The night had gone by swiftly, with little to nothing happening.
It was honestly quite disappointing. After the appearance of those griffons, he'd been expecting something more to happen at night , but nope!
Absolutely nothing happened! It was so damn boring!
Emerald let out a breath as his eyes opened, sluggishly rolling onto his side to avoid the light filtering in from his window. Why couldn't Celestia just let him sleep more?
Eventually, his internal clock woke him from his dazed state. He sighed, curling up under the blankets for a moment longer, before sliding out and rolling onto the floor.
Catching himself, he quickly proceeded into the bathroom to freshen up.
Once that was done with, he took a glance out the window, finding the sun beginning it's ascent. He yawned, mentally going over his schedule for the day.
Well, he'd have to head over to the bakery and finalize the job, which would likely take all day. He couldn't help but sigh at the tiring thought. He'd be getting a normal job for once in his life, but it would only to be for reconnaissance.
Well, hopefully dealing with Pinkie would give him more energy to work with. It was annoying how he'd lose so much of it whenever he would forgo eating in favour of his job.
Ignoring those unnecessary thoughts, he continued on his way into town, not acknowledging the sparse greetings he received. He was about halfway to the bakery when he was interrupted.
"Look out!"
He nimbly stepped out of the line of fire, watching passively as a gray blur crashed into the ground where he'd been standing a moment ago. A bunch of letters flew everywhere from the crash-landing site, indicating the the possibly injured party to be a messenger of sorts. After checking for injuries, and finding none, he scanned the fallen pegasus.
She had a light gray coat that seemed well taken care of, though the dirt that was now lodged in it might've thrown him off. It stuck up in patches thanks to the crash, but he could clearly see her cutie mark, a bunch of bubbles, cheerily gleaming on her larger than average flank. The mare, while not fat, was certainly not the average fitness-crazed pegasus, as seen by her apparent fondness for pastries, given the muffin he saw peeking out of her brown messenger bag. Her limbs were thicker than most, and her stomach had just the slightest bulge. Apart from that, she seemed in perfect health, crash aside. Her mane and tail were a bright blonde, and a brown hat sat snugly on the top of her head, a small letter imprinted on the front denoted her obvious occupation.
What really caught his attention, were her eyes.
They were a gleaming gold that shone brightly in the light, though given how one seemed to be looking in a different direction than the other, the reason for her crash was apparent.
"Ohhh..." the mare groaned, "I just don't know what went wrong..." she murmured sadly. Choosing to take a shot in the dark, he spoke,
"Everything alright?" he asked. His voice must've startled the mare, as she yelped and flung her bag around a little, causing a more letters to fly out.
"The mail!" she shouted, finally taking notice of the mess, while ignoring Emerald, "Oh no no no no no! I can't can't can't be late again!" she sputtered, desperately picking up the letters and shoving them back in her bag. There was a small clink of her hoof hitting metal, which caused her to gasp. "But I can't leave my little muffin without her lunch either!" she said to herself, obviously panicking as she continued hunting for her letters.
Having gotten enough of being ignored, he spoke up.
"Is everything alright?" he asked again, not bothering to hide the clipped tone in his voice. The mare jumped a little, and she turned.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so so so soooo sorry! I didn't mean to crash into anypony, I swear!"
"I figured," he said shortly, before looking at all of the letters, then back at her, "Aside from the obvious, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh! Um, i-it's nothing! I'm totally fine!" she said. Emerald gave her a blank look, which caused her to start sweating lightly, before she broke. "Okay! I'm not fine! I need to get these letters back to the office before I'm late, but my little Dinky forgot her lunch at home and I won't be able to take it to her later but if I don't leave now I might get fired an-!" Emerald cut her off with a hoof against her mouth, annoyed.
Great, now he was caught up in this mess. Granted, he didn't need to be at the bakery right now, he still had a few minutes. And if he was late he could just explain himself easy. Mrs. Cake seemed to be a reasonable mare, so it shouldn't be hard if he was late.
Though, that was only if he chose to help this mare. There was no point to it, really. She could get fired and her foal could die of starvation and he wasn't sure he'd care.
