[Hoofington] Hook, Line, and Sinker [Open]

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note trotted calmly through the familiar streets of her adopted town of Hoofington. The sun was just beginning to peak out from behind the crystal layer of water, casting it's glow over the streets. She loved early morning for both their beauty and their silent calm. Taking a few minutes to stand still on the docks, Wrong Note let the light ocean breeze toss her mane about.

For several minutes, she merely stood, watching the sun rise. It was only when the port bell began to ring to announce the arrival of the morning shipments that Wrong Note continued on her way. The Hook, Line, and Sinker lay just around the corner.

It was a small shop, just the right size to make it cozy but not claustrophobic. It was made of simple wood, with varnish to protect it from the frequent rain that occurred in the waterside town. Wrong Note smiled at the familiar shape. Everything she had come to recognize was a far cry from her old, glamourous life, but she felt just as much privilege for her lifestyle.

The purple earth pony entered the shop slowly, a soft ding emanating from the bell near the door frame. Realizing that she was the first pony to arrive, Wrong Note quickly opened up the shop. Setting out the new items for sale and organizing the counter, the earth pony dashed around the store until she was certain that everything was in order. With a flick of the hoof, she changed the sign in the store window to display the word “OPEN” and quickly made her way behind the counter, awaiting her first customer of the day.

[Pony_Sage]

The Sun was just cresting over the horizon when the stripy menace that was known as Monty was humming to himself as he exited the stairway door next to his shop. Today however was not a day that he would open the shop, at least this early in the morning. No, he had other plans for today. His jaunty step fell in time with his out of key singing,

"While in the merry break of day from me home I started,

Left the mares of Roam so sad and broken hearted,

Saluted father dear, kissed me darling mother,

Drank a pint of beer, me grief and tears to smother,

Then off to reap the corn, leave where I was born,

Cut a stout black thorn to banish ghosts and goblins;

Bought a pair of rattling o'er the bogs

And fright'ning all the dogs on the rocky road to Ponyville."

His unshod hooves clopped the rhythm as his, unique, voice carried to the surrounding areas. It was not so early as to have his singing annoying the sleeping ponies, but it was early enough for it to bother them as they ate their breakfasts. He happily trotted onward towards his destination, one of the newer shops in town. There were more than a bunch of new shops cropping up in his hometown and he would have not been a diligent townsfolk if he did not go and greet at least some of them. He remembered back to when he first introduced himself to the odd little Light-House keeping mare Rivet. At the time she was not terrified of him, but still rather sheepish. It took a few months but after a while she had warmed up to him and his unique ways and now she was one of his best customers.

"One, two, three four, five,

Hunt the Hare and turn her down the rocky road

all the way to Dublin, Whack follol de rah !"

He continued to sing as he trotted along. Turning a few corners and coming closer to the main docks, rather than his own private one that he used for deliveries, he started to hear the hustle and bustle of the sailor ponies as they loaded and unloaded their cargo. He turned another corner as his intended target came into view, the 'Hook, Line, and Sinker', a new shop in town. His visit had two other purposes of course, first he wanted to scout out the competition! Since his shop supplied pretty much anything that a Pony or Griffin could ever want or need, he was always on the look out for other stores that had wares, because if they had it he would most likely not need to carry that particular item, or have to drop his prices, which was not something that he liked to do. On a more friendly note however he also wanted to purchase a fishing kit, even though he could probably get one in for himself he always found it better to purchase items from other stores when he could. That way he would always make contacts around and be able to call in favors!

His amber eyes fell upon the building and the open sign hanging in its window, twas a nice wooden structure with a certain rustic charm. He pushed the door aside and entered head held high, his height that of a proud Zebra, standing at least a head above most stallions of ponykind. With a smile on his muzzle he began to peruse the store's wares. He also used this time to catch a glimpse of the mare that seemed to be the shopkeeper, her colours rather pronounced. 'Purple and green, not something you usually see around these parts, at least it will make her easier to remember! Sometimes all these sailor ponies look the same to me.' He thought as he picked up a fly rod and began to wave it around his head as though he might break something. While he was a goofy git on most occasions, he also usually had a plan and this action fell firmly within the plan heading.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note had been hummng a tune under her breath and straightening up the shop as she waited for customers to arrive. The Hook, Line, and Sinker had only been open for a week, but it had attracted a few visitors so far. Most of the ponies who passed by the wooden store merely stopped a few moment to window shop and then moved on to their destination. The purple mare had resumed her position behind the counter and continued her humming. She loved to hum, if only enjoy one of the only forms of music she could produce that was not twisted by the curse. Celestia's bright sunrise had only just completed when a customer entered the shop.

