The Reapers Legacy

by Maximumoversaiyan96

Chapter 3: Searching For A Job

Chapter Three: Searching For A Job

When Shepard woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. It must be at least noon, already. She went downstairs and met Twilight in throne room, in which was now standing a big, round table and six chairs. They must have been put away for the party last night.

Twilight sat in the biggest chair, appreciatively sipping her tea at a slow pace and reading a book. She looked up when Shepard entered. ‘’Oh, hello Shepard. How did you sleep?’’ Twilight inquired with a friendly smile on her face.

‘’Quite good actually.’’ Shepard replied well rested. Despite sleeping on the floor her body didn’t hurt.

‘’That’s good. The carpenter should be here in about two hours,’’ Twilight informed her.

Shepard took a snack from a plate which was placed beside Twilight. ‘’It is strange for me to have people doing so much for me. I feel uncomfortable not be able to pay them back,’’ Shepard confessed. She needed something to do, and to pay them back somehow.

Twilight nodded. ‘’I understand that feeling. Maybe you can earn some bits as long you are here,’’ Twilight suggested.

‘’Bits?’’ Shepard repeated the word, ignorant of what bits were.

‘’Ah, that’s our currency,’’ Twilight explained. She showed Shepard some golden coins. Shepard guessed Human currency must have looked similar in the Middle Ages.

‘’It is a good idea. But I only know how to destroy and blow things up,’’ Shepard admitted. Of course, she obtained her high-school diploma, but she joined the Alliance with eighteen years. She didn’t get an actual education besides her military training.

Twilight smiled kindly. ‘’We certainly don’t have any use for that, but it never hurts to try something different for a change,’’ Twilight said. ‘’Last I heard, Pinkie Pie could use an assistant in the bakery. Maybe you should go talk to her,’’ Twilight suggested.

‘’Okay, can you tell me the directions?’’ Shepard asked her.

‘’Of course,’’ Twilight answered. She quickly explained Shepard the way to Sugarcube Corner. After a short walk Shepard arrived at the bakery.

When she entered she had to watch out not to step on a baby Pony crawling towards her. Close behind the baby followed a blue mare worriedly talking to the infant. ‘’Pound Cake, you get back here this instant! It is bath time!’’ Shepard caught the little filly and handed him over to the mare.

‘’Here you go!’’ Shepard said with a smile on her face. The mare was at first taken back by Shepard intimidating height and her strange appearance, but the smile on Shepard’s face calmed her down. She thanked Shepard and took her baby from her.

‘’If you are looking for Pinkie Pie, she is in the bakery, the first door on the left,’’ The mare said and carried her baby back out of the room. She was somewhat used to the strange guests, who came to visit Pinkie Pie.

Shepard entered the bakery. The bakery didn’t look much different to a Human one. She could see all the necessary ingredients to bake something, backing powder, eggs, dough, sugar. She saw Pinkie Pie bouncing around in the kitchen preparing three dishes at once. When she noticed the Human, Pinkie Pie exclaimed. ‘’Ah, Shepard!’’ And jumped towards her.

She stopped abruptly in front of Shepard and said. ‘’Nice to see you. Did you like your welcome party? I liked the party. I didn’t really know what you like in your party, so I just did what I would have liked. Next time tell me what you like, then I will do that. What do you like?’’ Pinkie babbled.

‘’The party was good. I rather came here to apply for a job,’’ Shepard told Pinkie Pie.

‘’Commander Shepard baking cake. I definitely will make pictures,’’ Edi promised. Shepard frowned a little but ignored Edi’s comment.

Pinkie Pie’s face light up. ‘’You want to help me bake cakes? Best day ever!’’ She took out a huge cannon and fired it. Confetti engulfed Shepard momentarily. Shepard at little surprised, but not bothered shook the confetti off of her.

‘’You probably haven’t met my party cannon, yet,’’ Pinkie Pie said petting the canon affectionally. ‘’Party cannon, this is Commander Shepard. Shepard, this is Party Cannon,’’ Pinkie Pie introduced them.

