//-------------------------------------------------------// Love of Feathers -by Aerin Silverfeather- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the First //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the First Gulp... Gulp... Gulp... Clunk "Bartender... Another... Please," pleaded Herbal Dusts, "I'm not having a great day 'sides that party..." Herbal ruffles through his black and blue mane as he looks down at the empty cup in his hooves, remembering the day he had, he worked especially hard on a new trick he came up with for taking apples off the tree. He had a decent wage job working on the apple family orchard, alongside his gardens of spices and herbs, some of which ponies a hundred bits for just a few clippings. It wasn't a bad living, not enough to call him self rich but enough bits to at least go to one of the more pleasant taverns in the area. The tables were always cleaned, almost twice every time someone used them, the burgundy and white vertical striped walls also gave it a retro feel, along with the small copper chandeliers. "This is your third one tonight Herbal, don't forget the house limit is five, we don't need a reapeat of that incident with the... Erm... toy,that crazy green stallion had." The the bartender noted for him. He continued to scrub out the mug he was holding, and took the one Herbal was holding. And shuddered remembering that horrible day, "Look Herbal, I know your upset that Rainbow Flash...er... Dash, dumped you, it was almost a month ago now, you can't dwell on it" He carries a tray of mugs to the back, probably to be cleaned. "look, your birthday is in what, two months? Cheer up!" "Yea I guess you're right, but do you have an umbrella I could borrow tonight? I forgot to bring mine." the rain starts pattering on the window, signifying the start of a storm. The rain continued on for hours, since everyone in the bar was on a five drink limit, it was a fairly fast night, stallions and mares coming in, getting their fill and leaving with less than a word. The tavern itself isn't a half bad place to just sit and read or talk with friends,the music they play isn't half bad either, it's a mix of old rock and newer music. It wasn't untill about Ten o'clock did anything interesting happen. "Herbal?" Rainbow Dash calls out almost as soon as she enters, calling the attention of almost the whole bar, "oops," she walks over and tries to be a bit more humble. "Sorry to call you out..." She grins nervously, "soooo... How've ya been since we Ah... Split?" Herbal gave her a small smile. "It's not that bad, don't worry about me," he says, a small amount of courage that it might be true, or maybe it's just the alcohol kicking in I'll be fine, c'mon go find a stallion for yourself Rainbow, I'll be fine!" Herbal states with gusto "I bet there's a special somepony for you in here right now," He says with a devious smile "go on, be that party girl I know, and go meet new ponies!" Herbal starts to shove Rainbow out of the seat "besides, I've got some thinking I wanna get done" He practically throws her into a bunch of stallions that look like they totaly weren't eyeballing up Dash when they were talking. "Alright, alright Herbal," she giggles as she's being pulled away by the mob of stallions who fought over her like school colts would for the pretty girl at the school house. "Just promise you won't Let AJ over work you Ya hear?" She snorts as she starts flirting with the pile of stallion grovelling for her attention. "Boy I hope he's ok, I was pretty hard on him..." "sigh... single life isn't that bad, at least my meals only cost half as much" Herbal starts muttering to himself "I hope she finds a nice colt to be with" he starts drinking his fourth drink of the night, one to go before he would get going. He ordered and drank his last cider and headed to the door. Smash Herbal turns from the door to see the commotion of a broken glass, to see two burly stallions beating up a rather tall, lanky stallion. Herbal runs up and slam Himself against the first stallion, rendering no movement, the second looks at him and bucks Herbal in the face. It was nothing to serious, just a bloody nose, suddenly, a magic beam crosses the large, and certainly drunk stallions paths, they look at the pony who cast it, the bartender. "AND... STAY OUT!" the bartender shouts as he throws the stallions out, "huh, some ponies..." Herbal helps up the stallion carfully, and helps him up. "You ok bud?" Herbal says, examining the poor pony, he nods and trots off into the night. Herbal sits down on his stool. taking a breather, something catches his eye, he looks over at a rather large griffon, he has brown fur and a pair of goggles around his neck, as well as a satchel at his side, the griffon turns away right as Herbal sees him. "Naw... Must just be my imagination." The rain had let up too. It was almost midnight. He decided he would just go home and call it a night. "I guess I won't need that umbrella." the barkeep nods in acknowledgement. Herbal sets down his saddle