Of Thistles and Honey

by D4ftP0ny

Chapter 4

“…and that is how you find the square root of a number, everypony!” The chocolate brown unicorn mare levitated her chalk back to the tray at the base of the blackboard before turning to her class, but as she opened her mouth to speak again the bell in the schoolhouse rang loudly in the hallways, eliciting a small cheer from her students. The unicorn smiled and cast her magenta eyes around the classroom, adjusting her glasses. “All right, fillies and colts, remember your homework, now!”

“Yes Miss Heart!” a chorus of voices answered her amid the shuffling of hooves and chairs as the twenty-odd young ponies made their mad dash towards freedom, among them a small orange filly, her saddlebags bouncing along with her gently waving pink and white mane. The ponies made their way out into the schoolyard, and as the orange filly skipped out the door into the bright autumn sunshine her bright green eyes spied a group of three other fillies at the fence, waving their hooves to her.

“Honeysuckle! Over here!” a small purple filly exclaimed, bouncing in place as Honey approached them. The other two fillies, one pink and one cream, both smiled broadly at her.

“Honeysuckle, what are you doing for our homework?” the cream filly asked, tossing her burgundy mane slightly. “I mean, seriously, we all know what we all did this summer; we all had to leave Whinnyapolis and go live somewhere else for, like, ever.”

Honeysuckle smiled and opened her mouth, but before she could speak the pink filly giggled and elbowed the cream one in the ribs. “That’s a silly question, Shortcake! She’s obviously going to do her report on how she got her cutie mark!”

Again, Honeysuckle opened her mouth to speak, but this time the purple filly spoke up again, her silver mane flopping down into her eyes as she leaped forward. “Oh YEAH! That would be an awesome report! An awesome report for an awesome cutie mark!”

The pink filly giggled loudly and nodded eagerly. “Totally awesome, Dreamcatcher! But she should probably practice by telling somepony, don’t you think?”

Dreamcatcher nodded seriously. “Deeefinitely, Taffy. After all, it would be really terrible if such an awesome story was ruined because she’d never told anypony before!”

Shortcake opened her mouth to continue, but she was cut off by Honeysuckle’s loud giggles. All three fillies turned to her, their eyes wide in expectation, but the orange filly just waved a hoof at them.

“I’m sorry, Dreamcatcher,” Honeysuckle said, giving each of the other fillies a smile. “But like I told you last time… I really don’t wanna talk about my cutie mark.” The faces of her three friends dropped, and as one they all said, “Awwwwww!!!”, but she shook her head firmly.

“But Honeysuckle, why not?!” Taffy exclaimed, bouncing in place. “You have such an awesome cutie mark, but you never talk about how you got it! I know if I got my cutie mark, you wouldn’t be able to get me to stop talking about it!”

“Ain’t THAT the truth,” Dreamcatcher said under her breath, drawing a huff and a green glare from the pink filly.

“Why don’t you want to talk about it?” Shortcake said, frowning. “I mean… was it… did something bad happen when you got it..?”

Honeysuckle just sighed and smiled, hoping that she could keep the small edge of sadness away from her friends’ eyes. “I promise my report’ll be something special, okay girls? But I can’t promise that it’ll have anything to do with my cutie mark.” The three other fillies opened their mouths again, but Honey cut them off quickly. “And I have to get home now, my Momma’s waiting for me! Bye!” With another smile she darted through the gate, leaving her friends staring after her.

“Awwww, you said we’d get her to talk this time!” Taffy huffed again.

“Hey, don’t look at me, Dreamcatcher dropped the ball!”

“Oooh sure, it’s MY fault…”

Honeysuckle cast a quick glance over her shoulder as she cantered swiftly down the street, ensuring that none of her friends were following her before she slowed to a walk and sighed in relief. I thought for sure they’d give up after the first seven tries, she thought. But I guess they’re all working on getting their stubborn-head cutie marks… The orange filly shook her head and turned the corner onto the main street of her town, trying her best to shake the tendrils of sadness that clung to her as she made her way through the recently rebuilt Whinnyapolis.

She found her eyes and mind wandering as she passed new building after new building, some so new that they still smelled of fresh sawdust and paint; even at her young age Honey found herself in awe of the many, many ponies who had dedicated themselves so whole-heartedly to getting their town up and running again in such a short amount of time. She knew that it wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the help they’d received from Ponyville, and for that Whinnyapolians would be forever grateful.

