//------------------------------// // Looking at Possibilities // Story: The Origins of a Pegasus // by Snowliasion //------------------------------// I groaned with satisfaction as I lay belly down on the soft, pillowed bench. My wings giving an involuntary flutter as another jolt of pleasure surged through my body. "Oh Celestia, yes! That's exactly the spot." I half cried out while my limbs trembled and sweat matted my fur, dazed eyes wandering to the pony that brought me such bliss. Subtle Touch smiled down at me while his gentle hooves kneaded my shoulders and wing muscles. That stallion was so good with his hooves. No wonder his cutie mark appeared when it had. Mine, however, still hadn't shown up yet, which worried me a little. It was so embarrassing. "Enjoying yourself down there?" He asked while his cream colored hooves slowly caressed their way down my spine. He continued rubbing softly along my somewhat plump flanks, making my mind go blank for a second. One hoof remained rubbing one cheek, while the second left, then came down with an audible smack on my rump. I whinnied loudly in surprise and snapped my head around glaring at him. "What the hay? Pervert!" I bit out at him, my tail lashing at the offending hoof while I blushed madly. The unrepentant stallion merely laughed and gently massaged the spot on my rump. Still chuckling he nickered. "Aw, don't be like that, Snowy, I was only teasing. Did I hurt you?" He asked more seriously while he kept massaging the sensitive place he had swatted me. Blushing hotly I flicked my ears back. "No, not really, but it still stung you meanie!" Giving Touch a look of mock hurt, I extended my wings lazily in turn. "I'm sorry." He smiled and leaned down, planting a tender kiss on my flank. My eyes widened and my muzzle felt dry as I swallowed. More kisses! the little pony in my head demanded while I unconsciously moved my tail a little. I uttered a pleading groan when Touch's hooves traveled up my barrel afterwards. Is he? I thought. Only to be snapped out of my little fantasy when I heard his voice near my ear. "Are you alright Snowy?" Huh? I blinked dumbly at him while Touch gave me a slightly worried look. "I asked if you are alright Snowy? You suddenly tensed up." If I were blushing earlier, I was simply beet red now. Nodding hastily I smiled and quickly replied. "Yes! Eh, I mean, yes, sorry, I just enjoyed your massage a lot." And the kisses! my brain piped up. Shut up brain. Quickly dropping my tail, I turned my thoughts to climbing out of the comfortable gutter they had slipped into. He nodded and lowered himself onto all four hooves again. "Aaand you're done. I hope that helped to release some tension after all the flying you did today." He smiled while he helped me get off the bench, but my mind was elsewhere. Release physical tension, yes, other tensions? Not quite. I nodded in return and folded my wings alongside my body. Subtle Touch was a great masseur and I had little doubt that it would become his job when we got older. "Yup, thank you so much Touch. I owe you." Then winked. What the hay was that brain? I thought we liked mares? Yes. But Touch is an exception. I rolled my eyes at myself. Then again, Touch was one of our dearest friends. If anypony was an exception, it would certainly be him. Satisfied with that idea, I smiled. He tilted his head and asked. "Hey Snowy, when does Autumn get back from that new mailmare job of hers again?" I thought for a moment and nickered back. "Shouldn't be too long now. She said she only needed to deliver a few letters after school was over." And as if on cue, we heard the gate outside open and we made our way downside to see if it was Autumn Breeze. In the garden stood our pegasus friend. She was clothed in a cute light blue vest and cap bearing the logo of Canterlot's postal offices. To be honest, it suited her quite well and the smiles she wore while trotting over to us certainly agreed. "Hey you two, Not having all the fun without me I hope?" She asked grinning. I flared my wings defensively without thinking and sputtered. "O-Ofcourse not Autumn! We would never exclude you from any fun things." Liar, liar tail on fire. She eyed the both of us playfully and replied. "Oh I see how it is. Well I wasn't interested anyway." Shrugging her wings in amusement, she then looked more serious. "I'm hungry though, shall we get something to eat somewhere?" Feeling a tiny grumble in my stomach, I nodded. Waving at Touch's parents, I lead my two friends out of the gate and down the street. Having recently heard of a nearby sweets shop that had piqued my interest, I decided that this was an excellent time to check it out. With a name like Sunridge Sweets, it sounded like a pleasant place for a late lunch. It didn't take long for use to arrive at Sunridge Sweets and when we did a wave of delicious scents assaulted our noses. Mouths watering, we quickened our pace to get to the building proper. A cheerful sign above the entrance—displaying the bakery's name—warmly welcomed us. Upon entering, we were greeted by a familiar pink and mauve filly that Autumn and I had ran into earlier. Well, rather, I ran into her friend. A spark of recognition flashed in the earth pony's eyes as a smile crept onto her muzzle. "Hi there. Welcome to Sunridge Sweets. Try not to run into anypony please." She was a snarky one she was. "Only if they're white unicorns or obnoxiously pink earth ponies." I snarked right back at her, which earned me a smile. "Proper introductions then? I am Snowy Haze and these are my friends, Autumn Breeze." I pointed to my pegasus friend. "And Subtle Touch," I said, nodding at the colt. "We would like a couple of shakes and something to eat. Can you recommend anything?" "Sure