Ponyville Toys for Talons (Closed)

[Zeig]

 

Well this.

 

Bucking.

 

Sucked.

 

Inkbrand felt something close to genuine indignation swell over him as he drilled his gaze into the stallion standing on his front steps, searching for any signs of weakness even as anger bubbled underneath the surface.

 

"Whaddya mean she's changed her mind, huh?" he demanded, with a jab of his head towards the filly standing, fully cowed, behind her father, expression alternating from hopeful to completely contrite as she avoided said stallion's gaze. "I gave up a full slot for the afternoon for her - that's money wasted just because you have to control your precious little princess."

 

Buck. Inkbrand knew, before the words even left his mouth, that he'd lost a customer to an irate father dealing with a rebellious filly. He could almost see the smoke exhaled from the stallion's nostrils as he glared down his nose at Inkbrand, before turning around and firmly nudging his daughter away from the grey stallion's temporary home in Ponyville, not even offering a form of apology. Well he and his daughter could just sod off! The grey stallion momentarily satisfied himself with a vicious stab upwards of one hoof at the stallion's back, a gesture caught by the filly looking back with wide eyes, before he slammed the door to his home shut and stalked out into the streets, glare firmly affixed onto his face.

 

In any other situation, Inkbrand might have felt more sympathetic and less annoyed with the stallion. His daughter had undoubtedly gone behind his back for a tattoo, something Inkbrand had picked up in her furtive and guilty glances when she'd first approached him. But, with him being both away from his parlor in Manehatten as he was and located in a traditionalist town like Ponyville, tattooing jobs were hard to come by, and he'd jumped on the chance to advertise his business in what was rapidly becoming his second home.

Buck, he should have told her to drop by during the early morning hours. Skip school or something.

 

With an aggrieved sigh, Inkbrand abruptly parked himself near the middle of Ponyville, turning his scowl onto the fountain innocently spewing water next to him. Idly, he ambled over to splash a hoof in the cool water, some of the tension leaving his frame even as irritation lingered under the surface. He hadn't been lying when he'd lamented a wasted afternoon, time that could have been used for another odd job. Maybe he could sniff around for a quick job over on the apple farms. Maybe see if any of the restaurants had deliveries they were short-hooved for. Maybe Princess Luna would finally come to her senses and soar down from the sky, sweep him into her long-limbed legs and take him back to Canterlot to tend to all and every one of his needs.

 

The tattoo-clad stallion couldn't help glancing into the morning sky, completely free and clear of any princess of the night swooping in overhead. Ah, well. A stallion could dream, couldn't he?

 

[Gerrard]

It was less than 48 hours until the Summer Sun Celebration and every moment that ticked by would make it less and less likely that the orphans of Beakbreak city. Most people would have scoffed at being asked to make such a long delivery on hoof on such short notice, but Asteria wasn't the type of pony to laugh, well laugh at anything really. She merely got out of her hotel room in Ponyville and started scouring the town for honest people to take on the job. Her crimson eyes winced ever so faintly at the sudden brightness of the early morning sun, the black coated unicorn more used to traveling under the stars of the night. Her tall form was handing out flyers to the townsfolk, only to be scoffed at as they realized that it meant that they would miss the important holiday, probably holed up in some backwater forest with dangerous animals trying to taste them.

She was lucky enough to find a pretty passing painter of all ponies to join her on a quest to deliver toys to the unlucky orphans of Beakbreak city. The tan coated unicorn didn't seem nearly as intimidated by the cloaked courier as the Ponyville residents who realized that such a short trip with such a strangely dressed mare was bound to be dangerous. The painter seemed keen on helping the orphans although it could have been the pay they discussed, Asteria offering double the going rate of any delivery fee for such a short notice trip. It wasn't her place to speculate on the motives of her assistants, the stoic courier just hoping that she could convince, or at least pay a stranger enough for their assistance for the next two days. Asteria found herself lowering her hood to reveal her face as she tried to prevent herself from getting to hot in the morning sun, the black mare looking over to Presteza as she decided to start a conversation with her newest hired hoof. "Lady Presteza, I know that it may be unprofessional for me ask an employee to assist in the hiring of another employee, but do you know of any capable individuals in the city that might be able to provide us with additional physical assistance?" the scarlet maned mare asked politely in a consistent voice as she scanned the streets of the city for new individuals.

