"Pleeeeeeeeease?!" Pinkie continued to beg as Miles made up his mind on how to deal with this pink menace. He snapped his fingers with his free hand and dropped Pinkie to the floor, trying his utmost to ignore the squeaky toy sound as she landed. "Awww! C'mon!" She pouted.

Miles turned and glanced down at the floor, noticing the wooden flooring was damaged from his stumbling earlier. He put his fingers to his chin and stroked his stubble for a moment. He raised a finger and said, "Pink pony-"

"Pinkie Pie!" she corrected.

Miles continued to stare at the floor. "Pink pony, I see you have some damage done to your flooring over here." He pointed down at the floor for her to see, but Pinkie's mind was elsewhere.

"My name is Pinkie. Pie! How did you forget already? You got it right a minute ago!" She crossed her fore-hooves across her chest with a pout as she sat back on her hind legs.

Miles approached Pinkie once again and spoke through a slightly clenched jaw. "Yes, of course... Pinkie Pie," he spat, "I came here to ask you about work, and it seems I have a potential commission sitting right here." Miles pointed down once again. "Would you ponies be willing to pay for this kind of thing to be repaired? Or is there some kind of fix-all pony magic nonsense I don't yet know of?"

"I dunno, you'll have to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Cake about that! Besides, it gives my room some character!" Pinkie returned to her bubbly exterior in an instant, closing her eyes as she bounced up to him. Once she opened them, however, the human was already gone and her door firmly closed. She hummed to herself thoughtfully for a moment before becoming distracted by a balloon in the corner of her room which had been gradually deflating over the past few days and obviously needed replacing.

Miles made his way back the way they'd come, cursing quietly to himself in frustration over his time being wasted. "Cretinous ponies..." he mumbled. As he reached the front of the store once more, Miles made his way past a slightly cowering Mrs. Cake and stood at the back of the line approaching the register she was now stationed at. Some of the ponies smiled at him as he passed them, while others cast their gaze to the floor. Miles was indifferent at this point; he needed answers.

The line gradually shortened in an agonising reflection of Miles's patience. He'd considered ignoring the line and addressing Mrs. Cake regardless, but he had a public impression to cement. A large, red stallion stood in front of Miles, chewing on a piece of hay. He had a huge, green apple adorning his flank and seemed perpetually bored.

Miles tapped the stallion on the shoulder. The stallion turned to glance over his withers. His eyes crawled up and down Miles's frame at a sluggish pace, yet he remained stoic and seemingly unaffected by Miles's presence.

Miles smiled at the stallion and placed a hand upon his hip. "Young stallion, may I ask why you chew on that little sprig in your mouth? What benefit does it bring you?"

The stallion glanced left and right, now seemingly uncomfortable. "Uh... Nope." With that, the stallion turned once again and returned to his previous state of impersonating a statue. Miles got the impression the stallion had either misheard him, or did not understand what he had said.

Miles sighed to himself and instead took a closer look around the room instead to kill the time. The many ponies chowed down on their sweet treats, their blissful little faces beaming with joy, albeit not without the occasional cautious glance in Miles's direction.

One mare greedily stuffed her face with cake, sending crumbs cascading around her and tumbling onto the floor. Miles began to grow increasingly frustrated as the colourful miniature equines went about their meaningless, insignificant business as though the world they live in were to be taken for granted.

A polite cough sounded from behind Miles. Upon coming out of his daydream, he noticed the line in front of him had dissipated and a mildly irritated, elderly mare had attempted to get him to move. Miles peered down at the mare and placed a hand to his chest. "Terribly sorry, madam. I was in a world of my own, just then."

The mare quietly hmph'd as Miles stepped up to the counter. With each step he took, the chubby mare behind the counter shrunk further towards the floor, trying her best to merge with it and disappear. "H-How can I help you, Mister...?" she stuttered.

Miles frowned and abrasively grabbed the edge of the counter as he peered over at the mare, who had now seemingly tucked her legs up into her own belly. Miles snickered slightly to himself. The mare looked and likely felt like a colourful loaf of bread.