thing!" She replied, looking over the shelves. "I'd recommend everything, but today we do have a sale on freshly baked Strawberry Apple Pie. Oh, my name is Velvet Step. Nice to meet you all." Looking at us expectantly, Velvet waited while we decided on what to get. Autumn smiled and stepped forward. "I'll rather try one of your eclairs, they look very scrumptious." Velvet nodded and wrote it down, her gaze briefly landing on Subtle Touch with an amused look. I swear if she bullied him... Luckily, Velvet proved to be a kind and professional pony, despite the earlier teasing. "And what would the gentlecolt of of the group enjoy today? Something firm? Or rather a little plump?" She said, eyeing me with a playful little grin. So she did tease, but that was fi— What? I fluffed my feathers and squeaked angrily. "Hey! I'm not fat!" Glaring at the earth mare who had suggested I was overweight, I felt ready to hoof her in the head. She quickly waved her hooves in defense and giggled. "Whoa there! I said plump not fat, ’least you're not a skinny thing without meat on her bones. Don't get mad." I blinked, resettling my ruffled feathers. Did she just sort of complimented me? Subtle Touch chuckled and nuzzled my cheek. "Easy, big bad pegasus. She didn't mean it badly." Turning to Velvet, he said, "I'd like some cheesecake please." Velvet noted it down and lastly looked at me. "Hey Snowy, I'm sorry." She began, but I cut her off by putting a wingtip to her muzzle, then shook my head smiling at her. "No, that's alright. I shouldn't have yelled like that, but I took it more harshly than intended. I'll try that strawberry apple pie you mentioned earlier, it looks delicious." She nodded and added my order to the sheet. Before Velvet could walk off to get our orders however an older mare headed towards us addressing Velvet. "Velvet Choco Muffin Step, what is going on here? Were you being rude to these ponies, young lady?" Velvet quickly shook her head and gave the mare a well-practiced innocent smile. "No mom, it was just something silly!" She hurried away to get our order before her mother could scold her further. The mare shook her head and mumbled. "That filly of mine." Turning to us, she smiled broadly. "Hello there, I'm Sunbeam, Are you finding things to your liking at our little bakery, dears?" The three of us nodded and she pointed at a table. "Please make yourselves at home then, dear." All smiles again, we settled in while Sunbeam headed towards the back, leaving us to ourselves. "That uniform looks really good on you Autumn, but the colors don't match with your coat or mane very well," I said as I looked Autumn Breeze over while she posed dramatically. "Yeah, well, it still feels nice to wear and earns me a good amount of extra bits on top of my allowance." The green pegasus replied, sticking her tongue out at me. Which I returned with a soft giggle. Velvet came back and placed our food on the table. "Enjoy everypony." She nickered and headed over to another table where Crystal—the white unicorn I ran into—was seated. Now that I had more time to look, I noticed part of her blonde and pink mane was braided in a heart-shape around one ear. While we enjoyed our treats, I thought on something. Both Autumn and Velvet were ponies my age. Yet had an after school job to earn some extra bits. The prospect of having more bits in addition to my allowance appealed greatly to me. I nudged my pegasus friend on her shoulder, smiling softly. "Hey Autumn, are there a lot of jobs that ponies our age can get?" I mean, despite not being a morning pony, I wasn’t lazy. She looked at me and nodded. "Well, yeah. There are a few jobs. You can carry mail, or become a waitress, or even work as a sales clerk at the markets or in some store. There's work if you want it, I guess, but do try to get a job fitting for a pegasus. Naturally that will net you jobs easier than, let's say, applying for something more befitting a unicorn or earth pony." Licking away a bit of filling trying to escape from her eclair, she left me to my thoughts. She had a point. As much as a librarian job appealed to me, most libraries would sooner employ a unicorn or earth pony. So a job a pegasus specifically was good at would be better. "So maybe a weather pony like mom?" Autumn stopped chewing and shook her head. "We're too young for such, Snowy. We don't have the wingpower needed and, secondly, we still have school. Weatherpony jobs are for full time hours." I sighed, suddenly realizing where this was going. "But standing in a restaurant or market stall all day sounds boring. And you already deliver all the mail and packages around our neighborhood." I replied, giving her an over-the-top mocking glare. "Well sweetie," a voice behind me said, startling me enough that I nearly molted on the spot in fright, "we could always use an extra delivery mare from time to time." Sunbeam had apparently been near enough to catch our conversation and now was giving her two-bits. "That is if you are interested of course sweetie." I gave the mare a surprised look. Delivery was so not what I had in mind, But on the other hoof, here was a job opportunity practically being thrown in my face. Could I just ignore that? "I guess I could try." I halfheartedly replied. Only stupid ponies refused readily available work. I was not a stupid pony. Smiling warmly, Sunbeam took a seat at our table. "Would it suit you to deliver after your school hours and in the early evenings? You'll get the standard delivery fees and can keep any tips that ponies may give you upon delivery." I nodded back. That sounded very decent. "I think I can agree on that, Mrs. Sunbeam. Can I discuss it with my parents and come back with the answer this evening?" She clapped her hooves