Honey couldn’t help but smile as she made her way down main street; the buildings were all so neat and trim, and there were smiling ponies everywhere- shopping, selling, working or just passing through, it seemed that every single pony on the streets that day was sporting their best smile, and Honeysuckle knew that she couldn’t be left out of such a show. She received polite nods from several older stallions as she passed by, their graying manes bobbing respectably as they did so. Some of the shopkeepers greeted her by name and she took a few moments to wave and shout hello to them, a simple action that warmed her heart; every pony was going about their business as if all the terror and destruction that had happened here less than four months ago had never occurred at all, and Honey couldn’t be happier to move past it herself.

Her hooves clopped softly on the stone-paved street past the large statue of a beautiful alicorn, standing with her head lifted to the sky, her eyes resolved; the statue had been placed in honor of Princess Luna, who had helped them rebuild the city. Even the mere thoughts of the events that had destroyed their town brought back memories of a very different kind; memories that made her bright smile fade just slightly. Thinking of the dragon burning Whinnyapolis took her thoughts to Ponyville and from Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres where she and her mother had stayed during the crisis, and from there…

She felt her ears droop slightly. From there to Mr. Wings, she thought. Her good mood started to wane as her mind turned to the thoughts of the gray Pegasus, and she sighed softly as she continued down the street. He was of course one of the biggest things to happen to her over the summer, perhaps the reason she had gotten her cutie mark… and one of the main reasons that she was so against talking about how she got it.

The orange filly kicked idly at a small pebble on the street as she walked. It wasn’t that she wasn’t proud of her mark- nothing could be farther from the truth, in fact. Honeysuckle was VERY proud of her cutie mark and even more so of the traits that it embodied- things that her Momma called “empathy and compassion”. When she asked her mother to explain, the purple mare had simply smiled at her and said that it was the ability to see what other ponies really feel and the heart to truly care for them because of and sometimes in spite of it. At first, Honeysuckle had been ecstatic- after all, that wasn’t something that just anypony could do! But now, three months after getting her mark… she was beginning to doubt that those really were her special talents.

Three months ago she had thrown her support in with a pony whom everypony else hated, a pony who had been exposed as a bad guy, but she had known without doubt that the shadows cast on him were not echoed in his heart. Wild Wings was a good pony, and she had wanted everypony to know it, too; if somepony had asked her then what she thought was going to happen in the months afterwards…

She shook her head sadly. Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought would happen… because it didn’t. But what was really bothering her was her mother, Thistledown. Ever since they had come back, Honey had been super-worried about her mom, and had tried to get her to talk about what had happened… but despite her best efforts her mother had merely smiled and told her that she was just fine. Every fiber of Honey’s heart was telling her that her mother was NOT happy, that something had broken in her that day three months ago… but Thistledown’s continued insistence that nothing was wrong was beginning to make Honeysuckle question herself.

Was I… was I wrong about Mr. Wings? She wondered. The very thought ate at her; she knew what she had hoped in the days after her talk with the Pegasus… but if she was wrong about her Momma… could she have been wrong about him, too?

Honeysuckle walked past one of the small flower stands that stood at the corner of two intersecting streets, and the pony there smiled at her. “Good afternoon, Honeysuckle!” the mare said with a bright smile. “How was school today?”

The filly managed a smile for the pink and white pony. “It was pretty good, Mrs. Vines,” she said, turning and approaching the mare’s stall. Honeysuckle’s green eyes danced across the flowers arrayed in baskets that Flowering Vines had set out. Roses, daisies, tulips and carnations displayed their brightest colors, drawing Honey’s smile out a bit more; regardless of her cutie mark and her special talent, few things made the filly smile like things that grow, and Mrs. Vines always had the most vibrant flowers in Whinnyapolis. “Ms. Heart assigned us our report today,” she continued. “We hafta talk about what we did this summer.”

The pink gardening pony’s eyes widened slightly, and she smiled again. “Ooh, is that so?” she said. “You were one of those who got to go stay in Ponyville, weren’t you?” Honeysuckle nodded, and Mrs. Vines made an interested noise. “So… you were there during the whole… situation that happened,” she said.

Honeysuckle nodded again, feeling her stomach tighten slightly. “Yes ma’am,” she said quietly, her eyes glued to the roses. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mrs. Vines open her mouth again, but after a moment the mare closed it again. Finally, after more than a minute, Honey heard her sigh.

“Well, whatever you decide to do, Honeysuckle, I’m sure it will be wonderful.” Honeysuckle brought her eyes back up to the mare, who favored her with a kind smile before gesturing to the flowers around her. “See anything that you like?” she asked. She pointed her hoof to one of the brilliant white lilies that she had. “I bet this would look lovely in your mane, Honey.”

