Equestrian Tales

Baldwin finished filling his apple cart as he felt a small smile appear on his face. How long had it been since he had to refill his cart after a long day of work? When was the last time he had to refill his cart more than twice much less than four times in one week?

Of course he was low on cider… and pies… and… Baldwin sniffed the air as the scent of apple cinnamon bread and apple-oat cookies was coming from his house. Baldwin took a deep breath and walked towards his own house in confusion as he tried to figure out what was going on. It wasn't odd that she cooked her own breakfast... or that he cooked her supper in an attempt to get back at her cooking breakfast, but this didn't smell like a simple meal.

Verrat his stubborn house guest currently had domain of the kitchen. The oven door was open as she pulled out a nice rack of apple-oat cookies as a loaf of apple cinnamon bread was left out on the table to cool. The bowl full of cookie dough was out on the counter as the griffin poked one of the finished cookies as if debating if they should go back into the oven

She shook her head before placing the new batch of cookie dough into the oven and muttering “I miss my old oven.”

Baldwin coughed “Uh… what are you doing?”

Verrat stared at him in confusion before holding up a sheet of paper “You left a list of things needed to be done.”

Baldwin glanced at all the items she had prepared… Sure she used a bit more firewood than he would have liked, but the scent was well worth it. He shook his head as this was still his house… sure she was helping him out, but….

“I didn’t mean to leave them as chores for you to do.” Baldwin replied in slight embarrassment as he felt like kicking himself.

He did mean to leave the list out as a set of chores for her to do. It was supposed to be there to remind him of what he needed to get done with before he set up his apple stand out in the market.

Verrat glanced at the list “Than what did 'have Verrat do' mean?”

He promptly face hoofed as he muttered out loud in embarrassment “I wanted to trade recipes and the list was to remind me on what items I wanted to check on. My mother was a wonderful cook, but she wasn’t that great on sharing kitchen recipes and currently I'm lacking good recipes for bread and cookies.”

Verrat started at him for a few moments before replying “I didn’t peg you for a chief.”

Baldwin now stared at the mare in confusion “Why not?”

She pointed a talon at the fridge “Most I’ve seen is sandwich material and jam. Very little butter, sugar, salt, or flour as I had to spare some of mine.”

Baldwin rubbed his head “Wait you bought flour?”

Verrat shrugged “It’s not often I get access to a kitchen and while my foot is busted I wanted to make sure I’m stocked up on supplies. Most jobs tend to be far away from towns or dealing with wild creatures creating problems for the town. Besides whole wheat flour can last a while just as long as you don't get it wet.”

Baldwin shook his head as he said "You don't have to help. I can take care of the rest from here."

The Griffin chuckled "And do what? Sit on the couch like a potato and do nothing? Besides I might as well do something..."

Baldwin a small smile came to his face as he replied "Can't figure out any stories to tell the foals at the market?"

Verrat rolled her eyes as she glanced at her supplies “I don’t know any good stories.”

Baldwin smirked “The foals would beg to differ.”

For the past few days he had brought/dragged his griffin houseguest with him to the marketplace to make sure she stayed off her foot. The foals continued to pester her for stories and she continued trying to tell them as one of the foals would always ask a sudden question about something just a few minutes latter. Baldwin could also tell that she enjoyed telling them stories far more than she let on.

Verrat’s wing fell to her side as she sighed in defeat “Fine… but first do you know how to make apple pancakes… because I don’t know any.”

Baldwin chuckled as he moved over to the oven “I’ll make breakfast for both of us today.”

The griffin shook her head “I wasn’t asking you too…”

“You made the cookies and bread.” He cheerfully countered “So I might as well make some pancakes as thanks. I’ll also pay you back for the flour.”

Verrat was about to say something only for her stomach to grumble. He couldn’t help but chuckle as she blushed in embracement at her stomach’s protest.

******

Baldwin pulled his wears back into the market place as the crowd soon began to gather. Most of the morning and been spent as they argued about meaningless things… (Two Cooks with two different recipes for the same item and one kitchen)… but they managed to finish the apple based products as their heavenly scent filled the air.

