Dark, ominous clouds loomed over Fillydelphia. Thunder boomed. Lightning split the sky as torrential rain poured down. Cherry Blossom sat alone in her living room, sipping mint tea and flipping through the "Farmer's Almanac". She lived in a little cottage on the edge of town, conveniently close to hardware and grocery stores that carried all of the unique and unusual things she typically needed for her humongous garden. Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky. The lights flickered, the went out. Though Cherry sat in complete darkness, she remained quite calm, sipping her tea and shuffling the pages of the almanac even in the darkness. Suddenly, Cherry burst out laughing. Everyone in town called her eccentric, whispering behind her back whenever she came in for shopping. Sure, she wasn't like everypony else, liking thunderstorms even when their winds shook the house and the rain beat the windows, she would sit in her living room and enjoy the excitement. Just because I'm old, doesn't mean I've gone dotty. Cherry thought to herself. Suddenly, she heard knock on her door. That's odd, almost nopony comes to call. She thought to herself. Another knock came, this time in frantic, rapid taps. The torrent outside grew louder. Wind howled, thunder boomed, and lightning flashed again. Cherry unlatched her door. Slowly, she peered outside. To her surprise, she saw a mare and a stallion, bent low over a soaked bundle. "Hello?" Cherry called against the storm outside. The mare looked up. Even through the rain, she was beautiful. Her mane was pink and her eyes emerald green. Her eyes were clouded with tears. The stallion looked up from the bundle and put a hoof around the mare. He was handsome as well, with a green mane and deep, blue eyes.
"Take care of my daughter." the mare choked. Her words were almost lost in the tempest. The stallion said nothing, but bent down and picked up the bundle. He thrust it into Cherry's hooves, then gave her the most miserable look she had ever seen. Cherry looked down at the bundle to see a soaked foal, sleeping soundly, even though the storm. Cherry nodded weakly, holding the forlorn little bundle close, as if it were the only thing that mattered in the world. The mare burst into hysterical tears. The stallion put his hoof back around her, then they both turned to leave.
"Wait!" Cherry called, but her cry was lost in the wind. The couple walked a few more paces, their magnificent manes and eyes disappearing with the rest of their bodies into the storm. The foal woke. It didn't take her long to realize her parents were gone. As Cherry returned inside, it began to cry. "Shhhh" Cherry cooed "I'm here." Closing the door behind her, she removed the wet rag the foal was wrapped in, and covered her with a warm blanket. Well, she needs a name She thought. "I think I'll call you.... Mint Blossom, because I was drinking mint tea when you came to me. "So began a relationship that would change Cherry Blossom's life forever.
Six years had passed since that dark night. Cherry Blossom had tried desperately to locate Mint Blossom's parents, but to no avail. The little foal had grown into a strong, intelligent filly that asked many questions, so many that Cherry often had to sit down with a cup of chamomile tea in her parlor, a part of her home that she had rarely ever used, and answer as many of them as she possibly could in one sitting. On a bright, sunny, cheerful Monday, Cherry heard a knock on her door. "I'll get it!" Mint called excitedly. She raced through the house, her little white wings spread out at her sides.
"Minty, how many times do I have to tell you? No wings in the house!" Cherry called, irritated. Mint stopped at the door, let out a sigh of disappointment, then folded her wings in to her body. Her mint mane quivered with excitement as she opened the door.
