> My Family > by Woody Hooves > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Wood Shop > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Woody was a simple pegasus who had a talent in crafting wooden items like furniture. He had brown coat that gave a warm feeling towards others, and light brown mane so whenever he smiled it was openly shown to everypony. He was a carpenter who owned his own wood shop down in the city. He really didn't like the city. There were too many cars driving back and forth and many ponies walking around doing their daily things. He woke up early in the morning, and drove to his shop in his dark brown car. He parked in a free parking area in a park that was in the middle of the city around where his shop was located. He often met his friends at the park when he went out for a walk. He got out of his car and walked over to his shop as he got out his keys to open the door. As he opened it, he could instantly smell the scent of wood in the air of the shop. He breathed deeply once, and went in as the door closed behind him with a ring of a small bell on the top of the door. He could feel the warm air as he was walked towards the counter, as if he was snuggling under a mother's wing. He turned on the light and the whole shop was brightened. The wooden furniture revealed it's selves, reminding Woody of all the work he had done to make them. He went to the back of the counter and opened another door, which led to his workshop where everything was actually made. There were tools neatly placed on the tables, some hanging on the walls,  and wooden planks and blocks in the storage. Woody stretched his brown wings and took a deep breath. "Another day to get started." He groaned quietly. "Alone..." He rarely got any customers come to the shop, so Woody spent all day alone. He did sometimes walk around in the park after lunch and met some of his friends there, who also worked in the city. It was nice to know that he wasn't completely alone in the huge city full of buildings and cars. When he was in his shop, he sometimes called his family to see how they were doing. Woody had a big family, so he lived in a big house with a lot of ponies together. Just like Woody, some ponies had their jobs to support the family needs, and some other ponies went to school to study. He often closed the shop and went home early, and helped his sisters with their studies, even though he himself wasn't good at teaching. But he always did his best to help his family. He put his bags down onto the floor, and got out a simple book he liked to read. The series 'Daring Doo' was his favorite, and he always carried a book to read while he stayed in his shop. He put it onto a table that was only half finished, and looked around to see what he had to do. "Table and two chairs... a bookshelf..." he mumbled to himself, trying to make a quick schedule in his mind on what he had to do today. He mumbled to himself a lot. It became a habit since he stayed most of his time alone in the shop. After making a schedule, he took out the tools he needed and started to get to work. He had to make a bookshelf for a friend of his, John Hunter. John was a kind and a great friend of Woody. He worked in a library in another city, but it was a bit far away for Woody to walk there. Instead, he sometimes drove there on weekends to visit him, just to see how he was doing. He sometimes went to the library to borrow another book to read, so whenever he did they always met each other there. He recently told him that he needed a bookshelf in his house to put all his books away, so Woody decided to make him one. After a few hours, he finally finished making the bookshelf. It was a bit bigger than he thought, but he knew John would like it. He put the bookshelf to a wall where it made it visible so he wouldn't forget to give it to him. He then walked out of his workshop, going back to his counter way at the back side of the shop. Nopony was there. He let out a groan, and thought that he should've got a better job than this. Then he remembered his father. Woody had a close relationship with his father. They always did something together, and it always brought them closer. His mother was very happy to see that her son and her husband was getting closer everyday. They spent most of their time crafting things out of wood. They made simple things like chairs, tables, and even some toys to give to an orphanage, where his father had a close friend there. Woody sometimes goes there from time to time to see how the young ponies were doing. The ponies in the orphanage liked him a lot, since he did a lot for them. He made tables for them, played with the young ponies there, and even taught them how to carve things out of wood. He also remembered his sister, Winter Star. Winter Star was also a pegasus like Woody. She had bright white coat that made her bright and positive, and long light blue mane that made her look beautiful with her bright colors. It made Woody's days brighter whenever he saw Winter around. They always cheered each other up when the days got hard, and it always kept them close together as a family. When they were young they played together a lot, and they were always nice to each other. Woody was happy to have a sister to take care of, and Winter was glad to have a big brother who loves her too. Their father however passed away from being ill. It was hard for both of them, especially Woody, since he died when he was only 9 years old, and their mother was very ill. Winter was only 6 years old at the time, so she didn't really know what was happening. Woody had to explain it to her a few months later, and it hurt both of them. They've been silent for a while since. After their father's death, Woody continued to learn how to make things with wood on his own while taking care of Winter. He slowly started selling things to support his family. Their mother was all better now, but he knew years were passing by and that he and his sister should be ready to let her go when the time comes. He kept his emotions to himself, but every time he came to the wood shop and opened it up, he couldn't help but remember his good times he had with his family. He missed it all dearly. He snapped back to reality and sat on a chair he made for himself behind the counter. The first thing he felt when he sat down to relax, was boredom welcoming him as if it was waiting for him. He stared out the window and saw ponies walking on the city streets and cars passing by with busy ponies on it going to their work. > Out to Lunch > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- He sat there for what felt like hours as he read his book. He looked up at the clock that showed '12:48'. His stomach growled, signaling him it was lunch time soon. He then wondered if his family ate anything for lunch already. He picked up his phone from his bag, and pressed the call button for his sister Winter Star. Woody waited for her to pick up the phone, knowing that she'd be in school at lunch time. He heard the ringtone on the speaker of his phone for a while, then heard a click of somepony picking up the call. "Hi bro!" A happy voice was heard on the phone, and a smile appeared on Woody's face. "Hey, sis. How are you doing? Did you eat lunch yet?" He asked to know how she was doing, a little worried about her. Winter's school had some bullies around, and they bothered her very often. Woody wanted to go straight to the school and find the bullies who hurt her and yell at their face. But if he did that Winter would just get into more trouble. And he didn't want that at all. So he stayed his anger trusted his sister when she said that she'd be alright. "I'm doing alright. I was just about to have lunch. You?" Winter said from the other side of the line. "I was about to go out to eat too. Just wanted to make sure my little sis is doing alright before I go." He chuckled slightly, as he opened the door and went out of his shop and leaned on the window. "Well, I'm doing ok. Hehe thanks bro." "Alright then. Be safe, and have fun ok? I'll see you at home." "Alright. See ya bro! Bye!" "Bye sis!" They ended the call as a soft click was heard. Woody put a sign on the window of the shop with the words "Out to lunch", and went outside to go to his favorite food court. One of Woody's favorite food was potato sandwiches. So he always went to the food court that was just a few minutes away from his shop. As he walked there, he took his phone out again and sent a short text message to Mimi. "Hi!" Mimi was Woody's marefriend. Even though Mimi was actually a hinny and not a pony, they loved each other dearly as if they were meant to be. She had big gray large ears so she was very