bags, and flops down into his bed. "I wonder... If I see that griffon at the bar again', maybe I will talk to him" he clears his mind of the day. "I just want the day to be over..." He moans as he drifts into sleep. "Where am I-am I? Herbal didn't quite say or think, he was dreaming, and he could hear echoing all around him "who are you-are you?" he sees a dark figure in the distance, he goes toward the figure. "Dad-dad?" thse almost spectral form of his father, Herbal Harvest, turned to him, it seems like a memory but less familiar, his parent spoke in a distorted voice. "Y-yoU bETraYE-d mE H-Erbal, YoU beTr-ayD y-yOur Wh-oLe FaM-Iy..." Herbal was taken aback, not knowing what he meant, "Dad I don't-" he suddenly fell back, he felt like he was just kicked in the chest "groan... dad-dad... What are you-" "i-I aM nO-T A faTH-ER tO tHe LIkEs o-Of You... aLl I wA-ntEd waS f-Or mY oNly sO-n tO iNheRIt tHe f-AmilY BuSi-NesS" his father growled out. "BUtYoU dId-n'T wAn-t aNy pa-Rt oF ThAt legACy" Harvest started to circle his son. "Wh-En yOu mAde YoUR ChOIce..." "Dad, I don't know what you meanmean" BZZT... BZZT... BZZT... Herbals alarm went off "GAH! That was a really bad dream... I better get to the orchard before they cut my pay..." Herbal gets out of bed, he cooks up some oatmeal with cinnamon, his personal favorite food. That no one needs to ask about thank you very much. He is almost running to the farm, hoping not to be late. As he arrives he shouts "sorry I'm late AJ" he doesn't always see her, she's usualy deep in her little forest of apple trees, he hears some sort of response, it was her voice, he just assumed it was that he had to get to work. Author's Note -crawls out from under a rock- Is it over? Did I survive? Yuss, One chapter down, don't be to mean Also tell me Gryphon ? Or Griffon ? Or Griffin ? //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the Second: work and elderly advice //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the Second: work and elderly advice Herbal was just luckily in time for his shift, he dismissed the dream he had the previous night, he nearly never had nightmares anyway. "Alright, time to try this new apple picking technique!" Herbal puts on a pair of flight goggles, "I hope this works." He starts running in circles as fast as he can around all of the trees in a running of the leaves fashion, as he picks up speed, the apples get yanked off the branch. Within ten minutes about thirty trees were bare of their apples, and a few rotten leaves to boot. "Guhh...I'm only doing that once a day, for certain" He grabs one of the bins of apples, and starts carrying them to the barn, the walk itself is pleasant, even if he has fifty pound of apples on his back. He's rather happy with his job, he always did appreciate local business to national ones. "Mister Dust!" A certain three mischievous fillies jump up and surprise him on his third trek to the barn, causing him to drop his current load of apples. "Sorry..." They groaned with sincerity, "Didja get that mint we asked for mister Dust? We even got some bits to give you!" Applebloom stated as she gathered several bits each from her friends. "Of course I did girls, here." Herbal presents them with a small sprig of mint leaves "five... Seven... Ten bits!? Where did you girls get this kind of cheese? Wait, let me guess, you all whined at your sisters until you got it, right?" He falsely blames. They all seem to deflate at the discovery of their seemingly flawless plan, only for dust to start laughing. "You girls are always so silly." That can't possibly blow up in their faces. He wonders sarcastically as they canter off Herbal collects the spilled apples, it's just a little before lunch time, maybe he could help granny make a pie before heading out for his lunch break As Herbal enters the little farmhouse, that SOMEHOW accommodate two sisters, a brother, and a senior "Oh hello there Dust, ah was just wonderin' where you were, hopin' you could help me make some apple cinnamon pie" Granny Smith greets, while she is preparing the ingredients. For it Herbal responded, "I'm glad I could help Granny" and they set in the short process of, mix, set, cut, mix, fill, cover, bake, remove, mix, set, cut, mix, fill, cover, bake, remove, mix, set, cut, mix, fill, cover, bake, remove. After about ten minutes they had about three pies ready, "Hey, Granny, do you mind if I ask you about something?" Granny gave him a gentle look "Go ahead deary, Ah reckon I could answer just about anything you wanna know" "How do you think ponyville has changed since you were younger?" Herbal felt almost uncomfortable asking, but still hoped she answered his question. "Well, ah reckon you get paid a whole lot better than ya get these days, why back in my day we used to get a stale loaf of bread and half an apple, and we were glad for it" She goes to the living room to sit down "ah'd also say it was more fun te be outside, the sun seems a lot brighter these day, hehe, that might just be ma old eyes gettin' sensitive" She