IV: Let My Love Open The Door
Adorkable Love
By: Einhander
Chapter 4: Let My Love Open The Door
Pre-Read/Edited by: TheLastBrunnenG
Blue Bonnet learned when he was just a tiny colt about the ancient ponies who overcame fear, hunger, and hatred to beat back the freezing ice wraiths and founded Equestria. Those tough and resilient ponies would probably agree with Bonnet that he'd had something they would call, in the old language, " ye olde pretty rough day." He'd had two deliveries go bad in a row, his partner quit on him and he'd been forced to basically give away his parcels to ponies he met on the street. And only one of those ponies actually thanked him, the pink one just kept screaming and gasping.
But for reasons he could not explain, he decided to try one more delivery. It was for yet another pony he did not recognize, but at least this name had the advantage of being slightly more pronounceable.
...Maybe.
The address had brought him to a tree with an orange colored divided door, surrounded by bird houses. He stared at the door, which had a top half and a bottom half. Sealed envelope in hoof, determined not to repeat his mistakes of the past (among them, swearing and sobbing), he muttered, "C'mon Bonnet, just two more to go." Screwing his courage to the sticking place, he knocked on the door.
A moment later, the bottom half of the door opened ever so slightly, but no pony was there. He leaned down to look inside, and heard an impatient tapping. Looking further down, he found a white bunny staring up at him.
Bonnet swallowed awkwardly under the gaze of those two little black eyes. He got the uneasy feeling that this rabbit had already judged him and found him wanting. Nevertheless, he rallied, cleared his throat, leaned over towards the bunny and said "Pony Postal Service, I have a delivery for-"
SLAM!
THUD.
The top half of the door opened too fast for him to react, and he went down to the ground, face first.
When he opened his eyes, all he could see was the prettiest pony in the whole wild world, ever, looking at him with concern. She had a light yellow coat, a pink mane that covered one of her eyes, and her other eye reflected nothing but kindness and concern. And when she opened her mouth, the voice of an angel escaped and he heard:
"Oh my goodness, what happened to your face?!"
He heard without hearing, disoriented from her beauty and his head trauma. Holding up the envelope, he sputtered "Postal delivery! Bonnet for Ringo? Sign thanks!"
And then there was another creature looking down at him: the cute little bunny from earlier.
"Hi guy!" he said to the bunny.
The rabbit looked at him, and then smacked him in the face with a carrot
Everything went black.
"... And thats the story about how I came to Ponyville and got my cutie mark." The yellow mare smiled and sipped her tea. She then dropped her smile and lowered her head, looking up at Blue Blonnet, "Um, sorry, you only asked about my cutie mark, but they're the same story, I know it was a little long..."
Blue Bonnet chuckled, then winced in pain. He reached up and touched his head gingerly.
"Oh my goodness, I'm still sorry about that, Mr. Bonnet..."
"No worries," said Bonnet, sipping his tea. They were both drinking tea, sitting in her living room. Well, she was sitting, he was laid out on her couch with his head bandaged up, with only one eye showing. He realized he should have delivered the package and moved on, but she was just so nice, and so kind, and had offered him tea. No one had ever offered him tea before in his whole life. He didn't really enjoy the actual beverage, but who was Blue Bonnet to turn down a kind gesture from a lovely pony? He put his tea cup back in his saucer, and said "It was my fault, I should've been more careful Miss, uh..."
He froze. He couldn't remember her name. When she had been bandaging his head, she asked him his name but he was too busy staring at her to ask her name. When she had asked if he wanted to have some tea, he was too busy listening to the subtle melody that was her voice. And now he had revealed his cards, and the bottom line was that he had no idea what her name was.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Bonnet?" asked the yellow mare, who suddenly looked a little sad. "Do you need to go?"
He was in a tailspin, not wanting to leave but worried the incoming panic attack would drive him out the door. He was glancing everywhere around the room for a diversion, the glass windows, the table, the newspaper on the couch - DISCORD TRIAL RESUMES TODAY, screamed the headline, and underneath there was a side story that said CUTE BABY DUCKS ORPHANED - the paperwork on the table... The paperwork! The customer's name was on the paper work, which was on the table, which was right in front of this beautiful pony. Now, all he needed was an excuse to look at his paperwork and figure out her name. He decided to do a little espionage.
"Could I see my paperwork for a moment?"
