"I'll give you thirty-five for the battle saddle."
The shopkeeper narrows his eyes at me, snorting and shifting while he crosses his arms. "Fifty-five, it's in good condition."
"The straps are fraying, one of the buckles is broken, and the wiring is messed up. Thirty."
He leans over the counter, hands pressing down on it as his pink nose flares. "I haven't even brought it down, how could ya even tell the wirin' is like that?"
I try not to gag and cough at the hot breath as it rolls over my face. "I sent a jolt of magic through it, common repairpony's trick to see how the wiring performs."
The shopkeeper stands back up, a brow arched now. "An' a pony of your age knows how battle saddles work?"
I let out a snort of my own, eyes narrowing as a send out a small wave of magic. "I do, actually, and I can tell most of your equipment here is in similar condition." Several objects come flying off their mounts though I make sure to be gentle so none are damaged in the process.
"This rifle's crystal array is misaligned, anything that did come out of it wouldn't hit anywhere near your target. This helmet won't even turn on due to the spark battery being dead. The firing mechanism on this pistol is missing the sear, somehow, and the sights are bent. " Each of the objects I shove in his face, forcing him to back up more and more against the wall.
"Canteen has a hole near the bottom, armor plating is cracked in several areas, the metal is rusting on this suit-"
"Alright, alright, ya win, I surrender! Just... stop talkin' so loud, I can't have customers hearin' th-"
"That you're knowingly selling them faulty and damaged equipment that'd fail them within days, if that?"
The shopkeeper's eye twitches as his hands curl up into fists, muscles visibly tensing and bulging under the dark fur before suddenly relaxing; a heavy sigh audible as his eyes close for a moment. "Okay, look, you're right: my equipment ain't the best but it's what I can get. Not exactly easy to get wares in good condition -"
"But you could at least make an effort to repair them or find somebody who could."
Another eye twitch. "Right, an' I'll look into that in the future."
"Good." I levitate all the goods back to their proper places, looking just as they had before. "Oh, and I'll still be taking that battle saddle too."
"35."
"20, or I talk."
The big bull throws his hands up in the air. "Fine, 20! But ya gotta swear you won't tell."
I smirk wide, opening up my saddle bags. "Deal." I frown, rummaging through the sacks more thoroughly.
"What's wrong?"
I take off the saddle bags and look into them directly, frowning harder. "Damn it, my mom's got the money."
The shopkeeper raises a brow. "After all that talk, ya don't even have the coin?"
I sigh, closing the bags before putting them back on. "Guess she does. Do you know when she left?"
Another snort. "Little bit before ya started shovin' my own goods in my face, why? Gonna go lookin' for her now?"
I shake my head. "It'll only cause more of a mess if I do, better if I just stay here since this is the last place she saw me. Oh, and apologizes in advance for anything that happens to your shop."
"What's your mom gonna do, throw some stuff around? She was bigger then most ponies I've seen but nothin' impressive."
"If you're luc-" I shudder as I feel an explosive of magical energy, my whole body tingling with the strength of it as my horn sends out a few sparks. "And here she comes."
"Who's comin', your mom? What's the worst that she could d-"
The sound of screeching and warping metal drowns out the shopkeeper as what looks what used to be a door is launched through the air and imbeds itself into the wall in several places, horrible managled and dripping slag as an armored figure steps inside; an unfamilar magical rifle floating next to them and ready to reduce the poor vendor to ash.
"Where's Parei? Where's. My. Daughter?" A booming voice fills the small shop, making me wince at the volume and intensity of it.
"Right here, Mom." I wave my hoof and draw her attention away from the shopkeeper as I approach. "Safe and sound, nothing happened to me."
"Parei! Oh, I'm so relieved you're alright!" Metal limbs wrap around me, the sound of something heavy hitting the floor as my ribs are nearly crushed. "I got so worried when I saw you weren't with me!"
"I-It's okay, Mom, I can handle being on my own for a little bit." I shift in her grip, the mismatched and uneven plating rubbing against my coat causing some chafing. "C-can you let me go now?"