Wrong Note was lost in thoughts of how early it truly much have been when she opened the shop if sunrise had only just occurred. The bell that she had installed to signal new arrivals brought her mind back to the topic at hand. She quickly turned to face the customer, seeing a brown striped zebra. She was rather surprised by his appearance, as a pony raised in Manehatten was unlikely to see much other than high class earth ponies. In fact, Wrong Note had only read about zebrakind in books supplied by her private tutor. The earth pony kept a pleasant smile on her face, not wanting to rush forward and cause an awkard situation between the two.

Alright Celia, you just need to stay calm and remember what you learned about shopkeeping. Don't obstruct their shopping experience unless they need assistance. Wrong Note breathed out deeply, remembering her unfortunate circumstances once more. The curse had harshly curbed her only midly talkative tendancies, limiting her interaction with others quite abruptly all the same. Even if, back in those days, her interaction was either vapid polite dicussion with older ponies or the stuck-up sneer of importance she used when addressing the lower class. Wrong Note still missed being able to be a pony who could speak normally to others.

However, the bizzare actions of the zebra quickly insigated interaction between them. He had lifted a fly rod from the shelves, which in itself was not out-of-the-ordinary. When he began to swing it around his head, that was another story entirely. Wrong Note stepped out from her place behind the counter tentatively, trotting over to the zebra. Ensuring that she was a safe distance from the circular arc of the rod, she spoke - or rather sang - to the zebra.

"Sir, are you quite sure you know how to use that?

Rods are not usually used for swinging around,

like a cat with a fruit bat.

Also, I think you'll find,

that your movement may shatter something behind."

Her tune and vocals were off-tune and shaky, as the curse had made the norm. Wrong Note turned her head away quickly, attempting to hide the embarassment on her face. She understood that the curse had made her appreciate the kindness and uniqueness of others, effectively dragging her away from her selfish ways. However, the strange looks and occasionally jeering it brought were things she'd rather not have to endure. Those negative things were what motivated her nightly excursions to the docks in an attempt to break the curse. Wrong Note was unsure how this zebra would react to her odd burst into song and kept her face veiled by her mane as she awaited his no doubt confused answer.

[Pony_Sage]

At the act of swing the fly rod about his head, the shop keeping mare acted precisely as Monty had suspected. She had come over to help him and gently prod him into acting more civilized, this was a good thing in Monty's book. It showed responsibility and commitment to ones profession, which was an important trait for a business pony to have, especially if Monty wanted to do business with them in the future. However the manner in which this mare gave her polite suggestions intrigued Monty to no end. She had actually sung to the goofy Zebra, albeit in an off key and shaky voice, which was quite similar to how own carefree off key sining of earlier.

Monty quickly placed the fly rod back into its holder and looked back at the mare. A look of intrigue painted upon his muzzle he smiled widely before speaking,

"I am terribly sorry Miss, my intention was not to make a mess. Rather I heard of your fine shop, and thought that I should make a quick stop." His voice somewhat melodic but more that of a poet than a singer. He was by no means mocking the mare, but rather found it increasingly interesting that she sang her first words at him rather than speaking. He was just replying in kind and having some fun with her.

"Pardon me, where are my manners. I am Monty! The owner and proprietor of Monty's Surplus. Remember if you need it, I can get it! For a price of course." With his smile still beaming and his ear flopped over he managed to produce a business card out of seemingly nowhere, which he offered to the mare.

"You seem to be new in town, I am sure that I would have remembered a mare as unique as yourself. Let me be the first to welcome you to this humble little town." Monty continued to speak with a slight bow. "How long have you been here and are you liking it so far?"

Monty genuinely found this mare to be intriguing, he always liked unique ponies, they usually made much better contacts for later use. Gazing around the shop to take in all the wares that they had to offer he spotted a nice little bamboo fixed line pole in the corner. That had been his tertiary purpose for visiting the quaint little shop, and they had just what he was looking for. Quickly making a mental note of it he returned his gaze to the purple mare.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note was quite relieved when the zebra replaced the rod upon the shelf. Now that her wares were no longer in danger, she could focus upon the zebra's words without other distractions. She was slightly bemused by his melodic tone, unsure whether he was poking fun at her odd acoustics or just coincidentally feeling in a musical mood. Whatever the case, the creme coloured zebra introduced himself as Monty. According to his introduction, Monty was also the keeper of a shop himself. Wrong Note was reassured by this, as it ensured that they would have common ground to base discussion.

