what we do," Cash said as he looked directly at Hoss. "And they're going to learn it from somepony here who knows the business and knows how to teach it. Somepony who..."

"Oh, no!" Hoss exclaimed as he shook his head. "Uh-uh. Not gonna happen, Pops. There's no way I'm foalsitting three fillies while running an actual business here."

"Hey, you!" Apple Bloom said as she marched up to Hoss. "Jus' so ya know, we don't need no foalsittin' here! We're here to work hard and earn our cutie marks!"

"That's right!" Sweetie Belle said. "Besides, I don't think we could learn anything from you, except how to be all big and grumpy."

"Yeah," Scootaloo chimed in, "where did you learn how to do this job, anyway? Mule school?"

"Atta-girls!" Cash cut in. "You all just learned your first lesson of the day, and that's not to learn anything from Big Hoss here. Besides, he's not the one teaching you." He pointed a hoof at Derpy and said, "She is."

"Really?!" she asked with a big smile and wide eyes.

"Really?" Hoss asked with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"Yes, really," Cash told Hoss. "Derpy's worked here for awhile now, and she's good with the little ones. Why not?"

"Whoohoo!" Derpy cheered as she flew into the air above her bosses' heads.

Hoss shrugged and said, "Eh, whatever. I was gonna duck out and get us some lunch anyhow." He looked down at the store's new apprentices and asked, "Can I get you girls anything? Maybe some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or something?"

"No thanks, Mr. Big Hoss," Apple Bloom said politely. "We had lunch before we came."

"PB and J?!" Scootaloo asked Hoss. "What are we, two?"

"Two-year-olds can't eat peanut butter and jelly!" Sweetie Belle told Scootaloo.

"Well, maybe you couldn't when you were two!" She shot back.

"Girls, girls!" Derpy flew over them and said calmly, "Now, this is a place of business. If you all want to have a good day here, then you need to show Mr. Cash some consideration and not raise a ruckus in his store. Can we do that?"

"Yes, Miss Derpy!" The three sang back.

"Great, then!" She said. "All right, boss, should I get them started right now?"

"Have at it, Derpy," Cash told her. "Just take them to one of the counters and tell them what you know. Then when a customer comes in, let them watch you do business with them. Girls, any questions?"

"Is bein' a pawnbroker hard?" Apple Bloom asked.

"You think we'll sell a lot of stuff?" Scootaloo asked.

"What happened to your mane?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Cash looked at each of them and answered, "Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's fun. I sure hope so. He happened." Cash pointed at Hoss, who looked at them and shrugged.

"Hey, there's a reason you aren't learning this stuff from me," Hoss said.

"They're all yours, Derpy," Cash said.

"Awesome!" Derpy said as she floated back down to the floor and told the fillies, "All right, girls, follow me!"

Hoss watched them walk with glee out of the office area before he shook his head. "This won't end well," he said to himself.

I don't think it's any surprise that the guys at the store don't think that I'm very good at my job, Derpy said on-camera. Maybe it's because I don't take things so seriously around here, or because of my eyes or muffins or something. But now I've got a chance to show Cash that I can do more than just buy and sell junk. I can be a real mentor to these girls and show the guys I can handle the responsibility of teaching three fillies. That'll show 'em who's the one trick pony around here. I mean, how hard can it be?

"Okay, girls," Derpy said, "the first thing I'm going to teach you is how to buy the different kinds of things ponies bring into the shop. This is a big part of our job because everything we buy gets sold again. We don't really want to let anything that comes into the store leave because that's how we make our money! After you've learned everything I can teach you about this, you'll know how to make thousands of bits buying and selling this stuff!"

"Wow!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "That's incredible! You've made thousands doin' this, Miss Derpy?"

"Er, well," Derpy admitted, "I'm, uh, not quite in the thousands range yet. I'm getting close, though. Okay, time to practice! Let's start with, um..." She looked around the counter, then ducked down behind it and came up with a muffin, which she put down in front of her. "This!"

The fillies stepped up to the counter around Derpy. They put their forelegs up on the countertop to boost themselves up and get a closer look at her item. "Um, Miss Derpy? Why do you keep muffins behind the counter?" Sweetie Belle asked her.

"Muffin breaks!" Derpy answered with a big smile on her face. "Now if I brought this muffin in to sell to one of you, how much would you offer me to have it?"

"Hmm," Sweetie Belle thought aloud. Then she asked, "How about one bit?"

"How about a thousand bits?" Apple Bloom asked.

"How long has that been there?" Scootaloo asked.

Derpy looked at the three of them, unsure as to how to interpret their answers. "Um, okay then," she said. "Maybe we need a real-world example so you girls can get a better picture of what I'm talking about." She picked up her muffin, tossed the whole pastry into her mouth, then chewed and swallowed it in one gulp. She looked around to her left and right for a potential customer. A few counters away a blue earth stallion stood and carried a lantern by the handle in his mouth. He set the lantern on the countertop in front of him and looked around for assistance. "Aha! Here we go, girls," Derpy said. "Now just watch what I do and..."

