Battle blew a bored gust from his nostrils, his fingers drumming repeatedly on his stomach as his legs were draped languidly atop his desk. Having already finished Daring Doo and the Sapphire Stone, and wanting something else to do other than read, he found himself quickly stumped for ideas in this new setting. Having only just arrived, he didn't really feel comfortable to do anything other than what he was being paid for and wander about the town. He was therefore, stuck for things to do. He didn't know what Ponyville could really offer other than a rather enchanting view, the library he sat in, a crystal castle, a boutique with a rather high-maintenance unicorn and a sweet shop propriated by a pink mare with a severe case of ADHD.
All things considered though the town itself did seem rather pleasant. At the moment however it seemed there was very little to do in it. That wasn't to say it was a bad thing. The quiet life was something he had been looking for after all. Something to relax and calm him. But at the moment, Battle was bored to the back teeth.
The bell of the library gave a gentle chime as it was pushed open. In the moment Battle swung his legs off of the table, he heard a quiet squeak of surprise and the door snapped shut once again. He raised an eyebrow and got to his feet, walking swiftly to the door. Upon opening it and looking around outside, he saw nothing immediately nearby.
That is until he spotted a pair of teal coloured eyes peeking out from the bushes beside the door.
Battle blinked at the sight, stunned and utterly bewildered as to why someone would hide so abruptly. The someone in question gave another small squeak and retreated further into the bushes, shaking the leaves and the branches as they did so. Battle raised a confused eyebrow.
"Can I... help you?" he asked.
There was a quiet whimper from the bush. Battle rolled his eyes and crouched down so that he and the bush were on eye level.
"Look why don't we start from the beginning shall we? My name is Battle Ready. What's yours?"
The bush gave another shudder and issued another squeak. Battle dropped his head and gave an exasperated sigh.
"Can you say that again? A little louder please?" he asked. The same shudder and the same squeak. Battle dropped his head into his head. "Look," he said, impatience slowly getting the better of him, "I'm not going to hurt you, whoever you are. I'm just the replacement librarian here until Princess Twilight gets back and decides on a full-time substitute to replace her full-time. So I suggest we get this over with sooner rather than later. What do you say? Friends?"
He held out his hand for whoever was hiding in the bushes. This however proved to be the wrong move as whoever it was shot off like a rocket in the direction of the hills, leaving a gust of wind in their wake. Battle threw up his hands in exasperation as he straightened up.
"Don' worry 'bout it partner. It's just Fluttershy. She'll come around eventually. She always does."
Battle turned to face the smiling Applejack, who was watching the retreating mare with bemused indifference.
"Is she always like that?" he asked.
"Who, Fluttershy? Mostly. 'Less o' course she takes a like'n' to you. She gets remarkably chatty if that's the case."
"Uhuh," Battle said, looking back over his shoulder. "Somehow I don't imagine that happening."
"Most ponies don't," Applejack agreed. "She don't get too comfortable with lot's o' folk. 'Cept her critters. She'd bend over backwards if one of her furry friends got hurt."
"Furry friends?" Battle asked, confused.
"She's Ponyville's unofficial vet," Applejack explained. "She watches over all the little animals from the Everfree forest. And keeps an eye on that tricky little.."
She paused and took a breath, her smile having been replaced by a scowl for a brief moment. Battle wondered who the 'tricky little' somebody was for a moment before shrugging it off.
"Would you care to come inside?" he asked, gesturing to the open door. "It's not like I have anything to do at the moment."
"Well that's mighty kind of you to offer Battle," Applejack said, tipping her hat. "But I'm afraid Imma have to decline. It's market day today an' I've left Applebloom with the stall for long enough as it is."
"Applebloom?"
"Mah sis."
"Ah. Trouble maker is she?"
"Not so much a trouble maker... jus' things tend to get broken if she's left alone for too long. I jus' hope with Sweetie Belle there she won't get in too much trouble." She paused. "Aw heck who am I kiddin'? Those tow fillies'll have destroyed the town by the time I get back. Sooner if Scootaloo's with 'em."
Battle gave a chuckle at that."Begs the question why you left those two alone then?" Applejack shrugged before giving him a sly wink. "Well the door's open if you have time at the end of the day."
"Thank ya kindly," Applejack said, tipping her hat once more. "I'll see you later on then."
"I'm sure you will," Battle replied, smiling. Applejack gave a friendly wave and began making her way off to the centre of town. Battle watcher her go before looking back into the library. After a shrug, he decided the day had been slow enough for him to justify closing up shop for the rest of the afternoon. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the sack of bits from his pocket and pondered for a moment. When he had had the chance to examine what Princess Twilight had stocked the kitchen with before she left, he hadn't been too impressed. It was mainly filled with daffodils and daisies and other such flowers, not to mention the sugary snack foods. While that may have been all well and good for another pony in Ponyville, it certainly wasn't to his own dietary habits.
Setting off after Applejack, Battle headed into Ponyville. The market would certainly offer what he required. Plenty of fibre, vegetables. The works. He took a breath in through his nose and felt a certain, decisive spring in his step as he walked down the street. A playful smile wormed its way onto his face. It appeared that the town's cheerful nature was already proving infectious. Not that Battle was complaining. Battle had never been a believer in such things, but if he did, this place would perfectly match his ideas of Arcadia.
Battle stopped and scratched the back of his head, a skeptical scowl forming momentarily. He probably wouldn't want this place to be an actual Arcadia though. Non-believer though he was he knew what lay in Arcadia. In all variations of Paradise legends.
A serpent.
Battle resumed walking, scratching the base of his neck as a cold wind appeared from nowhere. Harmless, but ominous nonetheless.