Verrat stared at the crowd as she still couldn't get used to the crowds. Everypony was interested in the griffin's stories simply because they were new and unlike Betamax’s unique items that she brought into town each week Verrat’s stories were free.

“Verrat what are you doing here?” a voice called out.

Baldwin glanced at the crowd and noticed… Baldwin rubbed his eyes as the crowd soon also took notice of the oddity. A large minotaur was carrying a red Siren on his shoulder.

Verrat face palmed as she muttered “Hey Serina… Hey Sloan.”

The minotaur chuckled “Did you come along to be hired for protecting train?”

Verrat shook her head “No I was chasing a bounty and ended up injuring myself.”

The crowd turned their head back at the odd pair as the siren rubbed her chin “So traveling alone or…”

Verrat rolled her eyes “Last group disbanded after the spider incident and I thought catching a wanted thief would be easy compared to the last few jobs.”

One of the foals spoke up “How did you all meet up?”

The minotaur rolled his eyes “Adventures. We just dropped out of the sky and tried to deal with it from there.”

Another foal spoke up “Does that mean she’s not going to tell us anymore stories?”

The Siren squealed in joy “Your telling foal's stories!”

Verrat shook her head “They just wanted to know about some of the jobs I’ve been on.”

The Siren had a huge grin on her face “Did you tell them about the Griffin Stone murder case!”

Verrat sighed “You do realize that…”

Her mouth was suddenly stuffed shut as the Siren had a hoof in front of Verrat’s mouth “Spoiler warning.”

Verrat pried the hoof away from her mouth “It was an odd job I'll admit, but...”

One of the foals piped up “Did a griffin get murdered over the lost treasure?”

Another one jumped for joy “Did it involve a Cyclops?”

Sparks somehow mixed into the group of foals replied “Did you date a griffin noble during the adventure?”

An apple hit Sparks in the center of his face knocking him back down to the ground. Baldwin quickly pretend as if nothing happened as it had been an accident. He just happened to find a slightly decayed apple and he just… tossed it without looking.

Verrat sighed “It wasn’t that interesting. I mean we just…”

The siren placed a hoof around Verrat and said “Verrat… it’s one of my favorite jobs to talk about. I wouldn’t mind helping you tell the tale.”

The griffin raised any eyebrow as she stared at her seaside companion “You’re kidding me.”

The minotaur shrugged “Train is resting. Tracks are laid. Good press is good luck and everyone always needs good luck in life.”

The Siren nodded “Besides after the whole Sirens of old rap sheet and the Castle of the Two Sisters incident… Sirens don’t exactly have the best rep.”

Baldwin didn’t know either of the reasons why they wouldn’t have a good reputation “How exactly did you get a bad reputation?”

Verrat shook her head as the Siren replied “Oh most of us managed to keep or get a hold of a special magical gem that allows us to move about on the surface and convert negative emotions or moments of conflict into a useable source of magical energy for us to us."

She frowned "Of course none of know exactly how they work. A lot of us who have one of the gems just end up trying to find a place of conflict or some of them try to start a conflict.”

Verrat pointed a thumb at the Siren “Serina is the group that goes to places of conflict. Essentially she acts as support drawing energy from the battle to cast her spells as Sloan…” The minotaur nodded “Works as a front line warrior and usually is the one Serina works her supportive spells on.”

“I can’t say much for the other Sirens.” Serina replied out loud “But I try to keep a good rep. Anyway onto the story!”

The foals looked at them in wide eye interest as Baldwin took a deep breath. He didn’t expect Verrat to suddenly run into anyone she knew… but that train kept changing everything that it came into contact with.

Serina smiled “This is the tale of the Griffin Stone Murder!”

Baldwin turned his focus back on his stand and any possible customers only to see Sparks rubbed the back of his head as he said “Hey it was only a question.”

Baldwin shrugged at he inspected the rest of his apples “I’m setting up so if you want anything just let me know or step out of the way.”

Sparks nodded as he rolled his eyes “Right… because you just happened to find a sour apple when I asked that question. Besides her two friends happened to hear about me talking about Verrat yesterday and told them that she was in town.”

Baldwin glanced at the annoying stallion as he replied “Any reason why you are telling me this?”

