Zaps Apple
Chapter 28: The Crusader's Trade Part One
It was almost noon when we finally arrived at Rainbow Falls. I had heard about it from the girls and this 'Trader's Exchange' event sounded like fun, even I didn't want to trade anything of mine. I stepped off the train, looking around the place. The rainbow coloured waterfalls were amazing. I watched them fall from the clouds high above into a river near the bridge.
Not too far away, I could see a path leading to the 'Trader's Exchange'. The road was covered in ponies, most of them carrying saddlebags filled with goods to trade at the event.
“Crusaders, on me.” Big Mac spoke out and I spun around, looking at my big brother standing before the girls, I stood beside Applebloom. “Ah'm gonna say this loud and clear, when we go ah will allow you four to go off and do what yer need to do to trade, ok?”
“Got it, Big Mac!” Scootaloo saluted.
“Y'all stick together, no wanderin' alone ok?” Big Mac gave a firm look at each of us. “Ah'm trustin' y'all to not do anythin' that causes trouble. At sundown ah'll be waitin' by the entrance for y'all.” He was giving us a lot of trust and I wouldn't let him down.
Applebloom gave Big Mac a hug. “Ah won't let you down big brother! We will stick together. Ah promise!”
“So do we, sir,” Sweetie Belle reassured him.
I looked at each of their saddlebags and wondered what they had brought with them. “What have you got for trade? And what are you all after?” I tilted my head a little.
“I am trading in some of my Wonderbolt posters since I got some new, even cooler ones, thanks to Rainbow Dash.
Sweetie Belle showed me her stuff as we got to the entrance, heading down the path to the lower land of Rainbow Falls. “I’m trading in some of the dresses Rarity made for me when I was very little, and this blue gem I found when I went with Rarity on one of her jewel hunts.” Sweetie Belle showed me the two dresses. They did look very small for her to wear.
“And ah'm tradin' some of mah extra bows!” We stopped and looked at her. “What? Ah'm also tradin' in some of mah dolls too; ah don't really play with them anymore and ah thought somepony else might like 'em more.”
They started to walk over the bridge and I followed with Big Mac behind us also pulling a wagon of old farm equipment, my guess was that he might be trading them in for some newer stuff, if possible.
I looked at my own saddlebags. Apart from a couple sparkly zap apples I had brought for snacks they were empty. “I don't really have anything to trade; all I’ve got is my zap apples and a few bits.”
“You don't need to worry, Zaps. You only got most of your stuff recently, so you don't need to trade anything.” Applebloom placed her hoof on my back. “Look there, Twilight!” Applebloom pointed out the rather uncomfortable looking alicorn and we galloped over to her.
Twilight looked away from Pinkie Pie who was trying to bring in a crowd to trade for her books and saw us. “Hello, crusaders, I wasn't expecting you here today.”
“We came to trade!” Scootaloo exclaimed, flapping her wings rapidly and hovering about a foot off the ground before landing back on her hooves.
“I can see that.” Twilight laughed a little. “But you didn't come alone did you?”
I shook my head. “No Twilight, Big Mac brought us here, he told us to stick together and to be back at the entrance before sunset.” I looked over to Big Mac who had just entered and was walking by us all, pulling his wagon along. “He’s trading the old farm gear for something, not sure what though.”
Twilight glanced over at Pinkie Pie and back to us. “Well, I’d better leave you crusaders to get trading. I am sure you will find Applejack and the others somewhere out there. Have fun, ok?”
“We will!” Applebloom beamed.
“Yeah, we might even find our Cutie Marks!” Scootaloo added.
Sweetie Belle tapped her hoof on her snout. “I wonder what it would look like.”
“Don't know.” I shrugged and we left Twilight to look for the first trade.
We must have spent a whole our wandering around the field and still nothing seemed to catch any of their interest, or if they did find something they didn’t have nearly enough to trade for it. It was the complete opposite for me though. We came across so many crazy looking things and weird creatures; I couldn’t help but stare at each one.
“Urgh, I can't believe this!” Scootaloo sat down on a bench with us joining her. “We can't seem to trade for anything we want!
“Tell me about it. I was expecting my gem to go for one item at least. I didn't expect they wanted my stuff and Applebloom's for it.” Sweetie Belle groaned, putting her hooves under her snout and resting her elbows against her hind legs in defeat.
Applebloom just dropped her bag and screamed out. “Ah just don't believe it! What rip offs! Ah've never met more greedy ponies in all mah life, if you don't count Diamond!”
I held up my zap apple and admired it. “I don't really get this trade in deal, you bring all these items to try and trade, but nopony wants what you have to offer. It seems...” Something in the apple caught my eye, a brightly coloured reflection, like a shimmer of rainbow light. I glanced over it to see something on a stall that caught my eyes. “What... Is... That?” I said slowly.
