The trio proceeded down the street to Cherry Blossom and Blue Moon's home, with Whitemane following behind them at a short distance. The trip was pretty quiet, although Whitemane could sometimes make out small bits of conversations that they were having with each other. Occasionally, one of them would laugh or nuzzle the other before continuing on.
They seem to be pretty open about their feelings for each other, Whitemane thought to himself. He made a small hum, closing his eyes and absorbing some of the excess love that the two were exhuding. Mmh, not that I'm complaining. It's certainly the best thing I've had these past few weeks.
For the second time that day, the distracted pegasus walked right into somepony. Well, two someponies. Luckily, they were better prepared this time around. He flinched back before opening his eyes, noticing the couple looking back at him with curious expressions.
"What?"
"That's the second time you've walked into us, that's what," joked Cherry. "It seemed like your head was in the clouds."
"Maybe he's just naturally clumsy," remarked Blue.
Cherry shot her husband a look before returning back to Whitemane. "Is there something on your mind?"
"Ah, no, I was just... a little light-headed is all," said Whitemane. "I haven't had a good bite to eat in a while. I guess my body's finally catching up to me."
"Hmm, well, I'll tell you what," Cherry responded, "we've got enough to make another plate tonight. How do you feel about joining us?"
"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose any more than I already am. You're already housing me, I couldn't a--"
"Nonsense! It wouldn't be any trouble at all! You're already staying over, so why not go to bed with a full stomach, huh?" Cherry showed off her permanent smile. "Oh, I wonder if I have bigger pan..." She began to walk off on her own, leaving Blue and Whitemane behind again.
Whitemane turned to Blue. "I'm sorry. I know that your wife doesn't seem to mind, but I still feel like I'm being so intrusive." He rubbed his forehooves together nervously. "You're both giving a complete stranger a meal and a roof over his head, when all I've done is nearly run you over twice."
The stallion sat in silence for a few seconds before finally responding. "To be honest, I wasn't really on board with it when she suggested you stay over. Hell, I'm still not really sure about it." He looked forward to his wife, slowly growing smaller as she mindlessly walked away, talking to herself. A small smile grew on his face. "But that's why I married her. She'll do anything in her power to help those in need, even if it's somepony she just met. I just hope that nopony is foolish enough to try and abuse her kindness." Blue looked back to Whitemane, eyes squinting and smile dropping. "Because if they do, they'll have to answer to me."
Whitemane shrunk down under the stallion's withering glare. "T-trust me, I wouldn't think of doing any such thing." He slightly rose back up. "I'll make sure I can find a way to repay you both for this."
The large stallion hummed, before turning back towards his wife and trotting after her. "See that you do."
Whitemane waited a second before sighing, his shoulders drooping. Well, the 'gentle giant' doesn't completely want to kill you, so that's a plus. He began to walk after them.Still, there must be some way I can repay them. He looked back into the town, eyes scanning a few of the buildings that ponies were leaving. Maybe there's a few odd jobs I can do for some coin.
The smell of cooking food wafted through the quiet home, coming from the kitchen where three ponies were at work making their meal for the evening.
Well, more like one pony was cooking and the other two watched in slight amazement.
"Wow, Whitemane," exclaimed Cherry, "you're a lot better at cooking than you made yourself out to be."
"Oh, it's nothing really... just a lot of practice," said the pegasus, shifting between pots and pans and dextrously adding little amounts of ingredients to each. "I've been an apprentice chef to a good number of cooks around Equestria. Mostly ponies, a few griffins here and there, and a minotaur once if you'll believe that." He dipped a spoon, held by the tip of his wing, into a pot and taste-tested the contents. He made a small face before adding a small amount of a spice. "I never really stayed in one area long enough to actually complete an apprenticeship, but I still learned a lot from them."
"So," Blue spoke up, "what caused you to move around so much?"
Whitemane froze for a moment before continuing to do his little dance, though neither Blue nor Cherry seemed to notice. "Family reasons, mostly. My... mother had a pretty important job that required us to move around a lot. We stuck around in a town for a few months at a time before moving on to another one."
"You say she 'had' a pretty important job. Might I ask what happened?" Cherry asked. Whitemane froze up completely this time. She already seemed to regret what she had asked. "Oh, I'm sorry if it's too personal to answer--"
"No no, it's fine," Whitemane recovered, "I just... wasn't expecting it. We, um," He seemed to deflate a bit. "We had a bit of a falling out. She did something drastic that got her fired. Some of us, my brothers and sisters I mean, tried to convince her not to go through with it, but she said that she had to. For us." He sighed dejectedly. "Without her job, we lost our home, and we all kinda went our separate ways."
"Oh," Cherry responded, "I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories."
"It's fine. What's done is done, as they say." Whitemane continued to put finishing touches on the meal. Once he was satisfied, he let everything settle before turning back to the Cherry and Blue. "But anyways," he perked up bit, "let's not sour the mood with what's in the past. There's food to eat!"