"Oh, most definitely!" she chirped, putting down the tea, and handing him his paperwork, along with the delivery moment.
"Thank you," he said warmly, looking over the documents, "I just needed to check..."
He stopped when he saw her name. Whatever illusions he had that the answer to the puzzle before him would solve all of his problems was shattered. True, it was no "Gmu Vou Fitz," but that didn't make it any easier to pronounce. What good was knowing some pony's name if you had no idea how to say it?
"... Something," he completed his earlier thought. He decided to try more espionage. "Tell me, what is the story behind your unusual, er, but lovely name?"
The yellow mare blushed and lowered her head, sipping more tea. "Oh, um, not much to tell. I was born with tiny wings and was fluttering about, and from the very beginning I was... well, shy."
Bonnet blinked. He glanced at the name on his paperwork, and back at her. "That's all?"
"That's all," she stared into her cup, then looked up at him. "What about you? Blue Bonnet is a very nice name, could you tell me your story? Um, if you don't mind, that is."
Bonnet shrugged, "I came into this world Blue, and when my dad came to visit my mom in the hospital, he brought her a bouquet of bonnets. My dad always told me she took one look at me, one look at the flowers, and that was it." He stretched out his hooves slowly, presenting himself with a half smile, "Here I am, world. Blue Bonnet. At your service."
The yellow mare giggled. "That's nice. Did she keep the flowers to remember the moment?
"No. She ate them."
"Oh."
Bonnet started to shake his head, then stopped and winced in pain again. "It's her favorite snack, that's why Dad brought them. I was a long birth."
The yellow mare smiled again, and sipped her tea. "What about your cutie mark?"
He looked over at his flank, his face a mosaic of emotions. The two conjoined horseshoes stared back, mocking him. "Well... I'm lucky." The mare smiled and nodded, waiting patiently. After a few moments of silence, he sighed, "No, that's it. I'm just lucky. That's my special talent."
"Oh, that's.... nice." said the mare, confused, "Um, what does that mean, though?"
"When I was a colt and we'd be playing a game, anypony around me would make their shot, or roll a six, or whatever they needed to win. I'd miss, of course, or roll ones and twos. But the pony to my left and right would always come up aces." He shifted his head slowly, painfully, to look out the window. The sunset was gone, leaving Luna's Moon to shine into the house. "One day, we're bowling, and this pony right next to me bowls a perfect game. he says, 'Bonnet, you're my lucky charm!' Suddenly there's a flash on my side, and my destiny is to be lucky. For other ponies. Me, I've never really felt what other ponies feel around me. In fact, the only friend I've really got, Caramel, he says that for every good thing that happens to somepony else, I..." he hesitated, "He says I just keep 'blue'ing things up. Like, they win, but I screw it up."
The yellow mare gasped. "That's so mean! And you say he's your only friend?"
Blue Bonnet shrugged, still looking out at the stars. "I've always made friends quickly, but I don't keep them. They always want to have me around, but you can only go to so many tournaments, casinos and bars as the odd pony out before you..." He sighed and turned his head back to the yellow mare. "Sure, they like me, but because of my horseshoes, not because of me. Caramel can be rough, but he's the only one that likes me because I'm me."
There was a pause, and she whispered, "I just met you, but I like you..."
She could have knocked Blue Bonnet over with a feather at that. He felt a warmth enter his heart for the first time in days. Smiling as wide as he ever smiled before, he said, "I like you too..." and he wanted to say her name, but how could he pronounce it? Sooner or later he'd have to force the issue.
"More tea, Mr. Bonnet?" asked the yellow mare, putting down her own cup and reaching for the kettle.
Blue Bonnet quickly looked down at his cup, saw that it was a third full, and as she had her back turned momentarily, quickly drank the rest of it. By the time the mare had was holding the kettle out to him, he was at the ready, offering his now empty cup. "Yes, please, if you don't mind."
The yellow mare smiled and tilted the kettle over his teacup, only to have the smallest trickle come out. Her eyes blinked in panic, and she looked anxiously at him. "Oh.. um... Sorry, I seem to have... Would you like me to make another kettle?"
Bonnet's heart sank just a bit, but he tried to keep his smile bright. "If you don't mind, I think it's helping my head and-"
"Oh yes of course!" she interrupted, "You poor thing! I am so sorry about that! I'll make you some more tea right away!" She hurried over in the direction of the kitchen, but hesitated, and turned to say, "That is, if you don't mind, um, waiting..."