Shepard started to believe that this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Pinkie Pie may be a lot of fun, but would she be able to handle the responsibilities of being an employer? ‘’Uhm, about the job. I feel useless doing nothing all day long and I wanted to earn some bits, so I don’t have to rely on you guys all the-‘’ Shepard couldn’t finish before Pinkie Pie in one swift movement slipped an apron and a chef’s cap over her.

‘’Commander Shepard in an apron. Priceless!’’ Edi commented and took another picture. Shepard blushed a little but tried to concentrate on the matter at hand. Pinkie Pie now explained her how to work in the bakery. Five minutes later, the bakery was a battlefield. Everywhere were dough part, even at the ceiling, some muffins were burning, and the oven smoked at an alarming rate.

‘’How did you even -cough- do that?’’ Pinkie Pie asked stunned. She looked around in panic.

‘’I -cough- don’t know. I just took the recipe and then one thing lead to the other -cough-,’’ Shepard replied not really sure what exactly happened.

‘’Evacuate the kitchen immediately!’’ Pinkie Pie ordered. They retreated back into the voyeur. Pinkie Pie then grabbed a fire extinguisher and stormed back into the kitchen. Moments later everything was under control.

‘’I am so sorry,’’ Shepard apologized embarrassed. She hadn’t expected to it go so wrong.

‘’Don’t worry about it! You will learn it in time. Although I have never seen anypony screwing up so bad like this,’’ Pinkie Pie said shaking her head still in a good mood.

Shepard’s blush deepened. Edi quietly took another picture. Edi had a field day. Like everybody else, she knew only Shepard as the badass soldier and exceptional leader. This side of Shepard she had never seen. And Edi intended to explore it to great extent. After they cleaned up the kitchen, Pinkie Pie taught Shepard step by step. Shepard had to admit, despite her hyperactivity Pinkie was a good teacher. And at the end of the day Shepard even managed to back a half-burned chocolate cake.

Yet, Pinkie Pie’s conclusion was. ‘’Normally, I would say don’t give up, but maybe you should search for another occupation. Baking is just not your thing,’’ Pinkie Pie replied.

Shepard agreed with her. She didn’t like baking. Pinkie Pie paid Shepard twenty-five bits for her work and sent Shepard her way back to Twilight. Back at the castle Twilight asked Shepard about her day.

‘’How was your first day at Sugar Cube Corner?’’ Twilight wanted to know.

‘’It turned out backing and I are mortal enemies,’’ Shepard replied.

‘’It wasn’t pretty. The kitchen was on fire in less than five minutes,’’ Edi added salt to the wound.

‘’Oh, but you still earned some money, right?’’ Twilight tried to avert the topic away from baking.

‘’Yes, twenty-five bits,’’ Shepard said and showed Twilight the bag.

‘’Impressive, since baking didn’t work so well maybe you can help Rarity out. She is always in a hurry to finish her assignment,’’ Twilight suggested.

Shepard doubted that she would be a big help but said. ‘’I will see what I can do.’’ She went towards her room.

‘’The bed was delivered. I hope it is big enough,’’ Twilight called after Shepard. On her way to her room she met Starlight Glimmer. The unicorn jumped back when she spotted Shepard.

‘’What? What are you? Who are you?’’ She asked startled, her horn glowing in a greenish light. Shepard put her hands up in a calming manner.

‘’Easy, I am Shepard. I am staying here,’’ She said to the startled Pony.

‘’Yes, Twilight told me about you. Sorry, I was just a little overwhelmed,” Starlight said, and her horn turned off. ‘’So, that’s what Humans look like. Very interesting.,’’ She said as she circled around Shepard.

‘’I am little tired from my work and should go to my room to see the bed,’’ Shepard said not really in the mood for a conversation and continued her way.

‘’Of course, I still have something to do,’’ Starlight said and went into the opposite direction.

