Chapter 15
"So, Ah wanted t'thank y'all fer savin' the farm." said Applejack uneasily as she paced around the field. To be fair she was surprised they didn't wreck the place. From the stories Braeburn had told her, she should be standing in a field of burnt trees and be looking at a destroyed barn. Instead there was one damaged tree (which wasn't going to give fruit anyways) and a dented barn door, which didn't affect their daily lives.
"Don't sweat it cousin, Shield an' I are always glad t'help. Ain't that right Shield?" exclaimed commissioner Braeburn as he slapped the blond Vanhoover soldier as he tried to fit his sword inside his blue overcoat. In the heat of the moment Shield forgot that the town had a strict no weapons on sight policy that made it difficult to carry a two-meter long claymore around town. And he knew that it wasn't totally necessary, he could have beaten the crap out of those wolves with his fists. But after trading punches with those thugs Shield had been left yearning for sword action.
"Yeah, of course! There's nothing better than punching and slashing wild animals to brighten your day." he said with a smile as he refitted his sword. He hated the fact that his summoning rune only worked one-way, but he hated even more the fact that he couldn't carry it around town in the first place!.
"Well, if ye need any help ye can count on us. Anythin', juss say it." said Applejack as she faced the commissioner.
"Oh, come on. I was just doing my job..." he began before thinking. These people were farmers, and their main harvest was apples, and apples made cider and brandy, and these were things he would need for his upcoming birthday. "Maybe there is something you could do for me."
Braeburn looked at him in horror. "No, yer not draggin' her into our mess..." he began before he recieved a slap to the back of his head.
"It's not that! I need some spirits." he said, hoping to calm Brae down.
"Ye mean like cider 'n stuff?" she asked with a confused look.
"Yep. I'm gonna have a birthday party with all my commissioner friends. All three of you are invited of course, but I need something for my friends. Cider, beer, ale, mead, whatever you have I'm willing to pay good money. And if you start with the you can have them for free, it's the least we could do I will order an airship to come here and drop a metric ton of gold. That way you will be forced to accept the pay unless you can manage to carry that thing all the way to my house." he replied with a stern look.
"Ah wus gonna offer ya t'stay fer lunch, but Ah'm sure we could work sumthin' out." she said with a smile.
"That..." Shield began as his stomach rumbled. "is actually a good idea."
.oOo.
Rarity was looking at the couple of foreigners with curiosity. Count Fire Storm (or just "Fire" as he insisted) looked serious, his red eyes constantly surveying their surroundings. But he seemed lax, unlike Shield who usually had a hand in his guns.
Crystal Rose on the contrary, only turned to look at her soon-to-be husband. Her amber eyes never stopped looking at him.
"So..." began the seamstress as she tried to break the silence surrounding all four of them. "How did you two meet?" The tired look on his face was misinterpreted by the fashionista as she immediately backed down. "I'm sorry for asking, I just wanted to start a conversation."
"No. It's all right. I'm sorry, but I've been awake for the last thirty hours :yawn: and it's finally taking a toll on me." he said as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
"I'll answer this one honey." answered Crystal as she patted his arm. "It was Shield's fault." Rarity stared at her in confusion. They seemed happy, yet she made it sound like it was a bad thing. "I mean that he's the reason why we met. I was an elementary school teacher about four years ago, and was in charge of Hawk Eye, Shield's little sister. So after one too many missed family meetings I sought to it that he became present to every meeting we had. That's when I found out about his unique status in the army.
"Taking pity on him I decided to become her second legal guardian, raising her whenever he wasn't around or even when Shield was off doing paperwork. I basically became Hawk's second mother. And naturally I began hanging out with them, which usually meant that I was with Fire. Two years worth of dating later we find ourselves here."
"That is quite... the story. Not what I would call swooning or daydream romantic, but it is most definitely original." stated Rarity as she checked her pockets and pulled out her vPhone. She had gotten a text from her parents, asking that they pick up Sweetie from school.
"Great, just when I thought I could get some...." she paused as she heard the caw of a black bird. This bird flew over the group and perched itself in Fire's hair. Rarity's instinct caused her to wave her hands to shoo the bird, but it had no intention of getting off it's new nest or even acknowledging her. "Shoo! Get off you ugly crow!"
To her surprise, the bird faced her and gave an angry caw as it narrowed its eyes. If she didn't know better, she'd think the bird had just been insulted. "Edgar, be nice." mumbled fire as he patted the bird.
"Is it yours?" asked Rarity with surprise. Crystal couldn't help but giggle as the bird scratched its neck using the beak. Twilight joined her, but because she found a small black cylinder strapped to its back.
"No, he isn't. He's Shield's." he grumbled, his eyes struggling to remain open.
"Is that a Canterlot Raven?" asked Twilight as she tried to to pat it. "I've heard that they're extremely smart." the bird lowered its head as the librarian tried to scratch its head. The raven gave a happy caw as she scratched.
"Correct on both accounts, I didn't know you were familiar with fauna." said Fire with surprise as he yawned once more.
"I'm not actually, that's my friend Fluttershy's specialty. But I do remember reading about the ravens and how Stern Root, master druid and proficient in all things nature, would teach the ravens to scout the forests and alarm him if anything ever went wrong."
"So did it actually feel insulted because I called it ugly?" asked Rarity with embarrassment.
"No, Edgar is better than that. He got angry at you because you said he was a crow. If there's one thing he hates more than being called dumb is being confused with a regular crow." he responded as he pointed at the farm and with one last cruck, the bird flew ahead of them.
.oOo.