and nickered. "That is absolutely fine my dear. And if you decide to come help us out we will cover the costs for your uniform and negotiate about employee discounts." With a wink, she stood up. "What is your name dear? So I can do some work on things in advance, in case you do decide to stay, like your paperwork and name tag." "Snowy Haze, ma'am." I answered. To which she smiled again. I couldn't help but think that Velvet's mother really lived up to her name. She was so optimistic and full of kindness. This might just be a great fit after all. "Very well, Snowy, I'll see you tonight then." With that, she went behind the counter and disappeared into the kitchen. I felt rather proud of myself, I had arranged a possible part-time job! Coming home, I looked for one of my parents. Luckily, I soon found my father sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper. Being tactful, I approached him, smiling meekly. He could rarely resist my requests when I went to these lengths. "Daddy? Can I discuss something important with you?" Putting his paper down, my father, Winter Frost, turned his attention to me. "Sure thing little filly, what's on your mind?" He asked as he patted the seat next to him on the couch. I hopped onto it with a flap of my wings and leaned into him. "Dad, I was offered an afterschool job as a delivery mare by the owner of Sunridge Sweets. Would it be alright if I accepted that?" I knew my father liked the direct approach better, instead of beating around the bush about things. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "you are old enough to perform some extra work for yourself after school. What will they be paying you and what hours do they expect you to make those delivery rounds dear?" Ruffling my mane tenderly with one hoof, he awaited my response. I told him what Sunbeam and I had discussed. And that I would answer her later tonight. He nodded and nickered kindly. "Sounds alright, but a few ground rules first, young filly." He gave me a more serious look. And I gave him my full attention in turn, perking my ears up. "Your grades will not suffer because of this job. You will only make deliveries within Canterlot. You will be back before the moon rises. And lastly I will go with you tonight to meet this Sunbeam. Am I clear Snowy?" He swiveled his ears as he awaited my answer. I nodded obediently "I accept those conditions, father, thank you very much." Yes, I could be perfectly well-behaved when serious matters were being discussed. Though not everything had to be so serious I thought, giving my father a soft smile. After dinner and explaining the situation to my mother that evening, father and I flew to Sunridge Sweets. Being a bit too big to ride on his back these days, I instead soared next to him. Noticing that he had pulled ahead a bit, he slowed down some and addressed me. "Still feeling up to this sweetie? No cold hooves?" I smiled eagerly and gave a determined snort. "Yes father! I shall bring honor to our bloodline!" I wasn't able to maintain my serious expression for long and burst out laughing when my father touched his wingtip to mine. "Silly girl, there is not a drop of Neighponese blood in our family history." He chuckled in amusement before nickering. "But that is good. You should take a job seriously, even temporary ones." Resuming our flight through Canterlot's evening sky, we soon found ourselves banking and descending towards Sunridge Sweets. It looked pretty busy and the atmosphere felt fantastic. If everything about this job was this welcoming, I was sure I would love working for this place. Sunbeam was talking to a stallion behind the counter when we entered. Upon seeing us however, she trotted over to us weaving through the visitors. "Good evening, Snowy, I'm so happy to see you came by. You brought somepony with you I see?" She turned to my father, greeting him with another of her warm smiles. Nodding, he smiled back at her. "Good evening madam. I am Winter Frost, Snowy's father. I understand you offered my daughter a position at your fine establishment?" I beamed as well, still feeling very excited about my choice. "Ah welcome sir. I am Sunbeam and yes I offered Snowy a job as one of our new delivery mares this afternoon. You would like to hear all the details directly from me, I presume?" She smiled and herded the two of us to a nearby empty table. While dad and Sunbeam discussed my contract and wages, I went over to the counter where the stallion I saw Sunbeam talk to earlier gave me a friendly nod. "Hello there filly. You must be Snowy, I am Pepper Ridge, Sunbeam's husband. It is nice to meet you." "Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Ridge." I chirped while sitting down in front of him a moment. Enjoying the wonderful mix of scents drifting in from the kitchen, I could tell that—If this stallion was the baker—he sure knew what he was doing. It didn't take very long before father beckoned me over and I made my way back to the table. Taking place next to him, I waited with baited breath. "Snowy. Mrs Sunbeam and I went over things and if you keep to the rules we set up, you can begin as soon as tomorrow, sweety." I nickered gleefully. "Yes dad! I promise I will!" Hugging the older stallion fondly, I nestled my head under his chin while he chuckled and held me. I loved him so very much. Nuzzling my mane, he looked at me. "There's a good filly. Now let's go home. It's still a school day tomorrow." I nodded and stood up when he did, waving at Sunbeam before we left. She waved back and called. "See you tomorrow Snowy! We'll get you fit for your uniform and send you on your first delivery!" I nodded and followed dad as Sunbeam went back inside. I couldn't believe it. I had my very first job!