"Look, ah don't need too much", Applejack said as the two of them walked through the streets of Ponyville. Applejack shifted slightly, adjusting the harness attaching her to the cart filled with Apple Cider.
"Couldn't you do it yourself? Or your brother?", Anton asked, speaking above the crunch of freshly fallen snow his boots gave. "Why involve me?"
"Ya know", Applejack said. "Plantin' season an' all that. It's not somethin' that needs to be get done immediately or urgently, hence why we ain't takin' time outta the usual schedule ta take care of it. But ah'd like ta get it done soon as winter's over, so we can weatherproof it an' all as quickly as possible."
Anton tapped a hoof against his chest, considering her offer. He understood her reasoning; if something needed doing but wasn't urgent, bringing in additional aid would be useful. "Do want the wood intact?", he asked.
"What'cha mean?", she asked.
Anton said, "I have... Well, here." He reached into his webbing, pulling out a frag grenade. "I don't have a lot of these, but one or two should be able to bring it down if detonated in the right place."
"Dang", Applejack said, studying the small device. "Twi'd have a field day with one of these."
"Which is exactly why I keep them in the pockets", Anton said. He hoped to keep as much of his equipment merely considered "magic" by the Xenos as possible. Twilight had already taken a too-keen interest in his weapons, and he wanted to avoid her getting ahold of his gear. She was too inquisitive for her own good.
"Oh, speakin' a which", Applejack said, stopping. "Mind takin' one 'a these jugs ta her? She asked that ah save one fer her, but if ya could take it ta her that'd be perfect."
"Alright", he said, levitating one of the thick glass jugs out of the back of the cart. "How much do these cost?"
"Ten bits", Applejack said. "Just drop the money wit' Pa when yer headin' back ta yer place. See ya later!"
"Same", Anton said, and with that, the two parted ways.
He moved through the streets of the town as quickly as he could, his march to the Library accompanied by the loud cadence of his boots. Even though winter had only officially started a few days ago, much of Ponyville was already covered with several layers of snow. Of course, the Everfree had been snowing for a while now, and so he had grown used to the cold and the thick crunching of compacted snow.
He set the jug down as he reached the door, giving it several steady knocks. He was answered promptly by Twilight's menial, who looked up at him with surprisingly alert eyes. "Oh. Morning Aquila", he said. "What can I do for you?"
"Applejack asked me to deliver this", he said, tapping the jug.
Spike looked over, nodding. "Oh, yeah. Come on in."
"I'd really better be going", Anton said. "I've got things to do."
"No, I mean, could you please bring it in?", Spike asked. "It's almost as big as me, and Twi's still kinda sleepy."
"Oh", Anton said. "Uh, sure."
"Thanks", Spike said, walking inside with Anton on his heels. "You want some coffee?"
"What's coffee?", Anton asked. "Some kind of pastry?"
"Nah", Spike said. "It's... Well, it's technically a kind of bean. But, if you grind it up and mix in liquid, it makes a drink ponies drink in order to wake up better."
"So it's like Recaf?", Anton asked, feeling a strange sense of connection to the name.
Spike gave him a look. "What's Recaf?"
"It's a drink", Anton replied. "You boil water, and put it in with crushed leaves and berries. Zecora helped me find a good mixture for it."
"Kinda, I guess", Spike said. "Sounds more like Tea, to be honest?"
The two of them headed up the set of stairs on the far side of the main floor, heading up onto the residence of the building. A few bits of furniture were arranged around the main floor, with several rooms jutting off to the side. Spike headed into the kitchen, calling behind him, "Just put it on the coffee table."
Anton placed down the jug, sighing in relief as his aura faded. Much as the pain was just another part of his penance, he had to admit that the lack of pain from his horn felt nice. As he stood there, Twilight came out of another room, a sleepy look on her face. "Oh", she said, waking up slightly at his unexpected presence. "Good morning, Aquila. What're you doing here?"
"Applejack wanted me to drop off this Cider", he said. "That's ten bits, by the way."
Twilight groaned, before saying, "Coffee first. I'll get you the bits in a minute."
Anton rolled his eyes, but kept silent. A few seconds later, Spike returned, two mugs held in his claws. "Twilight likes hers black. You want milk or sugar?"
"No", Anton said. The Xenos put milk in their version of Recaf?
He took the mug in his aura, lifting up the steaming mug to his lips. Placing the ceramic cup to his lips, he tilted it back slightly, sipping on the dark liquid. The "coffee" was hot, almost scaldingly so, and the taste was strange. "Can't say I'm a fan."
"No problem", Spike said. "Twilight, want me to go get the list?"
"Sure", Twilight said, taking a massive gulp from her mug. "Get some bits for the Cider, while you're back there."
Spike headed back into the room Twilight emerged from, leaving the two of them alone in awkward silence. Anton watched Twilight with a sense of confused curiosity as she seemed to grow more and more alert by the second. She had polished off her mug faster than he would've thought possible, before putting it down with a contented sigh. "Sorry", she said. "I stay up late studying most nights, and kinda need at least one cup to stay up. Especially this week."
"Why? What's this week?", Anton asked.
Twilight looked down, giving a nervous giggle. "Well... I don't have anything to tell the Princess. The week has been pretty uneventful, and I just... haven't run into anything approaching a friendship lesson."
"Friendship... lesson?", Anton asked. He knew the definition of both words of course; he had especially had common instruction on the former. However, the concept of them being connected just didn't make any sense to him.
"Yeah", Spike said, coming back out with a list and a small burlap bag. He tossed the pouch at Anton, which jangled with the noise of bits as he caught it. "Twilight is still technically a student, and has to make these reports about Friendship issues. Like who your friends are and your own behavior after what happened with Gilda, or overcoming your differences when Applejack and Rarity stayed over during that thunderstorm a month ago."
Anton blinked. "And... you don't have anything?"
"Not really", Twilight said. "We've got two days until I have to send in my report, so something should come up by then. By the by, do you have anything that I could help you with. As a friend?"
This time she blinked at him, though the wide smile betrayed its nature. He said, "No. Do you really have to give her something about this? It seems pretty nebulous."
"I gave my word to Princess Celestia that I would provide a report on my Friendship lessons every week", Twilight said, a more disturbed tone working its way into her voice. "If I don't get something to her, then I'll be tardy on an assignment. And I could fail because of that. And she'll send me back-"
"Twilight, I already told you", Spike cut in. "That's not gonna happen."
"Can't you just say nothing happened?", Anton asked.
Both of them turned to him. "What?", Twilight asked, her eyes wider than usual.
"If nothing happened, just tell her nothing happened", he said, shrugging. "It's not like you can just... make a problem appear."
"I-I can't turn in a blank assignment! That's almost as bad as not turning one in", Twilight said.
"I'm not saying turn in a blank piece of paper", Anton said. "Just say 'Nothing happened this week'. She can't fault you for nothing going on unless something does happen that you don't document."
Twilight seemed to consider it, rubbing a hoof under her chin. Spike cut in, "We still have two days. If nothing does happen, it's worth a shot."
"Alright", Twilight said. "We'll look for something, but that can be a fall-back." She looked at him, and perhaps for the first time since the two had met, gave him, and him alone, a sincere smile. "Thanks, Aquila."