Shield has been in several balls, fancy dinners, buffets and even in bonfire barbeques, but in no universe would he imagine that steak was better when it was prepared by an young woman in a farm in the most boring town in Equestria. Their meal was nothing like the celebrations to gluttony and bulimia better known as banquets back in Canterlot, quite the contrary. It was just some steak, some fresh vegetables, a cob of corn and some fresh apple cider. But even still, that steak could rival any chef's creation without blinking.
"Ah'm guessin' ye were hungry." said Applejack as she settled the plates inside their house. Although she and Fluttershy had already eaten they were surprised when the blond commissioner devoured his meal in a minute.
"Yeah, thanks for the steak. I promise that i'm telling the truth when I say that this is the best steak I've had in years." said Shield as he cleaned his mouth.
"Thanks fer the compliments, I've been usin' that recipe fer years. Homemade an' not any fancy stuff from restaurants." said the farmer proudly.
"No wonder it tasted so good." he said. He was about to continue with his praise when they all heard the call of a bird in the distance. Within minutes a large black bird perched itself in the window, tapping the glass with its beak with a distinct rhythm. "Edgar?"
"Git outta mah window ya varmint!" yelled Applejack as she flapped her arms. But the bird kept tapping.
"Wait, I think I know this bird." he said as he opened the door and the bird flew inside. The raven perched itself in his right shoulder, rubbing its feathers against his neck. He chuckled as the separated the bird. "You know I hate that."
Fluttershy was coming down the stairs after recovering from her shock. "I thought I heard a raven..." she began before noticing the bird. "Oh dear! Mister Shield, please don't shoot the bird on your shoulder." she said as she carefully approached him.
"Shoot Ed? He'd peck my eyes before I could grab my gun!" he exclaimed.
The veterinarian looked extremely puzzled. "You know this bird?" she asked.
"Of course! I bought Edgar about six years ago, right before I became a commissioner!" the bird squaked in agreement. "C'mon Ed, don't be rude and say hi to miss Fluttershy." commanded the blond soldier as the raven took flight and landed gently on the pink-haired zoologist's arm. It cawed once and lowered its head.
"Wow, I've never met a raven like you before." she said in amazement, her fear of the brigadier having evaporated in a second. "I can tell you are the third smartest bird I've ever met." she said in a voice used to talk to babies. The raven tilted his head to the right in puzzlement. "I'm sorry, but don't feel bad! Third place is pretty good!" she said rapidly as she tried to console the bird.
Shield whistled a short note and the bird quickly turned to look at him. "How did you get here?" he asked. The bird cawed once. Shield immediately sighed. "Fire's here, right?" the bird replied with one craw. "Of course. There's no way you would have flown all the way from Vanhoover."
"Wait a minute, Fire's here?" intervened Braeburn as he fixed his hat.
"Apparently if the bird's to be trusted. He didn't tell me he was coming." scoffed Shield. The bird returned to face Fluttershy. "I think he wants to know who's better than him."
"Oh, you can communicate with him?" asked veterinarian with surprise.
"Yep. And maybe with Koro, my sister's dog. I've been with Ed for about six years now and he's been an invaluable tool for scouting dark forests or large mountain ranges."
"So, you've trained this raven to help you fight?"
"What? No! He's trained for scouting. He flies over enemy lines, returnes and then we begin a game called Ed says. It pretty much goes like this: Ed, did you see monsters? And he goes..." he motioned the bird to react, and Edgar bobbed his head. "then we say, was it goblins? And he goes..." the bird shook its head. "and that's how it goes."
Fluttershy's face was filled with surprise. "I never would have guessed you were good with animals."
"I'm not." he shot. "It's just that Ed's a smart animal. But you are good with animals by the looks of it. Maybe there's stuff I could learn from you." he began pondering. "But that's for later, right now I have to think on how to feed..." he began counting with his fingers.
Applejack turned to her cousin. "Ain't this Fire feller the one ye warned me ta stay away like he's got flu?"
"Nah, that's Thunder yer thinkin' bout cous'. Fire's a decent feller." said the Ranger as he wrestled a few bits of corn out of his mouth with a toothpick.
"So anyways, I need about fourkegs barrels of cider, one bottle of brandy, four barrels of beer, one of ale and one of mead. What can you give me?" stated Shield as he sat down.
"Well, we do got some kegs of cider left. We got some brandy too, but fer the rest yer gonna have ta talk to Oak Cask. He runs the Chuggin' Dragon." said the blond farmer as she scratched her head.
"I think I know him. Well, how much for the cider and brandy?" he asked.
"Ah got three barrels of hard cider an' two barrels of regular. If ye want 'em Ah could give sell 'em at a hundred bits..."
"Sold!" shouted the commissioner as he pulled out a bill from his wallet and gave it to her. "So how about that brandy? How does fifty bits sound?"
Applejack immediately backed up. "What? Nah, that's too much. The brandy's twenty bits fer ya."
"I can't deny a good deal." he said as he paid up. "Think you can have them in my house the ninth of June?"
"Can do. Ah'll have have Big Mac take 'em there."
"Perfect, now if you'll excuse me I think I have to meet some friends." said Shield as he snapped his fingers to recall Edgar. "Miss Fluttershy, where do you live?"
The veterinarian looked surprised. "In the edge of the forest, why?"
"East or south of the town?"
"East." she asked with some worry.
"So you live somewhat close to me." he said in a low voice, mostly to himself. "I don't suppose you'd like me to escort you?"
She shook her head. "No thank you, I still have to give Mr. Snuggles his medicine."
"Very well. If you ever get into trouble just whistle loudly and Ed here will find you." said Shield as he opened the door and left the farmhouse. He walked for a couple of seconds before noticing that someone was coming up the road, or better said: some people.
He focused his eyes on the dirt road and saw four different hair colors: Dark blue, a swirl of beige, a uniform indigo and an azure hair with pink and purple streaks. "There's something missing..." he said as he looked at their waists.