Grand Opening (open to everypony)

[Deleted]

There was a loud buzzing and banging sound going on down the road from the town grocery. It seemed as if a new shop had opened up from what was originally an old abandoned shack. No one saw anyone move in and the shop had seemed to been set up over night. As far as looks went, it didn't seem to have changed much besides the new banner strung from corner to corner with the words "Grand Opening" painted across it in very foal-like hoof writing. The door was propped open and the large buzzing noise could be heard coming out of it.

Inside the "shop", a little zebra foal buzzed around on mechanical wings, flying up and around, hammering at over hanging loose beams and installing new ones.

"There. That's now fixed. Now what else needs to be done next?"

[/b] she said, smiling down at her friend. A large silver dog thumped his tail in response as he quietly watched his zebra companion zoom around the room. The filly landed down on the ground next to him, observing her handiwork. She had already replaced the shingles on the roof and the interior repairs had been finalized. Across the wooden ceiling there was a very intricate design of pipes and cables, dispersing electricity and plumbing throughout the whole shack. Sure she had stumbled upon this place, but in her mind, this whole shop was her own wonderful creation.

The little filly trotted over to the window, past her assortment of wall decorations of robotic legs and suits of armor, working inventions that she had designed without a customer in mind. She stopped at the front of the shop and the dog sat down beside her.

"No, no, this will not do. Banks, please fetch me some nails and glue!"[/b] she asked the dog. His golden eyes met her silver ones for a moment and he disappeared up the steps to fill her request. She turned quickly on her heal and disappeared into a nearby closet. When Banks returned, he sat patiently by the front window, waiting for the young zebra to return.

The filly emerged from the closet pulling a large box carefully by the string. She met up with the dog and tossed him a pair of safety goggles after strapping on a pair herself. She smiled at him and together, they broke down the old cracked and dirty windows, replacing them with fresh, blue-sheen glass. She hammered the window panes in place and glued down the insulating rubber around the edges to keep out the draft. Finally, after everything was repaired, she and Banks put away the supplies and she hung up a large wooden sign off of a post outside saying "Gear Stripe's Gears: Every Solution to Everything and Anything Mechanical"[/color][/size][/blockquote]

[Nightsong]

It was another day like any other as Nightsong can be found strolling along one of the many dirt road paths of Equestria. “Glad that unicorn let me pass through that giant bubble, but I wonder what he was doing with that water?” As Nights makes his way away from the water domes entrance, there is a town approaching not far from his position, but he didn’t seem to notice because of the expanding shield. Nightsong marveled the shield as like as it reminded him of one his master made, but it wasn’t nearly as huge as this one. “Wow…” Nightsong decided it was time to take a break from his walking, and decided to rest his head down on his satchel as he lies down on a patch of grass, gazing up at the shield as if he were entranced by it. As time passed by, his eyes start to become heavy, and soon Nightosng, dozes off for an afternoon nap.

Time passes by as Nightsong slumbers with a light breeze brushes over the field. As he slumbers, Nightsong begins to have a cryptic dream. He seems to be staring at his younger self thought the eyes of somepony else. He sees himself staring at the stars illuminating the night sky with excitement. His younger self stares back at him for a few seconds, pointing at the sky with a smile on his face. As the dream went on Nightsong awakes with the sound of running. “Let’s go! That new shop is opening today, we better hurry!” “Slow down…I can’t run that fast...” Nightsong wakes up with his heart beating slightly faster than normal. With his vision focusing back to normal, he sees two mares passing by him, one being an energetic Pegasus, and an earth pony who looks really tired. “Hey, where are you guys going?” Nightsong says to the two mares. One of the mares looks back at him as she says “A new shop is opening in Hoofington, handsome. We were heading there right now!” Nightsong looks over to see a town a few miles over. As Nightsong scopes out the new town, the two mares race off shortly after. “C’mon slowpoke, daylights burning!” says the Pegasus as she flies away. “Oh c’mon! Wait for me!” The two strangers race off to Hoofington. “Hoofington, sounds like an interesting place, maybe I can bring back a gift for master.” As Nightsong gets up and stretches his muscles, he looks up to notice that shield is still there, but he seems to be less focused on that, and more on the dream he just had. Out of sheer curiosity, Nightsong regains himself, and continues his venture towards the town of Hoofington.