Honeysuckle felt the pain in her stomach ease slightly, and she shook her head before reaching into one of her saddlebags, withdrawing several bits and placing them on the cart. “Not the lilies… a rose and some of the daisies are the ones that I would like, please.” Mrs. Vines looked at the money and back to Honeysuckle, obviously about to refuse it, but Honey pushed the coins towards her. “They’re not for me,” she said. “They’re for my Momma.”

Mrs. Vines watched her closely for a moment, and Honey saw a flicker of sadness in the mare’s purple eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “All right, sweetheart,” the mare said. “But if they’re for your Momma, let me pick them, so they’re the best of my bunch, okay?”

The filly nodded, and after a minute or two Mrs. Vines held out a small bouquet of flowers to her, a brilliant red rose surrounded by three of the perkiest daisies Honeysuckle had ever seen. Honey took them gratefully and tucked them into her saddlebags so the heads of the flowers were poking out between the flap and the pouch.

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Vines, they really are the best of the bunch!” Honey said happily, gazing at the flowers. “I think Momma’ll like these a lot!”

Mrs. Vines smiled at her slightly. “Oh, it’s my pleasure, Honeysuckle,” she said. “I hope they make Thistledown feel better; we miss seeing her around here. Tell her that Flowering Vines said hello, would you?”

“Yes ma’am,” Honeysuckle said with a nod. “I sure will… and I’m sure she’ll be bringing her flowers to market again soon.” With one last smile she turned and started down the street, pretending she didn’t feel Mrs. Vines’ eyes on her as she did so.

She made her way through the mild crowd, trying to convince herself that these flowers would make a difference to her mother… unlike the other bouquets she’d purchased. She tried to tell herself that these would make things better, that somehow the rose and daisies would pull her Momma out of her funk. Maybe they will, she thought hopefully, but somewhere in the pit of her stomach she felt despair start to bubble up. She sighed again and her ears drooped as she rounded another corner, turning onto the street that would lead her home. I really, really hope they will… but… something’s got to happen to help Momma. Something bigger than flowers… but what can I do..?

Honeysuckle raised her eyes and swept the street again, and not for the first time she sent a plea to the only pony she knew who would listen no matter what the problem was, big or small. Daddy… she thought. If you’re still watching over us… please, show me what I need to do. Momma says that you were always sure of yourself, no matter what you were doing; please, show me how to be that way again. Show me how to help Momma… and me.

Her green gaze danced from pony to pony as she wove through the slightly more crowded street… but as she passed a small shop along the right side of the street, her eyes lit on one particular pony, and she felt her progress slow as if she had walked into a wall of jelly.

A Pegasus stepped out of the shop, nodding to the shopkeeper and thanking him, tossing his black mane and flicking his tail as he started down the street in the same direction Honey was going. The filly’s eyes widened as he rustled his smoky gray wings, the tips of which brushed against the red wings of his cutie mark… and as he turned to glance around the street, she saw his bright red eyes dancing curiously about the city, and she felt as though her chest was being squeezed by all three of her friends.

Her pace quickened unconsciously, her small hooves moving rapidly across the cobblestones as she felt her heart leap into her throat. She closed in on the stallion as time slowed down, and after a moment more he turned slightly, allowing her to see his face fully for the first time; the sight of him was enough to bring tears to her eyes, and a sob rose in her throat as she began to run towards him as fast as her legs could carry her.

Suddenly her hooves were no longer on the ground and she was flying through the air, her mane tossing around her face as she arched gracefully towards the stallion, and as she did so she managed to choke out his name, the one name that she had begged, wished, prayed and hoped that she would be able to say again.

“Wild Wings!!” she sobbed as she slammed into the gray stallion, wrapping her small orange hooves around his muscular neck with such force that she felt him stumble to the side and flop onto the ground with a grunt. She didn’t even bother to look up at him; she knew it was him, there wasn’t the slightest doubt in her mind… and for the first time in months, she realized that she had been right all along… about him, about her Momma, about everything… and she felt a sense of relief deep inside her so profound that she didn’t think was possible.

She buried her muzzle against his neck and cried the happiest tears that she could remember as she felt his strong forelegs wrap around her and hug her tightly in return. She felt all of her sadness, all of her frustration and confusion melt away as he held her close, as if his strength was allowing her to finally let go of it all; to finally drop the façade of confidence and be what she was- a confused little filly scared that she was losing her mom.