sensitive to hearing. She had gray body with fluffy fur all around her, and had black and pink mane and tail. While Woody lived in a house with his family, Mimi lived in an old shed in the forest that was near his house. It was old and rusty, and looked like it was going to collapse anytime. This made Woody worry a lot, and he always checked on her very often. There was a cave around her shed that was safer so whenever it rained or a thunderstorm came, she went to the cave for shelter and let Woody know that she was safe when the weather cleared. Woody was happy to have met Mimi. They've met at a camping area Woody went when he had a family trip. Ever since they met there, they've been meeting each other more often and eventually Mimi moved to nearby forest around his neighborhood. She found a shed nopony wanted, so she moved in there. Woody wanted her to live in an actual house, but she refused and told him that she had no money and that she liked the forest anyway. He was still worried, but trusted her and let her live there with the animals. They spent lots of times together. They sometimes went out camping together in the forests, Mimi sometimes went to Woody's house and taught him how to cook food since he was terrible at it, and Woody sometimes helped Mimi take care of the animals in the forests. After a while, Woody's phone buzzed. He looked at it and saw her reply from his message. "Heyo!" Woody smiled immediately as he read the message. He texted back. "Did you eat lunch yet?" He stopped in front of the crosswalk that was in front of the sandwich store. Waiting for the light to change green, he looked at his phone again. "Not yet, but I will soon." He texted back. "Oh ok. I'm going to the food court right now so, I'll see you tonight?" The light turned green, as he walked across the street and opened the door of the food court to go inside. He checked his phone again. "Okie dokies! Love you!" He texted back with a heart and three words. "Love you too!" He took a seat in the corner of the shop with his sandwich. He always liked to sit in corners. It made him feel relaxed in a way. He ate his potato sandwich slowly, taking his time and not rushing things. He took out his earphones and put it in his ear and played his favorite music from his phone. As he ate, he stared out the window of the store, wondering what his friends would be doing right now. * * * * * * Cookie Crisp was in her cookie store, baking more cookies to fill the basket in her shop. She really loved baking, but knew only a little about it. But she did know how to make cookies easily, so she made a lot of them everyday and sold them to the ponies in the city. She lived in Ponyville which was a little far away from the city, but thanks to the train system she can go back and forth easily. Cookie had a white coat that seemed to let her shine brightly in front of others, and a few brown freckles around her nose. She had some brown spots on her ears, arms and legs too. She had light purple mane and tail, and had a blue bow tied onto her tail and her right side of her mane with her horn sticking out. Her eyes were odd eyed, so she had a green eye on her right, and a brown eye on her left. While her mother is a unicorn, her father was a batpony so she could easily see through the night with her right eye. Cookie was born in Snowfall, so she can speak fluent Swedish. Everypony didn't know what she said when she came to Ponyville, or when she lived in Manehatten, but she had gotten used to it since she also knew English. Everypony liked the cookies she makes, so they came to her shop full of cookies nearly everyday to start their day with the fresh smell of baked cookies. She was sitting behind her counter after just finishing filling up the baskets with cookies, when her phone on the counter buzzed. She picked it up and saw that it was her old friend Woody calling her. "Hi Woody!" Cookie said loudly on her phone with a giggle. "Hey Cookie. How's it going?" Woody replied to the happy tone coming from his speaker. "I'm doing great! I was just refilling the cookie baskets! What about you??" She said. Cookie and Woody go way back into the past. Simple enough, Woody met her in her store when it was around lunch time a few years ago. The memories were clear in Cookie's head. She even remembered Woody asking for chocolate ship cookies when there weren't any yet. While he waited for them to come out, he'd been talking with Cookie and they both got to know each other and became friends ever since. "I'm doing alright. Another day in the shop. Again.. Alone.." He trailed off as he tried to sound like he was alone, and he was feeling a little alone since he was in a sandwich store with nopony else he knew except his, friend on the phone. "Aww you could come visit here if you want! I've got more chocolate chip cookies!" Cookie replied, excited at the thought of Woody visiting to her shop. Woody thought about it to a moment and realized that it has been a while since he last visited her shop. "Alright! I'll be there after my sandwich." He said, feeling a little more hungry for the cookies. "Yay! I'll see ya soon then!" "Ok, cya!" Cookie ended the call and went back to the kitchen to make a few more cookies just in case Woody actually decide to eat all of them. She giggled happily while she waited for Woody to come over. > The Cookie Store > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cookie Crisp was happy. She just gave another bag full of cookies to another customer, and got a smile from him. "Thanks Cookie! I really like your original cookies so much." The stallion said as he held the bag in his hoof. "Your welcome, Mr. Gold Wings! I'm glad you like them!" Cookie said as she returned with a wide smile on her face. "I'd bet no other pony could make cookies better than you, Cookie." He chuckled as he went towards the door to go out. Cookie blushed slightly by the compliment as she shook her hooves. "Naww, I just do what I like to do. Thank you though!" She was glad to make ponies happy with her natural talent in baking fresh cookies. Just then, the door of the store opened as her old friend Woody Hooves walked in with a bright smile. "Woody!!" Cookie shouted with a loud giggle as she rushed to hug the brown pony. "It's been a while since you came to my store!" She said gladly. "Yeah, it has been a while heh. How have you been?" He said as he returned the hug. "I've been great! Lots and lots of ponies comes here a lot now!" Woody went over to a chair and sat down, looking around the store full of cookies. There were many kinds of cookies in Cookie's store. There were many original cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and small cookies that had some raisins on it. There were others, but Woody wanted some chocolate ones to eat as a snack. "Hey Cookie, could I have some of those chocolate chip cookies? I'm kinda in a mood for a snack." He asked in a polite tone, as he looked at basket full of brown colored cookies. "Sure thing! How many would you like?" She asked as she went over to the basket. "Just two would be fine." He replied. Cookie took two cookies out and brought them to the table and sat down on a chair across from him. "Here ya go! So how's your wood business going?" "Oh nothing new. Nopony seems to be interested in wooden furniture anymore." He said with a sigh, once again regretting for taking this carrier. "Maybe I should change into another job or something. Something that's a little more active than siting around." Cookie had a sad look, feeling a little sorry for her friend. "Change your job? Into what?" Woody thought for a moment on what kind of job would be suitable for him. None came to his mind. "Maybe I'll give it more thought." He took a cookie and ate one of them with a smile. "Have I ever told you that I really like your cookies?" After some time talking about their progress of their business for what seemed like hours, Woody looked at the clock. It showed that it was now '4:12' in the afternoon. He was planning to leave and go home at around '4:30', but talking with his friend seemed to have made him lose track of time. "Oh my! Look at the time! I gotta go now." Woody said as he stood up from his chair, as Cookie noticed the time too. "Oh yeah you should! Your family would be really worried about you." She glanced at the time again. "Wow.. That was quick.." They both felt as if time skipped over them. Woody took out four bits, knowing that one chocolate cookie cost two bits. He put them on the counter and tried to quickly go, when Cookie suddenly stopped him in his tracks. "Nuu! Ya don't need to pay for it! It's alright, I got ya covered." She gave him a wink, and returned the bits back to him. Woody sighed and chuckled. "Nopony ever let's me pay for their stuff." He jokingly said, as he took back the bits. "Well, I need to go. I don't want everypony to get worried too much about me." He said as he walked towards the door and waved his hoof at his friend.  "See you later, Cookie!" With that, he went out through the door and walked back to his shop. The sun was still shining and the sky was still showing it's baby blue color. All the roads were filled with running cars, ponies going home from their work. Woody opened the door to his shop and walked in. Nothing changed. There was no sign of any ponies who visited, nor was there any recorded phone messages he used to keep track of just in case. "Nothing new. Welp, I'm outta here." He took his bag with his book out of the small workshop, and locked the shop doors. He then went to the car parking lot and got in his old car. He drove toward Winter's school. He always picked her up when he finished his work, which technically didn't really was work. He parked the car around the school gate that had a big sign with 'Skyline High School' written on it. He watched all the young ponies come out from the gate, getting picked up by their parents or walking to their homes. He looked for his sister, when he then saw a white pegasus walking towards him. * * * * * * Winter opened the door of his brother's car and got on the front passenger seat. She threw her bag to the back and slumped onto the comfortable car seat. "Had a good day in school?" Woody asked as he drove away from the gate of the school. "Yup! The teacher liked my drawing I did in art class." She told him. "Of course they like your art! You're great at it!" Woody said as he nudged her arm with a smile. Winter had a talent in drawing sketches. When she was young she always wanted to be good at art. So she practiced drawing pony figures at home on her desk, and drew nearly everyday. She got better over the past few years and when she went to art classes in school the teachers liked her work. In just a few minutes they were at their house. Woody parked the car in front of the garage, next to a big family sized van. Winter got out of the car and walked inside the house as Woody opened the door for her. "Hey, wanna go out to the park tonight for a walk? I hear there's gonna be a full moon tonight." Woody asked as he went inside and wiped his hooves on a mat laying on the floor. "Yeah! That would be nice. But after I finish my homework." Winter replied with a smile as she went upstairs to her room. "Ok. After we all eat dinner then." He decided to ask the others if they would like to go too. The first thing they realized when they walked in was the coziness and emptiness of their home. They had a big house. It had a big family sized living room, two ponies lived there. Themselves, and two others. Onyx Armor, and Hope. Onyx Armor was a very respectful and an honorable pony. He was like a big brother to everypony who met him. But to Winter and Woody he wasn't really a blood related brother. He was actually their friend they met in the military base. They've been best friends since then, and everypony considered him a brother to them. He had black coat all over his body, and short white mane and long tail. From afar he looked like a grey earth pony, but when close up it was easy to tell that he wasn't all grey. He may look like he had a personality like a strict military pony, but if you got to know him more, he actually was a very trustable pony who respected others. In fact, he was a very honorable pony. Onyx served as a royal guard in an Equestrian military base. He had lots of work to do there, and he always made sure he finished all of them that day. He got respect from all the other ponies in the military he worked with. He used his money he got from his work, and supported his family a lot more than Woody since he had a higher job than him.  "Hey Onyx." Woody said as he went into the living room, seeing Onyx on the couch with his phone on. "Hey." He greeted him in a tired tone, as moved his hoof around the bright screen while working on something. "Tired?" Onyx nodded at Woody's obvious question and put his phone on his lap, and laid his head back with his eyes closed. Woody sat next to him and slumped into the couch, relaxing himself. "There's gonna be a full moon tonight. Winter and I are gonna go for a walk after dinner. Wanna come?" Onyx thought for a moment. "I don't know. I'm tired from work. I want to rest." Woody nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too.. But hey, it's kinda hard to look at a full moon these days." Woody wanted him to come with them, and tried to convince him. Onyx let out a sigh, knowing that Woody loved going placed with his family including him. He thought about it again, and thought about if his marefriend would like it.  "Maybe." He decided to ask her out later. Woody also thought about asking Mimi out to look at the moon. They've been to the park a few times and they were always happy when they did, so looking at the full moon at night seemed like a perfect time to make good memories. "Alright then." Woody said, as he looked around the big room. "Hey, where's Hope?" He asked Onyx in a worried tone. "She's not here. I think she went to the library." He replied as he was about pass out. "Oh ok then. Maybe I should ask her if she wants to come too." He said as he laid his head back, and felt himself get sleepy. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep on the couch next to his brother. > Preparing for the Night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter opened the door to her room and went inside. She threw her bag onto her bed and flopped beside it. She let out a deep breath, feeling happy as the bed let her feel comfortable as she sank down onto it's mattress. She had a good day at school today. Her teacher complimented her art during art class, and all of her friends liked it too. She felt proud that she made them happy. She used to practice drawing very often at when she was young. She opened her bag and took out a notebook with all her drawings she drew in school on it. She flipped through the pages and found her drawing she drew today. It was a drawing of her and Darkness hugging each other. She smiled as she looked at it. Darkness was one of Winter's classmates, and was also her crush. He had dark gray coat and long black mane and tail that could almost make him one in the dark. He had a horn longer than most ponies, and a pair of alicorn wings. Darkness was part vampony, so he had a color of red in his eyes. Even though he was part vampire, he never felt any desire to bite on a pony's neck and taste blood. Instead, he was very caring and sometimes protective for other ponies, especially for his friends. He even was smart in class, so he had some popularity in school. Winter wanted to be friends with him for a very long time now, but she didn't have the courage to talk to him with all the other ponies around him. They did say hi to each other though, and even that made her feel happy, but she still kept her feelings to herself. Winter went to her desk, got out a pair of scissors, and started carefully cutting out the drawing. She then some pieces of colorful papers, and made a background of a green field with a blue sky and some white clouds on it. Then she put the drawing on the green paper and put it in a picture frame, making it look like it was professionally made. She put the frame near her lamp on her desk, and kept her smile. She laid down on her bed and stared at it, wondering if Darkness liked to watch the stars at night. "Maybe..." She whispered to herself, and quickly got her phone, and opened up Darkness's contacts. She typed a short message and sent it to him. "Hi" She waited for an answer. * * * * * * Hope was walking back home from the library with some books in her saddlebag. She liked walking rather than taking a bus or a train. Places like that made it feel so crowded since there were always so many ponies walking back and forth. She didn't really like standing in one place with many other ponies she didn't know, so she always went on a walk whenever she could. She could use her wings since she was a pegasus, but she prefered walking than flying. She liked to look at her surrounding than just passing it. She saw trees planted on the sidewalk she was on, all lined up in a certain amount of distances between them. The green leaves were waving around, as if they were dancing in the soft breeze. She could feel the cool breeze going through her mane, as she walked along the sidewalk. Hope had a coat of clear white, and a color of red on the bottom of her hooves and legs. She had a long