Life Through Fake Eyes

    He woke up in his little 'cave house' thing to greet another day. Last night's party was the worst. If he had been normal, he could have actually enjoyed himself. Nothing was normal though.

    The first priority in his mind was now work. He needed to find an occupation in order to accumulate some bits. In doing so would allow him to actually live properly for once. Even a changeling shouldn't be treated with such harsh conditions.

    Without much preparing, he waltzed back out into the town. The whole time, I had been trying to get his attention. His appearance made him seem like a bear of sorts. Charles' coat was ruffled and his mane would make a hairdresser faint. Nobody would be insane enough to show themselves in public with this type of eye catching style. Especially someone who wouldn't want to draw attention. It was all in vain. Oh well... Another half mile walk, and he had entered the little town's border. There was no stopping his atrocious looks now.

    He slowly gravitated towards the center of Ponyville. There were many shops surrounding the area. It should be easier to find a job there than anywhere else. It was also the center of attention for consumers.

    Something flashed out of the corner of my eye. Apparently, it had done the same to Charles. Curiosity entered his mind. Ditto for me. 'Carousel Boutique'. Well this should be good. He walked closer to the sign to read the smaller print under a bedazzled 'help wanted' sign. It read: 'Looking for applicants with experience in the field of sewing and salesmanship'. It looked like that one could safely be checked off of the list.

    There were quite a few other vacant spots, but none of them seemed to pay enough, or even appeal to his interests. The employment rates in Equestria made open spats that much more abundant, but it seemed as though there were only a few jobs that could satisfy his needs. These being: the Apple family's apple stand, Quills and Sofas, and Sugarcube Corner. In the apple business, he was a good salesperson, considering his social assets. For Quills and Sofas, they needed someone to advertise, meaning getting out flyers and yes a mascot with a sign. As for Sugarcube Corner, the pay was good, but after last nights events it was fairly unlikely to be accepted into the employment roster.

    He quite liked the idea of selling apples more than the sign twirler, and the bakery wasn't much of a choice. Apple stand it is then! He returned to the stand within a timely manner. The one maintaining it automatically asked him politely if he wanted to purchase any goods. He declined that offer, and explained his reason for showing up. While this was going on, Charles picked up similarities from the voice he had heard his first night. The one that had so rudely head-butted him, and offered a measly apple in brief apology.

    After a couple minutes of conversing, the manager shock hands with Charles and he stepped behind the counter. He was hired right there on the spot. The prior cashier needed a well-deserved rest. Who could blame them? A job without a required resume was possibly the best to come upon. Hired on such short notice. Something that contained questioning was probably not the best to come upon, knowing the fact that he had only been there for two days.

    Dismissing the fact that they had left without giving him proper training, he tried to imitate what he had seen her doing earlier. A customer came up to him with a smile.

    "One apple fritter please! I need it for my sister. She's feeling a bit sick. Did you know that apples help the I mines system to fend off the sickness? I really hope she'll be better soon..."

    Charles was able to tune him out while he searched around for the fritters. It felt wrong to just ignore him though. Oh well. The story bridged over to his personal life as well. That probably wouldn't interest anybody in particular. Laying his eyes on something that looked of resemblance, he handed it to the customer.

    "Thanks! I'll be seeing you around." They dropped a few bits onto the counter, which Charles placed into the basket they had been briefly designated for. A small clink sound was music to his ears. They hadn't mentioned the pay grade, so all he could do is wait till the day was done and hope for something worthwhile.

    Another customer walked up, this time not smiling.

    "Get me a basket of apples and be quick about it." Each basket had the capacity of ten apples at the most, so he handed a full on to the disgruntled mare. "Ugh, thanks it guess." She dropped the respective amount of bits onto the counter. It seemed like easy money. She should work on her manners a bit. Geez.

    Pretty soon, there was a line leading up to the counter. It stretched for as far as the eye could see. The familiar farm pony worked her way up to the stand.

    "What happened!? Ah haven't had this much business in forever! What did ya do?"

    "I-I was selling the items to everypony, when a mob of them came running in!" For some reason, this made me wheeze for air as I laughed. The explanation was just so innocent.

    "What do they all want?"

    "Apples!" Applejack jumped behind the counter, and took in the first customer. They were out of the crowd before five seconds had elapsed, with everything they needed. She fed them all what they needed at such a cartoonish speed. Dust began to fly up where her hooves were placed. By then end of ten minutes, the whole crowd had gone off somewhere. At least they were satisfied.

    "Thank you...er-" It was obvious that he was trying to search for the name she had mentioned only once in the briefing before.

    "Applejack."

    "Thank you Applejack. I couldn't have done that myself. If you hadn't shown up, I likely would have been injured by some other fed up pony."

    "Don't mention it. Ah wouldn't expect a large pay though." Was this a job where the amount of hours worked has no meaning? Only the judging of performance? These were my least favorited types of jobs, I hated the principal almost as much as I hated the one who would determine the amount of capital the workers obtain. It always just seemed unfair to me.

    By now, it was fairly dark out. She resumed her post and left Charles to wander about. He was pretty good at it. With the knowledge of the tour August had given him, he was easily able to navigate the streets from memory. In had been printed to the back of his eyelids from a bird's eye view.

    First, he walked past the town centerpiece, then the street lined with shops, then finally back to his cave. It wasn't the best day he had had this week. But no doubt, he had made some progress. Not one bit had he missed the hive since he had left. The only thing that bothered him that night was the fact the he would have to face the same thing tomorrow. The only rewards given to him for his labour were fifteen bits, give or take a few.

     Once the morning sun had again, hit his face, he was ready to start the day with a smile. Not a single care crossed his mind, except for the impending clutch of a day shift. His first question, no doubt, when he got to see Applejack again was how long it would last. He needed to find a way to obtain mass amounts of quote unquote food. He would be ready to pass out by the end of the day if something didn't come up.

    Coming upon the stand, he could clearly see a line of consumers leading down to the next intersection. This seemed to be the most popular food business in town. Was there nothing better to eat? It would probably be best not to question it near his assumed boss. Come to think of it, I had no further knowledge of this business, or how far down the industrial/farming line it went. Only time would tell.