"Howdy, sir!" Applebloom was already in front of the unicorn and greeted him before Derpy could finish. She, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were all lined up with their forelegs on the countertop as they were before. "Welcome to our pawn shop! What can we buy offa you today?" she asked.

The pony gave the fillies a surprised look and asked, "Aren't you girls a little young to be working at a pawn shop?"

"Yes!" Apple Bloom answered. "Yes, we are!"

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened a little, and she turned to ask Scootaloo, "What TV show are we on again?"

"We're on a TV show?" she asked back.

"Of course we are, you dodo!" Sweetie Belle retorted and pointed her hoof straight ahead. "Why else are all these cameras..."

"Oh hello, sir!" Derpy flew up to and greeted the stallion. "I see you've met my apprentices. What can I do for you today?"

"I'd like to get a pawn loan for my lantern, if you don't mind," he told her.

"Why, sure thing!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Pawn loans are our specialty! We'd be plum delighted to give you one!" She looked at Derpy and asked, "Hey, Miss Derpy, what's a pawn loan?"

"Oh, that's another thing we do here," Derpy said. "See, ponies like this gentlecolt here will bring in something of theirs and use it to borrow money from us. Depending on what their item is, we loan them some money and we hold onto their item for thirty days. They have that long to pay back the loan, plus a little extra money called interest. If they pay us back in thirty days, they get their item back. But if they don't, their item is ours."

"Really?" Apple Bloom asked. "Like, forever?"

"Well no, silly," Derpy said. "Then we get to sell it." She turned her attention back to the stallion. "How big of a loan did you want for this, sir?"

"How does twenty bits sound?" he asked.

Derpy looked over the lantern and nodded. "That sounds good to me," she said. "Let's get you that loan. Follow me!" She picked up the lantern in her mouth and the two of them walked down to the next counter.

The camera view remained trained upon the fillies as Scootaloo looked at her friends and said, "Well, that didn't help us any!"

"Ah know, ah know," Apple Bloom told her, "but that was just our first customer."

"Yeah, and we didn't even do anything!" Sweetie Belle said. "Derpy handled the whole thing."

"She's gotta teach us how to sell stuff," Apple Bloom said, "or else we'll never earn our cutie marks."

Bein' a pawnbroker isn't as fun as Ah first thought, Apple Bloom said in an on-camera interview. She stood with her friends outside the store as they took turns talking to the camera. We've been here for, like, an hour an' nopony else has come to do business with us.

It does seem like a slow day today, Sweetie Belle continued. But Miss Derpy's been really nice and helpful. She seems to know what she's doing at her job.

Yeah, whatever, Scootaloo piped up. I don't know what we're doing here, except twiddling our hooves! I wanna make some deals already!

Back in the store, the girls were starting to become restless. Even Derpy was starting to pace back and forth as she floated through the air.

Apple Bloom sighed. "Miss Derpy, we're bored," she said. "When's a real customer gonna show up?"

"Well, like I said earlier," Derpy told her. "You have to be patient. They're not all going to march up to you at once to buy something. Although," she said as she looked at a couple of the ponies milling about the store, "I think I see somepony who could use a little push in that direction. Just stay right there and watch me."

She walked up to an orange earth mare who stood in front of the jewelry counter and greeted her. "Hello there! Is there something I could help you with today?"

"Hi, um, I'm just browsing, you know," the pony answered.

"Okay then," Derpy said. "But you know, I couldn't help but notice that you've been coming back to this case over and over since you've been in here. If you're interested in our jewelry selection, I'm sure I could help you find something."

"Well," the mare said, "I have been thinking a little about getting some new jewelry. I'm just not sure of what I want..."

"Not to worry!" Derpy told her. "I can open up the case up and let you take a closer look at what we have. And I'm sure my apprentices can help you narrow down your choices!" Right then the three eager and smiling fillies zipped up behind the counter, ready to help.

A short while later the orange mare had bought a golden pendant and was happily wearing it out the door. "Thanks for coming in!" Derpy called after her.

"Well, it's about time we sold something!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "And we didn't even have to wait for her to come to us."

"That's right!" Derpy said. "Sometimes you just have to march right up to them and let them know why you're here. Don't be afraid to give a little push every now and then. That's one of my little secrets."

"Secrets?" Sweetie Belle asked, enamored. "There are, like, secrets to doing this pawnbreaking stuff?"

"Oh, sure!" She continued. "I've picked up on a bunch of them since I started working here. They haven't failed me yet! At least, I don't think so..."

"Could you maybe show us some more of your selling secrets, Miss Derpy?" Apple Bloom asked. "Please?"

