Hoofington Grand Opening

[Shyriath]

Hoofington approached the beginning of another autumn day, but despite the brightening horizon the city remained dark. The streets were tunnels of thick fog, bounded by the dark shapes of the buildings on either side. Sparse light was provided by the street lamps and their misty halos, and by the more distant shine of the lighthouse, but no sign could be seen of the approaching sunrise. The air was chilly and damp, and the sounds made by those ponies who bothered to be out and about echoed weirdly in the dark. Condensation sparkled on every surface.

A loaded wagon trundled east across one of the bridges over the river. The pony pulling it was wrapped up heavily against the chill, but this was evidently small comfort. His mouth, poking out from under the hood, moved in the manner of one muttering under his breath and fighting chattering teeth to do it. It was difficult to hear any of it, but a few words could be made out at distant intervals.

"...cursed fog... too early for autumn... 'sta nebbia, oje..."

The wagon turned off of the wide road leading from the bridge and onto a smaller street, lined with small but well-made buildings. After a number of blocks its driver paused in front of a small, two-story building, then took it around the back.

-----

The inside of the building was nearly as dark, but much warmer. The first floor was mostly taken up by a kitchen; at some point in the very recent past a brick oven had been built on one side. The warmth and noise of a crackling fire emanated from it, but the light struggled to peek through the doorway, reflecting only faintly on the surfaces beyond.

From a door on the opposite side of the room, there came the muffled sounds of objects being dragged and pushed, sorted and placed on shelves, and occasionally the thump of something being dropped, followed by brief cursing. After an hour or so of this, the door opened; a yellow pony with green eyes and unkempt red hair entered the kitchen, carrying a flat rectangular package in his mouth. He set it down on the counter that separated the kitchen from the small seating area, turned on the lights, and trotted across to the oven, peering inside. Nodding, he picked up the package again, went around the end of the counter, and exited the front door.

The fog, though still dense, was thinning, as the light of day burned it away; the occasional breeze and sensation of movement above suggested that local pegasi were helping clear the air as well. The yellow pony grinned at the thought of a sunny day, and unwrapped the package, revealing a carefully carved and painted wooden sign, which said, in curly letters:

Prancing Street Pizzeria & Bakery

PIzza Peel stood up on his hind legs, and carefully hung the sign from a pair of hooks near the door. He stood back briefly to admire the look of it.

"Ah, lovely."

He hurried back indoors. There were a few hours yet before opening, but there was so much left to do: get the oven warmed up fully, set up the tables outside, bake some things for the breakfast crowd... assuming there would be a crowd. He'd informally opened up the place to the other shopkeepers on Prancing Street, and he'd put up flyers about the official opening, but he wasn't sure most Hoofingtonians even knew what a pizzeria was, or ever had pizza at all. He hadn't seen any, but then again he was still fairly new in the city.

But if they were there at opening time, he'd show them. He would be ready.

[Pony_Sage]

The fog was thick enough to cut with a butter knife against which the resounding mournful wail of the distant light house's fog horn was battling. About once a minute or so the low and sombre tone would rip through the fog and echo down the streets of town. Hopefully the residents were not too perturbed by this interruption into their mornings however do to the essential nature of the fog horn it had to be sounded to keep the ships from smashing against the rocks. It's resounding bellow had awoken at least one resident of Hoofington, the stripy menace that was Monty the zebra. He may have been a deep sleeper but if there was one thing that would always awake him from his slumber it was the sound of little Rivet's fog horn. For some reason the sound was just right to worm its way into his ear and not let him sleep any further. So on this early morning the stripy menace stalked the cobbled streets of Hoofington, looking for something to do at this Celestia forsaken hour.

An odd smell wafted on the air towards where Monty was strolling. Singing at this hour would be highly frown upon and most likely get shoes thrown at Monty so he opted to stay quiet today. This odd smell hit him square in the face, it was starchy like bread but a tad more spicy smelling, something new. After being a cook for quite some time Monty had smelled many dishes but this one smelled unique to him. Following his nose Monty found himself drawn to a quaint little two story building, where it seemed the smell was emanating from. Looking at the sign no bells were rung in his head, this place must have been new. Pressing his nose up against the front glass window he looked inside, it seemed vaguely open. Monty poked his head in the front door and let out a call into the seemingly half open restaurant

"HellooooOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOooo?!" Monty did hope that he was not disturbing any pony but that smell was just wonderful, waiting on the threshold until called he took another deep whiff.

[Shyriath]

The stallion was busy at his oven, holding in his mouth one of the wooden paddles that was his namesake.

"Mmmf? Nnn mbmmm enght- ugh." Pizza Peel finished arranging the pizzas, and then sat the peel down on the counter. "Pfui. Ah, there we are." He trotted out from behind the counter with an enormous grin on his face. "Hello! Come in, come in, friend! Welcome to Prancing Street Pizzeria! Just having a look? Or maybe you would like a pizza, yes? I have a few baking now, just plain cheese, but if you were wanting one with toppings I can make another, just a few minutes!"

[Pony_Sage]

Monty poked his head further in the door, both the warmth of the hearth and the unusual smell of the so called 'pizza' lured Monty slowly further into the cozy shop. Hearing what the shop owner had said but not particularly listening the door finally shut behind Monty. He peered around the shop and took in the sights, some framed pictures of what looked to be a far away land and quaint little tables dotted the restaurant.

“Pleased to meet'cha! Monty's the name, salvage's the game. Anything you need I can get, for a price of course.” The stripey menace happily trotted towards the yellow pony and with deft flick of his hoof slapped a business card down on the counter. A goofy grin came across his face and his right ear flopped down.

“Now I have to ask, what exactly is a pea-zah and is that why is smells so wonderful in here? I do have to say that the smell is exactly why I stopped in your lovely little shop.” Monty's amber eyes looking inquisitively towards the chef as his nose continued to sniff the air.

[Shyriath]

"Yes, that's what you're smelling," Pizza Peel babbled happily. "A prince among foods, pizza. And my specialty. Ah, forgive me, Mr. Monty! I forget to introduce myself! My name is Pizza Peel, good to meet you."

He picked up his pizza peel again. Pushing it into the oven, he carefully slid it underneath one of the cooked pizzas and removed it. Setting it down on his counter, he said, "And this, sir, is pizza! On the bottom is a crust, sort of like a flatbread. You top it with olive oil, tomato sauce, cheese, a bit of basil, and you have a basic pizza. The idea is easy, yes? But it is an art, making one properly." The stallion gave a disarming grin. "And still more of an art, making many of them properly, all at once. Would you like some? I'll tell you what; if you like, you can have a little slice to try it." He hesitated, and then added, "On the house!"

Pizza Peel was still learning the art of the sale, but spending time with his cousins in Manehattan had taught him much. And one of the things he'd learned was that it rarely hurt to invest a bit in generosity toward customers.