"I don't know, you tell me," Miles said with a wink.

"What...?"

Miles frowned. "You deaf, little pony? I asked you to tell me how you can help me."

Mrs. Cake appeared flustered as she slowly rose to her shaky legs. "W-Well, you're supposed to request something from m-"

"I know, I know," he laughed, "I'm messing with you. I do hope I'm not making you too uncomfortable, miss." Miles reached out and twisted a post-it note pad next to the register so that it was now parallel with the edge of the counter. "I don't look that disgusting, do I?" He feigned insecurity as he ran his hands across his body, straightening out his clothes.

"N-No! Of course not, sir... So, what can I do for you today, i-if I may ask?" Mrs. Cake slowly settled back into her skin as Miles folded it back around her plump frame.

"Well, I noticed that there has been some damage done to the floor of Pinkie's room. I was wondering if you ponies would be willing to pay for something like that to be fixed?" Miles leaned back and rolled his shoulders as he settled his gaze upon the mare with a belated and deliberately drawn out release of breath.

Mrs. Cake thought to herself for a moment. "Well, we sometimes call someone in to fix those kinds of things, but my husband usually brings out his toolbox to fix things himself..."

Miles couldn't help but smile as his worries concerning magic preventing the flourishing of his livelihood dissipated. "Well, I don't know how much those ponies usually charge, but I can guarantee I could have it fixed in good time." His grip on the countertop stiffened.

"W-Well, I suppose I'd be happy to pay you the standard rate. Although, I'd-"

"That's great, little miss. You won't regret hiring me, I assure you." Miles interrupted the mare as he leaned across the counter and ruffled her mane. "I'll be back in a couple of hours to fix it. That sound alright to you?" Miles had already begun to walk towards the door, looking back at the mare over his shoulder.

Mrs. Cake struggled to see him past the massive line of ponies now shuffling forwards towards the counter. She said, "Y-Yes, that sounds good, but I-"

"Alright, see you later." Miles held up a hand as he made his way out of the door.

Wasting no time, Miles began looking through the various stores Twilight had briefly shown him, looking for a place to purchase the necessary tools and supplies. Eventually, he found a D.I.Y store. The interior looked somewhat dim, yet cosy, with various tools and products hanging from the ceiling and scattered across the walls.

Upon walking through the door, a drowsy-looking, youthful earth stallion with a light grey coat glanced up from the magazine he was reading on the counter. He was clearly well built, yet spooled through the magazine with clumsy movements.

His sky blue eyes went slightly wide and he dropped to all fours, assuming position behind the register. Miles immediately walked over to him. "Good afternoon, friend. How has your day been? Oh, and what are you reading there?" He reached for the magazine, noticing various mares clad in erotic clothing covering most every last inch of the pages. The stallion immediately snatched up the magazine and stashed it below the counter before Miles could touch it.

The stallion seemed reluctant to reply through his embarrassment, but hesitantly cleared his throat and forced out a mewling response. "H-Hello. What can I do you for?"

Miles stared down at the pony with half-lidded eyes and a smug smirk. It seemed there was a trend in this world concerning these ponies and their inability to answer simple questions. The pony was clearly bemused, yet couldn't keep his eyes on Miles for long before looking away. Eventually, Miles spoke up.

"Well, I'm looking for some D.I.Y supplies: sealant and the likes. You have any?" he asked.

"Oh, y-yes. Right over here, sir," the stallion replied. He trotted over to the back of the empty store, signalling to some bottles of products as well as some nails, hammers and other various tools.

"That's great." Miles said as he reached out and grabbed what he needed. The rattling of tools filled the silence that followed. "You don't mind if I pay you back later for these, right? I have no money right now, but I should be coming into some very soon."

The stallion went silent for a moment, then said, "Well, I don't usually do that for new customers, but..."

"But...?" Miles knelt down to his height and raised an eyebrow.