After a moment she heard him chuckle slightly, then heard his voice in her ear. “I… guess that means you missed me, right?”

Honeysuckle laughed even as her tears redoubled their efforts, and he snuggled her close to him as she nodded frantically, unable to speak.

Thank you Daddy… thank you so much.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Finally after several minutes Wild Wings shifted to a sitting position and lifted Honeysuckle with his hooves so he could look her in the eyes, his grin bright. “Well, that makes the trip out here worth it,” he said as Honey wiped her eyes with both hooves before giving him the brightest smile he’d ever seen, a smile that chased away all the shadows he’d felt upon arriving here.

“I… I was starting to wonder if I’d ever see you again, Mr. Wings…” Honeysuckle said, her voice quavering slightly as she fought her tears; immediately Wild felt a stake of guilt drive into his heart, but he managed to keep his smile in place.

“Sorry I kept you waiting, little filly,” he said softly, giving her a wink. “I had some… thinking to do, and it took a little longer than I expected.” He pulled her close for one last hug before he set her down; Honey took a few steps to her saddlebags, which had fallen off when she had leaped into the air; she slipped her head under the strap, lifting them into the air atop her mane before sliding them down her neck to settle perfectly on her back. Wild Wings grinned at her as she hurried back to him, her green eyes never leaving him like she was afraid he was going to vanish if she blinked.

“But… but you’re here now,” she said, gazing up at him. “What did you have to think about that took you so long, Mr. Wings?”

He opened his mouth to tell her that it was complicated, that it wasn’t something that a filly her age would understand… but as he looked into her eyes he felt the words die on his tongue, and instead he just sighed and shook his head slightly.

“I think you know,” he said quietly, unable to keep the warm smile from his lips.

Honeysuckle matched his smile as he stood. “Then… you’re here in Whinnyapolis cuz you… you’re gonna talk to my Momma?” she said, her voice hushed, as if saying the words too loudly would cause them to shatter and blow away in the wind.

The gray stallion’s smile became a grin as he reached out a hoof and tapped the filly’s cutie mark. “You tell me,” he said.

The orange filly’s smile widened so much that Wild thought it would split her face in half; she leaped forward and buried her face against him again hard enough to elicit a small “Oof!” from the Pegasus.

“Ohmmmgsshhmmcnnbrrrrvvvmmmtywwrrrvvrrrr!!” Honey said, her words buzzing against Wild’s muscular chest.

The Pegasus laughed and pushed Honey back a step. “Whoa filly… wanna run that by me again?”

Honeysuckle’s green eyes sparkled with more happiness than he had ever seen as she nodded. “I said, ‘OhmygoshIcan’tbelieveityouloveher!!’” Honey bounced on her hooves again as she giggled aloud. “And you do, don’t you! Otherwise you wouldn’t be here!!”

Wild Wings felt his cheeks grow hot. For Luna’s sake… was it really THAT obvious? He hadn’t even been reunited with Honeysuckle more than five minutes and he already felt like she knew him better than he did. He glanced at her flank, where the image of a brilliant green honeysuckle vine twined around a bright red heart and sprouted into a beautiful flower. A flower that knows the heart so well it’s a part of it, he thought. Just like in Ponyville.

“Now, hold on, Honeysuckle,” he said, holding up a hoof. The filly stopped jumping and giggling, but her eyes still glowed and her smile still threatened to take over all of her face. “I… I came to talk to your mom-,”

“-Because you love her!” Honey interjected happily.

“Well… I-,” Wild Wings opened his mouth, then closed it again and smiled. “Yes, Honeysuckle… because I love her.” Honey’s mouth flew open, but Wild’s hoof stopped any sound from coming out, and when she met his eyes he gave her his very best serious face. “But I have some questions for you before we go talk to her,” he said. “Now, I’m going to go get some ice cream; if a certain small orange filly would like some, I would love to have her join me, and maybe we can talk about her Momma?”

“YYWW GTT YRRRSSSFFF AADDDLLL!!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

~*~*~*~*~

“So, how have the two of you been since moving back?”

The two of them now sat at a small ice cream shop a few blocks away from where Honeysuckle said her home was; Wild was sipping a milkshake, while Honey was trying valiantly to finish a sundae that had started out easily as large as her head. Finally, Honeysuckle put down her spoon and patted her full stomach happily before answering.

“Well, things have been okay,” she said, wiping a hoof across her snout to take any excess ice cream away. “Our house got rebuilt right where the old one used to be, which made me and Momma both very happy!”

