Baldwin set up shop in market place like he normally did each day. His stall “Crisp Hoof Apples” was near the center of town with an entire cart full of apples ready to be sold. There were a few pies out resting on his stand as he had baked them with some of his older apples as everypony would rather have a fresh apple plucked off the tree than one that hadn’t been bought a few days ago.
The addition of the pies was an attempt in trying to expand Baldwin's selection of items. Apple cider didn’t really sell unless it was getting closer to winter. Some of his old apple family recipes he hadn’t finished testing as they sat in his fridge and of course there was the fact he couldn’t help but feel nervous as he train kept coming closer and closer each day. It seemed a little bit silly trying to find new apple products to make but Baldwin was worried that if he stayed selling plain apples then he wouldn't be able to make ends meet especially when the train made it way to his town.
Would this town grow and prosper as new ponies came to their village? Would these ponies find only have one or two brands of apple rather dull? Would some other pony start buying apples in bulk and then selling them here or possibly making new apple based products? Would they see him as competition or would they buy out his farm and replace it with lemons because it was easy to make lemonade or some other lemon based product.
If he showed his apple pies were good than maybe his farm might still be here if somepony came and took notice of it... of course there was no telling if that would actually happen. For all he knew the exact opposite might happen! Maybe the small town would simply dry up and be replaced by a refueling station or turned into a rest stop as the town would try to sell small trinkets and tear down his farm so they could put up taverns for the ponies to sleep in before they continued on their journey.
Baldwin suppressed the shiver as he missed the old trains that never came by. At least they were simple as all they ever did was just carry loud rich ponies who would insult you and then give you a lot of bits. Sure they were annoying, but you eventually learned to deal with them and hopefully make a small profit or that's what other ponies told him since this town wasn't "quaint enough" for the nobles to build a train leading to their small town. The new trains didn't care if their village was "quaint" or not as new train tracks were being placed each day brining the train closer and closer to him home.
The trains themselves didn't bother Baldwin that much... but he just hated not knowing what would happen when the dreaded locomotion finally arrived. He looked around the small market place as each pony had set up their own stall trying to sell their goods. Some of them were local farmers like Baldwin, but a few of them were trying their hooves at making knickknacks for when the train finally arrived.
Baldwin had managed to sell a few apples until Betamax opened her stall up again. The unicorns rose red coat was well kept as she wore a white dress with a pink bow tied around her waist. She smiled as her chestnut hair drifted down to her shoulders as she dressed as a "modern mare" or that's what she told most of the town. Every since the town had been told the train would come to their town a few ponies came to their town just to sell them some random junk and Betamax... she was the best.
Betamax shouted at the top of her lungs “I tell you people that Crystal-Tology is the way to go! Say good bye to those back breaking days and into the era of Crystal wonder! Ponies called others crazy when they spoke about record players, but now you can’t imagine your life without them! So be the first to be mad to take a step towards a brighter future!”
Her stall in the market place had these strange blocks that looked like record players, except they didn’t have any needles or records as they just kept a small gem inside it. Baldwin didn't what was so special about them or the other "Crystal Wonders" of the "new modern era" Betamax always seemed to have.
Still the crowd was caught in awe as the arcane device reproduced a short message Betamax had spoken aloud into the arcane device. Baldwin didn’t see what was so special about the machine as a record player could do the same thing and it was much cheaper than the odd machine which Betamax was the only pony to sell “recording gems” at ridicules prices.
Still the crowd quickly produced their hard earned bits buying the odd machines as Baldwin couldn’t help but sigh. Everypony seemed in town was caught up in the strange fever called “modernization” as each pony wanted to be a “modern pony” and welcome the train when it arrived.
See the bits practically being tossed at the unicorn’s hooves made Baldwin look at his own cutie mark as he couldn’t help but frown at it. When he was a foal it was the best thing that ever happened to him as he wouldn’t even trade it for a sun cutiemark similar to Princess Celestia’s own cutiemark. No he would help make Crisp Hoof into the greatest town in all of Equestria as he worked on what he believed to have been the largest apple ochre there ever was.