red wavy mane and tail, so it was easy for other ponies to find her since she can be clearly seen nearly anywhere she went. Hope was the youngest among Woody and Winter, and liked had a very tender heart towards other ponies. She always cared for others more than herself, and always showed kindness towards them. Even when Hope was feeling sad about something she hid it to herself so that it wouldn't affect others. She loved her brother and sister very much and was grateful for their care. She was in the library just a few minutes ago to borrow a book that was full of stories about friendship and families. When Winter and Hope were little, Woody often read a story to them right before their bedtime. It was a little habit Woody had when their mom used to read them every night. Now Hope goes to the library to get some books for Woody to read them. It's been a sort of family tradition in a way now. She smiled at the thought of her big brother reading it to her until she fell asleep. There were times when they stayed up all night reading long time ago, but now she sometimes read books to herself so she could sleep well. It always helped her. She then felt her phone vibrating in her saddlebag. She stopped at a red light in front of a crosswalk to take it out. It was a text message from Woody. "Hey Hope! Wanna go see a full moon tonight?" She didn't have to think twice. She quickly replied back. "Yeah! That'd be fun! XD" Her lip curled up into a smile, as she walked home happily, feeling excited for the night to come. * * * * * * Woody smiled as he read Hope's reply. He then got up to his hooves, and went into the kitchen. He got out a few things and put them on the table. Some bread, a jar of jam, a package of some ham, mustard, cheese, and a few cans of soda. He was planning a little snack for tonight when they'll be outside looking at the full moon. They'd be hungry at night when they look at the moon and the stars, so he wanted to be prepared. He turned on a radio channel on his phone and put the sound on speakers. He had a favorite radio station one of his friends owned, so whenever he had time he'd turn it on and listen to it. "And now we come with a quick news for ponies who love the night sky. I hear there will be a full moon tonight, and it seems like many ponies are getting ready for it. According to the weather news, there'll be lots of bright stars shining in the dark night sky, and a full moon high up there shining its light to the whole world. Some even say that princess Luna herself is going to show us where our personal stars are! I hope everypony has a goodnight with their friends and family, and make happy memories tonight. And now, we bring you some smooth music played by the strings of a cello, this is The Night Sky played by Octavia Melody." There was a quiet pause from the radio from Woody's phone, as the soft music played by a cello took its place. Woody smiled remembering who the pony who hoped a goodnight was, and wondered if he'd want to join them tonight. * * * * * * Champion West walked out of the studio after his short announcement about tonight. He was certainly excited for it too. "Another good speech spoke by the best radio pony himself!" His work partner, Radio Tunes said with a big smile as he clapped. Champion chuckled sheepishly as he smiled back. "Hehe I'm not the best but thanks, Tunes!" "Sure yer the best! Yer radio station is gettin' more and more popular with lots of ponies out der listenin to ya!" Tunes exclaimed. He was really proud about his friend, and was very happy to be working with him in their little studio. "Our radio station." Champion corrected him. He always said that working together is always important, so he didn't really like getting praise by a pony. Instead, he was proud to have a wonderful team in their little studio. Though it was a small radio station, he was glad to have made many friends from everywhere. He walked outside as he bid his friends goodbye, when he stopped him. "Hey wait, ya doin anythin t'night?" He asked. Champion wondered for a moment. "Be with my friends at night of course. Why?" He said with a smile. It was kinda an obvious question when you had a whole lot of friends who liked the night. "Well, I was jus' wonderin' if it'll be alright to, ya know, spen' some time gettin' ta know ya." He said shyly, as he scratched the back of his head. Champion chuckled and gave a nod at his partner with a gesture to follow him. "Sure you can! Come on!" Champion West was a very busy and active pony around. He had grass green coat, and a darker green color for his mane and tail . He had a shape of a clover as a cutie mark. It represented luck for surviving all kinds of hard times that was thrown at him, but he always had hope that it would get better. He always wanted to do something for everypony in Equestria, so he made a radio station and broadcast all kinds of content for them to listen and enjoy. They did audio stories for little fillies and colts, played music to brighten ponies days. They even featured DJPON3 herself once and played some of her music. As more and more ponies listened to their broadcasts, they met more and more ponies and made lots of friends all around the world. Like Radio Tunes. He was one of Champion's best work partners. Whenever he had a problem with the broadcast he helped him by taking care of the radio systems. He had yellow coat and bright blue mane and tail. Champion felt something vibrate in his bag. He took out his buzzing phone and saw that it was a text message from his old friend, Woody. "Hey Champ! Nice listening to your good old voice on the radio! XD" He typed his message back. "Glad you liked it. So you gonna do something with your family and friends at night?" Tunes peeked over his shoulder and watched him type. "Friend o' yer's?" He asked. Champion responded with a slight nod. "Yeah. Woody is an old friend of mine. We might be with his family at night." "Oh? Well It'd be nice ta meet em!" "Yup." He got a text message back with another buzz from his phone. "Gonna be outside to see the moon. You're coming, right?" He smiled and replied with a yes. The two ponies walked towards Woody's house to join Woody and his family for the night. > Marefriends > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was just a few hours before 10-o-clock at night. The sky became darker as minutes passed. Little fillies and colts went outside with their parents, some with their toy telescope to look at the stars. Ponies young and old sat on their backyard around their houses to relax and enjoy the night with their family. Some ponies went to a large park with their special someponies to talk about how much they loved each other and how much they shined like the stars that brightened the night. Hope walked around the house to find where Woody was and found him in his room. He was reading a large book with the title "The Book of Astronomy" on the cover as he laid in bed. "Hi brobro! Watcha doin?" * * * * * * "Hi brobro! Watcha doin?" She asked him in her usual tone of excitement. She couldn't wait to see the stars and the full moon. "Oh, I made sandwiches to eat on the hill tonight. Thought ponies would get hungry." He said as he closed the book he was reading and looked up at a clock that was hanging on a wall. "Wow, it's already 10? We gotta go before it get's too late." He got up and wore his light brown jacket to keep himself warm. "Get ready sis. We're gonna go soon." He said with a smile as Hope jumped up and down and went to her room to get ready. He then went up to Winter's room and knocked on the door. "Hey sis, you ready to go outside?" "In a bit!" He got a muffled response as Winter was getting dressed in her white and blue coat to keep herself warm, still waiting for a reply from her crush. "Alright!" He nodded and went downstairs to the front door and waited for them to come down. * * * * * * Onyx wanted to ask his marefriend if she'd want to see the moon with him. His marefriend, Belua, didn't have a phone and lived in the Everfree Forest just like Mimi. He'd have to go through the forest to go see her. He got up, grabbed his coat, and took a flashlight. "I'm going outside. I might be back late." He said loudly, hoping somepony heard him. He opened the door and went outside, walking on the streets that led to the forest. The Everfree Forest was a little far from the house, so Onyx knew he'd have to walk for while just to go see his marefriend, but he didn't really mind since he was already used to long walks. He looked up and saw that the stars were already out to shine the night. The sky looked bright even though it was dark somehow. It amazed him how such little stars could shine so bright