I put my apple away and got off the bench, walking over to the stall. “Zaps, what is it?” Scootaloo asked, running up beside me.
“I don't know, something caught my eye and...” I froze when I saw it. It was a strange looking crystal cased box and on top of it was... “Scootaloo... Th-that cutie mark...”
Scootaloo looked on the top and sides of the crystal casing box and gasped. “No way! It can't be!”
“What is it Scoots?” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle asked us.
“You’re not going to believe it!” Scootaloo pointed to the lone box on the table.
Applebloom gasped and Sweetie Belle blinked a few times. “Is that Harmony Rose's cutie mark?”
“Ah think it is...”
“B-but how can that be?” I asked with utter confusion, staring at my mother's cutie mark on the top and sides of the box, it looked like it was locked too.
Sweetie Belle picked it up looking at the box on all sides. “I don't get it, this box is way lighter than it looks, and it feels very odd... It should be way heavier with all those crystals and all that gold all over it.”
I took it. It felt as if I had held this once before but I couldn't place when or where. I just felt familiar somehow. “I’ve never seen it before, or remember seeing it... Yet it feels like I have.”
“Hey, mister!” Scootaloo called out to the stall owner who had somepony assisting him.
He was an orange coloured unicorn with a dark brown mane and tail with pink strips through them. He wore a pink tie and had a cutie mark depicting the initials 'E' and 'S' with a pink splat behind them. Beside him was a light blue mare with a dark, blue, bushy mane that covered most of her body. Her cutie mark, if she had one at all, was hidden behind a thick layer of fluffy fur. Both had pink coloured eyes.
He smiled at us. “What can I do for you, little ones? Anything caught your interest for a trade?” The unicorn moved his hoof across the stall of all that was displayed.
Scootaloo didn't waste any time. “This one!” She exclaimed and pointed directly to the crystal like box.
“Urr, urr?” The blue one sounded almost like a... What was that word? The animal I heard before.
Sweetie Belle giggled. “She sounds like a sheep.”
“She’s a sheep pony; her name is Curly and my employee.” He replied.
Applebloom tilted her head. “Wow, that’s a new one, ah’ve got to tell Applejack about that.” Applebloom was about to leave but Scootaloo coughed into her hoof. “Oh right that box.” She rubbed her head, laughing a little.
“My name is Think Pink. My associate, Curly asked you what your interest in the box is. I am quite curious too; you’re the second lot to ask about it already.” Think Pink said, picking it up with his hoof.
I thought about it and decided to tell the truth. “It’s got my mother's cutie mark on it. I have very few memories of her but that’s one thing that I really remember clearly. I was hoping we could trade something for it.”
Think Pink looked me in the eyes. “That’s hard to believe kid. This box is almost one thousand years old. It was found in a dig not too long ago by a good friend of mine who then traded it with me. It’s just a shame that I can't work out how to open the blasted thing, and don't have any use for an old box that can't open.”
“Would you believe he’s also…?” Applebloom kicked Scootaloo in her foreleg with hers.
“Ow!”
“Urrr. Urr urr urr, urr?” Curly said to Think Pink.
He gave me another good look and back to Curly. “Seriously?” She nodded. “Fine...” He turned back to us. “Ok I’ll make a deal with you little ones. If you get me a gold lyre, I will trade it for this box. But if the pony returns with the original deal I put forwards to her, then I will have to accept the mare's deal first.”
Scootaloo smirked. “So this is kinda like a race?”
“Well if you want put it that way... Yes”
Applebloom grinned. “Ready crusaders?”
“I am!” I replied.
“Yes!” Sweetie Belle put her hoof up and with clapped our hooves together, we all turn and made a run for the stall we saw earlier that had a lyre on it. Sweetie Belle glanced over to me as we ran. “I wonder what Curly said.”
“Beats me, I’ve never met anypony like her before.” I answered.
“Yeah, weird right?” Scootaloo said as we ran, dodging ponies towards the stall where the lyre was. Of course the stall was right on the other side of the event. As we ran I thought I saw Applejack and Rarity sitting between the stalls talking to each other. They looked like they were having an argument about something.
“There's the stall, Crusaders.” Applebloom was the first to see it, a small stall covered in strange looking instruments. We came to a stop and looked around at all of them. “Do y'all see a gold lyre anywhere?”
Scootaloo scanned the stall until she spotted a small, wooden, stringed instrument. She walked over and picked it up. “Urgh look at this thing, is it a lyre?”