Sparks shrugged “I just figured you’d like to know. Anyway the train is supposed to arrive within the next few days and they are hiring anypony… or griffin they can find to either help lay down some tracks or to help protect the train as it finish’s it’s journey.”

Baldwin stole a small glance at Verrat as she said “It wasn’t that they lost the treasure… but that they lost the meaning the treasure held as it was a symbol for them to stand united and work together… instead of trying to gather up as many bits as they could while only looking out for themselves.”

Baldwin took a deep breath as he repeated “Do you want any apples? If not then please step aside and make way for a paying customer.”

As soon as Sparks bought his bundle of apples Baldwin glanced at the where the train station and been built. A part of him wanted the train to never come, but he knew that it would eventually come.

******

The day came to an end as Verrat went back with him to his house. Her friends bid her goodbye as Verrat seemed a bit more happy now.

The griffin stretched her wings as she said “So who was the weird unicorn staring at you?”

Baldwin shook his head as he replied “Which unicorn?”

There had been plenty of ponies staring, but he was certain none of them were staring at him. It’s not everyday you get to see a siren, a minotaur, and a griffin in town much less telling stories.

Verrat frowned for a moment as she said “The one that was giving you the evil eye for most of the day that sold the weird crystal junk.”

“That’s probably Betamax...” He said out loud before he glanced at Verrat “Wait crystal junk?”

She nodded “A few people I talk to in Canterlot were kind of cheesed off at it. Apparently it’s just a small cheap phonogram. The crystal is just for display as the phonogram stuff is hidden underneath the glitter.”

Baldwin shook his head “Did you happen to let anypony else know?”

Verrat shrugged “No Solan showed one of the ponies in the crowd as he removed the cover and replaced the recording device. Apparently they were trying to record the story or something.”

Baldwin shook his head as he now knew the reason for the unicorn’s death glare. Verrat was drawing crowds over to his apple stand and she just revealed what Betamax was actually selling. He was quite certain that she would find something else to sell… but he felt a little bit proud of himself.

Verrat took a deep breath as she replied “She also… told me to leave as she talked about your farm being in debt…”

Baldwin stopped in his tracks as he turned around and said “Look… I was in debt. My farm my not being doing as well as it used to have been doing… but I already paid my debt as I don’t owe anypony any bits.”

Verrat stared at him for a moment “Look I’m not saying you are trying to use me to boost sales or something.”

“I paid it off… I’m just short of funds for the winter.” He said with a hint of regret “Still the farm is doing okay… I still have no idea how it will fair after the train arrives. Products can be shipped in bulk and… I’m not sure how that will affect the farm. That’s all…”

It was true that Verrat helped pay off his debt... the bits she gave him along with the extra money made by the sales helped get him out of debt so he wouldn't even lose his farm when the train arrived. Sure winter might be a little bit rough on his funds, but he hoped he had enough bits for when spring came around. Sure he was a bit nervous about being replaced when the train came in... but he felt a little bit more secure about his farm now than before Verrat suddenly stumbled into his life.

Both of them were quite for a few minutes until she finally spoke up “What is with you being alone on the farm all by yourself?”

Baldwin shrugged as he replied “My family left to find greener pastures. Relatives in Timberton… fell on hard times after the disaster… The plague that passed by this town three years ago didn’t help either especially when it killed my sister and her husband.”

She stared at him as it was obvious she didn’t mean to pull up a painful memory. Still he guessed he might as well answer a few of her question just as long as they weren’t too personal.

Baldwin wore a thin smile on his face as he said “They’ve been dead for a while and the plague as long since passed away. Still that’s life for you… Any other questions?”

Verrat went silent for a moment before she practically whispered “Don’t you… ever think about leaving?”

Baldwin shook his head as he said out loud “And what would I do if I left? I’m not a good with a weapon so I can't be a mercenary… I spent my entire life working on this farm. The other farms that the apple family work on are either too far away for me to travel to… or their doing they are too busy dealing with their own problems.”

He remembered that some of his relatives were out searching for seeds… or stuck working on farms owned by nobles. Baldwin wasn’t even sure if there were any Apple family owned farms left in Equestria. None of his family ever visited him and he couldn’t visit them since he always had to take care of the farm. Sure his sister told him what he had missed but… it’s been three years since he last saw another member of the apple family.