In her room Shepard looked at the enormous bed. The carpenter really didn’t spare any expense. The bed was huge, at least king-sized. Shepard took off her dress and let herself fall onto the bed. ‘’This bed is really comfy,’’ She commented and went to sleep.

The next morning Shepard planned to work for Rarity. She remembered the way to her fashion shop. She knocked on the door and Sweetie Bell opened. The little filly’s eyes became even bigger when she spotted Shepard.

‘’Is Rarity home?’’ Shepard asked. Sweetie Bell didn’t answer and just stared at Shepard in awe. They stood there for a few moments, before Shepard could hear Rarity calling.

‘’Sweetie Bell, who is it?’’ When Sweetie Bell didn’t answer Rarity came to investigate. ‘’Oh, Shepard, my dear, what are you doing here?’’ Rarity asked surprised to see Shepard. She pushed Sweetie Bell aside, who still haven’t recovered from her stupor, so that Shepard could enter.

‘’I am looking for a job to earn some money for the time being,’’ Shepard explained her the situation. ‘’And Twilight said you are always looking for help.’’

‘’That is so sweet of you to come help me.’’ Rarity said delighted. ‘’What experiences do you have in the fashion business? Do you know what a double-chosse knot is?’’ Shepard shook her head. ‘’A two-color combo line?’’ Shepard shook her head again. ‘’But you can at least use a sew machine, right?’’ Shepard shook her head once again. Rarity hoof palmed her face. With a forced smile she said. ‘’Then you can bring me the materials when I need them,’’ Rarity decided.

That sounded easy enough. Shepard said down beside the various materials, ribbons, jewels and sparkle powder. After a while Rarity called. ‘’Shepard, could you please bring me a red cloth?’’ Shepard grabbed the nearest red material and brought it to Rarity. The Pony hesitated. ‘’That is cherry, my dear,’’ She said. Shepard went back and took another red cloth. When she presented it to Rarity said. ‘’This cinnamon.’’ Shepard rolled her eyes.

Fashion designing was harder than she first thought. To her all of them looked like red. Rarity sighed and put down her glasses. She waved and called Shepard over. ‘’Shepard dear, would you please come over here for a second?’’ Shepard already saw it coming. ‘’I really appreciate the thought and it is really nice of to want to help me, but… You see… In my line of business… you need a particular set of skills. Skills which are poorly developed in you,’’ Rarity said as nice as she could.

‘’Yeah, I understand. But thanks that you gave me a shot, anyway,’’ Shepard said. She had a feeling from the start that this wouldn’t work.

‘’Maybe you can try Sweet Apple Acres. I believe they will have a line of work more suited for your… skills,’’ Rarity said hesitatingly. The Apple family was always looking for helpers to work on their farm.

‘’Alright, I will try that. Just could you please describe me the way,’’ Shepard asked of her. She hadn’t much to lose.

‘’Of course, my dear.’’ Rarity gave her precise description of the way. Then Shepard exited Rarity’s shop again. The fashionista went back to her work. ‘’Sweetie Bell? What are you standing there frozen? Come here and help your big sister,’’ Rarity called her little sister. That shook the little Pony out of her shock.

Outside Edi commented. ‘’You may be a woman of the sword, but you will never be a woman of the needle.’’

‘’For Pete’s sake, it was all red!’’ Shepard exclaimed.

Edi replied. ‘’Not it was not. Rarity was correct. Your lack of precision was the fault in the matter.’’

As they walked through Ponyville they came across a group of Pony children bullying a pegasus. Shepard never the woman to close her eyes before injustice decided to intervene. ‘’Hey!’’ Shepard jelled. The kids turned around. They took a few steps back, intimidated by Shepard’s height.

‘’What do you want?’’ The ringleader said.

‘’I want you to stop bullying that… filly.’’ Shepard ordered.