“Here look, there’s one with all sorts of fancy gems on it.” Sweetie Belle lifted it up.
In the centre of the display was a golden lyre in a case. It was heavily decorated with large wings protruding from the top and rested on feet in the shape of paws.
Applebloom took a look at it. “Ah'll be, it’s a griffon lyre.”
“Griffon?” I look to Applebloom as the others gathered around.
“Yeah that a griffon alright.” Scootaloo replied.
“What a griffon?”
“Oh, it's so pretty! The griffons must have made it!” Sweetie Belle said and I was getting rather angry now.
I stomped my hoof and yelled out. “What is a griffon!?”
“Huh?” Scootaloo looked at me and slapped her hoof on her head. “Oh right... Well, a griffon is...”
“Me.” We all turn and saw a tall female griffon standing at the stall. “So dweebs, what can I do for you?”
I tilted my head looking at her. “What does 'dweebs' mean?”
“You have got to be kidding me, right? You don't know what that means? Have you been living in a cave or something? How about you foals get lost and leave me to run my stall!” She snapped at us. I just looked at her confused.
“I’m sorry Miss. I’ve really never heard or seen something like you before.” I walked around the stall to get a good look at her.
“Zaps, that’s not a good idea...” Scootaloo tried to warn me.
I looked at her fully and was amazed. She look like a bird and lion put together. “Whoa...”
“Pretty awesome, right?” She smirked and I saw teeth in her beak.
I nodded once. “Yeah, do all griffons look like you?”
“Pretty much, not that I’ve met too many griffons round here.” She shrugged like it was nothing new to her. “I’ve got a dweeby cousin who lives here, Silver Bill I think... Or was it Quill? Anyway, since you kids think I am awesome. I will listen to what you want to get your little hooves on.”
I looked at the gold one. “I was wondering if we could trade our stuff for that golden lyre in the display.”
She looked at each of the items that the girls pulled out. “Nah not a chance, this isn't even what I want for it.”
We all sighed heavily. “Well that plan’s bust...”
“Yeah...” Sweetie Belle replied after Scootaloo.
“What are we gonna to do?”
I wasn't sure what to do it either. “How are we supposed to get the box from Think Pink?”
“If you dweeby ponies let me finish I could tell you what I want.” We all looked at the griffon.
“Right, now I got your attention. I want three things.” She held her talon up and raised three of the sharp claws. I’d never seen this done before and curiously inspected them.
She curled one in and spoke. “I want a crystal cup from that crystal pony. I want one of those funky looking lamps off that stall over there.” We all looked to where she pointed and we saw the stall filled with strange looking lamps of some creature made out of different animal parts. “And finally, I want a brooch.”
“A brooch?”
“A crystal cup from a Crystal Pony?”
“A Discord statue?”
“You got a problem with that?” She sneered at the girls.
I quickly got in front of them. “No, we’re just asking why you want them. That’s all...”
“Oh, if you put it that way...” She quickly looked around then leaned forwards, lowering herself down to us and whispered, “my family back home has been after them for a while and I was the only one willing to come to this lame 'Trader's Exchange' Fair...”
“Oh....” They replied.
Scootaloo saluted. “No problem ma'am, we’ll get your items for you before you can say 'Rainbow Dash'!”
We all saw her eye twitch. “Did you just say Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah, she's like a sister to me! She's helping me to learn to fly!” Scootaloo replied with a big smile.
The griffon rolled her eyes. “If you see her, tell her to drop by ok? Just tell her Gilda is here and wants to erm...” She began ruffling her talon through her feathers with a nervous look on her face. “Apologise...”
“For what?” Scootaloo tilted her head.
“It’s nothing that concerns you, ok kid?” She snapped.
“Ok, ok chill! I will pass it on if I see her ok!” Scootaloo waved her hooves in defence. “Come on crusaders; let's get those items so we can get Zaps’s box for him!”
“YAY!” We all yelled and ran off to the first stall.
“Hey kid!” I turned to her quickly. “Cool meeting you, ok?”
“Erm... Thanks Gilda!” I replied and caught up with the others, wondering what 'lame' and 'dweeb' meant as well. These words she used were strange indeed.
We arrived at the stall, looking at the strangely shaped lamps. “Does she know Rainbow Dash?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “I don't really know but we need the lyre, so I’d just go with what she says and get the items.”
“Ah think those lamps are kinda creepy.” Applebloom said, looking at each of them.
“Yeah and horrible looking...” Sweetie Belle whispered.
Scootaloo stepped up to the brown pegasus pony behind the stall. She was about to speak when I noticed the strange contraption holding up his back legs. “Excuse me mister...”
“Yes, Child?” He turned to me.