It was funny how the farm seemed so big back then. Right now his farm was too small to compete with the large cargo shipments of the trian, but too big for one pony to work by himself. His farm didn’t make enough bits to hire ponies to help him out and most of his family already left as he highly doubted any of them would ever come back.
As the ponies left Betamax’s stand as they talked in awe about their new devices… Baldwin couldn’t help but wonder if his old farm still had a place in this town. With his head held in shame he closed up his stand as he put away his apples. All he had to do was surive the winter… then come spring his apple trees would be in full bloom and ponies would need to restock their supplies.
All he had to do was make it to spring as he would hopefully earn enough bits to pay off the debt on his farm.
******
Baldwin walked back to his house as his bit bag was for too light for his liking. As he walked past the apple trees in his farm a part of him couldn’t help but wonder if he should simply chop them down… not all of the apple trees. If he simply chopped down the extra trees and sold it as fire wood during the winter than maybe he could last till spring.
When his house came up into view all thoughts about his apple trees came to a stop. To his irritation the crazy griffin called Verrat was sitting outside of his house on the porch as she watched him like a hawk.
He frowned at his unwanted house guest and said “I told you to stay off your foot.”
Verrat rolled her eyes and dug into her saddle bag “How much do those apples cost?”
Baldwin frowned “Look you…”
She glared at him as she pointed as his cart full of apples and said “I don’t take charity. How much do those apples cost?”
Baldwin marched closer to the griffin and tried to stare her down “You’re a temporary guest, but a guest none the less! You don’t have to pay to have some apples!”
Her body puffed out like if she was a feral cat as she tried to stand up “And I don’t need your pity. How much?”
Baldwin knew he should just let her pay for the apples. He needed the bits and she had enough to pay the apples and the cart with it… yet his pride as a stallion wouldn’t let him do it. Sure he needed the money, but he didn’t need her to pity him either!
“Just tell me how many you want and I’ll give them to you.” Baldwin firmly stated.
Verrat tried to stare him down as she firmly replied “And I have enough bits to pay for them!”
He knew that her pride wouldn’t allow her to accept charity for some stubborn reason, but he wasn’t about force an injured house guest to pay for their food simply because he was running short on a few bits! As they continued to glare at each other for the next couple of minutes he finally agreed on a compromise… he would sell them at discount.
******
After spending an hour arguing with each other before finally coming down to a price. Verrat bought all of the apples in his cart when it was obvious she wouldn’t be able to eat them all or even carry them with her when she left. So Baldwin gave her some free apple cider he had stored in the basement when she offered to share her apples with him since he didn’t have enough time to fix himself something to eat earlier.
Most people would have ended it right there, yet Verrat wouldn’t let it end with him giving him free apple cider so she bought all the apple pies he had as three of them went into the ice box as the fourth one was placed into the over to warm it up… which naturally she offered to share.
Refusing to be in her debt Baldwin gathered together the sandwich bread and made a small entrée for “both of them” to snack on. The two then continued going round and round as Verrat would buy something else and Baldwin would add something free.
They continued doing this until somewhere along the line the old family reunion table was pulled out as a veritable feast had been laid out for the two of them. The large bag of bits on the table would easily cover the cost of this meal and with a week’s worth of hard earned bits now belonged to him as she still had plenty of bits left to her name.
Still despite the tantalizing scent of the meal before them they simply sat at opposite ends of the table just daring the other person to eat first. The only item that had yet to be placed down on the table was the pie as it’s heavenly scent drifted from the house trying to broker peace between the stubborn stallion and griffin,
When the ding of the oven rang out in the air letting them know the pie was ready they both smiled as they stopped being openly aggressive and went to being passive aggressive.
Baldwin smiled as he pretended to be the bigger stallion as he said “Your pie is ready. ”
Verrat’s stomach grumbled as she smiled back “We should let it cool... Besides aren’t you hunger after your long day of work?”