‘’Yeah, and what do you want to do about it?’’ The ringleader asked getting bolder. Shepard used her paragon persuasion skill. ‘’Let’s see if you act as tough when I tell your parents about your behavior. They won’t be happy at all. I can already imagine. You will get grounded and won’t get any sweets for the next two weeks.’’ Shepard said.

‘’You… you are bluffing.’’ The little stallion said, yet he paled a bit.

‘’Oh really?’’ Shepard noticed that she was getting under his skin. ‘’Maybe I should inform your teacher. You will get extra homework for the next month.’’ Shepard said with a serious face.

In the little stallion’s eyes were starting to form tears. ‘’No!’’ he jelled and galloped away. His fellow bullies followed him.

‘’The great paragon Shepard made a little Pony child cry,’’ Edi commented amused.

‘’I could have spanked him,’’ Shepard defended herself. She now turned to the bullied Pegasus. She had an orange fur and a purple mane.

‘’I didn’t need your help,’’ She claimed stubbornly.

Shepard nodded. ‘’Right. That was totally convincing,’’ She said sarcastically.

‘’Fine. Thanks for saving me. Just don’t tell anypony that I needed your help,’’ The little Pony said.

‘’My lips are sealed,’’ Shepard promised her. ‘’Who are you little gal?’’ Shepard asked her.

‘’My name is Scootaloo. And you are?’’ Scootaloo wanted to know.

‘’I am Commander Shepard.’’ Shepard introduce herself.

‘’Oh, you are that alien. Rainbow Dash told me about you,’’ Scootaloo said excited.

‘’You know Rainbow Dash?’’ Shepard replied surprised.

‘’Yeah, she is my big sister. She is not really my sister, but she is just like one. When I grow up, I want to be just like Rainbow Dash. She is so strong and brave and amazing,’’ Scootaloo exclaimed in admiration. Shepard chuckled she had seen enough fangirls to recognize one.

‘’It is import to have idols. Why were you bullied?’’ Shepard asked.

Scootaloo hesitated. ‘’It is because of my cutie mark,’’ She confessed.

‘’Your what?’’ Shepard asked confused. She hadn’t have heard of that term, yet.

‘’My cutie mark.’’ Scootaloo pointed at her flank. ‘’It still hasn’t appeared. It reflects your special talent. Your purpose in life. What if I don’t like my cutie mark? Or if the others don’t like it? Or if it doesn’t appear at all,’’ She said scared.

Shepard didn’t understand that whole cutie mark business, but she saw a small child being tormented by self-doubt. And she was about to do something against it.

‘’I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you,’’ Shepard said. Scootaloo looked at her doubtful. Shepard bend down to be closer to Scootaloo. ‘’Your cutie mark is a part of you and nothing can change that. It will appear when the time is right,’’ She poked Scootaloo gently in the chest. ‘’What is important, is in here. Let the others laugh, face them with the confidence that you will never change, whatever they throw at you, you will take it and you will stay true to yourself. Let them gloat about their cutie marks, your cutie mark will reflect the trials you had to overcome. The effort in finding yourself in this world will be rewarded. Let them get jealous when they see your cutie mark, but you will pay them no mind, because you will have your own cutie mark. It will be yours forever and the proof of your self-worth. You will have proven that you are your own Pony and don’t give in to others. You only have to believe in yourself. When you believe in yourself then you don’t have to doubt your future. Whatever your cutie mark will be, I am sure you will be pleased, because it will reflect your whole being,’’ Shepard ended her motivational speech.

Scootaloo looked at Shepard in awe clearly overwhelmed by the speech. ‘’Oh, wow,’’ She replied not sure what to see after that.

‘’Do you believe in yourself?’’ Shepard asked a bit louder.

Scootaloo started to get her confidence back. ‘’Yes!’’ The little filly exclaimed.

‘’Then stand up and hold your head high, because you believe in yourself,’’ Shepard ordered.

Scootaloo took her scooter. ‘’You are totally awesome, Commander Shepard. Thanks for believing in me,’’ Scootaloo said and waved a goodbye.