With an amused look, she took the buisness card in hoof, reading the information on it. Monty owned a supply shop as well, a coincidence that seemed pecuiliar to the mare. How odd. Another of my profession is the first I meet in this new town. He seemed to note her relative novelty in Hoofington. She had only moved to the seaside town the week before, spending the money she had earned on her travels to erect this shop. With a bow and a question, the zebra ended his words. Wrong Note took a breath before responding, attempting to harmonize her melody.

"Well met, Monty, a pleasure indeed,

I am called Wrong Note, my name does not mislead,

my cutie mark may contradict my profession,

but my shop still serves its function.

I am new,

it is true,

but for a week I have resided here,

and a lovely community has been quite clear.

Your welcome is appreciated,

and any help you need, quickly chanted."

Wrong Note looked embarassed once again. Her attempt to clear up her lack of harmony had in fact made her singing more discordant. She quickly placed the buisiness card upon a nearby chair, making note of its position so she could properly place it later. Monty had taken her first musically answer rather well, but his responce to an encore was quite uncertain in the mare's eyes. She tried to keep her nervous embarassment from her expression, placing a cool, collected persona in its place.

[Pony_Sage]

His ear flopping over Monty smiled widely again, 'Oh this mare is fun, I like her! Hopefully we can strike some sort of accord, having a good supplier of fishing equipment in town is always a plus. Sometimes it can be difficult to get your hooves on a good rod.' He thought as he nodded along to what the mare was pseudo-singing.

“I'm afraid that I can't keep up with you musically, my repertoire is limited to old sea shanties and marching tunes. And I can only rhyme for so long before my tongue gets tied. Although your manner of speaking is most intriguing! Is there a story behind it!? I do love stories.” Monty asked, being his usual nosy self.

Trotting about the shop to better take in the inventory he asked a few more questions, “So you've only been here a week. Why did you decide to come to Hoofington? Do you have knowledge in the fishing arts?” The question was punctuated with a goofy and exaggerated karate bow, at the end of which he almost fell over.

“Sorry about that! Sometimes I can be a bit clumsy.” He appologized with a chuckle as he walked over to the mare again so that she could answer his questions and he could give her his full attention.

"Myself, I came here more than a few years ago and set up shop rather quickly. Having worked on airships for many moons I figured that a salvage and supply shop would be a perfect fit, and Hoofington seemed to be a great hub to set up. Although looking back, I suppose Stalliongrad would have been better. But then I would not have the wonderful beaches and great weather! Even though this old town can get boring at times I like it well enough, there is always fun to be had if one knows only where to look." Monty soliloquized punctuated with a wink.

"Oh but here I am rambling on about myself, I am sorry about that. Sometimes I forget my manners." Monty hoped that the mare would forgive his absent mindedness.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note was taken aback by Monty's accepting manner toward the odd quirk of the earth pony. The ponies she had encounter in the past had looked significantly less favourably upon her pattern of communication, generally finding it to be an unwelcome trait. However, it did not dampen the purple mare's mood, in fact lifting her confidences. If the zebra did not seem to mind her singing, perhaps Hoofington was truly the right choice for her future life. She watched his trot around with shop quietly, trying to think off a way to answer the inquisitive zebra. With a breath, she explained her situation as well as she could, hoping her meaning came across correctly to Monty.

"Well, sir, there is indeed a tale to this strange speech,

that begins quite far from Hoofington beach.

Manehatten is our venue and a young filly is our subject,

with tone and pitch quite correct.

A cutie mark in singing and a high class upbringing,

though her words could be quite stinging.

A unicorn with magic far reaching,

decided a lesson to the Andantinos needed teaching,

A curse she placed upon the filly,

to make her sing badly and quite silly.

She left Manehatten with a background of laughter,

and found herself in Hoofington not too long after.

Along her way she learn the way,

to fish rather than sing all day.

With knowledge in hoof she took wood from tree,

making that which you now see."

After a pause, she gave a small wave of the hoof and a quick tune of explanation.

"As for your manners think nothing of it,

formalities are no longer something I covet.

Your own story is interesting as well,

is there any more of it to tell?"