Post by waxworks on May 16, 2013 4:50:42 GMT
The old unicorn wiped his brow. He was tired, his hooves were scratched and chipped, and his back was acting up, but it was finished. At his age taking on such a task certainly was more daunting than it had been in his young merry colt days, but what a task it had been. The moment he'd seen the blueprints he knew he had to work on it himself. His specialty through the years had been crafting puppets, from simple hoof-puppets to rod and joint shadow-play puppets, full sized marionettes, and he even advised some of the younger, more technologically minded ponies on their fancy-pants audio thingamatronical puppets.
Of course, having a professional puppeteer living in Ponyville certainly had been a boon for he and his wife, as there'd been a sudden constant demand for puppets of all sizes and shapes. Other benefits included free admission to the theater to see his work get up and dance around on stage, which was quite a thrill for an old unicorn. However this last puppet, it was so meticulously detailed that he'd been tempted to offer to work for free just for a chance to make the thing.
Swazzle certainly was a dreamer, but thankfully for him his wife Little Merry was more business minded and reminded him to charge money for his specialty. Never do anything for free if you're good at it. Speaking of payment, at that moment the bell over the shop's door rang, and the old unicorn poked his head around the corner in time to see a young, anxious looking purple unicorn trotting into his store.
"Aaah, Grace my dear, he's all ready, er, ah yes, the payment? Thank you." He slid the bag of coins across the counter and into the till, and quietly asided to her, "if it were up to me I wouldn't have charged for this one, I've never worked on something so beautifully designed! Scared the little wife nearly to death, she thought it was some huge thing asleep..."
The two of them stepped through a curtain and into the workshop, and what greeted them was a massive gryphon, easily twice the size of the largest to have ever come through Ponyville in recent memory. Its puffed, feathery collar made it look like it was wearing a permanent feather boa, and even though its face was motionless it still had a slight look of mild amusement to it.
The older unicorn trotted alongside the massive puppet, admiring his own hoofiwork, while Mannequin Grace kept her eyes fixed on its glass eyes. "The covering and hidden seams were a good idea, you wouldn't even know there were joints. Places to secret away ingested food and water without ruining the insides, little iris mechanism controls for advanced emotions... I look forward to seeing the play this fellow's in!"
Grace wasn't entirely paying attention, but a small wooden dragon that had followed her in said, "he's SUPER huge! Like, one of those monster movies where the giant monster stomps on buildings! PCHEW! PSHOW!"
"Well he's not quite that large," said Swazzle, using his magic to lift off his spectacles and wipe them with a cloth. "I'd reckon though that a good sized pony could fit inside of him easily, would make for a good point of view on the action."
"PipEapAlpOlpEadSrd."
Swazzle and Stump both quietly watched Grace and the puppet as its head began to tremble slightly, and a sound that was very much like someone spinning the stations on a radio began coming out of it. She was finding its voice. Swazzle had seen her do it several times before, and it was always fascinating to watch all those voices just seem to pop out at once. Sometimes he'd try to guess the voice before it came out and once in a while he was right, but it felt a lot like playing roulette.
"Hrnnnmm....mmmmm... aaah. Aaah.... oh... yes..."
The old unicorn blinked. It seems they had a winner, and what a winner it was. The voice was like that of someone who had just tasted something that was pure decadence, a very sultry, savory voice that you could pour over pancakes. With this sudden, seemingly simple detail, the entire creature seemed to spring to life, stretching itself out, its claws and paws going this way and that as though it was working the kinks out of its back.
Swazzle knew the routine at this point, and he was slightly partial to it himself. Don't ask Grace, ask the puppet. "Good day sir, and who might you be?"
The gryphon seemed to ignore him for a moment, lifting itself to full height which made it tower, almost seeming as though there was no way the small room could hold him. He smiled, the edge of his beak curling up into a smarm. "Why dear honored friend, how could I be so rude as not to introduce myself to my favorite little manicurist?" Swazzle suddenly found himself swept up in a large gryphon arm, as the creature trudged towards the door, with Grace following along, looking quite pleased, and a somewhat awestruck Stump stumping along behind them.
"I am the one and only, the miraculous and spectacular, the indivisible and delectable, Swan Song." He set Swazzle down and turned to Grace, "don't you think it's time I met my public?"
--------------------
Outside was a typical day in Ponyville, which is to say all manner of pony was moving through the streets. Here and there a window was opened and a dusty rug was shaken into the street, several ponies would cluster and chatter, and every so often several younger ponies would chase each other around whatever was available.
This serene scene was suddenly interrupted with an extreme flourish as the door of Swazzle's Puppetry Shoppe burst open, and an enormous gryphon appeared, raising himself up on his hind legs and leaning on the building. Before anypony could panic or think of how unusual it was to see such a large gryphon, he coated the surrounding populace with a voice like honey.
"How DO you DO PONYVILLE!" Swan Song spread his claws out wide and flashed a winning smile, "Swan Song here, a delicious little treat for all of you yearning for a drama that will deliver, a more creative level of conflict, an adventure that will leave you writhing for more. An invitation, for all of you, to come to the new season of plays at the Ponyville Puppet Theater."
At this point a number of curious ponies had gathered around, and he indulged their curiosity, leaning down over them, chest puffed up, "we've got surprises in store for you, we'll thrill you, chill you, fulfill you, it's a place that's astounding and exciting! Astounding, because the shows there are guaranteed to dazzle you. And exciting, because now I work there."