On the other hoof, helping out a towns member could get him in to the good graces of the rest of the lot. And good graces meant he had a little bit of wiggle room to do what he wanted with minimal consequences, if it came to it. Not only that, but if this mare was a messenger, then she could get letters to and fro with little issue, and that could come in handy later.
He winced internally.
Not even a week and he was already working on a plan to manipulate the entire town.
Maybe Celestia and Luna were right, and he did need to work on his mental state?
Oh well, it got the job done.
"Do you want some help?" he asked, choosing the more beneficial option for himself. The mare looked at him, stunned. He frowned on the inside.
Was it really so uncommon for someone to offer to help this mare?
"Y-you really want to help?" she asked, her panic completely forgotten, Emerald shrugged,
"If you need it, then why not?" he said. The mare stared a little more, her eyes beginning to water, before she suddenly lunged at him.
It took a considerable amount of restraint not to attack the mare on reflex, but it was easier when he recognized the 'attack' for the hug it was.
"Thank you thank you! You have NO idea how much this means to me!" she gushed.
He... had a feeling.
She let go of him and rummaged through her bag for a second, before pulling out a lunch box with a Daring Do design on it.
"Could you get this to my daughter Dinky?" she said, picking up the remaining letters she'd dropped, "I can't bare the thought that my little muffin would go hungry! So could you please make sure it gets to her?!" she asked. Emerald thought for a moment, before nodding and picking up the box,
"Sure, why not? I've got a couple minutes to kill before I head to work,"
"What?!" the mare suddenly yelled, staring at him, "You're gonna be late?!"
"Maybe," he shrugged, "I'm sure Mrs. Cake will understand if I told her I was helping you out, miss...?"
"Ditzy. Ditzy Doo. And are you sure?" she said, looking concerned, "I wouldn't want anypony to get into trouble cause of me," she said, before looking away, "... Again..." she added under her breath, unaware he could hear.
"It's fine Ditzy. Now don't you have an office to get to?" he asked, hiding a smirk when she panicked again and raced away, before coming back and picking up the last few letters.
Rolling his eyes at the display, he spread his wings and took to the air. He flew up to just above the building height of the town, and in one, single flap of his wings, he propelled himself almost halfway across town towards the schoolhouse.
While the flight was quick, having arrived in less than a minute, he really wasn't in a hurry. There were still a few foals out and about, playing before they had to head inside.
He had no idea which foal was Dinky, and, other than the fact she was without a lunch, he had no clue what she may have looked like.
"Mr. Emerald?" came the familiar voice of Applebloom from his right, "Whatcha doin' here?" she asked. He turned, finding Applebloom and her friends looking at him curiously, their saddlebags fitting snugly on their backs. He shrugged, gesturing to the box he held,
"Some mare named Ditzy was running late, and her daughter Dinky forgot her lunch. I offered to get it to her. I don't suppose you three know this Dinky?" he asked. Applebloom smiled,
"Sure do Mr. Emerald! And I gotta say, that's real nice'o ya!" she said, walking up to him, "C'mon! Dinky's usually inside right 'bout now," she said, trotting off to the front door. Emerald followed after the bow-clad filly, finding it mildly humorous that she looked so serious about something this small.
Applebloom pushed open the schoolhouse's door, revealing the classroom to the thestral. It was simple, with windows lining the walls and desks neatly forming several rows for the foals to sit. A black board sat on the right wall, with a desk sitting in front of it. Sitting at said desk was a mare, whom was obviously the teacher these foals learned from.
She had a dark magenta coat, and a mane and tail of a light pink, and a lighter, almost white, pink streaking through. He could see a set of smiling flowers on her flank. As well.
He was a little surprised at her appearance. She seemed a bit young to run a schoolhouse all on her own, but then again, he was a little young to be in the Elite Guards, so who was he to judge?
She obviously tried to keep in shape, whether that was out of a desire to be healthy or to keep up her appearance, however, was lost to him. She had some muscle lining her body, customary for an earth pony, but he could see muscle in some places most didn't have. She turned to him and Applebloom after a moment, her focus having been on a small stack of papers in front of her, likely homework.