I hear a cry off to my right, glancing towards the source and seeing the shopkeeper with his hands raised and several weapons yanked from their displays pointed right at him. "Are you sure he didn't hurt you or anything?"
I let out a sigh, gingerly prying her limbs away with a bit of magic before mine come to rest on the ground. "I'm sure, Mom. The only dangerous things in here is the shoddy equipment he's trying to sell."
"Oh, in that case, guess I've over-reacted! I'm sorry, Mr...?"
"Copper Head." His voice was low, the prior boldness and volume in it utterly nonexistant.
"Let me fix this whole mess then for you, it's the least I can do for causing it and as for thanks for looking after Parei for me!"
Arcane energy arcs from her horn, dancing across the metal plating adorning her head as it builds up. The floating weapons abruptly burst into their individual components, several more parts along with numerous tools are summoned from behind the counter as well in a flurry of magic and motion.
I watch with facination as the weapons are tuned, cleaned, and then reassembled in less then a minute. After it was done, the replaced parts were all placed at the end of the counter while everything else was put back where they had been prior.
"There we go, that takes care of the repayment! Now, one last thing..." I hear a muffled hum before the warped and torn door and its fragments are gingerly removed from their spots in the wall. It was fortunate that nothing had been in their path besides from some shelving and an old ministry poster, leaving holes to the back room in their place as my mom gathered all the pieces. "Not exactly a craftpony when it comes to doors but I'll see what I can do!"
The fragments begin to merge with the main portion of the door, glowing brighter and brighter as they become superheated. The mangled and fragmented mass becomes an elongated rectangle, the faces smooth and edges perfectly straight with not a single drop of molten metal dripping onto the floor. The whole process takes a bit but once its over, a solid, single-piece slab in the shape of a door gently comes to rest against one of the walls once its cooled.
"Took more energy then I thought it would but here you go, your new door!" I could hear my mom panting from the effort as the aurora around her horn fades away. "Making hinges and a new locking mechanism aren't quite my expertise but cutting holes for one and scavenging some shouldn't be too hard!"
"I... uh... thank you?"
"You're welcome, it's the least I could do for breaking your old door in the first place! Now, come, Parei, I saw some gear I wanted to buy!"
"Oh, that reminds me." I look up at my mom, noticing how the helmet had the lenses beneath the plating and seemed seperate from them. "Can I have twenty coins? Wanna buy a battle saddle."
"Of course! Just let me grab the purse." She glances at her flanks, presumably trying to find where she had put all our money. "Mind giving me a hoof...?"
I sigh, shaking my head as I trot to her side and physically touch the array of plates and padding adorning her body. "Looks like you intergrated them into the armor but I think..." A press of my hoof results soft click, a section of panel opening up to reveal the cloth bag underneath it. "There we go!"
Opening the bag and levitating out the purse, I deposit two stacks of ten coins each on the counter before grabbing my prize. "Twenty coins per our agreement. Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Head."
"Uh, t-thank you for your purchase, ma'am." The shopkeeper nods softly, muscles tense as he grips the counter-top. "Hope to see you again soon."
"Maybe." I smirk, battle saddle still in my grasp as I put the purse back and close the hatch. "Come on, Mom, sure we've got plenty of others to pay back."
"Huh?" She glances at me, the strange weapon from earlier floating in front of her. "Oh, yeah, we should probably do that!"
I let out a sigh, moving past her and through the empty doorframe. As expected, I was greeted by a crowd of faces. Some wearing expressions of curiosity, others anger, fear, or just plain confusing as they try to figure out what was going on. There were a few guards I could make out as well armed with melee and ranged weapons, though none seemed particularly inclined to take action.
I hear my mom stomp over to my side, the ground shaking softly as the crowd takes a collective step back and starts talking among themselves.
"Was that the mare crying out somebody's name earlier?"
"Are you sure they're a mare! Look how big they are!"