that it could keep the night bright. When he reached the edge of the forest, he went in without hesitation. He went to Belua's house many times before so he was used to walking in the dark forest. After a few minutes of walking through the dark forest, he found the hut where Belua lived. He took a deep breath, and walked to the front of the door and gave a quiet knock on the old wooden door. "Belua? It's me, Onyx." He said in a soft quiet tone as he waited patiently for her to come out. He took a few steps back as the door opened up, revealing his marefriend behind the door. Belua, having a bit of shyness in her, peeked her head out from the side of the door she was holding onto to hide herself. When she saw Onyx in front of her a smile appeared on her face. Belua was a hybrid of a zebra and a pegasus pony. She had long mane and tail with red and gray stripes along it. Her cutiemark was a shape of a little mouse that represented her shy and quiet personality and her quick speed in hiding. Her mother was in a tribe formed by in zebras before she was born. There was a certain rule zebras had to keep which was being equal with the other zebras. They didn't like a slightest change in their lives. But when she met a pegasus pony by walking around in the woods all by herself, she found herself falling in love with him. Belua never saw her father before but because of his pegasus genetics, Belua was born a little different from the other zebras. And since the tribe didn't like anything to be different, they had to put her away from themselves. Heartbroken, she was banned from the zebra tribe at a very young age. But she learned to live alone in the Everfree Forest. She really had a fear in magic so whenever she saw a unicorn doing a magic spell, even a simple levitation spell, she avoided them as much as possible. In fact, she avoided everypony. She had so much fear in others, so she didn't have anyone to talk to. Which explains her shy and quiet personality. But when she met Onyx, she found out that he was different. He didn't seem to bad or dangerous to her. They met in the Everfree Forest when Onyx was walking around doing one of his patrols his military officers assigned him, he met her. And after that whenever he had the chance he went to see Belua and take care of her. That's when they realized they fell in love. Now Belua wasn't afraid of him at all. She put her trust in him, and she was happy she did. "O-oh! It's you..." Belua said in a quiet tone behind the door as she saw her stallionfriend smile back. "Hey, umm... I was wondering if you'd like to come see the stars with me." Onyx said with a slight blush, but thanks to the darkness the trees gave he was glad she didn't see it. "De staws?" She repeated the words with her zebra accent. The trees of the Everfree Forest covered up the sky so it was hard to see anything at all. She looked at him and held her head down low, feeling her face blush. "D-dat... would be nice..." Onyx held his hoof out to her, and the young zebra gracefully held onto it and walked out toward him. "I know a good hill. I think Woody is planning on a picnic at night to look at the moon. Would you want to come with?" He asked. Belua wasn't really much of a talker, but she did like Onyx's friends. Even though she was really shy, she listened to nearly everything his friends talk to him and thought it was ok to trust them since they were his friends. She decided to join them as she gave a slow nod. "Alright then, let's go." Onyx chuckled softly as he led his marefriend to where hill was and join the rest. * * * * * * Woody leaned on a wall, waiting for Winter to come downstairs so they could all go. Hope was already looking out the window, looking at the night sky where the shining stars showed it's bright light. He smiled as he saw his sister smile widely and get excited for the night. He then thought about asking Mimi to see if she'd want to come with. He knew her house was not very far from here, so he decided to go visit her on the way to the hill. "I'm ready now!" Winter said as she came down the stairs. "Alright, let's go now." Woody opened the door and walked out to the car as Hope and Winter followed behind him. He unlocked the door and got in the drivers seat and put on his seat belt. "I'm gonna try and go see Mimi before we go to the hill, ok?" They all said that it was ok as they drove to Mimi's house. In the car, Winter looked at her phone, still waiting for a reply that never came. She became a little more nervous. 'Am I late? Why did I send him that text? Will he respond? Maybe he's already with his friends outside.. Did I bother him?' Her mind began to fill up with worry as she felt a little paranoid. She then decided to believe that he didn't see the message, but still felt a little sad for not getting a reply from her crush. She leaned her head against the window and watched the trees pass by as she felt alone. > On the Hill > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Woody drove the car to Mimi's house as he hoped she'd come with. Hope and Winter was sitting on the back of the car as they all drove, waiting to see her. It has been a while since they saw her since she was busy taking care of the animals in the forest and taking care of herself too. When he stopped in front of a red light, he quickly took his phone out and sent a text message to Champion. "Hey Champ. I'll pick you up by the train station in a bit after I pick Mimi up, ok? Cya in a bit!" As the light turned green he threw the phone onto the seat next to him and drove. He turned the car and parked on the side of the road as he opened the door. "I'll be right back. Stay here, ok?" He said to his sisters in the back and got out as he closed the door and walked into the forest. He followed the dirt trail on the ground and went deeper into the forest as he saw many trees covering the sky a little, but not too much. He turned back and he couldn't even see the car anymore. He kept on walking until he saw Mimi's house. An old rusty shed in an open space surrounded by trees, with a small farm on the side of the little house. He went to the front door, knocked on it a few times, and took a step back and waited. After a few seconds, there was a small quiet voice from the door as Woody's ear perked up. "H-hello..?" The door opened with a creek as a gray hinny shyly opened the door and peeked her head out the door. "Hey, Mimi. How are you tonight?" He smiled as Mimi stepped out and felt more calm when she saw him. "O-oh! I'm ok." She said in a whisper as she looked at him. "That's good." He replied with a smile. "Hey umm remember I told you about the full moon tonight a few days ago?" She nodded as a yes as she closed the door behind her. "Well, I brought my sisters in my car. My family will be there, so you could meet them again." Woody gave a small gesture for her to follow him out to the road where the car was parked. "Yeah, that'd be nice." She walked and stayed close to his side as they both walked close to each other and went towards the car to go to the hill, where they'll be looking at the bright stars of the night. * * * * * * Woody and Mimi walked up the hill, giggling as they saw Hope excitingly bounce up at the top with Winter next to her. Onyx waved a hoof at them as he and Belua were already there for a while under a tree waiting for them. Champion and Radio Tunes trailed behind Woody and Mimi as they talked about themselves getting to know each other more. As Woody sat down with his saddlebag that was packed with sandwiches, Mimi lied down on her stomach next to him and put her arm on his shoulder. Woody gave a nuzzle as she nuzzled back. Belua was silently lying down on the ground next to Onyx as they both looked up and smiled at the beautiful view the sky had to offer. Hope sat down with her head up high as her eyes sparkled at the reflection of the bright stars. The big moon took place high above the sky as it gave light to the Earth and drove the darkness away. The stars shined brightly, as if there were a million white dots sprinkled across a black board. Winter was sitting a little away from the group, thinking about the text she sent to Darkness. She couldn't help but think he never really cared about her but his popularity and fame in school. She looked up, and saw all the stars look at her with a smile, as if they were trying to comfort her. She looked down at the ground and played in the dirt with her hoof. She felt torn and alone, and thought nopony really cared about her but her family. She then saw a shadow come closere and saw a brown hoof on her shoulder. * * * * * * "You alright, sis?" Woody asked. He noticed her sad look a few minutes ago when they got out