She had a bright smile on her face, though not quite as bright or wide as that Pinkie's was, and had a set of bright, cheerful green eyes.
"Oh Applebloom! It's nice to see you coming in early for a change!" she said, smiling down at the little filly. Applebloom smiled back at her, but shook her head,
"Sorry Miss Cheerilee! But I'm jus' showin' Mr. Emerald around!" she said, which finally brought the mare's, Cheerilee's, attention to him.
"Oh! Goodness, I'm sorry. I didn't notice you there!" she said, smiling. She got up from her desk and walked over to him, holding out a hoof, "Like Applebloom said, my name is Cheerilee, it's very nice to meet you!" Emerald shook her hoof,
"Same. I'm Emerald Skies," he replied. She smiled at him, before tilting her head,
"If you don't mind me asking, Emerald, is there something you need?" he shrugged, before showing her the lunch box,
"Aside from getting this to Dinky, no,"
"That's my lunch box!" came a small, squeaky voice from the back of the room. The two adults and the filly all turned to see a little unicorn staring at them, looking surprised.
Emerald held in a smirk, finding the resemblance uncanny. Her mane and tail were the same colour as her mother's, though her coat had more purple in it than gray. Her eyes, completely normal, were gold as well, but they were a little bit darker than Ditzy's.
"Well... you're certainly Ditzy's foal," Emerald said, walking over to her, before placing the box on her desk, "Try not to forgot that next time. Your mother almost had a heart attack," he said.
"Thank you mister!" Dinky gushed, hopping out of her seat to nuzzle his leg, before getting back in it. He chuckled a little, and turned to Cheerilee and Applebloom,
"Well, that's it for me. I suppose I'll see you lot around, eventually," he said, walking past them. He let out a small yawn once he got outside. Scanning around for the sun, he guessed he had about a minute and a half to get to the bakery before he was late. Shrugging, he took to the air, before shooting towards town at a leisurely pace.
He easily made it to the bakery with time to spare, waving to Mrs. Cake as he did so.
"Well, it's nice to see you again Emerald," she said, before sending him a disapproving look, "Though you're cutting it a bit close, don't you think?" she asked. He shrugged again, he'd been doing that a lot recently, before explaining.
"I was helping out some mare named Ditzy. Apparently her foal forgot her lunch, and I offered to help," he said, nonplussed by her look. Her expression softened instantly,
"Oh, well that was very nice of you dear. Now come on back here so I can show what you'll be needing to do,"
The work was easy and it provided a rather calm atmosphere that Emerald found he genuinely enjoyed. Even with Pinkie popping up every now and then, she must've had a last minute day off as she wasn't working with them, merely added to the atmosphere.
Something he noticed, however, was that everyone in town seemed excited for some reason or another, and, after some prodding, Mrs. Cake told him about Cider Season.
Apparently the local members of the Apple Family sold their apple cider around this time every year. Emerald found he really didn't understand the excitement.
Couldn't they just head to a restaurant and order some cider? He'd done it before, several times in fact. So why was everyone so excited for this?
Well, he supposed he'd find out tomorrow.
As it was, he was currently standing behind the counter, having been working for the past five hours.
He was getting bored.
Thankfully it seemed that he was doing a good job, as Mrs. Cake was happily working away in the kitchen, uttering not one word of complaint.
He was about to ask her when the day ended, as he hadn't before, when Applejack of all ponies walked through the door. She was looking around, seemingly lost in thought, when she spotted Emerald,
"Well now, I wasn't expectin' ta see ya behind there," she said, strolling forward, he shrugged,
"A job's a job," he said, internally wincing at what he said.
He'd been living by that particular phrase for awhile now.
"I guess that's true. Ya sure workin' here's for ya, though?" Applejack asked, her eyes suddenly roaming his form, "Ya seem like the type who likes hard work. I coulda given ya a job at Sweet Apple Acres iffin' ya asked," she said. Emerald frowned slightly, before shaking his head,
"Thanks for the offer. I'll keep it in mind. But for now, I think I'd rather stay in town. Keep an eye on things, ya know?" he said. Applejack nodded,
"I can respect that, I suppose," she acknowledged, before changing the subject, "So, ya lookin' forward ta Cider Season tomorrow?" she asked, smiling proudly at that.
