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It was an odd sight, seeing the bright orange dragon exit the small cottage of a store, but an occurance like this wasn't too uncommon for many Equestrian toy vendors. Patches made his way to Hoofington square as he adjusted the strap of a bag fit for a creature his size. Trying to avoid the odd stares of suspicious pedestrians,  he let himself walk on all fours - not that it made a difference on how anypony saw him, but he was used to walking like that himself. Keeping his head low, bringing attention to himself was the last thing he wanted. "J-j-just passing though, a-and I'll get home in time..." He muttered, yet another failed attempt to reassure himself

 

"ORANGES, GET YOUR ORANGES HERE! The best fruit in Equestria, full of vitamins and chock full of tastiness to boot! Fresh from the orchards and picked this morning! How could you NOT grab one or two of these amazing citrus for a measly two bits for a dozen?" Bo continued to sell his product, forcing samples on anypony that walked too close to his stand. Anypony that refused was given a chance to 'reconsider' before being sent off a few bits lighter. "Hey, Scaleback!" He pointed at Patches and shouted even louder. "I like your look, it's a nice color, why not get some matching fruit?!" Bo grabbed a few oranges to show off, putting his extremely worn down hooves into view. "Have a sample then buy a dozen!"

 

One loud pony, yet another obstacle to avoid. Cringing at the booming, fruit-selling colt's voice, Patches tried to get away from his stand...and then he called him out. Oh jeeze, did it /have/ to be a vend that actually matched most of his scales? He didn't want to be rude, but buying anything after finishing half of his errands was the last thing on his mind. "Um, s-sorry there Sir, b-but I've already spent my bits for business purposes..." He said. In truth, he actually /had/ more bits on him, but they were supposed to go back to his employer once he left Hoofington.

 

"Big spender like you must have LOADS of bits! Don't dragons have caves of gems? The one thing you seem to be lacking is a dozen of my sweet, sweet oranges! Why don't you just come on over and give them a try?" Bo's smile faded a little, giving way to an ominous glare as he motioned towards the dragon. Normally he'd be more agressive right off the bat, but this was a dragon, and needed to be handled with care.

 

"C-correction, um, that mainly applies for the fully-grown." He chimed timidly. It was quite obvious what the red-maned vedor wanted, and by the glare he gave it was apparent that he wouldn't let him on his way anytime soon. " And uh, I-I'm not like m-most dragons, really. I-I d-don't think my employer would like me h-h-hoarding things, even gems.." He added, which counted as both the truth as well as a hopful little tidbit that would have him leave the poor dragon alone.

 

"Well, ain't no time to start like the present! Get a few oranges, and you'll soon be clamboring for more!" Bo took a few steps away from his cart, eying the Dragon calmly as he slid up next to him. "Come on, take a taste." The stallion passed a freshly peeled orange to the dragon, nudging him all the while. "Give it a bite."

 

Patches scratched the back of his head nervously at the offer, slowly taking a step back. "N-no really, I'd rather not. W-wouldn't want to end up l-like that one d-dragon in Ponyville..." He wasn't sure if the story was true, and whether Bo himself heard of it was shaky at best, but Patches wasn't intending on letting his dragon instincts get the best of him.

 

"That was quite the sight! I was in town when that happened, glad to say it all turned out all right." Bo smiled even wider and pressed even closer. "C'mon, an orange wouldn't hurt, a few bits would hurt even less..." The grin dropped completely and a snarl formed on his lips. "If you know what I mean."

 

"H-hurt...?" Patches whimpered. His neck craned lower as he curled his tail to his side, taking another small step away from the vendor. It was times like these where he wished that he was as small as he felt - then he wouldn't get himself into predicaments with ruthless salesponies.

 

Hoofington patrols were always a bit more exciting than those back in Ponyville; there was so much more to see and do! The little knight of dubious credentials was as usual, out and about on the search for trouble, when she happened to spot an old acquaintance, Blood Orange, the citrus salepony. While their last encounter had started on rocky terms, a mutual understanding had been seemingly established. Kite thought it might be nice to give the salepony a polite visit, and casually clanked her way over, standing aside to let him finish dealing with his current customer, surprisingly a dragon. It very quickly became apparent that Bo was once more treating his customers as nothing more than walking bit purses, however. This time, harassing a timid customer, no less; it called for action! Clanking a little more audibly, the knight marched into Bo's line of sight, parking herself across from his stand and "AHEM!"-ing loudly. No doubt Bo would remember what happened the last time circumstances presented themself as such!

