//------------------------------//
// 17~The Witch 
// Story: The Emperor Preserves 
// by Centurion Pike-Wall 
//------------------------------//

From what he had been told, the winter months had started to wind down in the past few days. He had been helping more around their house, though they still wouldn't let him go outside. In the meantime, he had started to be more involved in the familial habits of the Apple family. 

He actually woke up at around the same time as them, internal clocks wired along the same lines. Somewhat somberly, they had given him the seat that had once been Buttercups. Fortunately, none of them had said anything, though he knew they were all working through what had happened; he had heard the crying and soft talks through the doors or around corners. The food had made up for the awkwardness, being general mixtures of apple products in forms that he had never heard of before. He was never even aware of what Apple French-Toast Casserole was, but it was now one of his new favorite foods. 

Afterward, they all had spread out to perform various tasks. Many of them were outside, while he was restricted to the inside. That didn't mean he wasn't given a few tasks to do, after he had requested something to do. Mostly this involved cleaning things and sorting objects inside the house, though that wasn't always the case. These other tasks ranged from rather tolerable, such as helping Bright Mac in patching a hole by one of the windows. On the other hand, though, were some tasks that had been downright miserable, like when he had basically acted as a living resource stand for Granny Smith as she was making a blanket. 

That mix of boredom and pain aside, it wasn't that bad. And that is what made it miserable. 

He was completely surrounded by Xenos, and the urge to kill them all had faded. Not that he had done anything, but he had simply grown used to it by this point. Whenever one of them would give him a "Good Morning" or a "Hello", he gave them a nod. Nothing else! His mind, no doubt corrupted by the Xenos in some way, was twisting his actions and preventing him from doing anything against them. 

These thoughts were the ones that ran through his mind as he was swept by the front door. He could feel a small amount of chill coming in through the door, though not enough for him to be discomforted. That said, he couldn't help but shiver and mutter to himself, especially as the thoughts of what kind of sins he had committed against the Emperor. He had earned the death sentence for numerous counts of both Imperial Law and Astra Militarum regulations. 

He finished sweeping a decent-sized collection of dust and debris, he heard several knocks on the door. He looked over, an eyebrow raised. None of the Apple family ever knocked; it was their dwelling, so they just entered. That meant it was someone who wasn't affiliated with them; that white one, Rarity, perhaps?

He leaned the broom against the wall and set the dustbin onto a small table, before walking over to the door. He adjusted his undershirt so as to cover as much of his accursed fur as possible, before opening the door. 

His eyes widened as he was greeted with perhaps the most garishly colored thing he had ever seen. Well, not a thing; it was another pony, lacking either the horn he had or the wings he had seen. This example of its damnable subspecies was vastly different from the numerous samples he had seen. She (as he had determined it to be) had a tangle curl of hair that reminded him of tangled wires, which was only a few shades of pink darker than the rest of her. She also had the biggest smile he had ever seen, with teeth so white they would've been blinding if not for several brackets of metal lacing her teeth.

"Hi!", she said, her voice sickly sweet and disturbingly chipper. "You must be Aquila! I'm Pinkie Pie! It's nice to meet you!"

Anton blinked, not really knowing what to say. "Um, Can I... help you?"

In the space of his blink, she appeared next to him. She wrapped a hoof around his shoulder, saying, "Not really! But, I've just got here, and I'm in the process of making friends with everyone I can. I heard about you, but never met you! So I'm here to make friends!"

Anton scrambled away, panic welling up in his throat. "H-how did you do that!?"

"Do what?", she asked. 

"That! Popping up right next to me!", he said, his aura lighting up around the hilt of his sword. 

Pinkie made a noise somewhere between a giggle and a snort. "Oh, that. It's nothing. Just something I can do from time to time. My dads tried to figure it out himself; called some really interesting ponies to talk to me and look at me creepily about it. Now, enough about me!" She bounced in place, before taking a big spring forward, landing right in front of him. "Wanna cupcake?" 

He had a small item with a colorful top held up in front of him, seemingly pulled from nowhere. Anton only backed away as much as he could. He had grown more and more suspicious of her over the past few minutes, and her grabbing something out of thin air only heightened it. "W-what is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?", Pinkie asked, seemingly deflating somewhat. Disturbingly, that was literal; her color dulled to a darker shade while some of her unnatural curls straightened. "I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Pinkie?", a voice said from behind her. Looking past Pinkie, he saw Applejack coming in through the still-open door, shutting it behind her. "What are you doing here?"

She perked up at the sight of Applejack, saying, "Oh, hi Applejack! I was just saying hi to Aquila here. You know, since I've arrived, I've been trying to make friends with as many ponies as I could, and you mentioned him during one of your trips into town. I mean, Rarity also mentioned him, and didn't have all that nice things to say about him, so there's that. But, if one pony is saying he's a good pony, then he can't be all that bad, right? So, I came over to make a new friend. But, he's been a bit mean and not all that friendly, so-"

"Alright, alright", Applejack said, cutting Pinkie off with a hoof waved in her face. "Ah get it. Let me talk ta him."

Applejack came up to him, grabbing him by the arm and leading him into the next room. As they came to a stop, she asked, "Did ya threaten 'er or somethin'?"

"What, no", Anton said. 

Applejack said, "Ya got yer magic wrapped 'round yer sword. Ah just wanna cover mah bases."

"No, I did not threaten her", Anton said. "I just... she's off. How do you know her?"

"She's the apprentice of the Cakes, the owners 'a Sugarcube Corner. She's stayin' wit' the Mayors secretary; apparently, she's a relative of 'er Pa. Ah met her when ah went ta the Corner, when she was workin' the counter. Now, what do ya mean she's 'Off'", Applejack asked. 

Anton bit his tongue, trying to word this. He had his suspicions, but nothing that he could convince her about. Besides, these Xenos were social creatures, and they wouldn't be willing to throw their own under a Taurox. Even if she was a servant of the Great Enemy, then he couldn't... He didn't know. And it terrified him to no end. 

"She's just creepy", Anton said, sucking in a breath. "Ok?"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry; ya ain't alone. She's gotten quite a few weird looks when she started comin' here. Just... give 'er a chance."

Anton looked over at Pinkie, eyes narrowed slightly. She was idly staring off into space, tapping her hooves against the floor. He nodded slightly, saying, "Alright." That didn't mean he had to like her, or even not hate her. If she was indeed Servant of the Enemy, then he needed to keep an eye on this one so as to prevent harm from coming to oth-To cleanse this stain upon the Emperor's name.