"I suppose so," she considered, "but if I tell you all of them then they won't be secrets anymore. Let's see now," she thought aloud as she scanned the customers again. Derpy found a beige earth stallion with a wavy brown mane and beard looking at various pieces of sports equipment on a wall display. "Right there! Get ready to see another one of Derpy's selling secrets in action, girls!" She gleefully trotted over to the browsing pony.

"Hi there!" She greeted him with a cute smile and the best adorable look her walleyes could muster.

"Hey," he said, smiling back.

"Checking out our sports gear, huh?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," he answered. "I'm in the market for a new racket. Gotta keep my tennis game up, you know."

"Oh, I know!" She exclaimed, "I took one look at you and I could tell that you must be a tennis-playing pony. You do have that lean, athletic look about you."

"Well, gee, thanks!" he said as he flashed a big grin.

"I bet you're fast on the court, too, right?" Derpy asked.

"Like lightning!" The tennis pony boasted. "Nopony around here can trip up my game!"

"Well then," Derpy said as she flew up to the top shelf. She picked up an aged tennis racket, brought it down to the customer and passed it to him. "I have to show you this beauty. This is the racket Joe Maneinrow used to win the Canterlot Open about ten years back."

"Oh wow!" He exclaimed as he looked over its worn but sturdy frame. "You can't be serious!"

"I absolutely am!" She affirmed.

"Incredible!" The customer marvled as he gave it a couple of practice swings. "Maneinrow must have thrown this thing on the ground, like, a hundred times during the open. Obviously it paid off for him! How much is it?"

"For you, champ?" Derpy asked. "Four hundred bits. I'll give you the handsome athlete's discount."

"Hmm," he thought aloud. "Four hundred's pretty steep for a racket, even for one this awesome. But if it held together for Maneinrow then it'll work great for me. I think I'll take it!"

"Great! Let's go write this up!" Derpy and the stallion walked over to the register to finish the sale. The girls could only watch wide-eyed as the tennis pony bought the racket from her and walked out the door with it as if he were a pegasus floating on air.

"See, girls?" Derpy asked as she rejoined them.

"Wow," Sweetie Belle said, awestruck.

"I know, right? Sometimes, with the right pony, all you need to do is feed them a few compliments and they'll be eating right out of your hoof!" Derpy explained.

"Wow," Sweetie Belle said again.

Scootaloo shoved her a little and knocked her back into reality. "Quit it, already!"

"Show us another one, Miss Derpy!" Apple Bloom begged, jumping up and down. "Please? Please?"

"Sorry, girls, but that's all I've got right now," she told them.

"Aww..." Apple Bloom said in dejection. "But we're learnin' so much from ya! Can't ya just show us one more?"

"Well," Derpy said pondering, "I suppose I could show you girls one more, but there isn't anypony here for me to do that."

Then, as if on cue, a yellow pegasus with flowing pink hair peeked her head into the shop. She slowly walked in and looked about the store in curiosity. Apple Bloom saw her and got the others' attention.

"Hey, girls, look who it is! Hiya, Miss Fluttershy!" She greeted the mare as they all bounded up to her.

"Hi, Miss Fluttershy!" The other girls echoed.

"Eep! Oh my!" She was startled by the sudden ambush but soon recognized the fillies. "Oh hello, girls! It's nice to see you today. Do you," she said as she looked over the dresslike black shirts they wore, "um, work here?"

"Yep!" Apple Bloom answered. "Today we're pawnbroker apprentices! Miss Derpy's helpin' us earn our cutie marks!"

"Aw, that's so nice of her!" She said. "Say, as long as I have you here, could you maybe help me find something?"

"Sure!" Sweetie Belle said. "What do you need?"

"I need a birdhouse," Fluttershy said. "There's a robin family nesting in my tree, and their eggs just hatched. I thought I would find them a big and cozy place to live so they won't need to work so hard on making their nest bigger."

"We could help you find a birdhouse!" Scootaloo said. "Only...I don't think we know where they are in the store. Could you hold on a minute, Miss Fluttershy?" She trotted over to Derpy and told her what Fluttershy was looking for, then the two of them came back.

"Hey there, Fluttershy!" Derpy greeted her. "Scoot here says you need a birdhouse! I can show you a few we've got right over here."

"Thanks, Derpy, that would be great," she said as they both walked to another part of the store. "I bet these girls are keeping you busy."

"They sure are," Derpy said. "But these fillies are great students! I'm teaching them just about everything I know."

"Oh, that's good," Fluttershy said. "How's Dinky Doo, by the way?"

"She's been great!" Derpy said. "She's been doing really well in school, and I think she's adjusted okay to my new job here. It keeps me from home a couple extra hours more than the post office did, but at least it puts vegetable stew on the table, right? Here we go!" She said as they came upon a few wooden birdhouses hanging from a small potted tree. "Do you think this one will work for the robins?" She asked as she pointed to a large house with two sets of holes and perches in the front.

"Oh yes, this one is perfect!" Fluttershy said with glee. "They'll love it! How much is it?"

"Thirty bits!"