Blue Bonnet smiled softly and said, "It'd be my genuine pleasure." She smiled back and blushed slightly, and walked into the kitchen with the tea kettle.
He looked around the room, rubbing the bandage on his head. What a reversal of fortune! Half an hour ago, he was lying on the ground after being clobbered by a door, and now he was sitting in this lovely pony's living room, having tea. True, there was a giant bandage on his head, his uniform was filthy and his hat had gone missing, but still.
He nodded to himself, life could be a lot worse. Then he gasped in pain, forgetting the yellow pony's admonition to not move his head unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Everything okay, Mr. Bonnet?"
"Fine! Fine!" he yelped, trying to calm himself down. He closed his eyes, trying to rest and let the pain seep away, and realized how tired he was. Moments passed, or maybe it was minutes, because the next thing he heard was the tea kettle's piercing whistle. He caught a glimpse of something staring at him out of the corner of his left eye. Not wanting to move his head again, he picked up himself and rotated ever so slightly to see his stalker.
The little white bunny from earlier stared at him with a purely neutral face. He stared at the little creature, who stared back without blinking or making any expression at all.
"Is the same tea okay?" came the voice from the other room.
"Y...yes?" said Bonnet, nervously. The bunny's ear twitched at the sound of his owner's voice.
Then the bunny whipped out Bonnet's hat, and held it aloft. And before Bonnet could say anything, the rabbit dropped it and stomped it into oblivion. The cap had already been through way too much for one day, and a few enthusiastic stomps was all it took to destroy it.
Bonnet stared at the little ball of furry evil, dumbstruck at the wanton cruelty to his defenseless headgear. Before he could cry out, they both heard the sound of the yellow pony returning with more tea. She opened the door and saw Bonnet staring at the bunny, and vice-versa. She smiled, "Oh, Angel Bunny, are you and Mr. Bonnet getting along?"
Bonnet swallowed and sunk into his chair. "Peachy... peachy keen."
The mare giggled and pet the bunny with her free hoof, then carefully brought the tea tray over to the table. The rabbit played nice while his mistress was coddling him, but the moment she had her back turned, the malicious eyes returned. The rabbit pointed at Blue Bonnet, then pointed at his own eyes, then hopped away with a glare.
"Do you want sugar?" asked the oblivious yellow mare.
"Excuse me, I must be going," responded Blue Bonnet, who stood up despite the pain and reached for his clipboard with the paperwork.
"But... but I just made the tea...."
"Duty calls, you know, I have another delivery..."
"Oh... I see."
They looked at one another sadly. He didn't want to go, she looked like she didn't want him to go. Bonnet coughed, "So I just need your signature here... uh..." Behind the mare, near the doorway, he could see Angel Bunny staring daggers at him, only this time the bunny made a slicing motion across his own throat and then pointed back at Blue Bonnet.
Bonnet took a deep breath. Don't Blue this up, Don't Blue this up...
"How do you pronounce your name?" he asked suddenly.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Your name... it's unusual, and I've wanted to call you by your name, but I don't how to say it."
She blushed, "Just like it sounds. Fluttershy." He stared at her. "Just one word, it sounds like two words, but I prefer to say it like it's one." He continued to stare at her. "Did you think it's two words? It's, um, fine if you did. I'm not offended."
"Do you have any aliases?" he said, his voice cracking.
"Um... I don't think so? Maybe I do. Actually I don't know what that is," said the yellow mare now known at Fluttershy.
"It... hehe... it means you go by a different name than your other name..." he giggled, his one good eye going a little manic.
"Oh, um, no. I've always been called Fluttershy."
"So... haha.... so your name is NOT Ringo Man-ri-ki?" he said, eyes tearing up.
"Mr. Bonnet, are you okay? I've never heard of that pony before in Ponyville and I'm... I'm worried about you," she said, putting a hoof to his forehead. "I think you may be running a fever."
"But this... ho ho... this address is your address and..." he tapped the paperwork, "It says this letter is for Ringo Manriki...."
Fluttershy gently patted him on the back. "I think somepony's been funning with you, Blue."
Blue Bonnet looked her in the eye, blinked, and started screaming.