Baldwin licked his lip trying as he tried to ignore the feast before him as he replied “I had plenty of time to snack on something while I was working at the marketplace. Still I bet you could use a nice sip of the apple cider right now.”
Verrat’s talons danced around her apple cider mug as he could tell she was thirsty only to hear her reply “I already drank some water before you got here.”
Baldwin carefully placed the pie down onto the table as he waited for Verrat to be the first one to show a hint of weakness. This wasn’t just a meal… it had become something more than a simple meal or argument between the two of them stared as each other. Maybe it was because Verrat refused to be seen as helpless due to her injuries or Baldwin's need to feel some sort of... win after barely making any bits as Betamax made off like a bandit.
Sadly the contest of wills ended when both stomachs growled loud enough break the mood as they wanted to voice their opinions on the subject.
Baldwin blushed in slight embarrassment as he hoped she didn’t notice, but to both his joy and sorrow… she had spotted his reaction… and also looked a little bit embarrassed as her stomach growled like a savage Timber Wolf only to be matched by his own.
The smell of the food finally hit them as they couldn’t help but chuckle at how silly their competition about waiting to see who would eat first.
So like any sane and ration being… they simply stopped waiting to see who would eat first… but who would get the last bite as they descended upon the bountiful feast before them.
******
Baldwin laid back in his chair as he patted his stomach. A part of him regretted trying to eat so much, but it had been a while since he had been allowed to eat until he actually felt full… or stuffed in this case. Still he couldn’t help but smile as he licked the crumbs of the last slice of pie off his lips.
Verrat had been a worthy opponent for sure, but she was no match for the apple family. She had an appetite that nearly matched his own… but she couldn’t handle the good old family hard apple cider like he could which gave him the win. Now the griffin was lying on her side as it seemed like she would doze off at any moment.
Baldwin took a look at the large bag of bits used to pay for the meal Baldwin felt a little bit disappointed. While he was happy to have earned those bits… he couldn’t help but remember how he barely made any sales earlier that day and just how everypony else seemed to be making bits while he simply struggled to meet ends meet.
Hopefully it would be able to cover him till winter… but it was rather annoying having to rely on another pony or griffin’s charity. Still the Griffin had more than enough bits left over in her saddle bags. In fact he could tell that she had enough bits to pay off his dept and purchase his entire farm for herself. It was frustrating to see the money as it only reminded him of his money problems.
Baldwin sighed “You must be lucky to have landed a job as a mercenary.”
He immediately regretted saying the idiotic statement out loud and prepared to apologize only for her to reply “If I was lucky I would have been a Earth Pony.”
And the apology died in his throat “What? You… you can’t be serious!”
The Verrat stared at him in confusion “Why not? You’re the luckiest of the group.”
“How is not having the ability to cast magic spells or fly about in the sky lucky?” Baldwin nearly shouted in disbelief.
“and being a griffin is so much better.” She replied dripping with sarcasm “What traits does being an overgrown chicken have to offer besides getting into fights and doing someone else’s dirty work!”
Baldwin felt like pulling his mane out as he shouted “Look at the money you make!”
“Yes each and every penny I have to pinch in order to make sure I don’t go broke.” She bitterly replied “Can’t stop fighting because fixing weapons and armor costs money. Can’t buy a place to rest and have to keep renting rooms for each trip I take.”
Baldwin shook his head “Then why don’t you buy a place and settle down?’
“and do what?” she shouted out loud “I was a mechanic back home. I helped take apart vehicles and put them back together. Now I’m stuck in a place where the most advanced mode of transportation is flapping your stupid wings! I don’t even know anything about trains to try to get a job there and most of that probably uses magic which I don’t know about!”
Two things raced through Baldwin’s head at that moment. The first thing was that Verrat wasn’t doing as well as he thought she was doing… or emotionally at least. The second was that… he probably shouldn’t have given her some of the hard cider as he was pretty sure she was a little bit drunk... and now she was crying.