A gray stallion with an unkempt mane soon came into view, his face having a scowl etched into it as if a client had reneged on a contractually binding agreement. He seemed like a questionable individual, his form covered in tattoos that drifted from his extremities towards his core. Regardless, Asteria knew that it was rude to judge others by their appearance, and decided to allow his actions speak on his behalf as she decided to approach the scruffy looking stallion. "Lets try soliciting this individual for help, perhaps we need to try alternative strategies to recruit assistance," the tall unicorn mentioned slowly to her associate while cantering over to the unaware stallion. She had seen her mother attract the attention of many a stallion by speaking to them in a certain manner, for one reason or another, the males were usually enamored and agreed to whatever terms were offered to them. By combining this strategy with an exceptional offer, and the assistance of Presteza, Asteria theorized that she might be able to recruit this particular stallion.

With her thoughts properly gathered, Asteria raised her head, the tall mare roughly the same height as the tattoo-clad stallion as she decided to speak. "Hello Sir. Would I be able to convince you to accompany us on a short notice delivery to be Beakbreak City? I would be willing to pay twice the going rate for a short notice delivery and I would eternally be grateful for your assistance in helping the orphans of that particular city. I am of course willing to negotiate the terms accordingly if you have different needs or requests," she politely remarked in an alluring tone that had a sense of Canterlot formality about it without all of the presumptuous condescending that many locals of the town might have. She casually shifted her short cut scarlet mane away from her face to better reveal her identity to him while her crimson eyes examined him closely. A casual glance may have assumed that the tall unicorn was socially interested in the stallion, but her current goal was identifying the physical stability of her potential assistant. From a cursory glance, his form seemed adequate for the job, his temperament and of course his actual willingness to perform the job were what really needed to be addressed if they were going to get moving out of town before noon fell upon them.

[Zeig]

 

AS it was, Princess Luna seemed to be busy today, just like every other day, and Inkbrand turned his nose away from the sky and back towards the fountain, glare once again simmering on the water display as if it were personal responsible for his sour mood. Another hoof smack to the surface of the water did nothing to improve it, causing the grey stallion to heave an enormously bent-out-of-shape sigh.

He bucking hated job hunting. Why couldn't the jobs just, find him?

A black shadow suddenly came splaying across his hooves, causing Inkbrand's deadpanned gaze to slink upwards. Said gaze steadily grew wider as they trailed up legs longer than Seaddle Bay, a coat as silky smooth as griffon feathers, and blood-red hair resting over a set of luminous red eyes.

Well, then.

With the sudden appearance of hothothot in front of him, it took Inkbrand a rather embarrassingly long moment to realize another pony was standing a bit of a ways away, one that was somewhat famili - Presteza, that was her name. The cream colored Unicorn that had screamed her heart out at him during Winter Wrap Up was trailing behind the stunning mare in front of him, also a Unicorn, and black as they come. It took Inkbrand another embarrassingly long moment to realize that yes, the black Unicorn's mouth was moving, and yes, words were issuing forth from them, and buck yes, they were being directed at him. Along with her eyes, that seemed to be passing over him with more than just a casual inspection.

'Oh buck yes, she's into me.'

And offering him a high-paying job? Buck, it was almost as good as Princess Luna swooping downwards to propose to him.

Almost.

"Say no more, sweetheart," Inkbrand spoke up abruptly, even though the mare seemed to have finished talking, and the tattoo-clad stallion took one sly step closer, pleased to see he didn't have to look down all that far to speak to the Unicorn's face. "I'll do anything for those poor orphans." A hint of lamentations were added onto his voice, true sorrow at the sad fate of the poor orphans should the delivery not be completed - because mares loved a sensitive colt who cared about life and animals and babies and all that rot, right? Right? Inkbrand couldn't keep the sly grin off his face as he nudged his head downward just a tad, almost enough to brush his muzzle against the black one in front of him. "All I need's a moment to grab my - ah…"

Buck. Inkbrand hoped to all Equestria that there was somepony he could punch to let out his anger on, an anger that only grew as the flash of white reappeared a moment later. Not a trick of the light, and all too familiar. How the buck had Chime gotten out of his home? He'd locked down everything this time. The grey stallion couldn't stare in disbelief as his fox - and he could swear she glanced back at him with the type of grin only a fox could give - disappeared around a corner, heading in the direction of Apple Farms.

…And their chicken coops, buck him -

"On second thought, gonna have to take a rain check, Smokes," Inkbrand half-breathed, half-groaned as he quickly dart around the black mare, trying to keep an eye on the spot Chime had disappeared while taking in a last eyeful of the smoking hotting he was willingly pulling himself away from. Life just wasn't fair. "Sorry babe - let's get lunch sometime!" was all the grey stallion could muster before he was moving at a full gallop, teeth grinding together.

If Chime got into one of that Granny's apple pies again, well. He'd never have to worry about job hunting, that was for sure.

Little difficult to work a job from the grave, after all.
 

 

 

[[ Exit ]]