of the car. He knew that look very well, and knew something was bothering her. "H-huh? Oh.. Yeah, I'm fine." Winter looked up at her brother and showed a small smile on her face. "I know you're not." The brown pegasus sat down on the ground next to her, wrapping a wing around her to keep her warm from the cool night breeze. "Come on. What's wrong?" She snuggled into his wing as tears formed in her eyes. "I texted Darkness.. he never replied back.." He gave a nod and listened to her. "Isn't he that popular guy in your school? Do you need something from him? Or...?" "I... I like him..." Woody tilted his head a little and felt confused. "That's why he's popular. You wanna have fame too?" "No bro, I mean I like like him.." Woody thought for a moment and nodded. He hugged her tight and gave a light pat on her back. "Maybe he's busy or something.. You can talk to him in school tomorrow." She gave a weak nod. Woody didn't know what to do. He wasn't really good with these kind of things. But he didn't want his sister to feel sad either. Winter thought that maybe Darkness wasn't for her. He was way too popular to be friends with her. They both did say hi to each other often and sometimes did school projects together, but they never really spent quality time to get to know each other. She then felt Woody softly nuzzling her and letting her go. "Cheer up, little sis.. Come on. Have a sandwich. Maybe it'll help you feel better." She looked behind her and saw everypony get together as  they had sandwiches in their hooves and eating. Winter got up and walked over to the group to join in. * * * * * * Thunder Cloud was sitting on a hill, as he stared up at the moon. "Another beautiful night." He mumbled to himself. He was standing outside his front porch of his large mansion located on the edge of Canterlot. Thunder Cloud had a dark blue coat and blue mane with black tips on them. His cutie mark was a shape of thunder, which explains why he has the ability to control thunder strikes when storms came. When he was just a foal, he lived in the Canterlot Orphanage when he was a foal. Not even knowing who his parents are, he lived among the other ponies who also never met their family. One day he tried to do a very complex spell. But when he tried to do it, he got struck by thunder. That was how he got his cutie mark and got the ability to control thunder. He now works in a book store near the Canterlot library. He looked up at the stars and remembered his old foalhood friends he had when he was in the orphanage, and hoped they were doing well. Perhaps at least one of his friends might be looking at the same star as he is. He heard a soft beep from a coffee machine from the kitchen. He turned around and went inside to grab his cup of coffee and blew of the top of it to cool it off a bit. He held the cup in his hoof and walked back out. It was too quiet around his house. He wanted to have somepony to talk to right about now, but since he was the only pony living in the house, he didn't have anyone to talk to. He then had an idea, and decided to call Jeaune, a friend of his friend who worked in the Canterlot library. Jeaune Hunter was a very kind mare. She had grayish yellow coat and her mane was mixed with dark brown and yellow. Her cutie mark was a shape of a scroll with a star shaped wheel on it. She got it when she became friends with a griffon in griffonstone on her vacation. She read a lot of books and knew a lot of things, that if a pony asked her something, she could find the right book that had the information they needed. Thunder picked up his phone and sent a text message to Jeaune, just to see if she'd reply. "Hello, Jeaune." He then sent another text message to another one of his friends, Cinnamin. Cinnamin was a bright pony. She had cyan blue coat and dark brown mane with her horn sticking out between them. She had a musical note as her cutie mark, which represented her talent in singing and dancing. When she was young, her parents pushed her to what they wanted her to be. But Cinnamin kept her dream and followed her heart by going into a performing arts school where she learned to sing and dance. After she graduated, she moved to Canterlot and became popular for dancing, and eventually became a dance instructor in an arts school in the middle of the city. She and Thunder knew each other by meeting in the Canterlot library while she was looking for a book about art performance, and Jeaune helped them find the book they needed. Now the three were best friends. "Hello, Cinni." Thunder pressed the send button from his phone and sent the text to her. After a few minutes, he got a reply from Jeaune. "Hey, Thunder. How are you in this lovely night?" He sat on a chair that was on the porch outside his mansion, and typed out his message. "I'm doing well. I hope you are having a nice night too." "Thank you. I am enjoying the stars very much. They seem to be brighter than before." He then got another message from Cinnamin. "Hey Thunder! How are you tonight?" He smiled and typed out his reply and pressed send. "I'm doing very well. And how are you?" "I'm ok. I really like the moon hehe." The three ponies then decided to group call each other and enjoyed the night as they talked and shared the night together. > Morning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sun came up as the sky slowly turned orange, bringing up the warm sunlight for ponies to start a new day. The flowers began to bloom as the air turned warmer. The ponies who were outside on the hill were now in their soft beds, sleeping peacefully under their blankets. Everypony were tired since they've been staying up for a long time to see the stars last night. But even though it made them all sleepy and tired, they were happy to get back together and share the beautiful night with their loved ones. It was worth it. Woody, being an early riser, woke up and looked at the clock. His little digital military clock showed the numbers 06:14 on it. "Nnngh..." The brown pegasus groaned and hid under his blanket that kept him warm. Even though his alarm was set for 7:00 am, his body always woke him up at around 6:00 am since he was so used to getting up at an early time. He forced himself up and opened the curtains to look out the window of his room. The warm sunlight greeted him as Woody let out a yawn. He then flapped his wings a few times to fully wake himself up, and walked out of his room. He went downstairs into the kitchen and turned on a coffee machine that was on the counter. He waited for the coffee to finish as the machine poured warm coffee into his cup. He picked it up and took a sip, his nose picking up the crispy smell of caffeine. "Ah~ I love coffee." He mumbled as a soft smile appeared on his face. He looked at a nearby clock hanging on a wall, showing 6:25. Woody walked up the stairs and walked through the hallway. When he reached Winter's room, he gave a soft knock on the door. "Winty? It's six twenty five. You're gonna be late for school." When he didn't get a response, he quietly opened the door and went inside. The walls were coated with baby blue wallpaper with shapes of snowflakes on them. Her desk was neatly clean next to her dark blue bed. Under the covers of the bed was Winter, peacefully sleeping. She'd been checking her phone a few times right before she fell asleep, hoping that Darkness replied. But every time she turned her phone on, all she saw was her phone background with no new messages. "Wake up, little sis." Woody gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. Winter opened her eyes and saw her brother sitting on her bed with a smile and a messy mane. She groaned softly, her body refusing to move from the comfort her blanket gave her. "Five more minutes...?" Woody chuckled and gave a slight poke on her shoulders before standing up. "You're gonna be late for school, sis. Hurry up!" He then walked out of the room as the tired white pegasus groaned again. Woody then went downstairs into the kitchen and made simple meals for breakfast. Cereal. "That's all I can make..." He mumbled to himself as he reminded himself that he should take more cooking lessons from Mimi. Winter came downstairs with her school saddlebag on, and sat on a chair near the counter. "I don't wanna eat." Winter mumbled as Woody's ear perked up. He held his hoof up and said, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It helps you start your day healthy, and you'll do well in school." "Fiiine..." His sister whined, but ate the crunchy cereal from her bowl. A few minutes later, Onyx entered into the kitchen with his mane still messy and his eyes still heavy. He and Belua had stayed a little longer after everypony went to their