The Emperor Preserves

by Centurion Pike-Wall


23~Ponyville

Anton grunted, using his aura to shove the final crate full of various apple products up onto the cart. He leaned against the wooden vehicle, taking deep breaths. "Remind me why you need me to come with you? Wouldn't it be more efficient if I stayed here and worked through whatever backlog there is?", he asked Big Mac, who was hitching himself up to the harness at the front.

The two of them stood outside the barn, the hot sun blazing down on them as they had spent the past half hour putting the mix of Apple Butter, Apple Preservatives, Apple Chips, Apple Juice, and various other items into big crates and loading them onto to cart. Anton stepped back from the cart, looking over the wooden box on wheels. It didn't even have metal wheels and tires; the whole thing, save for some strengthening bars and nails, was entirely made of wood. He shouldn't have been surprised that so primitive a species relied on it, and by proxy, their own strength, to move something.

"Because Granny's lookin' after Apple Bloom, AJ's handlin' the small chores we still got at the moment, and pa's gettin' some rest", Big Mac said. "Pa always said if it wasn't him or... or Ma, then there had ta be at least two of us at the stall in town. AJ can handle the small stuff; we're actually in good shape, all thing's considered."

"Why?"

"Why what?", Big Mac asked, finishing with the straps.

"Why do there have to be two of us?", Anton asked, adjusting his field cap to better block out the sun. "From what Applejack described, Ponyville doesn't exactly sound dangerous. Two of us seems a bit-"

"It's more ah just wanna lean on the safe side", Bright Mac said, leaning on one of the pillars on the porch. "Ah know Ponyville is plenty safe but sometimes Timberwolves or other critters stray out around the outskirts, especially around here, and... Well, color me paranoid."

"'A suspicious mind is a healthy mind'. Understandable", Anton said. "Rest assured, we'll be fine."

"Ah know, ah know", Bright Mac said, watching the two of them walking down the hard dirt path out of the property and towards the town in the distance.

++++~+++++

The first thing that struck Anton when the two of them entered the town was how... small it was.

He didn't really know what to expect, really. It appeared to be rather small, even from the fields, but walking down the primitive cobbled streets, it really hit home.

The buildings that lined either side of the road the two were following were all both small and flimsy looking. His best guess is that they were only two stories and made of what appeared to be wood and straw. A far cry from the rockcrete apartment where he had grown up. It struck him as being a poor decision; not only was it an inefficient use of space, it also didn't look that durable.

More oddities struck him as the two continued their march to the market area. From wide and strange-looking Glow-globes to large the strange buildings they occasionally passed. That is what really drew his eye; from what looked like a hollowed-out tree to something that reminded him of the contents of a dumpster at his training camp piled on top of a building.

Finally, after a while, they arrived at the "market". Though he was expecting a large building with rockcrete cut-outs for the vendors, he shouldn't have been surprised by the simple wooden and canvas stalls. They were arranged in a loose square around a big square, with what he assumed to be an administration building on the far side. Big Mac stopped at a stall with a red-and-green canvas roof, which had a small wooden sign on the front, apparently indicating ownership.

"Start unloading the product", Big Mac said, working with the straps to free himself. "Ah'll get mahself unhitched and go check us in."

Anton nodded, grabbing one of the crates and dragging it off the back of the cart. It banged against the lip of the cart with a slight thud, though nothing appeared to have broken. Lifting it up and moving it with a mix of his aura and his shoulder, he brought the first one into a pre-made slot for the baskets.

"Excuse me?", a voice behind him said.

Anton turned and was greeted by two of the locals; well, likely locals, anyway. Both were females, though of different heights and completely different appearances. One was a "unicorn" like himself, with green and white coloration and some sort of instrument for a "cutie mark". The other was an "earth pony", with cream fur and a strange two-toned mane. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah", the earth pony said. "I mean, not really. We've just never seen you in town before, and were wondering who you were."

"Yeah", the other one said. "I'm surprised we've never met you. Pinkie's only been here for a few months, but she usually throws everyone new a "Hi, welcome to Ponyville" party."

"I've been here longer", Anton said, heading back to the cart and grabbing another crate. "Just haven't gone into town much. Name's Aquila."

"I'm Lyra", the unicorn said. "This is Bon Bon, my uh... Landlord? Roommate? What was the term we settled on again?."

"Roommate", Bon Bon said, her eyes trailing over him to the sword and pistol on his belt. "What's with the... uh, the weapons?"

Anton took off another crate, carrying it over to the slot. "I live in that forest on the edge of town. Everfree or something? It's not-"

"You live in the Everfree!?", Lyra yelled, drawing all eyes to the small group. Or, more specifically, to him.

+++++~+++++

"Ah've been gone fer five minutes", Big Mac stated, looking between Anton and the now empty square. "What happened?"

"Lyra overreacted", Bon Bon, the only one left, said. "Then everypony else overreacted."

"Is that normal?", Anton asked.

Bon Bon shrugged. "I guess? Town panics kinda easily. Heh, you should've been around for the Duct Tape fiasco."

"The what?", Anton asked, plopping the last basket of apples down by the stall.

"Let's just say there's a reason we have a flight limit fer Pegasi in town", Big Mac said. "Well, uh..."

"I get it", Anton said. "I'll, uh... I wait on the edge of town. I doubt you'd get much business done with me around, considering the reaction. About how long should this take?"

"Round-abouts five hours", Big Mac replied.

Anton muttered to himself, but nodded. "Alright. That big tree with the bent trunk; you know what I mean?"

"Eeyup", Big Mac said.

Anton said, "I'll see you later."

As Anton walked off, Bon Bon followed him with her eyes. "Hey, uh, I was just coming with Lyra. I don't need Apples. I'll see you later, yeah?" Big Mac nodded, getting behind the stall, while Bon Bon walked off in the same direction as Anton.