Applejack groaned as she hauled the cart down the road. Finally, Fluttershy's cottage was in sight. She had gotten close earlier, only to look behind and realize that her box of ducks had turned over, and she had lost a few. After some vigorous running around, and improvised food gathering (they would not stop quacking!), she had all her ducks in a box and was ready to be done with them.
She shook her head. I sure hope Fluttershy wants these ducks... otherwise I'm up a creek without a-
There was a loud slam as a blue stallion threw open the door to Fluttershy's cottage and started running.
Hey, isn't that Blue Bonnet?
She did a double take, and sure enough, it was Blue Bonnet. Although it was hard to tell if he was screaming or sobbing, either way he was clearly upset. His head was bandaged and he was running away at full speed, delivery papers going this way and that. Fluttershy appeared at the door, waving an envelope and calling, "Mr. Bonnet, wait! Your delivery!"
But he was already gone, a trail of tears and paperwork in his wake. Applejack stared at the retreating shadow of the stallion, then back to Fluttershy, who was clearly upset and was trying not to cry.
"What happened, darlin'?" said Applejack, concerned.
"He was such a nice pony... I don't... I don't understand why he got so upset, or what I could have said," she whispered, staring at the envelope in her hooves. "You don't know a Ringo Manriki, do you?"
"Who in the what now?" asked Applejack.
Fluttershy shook her head, "Nevermind... I think it's a made up name, anyway... Poor Mr. Bonnet."
"Speakin' of made up names," said Applejack, grunting as she gently placed the box on the ground.
"Applejack, are you okay?" asked Fluttershy. "You look tired."
Applejack returned a weak smile. "Ah'm fine', Sugarcube. Tell me somethin'... You know anything about ducks? Baby ducks, specifically?"
Fluttershy gasped, "Did you read that article too?! I had been getting the Canterlot paper delivered to follow poor Discord's trial, and I read all about that horrible accident! Those poor orphaned ducklings!"
Applejack was staring at Fluttershy, mouth agape. It was at the exact moment when the box tipped over, and 19 and a half (don't ask) baby ducks spilled out, quacking their way to freedom.
Fluttershy gasped the biggest gasp she had ever gasped. "Omigoodness! Are these those precious little angels?! Did you rescue them??"
"Er... No? They were delivered to me by accident. Ah can't take care of'em, but I thought maybe you-"
"You'd trust me?!" squeaked Fluttershy, "Oh Applejack of course I will! I'll take the best care of them! All of these little blessings..." She bent over the little quackers and cooed, "Hello little ones, I'm going to take care of you from now on."
The ducks all quieted down and turned at looked at Fluttershy. She opened her door and looked back at them, smiling.
"If... if that's okay with you..."
If ducks could talk, they would have said as one: Lady, feed us and we'll do anything you say. They entered the house, continuing their quack symphony.
Fluttershy turned back to her friend. "I won't let you down, Applejack!" Suddenly she flinched, and looked down to see an angry Angel smacking her hoof, and pointing at his mouth.
"Oops, sorry Angel bunny." She chuckled. "I have to go make dinner."
"Well, good luck with these little ones, now," said Applejack, turning the cart around.
"Thank you, Applejack. And if you see Blue Bonnet, tell him... I'm sorry, I suppose?"
"Sugar, what do you have to be sorry about?"
"I honestly don't know, but, I'm worried about him. He's a nice pony, and I think life's just dealt him a bad hand... " She stared at the unopened envelope in her hooves, endorsed with the name that drove Blue Bonnet over the edge. "He just needs someone to like him for who he is." Suddenly there was a crash and a gaggle of quacking inside her cottage, and Fluttershy grinned, "Just like these little blessings. Goodnight, Applejack!"
The door closed, and Applejack blinked. "Well. That was a freebie," she said, a slow smile spreading on her face as she pulled the cart away from Fluttershy's tree.
The sun had set completely about two hours ago.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were hiding in the bushes near Cheerilee’s house. They had never been to her house before, in fact, they had to ask around to figure out where it was. It was simultaneously adorable and… small.
A small house painted in a pretty blue color, it had windows that allowed any pony who cared to see inside Cheerliee’s living room. Her living room was also her dining room and kitchen and 'everything else' room though she had a bedroom and an ‘other room’ where all other activities would take place.
