My Little Pony, Chaining Stars

“How absolutely stunning!”

Wagon full of assorted fruit and vegies Cherry walked behind an excited Alto, seemly marveling at every single thing he saw. The city was full of creatures, all doing their own thing as Cherry pulled her wagon and kept an eye on the stallion. She tried to keep patience with him but stopping ever couple of seconds to explain things to him started to grade on her a bit.

“Tell me Lady Cherry, what function does this device serve?”

Turning to face his direction she sees him looking into a window where a coffee machine was on display.

“It makes coffee.....”

“Does one place the hoof ground beans into the contraption? From where does one insert the hot water?”

She rolls her eyes, groaning softly.

“You just put one of those little cups into the machine push the button.... I guess you pour in the water in the back... not really sure since every brand is a bit different.”

“Little cups?”

She points to a stack of instant coffee cups next to the machine, each row having a different color and name from ‘Morning Brew’ to ‘Dark Roast’. This seem to amaze the Stallion as he pressed his hooves against the glass.

“No, such a small object! Surely it shalt make not a single tassel of coffee!”

“Well... Last time I tried I was able to use one to make three cups before the taste got kinda... diluted.”

“Goodness! What such sorcery is this!?”

She looked at him, seeing his eyes full of wonder. While it was a bit annoying to stop every few seconds she found his smile to be pretty cute.

“Geez... he’s just like a child... getting so excited about a coffee machine...” She thought to herself, giggling a bit, “It’s kind of cute...”

Hearing her giggle instantly prompted the stallion to compose himself, returning back to his uptight ways.

“Er herm.... my apologizes. Such behavior is unbecoming of I. Shall we continue?”

She nods, feeling both happy to finally be able to progress but also a bit sad to see him snap back to being proper. The two trot down the street, heading towards a giant tree growing in the center of the city. Cherry looked up at it, seeing it too having some snow upon it.

“Hmm, the tree looks nice today. The snow makes it all sparkly.”

“Indeed, the radiance of the tree glistens in all its majesty as it always does at the dawn of every New Year. How stunning....”

Cherry’s ears perked up, stopping in her tracks as she realized something.

“Y... you’ve seen the tree before?”

“But of course! The glorious Star tree is the center of all magic of the land. One would be a fool not to have seen it prior to today.”

“That means... you’ve been in Aeithon City before? You haveta been! After all you haven’t seen the tree since the day you appeared in the Pegasus Paris!”

He thought about it, realizing she was right. He knew about the tree and referred to it like he’s seen it many times before.

“Y-yes... One has..... has....”

He taps his head, thinking hard as he feels like something was just on the edge of coming back. His body trembled, shaking as he tried hard to remember but at the same time tried to resist the earth crushing fear clearly displayed in his face.

“Alto?” His struggle was clear, causing Cherry great concern as the closer he got to remember the more he shivered and cowered to the feelings attached to it.

“P-please forgive me.....

“ALTO!”

Her voice echoes, radiating through the area thus prompting many gazes from the citizens. Thankfully, her voice seemed to make him snap back into reality. Her hoof rested on his shoulder, reassuring him as he breaths heavily.

“Hey, you okay?”

He shakes his head, stepping to the side as he composed himself.

“Yes, forgive me m’lady. Tis be unbecoming of a pony to behave in such a manner.” He coughs, gazing back at the mare, seeing her face full of concern and confusion, “Let us... disregard my outburst. Shall we continue on? After all, you yourself said you have much work to complete do you not?”

From that moment on, Alto walked in silence, keeping his uptight behavior and proper demeanor. To others, particularly the shops where Cherry delivered groceries too, his behavior was rather charming and very polite but as they walked together it was clear Cherry didn’t like it. Something told her he was hiding something away, trying to mask himself. Soon, the two made it to a particularly well decorated brick building with plants growing all over in a very beautiful manner. Outside the establishment was a mare, mane the color of red velvet, which was kept in a ponytail, and dressed in a dark blue and while maid outfit. She swept the front porch, whistling a soft tune to herself. The moment her eyes opened and she spotted Cherry a smile spread across her muzzle as she puts the broom aside.

“Cherry!”

She galloped over to the two, a cheerful expression consuming her face as she grabs Cherry in a tight hug. Cherry giggled, hugging back.

“Hey Clair, long time to see!”

“Yeah! Haven’t seen you in weeks, where you’ve been?”

“Ahh... long story, tell you about it later.” Alto simply stares at the two, a bit dumbfounded but still composed. “Ah! Right, Alto, this is Clair; A really close buddy of mine and Clair this is Alto; a new buddy of mine who’s bunking at my house.”

Respectfully, he extends his hoof to her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, lady Clair.”

Not wanting to be rude, she shakes his hoof only to have him take it and give it a small kiss. A light crimson colored her cream colored face as she turned back to Cherry with a confused and unsure look. All Cherry could do was keep from busting into laughter, her small snorts making Clair give her a sour look. In short, this situation was all kinds of awkward for Clair, so she simply took her hoof back, patted Alto two times on the head and hopped back over to Cherry who was tearing up from how hard she kept from lavishing in her friend’s discomfort.

Slightly annoyed, Clair bumped Cherry’s side, shoving her a bit which made the mare reply by sticking her tongue out playfully at her. At that moment another pony, mane sun blonde and coat lavender, exited the shop.

“My my, if it ain’t little miss Cherry! How ya doing, doll face?”