As he enters, he notices a crowd beginning to gather in front of a store. “That must be the place.” Nightsong says to himself as he keeps walking. As he goes closer to the shop he notices a sign. "Gear…Stripe's….Gears? I wonder what they sell.” As the crowd began to slowly grow more and more, Nightsong reaches into his satchel for what seems to be a map and an ink bottle. Nightsong uncorks the bottle, grabs the end of his tail, dips it into the ink, and begins sketching an overhead version of the town. However, before Nightosng could finish, a wayward filly runs and knock his ink bottle over “Hey!” Nightsong shouts to the filly only to be greeted with a hasty “Sorry” as she runs away. NIghtsong runs over to pick up the bottle, only to notice that it’s almost empty. Nightosng has to cork his ink bottle, making him continue his sketching at some other time. As he goes to roll up his scroll, the wind started to pick up as the scroll began to swoop away. “Dah! Come back, it took me forever to draw you” Nightsong runs and hops as he tries to capture his map, but the scroll kept evading his grasp. The scroll glides its way to the new store, and afterwards lands on roof. Nightsong rushes to the store, pushing past and jumping on anypony that happened to be in his path, responding with a “sorry” or an “Excuse me!” As Nightsong approaches the store, he leaps to the roof and grabs onto the sign, and begins to pull himself onto the roof. Nightsong begins to slowly traverse the rooftop, inching closer and closer to the map. Soon enough, he lunges at the map and clutches it in his front hooves “Gotcha!” as he exclaims. As he celebrates, he hears a creak. “Huh?” Suddenly, Nightsong begins to feel himself slowly descending. Just then, Nightsong falls threw a weak piece of board on the roof, causing him to fall into the building. Nightsong falls fast, until a bunch of metallic material breaks his fall, causing a huge crash landing. As Nightsong digs himself out of the wreckage, he finds himself in a dimly lit backroom, full of gears and other sorts of material. “Whoa, what is all this stuff?”

[Deleted]

Once Gear Stripes had finished setting up shop and cleaning up some leftover dust, she patiently waited for her first customers to arrive. It wasn't too long before a rather large crowd had begun to accumulate around the smallish shop. She reminded herself to put her rhyming ways behind her so that she wouldn't be looked down upon for being zebra. She needed to be more...pony. The smile on her face grew wide as the electronic bell sounded from the entrances of many ponies.

"Welcome! Welcome!" she said, starting up her wings to a buzzing speed so that she hovered over the crowd. The many pony faces looked up to the filly in awe. Not many had ever experienced mechanics such as hers. She looked around to see where to begin. Most seemed just to be browsing the shop, looking at her many curious objects displayed on shelves or hung on the wall.
"Um, yes, Miss? Do ya think ya can help me?" a brown stallion called up to the buzzing zebra. She lowered her body until she was standing directly in front of the pony.
"Why yes, Sir. What can I do for you today?"

she asked. The earth pony smiled shyly and offered what was left of his front right leg, a small stub that didn't quite make it to the knee. She studied his stub carefully and gestured him to follow her upstairs into a bit more of a private room. When they emerged, the stallion had a completely mechanical leg made from a brass and steel combination. The golden color of the metals combined shone brilliantly in contrast to his brown coat. The hoof part of the leg was a sapphire blue to complement his eyes. She had finished the project in as little as twenty minutes. All of the ponies waiting downstairs ooh'd and ah'd at the shiny new limb.

"Wow!..This is Amazing!!"[/color] the stallion declared in utter surprise. He lifted his new leg and flexed the hydraulics, marveling at how easily he was able to control it. "Th-thank you! This is incredible!" he said, unable to take his eyes off his new leg.
"You're quite welcome, Sir! And it's waterproof too but make sure that you lubricate the joints daily with that oil I gave ya!"[/color] he smiled, nodded vigorously and tossed her a bag of coins as payment. She smiled and tossed the small sack to the silver dog who immediately left the room. She didn't bother counting the bits. She didn't quite price things, just what ponies thought she deserved. Most were quite generous. She watched as the stallion happily ran out of her shop, listening to the clinking noise his new hoof made as he exited.