rubs eyes and puts on a set of shades, making her look crazy cool. "Ah'd also have to admit, society is a lot more tolerant of them homosexuals and what not, back in my day, Bein' like that gotcha run outta town... Sigh ...still does in the towns further away from canterlot accordin' to my writin' buddies. It's a real shame, ya still dare not be open about it here though, ah never had anything against it but ya'll still get beat up about it." "Yea, it's a real shame," Herbal stated, "I'm not like that, I just feel bad for all those ponies that have to hide it." "Oh would you look at the time, I've got to go eat!" Granny and Herbal said their goodbyes and went about their days. On his way out Herbal walked past three disappointed looking fillies, all covered in black stuff and smelled of singed fur. "What's wrong girls? Cutie mark crusaders teleportation potion makers didn't work out?" The nod silently as they walk past. "I can't believe it actually blew up in their faces!" he almost said aloud, which most certainly would have not only hurt them, but gotten him fired. Herbal sat at a small table in sugar cube corner, the one he usually sits at, the waiter and co-owner of the store comes to greet him. "Hello and welcome to sugarcube corner-" he stops and looks at Herbal "you're the one that saved me at the bar last night! What are you having, lunch? It's free today, I owe it to you for helping me." States the now familiar looking yellow stallion. He marks down Herbals order and trot off to the kitchen. Moments later a the stallion comes back with Herbals order, a hay and cucumber sandwich, some chai tea and a cupcake. "Thank you, I'm starved, hehe" he slowly starts to eat his food, he passes a glance at the window once and again, absentmindedly watching passing ponies go about their day to day business, a donkey with a totally fresh hair-do, the mayor doing mayoral stuff and few school kids following who he assumed was a school teacher. he was nearly finished with his lunch when he noticed a bit on the floor, "Ha, money in the bank..." He stands up, before he leaves the waiter comes up to him, "Hey, my name is Carrot Cake, me and my wife own Sugarcube sorner, if you ever need a favour, just call on me and I'll help out" "Thanks, I doubt I'll ever need that favour though," Herbal had an extra five minutes to get back to the farm, He always did. With his spare time he would walk near the edge of the everfree forest, he never did see what everyone was afraid of. The creatures inside rarely came out and when the did it was because they need the assistance of the town veterinarian, Fluttershy. Whenever Herbal could he would wave to Fluttershy on his way to the farm. She wasn't around for the little ritual, so he continued onward. "Hmm... 'Bout time I got back" Herbal begins his job again, buck the tree, collect the apples, carry the bin to the barn, simple as that. He usually lets his mind wander while he works, his mind dotted from point to point, what he would eat for dinner, how much extra he might get paid if he took on another ten trees for the family, or even what would happen if he started to rant about nonsensical things in the town square, like the planet going around the sun instead of the correct way around. "Ha, no way that one could be trueñ" He mumbles. On his way to the barn, he realizes, he's been thinking and working for the last six hours. "Looks like my day is done, maybe I'll grab myself a cool refreshing glass of circletine when I go to the bar..." Herbal goes to the same tavern almost everyday, ever since the five drink limit, he is able to pay for it. He knows he could just go to one of the other more grungy places, like The Waterhole, that place was a dump, watered down cider for twice the price, a brawl every ten minutes, and asshole staff. At his usual hangout,'The hoedowning Humanl' the place is almost spotless, the fight last night was the first in weeks, and the bartender who owned the place was a pleasant fellow. For now it was time to celebrate his end of the day routine. "It's about time I left, I've been working all day" Herbal orients himself in the general direction if the tavern, not noticing a shadowy figure step out from an alley way to his left. Tap Tap Herbal turnes around to see a very familiar looking stallion, he very rudely gets all up in Herbals grill, like, he's flippin' veggie burgers on His face that's how close he was, and shouts, "You owe me twenty bits jackass!" "Listen bud, I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but betting isn't a smart thing to do if you're dru-" Herbal is suddenly interrupted by seeing the stallions rear legs, "shit" was all he could say before getting bucked directly in the face. Author's Note Lol cliffhanger Also I legitimately have no idea how to make pie, the second chapter is finished don't be too mean //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the Third: Perfect creation, Leaving the nest //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the Third: Perfect