She flapped her little wings and rushed away. ‘’Do you have even an idea what you have talked about?’’ Edi asked.

‘’Not in the slightest,’’ Shepard answered honestly.

‘’Yet, you managed to raise the moral of that filly. The devil would be jealous of your silver tongue,’’ Edi stated.

‘’I saw a small kid having doubts about herself. She just needed a little push in the right direction, an affirmation that everything will be just fine. And I didn’t mind providing that,’’ Shepard dismissed it as nothing much.

‘’I almost would have believed it if you had told me you would stop the Reaper by simply talking to them. The level of persuasion you have achieved with your natural charisma and your way of words is… scary,’’ Edi replied.

‘’Scary? Are you afraid I will convince you to do something, too?’’ Shepard joked.

‘’At first, I thought that was just another weakness of the organics, to be so vulnerable to the influence of another without even fully understanding why. But everyone you had interacted with, the crew, the different species in the galaxy, the Geth and even me. We were all changed by your influence,’’ Edi said. Shepard was silent. She didn’t know what Edi’s point was. ‘’I am just relieved that you are upholding the belief in the right cause. I can’t imagine the galaxy today, if your moral code would have been a bit more flexible. We should be grateful for you to be the paragon of goodness that you are,’’ Edi praised.

‘’Thanks, Edi.’’ Shepard said.

‘’Still, I think you overdid it with the little filly, back there. She was just bullied and not sent off on a suicide mission. The tone of the speech was a bit too grand for my taste,’’ Edi criticized.

‘’You know me, Edi. I am always trying to leave a big impression,’’ Shepard laughed and continued her way to Apple Acres.

Shepard instantly liked the farm. It was surrounded by beautiful apple trees, the fresh air and the sound of earnest hard work. For Shepard all this felt so surreal. She had protected farmers before, but she had never worked on a farm before. At the entrance Shepard met a red furred stallion. Shepard noticed that he was distinguishable taller than the rest of the Ponies.

‘’Hello, I am looking for Applejack,’’ Shepard greeted the stallion.

‘’Eeyup!’’ The stallion answered.

‘’Do you know where I can find her?’’ Shepard asked.

‘’Eeyup!’’ He swung his head towards a barn. He didn’t speak much. Shepard walked towards the barn. The barn was harboring pigs and she saw Applejack finishing feeding them.

‘’Ah, Shepard. Dandy seeing you here. What brings you to our humble farm?’’ Applejack asked and wiped the sweat of her forehead.

‘’I wanted to earn some bits and Rarity recommended to come to you,’’ Shepard explained.

‘’You went to Rarity at first?’’ Applejack laughed out loud. ‘’I can imagine how that turned out. I helped her out on occasion and I tell you. All the different colors and that nitpicking all the time. For Celestia’s sake, I usually know when I see a red cloth, but not with Rarity, there are five red colors and she expect to differ between them. Naw, I am a country Pony, after all. All that fashion nonsense just doesn’t make any sense. Enough dilly dallied. Before you can start working here, I have to ask Granny Smith about it,’’ Applejack said.

The apple farmer lead Shepard to the big house. In front of the entrance said an old mare. She swung in her rocking chair. ‘’Granny Smith, I brought somepony who wants to hire on the farm,’’ Applejack exclaimed. Granny Smith slowly stood up from her chair.

When she saw, Shepard she exclaimed. ‘’What in tarnation? Get that thing of my property!’’ She waved a stick around.

‘’Now, now Granny. Shepard is a friend of mine. She is an alien,’’ Applejack said.

‘’Hah!’’ Granny Smith laughed. ‘’An alien? You think you can pull a joke on your old granny? Naw, that is probably just something from the darkest corners of Equestria. I have never seen something like that,’’ Granny circled around Shepard. ‘’It walks all funny like, on two legs. Maybe it will make the apples turn bad,’’ Granny said.

Applejack frowned. ‘’That was highly uncalled for, Granny. Shepard just want to earn some honest bits.’’