Baldwin got up and walked over to her as he tried to comfort her as the foreign griffin blew her nose into his coat… it felt awful, but his mother’s hard drilled lessons were still deep in effect as he continued hugging the griffin and tried to ignore the mess on his fur that made him want take a quick shower.
“And what makes being an Earth Pony so great?” Baldwin replied before his brain caught up to what his mouth had just spoken.
She looked up at him with large blood stained eyes as tears ran down her face as she sniffed “Really? You’re Earth Ponies!”
Baldwin shrugged as he had to admit that curiosity had gotten the better of him now “So? What’s so great about growing plants?’
If he was a unicorn he would be casting great feats of magic. If he was a Pegasus he would be kicking clouds and soaring across the sky like a wonder bolt. Instead he was a boring old mud pony forced to kick trees and try to keep a dying farm alive until the farm was taken away from him… or when he buried next to his favorite apple tree... if they left any of the apples trees after he died. After all he was the last pony left on the farm as the rest of his relatives had already abandoned this place.
Verrat just sort of smiled as she shook her head “You can do magic.”
Baldwin chuckled as this crazy griffin was drunk off her rocker “No that’s unicorns you’re thinking about… besides you can fly!”
Verrat grumbled “I couldn’t fly back home… miss my car… miss my life… I can’t do anything but fight…”
Baldwin stared at the griffin as she started to ramble on. She didn’t fly back home… she didn’t fly… How could a race gifted with fly not fly! That was like seeing a unicorn who didn’t cast magic or a Pegasus that didn’t take to the sky!
“Why can’t you be a mechanic here?” Baldwin asked as he was starting to feel guilty.
Verrat grumbled “No one needs help fixing a cart. No one makes parts for car. Everything else is just magicked together. Who needs fingers when you got magic?”
Verrat started to sniff again as Baldwin quickly grabbed the edge of the table cloth and moved it to her as she blew her nose on the table cloth instead of his coat this time.
She sniffed “Even you can grab a cloth without fingers because of magic.”
Baldwin took a deep breath and tried to calm her down “I’d still rather be a unicorn than a boring old earth pony.” And then he just realized that he should have cut back on the hard cider as his mouth was moving faster than his brain. Yes it was the hard apple cider that was making him act like an idiot.
Verrat only chuckled as she replied “You mean stuck studying books all day just to light a candle?” she blew a sloppy raspberry “You’re like… the most magical one of them all!”
Baldwin felt his face burn a little as he coughed “How exactly?”
Verrat smiled “You got magic, magic! You take what you like doing and make it better! Unicorn make a sword… it’s fancy, but it doesn’t last. Earth Pony make a sword… it lasts forever! It’s why all the great stuff is made by Earth Ponies! Boring apples don’t just grow fast… they taste fantastic because earth ponies put their magic in them because they love their job… you’re taste like grandpa’s apples… Their good… but a little… sad…”
Verrat now had her mouth hanging open as she started to drool. She was now fast asleep and hugging him as if he was a large stuffed animal that would make her nightmares go away. Baldwin did his best to slowly move out of her grasp… and then walked back into his house before dragging out a large blanket to cover her up. She smiled as she cuddled up in the blanket and then started snoring up a storm that oddly touched his heart.
Maybe it was that he finally felt like he was making a difference or the simple pleasure in helping another pony… or griffin in this case out. Still he couldn’t help but chuckle as she really did think Earth Ponies were the best one of them all.
He most certainly did not let that comment go to his head as he certainly didn’t skip to the shower he had hooked up outside. Oh and he certainly didn’t forget warm it up before he took a shower as the icy cold water snapped him back to reality.
He just wanted to really quickly clean himself up and hopefully sober himself up too. Celestia as his witness that was the story he would tell to anypony who asked... now he just had to figure out how to bring the griffin into his house before it got dark outside.