//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Equestria's Swift King of Coffins // by gundamexia34 //------------------------------// The next day, after I woke up, I went over to the main house and saw that the Apple family was already awake and having breakfast. I turned to leave before Granny Smith noticed me and called me over. “Now listen here sonny, you need a proper breakfast to start the day. Now get over here and sit down.” She scolded, getting me to sigh and sit down, “And I heard that. Don’t try and take an attitude.” “Sorry Granny Smith, I just didn’t want to disturb you all so the sigh was more out of relief than anything.” I explained as I sat down. She nodded in understanding and set a plate of pancakes in front of me. I tried one and grimaced. “What’s wrong Heero?” Applebloom asked. “Chocolate chip, yuck.” I said in explanation, getting a loud exclamation of shock from everyone. With another sigh, I began to explain. “I’ve got a somewhat more, well...sensitive sense of taste than most. It’s bad enough that I can literally taste water. Chocolate has always had a somewhat bitter taste to me, so I could never handle it. Sure there were some candies that had chocolate I liked, but they were either mostly made from another ingredient or they were made of white chocolate.” I said, getting a shake of the head from Applejack and another question from her sister. “What kind of candies?” “Well, my favorite was either Reese’s or Kit Kats. Speaking of which, I could really go for a bag of Reese's Pieces right now.” As I fondly remembered some of the junk food I loved from earth, I was broken from my thoughts when one of my coffins started glowing. opening it slowly, I was surprised when I saw that it was full of packages of my favorite candies, sodas, and chips! Taking a large bag of my craving, I gasped as I saw that it was a white chocolate variant! There was a small flash and a pop, and a new bag replaces the one I took. On top of it was a note. Hello Heero, it’s Zelretch. If you're reading this, then you’ve opened the Candy Coffin. This little beauty draws from various dimensions where the product would have simply melted, gone bad, stale, or what have you. It takes each item and puts it in stasis until you take it out. However, you will be paying for each replacement. Every time you take one out, the price will be converted and rounded appropriately then deducted from you. The first draw is free, and a price tag should have appeared on the shelf below it. Looking up, I checked and saw that there was a tag that read “5 Bits.” But I can't make this too easy for you, so until you draw one out, each product’s price will be unknown. Have fun! “I dunno whether to thank you or curse you Zelretch…” I deadpanned aloud before handing the note to Applejack. “Well, this is actually pretty fair. You're not stealing, just leaving the money on the counter.” She said, though her tone said that she was trying to convince herself of that. “You know what? Fine. If I wanna keep up with my sweet tooth, I’m gonna need a job.” I said while throwing my hands into the air. Then I smiled as I had a thought. Bidding goodbye to the Apples, I went on my way. As I approached my destination, I realized that I would have to be careful with this. Not only did I need this job to pay for sweets, but also so I can make it up to the Apples for letting me sleep in the barn. Though the latter was more important than the former. I knocked on the door and was greeted by a small white rabbit. A rabbit who was glaring at me. “Hey, is Fluttershy here?” I asked, knowing that it could probably understand me. He stared for a few more seconds before he held up a paw in the universal “one minute" sign. Nodding, I leaned against the wall next to the door as it shut. A few moments later, the door opened again and Fluttershy stepped out with the bunny on her shoulder and looked around in confusion. “Angel, I thought you said there was someone at the door?” She asked, to which the rabbit, apparently named Angel, tugged on her mane and pointed at me. She turned and squeaked in surprise before calming down. “Oh, Heero! Sorry, I didn't see you there.” “It's no problem. I just wanted to come over and ask a few questions.” I said with a smile. “Oh, alright. Come in then.” As soon as I stepped through the door, there was a whine like a jet engine followed by some small explosions and a roar. “Oh no, not again!” Fluttershy called as she ran into the kitchen. Following her, I saw a sight that I never expected. There, standing in the middle of the floor, was a tiny Brachydios! And circling above it with a fish in its mouth was a miniature Valstrax! Swiftly walking over, Fluttershy held her hand out so that the Valstrax crashed into it and dropped his fish. “What have I told you about stealing?” She said, getting it to put its head down in shame. Meanwhile, the Brachydios is happily eating. Within a few minutes, the fish was stripped down to its bones. Shaking her head, Fluttershy mumbled, “What am I going to do with you two?” “Well first,” I spoke up, catching her by surprise, “Try establishing dominance. No offense Fluttershy, but you're just too kind to properly reign two alpha predators like them in 24/7.” “You know what they are, Heero? Are they native to your world?” She asked getting a blink. “Yeah, I do. They're not native back home, but they are part of a fictional franchise. If I had to guess how they got here, I would say Zelretch decided to have some fun.” As I said this, I noticed the Brachydios sneaking up on me. Turning, I pinned