homes, and the two spent the night together. He walked Belua to her house and walked back to his late at night. "Had a good time last night?" Woody asked him. "Yeah, I did. She really loved the stars." The black pony chuckled at the thought of making his marefriend happy by being there for her at a beautiful night. "How about you?" "Oh, I had a great time. Mimi and I really liked the stars. Heh, we've been trying to name them too." He scratched his mane, knowing he had no knowledge in astronomy. Winter felt a little sad for being so alone. Woody and Onyx had somepony to love. She wished she had one. She tried to keep herself from tearing up, and finished eating her cereal. "Well, I have to take Winter to school . See ya later, bro." "Yeah, laters." Woody opened the front door for Winter as they walked over to the car. * * * * * * Winter was sitting on the back of the car with her head leaning against the window. She still felt sad about not getting a response, the conversation Woody and Onyx had earlier didn't help. "You alright, sis?" Woody asked from up front, as he stopped at a red light. It was hard for Winter to act like everything was fine around him. Whenever Winter felt down, Woody always noticed it and tried to comfort her every time. "Huh? Oh.. Yeah.. I'm fine." She said with a sigh. "Still no reply from him?" "Mmm..." Winter nodded a little, as she checked her phone again one last time. There were still nothing from Darkness. "What if he doesn't like me..?" "Why wouldn't he? You're a great artist, you have a warm heart, you're beautiful." Winter let out a giggle as she knew he just wanted to cheer her up. "Thanks, bro." "Hey, I mean it." Woody smiled and looked at her on the back mirror, as the car continued its route to school as the light turned green. They arrived at the gate of Winter's school in just a few minutes. Woody parked the car on the side of the road as Winter made sure she got her saddlebag. "Have a good day, sis! Love ya!" Winter smiled as she got out of the car. "Love you too, big bro!" She closed the door and watched the brown car drive back home. She then turned around and started walking through the gate and into the school. The school wasn't very big, but it wasn't small either. It had a big playing field with bleachers on the sides, and a storage building behind it. On the other side was a big building that had all the classrooms for the students, and there was another building that was used as a library. There were many ponies walking towards the main building. Many different kinds of saddlebags were hanging on the sides of the ponies in different colors and sizes. Winter followed the crowed into the building and went through the hallway crowded with ponies to her classroom. She sat on her seat and waited for the first class to start. A few minutes before class started, Winter's, best. friend, Zeen came in and sat across from her. She noticed him, and walked over to his desk. "Hi, Zeen." "Oh, hi Winter." He replied. The school bell rang right before she said anything, and went back to sit on her seat. As the class started, she tried her best not to think about Darkness or the text message. > School > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The front door of the classroom opened as an old looking mare walked in. She walked over to the desk and looked at the students in front of her. She had a gray coat with long wavy dark red mane. She always wore a shirt since she liked keeping herself tidy and neat. Her cutiemark was a shape of a pencil that represented her talent in teaching writing. She was kind, and many ponies liked her for it. Winter liked Ms. Pencil, but she didn't like writing classes. She didn't really like writing, because she wasn't very confident in it. She often got help from her classmate, Zeen. Whenever she felt like she couldn't do anything, Zeen offered his help for her. Zeen had gray coat with a short black and red mane. He was still learning to use magic, so he wasn't very experienced with it yet. He learns magic by reading a book that's called 'Basics of Magic' whenever it's break time in school, always trying his best to master basic spells like levitation or teleportation. He always wanted to help others when they had a hard time doing something. But even he had hard times in his life. His parents had passed away from illness, and now lives by himself in a cheap house that's a little far from school. The shock of his parents death brought depression and it made him feel like he had no one to look up to for help. Except for his friend, Winter Star. Zeen played games on his computer or draw venting pictures to keep himself from being upset, but talking to Winter helped him the most. Winter was the only one who knew about his depression, and he liked to keep it that way. He didn't want any attention. He knew a bit about programming, so he made computer games and sold them online to earn bits to support himself. He was even in a group called 'The Gamerz', a group of programmers and animators who created games and released them into the public. Most of Zeen's income came from there, and he was happy to be in a group like that. Winter. sometimes tried to help him by giving him some money, but Zeen often refused saying that he didn't need it. He was glad to have a friend like her. Ms. Pencil opened up her file and brought out a stack of paper sheets. She counted them to match the number of the students and told them. "Alright, we're going to do poem writing today. Our topic will be about flowers, so I want you to try your best." She said as she gave out a paper sheet to each student in the room. When Winter received the blank piece of paper on her desk and stared at it for a few seconds. Her mind became blank, just like what her paper was showing. She started to feel a little insecure. What if she failed? What if she disappoint Ms. Pencil? What if the other ponies look at her in a bad way? Her thoughts stopped when she looked up at the gray pony two desks in front of her. She leaned her head to the side a little to get a better view, and saw Zeen writing on his paper using his mouth instead of his horn. He looked up in thought for a few seconds, then looked down as he continued writing. He seemed to be taking time in his poem, unlike her. She wished he was right next to her. She'd be able to get help from him, plus he'd be her desk partner! "Flowers.." Winter's current desk partner, White Cloud, mumbled in deep thought as she stared at her paper on her desk. White was a quiet pony, but she was one of the smart students in the whole school. She had white coat with a long sapphire blue mane that made her look pretty with her white pegasus wings. Her cutie mark was a shape of a cloud, which represented her talent in making clouds into different kinds of shapes. "I'm not really fond of flowers.." She mumbled again, and kept on thinking. Winter looked at some of the other ponies, and noticed that they were having a hard time writing the poem too. That made her feel a little better. At least she wasn't the only one. "Any idea on what to write?" She asked the white pony, but got a groan and a shake of her head. "No, but I'm thinking." She then started to write on her paper quickly. Winter felt like she was just bothering her and stayed quiet, feeling bad for not being able to write a simple poem while the other ponies did their work. The bell rang, indicating that the first class ended. "Alright, write the poem until tomorrow. That'll be your homework, and I'll see you tomorrow." Ms. Pencil went out through the front door as the students did what they wanted to do for break time. Some got off their chairs and went to their friend's classroom, some got their notebooks out to draw on them. Some even got their phones out and called their friends outside of school. Winter didn't really want to get out of her seat, so she got her drawing notebook out and just started drawing simple sketches on it. She thought she wasn't very good at drawing, but with the teachers around her complimenting her art she felt like she really was good at it. After a few minutes of sketching random things, she felt a hoof tap on her shoulder. When she turned around to see who it was, Zeen was smiling at her. "That's a nice drawing!" He said. Zeen wished he drew well too. He did draw sometimes on at home when he was bored, but he wasn't very confident in doing so. "Oh, thanks Zeeny." The white pegasus said, returning the smile. "How was writing? Was it ok for you?" He asked in a slightly worried tone. Winter just looked back at her notebook with a sigh, shaking her head. "Aww.. Don't worry. You're still learning. I know you'll be able to write a great poem." Zeen tried