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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 24, 2014 22:25:51 GMT -5
SUGAR SWEET SERVICES: ENGINEERING, SCRAP METALS, TRINKETS AND REPAIRS
PRICES FAIR, DISCOUNT ON BULK PURCHASES
A sign outside Sugar's house. Yes, she'd resorted to signs a while back, but still had received almost no customers. Her novelty machines weren't fishing in customers like she'd hoped, and she'd made hundreds of them. Her scrap metals weren't wanted by anypony save for a blacksmith who'd come in looking for chunks of silver a long time ago, and bought out her entire stock, and nopony needed repairs from a mad mare.
A soft sigh from within the rows of shelves littered with doodads and thingymabobs and novelty machines and things, nails and building stuff, all meant nothing it seemed, to the sleepy inhabitants of this quaint little city. She needed sales soon, or she'd end up going without food, at least until the drill's acceptance and payment proposal came back to her. Until then though...
She wish she still had her pet spider, Legs, to talk to. Legs'd understand. Too bad Legs didn't walk much anymore.
Piles of ash didn't walk much to begin with though, I suppose.
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Post by Midnight Mind on Sept 24, 2014 22:46:06 GMT -5
She was a bit worried at how her trinket seemed to be a bit off. Since it hit the floor the other day it was not opening anymore. A few ponies spoke of this...mare that could fix it. Some ponies didnt speak too highly of her saying she was abit off in the head. Unhitching herself from her cart she grabbed her saddle bag and went up to the door. Using her magic to open the door she began to lean her head inside to see if anypony was around "Ello?"
As she entered the place fully she shut the door gently behind her "Excuse me I heard I could get my trinket fixed here." she began to look around seeing things on the shelf and walked up to them "Hmm." she raised a hoof up and began to touch it at first afraid she might break it "Hehe this is cute I wonder what it does."
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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 24, 2014 22:56:35 GMT -5
The first call caught Sugar's attention, and for a moment, she felt elation. A customer! But it quickly vanished, and she worried that it had been her imagination. But no, there it was again! With a smile, she scuttled out from behind the counter, and ventured through the maze of shelves to the entrance, where she found a mare looking at one of her 'useless machines'.
"I call it a Useless Machine, or a stubborn box," Sugar said brightly, approaching the mare, "It hates opening up, but it makes for a bit of fun. Only seven bits too!"
It used to be ten, given the parts needed to make it, but she still made a profit out of seven bits, and it didn't really do that much. Flicking the switch made the box open up and close itself, in a myriad of ways. It was amusing, cute and overall, fairly useless otherwise.
"What were you looking for? Can I help? I have lots of other novelty machines, I make them myself! I do commissions as well! Or, if you're more mechanically or construction inclined I um... I have some scraps, metals and woods, for sale as well?"
She was a bit desperate to make a sale, or to have something, anything, that could get her some bits to buy food with. Sometimes she really regretted buying this place outright.
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Post by Midnight Mind on Sept 24, 2014 23:21:20 GMT -5
She tilted her head seeing the other mare there and bowed her head down before smiling a bit "A useless machine?" she raised her head looking at it. She used her hoof to push the switch before jumped at the thing flicking the switch back off. Giggling a bit she went back over to flick it again before seeing it move around and flick the switch back off "Oh my that is cute." she poked the box a bit before looking at the mare "Oh um sorry got distracted. I was hearing you could fix trinkets? I actually scrounged up some bits to get it fixed...maybe extra I could possibly buy this little thing." she poked the box a few times with her hoof
She began tilting her head at the mare with seeming to be in desperate need of business it seemed and she smiled at her "If not would you be willing to do a trade for it? I do tarot readings and could maybe answer something for you?"
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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 24, 2014 23:36:12 GMT -5
Sugar giggled herself at the odd little contraption. She'd made the impossible thing to be as difficult as possible, initially as a defense system. However, it had been just so darn adorable when she made the concept, that she'd kept it as a novelty item. She'd built hundreds of them now. She was, however, wrenched from her memories as her (potential) customer spoke again.
"Trinkets?" Sugar said, a little offended, "I can fix anything, be it mechanical or otherwise... But um... I sort of need the bits right now, so sorry but I can't simply trade for a um... reading."
To be honest, Sugar didn't put much stock in Fortune tellers. All the ones in her hometown had been phonies that told ponies that they'd get what they wanted, be it power, wealth, fame or a rich stallion to take care of them the rest of their life. She hadn't bothered with them since, and was quite biased against the trade.
"But um, I will take a look at your 'trinket' you want fixed?"