it, or rather him, to the floor by his neck just loosely enough that he could breathe. He struggled for a while before looking me in the eyes and going limp. I released him, then turned to the Valstrax and glared. He whimpered and bore his neck. Nodding, I turned to Fluttershy. “Like I said, you have to establish dominance. These guys are near if not at the top of the food chain in their natural environments. However,” Here I crouched down and started to scratch the Brachydios under the chin and smiled at the crooning sound it gave, “That doesn't mean you can't be affectionate with them. All it means is that they have to know you’re in charge.” Then the Valstrax came over and nudged my other hand, chuckling, I started to scratch it, or he as I noted, as well. I saw Fluttershy smiling at the scene before she snapped her fingers with an expression that said she’d had an epiphany. “Say, Heero,” she began, “Since you obviously know what these two are and seem to have at least some idea of how to care for them, why don’t you take them in?” “What, me?! Fluttershy, I don't even have a house! And I dunno if the Apples would be okay with it.” I said in surprise. Fluttershy smiled, “Knowing Applejack, she won’t mind too much. Just so long as they can help with the farming.” “Well, they could do that. This guy here is a Brachydios.” I said indicating said monster, “They can create explosive slime that they tend to coat their horns and fists in, good for breaking up rocks.” “And the other,” I continued, “Is a Valstrax. They can be just as fast if not faster than Rainbow Dash by expelling special draconic energy from their wings. He might be good for plowing fields.” “Well, there you go.” Fluttershy said, “And they already like you, so why not?” Thinking about it, I made the mistake of looking at the two and got hit with the cutest ‘kicked puppy’ expressions that I had ever seen. “Gah! Alright, alright, I give! How two of the most vicious creatures in the Monster Hunter franchise can be so doggone adorable is beyond me.” I said, muttering the last bit to myself. “Great!” Fluttershy exclaimed, “Now all you need to do is name them!” “Oh, I have the perfect names in mind.” I pointed to the Valstrax first, “I’ll call you Char.” Turning to the Brachydios, I patted his head, “And your new name is Bakugou.” After that whole debacle, Fluttershy and I sat down with a cup of tea for her and a 12oz bottle of Fanta Orange (which cost 0.5 Bits) for me. I explained my situation and then got to the heart of the matter. “Fluttershy, do you get paid for taking care of the animals?” I asked carefully. “Yes, why?” This response was accompanied by the stare. You know the one, the look that reduced a dragon to tears. “Well I… Um...Kinda need to get a job. I wanna help pay back the Apples for their kindness and I love taking care of animals, so I figured why not catch two bugs in one net?” I said, getting her to stop staring (thank goodness) and put a hand to her chin in thought. “Well, um, I’m afraid I can't pay you if you work here.” Fluttershy said, losing some of her confidence. “I barely have enough to pay for all the supplies I need, and I have to pay bills on top of that.” “I understand completely.” I said with a sigh, “Is there anywhere I can work to earn some cash?” “Ummm, not that I know of. Maybe you could ask Pinkie? She knows everyone in town, so she might know someone who could hire you.” “Huh, good idea. I’ll head over there right away.” With that, I stood and thanked Fluttershy for her time before starting toward the door. As I did, there were two roars and Char dropped Bakugou on my left shoulder before swinging back around and landing on my left. The impacts nearly knocked me over, because they were surprisingly heavy. Half-heartedly glaring at each of them before grumbling that they should warn me next time, I continued my path out the door. “You’re looking for a way to earn some bits?” Pinkie asked in surprise when I stopped by Sugar Cube Corner. “Yeah, like I told Fluttershy, I want to pay back the Apples somehow. It doesn't hurt that I need some cash to keep up my sweet tooth.” I replied sheepishly. “Speaking of your sweet tooth, do you want anything?” “Nah, I’ve got something right here.” I said, pulling out the White Chocolate Reese’s Pieces I’d grabbed earlier. “Ooh, can I try one?” Pinkie asked excitedly. “Sure why not?” I said, giving her a handful. She was quick to pop them into her mouth but froze after a few moments of chewing. “Umm, Pinkie, is everything alright?” I asked nervously. She swallowed and gave a massive grin. “Heero…” she said, “Where did you get such an amazing treat?” “Ummm, they're sweets from back home. Why?” “Heero, I just got a great idea! Don’t eat any more of those and follow me!” Pinkie’s idea turned out to be something I never would have thought of. She brought me to BonBon’s candy shop and helped me to pitch the idea of selling the sweets there in exchange for a small part of the profit. The plan worked out perfectly, as with a simple spell, Lyra was able to tell BonBon exactly how the sweets were made. With a little bit of tweaking to replace some of the ingredients that they couldn't get here in Equestria, the candies were soon on the shelves. Not that they stayed there for long. Within a day, the new stock was completely wiped out and the bits were flowing in! The profits, even when split between us, were enough for me to buy pretty much everything in the coffin at least once and add the contents to BonBon's shelves for the next day where they once again sold like hotcakes.