Overpriced Herbs and a Five-Finger Discount
It was just another day in Equestria. Young ponies who were just old enough to work peddled newspaper articles in the crowded city streets. Businessponies rushed to get to their places of work, and members of the Royal Guard patrolled proudly and professionally, marching with their shiny new rifles, either held in a dexterous pair of wings or suspended in mid-air with a simple spell. And for Christian, it was another day being one of the only humans in all of Canterlot.
He was technically an orphan, as his mother was killed by a band of changelings that prowled the countryside they originally lived in. Christian was an Equestrian-born human, unlike most of his kinsmen, who were the few 100 or so who had the guts to escape the bondage of Minecraftian "law" and migrate to Equestria. He was in his 17th year of age by now-- or was it 18? He could never remember. But, what he did remember was what his foster mother, the zebra known as Geneesheer, had sent him to do; Get me two pounds of foxroot and enough manaweed to fill the jar I gave you. Use these bits, it should be enough if you go to the salesmare at Solaris Avenue who speaks with the Manehattan accent.
He had been walking a while now, but then he heard an obnoxious voice, shouting out in the thick accent he had been looking for. "Herbs, spices, gourmet ingredients! Come and get 'em, before someone else does!" On and on, she repeated this phrase, obviously hoping to get some business out of the morning crowd. Christian rushed to the stand, carefully slipping through gaps in the crowd so as not to anger any of the busy ponies by knocking them over.
He eventually managed to get to the stand. The mare in question was a pegasus; a coat the same color at the steam that rose from the factory chimneys, and a cyan mane resembling the sky on a day with only a few wisps of cloud. As politely as he could, he approached the mare. "Hello, ma'am. May I please--"
"Beat it, kid. I don't got time for some snotty brat lookin' for directions.", the mare said as she cut him off. Becoming a little aggravated, he spoke again. "I would like to have 2 pounds of foxroot, and I would like you to fill this jar with manaweed, please!"
This got her attention. "That'll be 20 bits.", she said, already filling the jar. Meanwhile, Christian became quite worried. "Um... I only have 15..."
"No discounts. Pay up, or you don't get squat."
"But..."
"No. Discounts."
Christian weighed his options, and the best one that appeared to him was to grab the herbs, stuff them into his bag...
And run.
"'Ey! Get back here with those!"
The mare gave chase, yelling in objection to Christian's thievery. Although the mare was a pegasus, she was not very athletic, and her yelling used up her much-needed breath as she crashed clumsily through the crowd, whereas Christian was sprinting through gaps in the mass of bodies with ease. "Stop! Thief!" was all he heard as he ran for his life. The crowd cleared up, but he did not stop.
Running through the clearing, Christian picked up speed, and looked behind him to see if the mare was still giving chase. While he was distracted, he bumped into somepony. No, two someponies.
Not just any someponies. The Princesses.