"She can't be that big, it's gotta be the armor! Never seen a mare that size."
"I don't care how big they are or if they're a mare, they took my goods without paying!"
"Same here, just ran past my stand and yanked them away without a single word!"
I roll my eyes before clearing my throat and casting a simple spell. "Quiet everyone."
The talking immediately stops as my amplified voice hits their ears, a few wincing and even shying away from me. "My name is Pareidolia and the mare in the armor is my mother, Artemis. She's... forgetful at times and often doesn't realize what she's doing but she has no ill will towards anyone. I apologize for whatever trouble she's caused you."
"I am sorry! I just... noticed she wasn't with me and panicked. "
I notice a commotion in the crowd as somebody makes their way forward, a grizzled stallion with a prosthetic for his right hind leg. One of his eyes is partially shut, a knife clearly visible on his left foreleg. "So upon noticin' your here daughter was missin', ya only built yourself a gun of some sort but a whole suit of armor in the time it took ya to reach her?"
She glances at the weapon still in her grasp and then at her self before nodding. "Guess I did!"
The stallion raises the brow of his good eye as he takes a good look at my mom. "Well, work's mighty impressive. Seems like it functions better then most of the stuff we have 'round here too, even if it is in good condition."
"Why thank you! I did built suits way back when I -"
I step in front of my mom and the stallion, eyes narrowing. "What do you want?"
He lets out a chuckle, a smile spreading across his muzzle. "Your ma took some of my wares when she went searchin' for ya. However, I'm willin' to waver the price of 'em if she can fix my here leg. Ain't exactly easy to find a mechanic who knows their way 'round this kinda tech."
I hum for a moment, glancing around at the crowd of ponies still present. "Anyone else wanting something repaired in return for whatever my mom took from you? We'll also take payment for repair jobs."
Several more ponies stepped up though none seemed as confident as the first stallion.
I glance over at my moment, the top part of her helmet lifted up to reveal her face and horns as she investigated the weapon she had accidentally built. "Ready to fix some stuff, Mom?"
She lets out a whinny, a strange sound filling the air as a blast of energy comes from the rifle and whizzes over the top of our heads. Nothing is head but it certainly spooked me and the crowd as well. Looking back at her, she sheepishly smiles while her ears splay back. "Sorry!"
"Well, if she can make that armor and a gun that works outta spare parts, count me in!" A voice cries out, a mare stepping forward this time. "Name's Tick Tock and I run a lil' shop down the road, basically utilities and whatnot but I've got some stock that could use some fixin'. She didn't nab anythin' but I'll pay her for everythin' she fixes!"
I extend my hoof and shake hers, smiling. "We have a deal, Miss Tock." I then turn to the crowd, unable to help myself from grinning this time. "Everypony else who wants their stuff repaired or had something taken without payment, follow us to her shop. We can discuss arrangements there."
A small cheer rose from the crowd, though I did notice more then a few guards visibly relax as made the announcement. Focusing back on Tick Tock, I give her a smile and a nod. "Lead the way, we'll be right behind you."
The soft-brown mare returns the smile before doing just that, following suit myself. However, I take a moment to pause and look behind me. "Come on, Mom, we gotta go!"
She jumps a bit and takes a moment to realize that I had called for her, giving me a nod before turing back to the ponies who had gathered around here. "Sorry, can't talk now but I can latter!" I watch the plating slide back around her face though the lenses did turn out to be just goggles, lowering those into place before everything else did. "Coming!"
I smile a bit once she falls into line with me, moving close enough to give her a nuzzle as we follow Tock. "Love you, Mom."
She leans down to return the affection in kind, making me giggle a bit. "Love you too, Parei."
Author's Note
This is based on characters for an unpublished story of mine and a scene written out ages ago as part of a roleplay. I'm not sure if I'll do something similar anytime in the future but this was a blast to write and I'm happy that I've finally done something with them.
If there's any sort of errors, please let me know. Likewise, I'm happy to hear all sorts of feedback and thoughts regarding this little story!
