>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.