Granny rubbed her chin. ‘’I’ll be darned. I suppose, she can help out as long as she doesn’t break stuff and does her work properly,’’ Granny said and wobbled back to her chair.

‘’You heard Granny. You are official an apple worker now,’’ Applejack stated with a smile on her face. ‘’We did most of our chores already. Now we only have to gather the apples. You saw how big our orchard is. And between Ponyville and our hose is only the small part.’’ Applejack lead the Commander to a spot were already the stallion from before and a filly were busy working.

The filly put baskets under the three while the stallion kicked against the tree, causing the apples to fall. The they both picked up the apples which fell beside the baskets and put them in, too. Then they picked up the baskets and carried them to a carriage. There they emptied the baskets and repeated the process.

‘’It is Apple bucking season now,’’ Applejack explained. With seasoned experience she grabbed a couple of baskets and put them under the nearest tree with a tremendous kick she plucked the apples. ‘’Now, you try,’’ Applejack said after she loaded the apples into the wagon.

Shepard grabbed a pair of baskets and put them under the tree. She focused her strength and kicked with everything she had. A measly percentage of the apples fell down. The filly suppressed a giggle.

‘’Don’t worry! After the first month of bucking. You will be bucking just as good as the rest of us,’’ Applejack encouraged Shepard.

No kidding, this was some serious leg training. A month of this and her leg muscles would probably double in size. Shepard liked the firmness of her legs and didn’t want to overuse them. They successfully carried her out of many battles. Instead of kicking the tree again. Shepard gathered her Biotics in her hand and shot a strong throw at the tree. The tree shook under the impact and let go of all its apples. Shepard grinned pleased.

Applejack gasped. ‘’Holly molly, you can do magic?’’ Applejack asked shocked.

Shepard shook her head. ‘’Not magic, Biotics.’’ Shepard explained.

‘’Biotics? What is that?’’ Applejack wanted to know.

Before Shepard could answer Edi interrupted. ‘’I can explain that.’’

After five minutes of explanation of the complicated physics behind the use of Biotics Applejack’s head was steaming. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. ‘’I don’t understand what that Biotics are, but I do understand that it apparently isn’t magic, and it comes in handy for bucking season,’’ Applejack replied.

Applejack didn’t mind Shepard using her Biotics to help gathering the apples. The rest of the day Shepard helped the apples out. When it became evening Applejack paid Shepard forty bits and sent her home. Shepard tired from shooting Biotics all day long, was happy to finally have found a job which was more suited for her.

Author's Note:

Originally, I had planned for Shepard to have more interactions with Ponies she wouldn’t have the opportunity with the story onwards. But I feared I would get stuck or lose my enthusiasm if I didn’t proceed with the story. So, sadly this will be the last chapter with Shepard mingling in Ponyville.

Comments

[Maximumoversaiyan96]

9486917
Thanks for pointing all that out. I hope you can still enjoy my story despite my creative liberties.

[JoshSP1107]

So far so good.

Cant wait to see what you write next. :3 yeah you took a few liberties here and there, and sometimes the codex doesnt help you with much when you wanna flesh something out in ME, but you did the best you could. I think this story has promise. Dont lose hope

[Maximumoversaiyan96]

9489257
Thanks for the encouraging comment.

[JoshSP1107]

9490610
Hey, No Problem I'm always happy to encourage more FemShep/Liara Pairings.

That's my OTP

[Grif_Bladefeather]

honestly have to call her lack of getting apples out of the tree into doubt given her strength was not only cyberneticaly but geneticaly augmented by cerberus, pretty sure she could do it.

[CommanderApplejack]

‘’Not in the slightest,’’ Shepard answered honestly.

I just died of laughing after reaching that.

[CommanderApplejack]

9584067
It's probably a matter of magic instead of strength. Someone once calculated the force required to shake apples from a tree... Well... Let's just say the amount of force required would snap it in half and send it flying