to cheer his friend up, which seemed to work when she let out a giggle. "I'll try." "I'll help you if you want. Hey, maybe we could write together!" Winter's ears perked up. It would be nice if Zeen helped her write the poem. Plus, Zeen was her favorite friend to be with. "That would be nice!" She looked at him and smiled happily, until she got a sudden boop on the muzzle by him. "Boop!" Zeen said playfully, as he smiled back. Winter felt her cheeks blush a bit. She looked away from him to hide her blushing cheeks, thinking that it would be embarrassing if he noticed. Just as she was about to hold her pencil to continue drawing, the school bell rang and all the ponies went to their seats. Winter watched Zeen go back to his seat, and felt very glad to have a friend like him in school. A few hours later as classes started and finished, Winter got up from her seat to walk over to the cafeteria for lunch. Zeen followed after to eat with her, as he trotted over to her side. Winter looked at him with a smile as she took her time to walk to the cafeteria. When they reached the large room, there were already many ponies filling up all the seats. Winter and Zeen quickly got in line to grab a tray as they went through the counter where they give food. When they received their food on their tray, they looked around to look for a seat. There was a table near a window in the corner of the cafeteria, so the two ponies decided to sit there. As they were eating, Zeen asked. "So, are you gonna keep drawing till next class starts?" She nodded as she swallowed her food in her mouth. "Yeah. I was trying to draw some ponies" Zeen began to be interested. "Who?" "Well, my bro, Onyx, and.." She trailed off, as she felt her cheeks slowly turned pink. "More ponies." Zeen just chuckled at her. 'She's so cute when she smiles.' He thought to himself. Zeen really liked being with Winter, especially when it was lunch time. He felt like he wasn't alone when he was around her. He liked her beautiful light blue mane waving back and forth whenever she walked, her deep light blue eyes, and her cute giggles that fluttered his heart, and most importantly her kind and caring heart. Zeen smiled as he thought about it, and felt really glad that he met her. He then noticed that Winter was giggling. "What?" He asked in confusion. "You're cute when you blush, Zeeny." It was then when Zeen realized that his cheeks were pink. > Morning in Canterlot > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The morning sun shined on Canterlot early in the morning. Jeaune Hunter woke up as she felt the warm sunlight touching her hoof. Her messy dark brown and yellow mane covered her face, as she softly grinned through them. She loved the warm sun in the early mornings like this. It gave her a bright start of the day, and made her feel calm. She got out of her bed and opened up the curtains of her window. The view of the large buildings of Canterlot greeted her, as the brown mare let out a yawn. She breathed the fresh morning air and felt it fill her lungs, giving her a refreshing sensation. She did a few stretches, hearing some of her bones cracking into place. She then walked downstairs into the kitchen. Since he lived in one of Canterlot's apartments, she had a wide house with lots of books covering most of the walls. Which explained why she knows about a lot of things. She went over to the counter in the kitchen and took out a pot of hot coffee from a coffee machine. Pouring it down into a cup, she could smell the crispy scent of caffeine enter her nose, which made her to smile. She walked over to the balcony and looked outside. As she sipped on her coffee, she looked at the view of Canterlot in front of her. The large buildings reaching for the sky, with beautiful flowers on the edge of some of the fences. The large streets with ponies walking around made Jeaune feel like the day would get busy, but she didn't really mind. After finishing her cup of coffee she opened the door and walked outside, feeling the morning breeze hit her. Ponies were walking to and fro, starting the day by doing their daily routines. The sun was high up in the sky shining its' warm sunlight down to the earth. It was just perfect. Jeaune trotted towards her workplace, the Canterlot Library. She really liked working there, be cause it gives her a chance to meet many other ponies who liked reading books. He even met a griffon walk in, asking for a certain book he wanted to find. But that turned out into a long conversation of sharing their interests in book as they got to know each other. They still write letters to each other to stay in contact as their friendship grew. They still talk about books even! She let out a giggle remembering her griffon friend. In just a few minutes by the close distance from her house, she reached the Canterlot Library. Ponies walked in and out with books in their bags and some held it with their magic. She walked up the marble stairs and pushed the glass doors open she walked inside. She saw a counter on her right, which was where she worked. There were four floors inside this building, with a total of at least sixteen thousand books inside. She was very happy to work in such a great place like this, and a best libraries in Equestria. The young mare walked over to her seat behind the counter and checked the list that showed books that needed to be ordered. She had a few more papers lying on her desk with a list of books that needed to be aligned. And another stack of papers with information of what books were borrowed and what needs to be returned. She took a deep breath to calm her down, and get ready for another busy day. * * * * * * Cinnamin was already awake, being a pony who likes to wake up early. It always helped her refresh her body when she went outside jogging early in the morning. It even kept her healthy too. The cyan colored mare looked at her digital watch on her forehoof and thought it was time to go back home and practice in her dancing performance. There was a celebration coming with just a few weeks left on the calendar. The celebration was about the birth of princess Celestia, and Cinnamin was going to be part of it. She was going to perform in the castle that was the home of the princess, and she was very honored to have the chance to do a performance there. Nearly all the ponies in Canterlot was going to be there and she heard that some from Ponyville was going to come too. She practiced for a months for it, she wanted it to be perfect and put a smile on everypony. She felt excited already. Cinni opened her door of her house and walked in as she panted from jogging. She opened the fridge in her kitchen to get a bottle of water. She drank out of the bottle, giving her body the water it needed. Leaning on the counter of her kitchen, she looked at her phone to see what schedule she has for the day. They were many blank spots on her schedule, as she didn't really like performing all the time without any free time. She wanted to at least relax in between them. Surprisingly, today was all blank. "Free time, huh?" She said as she thought of what she wanted to do. Go visit Jeaune and Thunder? Spend the day by practicing on her performance? Maybe write a song? Ideas popped in her mind as she saw lots of things she could do. She didn't really have a day that was so blank like this. She decided do go visit Thunder and then go to the Canterlot Library to see Jeaune. Maybe even look for a book about art there too. After a few minutes she was outside again, trotting towards the edge of Canterlot where the rich ponies lived. Thunder never considered himself rich. Instead he considered himself lucky. After he tried to do the complex spell, princess Celestia thought that he had a special talent in magic. So she gave him a chance to go to a school that taught about many different magical spells, and as he learned he did a few in magic performances. Soon he began to gain a little bit of popularity and as he saved all his bits, he had the chance to buy a mansion on the edge of Canterlot. He didn't even know that he had so many bits himself, so he used some of it to help other ponies who has trouble learning magic. Even Cinni was impressed at his works. Many unicorn kids got to learn different spells and they liked Thunder very much. They were grateful to have him as their magic teacher. Cinni saw the streets that led to his mansion as she walked, and enjoyed the view of many other houses around it. There were many other mansions that look like there were ponies even more richer than Thunder. Cinni wished she lived in a place like this, but she was happy to live in a normal house in Canterlot. After all, Canterlot was a big city.