 

Bo knew who that was, all right. It was that pesky, yet brave, little knight that once again decided to infringe upon his business! "Excuse me, but I do believe i'm with a customer! Why don't you go look for some oil to get rid of that damned squeak you make every time you decide BUTT IN ON SOMEPONY'S BUSINESS?" Bo jabbed Patches in the side with a hoof and shoved the orange in his face. "Yes, HURT. Now BUY some oranges!"

 

"EEE!" The dragon squeak as Bo's sharp jab caused him to duck in a crouching manner, sweeping his tail while it nearly hit the knight. Not out of pain (it took a bit more pressure to puncture through dragon scales, thankfully), but from the contact itself. "I'msorrryimsorryimsorry!" Patches repeated as he scrunched his eyes, either to the vendor himself or Kite, not that he honestly knew at this point.

 

"Hey!" Clankclankclank, the little knight marched right up to Bo, stepping between him and the dragon. "What's the matter with you? You can't just go around jabbing somepo- err, dragon like that! Just because you sell sour stuff, doesn't mean you need the matching attitude!" It was a bit of an odd sight to be sure, the tiny knight staring down the bigger orange vendor in defence of the even bigger dragon, but Kite took no notice. A bully was a bully, no matter how you squeezed it.

 

Bo shoved the dragon away lightly, giving him some space to stare down the younger pony. "You talk a lot of game for a tiny pony that's stuck in a sardine tin! There's something a LITTLE FISHY about all that, eh? I let you slide last time because I was being generous. Now, I'm behind quota and need every sale I can get! So SCRAM!"

 

Patches perked up a fin-like ear as he heard the incoming stand-off. Hoping that that it would be a temporary distraction, the dragon got up and tried to make sense of as to where he was supposed to go...that is, until hearing Bo talk down to the little knight. If having a salespony harass him wasn't enough to make his cold blood boil, then seeing Bo direct his anger at Kite was at least starting to. Still, Patches planned on getting back to the shop without causing a spectacle, and losing his temper no matter what the cause was the last thing he would have wanted. "Not everyone's faring well in business these days, you know. Did you ever come to think of that as the reason /why/ I haven't made an offer?" He said with a raised though hesitant voice. That and his left eye twitching were the only two sighs of himself restraining his tested patience for Bo.

 

"I'm not gonna argue with you, Mister." The little knight replied rather coolly, not budging an inch. "If bits are so important, you  should consider how others feel when you try to bully them out of theirs!" Heads were staring to turn in the direction of the orange stand now, the hustle and bustle dying down slightly. "And instead of making fun of others and telling them how to fix their problems, maybe you should stop and think for a second! Maybe that something that's a little FISHY is just your rotten attitude; I'd fix it before somepony smells it and things a grapefruit went bad!" The little knight held her ground between Bo and Patches; hopefully, things wouldn't explode!

 

"Oh, a tough pony, eh?" Bo snarled and turned around to face Patches. "You're a dragon! Just steal something, that's what you all do anyway! Hell, you could steal my Celestia Damned Oranges if you wanted to!" He looked back at Kite and scratched at the ground. "Times are tough, there's no room for sympathy if I'm going to get where I want to go! Ponies want oranges, and I'm there to shove them into their wide open maws! Sure, I'd LIKE to have a kinder, more gentle business model, but that's not really an option for me. I need to raise money just so my family will take me back! Nopony has EVER done anything for me, so why the BUCK should I do anything for them? You can buy my oranges, or you can get the BUCK out of here!"

 

Steal? Just /steal/ !? It wasn't the  first time he had to put up with /those/ horseapples, but he hoped to Celestia that he wouldn't put himself through that again. A low snarl started to errupt from his muzzle, but he quickly shut his mouth, hoping that Bo didn't have anymore speciest notions to spout. His legs shook as he felt his claws start to dig into the ground, but the very mention of his estrangement suddenly took Patches aback; so the vendor and dragon both had abandonment issues, it seems. Though still upset with Bo, his expression softened somewhat. "True family wouldn't leave you out on the street over for the sake of their profession," Patches said softly yest sern. "I had to learn that the hardway."