"But, I mean... I'm sorry, I c-can't trust new customers to pay me back like that... Especially not..." The stallion caught himself and petered out into silence before he could finish.

Miles frowned. "Especially not what?" asked Miles. The stallion began to shake on his hooves, looking between the supplies Miles was holding and the register with fervour.

"I-I can't let you do that... I'm sorry." The stallion steadied his shaking and looked up at Miles with determination. "Times are tough for me, you know...? I can't afford to take these kinds of risks."

Miles closed his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath. He then gently grabbed the stallion's mane and pulled him close enough that the stallion's face was a mere inch from his own as he whispered, "Especially not what?"

The stallion's pupils became pinpricks as his shaking returned. "S-Sir, I-I..."

Miles noticed the stallion had tucked his tail between his legs. With a sigh, he released the pony and stood to his full height. He dusted off his sleeves and looked down at the quivering pony. "Buddy. Hey. Hey!" Miles said. With a playful smile, he used the handle of a hammer to tip the stallion's chin up.

"I'm messing with you," chuckled Miles. "Why would I want to put the business of a good pony like yourself at risk over such a small thing, hm?" The stallion reluctantly looked up into Miles's gaze and followed his lead back to the centre of the empty little store. Miles placed the various items on the counter and beckoned the stallion to join him.

"A-Ah, yes, I'm glad you understand. Times are tough for us all, you know?" The stallion said. He felt his nerves begin to ease slightly as he chuckled.

Miles smiled and replied, "Indeed. It is a shame that it has to be this way." The stallion noted how Miles sounded forlorn as he said that. "Oh well. It is what it is, I suppose." Miles stroked his hand across the handle of the hammer he had intended to purchase. "Boy, I really got you going there, right?!" He laughed, slamming the hammer down on the counter with a little more force than was natural as he finished speaking.

The stallion flinched. "Y-Yeah! Haha... I was kinda freaked out, I'm not gonna lie!" The stallion nervously laughed along with this strange, muscle-bound creature.

"No worries, buddy. I'm sorry that I took it a little too far. I just wanted to test your mettle," chuckled Miles. "You're clearly a cultured stallion, anyway, so it might help you to gain some confidence, eh?" Miles winked at the stallion and signalled under the counter with his eyes. "Ladies love a man who can stand up for himself, after all."

"Heh, yeah, you got me good... I-I'm not all that cultured... Uh, what's a 'man'?" The stallion coughed into a hoof.

Miles picked the hammer back up and tossed it between his hands, examining it closely for a moment. "Oh, right, forgive me. I'm new here. Just pretend that it means 'stallion'."

The stallion nodded. Miles then said, "Alrighty then, pal. You know, I can tell you'd be a real hit with the ladies around town if they knew just how cultured you are." He shrugged dismissively. "Oh well. Regardless, I'll be back in a little while with a payment for you." He lowered his voice as he spoke, gently laying down the hammer directly in front of the stallion with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

As Miles made for the door, the stallion began stammering from behind him. "W-Wait! I-I mean, uh..."

With a knowing smile, Miles turned around to heed the pony's call. The stallion had begun sweating once again. "I suppose I could let you take... Half of this stuff with you for now, and you can pick up the rest of it later when you pay...?" The stallion sluggishly turned his head away from Miles as he hesitantly forced the words past his lips.

Miles smirked and made for the stallion once more, patting him on the head encouragingly as he retrieved some of the items the stallion had allowed him. Miles raised an eyebrow in question and the stallion nodded. "Good lad," said Miles. "You've done me a favour, thankyou. I'll be back later today with full payment. What time do you close?"

"Uh, I close at ten..." mumbled the stallion.

"Alright, I'll see you, then."

"'Then'...?" the stallion asked quietly with poorly concealed concern.

"Punctuation is important, my friend," Miles chided.

Miles exited the shop with tools in hand. He looked down at the hammer with a victorious grin and said, "Looks like we're in business."

Author's Note

06/10/2024 - Touched up with some additions/revisions.