Standards of Courtship

by Cogneato Switch

A Ponyville Welcome

Celestia’s Sun peeked over the horizon, painting the land in a pale yellow hue. The light crept up a wall and through an unshaded window. It landed squarely on the closed eyes of a fuchsia-colored pony. He slowly opened his eyes and watched as Celestia finished the sunrise and bathed Equestria in the warm light for a new day. Once the sun was high in the sky, he sat up in his bed, pushed back the covers, and stretched his front hooves to the ceiling. He shook out his short blue and red mane and gave a little neigh, as he did every morning. With a little hop out of bed, he bounced out the door.

Last night had gone by in a daze. He’d caught the Midnight Express and arrived in Ponyville in the wee hours of the morning. A magenta pony identifying herself as Berryshine escorted him to the farm and showed him to his room in the back of the main house where he promptly passed out.

Bumbleberry stepped into the house and his nostrils filled with the scent of sweet pastries. The walls were made of natural logs and the floor made flat with wooden floorboards. A long counter divided the room in half. The North side of the room was a large kitchen. Berryshine stood on her hind hoofs wearing an apron and poured batter onto a sizzling griddle. The South side had the door to the outside, a door to the back, and a pink wooden table and four chairs.

“Good morning!” Bumbleberry called out to the kitchen.

“Good morning!” Berryshine replied loudly over the sounds of cooking. “Have a seat, we’ll have breakfast out to you in a jiffy.”

He obliged and sat his rump into a chair. A moment later, the door to the back flung open and a pink mare with a yellow mane and a cherry cutie mark stepped in. Behind her was a little pink filly with pink hair. He stood up out of respect.

“Good morning,” the cherry pony greeted warmly. “You must be Bumbleberry! I’m Cherry Berry!” She took his hoof with both of hers and shook it firmly. “Thank you so much for answering our ad.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Bumbleberry responded. “I’ve always wanted to get out to the country and make the berries myself with my own two hooves.”

They both smiled at each other. “Oh, and this is my niece, Pina.” She pushed the pink filly forward.

“Pleased to meet you sir.”

“Pleased to meet you too, Pina.” Cherry pointed at Berryshine as she served the hotcakes at the table. “I’m sure you’ve already met my sister, Berryshine?”

“Yes I did.” Berryshine nodded at Bumbleberry as she left for utensils. “It was very kind of her to show me to the farm so late at night.”

“No problem at all, dear.” Berryshine called from the kitchen. “Cherry Berry was far too tired after her hot air balloon show yesterday.”

“You have a hot air balloon?”

Cherry Berry blushed. “I do. I fly up to Cloudsdale and Canterlot sometimes for work, but it’s mostly a hobby.”

“Amazing!”

Berryshine returned with the utensils. “Please sit! Help yourself!” Everypony sat at the table and began to eat.

“So tell us about yourself, sweet pea.” Cherry Berry suggested, cutting into her hotcakes.

“Well, my parents are part of the Bumble Family Urban Beekeepers from Filly Delphia.” He paused to take a bite of his food. “I came into berries when I was just a little filly and went with my mother to Dodge Junction. While she was peddling her honey to a fruit farmer there, I wandered off into the fields and got into some of the crops. When my mother finally found me, I had made different juices and used them to paint a picture for her.” He looked at his cutie mark, which was a strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry, all in a bunch. “Anyway, it turned out I had a way with all kinds of fruit. And while I did what I could with the Bumble family, I needed to get out to an actual berry farm. So I came here!” He smiled, triumphant that he’d made a good impression on his new employer, and continued eating his breakfast.

“So you’re not part of the Berry family!” Cherry laughed. “I thought you might be a distant cousin somepony neglected to mention.”

“Nope!” Bumbleberry shoved the last of his food in his mouth. “The ‘berry’ in my name is pure coincidence.” Everypony chuckled light heartedly.

Everypony had finished eating, so Cherry Berry stood up. “It’s time to start our day, Bumbleberry. Let me show you around.”

Outside, Cherry showed Bumbleberry around to the cherry orchards, grape vineyards, and strawberry fields. She lectured for what seemed like hours on picking cherries, telling the good ones from bad ones, and all sorts of things. Bumbleberry took it all in and learned quickly. Cherry bucked, he sorted, and time flew by until all the cherries in the orchard were picked and sorted.