As Apple Bloom watched Ms. Cheerliee go from one room to the other (the bedroom had curtains), it occurred to her for the first time that whatever Ms. Cheerilee was paid to teach them, it must not be much. That thought, combined with the lack of a smile on her teacher’s face, convinced her they were doing the right thing today. Even if it meant one more day without cutie marks, they were helping out someone who needed something good to happen. And once they had gathered their materials and found the house, all they need was for Scootaloo to arrive so they could put their plan into action.
That was about an hour and a half ago, when the skies still had traces of blue.
Now they were both tired, hungry and knew they were in trouble when they got home. And it was dark and it was cloudy. And cold. And they had actually watched Ms. Cheerilee plan, prepare, cook and eat her dinner in the time it took for Scootaloo to *still* not be there.
“I’m hungry, Apple Bloom,” whined Sweetie Belle.
“I know, me too,” said Apple Bloom.
They continued to watch Cheerilee, who was now sitting in a chair by the window and reading a book.
“You know, some day some pony’s gonna invent something that lets ponies contact one another over large distances,” mused Sweetie Belle, “and stuff like this is never gonna happen again.”
“What? Waitin’ on a pony?”
“Yep! We’ll always be able to reach each other, so you’ll always know why someone’s late, and then all these problems will go away!”
“I dunno. What if the pony gettin’ contacted, you know, doesn’t answer the call?”
“…why wouldn’t they? If somepony wants to talk to you, wouldn’t you want to say hello?
“Not if it was Diamond Tiara!”
“Huh. You got a point there,” said Sweetie Belle. “Either way, I’m hungry.”
“I know, me too,” said Apple Bloom.
Suddenly they heard a noise, and after a few tense moments, they heard a familiar voice say “Psst!”
Apple Bloom grumbled, “Scoots! Where the heck you been?!”
“Ssh! Keep yer voice down!” Scootaloo snuck down to where the two other ponies were, with a bunch of flowers in her mouth. She took them out and put them on the ground gently, and took off her helmet. “Dash had to fly me up to the top of the mountain, but it took an hour to get there and... and then we spent about an hour trying to fix her goggles so we could fly back down." She cracked her neck and rubbed her eyes, "Lookin back, maybe we should have used the roads. Then I had to get my scooter. But I got the Purple Night Flowers right here!”
Sweetie Belle had a look of murder in her eyes. “Flowers? You took three hours to get flowers? I’ve got flowers outside Rarity’s house we could have taken! I could be home right now!”
“No, it HAD to be these flowers… the flowers she has on her desk. It’ll be worth it. What about you two?"
Apple Bloom said, “I got the box of candy. I got to Bon-Bon’s right before she closed up for the day, and she said this’ll be great for cheerin’ somepony up.”
“We almost ate the candy we were so hungry,” whined Sweetie Belle.
“And how did you do, Sweetie Belle?” asked Scootaloo.
Sweetie Belle frowned slightly and said, “Well, I tried to make a card but it came out really bad, so I had to just buy one.” She pulled it out and showed them. On the front the card had a wilting flower and said, “Heard you had a rough day…”, and on the inside the flower was standing tall and straight and the card said “Hope this brightens your day!”
Scootaloo stared at the card, putting on a brave face. Apple Bloom also had a similarly worried smile. Sweetie Belle sighed and hung her head. “I know, it’s not great. But it was either this, a birthday card or a ‘sorry for your loss’ card, and, I don’t know, I thought it’d make her sadder…”
Apple Bloom shook her head, and smiled, “It’s okay, Sweetie Belle. Together, I just know it’ll cheer up Ms. Cheerilee!”
“Girls?” said a voice, and they all jumped. They then turned to see Twilight Sparkle walking up next to them. “You okay?”
Apple Bloom calmed down first. “Yeah, Twilight,” she panted, “you just scared us, is all.”
Twilight shook her head. “What is it with ponies hiding in the bushes today?”
Scootaloo stood tall, “We’re not hiding, Ms. Sparkle, we’re… well, we’re here to give Ms. Cheerilee a present!”
Twilight Sparkle blinked at Scootaloo. “Really now?"
Sweetie Belle nodded, “That’s right, Twilight. She had a rough day, and we wanted to cheer her up!”
They quickly recounted the debacle that was the last part of Cheerilee’s school day, and Twilight’s heart sank. She suddenly felt that coming over had been a mistake, that she was the last pony Cheerilee wanted to see. After all, if she hadn’t wasted Cheerilee’s time talking in the library, then Cheerilee wouldn’t have gotten in trouble with the parents.