Wild smiled softly. “I know it did, Honeysuckle; I helped build it.”

Honey’s eyes widened. “…you did?” she whispered incredulously, and Wild winced inwardly, trying his best to hide his disappointment. Thistle never told her…

“Yeah, I did; I guess your Momma must have forgotten to tell you,” he said, holding firmly to his smile. “But I’m glad that you’re happy with it, Honey.” It took a lot for him not to feel slightly bitter about Thistledown not telling the filly who helped build their house, but he had to admit that he didn’t blame her; after all, he had just broken her heart, and he was obviously not a pony that she wanted her daughter bringing up randomly in conversation. He took a sip of his milkshake and allowed the creamy chocolate to wash the bitterness away.

“I’m VERY happy with it!” Honeysuckle said, playing with the melting ice cream in her dish with the spoon, her eyes twinkling. “Momma and I planted a garden out back just like before, and I’ve been helping her tend it; she started growing flowers to take to market along with our vegetables! Mrs. Vines said that my Momma grows the very best peppers in town, and some of the most beautiful flowers, too!” The filly nodded to her bag, where the rose and daisies poked out. “Mrs. Vines is the pony I bought those from,” she said. “I bought them to try and cheer Momma up.” Wild frowned as he watched Honeysuckle’s face fall from almost blissful joy to discouraged and downtrodden in a matter of seconds.

“What’s been going on with your mom?” he asked, pushing what was left of his milkshake aside. “Is she feeling well?”

Honey nodded, but her eyes were sad. “Yes, Momma’s just fine… well, her body is… but her heart…” The orange filly sighed, stood up in her chair and pointed to her cutie mark with a hoof. “Mr. Wings, do you know what my special talent is?” she asked seriously.

Wild Wings blinked, and did his best not to smile at the very solemn expression on the filly’s features. “Well, I know you got it by showing empathy and compassion,” he said, trying to keep his face as serious as hers. “Am I right?”

Honeysuckle nodded, her nose wrinkled slightly. “Absolutely right, Mr. Wings; and do you know what they mean?”

Now Wild couldn’t help himself; her tone of voice was obviously mimicking one of her teachers from school, and the filly was so serious about it that he just could not keep the smile from his face. “I believe I do,” he said. “It means that you can-,”

“-See a pony’s true feelings an’ love them no matter what,” Honeysuckle said, cutting him off. “Exactly.” Wild suppressed a chuckle as the filly sat herself back down and looked across the table at him severely. “But ever since we moved back to Whinnyapolis, Momma’s been telling me that she’s ‘Just fine’ and that I shouldn’t worry because there’s nothing wrong with her… but there is something wrong with her, Mr. Wings!” Tears slowly began to gather at the corners of Honeysuckle’s eyes, and her bottom lip started to quiver ever so slightly as she continued. “I know something’s wrong, way down in my heart… but Momma just smiles and says she’s fine… But that means that Momma’s lying to me, Mr. Wings… because I know I’m right because I was right about you and now you’re here and Momma needs to just tell me what’s wrong..!” She sniffled, and a tear escaped her eyes and ran down her cheek.

Wild Wings felt his heart break for her, and with a sigh he flapped his wings, rose out of the chair and hovered over to her, plopping down in the chair directly next to her. “Now Honeysuckle,” he said soothingly, in a voice that he would never have discovered without meeting this filly, “Your Momma is trying to be strong for you, that’s all; she doesn’t want you to be worried about her when you need to be thinking about school and all the things a filly your age should be worried about.”

A small hoof wove its way around his foreleg, pulling him slightly closer. “But… I can’t stop worrying about her, Mr. Wings… she’s all I have…” She sniffled again harder, bordering on a sob. “But she won’t talk to me because I’m just a filly… and she has grown-up problems…”

Wild Wings frowned. “Now who told you that?”

“The fillies at school,” Honey replied sadly. “And they’re right… Momma can’t talk to me about her problems because I’m just a foal…”

“That’s enough of that kind of talk, little miss,” Wild Wings said, his voice firm. Honeysuckle’s moist green eyes rose to meet his, and he gave her a fierce smile. “You might be just a filly, but your Momma loves you more than anything; I’ve seen that much. If she wasn’t afraid that you’d be hurt by talking about her problems, she would definitely have talked to you, Honey, and your age wouldn’t matter. You,” he reached out a hoof and gently poked her in the chest, and she giggled in spite of her tears, “are an amazing little filly, Honeysuckle; I’ve rarely met a full-grown pony with half as much heart and spunk as you.” His smile became soft. “The reason she’s keeping it from you is that she’s afraid it’ll hurt you more than help you, and that’s a hard decision for her to make, OK? You being a foal has nothing to do with it.”

