Chapter 4
You head to town once again; this time as you walk through the streets, the ponies seem less fearful of you.
…That’s not to say that’s a good thing.
They’re all giving you strange, almost angry looks. Was it something you said?
…
Oh right. The whole ‘bacon’ incident.
Would have been convenient for you to remember what you learned about herbivores in biology class in high school.
“Hey, you!” a voice snaps you back to reality.
You look around, before your eyes land on the source of the voice.
It’s a small yellow filly with ruby red hair and a bow in it.
You point your finger at your chest. “Me?”
“Yeah, you!” she exclaims, quickly galloping over to you. “I heard about what you did.”
“What I did?”
”Don’t play dumb!” she pouts, “Ya gave Piña Colada that fox mask!” Well, looks like she doesn’t know about the fact that you’re an omnivore.
“Yes; what of it?”
“Um… ya got any more o’ those?” she points at your head. “Those mask things?”
You smile and nod, taking the Captain’s Hat off of your head, placing it on hers, just above her bow. “There ya go. Heh, you look like a natural-born leader in that hat!”
She beams up at you. “You really think so?”
You nod and both of you share a laugh. “Y’know, I’m selling that if you want to keep it. It’s called the ‘Captain’s Hat’, and it’s only… hm…”
You think hard about this for a moment. “How does 9 coins sound? I think that’s pretty fair, don’t you?”
She grins and nods. “Sure! Just lemme get mah sister real fast, she’s got some!” she exclaims, handing you the hat back and scurrying off. “Don’ move a muscle!”
You chuckle and nod, sitting down on a nearby bench. “I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back, alright?”
The filly nods, before quickly galloping off around the corner.
You wait for around two or three minutes before she comes back around again, this time with an excited grin on her face. “Woohoo! C’mon Applejack, yer takin’ forever!”
Out from the corner, behind the filly, comes an orange-colored…
…Oh sweet merciful god, it’s the orange pony from before that lassoed you.
She looks up from her sister to you, then back to her sister, and you, and finally walks up to you. “…What’re you still doin’ ‘round here?” she asks, looking up at you with a puzzled face.
“Turns out I have more masks I’m supposed to sell.”
You sigh, smiling and taking out the Captain’s Hat. Hopefully it’ll be the last one you have to worry about. “So this is the one that you said you wanted, right?”
The younger filly looks up at you and nods. “Yup! That’s the one!” she exclaims, bouncing excitedly.
The orange pony looks at it, before shrugging and taking out a hand…
…hoof-ful of coins?
Eh, whatever. She gave them to you one way or another. “Alright, that’s nine coins…”
“Bits, actually,” the orange pony says. “They’re called bits. It’s what we use ta buy stuff here.”
“I see… Heh, well, either way, the Captain’s Hat is now all yours!” You place the mask onto the younger filly’s head, and she jumps around happily.
The orange pony smiles at her sister, and then up at you. “By the way, Ah’m Applejack,” she says, holding up a hoof.
“Nice to meet ya. I’m Anonymous, but you probably already knew that,” you smile, shaking her hoof with your hand.
“Y’know, if yer gonna be stayin’ a while, y’all might need a place ta stay. Applebloom, ya think we have enough room up at the farm for Mr. Anon-ee-moose here?” she asks, turning and grinning at her younger sibling.
”Uh huh!” the filly exclaims, looking up at her new gift. “Especially if he has more stuff like this!”
”Well, whad’ya say, partner?” she asks, turning back to look at you. “Need someplace ta stay?”
Hospitality is never something you should turn down, especially when it’s Southern hospitality.
If it’s anything like it was on Earth, you wouldn’t want to anyway.
“Heh, y’know… now that I think about it, I really don’t have a place to stay, now do I…?” You scratch your head nervously.
The younger filly smiles up at you. “Ooh! So does that mean you’ll stay with us on the apple farm? You can meet Big Mac and Granny Smith!” she exclaims happily.
Right.
“Sure; I hope it’s no trouble-”
“O’ course it isn’t! We’re happy ta take ya in if ya need a place t’ stay,” Applejack says, smiling up at you. “Now c’mon, we don’ have all day,” she says, walking off with her sister.
“Oh, I’ll catch up with you two in a little while; I have to make a quick stop and I’ll be right there.”
“Alright, well, y’all know where the farm is, right? It’s on the outskirts o’ Ponyville, ya can’t miss it!” Applejack says, smiling at you.
You smile back and nod, waving as the two of them walk off. “I really hope they don’t find out about him…”
“Find out about who?”
GOD DAMN IT.
EVERY FUCKING TIME.
You spin around and you see that same damn grinning face.
“My my, are you alright dear boy? You’re acting as if you’ve seen a ghost or something!” he exclaims, though like always, the grin never leaves his face.
Yeah, if only he knew.
…Which he probably did. “It doesn’t matter; I sold that mask, can I please go now?”
He seemed a bit taken aback by this remark, judging by the body language.
You’ve given up trying to read the salesman’s face; it never fucking changes.
“But, my boy, you’ve only just begun! We still have happiness to spread throughout the world!” he exclaims, placing his hands on your shoulders. “You’ve only just scratched the surface! Think of how much happier you can make everyone with these masks!” he says, taking out another smiling mask, a bomb-shaped one, all sorts of different masks.
Except…
…That strange heart-shaped spiky one.
Why do you keep thinking about that thing? It’s just a mask.
You sigh. “Fine. One more. But ONLY one more. Got it?”
You point your finger right in his face.
“Oh ho ho, I understand completely,” he says, putting the masks away, all but one. “This one, my faithful apprentice, is the ‘All-Night Mask’. Like the name says, this one has a little bit of magic in it; this will keep you awake, no matter what you’re having to sit through,” he chuckles.
“All night?”
“As long as you keep the mask on, you’ll stay awake! And when you want to sleep again, just take it back off,” he says, patting your shoulders again. “Now go on and make me proud to call you my apprentice!”
He smiles and waves as he walks away.
Nope, this time, you’re going to keep an eye on him. He’s not going to get away without you seeing him.
He stops for a brief moment, turns, smiles and nods, and then goes on his way…
…Before dissipating into thin air.
There are not enough “what”s in the world to fully describe your situation.
Fortunately, at least you don’t have to worry about him anymore.
Time to get some Southern hospitality. Hopefully it’s not a trap of some kind…