- >That’s another bust.
- >You look down at the list, only one name left.
- “That just leaves...Cherry Berry?”
- >You shrug, these ponies and their names.
- >Unfortunately you can’t shake this growing pit in your stomach.
- >Twilight was right, everyone of the ponies you have talked to thus far have more or less said the same thing.
- >There are far easier ways to fly that don’t involve magic, so why bother?
- “There has to be a way, I mean they have magic for fucks sake. Transform an object into something else, easy. Conjure a door out of thin air, piece of cake. Move a fucking celestial body...Actually only two can do that, but that’s not the point.”
- >Shaking your head, you grit your teeth as you reach the outskirts of Ponyville, hopefully you won’t have to reach out to other towns to find out.
- >Not sure what time it is either, so you try to hurry along.
- >You arrive at a smaller pony house and can see a hanger out back.
- >Looking at the note and back up at the home, you pause.
- “Let’s hope this isn’t for nothing.”
- >You sigh and reach the front door to find a bell to ring.
- “Well that’s different.”
- >You pull it a few times and wait as the final ring goes out.
- >Don’t let yourself get stressed over this, it’s not like you didn’t try.
- >Just more of a pain in the ass than you thought it would be.
- >The door opens up, and a pink coated mare with a blonde mane steps out with a neutral expression on her face.
- >”Can I help you with something?”
- >Upon further inspection, you can see she has bags under her eyes and a pair of cherries for a cutiemark.
- “Yeah, I’m assuming you’re Cherry Berry? I’m Anon.”
- >She yawns and nods.
- >”I already heard about you, and just call me Cherry.”
- >Alright, she doesn’t seem like she really wants to talk, but that’s fine.
- “Do you happen to know a way to make a pony fly?”
- >She raises an eyebrow.
- >”Well I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I fly ponies and rent out my vehicles. If that’s what you’re after we can step inside and discuss business.”
- >You shake your head.
- “I mean, making them fly with wings, like a pegasus does.”
- >Cherry frowns and glares at you.
- >”Is this some kind of prank? Oh haha, make fun of Cherry just because she likes flying and is a dumb earth pony.”
- >Guess Addie isn’t alone in those thoughts.
- >You raise your hands up and attempt to calm her.
- “No, I’m serious.”
- >She doesn’t let go of her glare.
- >”Did the Royal Magical Society send you then? Still want to take my designs?”
- >What the fuck is this conspiracy bullshit?
- >As you lower your hands you feel your own anger start to come on.
- “No for fucks sake, I came here to help out a friend, not steal shit.”
- >You stand your ground and keep up this staring contest for a bit.
- >Finally, she relaxes and her expression softens.
- >”Sorry about that, can’t blame me for being suspicious. Follow me.”
- >You nod and follow her inside the house and see there is a desk in the living room with filing cabinets. There is also paper work on the desk and a couple of chairs in front. Looks like she doesn’t actually relax in here.
- >She leads you into a back room that has a drawing table and a various prototype flying devices lying around.
- >Cherry turns to face you and waves her leg around the room.
- >”Don’t mind the mess, but I’ve been working on this stuff for years.”
- >You nod and feel some hope at last.
- “Pretty impressive, I’ve tried talking to different ponies across town about this, but none were helpful.”
- >She lets out a yawn, picks up a cup from the drawing table and takes a quick drink.
- >”Yeah that’s no surprise. Probably thought you were crazy as well.”
- >Setting the cup down, she continues.
- >”As you can see, I’ve tried many designs, but I’ve mostly managed gliders of some kind. Trying to fly without magic is nearly impossible.”
- >Your hope rises.
- “Alright, well what holds you back from being possible?”
- >Cherry looks at you like you grew a second head before shaking her head.
- >”In short, the laws of aerodynamics and magic. It’d help if I could find a unicorn who could help.”
- “Hold on, I thought there was no spell that could work, except for the wings spell that Twilight told me.”
- >Her eyes widen.
- >”Wait wait! You’re telling me there is a spell for that?!”
- >You shrug and try to avoid explaining.
- “Well, kinda? She told me they are fragile and the spell is hard to cast or something like that.”
- >She slumps and her voice drops a little.
- >”Well that figures...”
- “Got any other ideas though?”
- >She takes another drink and rubs her chin.
- >”If a unicorn specializes in certain fields of enchantments, yeah. At least some kind of spell to help deal with the wings. That would probably make this so much easier.”
- “Sounds easy enough.”
- >Before you continue she shakes her head quickly.
- >”No it isn’t. Unicorns magic is tied to their cutiemark, so that’s highly unlikely. Especially with so many unicorns in this world.”
- >Smiling, you do know of one that might make this easier.
- “Twilight told me her talent is tied to magic, so why don’t we ask her?”
- >She opens her mouth and closes it several times before facehoofing
- >”I-I never thought about that, but why would she help us?”