creation, Leaving the nest (Aerin POV) Aerin Silverfeather, a griffon living in the capital city of Gryphonia, was nearly finished assembling his latest work of craftsmanship. A meticulously peices together, and lavishly expensive silver and gold necklace, the necklace itself consisted of thin silver and gold wires, braided carefully without a single error. The pendant on the necklace was a work of art in and of itself, a jade and onyx assembly containing a rare and magical gem that could change its colour at the will of the wearers mood. This was not the type of stone you would find in a souvenir shop crafted by someone trying to catch an easy bit or two. This was the type of gem you would find in the chest piece of princess Celestia heself. "Just... One... Last... Meld... YES!" Aerin giggled with glee as his pride and joy was now was finally completed. He had spent many months slaving for hours on end staring intently at this claws, all of which he had sharpened extensivly just so he could handle the delicate materials of his necklace. "Mom? Look!...?" Searching his mothers study he found his first viewer. he noticed she was asleep at her desk, on top of a mound of paperwork undoubtably from her work place. Not knowing what time it was, Aerin made his way to the closed curtains of his home, unsurprisingly, it was completely dark as it was in fact only two in the morning. His dad wouldn't be home for three hours, and his job doesn't begin until six A.M. pondering his options, he chooses by far the most appealing one, sleep. "I've needed this sleep more than... Umm..." Aerin never was good at wordplay, especially not when he was tired, "eh, screw it, I don't need to try at this right now..." He could not wait until morning, the sun would glisten onto his masterpiece, but at the same time, his heart was racing, he almost could not bear it... The stress of what he needed to tell his parents would kill him... If only he could get away with it without telling them, he debates wether his night could be a bit more relaxing, he looked down into a box of things he keeps to calm himself down when times are tough. The box itself is rathe big, enough to fit a pony child into it, it's mostly stuff like scented candles, pictures of friends come and gone, baby photos, his baby clothes and some large Dia- wait no, he had to keep that last one hidden, privacy and whatnot... He cringes as he remembered the rash he got, he played it as an spontaneous allergic reaction. He didn't want to suffer that itch or that sting again. Aerin plops down in his nest, he never could understand how the ponies could sleep on those weird rectangle cushions. He had the option to sleep on one during a school trip in his high school days and just like his classmates, he slept on the floor for six nights. Thankfully, those days were in the past, he wondered as he drifted of into sleep. "Zzz... Mm Hmm..?" Aerin awakens into the new day to a most excellent smell. bacon. ,his mother is an amazing cook, and she never wants to cook meat. She could make a casserole like nones business, she could market her casserole as an independent franchise and all the big guys would be all jealous and stuff. Despite Aerins requests though, she would not sell her recipe to a resturaunt. Not for a million bits to quote her directly. Aerin usualy has a little while to think about his day before breakfast, "guy reasons" he had put it when his mother once asked him. He doesn't let her pry beyond it for well, "guy reasons." Aerin makes his way down stairs and sees his parents in the kitchen, his home only has two floors, downstairs has a kitchen and living room, upstairs has two bedrooms and a spare in which Aerin makes his jewelry. The living room was covered wall to wall with traditional artifacts from all over Gryphonia, his mother Lucia, wasn't as attached to the old ways as his father, his father Corven, who was reading the morning paper and smoking from a rather hefty pipe, on the other claw, was different, he won't let anyonone enter his home without bowing to him, to prove they mean no threat, "sigh... The country dropped that one three hundred and fifty years ago dad..." Aerin quietly muttered to himself, "morning." His father returns a sturdy nod. "Good morning Aerin, how goes your progress?" His mother quite obviously infers about his as of recently completed necklace. "Well," He shows his mother the pendant, "quite well, hehehe" His fathers pipe nearly dropped out of his mouth "Aerin that looks... Amazing!" Corven rearanges himself in his seat to see it closer "you could very well buy a house with that little trinket" Get yourself a wife... Give us some grandkids finally... Aerin shifts uncomfortably in his seat... Not at all prepared for what needed to be said... "Mom, D- Dad...." He slowly starts to speak "I need to tell you guys something..." He turns away breifly and looks them in the eye, "Mom, Dad, I'm leaving the nest." Lucia almost immediatly started writing letters to all her girlfriends to tell them