“That’s good for today!” she told him over a glass of berryade. “You’re a real hard worker! If you always work like this, we’ll be able to expand the farm!”

“You are too kind. I can do more work today, if you’d like.”

Cherry shook her head. “No, you deserve a break. Spend time in your room or go visit the town. A new job can be overwhelming.”

“Thank you very much, Cherry!”

Bumbleberry hardly set hoof in room before leaving for town. If berries were his first passion, as indicated by his cutie mark, then ponies were his second. With his day pack and helmet on, he mounted his bicycle, and kicked off down the dirt road to Ponyville. He grinned widely at the sensation of the wind rushing past his cheeks and ears.

Coming over a hill, he saw the skyline of Ponyville. It was nothing compared to Filly Delphia, but that was to be expected. Ponyville was less than half the size of his home town, but, as Bumbleberry reasoned, its inhabitants could spend more time with their fellow ponies and develop closer connections. He rolled down the hill, over the stone arched bridge that marked the city limits of Ponyville and skidded to a stop.

Dozens of ponies were bustling about the market before him. Stalls of hay, fruit, and other freshly harvested produce decorated the square. Ponies walked from stall to stall, filling their packs with goods exchanged for bits.

Bumbleberry parked his bike and set out on hoof. He had never been to an open air market before, but he somehow felt at ease. Each pony smiled as they trotted by, bartering was friendly, and best of all, the atmosphere was one of community.

The first stall Bumbleberry strolled by to was a wheeled cart with two large half-barrel buckets filled to the brim with apples so aromatic that he found himself craving them. The proprietor of the cart was a blonde haired orange mare with an apple trio cutie mark sporting a brown ten gallon hat with a large semi circle cut out of the front brim.

“Good afternoon!” He greeted warmly, eyeing the contents of her cart.

“‘Afternoon!” She replied in the same manner. “Care for some delicious apples?”

“Why yes I would!" He bounced excitedly to meet his first pony in Ponyville, aside from his employer.

"What kind of apples would you like?"

Bumbleberry had no idea about the kinds of apples. He shrugged and asked, "what types do you have?”

“I’ve got all sorts of apples. I’ve got Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, McIntosh, and Braeburn apples.”

Bumbleberry, overwhelmed by the types of apples, blinked twice. “Uh…”

The apple farmer smiled at the all-too familiar look of a pony who’s never visited her stand before. “Why don’t you tell me what you’d like to do with the apples and I’ll tell you which one to get.”

He said the only thing that came to mind, “I’d like to eat it.”

"Then try this one!" She picked one up with her hoof and offered to him. "It's on the house!"

"Thank you!" The folk here were the most pleasant he'd ever met. He took the apple and bit into it. "My goodness, this is delicious!"

The pony smiled. "Yes siree, Sweet Apple Acres has the best apples this side of Canterlot."

"You certainly do!" he exclaimed, taking another bite. "I'm Bumbleberry, by the way. I'm new here." He held out his hoof.

She took his hoof and shook it firmly. "My name's Applejack. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"You sure know a lot about apples. Do you work on the farm?" The berry apprentice asked.

Applejack laughed. "Why yes I do. In fact, I bucked these apples fresh this morning."

"I just got a job on a berry farm near here, " he offered, making conversation.

"Over on Cherry Berry Farms?" The apple farmer nodded with approval. "You're in for a treat. They are some great ponies over there."

"That's great to hear!" He glanced around at all the other potential customers walking by and decided not to take any more of her time. "Thank you for the apple."

"You're welcome!" She grinned widely.

He tossed two bits into her cart basket before trotting off.

Bumbleberry continued to explore the market with no particular destination in mind. He bought a bundle of asparagus, haggled over the price of tomatoes, and opted to purchase a bunch of carrots. Suddenly, he came face to face with a pink mare with a thick dark pink curly mane. Bumbleberry threw his head back in shock.

“You must be new here!” she exclaimed happily. “I’m Pinkie Pie! How do you do!” She grasped his hoof and shook it so strongly that his arm continued to shake after she let go.

“How do you do, Pinkie Pie. I am new to Ponyville. My name is Bumbleberry.”

“Really? That’s great!” she cheered. “Would you like to come to a party tonight?”