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Post by Midnight Mind on Sept 24, 2014 23:50:00 GMT -5
"Oh right...hehe guess bits do sorta out rank a reading." she bowed her head "I bet you can cause everypony said you can just I should try others." she looked back up "Your shop is filled with wonders I havent seen, and you seem to be very nice so dont see why ponies told me to avoid you. I think it's cause they are jealous of your work." she hadn't really a clue why ponies told her that nor if this Mare was insane as they told her. All she cared was her trinket being fixed. She opened her saddlebag up and fished out a wooden box, as she opened it up she carefully removed the necklace from beside her tarot cards. It was in the shape of a card that had amethyst gems on it, in a circle and lines moving outwards.
It was made of silver with a silver chain attached to it as she began to move it out with her hoof "It...it fell on the floor and refuses to open. I know probably really silly thing to fix and way to easy but it means a lot to me."
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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 24, 2014 23:56:05 GMT -5
The craftsponyship was... exceptional!
Sugar gasped, and took the amulet gently from her new client (She decided, she was going to do this. Couldn't let such a masterpiece go to waste!)
"Oh.. Celestia it's beautiful," She whispered softly, "Masterfully made..."
But it was small, and small items made delicate work, and even more delicate study. With a frown and bright eyes, Sugar nodded slowly.
"Come with me," She commanded, now holding the amulet via the chain in her teeth gently, and leading the new mare off through the maze of shelving, machines, kinetic marvels and useless scraps, to a trapdoor in the corner with a large lock embedded within it. She paused, then smiled, offering the amulet back to her client.
"If you would hold this please, for a moment, that would be fantastic."
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Post by Midnight Mind on Sept 25, 2014 0:19:41 GMT -5
She blushed some at being told it was beautiful. She began to smile some "It was a gift somepony had it made for me as a birthday present...well part of it. It was done by the kingdoms jeweler, I've kept it as clean and safe as I could make it." she said before watching her started to follow the mare. Seeing her head around the maze of objects she looked around her...she would need to have a look there was so much wonder in these inventions. As she stopped she took up the necklace again "Yes of course...um sorry I don't even know your name...mine is Midnight Night or my real name is Sueño Nocturno." she bowed her head down some "What is your name so I may thank you properly for this?"
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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 25, 2014 0:30:44 GMT -5
"My name is Sugar Sweet," She said, reaching for a small contraption on a small sill next to the pair of them, "I thought you'd have been told of me already. Ponies tend to avoid me, and learn by sight."
She pressed a button on the little contraption and it started whirring.
"I've wanted to try this out for ages!" She gushed over the little machine as it started to get louder. Suddenly, a blue beam burst from the bottom of it, which split into several beams. it began to take shape slowly as a key, the lasers that is. It all seemed to be going well, until it started smoking. With a small 'Bang', the machine exploded. Thankfully, it was only a small explosion, and it didn't harm anypony. Sugar humphed, but took the half formed key.
"Better than last time," She mumbled, fetching another key from the same sill. It was the same colour as the sill itself, so ho in the world she could see it was a mystery in and of itself. But, she unlocked the trapdoor, and meandered down the stairs hidden beneath anyway.
The stairs led down to her workshop, the basement, and was full of all sorts of... questionable contraptions.
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Post by Midnight Mind on Sept 25, 2014 0:40:03 GMT -5
She nodded her head keeping the name in her memory rolladex before tilting her head some "Well they spoke of a pony. Name really never came up, again I apologize if I seem rude or out of line with anything." she bowed her head before seeing her mess with the sill. When the machine started up she began to watch in wonder before jumping back as the light beam emerged. It was..a beam of energy? Was it...was it magic like a unicorns or what? "This...is amazing."
When it began to make a weird noise then a bang she leaped back holding her hooves up scared for a second "What happened?" she said starting to get a bit closer to inspect the machine a bit "It stopped working did the magic stop?" when the trap door was opened she began to snap back to her senses before lighting her horn up a bit to follow after Sugar "Oh a secret area."
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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 25, 2014 0:51:49 GMT -5
"No, the device overheated... again," She grumbled, flicking a switch at the bottom of the stairs. The whole room lit up, revealing a cluttered room of devices, scraps and tables. She headed for one in particular. A wooden table with a large magnifying glass on an adjustable arm. The table surface was covered in tiny tools and a torch, "If I can figure out the cooling system, that system could make me famous. Unfortunately, it turns out molecular reintegration through magical means heats up the machine incredibly quickly. I need to find a shortcut to cooling it that won't destroy it... Can I have the thingy back please?"
In one corner of the room was the prized drill she was hoping would be accepted so badly, sitting on a pedestal all shiny and free of dings and dents caused by the concrete slab it had drilled through. There were lasers in other places, and a box like device with numbers on it on a shelf labelled 'Dangerous'. Overall it was an interesting place.