“Girls, can you do me a favor? I was going to give her this book but… I think you should do it.”
“Are you sure, Twilight?” Scootaloo asked, suddenly worried.
“Yes, I think it’s for the best. You can just say you got it for her, I don’t mind.”
“No!” said Scootaloo, forcefully. Her tone surprised Twilight, as well as the other two girls. She quickly recovered, “I mean, it’ll be from all of us. Here, just sign the card and then we’ll sign it too…”
Scootaloo nudged Sweetie Belle, who produced the card and pen. Twilight reluctantly took them both with with her magic and signed. She gave the card and pen back, and Scootaloo looked at the inside. It just said ‘Twilight’. Not ‘your friend’ or ‘feel better’ or anything like that. And for some reason, Scootaloo felt like that was perfect.
“Don’t worry, Twilight. We’ll take it from here.”
Twilight smiled back. “You are all very nice fillies to do all this for your teacher. I don’t think I ever did anything like this for the Princess… although I really should have, now that I think of it."
The girls looked at one another and Apple Bloom shrugged. “She makes our lives better, and sometimes we forget that. We wanted to let her know.”
The words struck Twilight like a freight train. She shook her head, “She’s right. You girls really are going to take over the world one day.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry about it. You just keep doing what you’re doing, but then run on home. Okay?” The girls nodded, and Twilight nodded and walked away with a little smile on her face.
“Okay!” said Apple Bloom, once Twilight was out of earshot, “So let’s all the sign the card and then we’ll-“
“Wait,” said Scootaloo. “I think we should leave the card as is.”
“Seriously Scootaloo? I just told Twilight the reason we were doing this was to let her know we care.”
“No, the reason we’re doing this is the cheer her up, remember?” replied Scootaloo, “And… trust me on this. Let’s just leave the card from Twilight. I think that’ll cheer her up more.”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom glanced at one another. Sweetie Belle shrugged and said “We can always let her know later we organized it, I guess.”
Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo. “Is there something goin’ on with Miss Cheerilee and Twilight?”
Scootaloo pleaded, “I don’t know, this just… feels right. Please? Trust me.”
Apple Bloom sighed, and then nodded. “Alright, Scoots. Let’s do this.”
A few minutes later, Cheerilee heard a knock on her door. She rubbed her eyes and got up from her bed, and opened the door.
“Hello?”
She looked around, but there was no pony in sight. Then she looked down, and her jaw dropped. On her stoop was a box of chocolates, freshly picked Purple Night Flowers, and an envelope with her name on it. She picked up the envelope and stared at it with a mixture of amusement and confusion. Underneath it was a new copy of Pony and Prejudice, which turned her amusement into pure giddiness as she picked it up and flipped through it. “Is there somepony out there?” Silence. “Whoever you are, thank you!”
The Crusaders were hiding behind some trees (the bushes no longer being safe snooping territory), and Scootaloo kept muttering under her breath, “C’mon, open the card, open the card…”
Cheerilee had gathered up all the items and was about to walk inside when she stopped. She looked around again and, almost as if she had heard Scootaloo, stared down at the envelope thoughtfully. After a moment, she opened it and looked at the contents.
She saw the silly front of the card, and she smiled. She then looked at the inside of the card, and was still smiling. Then she stopped smiling.
“Oh no…” said Scootaloo.
Cheerilee reached for the side of her door frame to stabilize herself, and then read the card again. She looked again frantically from left to right to see if anypony was around, and then quickly closed the door and went back inside.
“Great plan, Scootaloo,” snipped Apple Bloom.
“Wait! Look!” said Sweetie Belle.
From their vantage point, they could still see inside of her house. And Cheerilee was reading the card again, and then looking at the book, and then back at the card again. She was shaking, then she dropped the card and hugged the book, and began jumping up and down like a filly on Hearth Warming Eve.
“Yessss!” said Sweetie Belle.
Cheerilee disappeared from view for a moment, then re-appeared with a vase for the flowers. She put the flowers in the vase and nuzzled them and placed the chocolates very carefully by the flowers along with the card. She tilted her head to read the card again, smiled as big as her mouth would let her and hugged the book again.
“Mission: Cheer up Cheerilee? Major success!” said Apple Bloom. “You were right, Scootaloo! Now let’s get out of here before we get in more trouble than we already are!”
