Chapter 10. Cherry's Point of View
I wake up from a good night's rest. I sit up, and see that Mrs. Cheerilee was already cooking breakfast. When I say cooking, I mean taking some fruit out of her bag. We ate it quickly, excited to go shopping today. We start out of the room, our manes combed, and our teeth brushed.
"So what are we going to do today?" I say
"Well, first off, we're going to find that herb. That's the reason we're here, you know."
"Okay...and?"
"Well I don't think we'll have enough time to make the trip back home, so I guess we'll just shop the rest of the day." She replies.
"Sounds fun!"
We walk out of the Inn, and start heading towards the shops. I notice that most of the open area that we passed last night was filled with shops, selling things ranging from food to accessories to quills.
"So I know you're not a unicorn, but you know anything about magic?" I question Cheerilee.
"Actually, now that you mention it, I do know a few things about it." She continues "Magic is the cornerstone for all unicorns. They use it for their daily activities like cleaning, organizing, even finding things. I remember an old friend trying to explain how to use a levitation spell, that way you could hold things suspended in the air."
"Do you remember what she said?" I say excitedly
"Let me think for a second..." She puts her hoof to her chin, looking at the ground.
"Ahhh! Yes, now I remember. But you must be careful with this. She said anytime you use a spell, you use a little bit of energy. It's basically like running. The more you run the greater you tire gets. Same with spells. If you use spells too often, you will get worn out, but also like running, you can grow stronger and do more spells without being fatigued."
"Well go on! I really want to learn this!" I nearly shout at her.
"Okay okay! First, take an object and set it on something like a table. Then imagine an aura around it. Think of that aura lifting up the object. I'm not quite sure what she said after that, but I hope that helped. She explained.
"Thanks!"
We arrive near town square, at a stand that had a sign above it that said, "Herbs and Spices Galore".
I look at all the separate herbs and spices, some coloured purple, blue, red, even yellow! Some had polka-dots, some had stripes. Cheerilee looked at the selection for only a second before grabbing one in her mouth. It was Brown with white stripes. Bending down, it smells like mint, only slightly stronger, and what I would suspect to be spiciness. She puts it on the 'Check-out Counter' and asks the teller how much this herb was.
"That'll be 10 bits ma'am."
"Here you are." Mrs. Cheerilee hands her 10 bits, and we continue walking as she puts the herb in her bag.
"That was quick!" I say
"Yep, and now we get the whole day to shop!!!" She seemed very happy and excited.
We quickly make our way over to the next shop, which is labeled "Accessories for Ponies".
While Cheerilee is fascinated by the jewels and gems, I take a look around. Many ponies are walking about, either trying to get somewhere hastily, or slowly browsing the stores. There were all types of ponies. Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth ponies.
Cheerilee comes back and I see that a new necklace has renewed her neck.
"Cheerilee, could you tell me about the different types of ponies?"
"Why certainly dear. First off, Earth ponies are the most common, followed by Pegasi, followed by Unicorns."
"More than that. I want to know what they do. What are their responsibilities?" I continue to question her.
"Most important are the Earth ponies. They tend to our crops and watch over out animals. There is an exception of course. A filly named FlutterShy tends to the animals too. In fact, she seems to be quite good at it." She mentions. "Pegasi ponies are relied on to move the clouds, make rainbows, and control the weather. They basically watch over the sky, and there is a quite ambitious pony out there call 'Rainbow Dash'. She will do most of the work in the sky around Ponyville." Taking another breath, she says, "Finally there are Unicorns. They manage many things such as; groups, towns, imports and exports, and transportation. A large amount of them also own shops here in Ponyville. There is a particularly bright Unicorn called 'Twilight Sparkle'. You'd do well to meet her, you being so smart." She smiles.
We spend about another hour or two, looking around, making our way through town square. We picked and prodded at some foods, tried on some dresses, and ate lunch. We came to a store that sold various things, most likely a general store.
I drifted away from Cheerilee, whatever was preoccupying her, was not even entertaining me. It's strange, but I notice a large statue in the middle of town square that I hadn't seen earlier. It was of a Colt, tall and smiling. His horn was glorious, his mane was smooth. He looked as though he could have any Filly in town. I slowly walk up to it, stunned by the height of it. It was nearly as tall as the library! Then I noticed something that was crushing.
A small copper sign was at the bottom of the statue. In fancy script, it read
"This statue is dedicated to the very Colt who saved Ponyville from a terrible evil. May his soul be in Pony Heaven, and may he always be in our hearts. Oak Blossom.
I was stricken. I froze at the sight of my father's memorial. It hit me so fast, I didn't know how to react. Why hadn't Rose told me my own father was dead?! Did she even think this was important to me?! I was only two weeks old, yet I had already lost a large part of my life...It was unbearable, yet undeniable...I heard a crash of thunder as the sky begins to close dense with clouds. Rain starts to fall, mixing with my tears, falling from my eyes. Tears for my father. Tears for all the memories we will never have. Tears for all the times we will never experience together.
"Why did this happen to me?" I thought, "Why does he have to be dead? Why? Why?! Why?!?" I lay my head to the ground in sorrow, tears still streaming down my face. Cheerilee quickly rushes over to me, alarmed by the thunder and quickly growing storm, grabs me by my hoof and pulls my frantically in the direction of the Inn. "Why did this happen to me?" I question myself while running. I never even got to know him.
We got to the Inn just before it started down pouring. We were slightly wet, but mostly alright.
"What got over you?" Cheerilee says, but after she does, she quickly takes back her words, noticing the tears running down my face. She must have remembered where I was laying, because her voice became increasingly soft and ginger.
"...I ... I'm sorry you had to figure out like this dear..." She put a hoof around me, pulling me into her arms.
There was a pause, then she spoke up.
"Let's get back to our room."
We start walking back, both her and I were silent. When we got to our room, she opened the door, and we slowly walked in. She sits down on the bed, but I continue to stand in the middle of the room, staring at the ground.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I'm sorry dear, but it wasn't my job to tell you. Rose was going to tell you, but she fell sick and we had to come here."
I walked over to my bed, still wet, still stunned, still grieving, and laid down. Cheerilee decided that it'd be best if I were alone, so she leaves the room.
I start to think of my father and the sadness that was sitting upon my shoulders. This was a feeling that I've never experienced before, and I didn't know how to handle or cope with it, so I just did what felt right. I laid there for the rest of the day, crying silently into my pillow, falling into a deep sleep.