"Okay. Well, I know this is a pawn shop, so I would like to pay only twenty-five for the birdhouse," she said, "if that's okay with you."

"Twenty-five?" Derpy asked. Her ears flopped down, and her voice lost some of its happy tone. "Well, okay, I guess..."

"Is something wrong, Derpy?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about Dinky again," she said.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy said, suddenly concerned. "Is Dinky okay? I thought you said everything was okay?"

"Oh no, no, Dinky's okay!" Derpy told her. "I just remembered that sweet bread she keeps talking about."

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, all week she's been asking if I could bring home a loaf of that sweet bread she likes to go with our dinner," Derpy said. "And I tell her, 'of course, honey, I can bring some home from the bakery just as long I get enough in my commission.'"

"Oh?"

"But every day I come up short of having enough," Derpy continued. "It's been a whole week now, and every day I come home without it I have to explain to her why. I think she understands when I tell her."

"Oh?"

"But she gets so sad when I come home without it..." Derpy said, looking down at the floor.

"Oh..." Fluttershy said as she looked down at the floor, too.

"Yeah," Derpy said and sighed. She looked at Fluttershy again and asked, "So, this is the one you wanted to take home, right?"

The fillies watched this exchange intently. "Sweet apple fritters!" Apple Bloom whispered to the other girls, "Derpy's layin' the guilt trip on her!"

"Think it'll work?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Not if Fluttershy uses the Stare on her!" Scootaloo whispered.

"Hmm," Sweetie Belle wondered aloud. "Would that even work on Derpy?"

Fluttershy didn't use the Stare. Instead, she tried to tell Derpy, "Well, no. But I mean, yes, I want to take it home, it's just that, well, I...I..." She looked as if she might start squeaking. Finally, she sighed and said, "Derpy, I can pay you the whole thirty bits."

"Really?" Derpy asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Fluttershy said, nodding. "I'm okay with paying the regular price...especially if it'll help you and Dinky."

"Aww, you're the best, Fluttershy!" Derpy said. "Come on, let's write this up."

Derpy slipped the birdhouse off of the tree and the two pegasi went to complete the sale. Fluttershy left the store with a smile on her face as she carried the birdhouse by the rope it hung from in her mouth. "Thank you, Derpy, tell Dinky I said hello!" She called as she left.

"I sure will!" Derpy called back. "I hope the birdies like the new house!" She turned back to the waiting fillies and said, "And that, girls, is another of Derpy's sale secrets!"

"Guilt?" Apple Bloom asked quizzically.

"No, not exactly," Derpy said as she clarified. "The personal touch! You make yourself part of the deal and it gives you more selling power. The guys here do it all the time." She continued, imitating her bosses' voices, "They're all like, 'I'm Cash Money and I gotta pay overhead and stuff,' or, 'I'm Old Money and I got ponies I need to write paychecks for every two weeks,' or, 'I'm Big Hoss and my dad doesn't let me do nothin' round here cause I'm a big, irresponsible and bossy colt!'" Derpy stopped herself for a second and thought aloud, "Oh wait, I don't think that last one has anything to do with selling..."

"So the other ponies talk about the store to help them sell stuff," Apple Bloom reasoned, "but you talk about your family."

"Exactly!" Derpy said. "In fact, my advice to you girls would be to play up that family card. It's what you all know best, and as you just saw, it works!"

"All right!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle yelled together happily. Then they both looked at Scootaloo and immediately their spirits went sour. They looked at each other, then looked down and breathed out a sad, "Oh..."

"What?" Scootaloo asked back.

"Well, girls," Derpy told them, "I think I've taught you everything you need to know to start selling! Think you're ready to fly solo?"

"Are we ever!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"Absolutely!" Sweetie Belle confirmed.

"You bet!" Scootaloo echoed.

"Great!" Derpy said. "How about you girls set yourselves up at the toy counter over there? Then if one of you needs me, come and get me. I'll be in the back office. Good luck!"

The three eager little ponies trotted off and went behind the counter. Derpy walked back toward the office and said to herself, "That was awesome! I'm so good with fillies."

This has been a pretty awesome day, Derpy said on-camera. I got to teach three fillies about my job and I proved to my bosses that I can teach others about the business. Now they're working the counter while I get to kick back a bit and enjoy a much-needed break in my schedule. Mentorship? I've got this mentorship thing nailed down!

In the back office, Derpy sat down behind her desk. She stretched her legs, then opened on of the desk drawers. "Ahh," She sighed happily as she admired the rows of brown muffins in the drawer. Derpy picked one up and said, "Muffin break!" She tossed it up in the air and opened her mouth wide to catch it.

"Derrrrpyyy!!!" Cash's voice bellowed into the office.

"Wha?" She said, startled. As she looked at Cash the muffin bounced off of her head.

Cash stomped into the office right up to Derpy and asked, "What in the name of Celestia did you teach those fillies?"

