A preview for an upcoming commission, featuring some big, burly bull changes! Enjoy!
Oh god, this was going to take forever… Matteo blinked a few times yet again and got to it. He began the long process of restocking: taking old cans off, putting the new ones on, and then putting the old cans back on.
The entire time, he thought about the rest of the day. After this, he had his cashier shift coming up. Was he going to make it through everything?
As he finished putting the tomato soap cans on, Matteo heard some heavy sounds. Thick clops and steps upon the tile flooring, ones that came to a stop beside him. He turned to the side and looked up… and up.
Standing before him was a very tall, large, buff anthro unicorn. He had dark pink fur with even darker pink bushy mane, tail, and beard. He wore tight gym shorts and a tank top, clearly meant to highlight his physique. He also had glasses sitting on the tip of his snout, not slipping off presumably because of unicorn magic.
The large beast of an equine looked at the much smaller Matteo and smiled pleasantly. “Hey! Could you help me?” His voice was perky, full of life, and pleasantly deep. “I never really shopped here before. Do you know where the protein shakes are?”
“Oh… sure…” Matteo stood up straight and started to point. “They're over…” He yawned, body shaking a little as he did. Another wave of sleepiness had struck. Maybe he needed a small walk.
“Ah, just follow me.” He motioned for the large equine to follow, who happily did, thankfully not making a “funny” comment about his yawn. He was so sick of customers with their “playful”, “cute” remarks on the best of days.
Matteo led the anthro a few aisles over, showing him the store's selection of protein drinks and powders. The unicorn grinned. “Sweet! Tons of options! Thanks for the help, bro!”
“S-sure… of course.” Matteo yawned, blinking a few more times. “Gotta get back to it then. Have a good day.” He turned and started to leave.
“Hey! You okay, dude?” Matteo turned back to the unicorn. He was giving him a concerned look, probably the most concern he had ever gotten from any customer in his retail career. “You look like you're about to drop!”
The human looked awkwardly at the ground for a moment before back at him. Despite just meeting, there was such a pleasant, good vibe about the horse that made him almost feel like a friend he's known for years. It put him at ease, almost forgetting about his stress.
So, Matteo decided to spill, giving him all the details about what was going on. By the time he was finished, the human let out another long yawn. “Yeah… just tired.”
“Yeah, I can see!” the pink unicorn replied, gently nodding. “Does sound exhausting! Probably should chug some energy drinks. You guys probably have some good ones, right?”
“Yeah…” Matteo sighed, “Though, with my luck, they probably won't help at all.”
The unicorn stroked his chin and then smiled. “Ya know, I've been yapping this whole time and haven't even introduced myself! Da name is Berry Swellony. I have a habit of showing up at the right times and the right places for people.”
Matteo gave him an odd look. “What do you mean by that?”
Berry chuckled, looking rather smug and proud of himself. “Well, I'm a stallion that knows how to help people, give them exactly what they need.” Matteo definitely wasn't sure how to respond to that.
The pink equine reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “And for helping me with what I need…” He pulled out a ten dollar bill. “Here's a little tip for your troubles. Hope it serves as a nice, little wake-up call.”
Well, it certainly took Matteo by surprise enough, giving his brain a nice, little jolt. “Wh-what? Really? For me? I-I can't accept that!”
“Nonsense!” Berry put the bill into Matteo's hand. “A little extra moolah is always nice to have. If you can't have it because of store policy or somethin’, just keep it quiet. I certainly won't say anything!”
Matteo wasn't sure what to say. That was really nice of the guy!
Berry grabbed a few packs of protein drinks from the shelf, carrying them all easily with one arm. He turned to leave, but stopped. “Here's a bonus too!” He reached into his pocket and pulled something out again, flipping it into Matteo's hands. “I think it'll be a big help to you.”
It was a coin, one that Matteo had never seen before. It was shimmering gold and had the silhouette of a bull's head on both of its sides.
It was certainly strange, almost seeming custom made. Matteo tried to ask Berry about it, but the equine was fast. He was already at the end of an aisle, disappearing around its corner.