The Markets of Derecho · 9:43pm Sep 11th, 2022

“Excuse me!” Red waved the shopkeeper over. “These bananas look funny.”

The stallion furrowed his brow and walked over to her. “Whaddaya mean? Those are the freshest in the whole city.”

“I dunno. Just look at them.” Red picked a few out at random. “They’re all green.”

The shopkeeper let out a groan. “They’re supposed to be green.”

“They’re supposed to? I thought green meant moldy.”

The shopkeeper gave her a look of fatherly disappointment. "Have you ever had a banana before?"

Red tucked her chin into her shoulder and chuckled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. My patron family told me to pick some up."

“No no, it's fine. I’ll tell you this once because everypony ought to know this. Bananas start off green.”

Red made a surprised little “o” with her lips. “Really?”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s how they grow. They start green, then go yellow. Like that one back there."

"The one with all the black spots?"

"Yeah. The black spots are fine, too. It just means it's mushy. You can still use it for banana bread. You actually want ‘em like that for banana bread.”

While the shopkeeper delivered his lecture, Red snuck a glance behind him. A glowing shadow coalesced around the oranges. Half a dozen fell into the darkness and never came out. Then the shadow moved towards the display of fancy breads and cheeses.

It lingered on the lines of provolone and cloud muenster. Then it shot to the smoked brie and swallowed a wheel whole.

Red’s heart sang. brie was her favorite.

At the edge of the market, where pre-dawn darkness still clung to the corners of the cloud city, Blue emerged from the shadows with a basket stuffed full of stolen goodies. She saw Red all the way across the market square, still squabbling with the stallion. Pegasi fur trended towards sun-washed pastels. Red's cardinal coat, along with the half-head of height she had on the smaller pegasi, made her impossible to miss.

Red glanced over her shoulder. Their eyes met. A look passed beween them. Red smiled.

Blue had never loved her lover more.