"Well, you know," she said, "I taught them about selling stuff, like you said."

"And how exactly did you teach them that?" Cash asked.

"I, um, taught them all the pawnshop basics," Derpy explained. "And then I added some, uh, personal experience. You know, insider tips?"

"Insider tips? Personal experience?" Cash asked. "Is that what you call what's going on in my store right now? Derpy, come with me."

The two of them walked back into the showroom, where a commotion took place in the area Derpy had left the girls in earlier. Ponies were trying to avoid catching the attention of the new store apprentices as three unlucky victims were caught in the novice salesponies' grips. Derpy saw a gray earth stallion caught in Apple Bloom's grip. She literally had herself wrapped around one of his front legs as she begged:

"But don't ya understand, mister?! I've got an old granny at home, and mah sister an' brother hafta take care of her an' our whole farm! Ya just gotta buy somethin' from me, or how else will I take care of mah family?!"

"Hey, little girl, I don't really know what to tell you!" He protested, "I just came in to look around, so please let go of me!"

"But if ya don't buy somethin' from me, then we could lose the farm!" She pleaded. "We'll be homeless! Bankrupt! Impoverished! Destitute!"

"What are you, a dictionary?! Please, just leave me alone!"

"Um," Derpy muttered before she saw Sweetie Belle tailing unusually close behind a brown earth colt. She appeared to be engaged in a rather one-sided conversation:

"Are you sure you don't need any help finding something, sir?" She asked.

"Uh-huh," he answered.

"Because I could tell that you look like a really strong farmer. So you must be into, um, farming tools?" She continued.

"No, not really."

"Well, still, I can tell you must be a really, really strong pony..."

"Uh, thanks?"

"And you keep your, uh...mane...looking really nice..."

"Okay, then..."

"And you smell nice, too?"

"What?"

"Uh oh," Derpy said to herself as she looked for Scootaloo. Her attention was caught by the yell of a familiar pony:

"Argh!" Scootaloo growled impatiently at a pink unicorn mare. "Come on, lady, make up your mind!"

The mare was shocked to see the filly bossing her around. "I beg your pardon?" She asked.

"Look," she said as she stomped her hoof, "I've been watching you walk around this area for, like, five minutes and it's obvious that you need help deciding on something. So why don't you let me help you buy something already?!"

"Okay, you know what?" The unicorn asked. "I'm going to go and keep looking around...over there." She made a break for another part of the store.

"Yeah, you do that!" The little pegasus yelled. "And then come let me know when you're ready!"

"Oh no," Derpy whispered with wide eyes and tiny pupils. "I'm in trouble."

"Yeah, you're in trouble," Cash said behind her. "Is that how you taught them to sell, Derpy? By accosting my customers?"

"No, of course not!" She protested.

"So you didn't teach them to treat the customers like that?" Cash asked.

"Well, um, kinda sorta, yes and no," Derpy said.

"Well, did you or didn't you?"

"Okay, yes!" Derpy admitted. "I told them about the kind of stuff I do whenever I work with the customers, but I didn't teach them to hang all over them like that!"

"What's goin' on out here?" Old Money asked as he walked up and saw the commotion in the showroom. "Is there a problem here, son?"

Cash looked at Derpy and shook his head before he looked at his sire and said, "Not for long, Dad. I'm fixing this." He walked a few steps toward the fillies' area, stopped and called out, "Apprentices! Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootalong! Stop what you're doing and get over here right now!"

The three fillies froze and stared at Cash silently, except for Scootaloo who looked at Cash and retorted, "Once again, boss, the name is Scootaloo..."

"Your names are gonna be mud if you're all not in front of me in two seconds!" Cash yelled, and the three of them were in front of him in an instant. "That's more like it," he said before he turned his attention to the customers. "Everypony, thanks for bearing with us as our eager young apprentices here learn their trade. Their interactions with you are proving to be an invaluable learning experience."

"Well, if it's all the same to you," the gray pony whom Apple Bloom was wrapped around earlier said, "I think we'll take our business elsewhere while those three keep learning." He walked out of the store, taking a few other ponies out with him.

"Great," Cash muttered to himself. "That's...just...great."

"Um, Mr. Cash?" Apple Bloom asked quietly. "We're really sorry we made yer customers leave..."

"No no, girls," Cash told her, then he looked over at Derpy and Old Money and said, "the fault is not entirely yours."

"Is there something we could do to make up for it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Cash sighed, glanced at a clock on the wall and said, "Well, Applejack should be here to get you girls in about an hour or so. You could clean up the pawn inventory until then. Derpy will show you where it is and get you set up with cleaning supplies." He looked at her with narrowed eyes and asked, "You should be able to do that without explaining too much, right?"

"Yes, boss," she said quietly. "Come on, girls, I'll show you where everything is."

As Derpy led the fillies away, Old Money looked at Cash. "Well, ya sure hit the nail on the head right then, son," he said, "'cause this really is all your fault, ya know."