about the news and his father runs off for some un known reason, returning with a small box. "Now son, I need you to take this box, if you are going to start dating, you will need it," He hands Aerin the box "... Dad this is a box of condoms..." Aerin looks at his parents, who are stifling laughs. "Thats not funny..." Convinced that his dad must be an idiot, Aerin proceeds to eat his bacon. He can't rememeber the last time he ate bacon, it's such a sought after commodity, it's tasty, it's chewy, it's crunchy. Also it's bacon, most of the time birthdays are like, get that griffon bacon, griffons love bacon. "So Aerin... Umm.... Where do you plan on going?" His mother offers over a destination, " I Hear the eastern coasts are nice this time of year" and I here the fish there is- "Nonsense!" His father interjects "the boy needs to get a job, a nice well paying job, he's young!" Aerin shrivels away from the blatant disregard of his request, and lowers his head. Author's Note GASP!? a hiatus?! The nerve of me Chapter three up and running, Don't be too mean //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the Fourth: Friends and forthcomings //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter the Fourth: Friends and forthcomings It was just after breakfast that Aerin left to meet his friend, most griffons in his age range would hang out at the often plentiful bars or pubs. Aerin and his friend Phoebe, would hang out in the only bowling alley in the whole city. They would sit and chat while griffons came and left, their drinks being topped off every so often, sometimes they would talk about sports, sometimes about people at school and the likes of them. Phoebe herself was a short and rather boyish and uncouth girl, always fitting in with boys rather than girls. She had Navy blue feathers, which was in and of itself, a rare occurrence in females. Her right eye was a brilliant shade of emerald green, while her left was a dull gray, she was often instructed by her parents to wear something to cover it or comb her feathers over, which of course, she almost instantly removed or undid, as Aerin had learned after meeting her. It was an accident at birth caused her to be half blind. It was one of the reasons he had befriended her in the first place. She was being teased when they were in grade 4, Aerin could not stand the sight of her being hurt. ~~~~~~~~~~ "One eye! One eye!" Shouted one child. Another covers her good eye "how many claws am I holding up?" "You should just go home you freak!" yells a third rather rude kid That last one made up Aerins mind, "don't...!" He kicks the first bully in the chest, "hurt....!" He punches the second in the beak, "MY FRIEND!" He hacks his claws at the third child, not deep enough to cut, but deep enough to sting. Aerin helps up the crying girl "my name is Aerin, whas' your name?" He asks "M-my n-name is Phoebe... Don' look at me..." She cowers behind her dark wings, not wanting the world to see her "My names Aerin," he looks at her "don't hide yourself..." He was quickly jerked around by one of the teachers, the bullies looked at Aerin with a smirk stare, knowing he would be in trouble. In the detention hall, Aerin sat alone... Waiting for the clock to arrive at five o' clock, when a tapping on the window caught his attention, it was Pheobe coming to keep him company. And both Aerin and Pheobe knew from that point, they would be friends forever. ~~~~~~~~~~ And the rest ended up being history, Aerin and Pheobe were almost inseparable, most Griffons thought they were brother and sister the first time they met, they would always share interests and dislikes, talk about the usual movie or the unusual book they came across. In their little corner of the little known bowling alley, 'Third Strike' "Oh that's a load of bull Aerin there is no way you caught a fish that big!" Pheobe stated as Aerin dramatized his catch being 'like a million feet long' "we both know the only thing you caught in camp was a bad case of the... Well... I won't say here, but It was lucky we had some large garbage bags so you didn't have to be condemned to the outdoors" she giggles. "Well I might have gotten sick but at least I didn't still need-" Aerin was promptly punched in the gut to silence his retort. "During... The... Night..." He manages to wheeze out. "That was not called for..." As Aerins face clunks onto the table, Phoebe orders him a bacon wrapped hot dog, the specialty of the diner attached to the alley, and subsequently Aerins favourite food product. Pheobe uses her ever reliable tactic to ensure the awakening of Aerin. Threatening to eat his food. "Aerin if you don't wake up, I'm eating this, in three, two... her claw is stopped in front of her mouth as a tail is wrapped around it. "No one eats a fat griffons food and gets away with it" and besides, we need to talk Pheobe. "It's important" she looks at him inquisitively, "now that I have your attention, I-" Before he can begin talking, Phoebe cuts in, "is this about that time we hung out at your place and I left a used... 