 

"If everypony waited until somepony else was nice to them before they were nice, then nopony would ever start, Mister Orange." The pegasus fidgeted with her visor; even if she was supposed to be a knight, an older pony yelling so... animatedly at her still made her nervous. It was a reminder of being yelled at by instructors; she shook the thought aside. "Look, I was coming over here to say hello and maybe grab a snack; I've had orange juice from your stand, it was great! But..." She shook her head. "...pestering others and then calling them names isn't gonna get you nowhere in the long run."

 

"First of all, If it isn't 'gunna get me nowhere', then I'll actually get pretty far." Bo narrowed his eyes and resisted the urge to shout. "Second of all, do NOT call me 'Mister Orange'! I'm Bo, I am NOT of the orange family, I have to EARN my place, and I can only do that by selling my goods. I grow, harvest, and sell them all by myself, I work hard so that I can be a part of my family again!" Bo seethed and turned to face Patches. "True family? Listen, Pal, I don't think you know a /thing/ about the Orange family! Hell, my own parents wont accept that I exist until I can meet their quotas! So don't patronize ME about 'how to act'" He scratched at the ground awkwardly with his worn hooves and looked around. "So please... please just either buy something or leave."

 

"I-I would, a-actually," His ears lowered as he positioned himself at eye-level with Bo. "I'm not telling you to do anything, but if you were ever to be seen as a living mail delivery service by the upper-crust of Canterlot, then maybe /you/ would know my family as well. I mean, the first ones to take me in, at least..."

 

Kite sighed, opting to bite her tongue. It was evident to her that Bo had a one track mind about this sort of thing, and while she did feel more than a twinge of sympathy for his situation, his rudeness was still uncalled for. "...well, I'm sorry I can't help you, Mister Bo. For the record, your wares are fantastic; I hope that'll be enough to make you happy someday; I know for a fact it's all you need to sell them." She took a step back, but otherwise remained nearby; it was still her duty to make sure everything stayed safe, and who knew if Bo would start trying to upset Patches again.

 

The only thing the stallion could do is sigh and look towards the dragon. "I... uh... didn't think you were one of /those/ dragons. It's right awful keeping your kind stuck working for the scholars... guess I shoulda thought a little before shouting at ya." His normally precise speech was overtaken by the natural accent he possesed. "Listen, I don't want t' be leavin' y'all with a sour taste in yer mouths. If'n y'all want a thing, just let me know. I'll be happy t'oblie." He looked at the armored mare, but wasn't sure what to say. "I shouldn't've been getting in ponies faces and such, tryin' to make sales... I guess I should be apologizin' to ya 'bout that. Yer a right brave pony, I'm too scared to even talk with my normal accent half the time, and yer out here clankin' round in yer armor, sticking up for dragons of all things. I guess I can't say too much 'bout you that ain't good."

 

"U-um, y- /used/ to..." Patches mumbled in response. "N-not too sure if humble toy makers count as s-scholars, at least nowadays." He wasn't quite sure how to respond about being referred to as "one of /those/ dragons", but at least he was apologizing to both him as well as the knight. Speaking of her, the dragon knew he was have to thank her, but he let the two talk for a bit before he said anything else.

 

Kite flushed slightly behind her visor; thankfully, it hid this fact. She never was particularly good at receiving compliments. "A-ah, just... just doing my job, Mister."

 

Bo sighed and lifted a hoof weakly. "Either of ya a fan of Orange Juice? It's on the house, least I can do fer trying t'start up trouble in the first place."

 

"Well, I wouldn't mind a try." Patches replied timidly. "I...may even pay a few bits, if you'd like." He smiled bashfully. He'd likely have some explaining to do once he would arrive back at Joy's Toy Shop, but at least he knew that the pony namedropped in the store's name, his employer, would likely be understanding about it. He then turned to Kite. "And I thank you greatly, erm...you name, Miss? I'm Patches." The dragon looked over at the fruit vendor. "I believe somepony said you were Bo, is that correct?"

 

"Ah, Kite!" The little knight gave a clangy salute. "My name is Kite, uh, happy to help! I mean, umm! All part of the job!" With the matter seemingly resolved, the square slowly started buzzing back to life, though a few heads still turned now and again. "And that's mighty generous, Mister Bo sir, but umm I really don't want to take something of yours without paying if times are as tough as you say."

 

The Orange Stallion nods curteously towards the two others. "The name's Bo, ain't nothing to it. And please, consider it mah apology for being so crude before. Sometimes Ah get a little passionate about mah sales." He shuffles his hooves a bit awkwardly and looks around.