Cash's eyes popped wide open. He looked at his sire and yelled, "What?! What do mean it's all my fault? Whose bright idea was it to make these fillies our apprentices?!"

"An' whose idea was it to even hold onto 'em in the first place?" Old Money countered. "Ah gotta agree with what Big Hoss said earlier, we ain't foalsitters."

"Oh, come off it, Pops!" Cash yelled as the two of them walked back toward the office. "Face it, you thought you were getting a bargain for a day's work out of those girls!"

"Ah ain't hearnin' no more of this!" Old Money told him. "We're still workin' and makin' money in here 'til those doors close!"

"Are you deaf and blind, Dad?" Cash asked. "Our customers are gone. Your new business plan showed them the door, remember?"

"Oh, I swear, Cash..." Old Money muttered as they walked back toward the office.

The camera view went back into the pawn inventory, where the girls were hard at work cleaning up the various items on the shelves. Apple Bloom was wiping down the shelves with a rag and Sweetie Belle was dusting everything with a feather duster held between her teeth. The dust she kicked up tickled her nose and she sneezed, sending the duster flying out of her mouth. She wiped her nose with a foreleg and she looked around for the duster.

Sweetie Belle found it next to Scootaloo, who didn't appear to be cleaning anything. Instead, she was pulling all sorts of things off of the shelves and onto the floor. The floor was now littered with tools, decorative art, books, jewelry and other sorts of odds and ends, which made it difficult for anypony to try and step around.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle chided her friend. "What the hay are you doing? Mr. Cash just wanted us to clean the dust and dirt off this stuff!"

"Trust me, Sweetie Belle, I know what I'm doing," Scootaloo said as she pulled another item off of the shelves.

"Yeah, like you knew to yell at all of the customers?"

"Well, did either of you think for a minute about what you two were doing?" She stopped moving stuff around and looked at both of her friends. "You with your following other ponies around like a little lost puppy, and you begging everypony on your hooves and knees to give you money?"

"Hey now!" Apple Bloom stopped cleaning and said to Scootaloo, "We were only doin' what Miss Derpy told us."

"Yeah, and look where that got us!" Scootaloo shot back. She looked around and continued, "Cleaning dirty junk in the back room of a smelly old store! We're no closer to getting our cutie marks than we've ever been!"

"Well, nopony forced ya into this!" Apple Bloom told her.

"Are you kidding?" Scootaloo asked. "This was all your idea! We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't opened your big mouth!"

"Oh, Ah'm sorry," Apple Bloom said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "but Ah thought we were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, not the Blank Flanks Forever!"

Sweetie Belle spoke up then. "You know what? Scootaloo's right. In fact, I'd much rather be following Applejack around on her boring old errands right now!"

"Oh ya would, huh?" Apple Bloom asked. "Because that sounds sooo interesting? You're just a boring old stick in the mud!"

"And you're a big-mouthed nosy silly-filly!" Sweetie Belle yelled at her, then at Scootaloo, "And you're a short-fused pouty pegasus!"

"Look who's talking, Little Miss Whines-a-Lot!" Scootaloo yelled back.

"Loud-mouth!"

"Hay-for-brains!"

"Thunderhead!"

"Chicken!"

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, gritted her teeth in anger and crouched down. The other two girls saw her react and did the same. She scraped a front hoof across the floor a couple of times. They did the same. Then, all at once, they pounced on each other.

It was a scene of kicking, stomping, yelling and pulling at each others' manes. They were fighting so loudly that Cash heard them from the floor and galloped in to see what was going on. "Girls!" He yelled. "Hey, girls! What the hay's going on in here?" When he couldn't get their attention vocally, Cash stepped directly into the cloud of fury the fillies had kicked up.

Soon he had them separated, Apple Bloom behind him and the other two at the ends of his outstretched forelegs. He was lying flat on the floor in the shape of a T, trying to keep the fillies calm. "All right, already! Now will one of you girls please tell me what's going on?"

They all began yelling at once again.

"One of you, please?" He asked again.

"It's all her fault, Mr. Cash!" Sweetie Belle said as she pointed a hoof at Scootaloo. "Apple Bloom and I were cleaning, but she took all of your stuff off the shelves. Look at the giant mess she made back here!"

"I can explain, Mr. Cash!" Scootaloo said.

"What, all of this stuff?" Cash asked as he got up off of the floor and walked to a couple of the things left out. He studied their tags for a moment and asked, "Scootaloo, do you know what you're doing here?"

"Finally!" She said, exasperated. "The bald pony remembers my name!"

"Hey, you! Your name's gonna be mud if you don't give me an answer." Cash asked again, "So what did you think you were doing?"

"Well," she said as she walked up to one of the items and pointed with a hoof to its inventory tag, "Miss Derpy taught us about how you guys do pawn loans and how you hold onto this stuff for about a month. I saw that a lot of the stuff in here has been sitting for at least two months, so I thought maybe they belong in a different part of the store."

