Anton tossed another shovelful of snow down the hill, scowling as he did so. This accursed substance was still up to nearly his neck in the trench, and he had barely made a dent in it. Still, he had to get this all cleared out, lest it melt in the sun, as his limited knowledge of snow told him it did. He shoved the shovel back into the white mass, sliding the end of the handle back towards him and grabbing another shovelful.
As he tossed it down the hill, he was something beyond the white of the snow and the grey of the rocks. It was a dark brown, with hints of orange and a light yellow. He realize what, or rather, who it was within seconds, and scowled beneath the cloth covering over his face. He lowered it, yelling down, "What are you doing here?"
"Ah just want'ed ta check on ya!", she yelled up, wading through the snow as if it were a rushing stream of water. "See how ya were doin'!"
"Well, I'm fine, and-No no, wait!", he called down.
His warning fell too late, and she stumbled, falling face-first into the snow. She laid there for a few seconds, before pulling herself back up. Snow caked in her fur and clothes, while her previously unseen expression was now obviously a scowl. Anton, meanwhile, while he kept his face as calm as he could, was internally chuckling at even the minor plight that the Xeno endured.
"Small dip there", he said. "They're all around the hill. Just can't really see them because of all the snow."
"Yeah", she said, her voice strained. "Ah noticed."
Anton nodded, turning back to the trench and grabbing another shovelful of snow. "As I was saying, I'm fine. Just clearing this all out."
"This sure is a lotta snow", Applejack said, tromping up the snow, coming to a stop next to him.
Anton tossed the snow down the hill, exploding like an impact grenade on the surface. "Well I was at your quarters all winter. The lack of upkeep is to be expected."
"Need any help?", she asked.
He turned, looking at her. "Really?"
"Sure", she said. "Ah ain't got nothin' ta do fer today, and Pa said it's always nice to help out a friend."
Anton swallowed, a small amount of sweat pooling under his field cap despite the cold. "Uh... Sure. Here", he said, sticking the shovel in the snow in front of her. "I'll go get another one."
He hopped over the trench, stepping down into the mostly cleaned-out smaller trench around the bunker entrance. He headed inside, pushing aside a few other bits of equipment and the spare lasguns, grabbing the extra entrenching tool. He unfolded the spade, before taking off his hat and clearing the sweat off with an extra undershirt.
A friend... That's what she'd called him. A friend. What was worse, he could almost see it. She'd been willing and able to help him, and his most consistent form of "Entertainment" while he was restricted to the Apple family's property was talking. That was with all of them save the infant at one point or another, but the one he generally talked to was Applejack. The thought made him sick to his stomach, but he hid his concerns and headed back out.
Applejack had scooped a few shovelfuls out of the side of the trench, tossing them off to the side rather than down the hill. "Dang... How deep is this?"
"As tall as I am. I don't know how tall that is, but it needs to prevent me from being hit while inside. There's a small step so I can attack over it, but I think the step might've broken under all the snow", Anton said, getting back in front of the bunker and resuming his clearing of the snow.
Applejack ceased her own work, looking up at him. "D-dang." She looked around the small hill, from the covered cave to the bunker to the barricade and the ravine entrance. "Well, ah mean, ya had help, right?"
"No", Anton said, sending another barrage of snow down the hill.
Applejack sputtered, "What!?"
"I did all of this myself", Anton said, scooping up more snow.
Applejack looked at him, eyes wide and... What was that? Her face was slightly red, just barely visible among her fur. Maybe she was cold? Finally, she scooped up more snow, though kept her eyes on him. "How? Ah mean, where'd ya get the rocks an' all that?"
"There's a ruin, a few miles from here", Anton said. "I salvaged the rock from there. The wood I got from the trees, obviously. They're not the best, especially given the structure, but it works. The fur comes from the animals, obviously. And the rest is just a shovel and a long day."
Applejack gave a low whistle. "Well ah'll be an Icecube in summer. Y'all are a real workhorse."
Anton grunted, more focused on his shovel. It got stuck in something, forcing him to yank a few times. "Almost", he muttered to himself, before the force keeping whatever it was in place gave way.
Anton tumbled back, falling into the snow. He groaned, climbing back to his damned hooves and examining his entrenching tool. True to his suspicions, a soggy chunk of wood was stuck in the tip of the shovel, which after several tugs with his aura, came free. He tossed it into the snow as well, before saying, "Don't worry about damaging the step. Probably need to replace most of the damn thing anyway."
"Right", Applejack said, clearing out another section and starting to find the wooden planks that lined the floor. "So, uh... What do you do out here? Ah mean, 'sides keepin' this place in check an' gettin' food."
"Not much, honestly", Anton said. "Most of my day is spent on upkeep. Not just on the structure, though that's a time spender too. Cleaning my clothes, equipment upkeep, prayer-"
"Prayin'?", Applejack asked. "How's that upkeep?"
Anton snorted, though kept some of his more scathing comments to himself. "The body, mind, and soul need prayer like... Like a knife needs sharpening."
"Ah... Guess?", Applejack said. "Ah'm sorry, it's just... Ah've done a little bit of lookin' at the town library, an' ah couldn't find anythin' about this 'Emperor' ya kept speakin' of."
Anton shrugged. "I suppose that The Emperor wouldn't be that well known here."
"What? This 'Emperor' from another country?", Applejack asked.
Anton raised an eyebrow. He didn't know what that word meant, but he shrugged it off. "I guess you could say that, yeah."
The two of them continued to talk for several hours, going back and forth relating to various topics. From Applejacks family members, to the town just beyond the Apple Families property, apparently called Ponyville. From a few tales of life in the so-called Everfree Forest to some of the stories of the Emperor that he felt comfortable sharing. Finally, as the sun began to shift down the sky, and the trench was almost half-cleared, Applejack had to leave. She said goodbye, waving as she trotted down the hill. Anton did the same, before walking back to his bunker. That night, he gave a tribute of blood to the Emperor for his sins...