“Sorry...” The way he said it made me feel guilty to what I was about to ask and step back.
“Sorry child, I just had a bit of a stressful day so far. Some pony with rainbow mane wanted to sell her horse shoe for one of my lamps...” The stallion said to me. “What can I do for you?”
“I was curious about that thing you’ve got on. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Somewhat surprised, he turned his head to it and back to me. “Oh, that helps me to get around. My hind legs don't work as they should do, without this I wouldn't be able to do half the things any normal pony does.” He chuckled lightly. “Well, apart from flying. Thankfully it’s light enough that I can still do that.”
“Wow.” I was really amazed by this. “It’s really amazing!”
“Hehe, thanks child. So what can I do for you youngsters?” He smiled warmly to us.
Sweetie Belle stepped up to him. “You see mister; we’re after three items, a Discord lamp, a brooch and a crystal cup from a crystal pony. Then we can get a lyre from Gilda, the griffon running the stall and get the crystal box we found that has Zaps's mother’s Cutie Mark on it.”
“Ah’ve kind of been his brother for a short time and, bein' his brother, ah really want to help him find his real family. That box might hold the key to that. But somepony else is after it too so we’re in a real hurry!” Applebloom said quickly to him. “Please can we trade somethin' we’ve got for one, please?”
He looked at them and to me. “Is this true?” I nodded. “Well I don't normally do this, but for you kids I will see what I can do. Let me have a look at all of your stuff and we will see what arrangement we can come with.”
We placed all the objects out of the bags including my zap apples before him. “This is all the stuff we...” Scootaloo looked to my zap apples. “You’re trading those? I thought they were your snacks.”
I looked at my two zap apples. “Yeah but if I can trade them for something I think it will be worth it.” I replied.
“But no pony will trade food for items, especially zap apples that no pony can eat.” Scootaloo said back to me. She had a point. Something that would last longer than a snack was worth more then my sparkling zap apples.
“Hold on.” We looked at me him as he came over to us, looking at the zap apples. “Why are they sparkling like that? It’s almost as if lightning has struck them and they’re still electrified.” He touched one and held it up. “I’ve seen zap apples before, a few years ago, but nothing like this.”
“Oh that comes from the supersized zap apple tree that Zaps and I helped to create at Sweet Apple Acres.” Scootaloo replied, waving her hoof. “It’s not a big deal since we got nothing for it.”
“Nothing?”
“Our cutie marks.” I replied and he looked at our blank flanks, we sighed heavily.
“I’ll make a deal with you, one zap apple and all your comics for one lamp.”
“Really?” We all said at once, causing him to step back with surprise.
He smiled. “Sure. I think it’s a fair trade, just keep it between us, ok?” He winked.
“You got it mister!” Scootaloo put her hoof out and his placed his on hers. With a shake, the deal was complete.
We gave our items to him, leaving me with one zap apple that I happily munched down, to the surprise of the Pegasus behind the stall. “Now that’s something I don't normally see. How did you manage that, child?”
I licked my snout. “I like them a lot!” I beamed. “What are you going to do with yours, sir?”
“Oh mine?” He looked at the zap apple he had received. “I was thinking about giving this to a cousin of mine that lives on his own on the edge of the Everfree Forest. As for the comics, I'm a kid in heart and this is a series I haven't seen in ages. I’d like to see what new things they’ve come up for the children of today.” He laughed, putting them away. “As promised, one lamp,” he said as he handed it to me.
I stood on my hind legs, holding it with my forelegs and trying to keep my balance. “Girls this thing is big.”
“Yeah, we really didn't think of that did we?”
Triskaide
I watched them from the cover of the stall, seeing him again... “You escaped me once little one, but I will recapture you when the time is right. For now I have to try and trade for that box before you do. I can't allow them to get their hooves on that box, who knows what Harmony Rose has put into it and why it was smuggled out with all the other stuff when those princesses escaped me over a thousand years ago.”
I turned, carrying one of the items I had just exchanged and rolling my eyes as I headed off to the next stall to continue this circus act of a Trader's Exchange fair. I just had to play as the pony and keep my guard up. “I can't allow those elements to know I am using this vessel to put forwards my master plan. It’s too soon.” I whispered to myself and continued on my way, passing a crowd of ponies that were gathering by Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle.
Looking directly at her for a second with no response, for that moment my plans were still on track. “Now where did that stupid stall go...? I’ve got to trade this horrible rusty pan for the next stupid item on my list... Only nineteen more trades to do...” I grumbled. “Can this day get any worse as it already has?”
“My dear, you’ve got a fine pan there. Could I consider a trade with you?” I turned and came face to face with Rarity.
One thought came to mind. “It just did...”