. . .
. . .
I walked around the bush and found the path that led back to the town. Turns out there had been a path here all along.
“Oh.”
But my surprise had nothing to do with that.
Rather I was surprised to see somepony except Miss Velvet.
In fact, there was no Miss Velvet at all.
Only a shocked creamy-yellow pegasi, resting by the stream right behind the bush I was sleeping under.
. . .
. . .
Apparently she hadn't expected to meet anypony in such a place either.
“Uh, um… Rettie, right? My name is Teadrop, nice to meet you!”
She introduced herself with a nervous smile. Way too nervous for a simple introduction. On the other hoof, we’re in the forest and I came out of nowhere, so that makes sense.
Is it me or is she trying to hide something behind her wings? Ah, whatever, it's none of my business.
“Err, yeah, nice to meet you, too, Teadrop?”
Why am I getting nervous too? Is it because she seems to be about my age and I haven’t met anypony of my age for a while? Or is it just her mood spreading to me as well?
“Uh, the weather is nice today, isn’t it?”
Honestly, I have no clue! I’ve spent half of the day sleeping and the other half running from timberwolves and telling Miss Velvet about it!
“Yeah, the weather is quite nice.”
My mouth works before my brain. Well, I don't have anything decent to answer anyway, so no big deal.
The pegasi… Teadrop turned her head and peeked at something under her wing. So it wasn't just me and she's really trying to hide something.
That made me curious, so I couldn't help but take a few steps to the side to see what she was hiding.
“Is that… a book?”
Isn't the book-addiction phase unique to unicorns? Even so, why would somepony try to hide a book they were reading?
She flinched, but I paid no attention to it.
“What are you reading? Is it some fantasy book?”
I took a step closer. It didn't feel right to push further, but I got just way too curious.
“Uhm…”
“Or is it some study book?”
“Uh, yeah, I think you could call it this way-”
She closed the book. Poor filly, having to study in the evenings instead of having fun with her friends must really suck.
“Can I see?”
She flinched once again. Maybe I got too carried away and violated her personal space?
I was about to apologise, when she let out a heavy sigh, it felt like she was giving up on something.
“Ah, sure…”
She moved her wings so I could see the title of the book.
A Thousand Tips for Making Friends!
Wait a minute! I know that book! Is it one of Twilight’s friendship books?
“Wow, somepony actually read that?”
“I'm desperate, okay!?”
Ah shoot. Seems like I said it out loud.
Teadrop’s face got all sad and blushy, as if she was about to cry from shame. My words definitely had hurt her. Uh oh. I really don't want to ruin relationships in the city on the first day! I have to fix the situation!
Come on, brain, we've got to do something about this quickly!
“Uhhhh… I mean it’s a fine book! Here!”
I picked up the book and opened it to a random page and lay down next to Teadrop.
“How about we read it together?”
What in the world am I even doing?! I’ll fall asleep again if we start reading it!
Well, it’s too late to back out now. I did my best to smile and looked at the Teadrop. I hope it doesn’t look too fake or creepy.
Luckily, she doesn't seem to be bothered by my impertinence.
I hadn't noticed before, but in light of my magic her surprised face looks even prettier than Miss Velvet’s. Maybe they’re relatives? Or is this some kind of supermodel town?
“Uh, are you sure? I mean, you don’t look like somepony who would have problems making friends…”
For a mere second I saw a spark of joy in her eyes, but she seemed to turn sad again! Dang it! Why is it so hard to talk to other ponies of my age?!
“Umm… Yeah! Actually, I haven’t really made any friends yet!”
Come to think of it, I really don’t think I can call anypony my friend. I've been so focused on studying lately that I haven't made any friends in the last few months. Not like I had any chances to, but still. There wasn't anypony of my age at the Wavers' mansion, and I don't think I can call Black or Miss Velvet my friends because of our age difference.
“Huh?!”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, but hey, I’ve only begun my journey! I have plenty of time! Ha-ha!”
Well, or at least I hope so? I'm honestly starting to get nervous.
For some reason Teadrop’s face went all red.
“Well, uhm.. …”
“Yeah?”
Is it just me, or is she starting to shake a little? Is she getting cold? It’s a quite cold evening for a summer if you think about it.
“..if you don’t mind…”
Her voice is so soft and quiet that it is lost behind the sound of the creek.
“Uh could you repeat, please? I didn’t hear anything.”
Maybe she’s really cold? Hold up a second! I've got that coat-plaid thing with me!
I opened my saddlebags and took out a plaid, to cover Teadrop. It’s supposed to be a nice gesture, right?
“If you don’t mind, could we be friends then?!” She blurted out.
At the same time I covered her with a plaid.
“Huh?” We both sighed in surprise.