"Uh... not really?" he said, still confused, "I don't understand the hype. It's just cider,"
Apparently, that was not something that had ever been said in town before.
The looks of absolute shock on, not only Applejack's face, but the faces on everyone in the bakery who heard that certainly gave him that impression.
"Uhhhh... did I say something offensive?" he asked, wondering if that was, indeed, something the townsfolk considered insulting.
"Whaddya mean 'just cider'?!" Applejack practically shouted at him, "It's Sweet Apple Cider cider! The best cider this side of Equestria! How can ya say it's 'just cider'?!"
Emerald was leaning away from the apparently fanatical mare. He blinked at her, wondering how he could get out of this particular situation.
Well, he'd never dealt with this kind of thing before, so...
Damage control?
"I've never had any of your cider, so how would I know?" he asked, hoping the admission would get her off of his case.
It didn't.
As a matter of fact that only seemed to make it worse.
"Ya've never had any Sweet Apple Cider?!" the farm mare all but shouted in his face, causing Mrs. Cake to look out the kitchen window in worry,
"Uhh... no, I haven't?" he said, quickly getting annoyed. Rather than dignify that with a response, Applejack merely narrowed her eyes at him, before backing off.
Internally confused, he went to say something, when she started stomping around the counter. Immediately understanding what she was planning, he backed up a little, glaring at her,
"What do you think you're doing?" he snarled at her, though it seemed his words were lost, as she merely grabbed his closest leg and attempted to drag him off.
Her grip was strong, but he could easily get out of it. Though, doing so would likely give something away. As a 'pegasus' he was naturally weaker than most earth ponies, and given how well known Applejack was for being a strong mare, he couldn't break out without earning some attention.
Thus, he could do no more than stare, pleadingly, at Mrs. Cake as he was dragged away.
Cup Cake watched in intrepid amusement. On one hoof, Applejack was a dear, if a little temperamental or prideful at times. On the other, Emerald was obviously a very mature stallion, if the oddly formal way he had of speaking meant anything. He likely wouldn't take too kindly to being dragged away before the work day was over.
Well, Cup thought, he was most certainly getting the job either way. He handled the orders quickly and easily, and his hoofwriting was perfectly neat, if a little strange to read because of it's cursive nature.
He should be fine. Who knows? Maybe the Apple Family will help the poor dear loosen up a little?
Emerald was not happy.
He was rarely happy nowadays, but still.
Though he was curious as to why no one bothered to ask Applejack why she was dragging him down the street. He wasn't bothering to actually follow along, making it harder for her to constantly drag him as his own little revenge. He would've figured the lack of assistance would've made it clear that he wasn't okay with the whole thing, but no one stepped up.
Sure, she was an Element of Harmony, but that didn't mean she could do no wrong.
She was practically foalnapping him right now!
Then again, that usually implied that there was some form of resistance, and he wasn't actively struggling against her. Internally sighing at his predicament, he looked at the mare stallion-handling him.
Her features were set in almost angry determination. Apples had a lot of family pride, so his admission about not drinking their cider, as well as the insinuation that it wasn't any better than the rest, likely offended her.
Still, how could she possibly call it the best when there are hundreds, if not thousands, of farms all across the world who work just as hard, if not harder, than the Apples? Unlike in Equestria, where most farms can specialize in growing or harvesting one thing, farms outside of Equestria have to grow several things at once.
While he'd agree that theirs were the best he'd ever had, the fact was he'd only ever had ones grown in Nocturne before. And Nocturne focused more on quantity than quality when it came to food.
They could put all of their work into their apples, while others had to focus over several different crops at once.
Sure that specialization in apples certainly helped produce higher quality ones, but that didn't mean they could just step all over the work of other species like that.
Though, the more logical part of him thought, it could just be a marketing point rather than an actual belief.