 

"All is forgiven, Mister Bo." Patches grinned softly. He found the name 'Bo' be be a bit odd for a ponyname, maybe it stood for something...but not particularly caring about the unrelated subject, he turned to the two ponies. "Maybe I could pay for two glasses, on for Kite and I? It's the least I could do in order to help out durring these times."

 

"Ah, r-really, that's not necessary...!" The little knight shook her head, helmet clanking with the motion. Any type of praise or reward usually led to flustering and embarrassment with the underconfident pegasus.  "I-I'm just doing my job!"

 

"Now y'all are just being too kind. Please, just call me Bo, t'aint no reason to go callin me 'mister'. And two glasses of Orange Juice ain't gunna bankrupt me, so please, take 'em. It's the least i could do anyhow." He looked towards the dragon, but his gaze quickly moved downward. "I'm sorry fer what I said earlier. I ain't never seen a dragon before, not countin' the large one that tried t' destroy Ponyville...."

 

"No no, you've done more than your fair share, really." He assured Kite with a polite tip of his head. He put his gaze on Bo once more. "Most haven't, so it's understandable. It hasn't been the first time anypony's said something along those lines, trust me..." He drags his foreleg back and fourth awkwardly.

 

"I... but...! Well... okay. T-thank you." There was no use arguing about it; she had, after all, intervened to prevent an argument. As for the subject of dragons... well, historically knights and dragons didn't really get along the best; hoarding versus upholding knightly virtues tended to end poorly, after all. But, this being their second encounter, Kite knew that Patches wasn't that type of dragon, or at least he didn't seem to be! Bo at least seemed to have learned this, which was good enough for Kite.

 

Bo smiles weakly, still feeling a bit guilty about what had happened, they hadn't been mean to him, so his actions were completely undeserved. The stallion turned back towards his cart and grabbed a few oranges and a knife. He slowly started to peel one, knicking his hoof in the process and drawing a trickle of blood, before doing the same with the other. There were now two peeled oranges, and all that was left was for the juice to be made. He grabbed his trusty juicer and the two oranges and made quick work of it. Soon enough there were two fresh glasses of ice cold orange juice, each in a frosty mug. "Well, drink up y'all, it don't get much better than this."

 

Patches almost swore he saw a glint of red near Bo's hooves...was it blood? The squeamish dragon averted his gaze from his hoofs which, now that he thought about it, looked rather worn for his age. He didn't know too much about hoofcare still, and not wanting to be rude, he made no comment on it for now. Seeing both of their glasses freshly filled, the dragon lightly bowed his head. "Thank you..." he he smiled. But before he reached for his drink, he unfastened his bag in search of something - not bits, but something of a little more worth, if not of sentimental value. The dragon reached a paw inside of it and then back out before closing it again, placing an orange, triangular-cut gem on his stand. "Citrine quartz," He stated. "I really don't need it myself. I've just had lunch, and I tend to preffer the blue ones anyway. "He said sheepishly.

 

"Whoa...! Pretty!" The little knight blinked behind her visor at the sight of the bright jewel. "Ah, I mean... t-thank you, Mister Bo!" She slid up her visor, offering a polite smile. "Really."

 

Bo's eyes widened pretty far. "I told ya not to pay me for 'em... but I can't look a gift hor... er... dragon, in the mouth, can I?" He gently reached out and put a hoof to the gem. "First gift I ever get, and It's from a dragon..." He mutters, mostly to himself. "Thank ya, now drink up!"

 

Patches nodded with indication of his thanks. "No need to thank me. Llike I said, it's the least I can do!" He gives Kite her glass before reaching for his own - which was a little small for a dragon his size, but he didn't really mind.

 

"Ah, almost forgot...!" The little knight removed her helmet, placing it aside; it was a little hard to drink through a full helm, after all. "Thank you, Mister Patches." She accepted the glass, taking a sip. Same as last time, the orange beverage was top notch; the perfect refresher, worth it's weight in bits; Bo sure knew his oranges! "Mmm...!"

 

Bo shuffled his hooves anxiously, hoping that the juice came out all right. He knew it was good, but some ponies really just didn't like oranges! "If ya want, mister Patches, I can fetch ya something a fair bit bigger."

 

"No it's alright! I-I can fare, I think." Patches politely assured before before raising the cup towards his snout. Unhinging his jaw, he awkwardly poured the orange juice in his mouth. Pausing for a moment, he had to admit that it it tasted top notch - and he loved the tangy aftetaste - though maybe Bo was right about needing a bigger glass..."On second thought, maybe I do need a larger picher. Supurb stuff you have there, however." He grinned bashfully.