Was that the reason why she got so nervous?
“Yeah, sure! I'd love to be your friend!”
Wait, did that stupid book about making friends just actually help both of us make our first friend? Maybe Twilight’s books aren’t as useless as I thought?
“Um… don’t get me wrong, Rettie, I’m really, really glad that we’re friends now, but… what is that plaid for?”
“Uh, you looked like you were cold, so…”
Did I just screw something up?
“Uhm… pegasi are very resistant to the cold, you see…”
Ah shoot.
“Ah, right, sorry…”
Now it gets even more awkward…
“..But it's going to get colder soon, so I won’t mind if you join me.”
With these words she covered me with plaid with her wing.
Well, she looks happy now and I don’t mind it much, so I can call it a success, I guess?
Just when I thought I had managed to rectify the awkwardness of the situation, Teadrop’s stomach rumbled loudly.
Oh Luna. Once again I watched her face turning red. A little bit more and she could compete with apples from Sweet Apple Acres.
I must think quickly before the situation becomes even more embarrassing than it was a few seconds ago! Food would work fine, but where do I… wait a second!
“Uh, I’m a bit hungry too, so we could take a break for a snack!”
I took Miss Velvet’s baked goods out of my saddlebags. Although it was a bit tricky, since they were under the plaid now as well, but I definitely didn’t want to put it away now.
“I have some sweets with me, not the best food, but good enough for a quick snack! Or at least hope so.”
Her eyes sparkled, which almost scared me. No wonder, compared to how quietly she was acting all that time!
“Yes! I mean, sure! I have some tea with me, so sweets would be nice!”
Ah, that’s why. I see. Seems like she lives up to her name.
Teadrop pulled a couple of thermos flasks out of her saddlebags and I could see at least four more in there. What are you, a walking tea stall?!
She poked my muzzle with one of the thermoses. She seemed so excited that I could hear her breathing heavily.
I took it, unwrapped some sweets and placed them in front of us.
Honestly I’m surprised at how much stuff fits into my new saddlebags. The amount of muffins, buns and biscuits in front of us would be enough to feed a company of five or more ponies! And somehow it all fit into my saddlebags with an ease! Why had even Miss Velvet given me so much of those?!
Teadrop munched into the biscuits at an intimidating pace.
As I watched her happily munching them away, I thought that maybe I should learn to bake too?
Leaving all the biscuits to Teadrop, I chose sultana muffins as my target and joined her munching session.
The muffins were quite dry, so the tea came in handy. It’s sort of green tea with a stronger smell, but it’s very tasty for a tea, and it does the job well.
So we just munched in silence, enjoying the view and the atmosphere until it started to get dark.
“Uh, I'd love to spend more time with you, but I don’t want to make Miss Velvet worry about me even more.”
“Oh, it’s getting late already, sure! I have to come back to my apartment before dark too, so that’s okay! See you tomorrow!”
For some reason I didn't doubt that I would see her again tomorrow.
“Yeah! See you!”
We packed our things, said our goodbyes and went home. On the same road.
We walked in awkward silence for a few minutes before our paths finally split.
Today has been an extremely embarrassing day.
. . .
I returned to Miss Velvet as she was closing the bakery and she greeted me with a wide smile.
"Making close friends already, mm?"
How did she-
“Uh, yeah, I met a little… clumsy pony by the stream and befriended her. Your sweets played a part in that by the way, thank you!”
“A clumsy pony by the stream, hm? You must have met Teadrop then, didn’t you?”
How in the world do adults seem to know literally everything?!
It seems like my surprise was enough to answer her question.
“Ha-ha, you just have a strong smell of tea which you didn't have when you left. So I just assumed that that “clumsy pony” you were talking about was Teadrop.”
Uh, okay, fair enough.
“But how did you know I had befriended her then?”
Her smile grew wider and more smug as she leaned down to whisper in my ear.
“Because you have quite a strong scent of another pony as well, and I know very well that you can’t get it without being close to somepony for long enough.”
Creepy! I can get the scent of that smelly tea, but of another pony?!
“Hu-hu-hu-hu, don’t be so nervous. It's more than fine for younger blood to want to be closer to each other! Just don’t do anything silly, alright?”
I have no clue what she means, but her tone makes me feel embarrassed and guilty!
“Anyway, you’re just in time, mind giving an old lady a helping hoof?”
I mean, she's already done a lot for me and I’m going to stay here overnight, so I want to pay her back.
“Sure! What do I have to do?”
Maybe she needs help baking stuff for tomorrow and I’ll be able to learn something about it?
“Great! Nothing hard, really, just a bit of tidying up in the bakery!”
Ah. Cleaning. Of course. Here we go again.