The orchard quickly came into view, though Applejack's pace only quickened.
They closed in on the barn, where Applejack all but knocked the door down in her rush to drag him inside.
"Stay here," she snapped at him. He glared at her retreating form, not letting up until she disappeared around the corner. With her gone, he decided to take a quick look around.
The walls were covered in a beige wallpaper with darker lines running diagonally towards the door, but from a third of the way up from the ground there was a wooden decor. There were a few pictures adorning the walls, an orange rug was laying on the wooden floor, and beside the pink couch was a barrel full of assorted flowers.
It was a nice home. Cozy, warm, and welcoming. Certainly fit for a home of the Apple Family.
He heard hoofsteps from outside, just before the door opened once more. A large stallion, with a cherry red coat and dusty orange mane and tail walked through the door. He was very tall, standing a little under a head taller than him. Muscle could be seen almost clearly under his coat, rippling across his skin. A clear cut sign of his life on the farm. Despite that, there was a clear youthful light in his sap green eyes, combined with an almost overprotective, yet brotherly, glint once his eyes landed on him.
"I was forcefully dragged here by your sister," Emerald responded immediately. The stallion furrowed his brow,
"Which one?" he asked, his baritone voice going perfectly with his build,
"Applejack,"
"Why?"
"Mentioned I never tried your family's cider,"
"That'll do it," he chuckled. Emerald sighed at the stallion's amusement, his ears flicking towards a sound to his right. Idly glancing that way, he spotted an older mare, her wrinkled skin giving that away. She had a wispy white mane and tail, a mere remnant of what it once was. Her apple green coat was faded as well, clearly showing signs of wear and tear. However, her caramel eyes held a hint of youth that most ponies of that age wouldn't possess, likely due to the Apple Family's near constant activity.
She passed by him, seemingly unaware of his presence. The red stallion snorted slightly, only to flinch as the older mare suddenly rounded on him,
"An' watchu chucklin' 'bout Big Macintosh?! Better be 'bout how ya finished up all yer chores!" she snapped, her voice carrying a very thick southern accent. The newly christened Big Macintosh gulped, before nodding,
"E-eeyup," he stammered at her, his coat turning redder than before. The mare stared at him for a moment longer, before nodding,
"That's what I thought," she said, nodding firmly at him. Macintosh's eyes darted around for a moment, before locking onto Emerald. He cleared his throat,
"Uh, Granny Smith? We got a guest," he said, pointing the faux-pony out. The mare blinked, before looking over where his hoof lead and finally spotted Emerald.
Bastard.
"Well howdy there sonny!" Granny Smith said, a wide smile adorning her worn features, "What brings ya all the way down ta our little farm?" she asked.
...
Little?
Ignoring the thought for now, he responded,
"Applejack brought me,"
"Is that so?" she asked. She stared at him for a moment longer, before reaching a hoof out and cupped his chin. Confused, he let her move his head around for a moment, with her seemingly inspecting him for something. Eventually she let him have his face back, when she chose to hobble around him for a few minutes, before finally stopping in front of him. "Well, I gotta say, ya look like a fine young stallion for mah granddaughter! Ya'll better git me some great-grandfoals now, ya hear?" she asked him, smilingly widely.
Emerald stared at her for a moment, idly wondering if Applejack had heard that, given the sudden lack of motion in the kitchen, before he shook his head.
"I'm... just visiting for now. Applejack managed to pry the fact I've never tried your family's cider out of me and then literally dragged me here," Granny Smith blinked at him,
"... So ya ain't chasing after mah granddaughter?"
"No,"
"Welp, that's a shame," she said simply, causing him to blanch, "An' here I thought that ol' work horse finally got herself a mate. Eh, guess I'll just wait a lil' longer!" Granny Smith then chose to walk away, seemingly unaware of the tense atmosphere she had left behind. Emerald glanced at the red stallion, who was looking a bit too amused at the situation.
"I hope you realize that Applejack will likely blame you for not saying anything," he said, causing Macintosh to pale considerably.