"You bet they do," Cash said. "This is the kind of stuff I try and get Derpy to take care of. But you just did me a huge favor."

"I did?" Scootaloo asked.

"She did?" The others echoed.

"Sure!" Cash said. "Since the ponies who gave me these things haven't paid their loans in so long, I've got a whole slew of new merchandise to put out on the floor. Thanks, Scootaloo."

"Uh, you're welcome, I guess," she replied.

"I'll go let Derpy and Big Hoss know they've got some stuff to move before they leave tonight," Cash said as the turned to walk back toward the showroom. He stopped to look back at the girls and said, "Hey, that was quite a scuffle you girls were having. Would any of you mind telling me why you were all duking it out?"

"Well..." Scootaloo began.

"It was kinda..." Sweetie Belle started.

"It was mah fault, Mr. Cash," Apple Bloom said. "Ah said...and did...some things I shouldn't have."

"No, Apple Bloom, I was saying mean things," Sweetie Belle said, "to you and Scootaloo."

Scootaloo added, "I was being really mean, too. I guess we were all really mad at each other."

"Hmm," Cash thought aloud. "Well, it seems like whatever happened is something you're all sorry about. Are we all gonna be okay here?"

"Ah think so, Mr. Cash," Apple Bloom said.

"Good. Well, we're about done for the day, so you can go give those shirts back to my dad and wait for Applejack by the front door. I'll meet you there in awhile."

As the last hour of daylight began to run out, an amber sunset started to paint the sky over Ponyville. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, still without their marks, waited just outside the pawn shop doors for Applejack to come and get them.

"Well, that sure was different than anything else we've done!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said, "who knew Ah would be ropin' us into that craziness! Ah guess we're not cut out to be pawnbrokers, after all."

"Nope, I guess not," Scootaloo concurred. "Hey Apple Bloom, I'm sorry I got mad at you, you know, for getting us to work here today."

"I'm sorry too," Sweetie Belle said. "It was worth a shot, and we did our best."

"Ya know what, girls?" Apple Bloom asked. "We really did. So what if today was a bust? At least we tried!"

"Yeah!" the other girls said together. Then Scootaloo added, "But you know, this was the last place in Ponyville we tried to earn are marks at. Now what are we gonna do?"

"I dunno," Sweetie Belle said, "But I'm sure we'll think of something."

Cash then walked outside to join the fillies. He looked at them and asked, "So girls, what did you think of the pawn business?"

"Ah'm afraid we weren't the best apprentices, Mr. Cash," Apple Bloom said. "Ah don't think we'll be comin' back ta work for ya anytime soon. Sorry."

"That's alright," Cash said. "Looks like my dad's apprenticeship program might need some tweaking before we take on anypony else."

"I just wish we could have earned our cutie marks today," Sweetie Belle said.

"Hey, you all made a good effort in there today," Cash said. He paused, then continued, "Well, you made an effort. You'll just need to have patience. These things take time. I know I didn't get mine when I first started out."

"Huh?" Scootaloo asked, "Started out doing what?"

"Being a pawnbroker."

"What?!" They all yelled.

"But that's how ya said ya got yer mark!" Apple Bloom protested. "I heard ya!"

"Hold up, now!" Cash said. "I said that I always wanted to run a pawn shop. I never said I was any good at it when I started out! It's not like I put this shirt on and bam, there was my cutie mark!"

"Oh," Apple Bloom said. "Ah get it now."

"So you weren't good at this pawnbreaking stuff either?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Nope. In fact, when my dad first put me to work here, I was terrible at this job," Cash said. "Probably as bad as all three of you combined."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked.

"No, not really," Cash said. He laughed and said, "Oh, I wish you all could have seen yourselves today! I mean, I was bad in my day, but you girls must have set some kind of record!"

The girls didn't look very amused at Cash's remark. He saw their faces, composed himself and continued, "Well, see, I was really bad at my job because I didn't know anything about what I was selling! Every time somepony wanted to know more about something in my store I just gave them a dumb look because I didn't know what to tell them. Eventually I had enough of looking like a complete foal at my job, so I told myself I would fix that problem if it was the last thing I did."

"So how did ya do that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I did the only thing I could do," Cash said. "I started reading. I had to learn about this stuff somehow, and reading up on it was the best way I knew how. I read about everything: farming, science, art, technology, you name it. If it was in my dad's shop then I had read a book cover-to-cover about it.

Then one day a guy came in looking for a plow for his field. We had one, so I took it upon myself to try and sell it to him. It was just an ordinary old plow, like the one Farmer Brown sold me, but I could tell him everything about it: how often it was used, who made it, how to best use it, everything. I must have spent a good twenty minutes just talking about this dusty old plow, but you know what? It got the pony interested enough to buy it from me later on!