 

"It really is the best, you should be proud!" The filly agreed with an enthusiastic nod,taking the time to enjoy hers instead of downing the glass. "It sells itself!"

 

"Psh, Ah wish!" Bo managed to slice up a few more oranges (and his hooves in the process), and before long, there was a nice tankard full of OJ, the pefect size for a growing dragon! "Here ya go, sorry 'bout that, I don't normally serve your kind... In terms of size, i mean! Most dragons don't seem interested in citrus, and a fair share of ponies ain't quite that big!"

 

Patches blinked in surprise as the salespony proceeded to make a larger tankful of juice, putting his original cup down as he eyed his larger mug. "You needn't have to, but thank you plenty Sir" He lifts up the pitcher before taking a sip: It was just as great as the first, though maybe he could wash it down with something crunchy...no, maybe that wasn't a good idea. He looked over as Bo. "J-just a small protip: Gems aside, if you even meet another dragon, they tend to like, um, tangy and spicy? I haven't met a lot of dragons other than myself, so maybe it's just me..." He comments sheepishly.

 

"Tangy and spicy, really?" Kite raised an eyebrow; well, so long as knights didn't taste that way, she was in the clear, right? "Breathing fire sounds pretty tangy and spicy as is, if you ask me! ...oh! Unless, spicy tangy stuff makes fire breathing better? I wonder what hot peppers would do? Or wasabi! Sounds dangerous!"

 

Bo just watched as the little motor mouth just kept on chugging, he noticed that his hooves stung a little bit more than usual, and he looked down to find that there was still some blood there. "If y'all will excuse me for a moment, Ah er... have to get cleaned up right quick, Ah won't be long!" Embarrassed, Bo grabbed a few things from his cart and ducked into a nearby alley to tend to his wounds.

 

"I'll have to try wasabi at some point, but hot peppers taste /great/ with sapphires!" Patches gushed, at least before keeping in mind that neither pony actually ate gems. "Um, j-j-just don't try e-eating them at h-home. I mean, not with saphhires...or other gems..." The dragon blushed in temporary embarassment. "I-I try not to breath fire too much, though. I just like the flavors, is all." He closed his eyes and took another sip before Bo exused himself, taking notice of his still blood-ridden hooves again. "Maybe we should check to see if he's alright?" He wispered to Kite as he gestured towards the alley. "I thought I saw blood oh his hooves earlier, while he was cutting oranges..."

 

"AH, n-no, don't do that." The little knight whispered back quickly. "Mister Bo's very sensitive about that. I really don't wanna upset him." And then, in a normal voice again. "I'm not much of a spicy pony, myself. Er, not like, I don't taste spicy, I mean! Well... I dunno how I'd taste!" She placed her helmet back on her head. "I mean, I don't eat spicy stuff much!"

 

The Orange colt sat on his rump in the alley, pressing a cloth to his hooves and cursing under his breath. "Damned hooves, why can't Ah just bucking peel an Orange correctly? Wouldn't be surprised if they all started to think I'm a freak!" He continued to mutter as he cleaned up his hooves. Eventually the bleeding stopped, and a few minutes after leaving, Bo Returned, his hooves wrapped up. "Sorry about that..."

 

"I-I see, I-I-I see. I-I like eating s-s-spicy things every now and again." Patches said aloud before whispering to Kite once more. "W-why's that?" He asked with another concerned whisper. "I-is he, um, ashamed of-" He quickly stopped talking as he saw Bo coming back, almost spilling his drink while trying to avoid being seen talking quietly with her. "W-w-welcome back! Heheh!" He grinned nervously. "A-are you alri- uh, so, how's orange selling been lately?" He stammered. Hoh boy...

 

"Ah, uh, yes!" Kite gave a nod, stepping forwards; Patches was gonna blow their cover and upset Bo is he kept acting so nervously! The little knight had to divert the conversation. "What brings you here, Mister Bo? Last time we met, you were selling outside of Ponyville!"

 

Bo was originally going to ask what they were muttering about, but Kite successfully diverted his attention. The Orange colt put a hoof to his chin and looked around. "Well, after ponyville Ah headed to th'coast, hitting up the smaller towns until Ah got to the big bay here, decided to pay Hoofington a visit! It's the best coastal city there is, 'cept for Manehattan, of course!"