'pad' in your pillow? I swear it seemed funny at the time" "You did what? Nevermind... We can talk about that later" Aerin looks at her with a glare of 'what the shit?' "Anyway, Phoebe, I'm leaving, I'm going to Equestria, I think I can make some real coin in the jewellery business out there." "But Aerin you can't-" "I've already got a ticket, one way to some town called... Pony... Ville..." 'remember when you ponies used to be original? I don't. he thought when reading the ticket. "Don't worry Pheobe, I'll get you over to my place for a party, I'll pay your trip and everything" Aerin never was one to go back on a promise, "now I've got to go." Aerin starts walking to the exit, and from the other end of the Alley a whimpered and unheard, "goodbye..." Was spoken. At the train station, he met with his parents, he gave his mother a hug, and his father a clawshake. They said their goodbyes and farewells, Aerin gave his ticket to the rail-pony and packed his luggage onto the rack, as the train went on many griffons waved goodbye amd went about their business. This didn't feel right for Aerin, some thing felt off... "All passengers please excuse me we need to stop for a moment, there is a griffoness sitting on the rails and she doesn't appear to be moving" Bingo Aerin made his way to the front of the train, only to see his one and only Pheobe, being the ever diligent nuisance she was, sitting on the tracks. "Pheobe what are you doi-" he was suddenly and abrubtly, bitch slapped, "sigh... I forgot to say goodbye?" She nods in confirmation "goodbye Pheobe." Aerin silently returned to the train, and Pheobe flew home. Happy that she could be an asshole to her Aerin at least one last time for a long time. ----- 6 hours later ---- The train slowly pulled up to the Ponyville train station, as it did thrice a day, every day. Aerin walked down to the platform, looking at a picture of the building he would be staying in, it looked like a large gingerbread house, how hard would that be to find? "E-excuse me?" Aerin stopped a random pink pony "do you know how to get to this building?" the pony just stared, and started breathing heavily, and promptly disappeared, breaking most if not all laws of physics. "I have no comment..." He decides to go towards a large tree in the venter most part of town, so he could use it as a land mark, but as he got closer he realized that it was in fact, a library, and a library means a librarian, who probably could give him directions. knock knock knock "hello how can I help... You?" A purple unicorn looked up at Aerin with fear on her face, Which was seen by one Rainbow Dash... Who's first thought was 'friend danger, me fight danger and be cool' and in doing so, attacked. Aerin could hear in the distance a voice saying "get away from her!" But the pony saying it was fast, very fast, as she closed the gap in about four seconds, tackling Aerin to the ground."don't even try to attack my friends you griffon Jerk!" She had bitten off more than she could chew, and she knew it, Aerin stood easily a third-meter taller than her, she cowered almost instantly. "Rainbow Dash?! That is no way to treat a new citizen!" Twilight shouted at her 'friend' "I was just shocked at how tall he is!" "But Twi! you looked like he was about to... He just...look at him! He's a griffon" she points at the now dusty and filthy figure of Aerin. In tandem, Twilight gasped and Aerin looked at Rainbow in anger. "Wow, racist much? I've been in ponyville not one quarter hour and I've been blatantly ignored and attacked!" Aerin stated matter-of-factly. "Um sir? My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am very sorry for my Friends actions, and I'm sure she will apologize to you, mister...?" "Aerin, Aerin Silverfeather" "Well mister Silverfeather I am sorry if I offended you "I think I will survive if it doesn't happen again miss Sparkle, the same goes for... Rainbow Smash? Was it?" "I don't hear him apologizing for scaring you Twilight!" Rainbow retaliates. "Thank you for your apology miss Sparkle, and to you miss Dash," Rainbow Smugly smiles, "No I don't really need an apology..." She lies "Good, Fuck off." Aerin turns to see the building he was looking for in the distance, and leaves Rainbow Dash in a confused stupor. As Aerin arrives at the building, he notices the sign in the door reading 'Sugarcube Corner' "wow" he mutters before opening the door "the first creative name I've seen today..." As he enters it is very dark, he was hoping he didn't walk into the closed shop with an accidentally unlocked door... Aerin could hear giggling, and almost the instant he did, he spoke to himself, "oh what fresh hell is this..." Author's Note Sorry guys... And Herbal... I'm only a bit late right? Who left these bones here? So yea... This takes place before the crystal empire comes back... Just in case your wondering why purple smart doesn't have wings Also I didn't leave the story to be eaten by buzzards, it's alive and well, And Per usual, don't be too mean.