The Emperor Preserves

by Centurion Pike-Wall


20~Considerations

Anton brought the heavy board over his head, laying it over the ground next to the others. It hit the ground with a heavy squelch, sending spurts of mud flying up on either side. He pressed a hoof against the boards, pressing down on them to ensure they would hold.

He let himself smile a little, before sliding the wooden barricade into place and heading down the hill. He grabbed shuddered slightly as the cool grass and soft ground rubbed against all four of his exposed... hooves. He finally reached the river, following it for a bit to reach a cluster of rocks. One on the shore had his lasgun leaning against it, while a small cluster just inside the river held his boots and jumpsuit.

"Well, at least this happened now, and not when I get home with rocks or meat or something", Anton muttered, lifting the small rocks off of the jumpsuit and examining the jumpsuit. Obviously, it was soaking wet, water dripping off of the stiff cloth like drops of rain. Or, more fittingly, like snow. However, the mud that caked the back of it had been more or less washed off, and he so he laid it out across a relatively dry section of grass. He picked up his boots, running them through a small section of faster-moving current. Soon, they too were free of mud and, unlike the jumpsuit, dry on the inside.

As he slid them back on, he heard a faint splash. Looking up, he scanned the water, looking for something that could've made the noise. The almost mirror-like finish of the flowing river made looking beneath the surface somewhat difficult, though he swear he could see something moving. He grabbed his lasgun, bringing the sight up to his eye and scanning the river.

As he watched, he heard, "Hey, Aquila! Ah'm back!"

Looking up from the lasgun, he saw Applejack come out of the trees. Unlike her last visit about ten days ago, she had eschewed her coat and scarf, wearing nothing save for a few hair ties. She had a long wooden pole balanced on her back, with two buckets slung over a part of it that appeared to have logs sticking out of them.

Anton lowered the lasgun, resting it on his lap. "Eh... Hello? What is that?"

Before Applejack could reply, he saw another form rustling in the branches and bushes behind her. Emerging from the woods was Applejack's brother; Big Macintosh, if he recalled correctly. "Extra firewood. Turns out Granny ordered too much, and AJ here said ya needed some wood fer a new... Firing step? That what ya call it?"

Anton thought back to that interaction, before shaking his head. "I already got it fixed. The wood around here isn't the best shape, but it's plenty sturdy."

"Oh, uh... Right", Applejack said.

Anton looked at the logs, before shrugging. "Not to say I won't be able to use it for something. Hell, I might just use them as firewood anyway."

Applejack nodded, entering into the river. She waded through the water, which reached up to her chest, causing the buckets balanced on her back to partially float upwards in the current. She suddenly stumbled forward, water filling one of the buckets and making the logs start to float out of them.

Anton threw his lasgun down, running over and grabbing the buckets in his aura. He floated them out of the water, setting them down next to him, before sitting down himself with a slight groan.

Applejack came out of the water, shaking herself and sending water spraying everywhere. "Sorry. Think ah tripped on somethin'."

"What are you sorry for?", Anton asked.

Applejack shrugged. "Sorry. Guess ah'm just... outta it, ah guess."

"Remind me wah ya needed me fer this? This ain't that much.", Big Mac asked, stepping out of the river with an easy stride. Judging from the stains on his own fur, the water barely reached up to the spot his legs met his torso.

"Because ah wanted ta do somethin' nice fer Aquila here, and Pa said ah can't go out here since everythin's wakin' back up", Applejack said. "'Sides, what else were ya gonna do today?"

Anton cocked his head, a lump forming in his throat. A sudden line of thought came to him, the spark coming from stories that one of his neighbors told him. The neighbor, Zariel, was an old veteran of the Drop Troopers, and he talked about a campaign he had taken part in on a world occupied by some Xenos species called the Tau. Apparently, they twisted humans to their will, using trinkets, gifts, and shows of strange power to sway the pure away from the light of the Emperor. Zariel had described them as being blue-skinned and with a slit running down their faces, and made no mention of subspecies. They probably weren't these Tau, but perhaps they were employing similar tactics.

"Why are you being so... kind?", Anton asked, barely able to choke out that last word as both of them diverted their attention to him. "This is, by my count at least, the sixth time you've come out here to give me gifts, not to mention the allowing me to rest at your domicile. So, why?"

"Ya saved Me an' Pa", Applejack said, lowering her head slightly. "An ya tried ta help Ma. It... It's the least we ah could do?"

"So it's about gratitude?", Anton questioned.

Mac said, "Eeyup." When they both looked at him, he shrugged. "Wha? Ya talk 'bout him sometimes, sis. Whenever ya do this, or try ta convince Pa ta let ya do this, yer always bringin' up payin' him back."

"Yeah", Applejack agreed. "Ah mean, ya saved me, not to mention Pa. Ah... ah just can't really think 'a how ah can pay ya pack fer it."

"Awww....", a voice said, causing all three of them to freeze.

Turning around, they saw something sticking out of the water. It was long and thin, covered in scales in two shades of purple. Weirdly enough, its wrinkled, dog-like snout bore a large, twisting mustache, while a weird style of hair he imagined some of the Parliat Representatives wore was on his head. Two small hands were clasped together, and it was looking at them with what Anton assumed to be some sort of grimace.

In an instant, his lasgun was in his magic, the sight realigned with his eye. As Applejack and Big Mac jumped back and scrambled away in surprise, Anton raised the lasgun and took a shot. However, in his haste, the shot went high, tearing a hole in the beast's hair.

It froze in turn, reaching up and bringing a hand to the hole. It began to shudder, and somehow turned pale. It looked back down at Anton, who lowered the lasgun, aiming for its head. In an instant, it ducked under the water, a stream of bubbles flying down the water.

Anton's lasgun followed it, bolts of red light firing after it. It dipped below the surface before the first one hit him, while the barrage pursuing him generally seemed to miss. He walked along the bank, firing more shots until the dark shape of its body seemed to disappear upstream.

"Great, now I have something else to worry about", Anton muttered, slinging the weapon over his back. He turned around, looking at the other two. "Uh... Sorry. Just, uh... Just help me get the wood up. I still have some of that cider you gave me. We'll share a drink."