He turned a corner and the smile returned to his face as he entered the market street. Quaint, rustic stalls lined both sides of the road. Ponies of every race attended their wares, and even more stood waiting patiently for what they wanted to buy. Pegasus ponies swooped in and out of the street whilst the earth and unicorn ponies came and went in drifts and drabs. Battle looked around, plucked the pouch of bits and began searching around the market for what he needed.
As Battle returned to the library forty minutes, laden with groceries, he spotted a butter yellow mare standing near the door. Her yellow wings folded across her back, labeling her a pegasus but face was hidden behind her bright pink mane so anything else about her was hidden from Battle's eyes. She looked up as he approached and Battle saw her teal shaded eyes and just caught the squeak of fear as he approached. On her cheek was a trinity of three pink butterflies for a Cutie Mark.
"I take it that you're Fluttershy?" Battle called as he approached, negotiating the bags of groceries into one arm and holding out his now free hand for Fluttershy to shake. She shrank back from the proffered hand and nodded her head. Battle slowly put his hand by his side. "Do you... want to come inside?" Again she nodded. Battle smiled kindly at her and opened the door to the library and let Fluttershy inside.
She stood close to the door as Battle walked into the kitchen and then returned a moment later, arms empty. He sat at his desk and swung his feet up to their usual perch. He smiled expectantly at Fluttershy, and was suddenly struck with how much he felt like one of those private detectives in the novels he liked to read as a young colt. The one who was always given the tough cases and worked outside the usual channels, tracking down witnesses who wouldn't talk to the police. The fantasy made his smile widen slightly. Being a detective would be a nice change of pace, and certainly livelier than what he was doing now.
"So," he said suddenly, making Fluttershy jump. "What can I do for you Miss Fluttershy? That's assuming you didn't come to the library today to try out a career as a coat rack?"
She gave a violent blush and took a few steps forward, wringing her hands together in worry. Battle waited patiently. If what Applejack had told him about Fluttershy earlier was anything to go by, he could be sitting here for a long time. She kept moving her head back so that her mane fell over her eyes, before stealing a quick glance at his face and starting the whole thing over again.
"H-hello," she whispered softly. A nice voice, though one that clearly wasn't used as often as it should be.
"Hey there," Battle said, smiling. Her worried expression gave was to a small smile. "Is there a particular book you were looking for Miss Fluttershy?"
"Oh please call me Fluttershy, i-if that's okay with you that is?"
Battle shrugged. "That's perfectly alright with me. So what were you looking for?"
"Well, um, see the thing is I was, hoping to get a book on animal tracks." Her voice tailed off towards the end.
Battle frowned at this. "Applejack said you were something of a local expert on animal?"
"Oh I am!" Fluttershy said proudly and assertively. "I just adore animals, especially the cute little baby bunnies."
Battle smiled at the little outburst, then went back to the heart of the matter: "Buuuuuuut?"
"Well, you see.... the little critters have been very unsettled over the past couple of days. I thought it was just something in the air, then I found a set of animal tracks that I had never seen before. It wasn't like anything I'd ever seen. I even asked Zecora this and she couldn't recognise them."
"And so you came here to find a book about what sort of creature could make tracks like that?"
"Yes."
"Well I'll have a look," Battle said, getting to her feet as the library door opened.
"Aww common Applejack!" cried an upset voice.
"I keep tellin' ya Applebloom we need that cart the way it is. Don't go tryin' to 'fix it up' as you always say. If we need a new one we'll get a new one, but the wheels have to fall off on their own before that happens."
Battle turned to see Applejack leading a very disgruntled earth pony a few years her junior, by the tip of one yellow furred ear. One of her amber eyes was screwed up in pain, her pinkish red mane was tied up in a pink bow and she wore similar clothes to Applejack. In fact the only difference between the two sets of clothing other than size, was that this new mare's shirt was dark green and she didn't wear a hat. On her cheek was a bright red apple, with a hammer and screwdriver crossed over it.
"Sorry 'bout this Battle partner," Applejack explained. "But I need somewhere where 'Bloom can't cause any trouble 'til I close up shop later today." She then noticed Fluttershy was in her presence. "Heya 'Shy! Whatcha think of the new librarian?"
Fluttershy blushed and mumbled something Battle couldn't hear, but caused Applejack to laugh. "Ah hear that!"
The young mare, who Battle assumed to be Applejack's younger sister Applebloom, extracted herself from her sister's grip and straightened her waistcoat. Battle frowned. For the second time that day, since he had seen Sweetie Belle in fact, he could have sworn he recognised the young mare before him. Indeed, as this thought crossed his mind, Sweetie Belle herself entered the library behind Applebloom. The excited grin on her face as she caught up to her friend, died the moment she saw Battle. For some reason, her eyes flicked to Battle's left hand.
Battle shrugged and ignored it and plucked a book from the shelves as Applejack continued to berate Applebloom. He walked over the room and handed it to Fluttershy.
"It's not much but I hope it'll have what you need," Battle told her. Fluttershy nodded her thanks and moved to leave, as Applebloom fell silent. Battle looked at her and she looked at him. Then she looked at Sweetie Belle.
"Hey sis' can we go to Fluttershy's?" she asked suddenly. Applejack looked slightly baffled, but before she could say anything Fluttershy piped up.
"Oh I would love to have you both round for a while. It's been ages since we got to talk properly."
"Great," Applebloom said quickly. "See ya later sis'!"
"Bye Applejack!" Sweetie Belle cried, and the two raced away.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Fluttershy cried as loud as her soft voice could manage.
Applejack blinked and looked at Battle. He shrugged. "I have no idea," answering her unspoken question.