"Alright! Who's nex-" she was cut short by a cracking noise up on the roof. She darted into the air near the area. It sounded like hoof-steps on her ceiling!
"Nini heck?"[/color] she asked, her old language coming through. The crowd separated in time to avoid the crash when a black figure fell through the roof, causing many boards and debris to fall through as well.
"AIIYAHHH!!"[/color] she exclaimed, taking cover herself behind a large wooden pillar. Once the dust had settled, she looked over to see a black pony with golden-orange eyes sitting in the pile of debris at the accident scene.

"I just repaired that roof! It is no place for your hoof!" she exclaimed. Most ponies had fled at the scene of the accident, frightened by the commotion. She buzzed to the doorway.
"No ponies! Come back! I'll have this cleaned up soon!" she sighed and returned to the newest pony addition. He was very darkly colored with what looked like some odd symbol for his cutie mark as well as a very fluffy styled mane and tail. She took in a deep breath to relax her nerves.
"That was some fall you took. I can see you need help by the way you look. she lifted his hoof and dropped it, then buzzing over to his other side, studying his body.
"Perhaps some shoes for a steady grip. Or maybe strong armor so your skin will not rip?" she realized she was rhyming again and shook her head. Banks was already at her side with a bucket of nails in a metal pail in his jaws as well as a pile of boards by his side. She went to work repairing the ceiling while the silver dog removed dangerous debris and rubble from the ground.[/color][/size][/blockquote]

[Nightsong]

While Nightsong was still slightly dazed, he saw a bunch of ponies leaving the building he was in. While he was on the ground, a small striped pony was buzzing around him, holding his hoof and checking him for damage. Before Nights could even muster any words to say, he noticed that the pony rhymed. "That was some fall you took. I can see you need help by the way you look.”

“What’s wrong with the way I look?” Nightsong said quietly. As he looked back up to the ceiling, he noticed a little dog picking up the debris from the floor, as the little filly inspected the wreckage. "Perhaps some shoes for a steady grip. Or maybe strong armor so your skin will not rip?" says the striped pony. Nightsong couldn't tell if she was more worried about the ceiling, her costumers, or him. In any case, Nightsong hopped back on all four, slightly surprising the dog next to him. “Don’t worry about me; I’ve taken bigger falls than that. Not to mention shoes and armor only slow me down. How can I move silently through the forests with the constant clink and clank of meta…um…lady?” The striped pony was buzzing around more and more, with Nightsong wandering if she was hearing him or not. “I’m sorry about your customers and you’re roof. I needed ink and my map flew away and I had to get it back”

As Nightsong watches the young filly buzz around more and more, he asks another question “But more importantly, what’s with your pelt? It’s all...stripy. Also, how are you flying? And what was all the fancy wording you were doing?”

[Deleted]

The zebra filly buzzed about after making sure that the black pony was alright and helped the large dog remove the debris so that others wouldn't get hurt. Once all of the major pieces were removed, she buzzed up to the damaged wiring on the roof and went to work to prevent any fires. She stripped some wires here and fused some there, and then secured them behind the metal piping. The hole she was going to have to deal with later. She looked down to see who had stayed and noticed that not many had left as she had initially thought. Most were horror stricken at what had happened and were staring at the black pony who had come crashing down. Others were browsing through some of her inventions, acting like these strange instances happened everyday. Some were waiting at the counter waiting to be checked out with their purchases as well as the ones waiting for custom orders to be filled. She slowed down the beating of her mechanical wings and landed down next to the black stallion who seemed to be just fine now.

She listened to his apology but she just shrugged and sighed.
"I accept your apology. These things just happen I see. But next time, please be careful. Of your surroundings, be very ware-full."

she said smiling. She had more wood to repair the ceiling. It was just a bit frustrating to have to deal with this on day one after just fixing the ceiling. When he was mentioning that he was just trying to get his ink and pen, ideas began buzzing through her head. A faux-leather satchel that attached like a saddle bag, or maybe a breast plate pocket that was within mouth's reach that secured snugly to his chest and out of the way. Perhaps black to match his pelt. She tossed these ideas aside when she took into mind that he was most likely not here to shop. Then he pointed out some things that she feared one would ask.