“Ah! Miss Rosemary! I’m doing great thanks!” She trots up to the mare, meeting her as she climbs down the stairs. Alto tilted his head, noticing this mare seemed to be quite a bit plumper than the others. Still he refrained from saying anything and trots right behind Cherry.

The instant Rosemary spotted Alto she was right in front of him before he could say ‘hello’.

“Oh my, what a hot hunk of spicy stallion. Mmm I could just eat him right up, the sweet heart.”

Surprised, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he came face to face with a pair of emerald shaded eyes giving him a very seductive look.

“U-umm... T-thank you m’lady. Such a complement is flattering from a fine one such as yourself.”

“Oh! And he’s such a gentlestallion too! Cherry, where in the hay did ya lasso this handsome specimen? Mhm, if I weren’t a taken mare I’d scoop him up and gobble him up for dinner!”

All he could do was sit there, dumbfounded, as Rosemary sized him up like a head of lettuce. Both Cherry and Clair just watched, wearing expressions that made it clear this was a regular thing for her.

“Err... not to interrupt but... I have your order. A barrel of cherries, apples.... and other things...”

“Oh ye, ‘scuse me dear. BASIL, HONEY! GROCERIES HERE!”

Thud, thud, thud. The ground shook with each step, the tables rumbled and the broom Clair once used to clean fell over to the floor. The door opened slowly and from it emerged a hulking stallion colored green all around. Just the sight of him made Alto’s jaw drop down to the ground.

He approached Cherry, a stern look scribbled upon his face. Alto’s horn flares with a blue aura, preparing to protect her from him only to see Cherry hug the giant stallion.

“Basil! It’s great to see you again!”

He said nothing in response, he simply smiled and gently patted her head. Cherry held the hug for a second before letting him go and pointing back to her cart.

“The tree barrels in the front and the crate behind that are for you guys. Everything you ordered neat and orderly.”

As he unloaded the items specified by Cherry, Alto slowly moved closer to her in order to keep an eye out for her. Basil seemed not to pay attention at all to Alto as he just went along with his business. The guy was just intimidating overall and he couldn’t really make sense of what was going on.

“Well that’s enough Chit chat dear. We got a long day of servin’ ta do and them tables ain’t gonna clean themselves. Hop to it, precious.”

Clair saluted Rosemary, standing at attention. “Aye aye Captian! See ya later Cherry.... and umm... Alto.”

She quickly gave Cherry one more hug before trotting off back inside the restaurant, stopping to pick up the broom on the way. Basil carried all the objects brought to them with one hoof, balancing the barrels on the crate. As he made his way inside Rosemary followed suit, stopping just short of entering the restaurant behind him.

She looked back at the two, give them a wink.

“Come by any time, sugar”

She entered the building, closing the door behind her as she did.

“Well, that’s all my deliveries for today. Just two more stops then we can go exploring around town if you want.”

It took a moment for Alto’s brain to catch up to the situation, causing him to shake his head to snap back to the now.

“Umm... yes... that would be wonderful.”

Cherry smiles, trotting off with Alto right by her. It seemed that visiting these particular ponies brought a skip in her step. It made him curious, his glance focusing on her as she skips along.

“My, it appears you certainly have a good standing with those ponies.”

“Oh yeah, we go back a long time. Practically family to me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, Clair’s been with me through thick and thin, sticking by my side through everything. Don’t know where’d I’d be now without her shoulder to cry on. As for Rosemary and Basil, I’ve known them since I was a little filly. Heck, I remember back when they first opened Herbal Café and how mom would bring me and my brother here almost every week. Whenever he was on break, Basil would always give a pony back ride around the park just down the street! It was loads of fun! And whenever me or Blue were down in the dumps Miss Rosemary would always bake us up a warm, delicious pie and cheer us up....” She giggles, looking at Alto with a soft look, “Yeah, they’re a little.... weird... Rosemary has her flirting thing and Basil scares the living daylights out of any pony he meets for the first time... but they’re good ponies. I honestly couldn’t picture my life without them.”

Her face, it showed the loving look so sweet Alto blushed looking at it. Her eyes shimmered, a delicate smile spread across her face as she reminisced along with the sweet ring in every word that left her lips it was clear that these ponies truly held a special place in her heart. All Alto could do was smile in return, feeling the warmth in her voice life his heart.

“Truthfully, I believe they think the same for you, m’lady.” Cherry’s ears twitch as she gave him a curious look. “I may not be the greatest of judges as my mindset seems not to be shared with others of this place... however, in the few weeks I have known you... I shalt deny that the brightness of your soul is one rivaled by none. I am truly blessed and honored to be associated with a pony like yourself and I am forever in your debt for the kindness, the charity, you have given to me.”

A thick blush spread across her face as his gorgeous sapphire eyes gazed down at her. The sweetness and sincerity, it made her heart melt to hear somepony speak so highly of her. In a way, it was a bit embarrassing.
“O-oh no! It’s nothing, really! It’s not like I wouldta just left you out in the cold or anything. What kind of pony would I... Err I mean.... umm... Oh stars, this is embarrassing...”

Suddenly, Cherry heard something she had never heard from him before; something she thought for a second wasn’t real but indeed it was.

Alto laughed

After a small outburst of laughter he attempted to muffle his giggles with his hoof but slight chuckles still escaped his muzzle. For some reason, Cherry couldn’t help but laugh along, prompting Alto to release his own again. The two went down the road, laughing together, as the sun rose higher into the sky.