Baldwin looked up at the setting sky and said “So… if you could do anything in Equestria… what would it be?”

Verrat chuckled “Go home.”

Baldwin shrugged “Let’s say you can’t… or you have to wait a month before you can go back home.”

Verrat scratched her neck as she thought about it for a little “I guess… find a nice hotel… order up just about everything on their menu and just pig out. Maybe find a few recipes to take with me back home. Then I would either cook for fun and mess with cars or trucks to pay the bills.”

Baldwin nodded as he said “What exactly makes a car or truck so good? I mean you can fly and that’s kind of hard to top that.”

Verrat rolled her eyes “And ponies pay other ponies to pull them around in carts. Say what you want, but at the end of the day flying is just flapping your wings. The rev of a good American muscle car… the type of engine that makes the entire car shake as it feels like you are ridding on top a powerful beast. Of course a bit of good old German engineering can go a long way!”

She sighed in regret “Still there are a couple of other good cars… but I think it’s the cars used for street races where you go so fast the speed from your vehicles howl in the wind as you take turns and show off your skill. It’s nothing like the boring Nascar Races where the cars barely change direction as they just drive around in a large circle.”

Baldwin shook his head “So you’re saying you’re a speed demon since you like to go fast.”

Verrat shook her head “And I’m in control. Mostly I fix up vehicles, but it’s fun watching two speedsters race around the tracks as they prove which one is the better driver. It doesn’t matter if you have wings… have a hard time walking… or if you are even missing your legs.”

Baldwin coughed as she laughed “No I’m serious… We called him Crazy Johnny. He was some foreign crazy war vet who lost his legs and had two wooden replacements for them. You challenged him to a street race and you’d quickly regret making fun of him.”

Baldwin couldn’t help but chuckle “Maybe you should try seeing a Wonder Bolt show?”

Verrat made a fake gagging sound as she replied “And see a bunch of ponies just performing air tricks? I don’t care if they can make a figure eight in the sky.”

“Not the air shows…” Baldwin quickly countered “Sometimes they have races… actual races with an obstacle course. One of the Wonder Bolts names Lightening Flash pulls some crazy stunts trying to reach the finish line before any of the other ponies.”

Verrat chuckled “I highly doubt I’ll ever find a show where they just race instead of perform fancy air tricks.”

Baldwin nodded “So did you ever race?”

Verrat shook her head “Not really… I mean I enjoyed the feeling of power and watching them drive… but I never joined in. The larger scaled ones mostly had people betting their cars leaving the loser walking home… and the smaller ones mostly had young racers who had a better chance getting into an accident than making an interesting race.”

She clicked her tongue as she shut her eyes “Still… it was fun to be a part of even if I only watched.”

Baldwin nodded “So how exactly did you meet those two?”

Verrat paused for a second “You mean the siren and the Minotaur? Didn’t you hear the story?”

Baldwin chuckled “No I was busy with the apple stand and buying the rest of the ingredients that were used up. You must have had fun since you didn’t even notice when I left the stand to restock on supplies.”

Verrat slapped him in the back of head with her wing as she muttered something. He couldn’t help but chuckle as she seemed a lot happier now. He also felt a lot happier these past few days than he had the past month.

Baldwin couldn't help but smile when he heard their stomach growl as he said "Want me to cook super?"

Verrat shook her head "I can cook super since you cooked breakfast."

"That's only because you helped fix the cookies, bread, and all the other treats." Baldwin countered

Verrat chuckled "Your just trying to show me you can be a chief."

Baldwin couldn't help but smirk "How come you didn't seem to believe me after all the meals I set out?"

Verrat grinned as she replied "Warming up frozen food doesn't count as cooking. Besides I rarely saw you behind the kitchen oven."

"Only because you were stuck re-wrapping your bandages." Baldwin countered "Or out of the house taking a shower or reading one of those books you have."

Verrat rolled her eyes as she smacked him in the back of his head with her wing. There was still the question of what would happen when her foot finally healed or the fact two of her friends worked on the train that was coming to town. He sighed as he just wanted to enjoy the time left he had with her.