"I'm not rhyming!"[/color] she said a little too quickly. Yeah, it was a flat out lie. Everyone had heard her, but she hoped that no one would care.
"And my stripes? What's wrong with them? Pony feathers! Have you not seen a zebra before?"[/color] she asked, cocking her head to the side. She started up her wings and hovered above him with a soft buzzing sound coming from them.
"And these are one of my awesome inventions! Wings! I can fly just like a pegasus pony folk! Metal and feathers and pleather all working together to help anypony live their flying dreams! Sensors in my shoulder pads can read the electrical currents my brain sends to my muscles so that I can control the beat of the wings just like any other limb.[/color] she offered him a hoof to shake right above his head.
The name is Gear Stripes by the way. I hope you are alright. Is there anything I can help you with today?"[/color] She figured to ask him before some pony else demanded her attention.[/color][/size][/blockquote]

[Nightsong]

"And these are one of my awesome inventions! Wings! I can fly just like a pegasus pony folk! Metal and feathers and pleather all working together to help anypony live their flying dreams! Sensors in my shoulder pads can read the electrical currents my brain sends to…” Nightsong had no idea what the zebra was talking, and sort of missed every other word she said. Nightsong just kept listening until the zebra started floating in front of him, reached out to him with a welcoming look in her eyes. “The name is Gear Stripes by the way. I hope you are alright. Is there anything I can help you with today?" After noticing how quickly she repaired her roof and greeted him afterwards, Nightsong was slightly surprised at how lightly she took this whole incident.

“Oh” Nightsong stands on his hind hooves and bows forward in a formal manner. As he lands back on all fours, he touches hooves with her and says “I’m Nightsong, a martial artist. I had day off today and I wanted to inscribe this place on my map, but I lost a lot of ink, and I'm too far away from home to make more.” Nightsong looked around at all the shelves in the store, seeing all types of machinery. “Hey now I get it, Gear…Stripes! You’re a fixer. That would explain how you manage to clean up so quickly” There were many other ponies in the store, some holding what looked to be metal limbs, watches, tools, and other types of things that he’s never even seen before. Nightsong also noticed that there weren’t as many customers in the store as before, and he felt responsible for it. “Uh, listen. I feel I messed thing up, if I can help YOU with anything, just say the word, whether they rhyme or not.”

[Deleted]

Picture of Banks

After he bowed, she touched to the ground and her wings stopped their buzzing and folded mechanically to her side. She looked around quickly. No one else seemed to need her attention at the moment. The ponies around were still browsing at the merchandise and ones that were making small purchases were being led to the self serve cash registers by Banks. She turned back to the colt with all attention to him.
"Fix stuff, build stuff, invent stuff, yes!"

she smiled, almost prancing on the spot, "I'm really good with mechanics and electronics. I can make almost any dream, a reality!"[/color] she calmed herself down and looked at him.
"A martial artist? What do you paint?"[/color] she asked, cocking her head to the side. That wasn't a term she had learned before. She just remembered that he had asked her if he could do anything to make up for making a mess. Her mind went up to the partly repaired roof and how shingles still needed replacing, but then she imagined him falling through once more. Instead, she shook her head, her bob of mane bouncing slightly on her head.
"That is quite alright. However, I do have something that might help you.[/color] her wings sprung to life and she buzzed on upstairs. She returned swiftly and strapped something to his upper foreleg.
"It's a holster for a self loading quill and some parchment. I filled the feather with ink. You know they're hollow in the center? I have five refills for one bit here in the shop!"[/color] she said, throwing a price out here because she didn't want others to wonder why she was giving out a product for free. She was just grateful he was alright.
She unstrapped the rolled up parchment to show him. It was a woven, waterproof fabric instead of just simple paper. On it was a printed map of most of Equestria. The main settlements were all listed and drawn on there such as Canterlot, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Ponyville (there even was a picture of Gear Stripes' shop a little bit bigger than other shops listed in the area). There was even the Everfree Forrest and the Zebra settlements thrown on there as well as some room to make some edits. She folded it up in three's and rolled it up again until it was small enough to be strapped back in place.
"I have something for everypony. And don't worry. The leather is 100% vegan of course. It just looks like cow hide!"[/color] she said, noticing how there were some curious stares.[/color][/size][/blockquote]