As the other ponies snuck away, Scootaloo remained for a moment, staring into the window. What a difference a few hours had made for the pony on the other side. She couldn’t ever remember Miss Cheerilee looking so happy.
And suddenly, Scootaloo felt a doubt.
“C’mon, Scoots! We gotta jet and we need your scooter! You brought the wagon, right?”
Scootaloo nodded and started to move, but she turned back one last time to look at her happy teacher.
What if it was just an illusion? What if Twilight only meant to sign the card as a friend? What if, in trying to help, she just set in motion a trap that would break Miss Cheerilee’s heart? She trudged back to her scooter, where the other two fillies were waiting in the wagon.
“Just wait until tomorrow!” said Sweetie Belle.
“Huh?” asked Scootaloo, who was strapping her helmet back on.
“You don’t think Cheerilee will just stay quiet, do ya?” asked Sweetie Belle. “She’ll go thank Twilight, and Twilight will say that we gave her the flowers and candy and the card too! Think how happy she’ll be with us!”
Scootaloo whispered, “We’ve made a huge mistake.”
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Not only are we getting a nice Twilight x Cherilee, but can I catch a whiff of Fluttershy x Bonnet. Probably not, but that would be adorable.
Love this story! Can't wait for more.
its in japanese, fun
2713184 i was staring at the name trying to make sense of it then i saw "Ringo"
great chapter i like scootaloo being mature enough to notice what is happening
I accuse you with cheating with this last name!
Confess!
Confess!
Confess!
Do not make me break out... THE COMFY CHAIR!
I must admit I am completely stumped by the cipher this time so if someone could explain it to me that'd be great. Also awesome chapter
2713232
i.imgur.com/l0prG41.gif
Prepare for the train wreck! I'm a little disappointed we don't actually learn what the package was for A.J.
2713247
... not yet.
Ohhh, this is going to get ugly...
Well, Ringo was a little obvious. At least for those of us that have learned that particular foreign language. Manriki didn't quite jibe though. I got weighted chain weapon from my dictionary, and a reverse translation sounds kind of like Manriki but not quite.
Still, what is it with Cheerily stories and 80's song titles? I love it! She's such an 80's girl.
2713243 It's in Japanese. Here's a word-for-word translation cut-'n'-pasted from the dictionary:
Ringo:
林檎 (りんご) (n) (1) (uk) apple; (2) apple tree (Malus pumila); (P);
苹果 (りんご) (n) (1) (uk) apple; (2) apple tree (Malus pumila);
Manriki:
万力 (まんりき) (n) vise; jack; capstan;
Ringo Manriki = Apple Jack, in Japanese, though it's like a Car Jack, and not the delicious beverage / tasteless cereal.
2713478 Ah, see I knew it was Applejack I just had no idea how that could turn into Ringo Manriki. Now that I know it's another language it makes sense.
Isn't Ringo Japanese for applesauce? I remember hearing that Ringo Starr did a Japanese applesauce commercial because of that.
Cheating aside, I liked this chapter.
Sneaky.
Also, poor Cheerilee. 
Hilarious chapter, and poor Blue Bonnet!
2713453
Um...
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" -- Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (1956)
"Somebody to Love" (Queen) -- 1976
A bit earlier than the 80s.
(Even the other two are barely 80s songs, seeing as how they came out in 1980.)
2714126
I wasn't referring to just this story. There are a couple of Twicheer stories out there. and yes 1980 qualifies as the 80's. Having lived through most of the 70's and all the 80's, there was a definite change in the music. Mowtown and Disco held on for a couple more years but punk was up and coming. And 80's pop... I'm guilty of having grown up on that. I didn't develop an independent ear for music until the 90's and went back and listened to all the good bands I'd missed.
Anyway, Cheerilee in leg warmers, a tight shirt tied off on one side and a headband over her big hair...
I understand. I didn't find anything wrong with things. It all fits within the story after all. Don't be so hard on yourself. No need to apologize.
2713703 Japanese for just Apple.
Really loving this story. Though now I have the same fear Scoots has at the end.
I don't know the cipher, but I'm pretty sure it's Rarity.
ugh shit here we go again
ringo manriki is japanese
ringo means apple
manriki means vice, chapstain, and jack so obviously it is jack
applejack
on the side,
how in the fuck does he read an english name in japanese?
