Just a store

Poniville is weird. I've been leaving in here practically my whole life but this fact was never clear until I saw it from a different angle, an angle I gain while working in this little shop next to nothing aside trees and not well maintain pavement road. But who knows? Maybe it's all in my head. The doctors had told me that things like this are to be expected, hallucinations and stuff like that. But again, they say that me standing here is, as they like to say, a medical impossibility. But enough of me, back to why are you here.

I first heard of this amazing job opportunity when it hit my head. Literally, a wind had dragged a sheet advertising the store which I have never heard of before looking for a cashier right as I was leaving the bank. The poster was like a message from God himself. I have just dropped high school and I was looking for a thing to do for the rest of my life.

from this, it has been five years... or was it seven?...

From this, it's been nine years and I'm already well known around here. I doubt the manager will let me leave even if I wanted to. Not that I want to, I been here long enough to be replaced and I am sure I couldn't adapt to any other job.

You will be surprised by the number of habitual costumers that comes and go in this little off-brand store. I say off-brand but I don't really know its name and I been here working long enough to be embarrassed to ask the manager for it.

The building itself is really old and that includes the paint both in and outside. Time and exposure to the weather have partially erased the paint making the storefront where a name is usually located ineligible but strangnly enough the lights that illuminated said name is perfectly fine. But if I have to guess, I am almost sure that the store had a Russian name. I definitely notice some characters that don't belong in the English alphabet.

And it is even worst when people keep writing in the walls of the store Get Out You are in Danger in both inside and outside of the building with animal blood, or at least I hope, and I have to clean it myself using very strong chemicals that deteriorated the paint even more. Whoever is responsible for this, I HATE YOU, It always happens when you least expected. One time, it even happens when the lights where flickering, it is an old building after all. I often wonder how those pranksters even did that.

The Russian name could explain the products sold here. Instant Ramen, food cans, bubblegum, and more items exported from countries I never heard of. Drinks way too sugary for human consumption, chips, cookies, and Jerky of crazy flavors and all with its expiration date suspiciously missing. Seriously, what does "lobster soul flavor jerky" taste like?

The store itself is located near the main road in the limits of the corny town of Ponyville, never being a fan of that name. It is next to anything in a 20 km radius. Less competition I guess. Right behind the shop, there is the Everfree forest. Maybe this is the reason why there aren't any other buildings around it now that I think about it. Every local is very aware that you shouldn't ever go near it but every so often newcomers just passing by the town arrive asking about it.

"Uhmm excuse me, young lady?" An old woman with his husband asked me as I registered her chicken flavor sodas for just 1.99$. I grunt at the hearing of young lady trying my best in not be noticed by the securities cameras, the manager hates when a client is not treated properly, before forcing a smile on her.

"Yeas mam? What can I do for you?"

"The forest outside? is there a sort of festival or something? I can see green lights and kids laughing coming from that forest." she asked with her trembling voice watching somehow nervous as his husband adjust his glasses looking outside from the window store..

"Uhm? Oh, that. Don't worry too much about it. Just don't go near it and you will be fine, no matter what the voices tell you or what they promise to give you. Believe me, their chocolate fudge isn't worth the trouble." the old couple stares at each other before looking confused back at me. in the end, they took their sodas to go back at there car park in the front and as they were about to leave the man tossed me an old cherry hard candy before smiling and waving at me.

They were a nice couple I must admit. Is good to see an old couple enjoying there golden years traveling around the country and judging by the fact they keep candy in their pockets, they probably have a few grandsons or granddaughter. It is kind of sad that up to this point the police haven't found any trace of them besides that pinky toe. That was the worst first week on a job ever.

Since that day I stop putting too much attention to the customers, especially the new ones. I found to be easier that way. Most of the times I don't even know if what I am watching is real or not. For example, there is this Zebra. Judging by how it sounds when she speaks in rhymes, it is a she.

She always arrives unexpectedly at night to buy some bags of tea among other several things. Always paying with some weird currency that seem to be made up of gold. The manager never complains about it, Money is money, as he likes to say. I am never able to see where the Zebra comes from or where she go after leaving. She seems to get along with Pinkie though, Maybe one day I will ask her.

Oh right right, Pinkie. I almost forget about her. She is the other employee that worked with me right now. She is the one who has last longer. New employees always come and go but her three months and still counting set up the record of the longest one, besides me that is. Pinkie is... well. She is an energetic teenager who probably should stop drinking the sugary coctail that are our slurppies. She is still in High School so she can't be all the time working on the store like me but in the few times I see her throughout the week she seems less affected by the weirdness of this place. Maybe because she is weird herself. Or maybe I am the weird one here. So far she is the only one able to drive away the Shakespear quoting Duck that stands up just next to the window every so often.

And the duck... gosh. There still so many things I want to tell you. I still haven't told you about the weird animals with human features rooming around the forest or about the cowboy that appear in the bathroom but only when you go aloner... on thursdays. About Fruit Loops and that strange cult or even about that time we discover the corpse of a man wrap in plastic. Believe me, it is funnier than it sounds.

But right now I have work to do. I still need to clean blood from the walls... again... for the third time this week. One day I will capture those dam pranksters.

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