Her forward attitude caught him so off guard he couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure, I’d love to go to a party. Who is it for?”

“For you, silly!”

“For me? Why?”

“To welcome you to the town!”

“What? Really?”

Pinkie nodded rapidly.

“Wow, well thank you, I’d like that.”

“It’s going to be at the Golden Oak Library over there!” Pinkie pointed across the market towards a large oak tree with several windows and balconies protruding from it. Next to its red door was a sign painted with a book. “We’ll be ready in about an hour!”

Bumbleberry shook his head, trying to get a grip on what just happened. “Wait, an hour?” She nodded in confirmation.

He hesitated, not quite sure what to say. “Do … do you do this for everypony who comes to town?”

Pinkie shook her head. “No, only for ponies who move to town.”

“But how did you know I moved to town?”

“Cherry Berry told me.” Pinkie pointed a hoof at a stall in the distance where Cherry Berry was selling the cherries he’d sorted this morning. “She said she hired a new farm hand and when I saw you and your berry cutie mark, I put two and two together.”

“How deductive!” Bumbleberry was genuinely impressed.

“Thank you!”

“Alright, see you at the party then!” He waved at Pinkie as she disappeared into the crowd. He wished everypony would be as wonderful as the ponies he’d met so far.

For an hour more, he continued exploring the market before heading to the library. Pushing the door open with his hoof, he stepped inside. He was greeted by the scent of old ink and paper. The walls were lined with inset bookshelves filled with books. In the back, a staircase led up to a loft bedroom. Off to the sides were tables with drinks and party snacks and several streamers hung from the ceiling. In the middle of the room, a purple unicorn was finishing a conversation with Pinkie Pie.

“I’d just like some more warning before I have to host a party at the library.”

“Okey dokey!”

Bumbleberry cleared his throat. Both ponies looked up at him. “Hello, is this where the welcome party is?”

The unicorn stepped forward and Pinkie bounced off to continue last minute preparations. “Yes it is. I’m sorry the place is a mess. Pinkie Pie told me less than an hour ago that I was hosting a party!”

He looked around but failed to find any mess. However, he understood that this was quite an undertaking for her, given such short notice. “Thank you so much for hosting. I had no idea this was going on.”

She shook her head incredulously. “Pinkie sometimes lets her party planning get ahead of herself.” She looked up at him. “You must be Bumbleberry, the new apprentice at Cherry Berry farms?” He nodded. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia, and head librarian here at the Golden Oaks Library.”

“Hello Twilight Sparke. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The door to the library burst open and a blue pegasus flew in, hovering in the air. “Did somepony say that there was a party today?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight answered. “Pinkie is throwing another one of her welcome parties.”

A knock at the already open door announced another pony’s arrival. “Hello?” a timid yellow pony peeked her head around the door. “Has the party already started?”

“No, Fluttershy,” Twilight answered again. “You’re right on time.” The yellow pegasus walked in, quietly closing the door behind her and found her way to the drink table.

A moment later, the door was once again opened. This time, Applejack, accompanied by a white unicorn walked in. “I’m just glad I got off work in time to attend this. I met him earlier today and he seemed like a swell stallion.”

“Oh my, he is quite the stallion, isn’t he?” The unicorn commented. She threw her hair back as she approached Bumbleberry. “How do you do, my name is Rarity.”

Bumbleberry bowed and looked into her eyes. “How do you do. I’m Bumbleberry. I’m pleased to meet you.” They both smiled.

Pinkie Pie put a record into an old fashioned gramophone and turned up the volume. Soon the party was alive with music and the chatter of ponies. More ponies continued to arrive and Bumbleberry met Lyra Heartstrings, Daisy, Twinkleshine, and a host of others. Berryshine stopped by to say hi, and even the mayor of town showed up. Though his head was spinning by the end of the night, Bumbleberry was thrilled at the warm welcome Ponyville was giving him. Yes, his move to the country may have been the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Comments

[F-22brony]

Wow, I'm impressed with the sheer amount of sensory detail, mostly in the beginning, where it also looks like there's also character development. This looks great so far, I'm going to continue!

[Cogneato Switch]

3857816
I've tried to apply more detail, applying at least two senses to every scene description, but I'm far from perfect. Thank you for posting!