Poor Cheerilee even if this ends well she is going to get hurt first
2714716 More importantly: who the FUCK is in charge of the postal service? Is Derpy's wall vision causing trouble?
Haha, freakin loving this so far... keep up the great work!
wow i love this story! it has so much to it, i dont blame you for the little bit of time it takes you to update! and i only hope this gets better!
as always i cant wait for more!
2714894
If the EqPS is anything like the USPS, they go by the street address, not the name of the recipient. I get mail all the time for people who used to live at my address (ten years ago!), or who live down the block because someone transposed two digits (7250 instead of 7520), and so on.
The packages poor Blue Bonnet is trying to deliver have the right street addresses on them, they just don't have the right names. But of course, he doesn't know that. And I'll bet it's deliberate; someone is pulling a prank.
2715648
Bingo.
This is going to get serious...hope Cheerliee won't get hurt...but then again, if nopony's gonna get hurt, then it won't be much of a romance story...
Will Blue Bonnet and Fluttershy hit it off too? I hope they will, he's had enough bad luck right?
...
I really want to ask.
Why is there half a duckling? I'm very curious.
While we're on the subject of ducks, did you know that a ducks quack does not echo and no one knows why? Crazy, huh?
One last thing, my (very dull) sixth sense is feeling some bad Twilight/Cheeralie vibes comin' up. It is not a good feeling. Not one bit.
2714244
Aaaaand now that image is stuck in my head. It's not bad, mind you, just not wanted at 7:07 in the morning.
2716379
That's a myth.
2716532>>2716379
Can't you see all this rumor quacking is TEARING US APART?!
2714894 no clue but its just so
2716532 It's a what?
MYTH! MYTH!
2715648 Yeah, I know they have the right street adress. Problem is: the packages are intended for the ponies in the name, not the ones who live on the adress. And the names are not written correctly. I'd pass Pinkie, Rainbow and Fluttershy's case, since their names are reversed, anagrammed and written one letter after respectively. But AJ's name in Japanese?! Just who the fuck is writing their names wrong and giving the incorrect adress?
2716389
You're welcome. My work here is done
2717126
"Good grief, it's a running gag."
(Yes, I've seen that movie too.
)
2717159
Dude, calm down and re-read what I said. If the street address is correct, the postal service doesn't care whose name is above it. It could give "Cranston Snord" or "Mxytlpltk XVII, God-Emperor of Dune" as the addressee, and they would still take the package to the indicated address and try to deliver it. They will not ever question the name -- unless, and only unless, someone at the address in question has to sign for it; and even then, they won't question it until after they bring the package to the indicated address, ask for the named person to sign it, and are then told that there's no such person at that address.
And the whole point of all this is the comedic value. Who's sending these odd packages? I imagine we'll find out sooner or later that someone is pranking the Mane Six, but being vulgar about it isn't going to accomplish anything.
If it really bothers you that much, then I can only advise you to meditate upon the words of the great earth-pony sage, Best Brains: "Just repeat to yourself, it's just a show, I should really just relax."
2717215 Lol. I'm not angry. XD I'm just intrigued (this is the problem with the internet: you can't really tell a person's mood as they speak). I'm more in an "OMFCelestia who is that?" Kind of mood. Anyway, I know this is for comedic humour but whoever is doing that needs to know it's not funny (at least from Blue's POV). As the LTJ song "Bigger Picture" says: "it's not funny like on television".
2717249
It's probably funny to the individual(s) doing it.
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m68zw68icF1rr9d7p.jpg
2717278 That would be you, I guess...
2717284
I meant the individual(s) in the story, but, yes, it is funny to me.
2714244
(Late one night, through the windows of a certain home in Ponyville, we see a certain cherry-colored mare singing along to a song on the radio...)
(Let's get physical, physical,)
(I wanna get physical, let's get into physical)
(...while strutting back and forth across her bedroom wearing legwarmers and a headband, tossing her mane and swinging her hindquarters like an MTV music-video star, back when MTV still played music videos...)
(Let me hear your body talk, your body talk)
(Let me hear your body -- EEEEK!)
(...at least, until she realizes she forgot to close the windowshades, and everypony can see her. How a mare who's already cherry-red can blush that brightly, is a mystery for the ages.)
2717304 Yeah, I know. Literal humour FTW.
2716548
... I still want to know why there is half a duckling, seriously, what the hell happened?
2716532
I CAN STILL DREAM.
That's cheating.
But what about the half-duckling