When I made that sale, I felt like I was on the top of the world, like I knew everything and could do anything! And well," he paused to look up at the symbol on his store's sign, then at the same symbol on his flank, then back at the girls and finished, "the rest is history."

"Cool," Sweetie Belle said.

"So that's it?" Scootaloo asked. "You sold a plow and got your cutie mark? Booooring."

"Well, sorry if there weren't any sonic rainbooms in my story!" Cash defended. "But it's my story and I'm sticking to it."

"So Mr. Cash," Apple Bloom said, "what you're saying is that ya didn't know enough about what ya were doin' before, so ya read a bunch of books and then got yer cutie mark?"

"Well, in a nutshell, yes," Cash said.

She smiled, looked at her friends and said, "Hey girls, y'all know what Ah think we'll be tomorrow?"

They nodded and yelled in unison, "Cutie Mark Crusader eggheads!"

"Is that the call of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Ah hear?" Applejack asked as she trotted up just then. She looked at Cash and said, "Howdy again, Cash! Thanks again for watchin' the girls, it was a big help! Did they give ya any trouble?"

"Oh, no, nothing I couldn't handle," he remarked. "Did you get all those errands done alright?"

"You betcha! An' now, girls, are ya ready for the best sleepover ever?" She asked.

"Yeah!" They answered together.

"Hey, sis," Apple Bloom asked. "Can we go an' hang out at Twilight's tree tomorrow?"

"We'll hafta see about that in the mornin'," Applejack said. "You girls sure are keepin' busy!"

"You know us, Applejack," Sweetie Belle said. "We'll never stop 'til we get our cutie marks!"

"Hey, Mr. Cash," Apple Bloom turned to him and said, "thanks for lettin' us be apprentices at yer store."

"Yeah, thanks!" the others echoed.

"You bet, girls," Cash said. "Have a good night, good luck at Twilight's tomorrow!"

"Thanks!" Apple Bloom said as she and the others started on their way toward the farm.

Cash heard Scootaloo ask Sweetie Belle, "You think we'll see Rainbow Dash there tomorrow?"

"Probably," she replied.

"Oh, boy," Cash said to himself. "I'd better go give Twilight the heads up."

Comments

[Inferno demon Dash]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....... This chapter made my enttire night....if there is anything more that I enjoy reading other then a very well wirtten Spilight or Derpy story is a CMC story....my favorite is Sweetie belle so I ws gladto have read a lot about her, the other's are complete riots even more so of Scootaloo, you did very, very well and I'm glad Fluttershy showed up, she's bad ass...can't wait for more, you know I'll be waiting.

[Discord_Sparkle]

Kinda disappointed the CMC didn't get to buy anything. Also, you should have Discord come in to sell something. I have no idea how that would work, but you should

[Dracuaxis]

Okay, I just caught up to reading this and I wanted to let you know that I am enjoying the prospect of this. I love how you almost seemlessly blended the pawn shop into Ponyville and I love how you have them bring in experts

Though I'm hoping with the next chapter you will be returning to the show's style more. Like having a lot more off-to-the-side interviews as reality TV usually does. Include more dealing going on and people bringing in items (love how you can use this to touch on Equestrian History in your own way, so I'd really like to see some more of that) to make it really feel like an episode of Pawn Stars, but with ponies.

If you like, for extended fiction to draw from I'd suggest the "Where the World Ends" wikipedia (which is awesome) and you can draw from there about other stuff if that's what you're struggling with.

In any case, thanks for writing this, I tell people on Skype about it and they're all like "Really, someone did that?" and I keep telling them it's great.

[TimidWolf]

As always, guys, thanks for the comments and support! I try to keep it in mind every minute I'm editing and prepping my work for resubmission to EQD. 859463 it seems like you've been here since day one, which is awesome. Here's hoping I can continue to impress as I write on. 861035 the CMC buying something would have been interesting, or perhaps if they were to try and sell something...perhaps in another story. I really don't see Discord happening in this story. I've been burned on bending canon before (see Rarity), and to try and explain him showing up wouldn't be worth the trouble. So no Discord. However, I do have plans for a couple minor antagonists who might drop by the Silver Saddle trying to pass off their junk as legitimate merchandise. 868369 Episode 3 was definitely a departure from the usual Pawn Stars-type format. I just couldn't resist telling a story about the CMC, and that was the best way in which the story seemed to guide itself. Once I take this time to make or break EQD I'll start writing up Episode 4, which will definitely return to the show's usual wheelin' and dealin'. I'll definitely check out that wiki sometime. Thanks for the big props on Skype! It's awesome guys like you that get everybody talking!

[TimidWolf]

861035 Also, there might be a possibility of draconequus-related artifacts making their way into the shop. Who knows?

[Inferno demon Dash]

868644 True that *brohoof*

[Georg]

(and the next day, Twilight Sparkle came into the shop and beat Cash senseless while screaming "You sent those three into my LIBRARY!!")

[Frostanimal12]

1286344 You do know Twi's library is public, right?