Booker stood back, his daughter placed upon his shoulders, gaining a better vantage point from the sea of ponies gathered before him. The object of the crowd's attention was an ornate throne, 'Twilight' seated upon it, speaking down to the base of the throne. Weaving his way through the crowd, which to his benefit, gave him a wide berth, he approached the throne, and discovered an ood group, involving Pith (whom he'd nicknamed), Rainbow, the pink-maned pegasus, and that dual-headed demon of a mutt, surpisingly docile for the moment.
"...hooves are tied, you said it was a fair trade." Twilight finished.
Booker stepped forward, his free hand digging into a pocket in order to fish out his badge. They should at least know what a police officer is, right? Now was as good a time as any to get his foot in the door, maybe give them an idea of what he was capable of, at least.
His hopes, small as they were, were soon crushed beneath the heavy, iron wheels of fate, ground into a fine powder, and burnt to a crisp as rainbow-mane spoke up.
"Yeah, I said it," she said "but I was wrong! I did want that book, a lot- I said I wanted it more than anything in all of Equestria-"
Booker's lunch threatened to eject itself out of his stomach, and out his mouth.
"-but there's no thing that's as worth as much to me as a friend."
'Then why did you trade in the first place?' Booker thought 'Have some goddamn common sense.'
Then he realized, why did he care?
Then the answer came to him, in one, simple word.
Employment.
"I...I might've forgotten that for a little bit..." she admitted sheepishly.
'No kidding.' Booker thought sarcastically.
"...but it's true!" she continued "Which means there's no way this trade can be fair!"
'She does have a small point, but that's-'
"Oh, come on! That's-" the mare in the pith helmet began.
'Here it comes.' he thought, his badge prepared.
"-*sniff*, the sweetest thing I've ever heard...okay! The trade's off!" she declared.
Booker's sanity deflated as the crowd around him burst into cheers and shouts of joy, apparently elated at the resolution.
'Wait...what?' he thought 'What the hell? That's...that's it?'
He was actually a little disappointed.
'That's all? No screaming? No shouting? No mobs armed to the teeth with pitchforks? Just 'Oh, you were wrong, we'll just solve this as peacefully as possible'?'
Finding work here might be harder than he'd originally thought, if the equine creatures were this agreeable...
Anna shifted on his shoulders as Rainbow gave Pith a book, then proceeded to tackle the pink-haired pegasus. The dog-like beast then pounced upon the two winged-horses, both heads happily licking at their muzzles.
'That thing has more mood swings than Maria when she...'
The Pinkerton pushed the thought from his mind, just as the painful memories of Anna's mother took its place.
'Block it out, block it out.' he repeated inwardly, shaking his head, as if doing so would remove the images from his mind.
"And with that, I declare this trial, and this year's Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange- over!" the purple hybrid said, a gavel encased in a magenta glow banging against the armrest of the throne she was sitting on.
Slightly bitter, and a bit perturbed, Booker turned, Anna still on his shoulders, and wound his way around the dissipating crowd of horses. The vendors lining the street were beginning to pack up, breaking down tents and carefully placing their wares into boxes. Some utilized the horns on their heads- others, such as those with wings and no extra appendages at all used either their hooves or their mouths, variation usually depending on what the vendor had to trade.
'This place is too damn colorful...' he realized, glancing around.
Twilight stepped down from the throne, immediately swarmed by ponies gathered before it, including her friends. Stallion, mare, and foal alike began congratulating her on absolving the dispute. A blushing Twilight, unused to the attention, found herself desperately wishing Booker would appear, dispersing the crowd with his club, as he'd done earlier that day. Alas, the biped, nor his foal, were nowhere to be found, leaving the six amongst the ponies lauding her. An orange hoof popped up, waving her over as she caught a glimpse of a blonde lock of mane, as well as a brown stetson bobbing up and down in the crowd.
"Twilight! Over here, Twilight!" her friend called.
The lavender princess 'excuse me'd' and 'thank you'd' her way through the crowd, and practically fell into the palomino mare's hooves, exhausted.
"Why don't we go an' get our seat on th' train?" she shouted over the crowd.
Twilight nodded, then staggered to her hooves, following her friend as the herd steadily dispersed around her, much to her relief. Her other friends joined soon after, keeping up at a moderate trot.
Booker stepped in line, just behind a magenta mare with a golden mane, waiting with his daughter to board the train. The platform they stood on led onto a small train, the roof of the cars appearing to be no higher than his shoulders.
'Of course the goddamn train is pony-sized.' he groaned.
True, Anna would probably be able to actually stand up in it comfortably- but for him, it'd be like trying to fit himself into a hole in the ground. A small, very cramped hole in the ground. Not that he was complaining, a small train was better than being shot at.
The magenta mare boarded the cabin, and Booker stepped forward, a dollar-fifty already prepared.
"Will this cover the ticket?" he asked, showing the conductor the money.
The unicorn hummed, taking the bill and coins into his magic, the horn atop his head glowing.
"Sorry fella," the stallion said, shoving the money back into Booker's hand "I don't know what kinda sham you're tryin' to pull, but the train ride costs three bits, at least."
"What the hell are bits?" Booker asked, adjusting Anna in one arm.
"Currency." the stallion stated "Coins, you know? Cash?"
"I know what money is." Booker replied irritably, rolling his eyes.
"Then go on over to the currency exchange window." the conductor said, equally annoyed.
"Listen pal, I get out of line, and I'm going to be stuck here awhile, get me? Just let me on the goddamn train!"
"Not without a ticket!"
"Then give me one you sonofa-"
"What's going on here?"
Booker and the stallion turned, finding the Twilight mare and a small herd approaching, Rainbow and Pink-hair included.
"Your highness!" the conductor gushed, bowing.
The hybrid blushed, the red on her cheeks a stark contrast to her lavender coat.
"Please, don't bow," she said kindly "now, what seems to be the trouble?"
"This vagrant is trying to board the train without paying." the conductor said, jabbing a hoof at Booker.
Twilight glanced between the conductor-pony and the bipeds.
"May they ride with us?" she asked.
"But- but are you sure you want him to be riding in the royal carriage with the rest of you?"
"I'm sure." she said with confidence.
Booker cocked an eyebrow, curious as to why the princess horse was getting him out of his mess. The conductor, none-too pleased, bowed, allowing the seven, as well as Booker and Anna passage onto the train. Booker followed the six mares, plus one scaled-thing he couldn't quite identify, through the train, and into one of the rear cars.
"What was that all about?" he finally asked, closing the door behind him.
The princess sat at one of the seats, a large box of books next to her.
"Just...a little payback for rescuing me from that crowd."
"Yeah...'rescued'..." Rainbow snorted.
Booker was actually speechless- not that he was expecting this sort of thing to happen, but it still came as a shock to him.
"Well...uh...thank you..." he murmured, sitting with Anna in the aisle across from where the seven were seated.