Grace scanned the crowd, taking in all the eager faces. This was working out even better than she'd hoped, Swan Song was already a big hit and he hadn't even performed yet. This was the draw she'd been looking for, and she was certain that the next performance was going to be unforgettable.
Of course, having a professional puppeteer living in Ponyville certainly had been a boon for he and his wife, as there'd been a sudden constant demand for puppets of all sizes and shapes. Other benefits included free admission to the theater to see his work get up and dance around on stage, which was quite a thrill for an old unicorn. However this last puppet, it was so meticulously detailed that he'd been tempted to offer to work for free just for a chance to make the thing.
Swazzle certainly was a dreamer, but thankfully for him his wife Little Merry was more business minded and reminded him to charge money for his specialty. Never do anything for free if you're good at it. Speaking of payment, at that moment the bell over the shop's door rang, and the old unicorn poked his head around the corner in time to see a young, anxious looking purple unicorn trotting into his store.
"Aaah, Grace my dear, he's all ready, er, ah yes, the payment? Thank you." He slid the bag of coins across the counter and into the till, and quietly asided to her, "if it were up to me I wouldn't have charged for this one, I've never worked on something so beautifully designed! Scared the little wife nearly to death, she thought it was some huge thing asleep..."
The two of them stepped through a curtain and into the workshop, and what greeted them was a massive gryphon, easily twice the size of the largest to have ever come through Ponyville in recent memory. Its puffed, feathery collar made it look like it was wearing a permanent feather boa, and even though its face was motionless it still had a slight look of mild amusement to it.
The older unicorn trotted alongside the massive puppet, admiring his own hoofiwork, while Mannequin Grace kept her eyes fixed on its glass eyes. "The covering and hidden seams were a good idea, you wouldn't even know there were joints. Places to secret away ingested food and water without ruining the insides, little iris mechanism controls for advanced emotions... I look forward to seeing the play this fellow's in!"
Grace wasn't entirely paying attention, but a small wooden dragon that had followed her in said, "he's SUPER huge! Like, one of those monster movies where the giant monster stomps on buildings! PCHEW! PSHOW!"
"Well he's not quite that large," said Swazzle, using his magic to lift off his spectacles and wipe them with a cloth. "I'd reckon though that a good sized pony could fit inside of him easily, would make for a good point of view on the action."
"PipEapAlpOlpEadSrd."
Swazzle and Stump both quietly watched Grace and the puppet as its head began to tremble slightly, and a sound that was very much like someone spinning the stations on a radio began coming out of it. She was finding its voice. Swazzle had seen her do it several times before, and it was always fascinating to watch all those voices just seem to pop out at once. Sometimes he'd try to guess the voice before it came out and once in a while he was right, but it felt a lot like playing roulette.
"Hrnnnmm....mmmmm... aaah. Aaah.... oh... yes..."
The old unicorn blinked. It seems they had a winner, and what a winner it was. The voice was like that of someone who had just tasted something that was pure decadence, a very sultry, savory voice that you could pour over pancakes. With this sudden, seemingly simple detail, the entire creature seemed to spring to life, stretching itself out, its claws and paws going this way and that as though it was working the kinks out of its back.
Swazzle knew the routine at this point, and he was slightly partial to it himself. Don't ask Grace, ask the puppet. "Good day sir, and who might you be?"
The gryphon seemed to ignore him for a moment, lifting itself to full height which made it tower, almost seeming as though there was no way the small room could hold him. He smiled, the edge of his beak curling up into a smarm. "Why dear honored friend, how could I be so rude as not to introduce myself to my favorite little manicurist?" Swazzle suddenly found himself swept up in a large gryphon arm, as the creature trudged towards the door, with Grace following along, looking quite pleased, and a somewhat awestruck Stump stumping along behind them.
"I am the one and only, the miraculous and spectacular, the indivisible and delectable, Swan Song." He set Swazzle down and turned to Grace, "don't you think it's time I met my public?"
--------------------
Outside was a typical day in Ponyville, which is to say all manner of pony was moving through the streets. Here and there a window was opened and a dusty rug was shaken into the street, several ponies would cluster and chatter, and every so often several younger ponies would chase each other around whatever was available.
This serene scene was suddenly interrupted with an extreme flourish as the door of Swazzle's Puppetry Shoppe burst open, and an enormous gryphon appeared, raising himself up on his hind legs and leaning on the building. Before anypony could panic or think of how unusual it was to see such a large gryphon, he coated the surrounding populace with a voice like honey.
"How DO you DO PONYVILLE!" Swan Song spread his claws out wide and flashed a winning smile, "Swan Song here, a delicious little treat for all of you yearning for a drama that will deliver, a more creative level of conflict, an adventure that will leave you writhing for more. An invitation, for all of you, to come to the new season of plays at the Ponyville Puppet Theater."
At this point a number of curious ponies had gathered around, and he indulged their curiosity, leaning down over them, chest puffed up, "we've got surprises in store for you, we'll thrill you, chill you, fulfill you, it's a place that's astounding and exciting! Astounding, because the shows there are guaranteed to dazzle you. And exciting, because now I work there."
Grace scanned the crowd, taking in all the eager faces. This was working out even better than she'd hoped, Swan Song was already a big hit and he hadn't even performed yet. This was the draw she'd been looking for, and she was certain that the next performance was going to be unforgettable.