• Published 22nd Apr 2012
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Under the Starry Skies - Wintergreen Diaries



Silver Moonshine opens a tavern in Ponyville, hoping to escape the city and maybe find a nice mare.

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Sea of Confusion

Chapter 3: Sea of Confusion

“Pinkamena Diane Pie; scientific name Pinkieus Pieacus. A modern mystery, this earth pony is immune to the laws of physics and magic, has a taste for all things sugary, and throws a mean party. However,” Twilight continued, noting the utter lack of comprehension on Silver’s part, “she does not achieve a constant state of euphoria by any type of science or the consumption of illegal substances. She is purely fueled, I believe, on smiles and sugar.” Silver stared blankly at the lavender mare who was beaming ear to ear at the result of nearly three years of research on the subject.

“She’s just a happy pony,” Cerulean translated, a statement that was simple enough for the bewildered unicorn to understand.

“Well, that takes care of the earth ponies then. I will say I’m somewhat nervous about using her, but if you say it’s all right, I’ll trust you. So we have you two, Rainbow Dash, Storm Blitz, Pinkie Pie, and Berry Punch. Come to think of it, where’s your mother gotten to, Ruby?”

“I think she’s inside the cellar.”

“Well come on, we better go make sure she’s not getting into mischief,” he replied, hoisting the filly onto his shoulders and motioning the other unicorns to follow. Berry Punch was exactly where Silver expected her to be, greedily staring at the empty casks in the basement. Were it not for the fact that the barrels were empty, he had little doubt that she would have “sampled” every one several times over.

“So, Silver, Berry Punch is your sister?” Twilight asked as the pink earth pony ran a hoof over one of the casks, completely oblivious to their presence until hearing her voice.

“Nope, she’s my cousin.”

“Why does Ruby call you ‘Uncle Shiny’ then?”

“Ruby, you wanna tell the story?” Berry asked, and filly nodded eagerly and began the tale.

“It was a long time ago, nearly three years ago or something when I first got to meet Silver Moonshine. He was working on the glowy drink, and something musta gone wrong because when he walked out of the room he was super shiny! Like somepony had dumped a huge bag of glitter on him!” She waited patiently for the laughter to die down, her own included, before continuing. “I was really young then, and it was hard for me to say cousin, so I tried saying uncle. It was a lot easier, and that’s the story of Uncle Shiny!” The voices of two exhausted stallions sounded from above, and the group left the cellar to find Snowdrift and Freefall in a heap, panting for breath.

“Is there... anything... to drink... around here?” Snowdrift gasped, looking up at the group from his comfortable position flat on his back. Silver examined the cart they had pulled together, noting that it was the same size as the one Applejack had been pulling. He was simultaneously amazed at her strength, wary of getting on her bad side, and disappointed that she wasn’t the one to make the final delivery.

“Where is Applejack? I was expecting her, not my cooks.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, boss. I’d say she’s back at Sweet Apple Acres by now.” Oh well, he’d see her again later. He motioned inside and the two flightless pegasi fought to make it first to the kitchen for a drink.

“Honestly, I hope those two can pull their weight. Food is half the attraction, maybe more. Will depend on the interest in my drinks, really.”

“If you’re in need of a cook, I may be able to help you out there,” Cerulean offered. “I know somepony who just happens to be head chef of a highly respected gourmet restaurant in Canterlot. I don’t know if it’d work for him, but I can ask if he’d like to work someplace where ponies aren’t the obsessed with seeing who can point their snout higher than the other.” Silver took a moment to stare at his hoof, wondering if he really had caught the shooting star the previous evening.

“That... would be fantastic, if he could,” Silver said slowly, applying all his self control not to scream in excitement. There was a blinding flash of light from Dawn’s horn and a small, metallic looking rock appeared in Silver’s hoof, which had not moved from its position. The surface was smooth and morpheus, and it took Twilight a moment before she realized what it was.

“Is that...” she started, staring in awe at the foreign object.

“A shooting star,” Silver confirmed, holding it in his hoof but unable to believe it. Dawn was the only pony unfazed by this, and she clapped her hooves together at her clever trick. As the silence dragged on she dropped her face in front of Cerulean’s and waved, jump starting his mind back to working condition.

“I’ll see about getting my friend to come down, should know in a few days at most. Me and Twilight will be at the library if you ever need anything. Let us know when you have something you need tested, ok?” Silver nodded and Cerulean turned his attention again to Twilight. “Now, I believe we promised the mother something to sate her sweet tooth, didn’t we?” Berry watched the trio depart, no doubt heading to Sugarcube Corner. She chanced a glance at the sky and was promptly met with deeper throbbing in the back of her skull as the noonday sun greeted her cheerfully.

“So, Silver, about that cure for hangovers...”


Storm couldn’t help but be impressed with the new house that his parents, Quakehoof and Flying Grace, were now living in. They weren’t so opulent as to build a mansion, even if they did have the wealth for it, but as he and Rainbow Dash approached, they figured it probably felt like it by comparison. Scootaloo immediately attacked Storm the moment he set hoof in the door, though she quickly ran back as his tickling hooves repelled any sibling oriented affection.

“Easy, Storm, let your sister breathe.” He looked up as his mother walked in, now well into her pregnancy with her third, though likely final, child.

“She started it,” he defended, pointing a hoof at his sister who was gasping bundle of giggles by this time.

“I was... just gonna... give you a hug!” she managed in between snickers, shakily pulling herself to her feet. Storm made his way over and gently wrapped a hoof around his mother’s frail frame, himself much larger in every way on account of his birth father being the largest pony in Ponyville. Quakehoof walked in beaming ear to ear, much to Storm and Rainbow Dash’s confusion.