"S-sorry 'bout Granny," came Applejack's voice as she walked out of the kitchen, completely red-faced, "She can be a little... embarrassin'," she muttered. Emerald chuckled,
"I figured," he said, causing her to flush a bit more, "So can I head back to my job now? Or is there actually something you want from me?" he snapped, letting his annoyance show. She flinched away at his tone, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly,
"Hehe, sorry 'bout that sugarcube. Anyways, I was hopin' ya'd take a mug of cider a lil' early," she said, grabbing a wooden mug from kitchen and hoofing it over to him. Rather than take it from her, he merely leveled a glare instead,
"And why would I do that?" he asked,
"Well, ya say ya've never tried any of our cider so-"
"Who cares?" he asked, cutting her off, "One creature in all of Equestria hasn't tried your cider. So? Instead of being an idiot and giving away your product for one being, just sell the damn stuff to someone who already likes it!" he snapped, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to head back to the job you so rudely tore me away from!" With that final snarl, he turned and stomped his way out of the Apple home, furious.
That mare had taken him from his work. And while it was temporary work, it was still his work. And if there was one thing in the world he hated, it was not being able to finish a job.
That mindset had been beaten and engraved into him in the Facility, the place he'd been stuck for ten years. The place where'd he'd been tested and experimented on for ten years. Where you did what you were told, and were tortured if you didn't do it good enough or couldn't finish. Though, his cutie mark likely played a part in him keeping it.
To have set his mind to something, he would go against everything, question everything, best everything if it meant accomplishing it. Even if it killed him.
Rolling his eyes as he made it back into town. The ordeal had only lasted about fifteen minutes, so he still had plenty of work to do.
Though, apparently, not as much as he would've liked.
After his disappearance, despite it only lasting so long, Pinkie had taken it upon herself to fill his place, and then take over for Mrs. Cake when he returned.
While he honestly admired her dedication to her job, he still couldn't help but be a little annoyed at not doing some of his work himself.
Still, he ended up finding out that he worked surprisingly well with Pinkie. Mrs. Cake seemed surprised by that as well, given the way she tended to stare while they worked. Pinkie was quick and efficient in the kitchen, being able to listen to him give the orders instead of needing him to write it down like Mrs. Cake. His memory let him relay the orders quickly as well, even letting him get the right order to the right pony without issue.
As of now, he was currently wiping down the counter as Pinkie cleaned the kitchen behind him.
"Well," Mrs. Cake's voice broke the silence, "I must say, I wasn't expecting you to be able to work with Pinkie so well!" she gushed.
"Totally!" Pinkie all but shouted behind him, sticking her head out of the window, "We're like a super team of amazing bakers!" she said,
"So I got the job?" Emerald asked quickly, keeping Pinkie from continuing her train of... whatever it was she called her thoughts.
"Absolutely!" Mrs. Cake said, "With you and Pinkie helping out, Carrot and I can take it easy until the foals come," she added, smiling.
"That's so amazing!" Pinkie shouted again, only this time she actually jumped out of the window, "I can totally throw a 'Hooray You Got a Job!' party! Ooh it'll be so much fun! There'll be streamers, games, balloons, more streamers an-!" Pinkie suddenly froze, her entire body going rigid, before she suddenly seemed to deflate. "Oh, wait. I can't throw a party. Cider Season starts tomorrow and everypony'll be too busy..." she muttered, depressed.
Something about her sudden change in attitude struck Emerald, and he opened his mouth to try and cheer her up.
Though it wasn't necessary, it seemed.
"But if I can't throw a party for everypony in town, then I'll just throw one just for you! And since Cider Season is tomorrow, we can head out early and get you first in line as a gift!" she gushed, whirling around and staring at him, stars in her eyes.
Emerald twitched at her behavior, and went to speak,
"Tha-"
"Wait! Everpony's gonna be trying to get there early too!" Pinkie said, unwittingly cutting him off, "Which means we gotta be even earlier than even the earliest pony!"
"Pink-"
"Which means we gotta go right now!"
"Wait wha-!"
And thus, Emerald was once more dragged away by an earth pony towards Sweet Apple Acres.