- “I’ll handle that, but in the meantime.”
- >You have a feeling it’s getting late.
- “Do you have the time.”
- >Cherry points to a nearby clock, and it says after one.
- >Shit.
- “We’ll talk later I got to get going.”
- >Quickly, you start to run in hopes of not being late.
- >You hear her call out to you as you’re running.
- >”Yeah sure, hash out the details and all that!”
- >You just finished cleaning up and see that Anon isn’t here yet.
- “...Maybe he forgot...”
- >Doubtful, he hasn’t been late yet.
- >Letting out a long sigh, you head over to your easel and start to set up for another sketch.
- “...Or he realized how terrible I am...”
- >Of course you let him get your hopes up.
- >Not like this is the first time you’ve let another in and got hurt.
- >As you pick up your pencil you let your eyes wander around to sketch something.
- >The bookshelf will do fine.
- >Just before you start, you hear knocking causing you jump and drop your pencil.
- “...A-Anon..?”
- >Shaking out of your stupor, you go unlock the door and open it.
- >Anon is hunched over, breathing heavy.
- >He raises a hand up and tries to catch his breath.
- >”One sec.”
- >As you wait, you feel some relief.
- >He talks in-between breaths.
- >”Alright, sorry about that. I let myself get caught up in some random business, but I’m here now.”
- “...It-it’s okay...Come in...”
- >He heads over to the middle of the room still breathing heavy.
- >You head over to your easel and open up a folder for a particular picture.
- >As you turn to face him, you feel your heart race and you start to shake.
- >”Is everything alright? You’re shaking.”
- >You say nothing and approach him.
- >Slowly you reveal the picture and feel the courage to speak.
- “...I-I drew us...”
- >His eyes widen and he stares at the picture with a shocked expression.
- >He doesn’t say any at first, worrying you.
- >Does he like it, does he hate it?
- >Maybe you’re overdoing this?
- >Finally, he give you a large smile and starts to talk.
- >”This is beautiful Addie.”
- >Those words nearly floor you and cause your cheeks to burn.
- >You turn your head away and try to hide the tears of joy.
- >He really likes it, he really does!
- >He continues on.
- >”The colors are wonderful and I think you captured us really well.”
- >Your shaking returns and you squeeze your eyes shut.
- >”Are you crying?”
- >You nod and say nothing, you don’t want him to see you like this.
- >It’s getting harder to not sob.
- >Suddenly, you feel him place his hand on your wither.
- >Your body jolts from the unexpected touch.
- >You’ve been starved of any form of affection, just this simple touch sends you over the edge.
- >Can’t stop the torrent of tears freed, nor the burning in your face.
- >Over your crying you hear him try to soothe you.
- >”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean you to make you cry. How about we try to forget this and just go back to drawing?”
- >No, you won’t have that.
- >You struggle, but finally manage to let some words escape.
- “...I-I’m not s-sad...They-they’re tears of j-joy...”
- >As you continue to cry, he stays quiet for a moment.
- >You finally turn your head and look to his face through blurry eyes.
- >That smile, it makes you feel something, you’re not sure what.
- >You don’t want it to stop though.
- >”Didn’t expect to make you so happy Addie, but I’m glad to see you smile.”
- >He sets down the picture, and keeps trying to soothe you.
- >The minutes pass and before long, you stop crying and feel drained, but still happy.
- “...I-I needed that...Than-thank you...Anon...”
- >He nods and looks over at the clock, you quickly look as well.
- >It’s getting later and you didn’t even draw him today.
- “...I’m sorry...I shouldn’t lost control...Now you have to leave...R-right..?”
- >Anon looks back to you.
- >”I can stay a little while longer, if you want.”
- >You nod slowly.
- >Sure you want to sketch, but a yawn signals your exhaustion.
- “...Can we just look at some pictures..?”
- >”Sure, I’d like that.”
- >You grab a nearby book from the shelf and sit with him on the couch.
- >As you show him the various landscapes in the book, you feel more tired.
- >Normally you wouldn’t so exhausted, but crying seemed to take a lot out of you.
- >Before long, you can barely stay awake.
- “...I-I’m sorry...I’m really tired...”
- >”It’s alright Addie, we can pick this up tomorrow.”
- >You nod and he gets up.
- >As he is about to leave, he stops and turns back to you.
- >”If you like, we can just talk tomorrow.”
- >You give a weak smile and yawn before nodding.
- “...Yeah...Sure...”
- >”Goodnight Addie.”
- “...Goodnight Anon...”
- >As the door shuts, the warmth inside of you stays strong.
- >You go to prepare for bed, and along the way your thoughts stray.
- “...What is this feeling..?...Is this what real friendship is like..?”
- >You’re not certain yet, but you hope soon you will know.
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NHanon
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NHanon
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NHanon
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NHanon