“Let’s see,” Sid said, tapping his pencil on his tongue. “Oh!” As he continued scribbling on his paper, Tinker and Tin stood next to him, observing what was going on. “And… done!”
“What’s done? What is it? What is it?! I want to—!” Tin then received a swift tap on the shoulder from Tinker. “Sorry.”
“Is it your latest idea for an evil invention?” Tinker asked.
“What? No. It’s my shopping list. See?” Sid then passed the list to Tinker.
“Eggs, Cheese, Wing Conditioner? Why do you need that?”
“Well, they’ve still gotten a little dirty after my last defeat from the Mane Six.” Sid turned his back, revealing a lot of scratch marks and bits of dirt on his wings. “So, why not?”
“Okay… then. But won’t the citizens of Ponyville immediately recognize you when they see you, especially the Mane Six and their friends themselves?”
“Yeah!”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve already gotten a solution for that.”
“What?”
And with a confident smile, Sid got up from his chair, walked towards a big tarp, and yanked it, revealing a shiny, grey and green helmet that was connected to a black strap around it.
“Behold! My camouflage contraption!”
Promptly, both Tinker and Tin clapped their metal hands as Sid took a seldom bow, as if he was on a stage.
“That’s a brilliant invention, boss.”
“Oh, yes. Very creative. But just one thing…”
“Yes?”
“What does it do, exactly?”
“Oh, well, I’ll show you.” Sid kicks the tarp to the side, grabs a hold of the helmet, and places it on. “With a push of this button, I’ll be able to instantly blend into whatever environment I’m standing in. And that’s not all. I can even change the settings of whichever part I want to make invisible with just a turn of the dial. Impressive, right?”
“Very impressive, Sid.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Now with his shopping list at hand, Sid grabbed his jacket, pants, and boots and placed said list in his pocket. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some grocery shopping to do.” He said before closing the door behind him.
At the Ponyville Marketplace, Sid, now without his winter attire, darted back and forth before tip-toeing over to a tree. He then pressed the button on his camouflage contraption, took out his list, and just walked inside.
Grabbing a basket from the pile, he soon halted in front of the shopkeeper, who was stocking boxes of eggs with his back turned.
“Um, excuse me.”
The shopkeeper glanced at the front of the counter. But from what he was seeing, there was no one there.
“Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you’re still in stock of eggs today.”
“W-who said that?!”
“Me?”
“M-me who?”
“Uh, hello! I’m right in front of you!”
“Look, t-this isn’t funny! A-are you a g-ghost!”
“No, I’m — Oh, now I see!” And with a slight pressing sound, Sid quickly reappeared, causing the shopkeeper to jump back in fright.
“What the heck, man?! You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“Sorry about that. Look, I’m just here to—”
“Stop right there, Sid!” a familiar voice demanded. That voice was none other than Twilight as she and the others stood their ground… again.
“Oh, just what I needed right now,” Sid snarked. “Look, guys, I’m not doing anything even remotely evil today. I’m just here to get some groceries like a normal citizen would.”
“Unlikely story!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“It’s true! Just look at my list, see?”
In a purple aura, Twilight levitated the list from Sid’s hand and skimmed over it. The others followed suit.
“Huh. Well, his story checks out.”
Twilight sighed. “Fine. But we better not catch you doing anything evil today, okay?”
“Fine.”
And with that, Twilight and her friends galloped off.
“Good. Now as I was saying — Huh?” Out of nowhere, the front of the eggs market completely boarded up, along with a wooden sign with big red letters on it that read, ‘Sorry, we’re closed. Come back later.’
“Great! Just great! What’s this planet coming to when a casual nymph like me can’t even get simple eggs without anypony remembering my status as an evil scientist,” Sid sighed. “Well, at least I can still get the other items on my list, so it’s not a total waste.”
And so, with his head held up high, Sid casually made his next stop towards the milk market. “Hi there. My name’s—”
But before he could finish, the milk shopkeeper immediately pulled a curtain down from the ceiling.
“Fine! I know when I’m not wanted.” He then walks off to the market that had various bottles of conditioner and shampoo on the front. “Excuse me. Do you have—?”
Just like the last store, the pony manning the front quickly pulled the curtain. This time, two of them, together. This was enough to cause Sid’s blood to literally boil in frustration. Fortunately, before he could tear his list up, he took a deep breath and regained his composure.
“It’s okay. This isn’t a total loss. You can still at least try to get the rest of the items on your list with no scrutiny involved.”
But as fate would have it, he would walk up to every store in the marketplace. All with the same reaction of ponies shutting down their stores as the last one.
“Okay, now you can get mad.” Sid quickly tore up his list. He then threw it into the ground, stomping it into the dust afterwards.
As the beautiful sun sunk into the horizon, Sid sat on the sidewalk by himself. As the ponies walked by him with glares in their eyes, Sid sighed and lowered his head. What can he do now?
That’s when a group of ponies walked towards him and dropped a basket of groceries onto his lap. In curiosity, he looked up to see who did that to him. It was the Mane Six and their friends who all looked at him with warm smiles on their faces.
“Wow! Wait, why are you doing this?”
“Do we really need a reason to help someone in need?”
“...Thank you, guys. Thank you.”
And so, after getting his groceries, Sid got up and strolled through the sidewalk.
“Wait!”
“Huh?”
“You forgot this, silly.” Pinkie handed him the torn up pieces of his shopping list, which Sid slowly took and placed it in his pocket. “Thanks. I may not always say it, but you guys are the best.”
“So, does that mean you’re fully redeemed, now?”
“Well… Don’t worry. I’ll think about that. Thank you for everything, though.” Sid then gave them a thumbs up before walking into the sunset.
Twilight chuckled. “One day.”
Author's Note
This is Sid's first Slice-of-Life story and his first story that shows him as both a normal citizen and an Affably Evil, sympathetic antagonist so far.