[Nightsong]

“I am quite the painter; after all I made this map through the art of tail-painting.” NIghtsong completely forgot why he was talking to Gears in the first place, and decided to explain his occupation. “While a martial artist can’t be put on paper, it’s just as fun. A type of combat used for self-defense, competition, and can even give a good work out if you’re on the portly side. However, martial arts can also be used for the dev…develo…um…the building of your mental and physical being."

After his explanation (and some vocal fumbling), Nightsong grabs several nearby planks of wood on the top of his head. Before you know, the planks of would go flying into the air after being launched. “I’ve been doing it for years now! Kung-Fu Hii-yah! Jiu-Jitsu wooo-ha! Tae Kwon DO!” Nightsong says as he shows of some of his moves. As he lands, the planks of wood fall to the floor almost perfectly onto each other in a tee pee formation. “Thanks for the map by the way. It looks much better than mines.” After a few seconds, the boards break in half as if sliced by a blade, and stacked on top of each other. Nightsong unravels a map that has locations that spark some memories of his. “Check this out: The land of the unicorns, the big city, and even Ponyville.” NIghtsong relished the amazing ink work of the map. “Hey look there’s the Everfree Forest! I don’t know why people dread that place so much, it’s a blast!” As Nigthsong looks over the map for a little bit and notices an area he’s never seen before. The area had a black and white coloring, one that matched Gears’ fur pattern. “Hey, I've never seen this place before. Is this place you’re home? This would probably explain why I didn’t know what you were.”

[Deleted]

"That's awesome!'

she said in response to him explaining about his tail painting and martial arts. She bit her lip in worry when she watched the colt leap up and chop up the boards, speaking an assortment of words that seemed quite foreign to her. She hoped none of those boards would be launched toward any of her customers. Some of the other ponies must have had the same thoughts since they had made their purchases and left in a bit of a hurry. Others were awe-struck in watch of his display. A few even clopped their hooves together in applause when he had finished by stacking up the wood.

She sighed, wondering what she could do with these small little pieces of wood. They weren't exactly good for repairing anything, let alone for parts. She was about to say something to Night Song, but then she felt a nudge on her back. She turned around to see a light green unicorn with a brown mane and a husky body standing there.
"I'll give ya twenty bits for that whole pile of fire wood!"[/color] he offered her. She smiled and wrote up a receipt after accepting his coins. He lifted up the wood with a blue glow of magic and exited the shop. She smiled and waved him out before tossing the bag of coins into the air. The large grey dog jumped into the air and caught it perfectly before bounding back to the desk and dropping it into the register. She smiled. She had trained him well.

She turned back to the black colt who asked about the region she had shaded black and white to represent the zebra colonies.
"I've never been there. My parents and grandponies were born and raised there. My grandponies brought me here to be raised like the modern day pony so that I could explore and expand my talents! My grandmare and grandstag moved back there cause I have Banks to help me out here. I've been living by his side ever since!"[/color][/size][/blockquote][/color]

[Nightsong]

“I’m almost the same way. My master is from a faraway land as well, and she moved near ponyville years ago. I met her when I was just a young colt. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much before that. She took me in a pretty much taught me everything I know such as seeing without eyesight, meditation, and different types of make-up. Though, that stuff doesn’t taste as good as it looks.”

Nightsong thought about everything Gear’s said about her family. Nightsong thought to himself about what a parent is. “So you’ve never been here huh? I’ve been told a lot about the black and white pelts. They use a form of magic, but in a way that’s different from unicorns. Maybe they’re strong. Maybe I can learn more about survival and “magic”.” Hours went by in the store as Nights hung around Gears’ store. They spent some time, talking more about the land of the Zebras. "Okay Ms. Stripes, I'm off now to the zebra lands. Who knows, if you're still here when I get back, I can tell you all about it." Nightsong gets all of his supplies together, and begins to head out of the entrance of Gear's shop.