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Post by Midnight Mind on Sept 25, 2014 1:16:48 GMT -5
"Oh I see you are looking a way to keep it cool." she looked at the stuff as the light turned on her horn spell went out before looking at the tables. Things, scraps and all kinds of neat little things. As she went over to hand her necklace over to Sugar she blinked at the drill in the corner "Oh that's a huge drill. I am sure that thing will bring you a fortune." she handed the necklace over as she thought a bit about what she said earlier. Molecular reintegration? What was that though the thing with cooling it down she thought on that a bit
"Cooling something with magic so it wont destroy it?" she began to think a bit on that "Well have you tried magically infused crystals? A cooling spell inside of a crystal could keep it from over heating."
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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 25, 2014 1:20:03 GMT -5
"Crystal infusion takes too long to activate," Sugar mumbled, looking at the locket through the giant magnifying glass, "By the time it begins, the process has destroyed the machine. Or, it melds with the reintegration process' spells and explodes in a shower of ice or something..."
She found the problem, and her eyes narrowed as she brushed her mane out of her face, needing both eyes for this. her brown eye shone with the same intensity as the blue one.
"Hmm... looks like one of the hinges is damages, and the clasp is jammed," She mumbled, "Easy enough fix... It'll take a few minutes though, this is fiddly work."
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Post by Midnight Mind on Sept 25, 2014 3:08:15 GMT -5
"Oh that is bad." she began to think some as how that could be fixed. She thought on it how to start a spell up before something went wrong "What if she tried two spells inside the crystals. Big enough could hold two spells and when it got to a certain degree it could work. Or perhaps she could try a crystal less device with a sigil written on the inside. A glyph to activate they worked faster." she spoke softly to herself before hearing about the necklace "Oh that is good I am glad I came here you seem to know how something is important and take care of it. Unlike others who worry about the bits more and treat the item like it's some piece of junk."
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Post by Sugar Sweet on Sept 25, 2014 10:54:49 GMT -5
"Magic is too unreliable," She said bluntly, "Enchantments require recharging after each use..."
She picked up a pair of tweasers and a tiny hammer, moved the magnifying glass closer, and started to work as she spoke.
"The glyphs do indeed act faster by a percentage of 47.684, but at the cost of a constant requirement to recharge after use. The stronger the spell, the more mana needed to resupply for another spell to be cast, and that takes time and energy that most ponies won't care to use. The theory is sound, but practice is much too tiring to reuse. On top of that, mixing a molecular reintegration spell into a workable glyph is mathematically unstable, and even the smallest mistake in the calibration of the spell's matrix could lead to a total meltdown, and if that happens (celestia forbid), then because it's affecting the molecular structure of an object not yet recreated, it could cause a ripple effect in the immediate area and destabilise all of the area around at the subatomic (At worst) or molecular (at best) level, which can lead to rather disastrous explosions, melting or other catastrophic events that would probably leave the pony in question seriously injured, and therefore incapable of giving my work the positive sign I need to get it approved by the committee..."
By the time she finished saying this, she'd restructured the hinge, and it seemed that it would work again, and now picked up a small metal skewer, putting down the hammer.
"When you add in conjunction the cooling spell, the matrix of bother spells must change once again, and his further destabilises the spell matrix as according to Starswirl's fifteenth law of Thaumatic experimentation stating that the manipulation of spell matrices that work against or not in a similar fashion (I'm paraphrasing of course) will make the resulting spell more dangerous. Plus, mixing a simple spell in with a complex spell such as molecular reintegration is dangerous in and of itself, the spells simply have too much in difference to their thaumatic makeup. If you're off by even a decibel point of an iota, you're potentially making a lethal bomb that could slow a pony's molecules down so much, they'd snap freeze in an instant. Arteries and veins would rupture, even their thaumatic leylines would suffer catastrophic meltdown, which could lead to a thaumatic explosion that would have untold and unquantifiable side effects that nopony in their right minds could ever begin to imagine. Weather changes, earthquakes, it'd all depend on how strong the pony in question was, and how in tune they are to their thaumatic qualities. For instance, I'm rather certain through intense psychoanalysis (Or, attempted. I'm an engineer, not a psychologist) that upon my death, if a thaumatic explosion did occur, it would result in an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse if you didn't know) that could potentially scramble the neuro-transmitters in surrounding creatures (Creatures, not just ponies, I've never taken something halfway) to the point where they might even forget how to breathe, and lose even their most basic muscle memory..."
With a satisfying 'click', the locket sprung open under Sugar's careful hooves.
"And that would be possibly the most rapturous (In a bad way), but most effective things I could ever create. It would also be unethical, completely insane, and never approved by either of the Princesses... I think I fixed your locket though?"
She looked up from the magnifying glass at her guest, her eyes both shining with a sort of childlike delight at being able to talk so freely about such fascinating topics. She loved Magical theory, and combining it with Mechanized constructs was always both challenging, and fun.
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