“You… really think so?”

“I know so,” Wild said with a nod. “Your Momma knows just how smart you are and just how big your heart is, and she doesn’t want you to worry about things you can’t fix.”

Honeysuckle watched him closely for a moment, her eyes searching his as if the truth were right there, waiting to be found. I guess for her it just MIGHT be, he thought; but lucky for him, he was telling the absolute truth. He might not have known Thistledown very well, but he remembered all too well the look in her eyes that fateful day in Ponyville; those were the eyes of a mother who knew her foal better than anyone else, and talking to Applejack had only confirmed it for him.

“Besides,” he said, giving Honeysuckle’s hoof a squeeze with his foreleg, “You’ve got one less problem to worry about, now.”

Honey wiped her eyes with her free hoof. “What’d you mean?”

Wild felt his eyes burn as he smiled at her. “Because she’s not the only one you have now,” he said, his voice breaking slightly. “Because no matter what, Honeysuckle… no matter what your mom says or wants to do… I’ll always be here for you, okay?”

That did it; the orange filly’s lip quivered and she threw herself from her chair directly at Wild Wings, her eyes bursting with tears as she flew into his waiting hooves. He caught her deftly and pulled her close to his chest as she sobbed quietly against his shoulder, her mane bobbing violently. Wild squeezed his eyes closed and felt a few tears of his own slide down his cheeks, but right then he didn’t care; what mattered most to him right then was letting this filly know that regardless of what happened, he would be there- that she would never have to be afraid of being alone ever again.

You’ll never be alone again, little one… never again.

After a few long moments Honey’s shoulders stopped jerking, and she raised her red-rimmed eyes to Wild, her smile broad despite her tears. “Mr. Wings…” she said shakily, “I…” She laid her head against him once more, and she sighed. “I love you, Mr. Wings… and no matter what she says… I know my Momma does, too.”

The gray Pegasus sniffed back more tears and patted the filly on the back comfortingly. “I sure hope she does, Honeysuckle,” he said quietly.

Suddenly, Honeysuckle tensed and her head shot up, her eyes wide. “Oh ponyfeathers,” she hissed. “Momma’s waiting for me at home!!” She glanced at the clock in the ice cream shop and squeaked. “An’ I was supposed to be home an hour ago!!” Honeysuckle leaped from Wild’s grasp and flew to her saddlebags, scooping them onto her back in the same motion she had before and bolting to the door, where she paused and looked back urgently. “C’mon Mr. Wings, we’ve got to go! Momma’s gonna be awful upset with me as it is, and it’ll take us twenty minutes to walk to my house from here!” She danced impatiently from hoof to hoof as Wild rose from his chair and walked to her.

“I hope you won’t be in any trouble, Honey,” he said as she hopped around, eager to get moving. He grinned at her. “But what if I told you I could get you home much faster than twenty minutes..?”

“Mr. Wings, don’t be silly. I know how long it takes to get from my house to anywhere in Whinnyapolis, and trust me, you can’t get from here to there in less than twenty min…utes…”

Wild Wings grinned broadly as he unfurled his wings and gave them a flap, blowing Honeysuckle's mane backwards. “But you don’t have a set of these,” he said as he stepped out the door and dropped to a knee. “Well? C’mon, we shouldn’t keep your mom waiting any longer!”

Honeysuckle’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “…best day ever,” she said under her breath before taking a flying leap and landing on his back.

Wild Wings stood up and shifted her slightly onto his back more comfortably, flexing his wings before grinning back at her. “All right, little filly, hold on tight… and try not to scream TOO loudly.”

Honey grinned wildly. “No promises!”

With a huge flap of Wild’s wings the two ponies shot skyward, leaving the ground, the town, and for the moment, their troubles, behind.

Comments

[Aeternus Frigore]

i gotta say that i'm lovin this story so far

[Amethyst_Spark]

CUTE!!!!!

[D4ftP0ny]

919674
Eeeeeeeeeeeyup.
920866
........
1014151
I'm glad you like it! :3 I'll try to get more chapters up here soon.
1035504
Thank you!!

[Amethyst_Spark]

You mean an author actually replied to me!

[D4ftP0ny]

1106493
Of course! I try to respond to all of the comments- if I don't, it's because I got distracted by something shiny!

...that happens more often than I'd like to-

OOH SUMFIN SHINEY!!! *runs!*