“Dad? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I’m glad you asked, son. I got a new job at the place opening in town. It’s going to pay much better, though that’s not a terrible issue when you marry into wealth.”

“Oh, is that all I am to you, then?” Grace teased, turning away in mock disgust.

“No, of course not. There’s also this,” he chuckled, smacking her flank lightly and causing a small, though mutual, groan of disgust from their two children and soon to be stepchild. At least they hoped it was soon, since they had been dating for nearly a year. Flying Grace had spoken with Rainbow Dash a few days prior, and she was thinking the same thing.

“I’m glad to hear you’re going to be getting to do something more enjoyable with your days. What exactly were you hired for?”

“Let’s just say that the new establishment will have need of security in case things get out of hoof.”

“That sounds like an awesome place to work. The more I hear about this place, the more excited I am for it to open!” Dash exclaimed, looking eagerly up at Storm who was mirroring her enthusiasm perfectly. Everypony gave the door an inquisitive stare as if somepony were using it as a bass instrument, consistent though not quite in tune. Opening the portal revealed a grinning blue stallion, a foal with an even wider grin, and his lavender partner in crime.

“Hey there, what’s up?”

“You want to help with some magical research?” Twilight said excitedly, though her enthusiasm slowly drained as their friends adopted looks of boredom. Twilight gave a start as Dawn teleported to her head and reprimanded her mother for her less than tactful approach.

“Let’s try this again,” Cerulean began, laughing softly as he was reminded that he wasn’t the only pony to speak out of turn. “Rainbow Dash, Storm, how would you like to be taste testers for magical drinks that could have all manner of untold, crazy effects that may or may not leave you scarred for life?”

“Are you kidding? We are so there! Right, Storm?”

“That sounds amazing, lead the way!”

“Easy there, we didn’t mean right now. You know that new place opening in town? The owner needs ponies to try his new drinks out before serving them to the public. We were just checking to see if you were interested, but it’s quite clear that you are. I assume you’re going to the grand opening in two days? Well, two including today, so tomorrow I guess.”

“As if there’d be anyplace in Ponyville more interesting?” Rainbow Dash replied with a grin, nodding her head. “We’ll be there. Oh man, I can hardly wait!”

“Well, we have one more pony to check with before returning to the library. Have a good day, everypony!”

“Actually, Cerulean, do you mind if I stay and talk with Grace for a bit?”

“Not at all. Come here, Dawn, let’s...” he started, stopping as the foal appeared on his face, obscuring his vision. “Good girl, I guess,” he murmured, lifting his slightly over effective eye protection and placing her in her usual spot, waving goodbye as he made his way towards Sugarcube Corner.


“Applejack, what’s wrong?” She said nothing in response to her brother’s inquiry and continued tying the bale of hay before moving on to the next. It wasn’t that she was trying to be rude, but her mind simply couldn’t formulate a response, or even discern whether or not something was wrong. Every time she felt like she might be able to nail down what she was feeling, a new wave of something different would take it away like the ebbing tides of the sea. Applejack refused to lie, and since she had no answer, she said nothing, using what remained of the free space in her mind to perform her day's chores. “Ah know things have been rough fer you, but if you ever need to talk, ahm here.” She stopped as his well meaning hoof descended on her shoulders, and even more emotions flooded her mind, building against the dam and threatening to break.

“Ah know, Big Macintosh. And I would, if ah could just... figure out what’s goin’ on in mah head.”

“Ah don’t think the problems in yer head, sis.”

“You don’t?

“Nnnope.”

“Well, if you know everythin’ then tell me, what is goin’ on?” she said, unintentionally raising her voice to a shout in agitation, shrugging off his hoof and glaring. And like the crest of a wave returning to the sea, the frustration rejoined the mire of convoluted sentiment, with the next wave being sadness. “Ahm sorry, brother. I know you don’t deserve that kinda speech from me. Can ya fergive me?”

“Eeeyup.” She felt his hooves again draw her close. Maybe it was all right, just for a little while, to let go, and with that thought she allowed some of her pent up emotions take liquid form, running down her cheeks and soaking into Big Mac’s coat. After a time the flow stopped, but she made no attempts to be released from her brother’s care.

“Do... do you ever get lonely, brother?”

“Eeeyup.”

“Ah guess that was a silly question, wasn’t it.”

“Eeeyup.” Applejack let out a small laugh, amazed at how much better she felt. If nothing else, the seas had at least calmed, and she pulled away and stood on her own again. “Ah don’t know anypony that doesn’t, unless they already have their special somepony.”

“Do you have your eye on anypony?” There were Big Mac silences, and there were avoiding the subject silences, and this one was definitely the latter. They both knew, and he braced himself as his sister prepared her interrogation, but he was fine with it; if it took his sister’s mind off things, even if only for a little bit, it was worth the ensuing embarrassment. “Ok, out with it, brother. Who is it?” Nothing. “Come on, you gotta tell me.”

“Nnnope.”

“Is it Fluttershy?”

“Nnnope.”

“Cheerilee?”

“Nnnope.” Applejack was shocked; she thought for sure it was one of those two. Actually, Big Macintosh didn’t really have much contact with any other mares that she knew of, so who could it possibly be?

“Carrot Top? Rose? Rarity? Lily? Aloe? Lotus?”

“Both.”

“Really?”

“Nnnope.”

“Pinkie Pie?”

“Do ah look like the type of pony that would want t' marry her? No offense, o’ course.”

“None taken... Dang, you really got me stumped, Big Mac.” She wracked her brain, trying to recall anypony else he may have come into contact with as of recently. “Is it somepony who is already taken, brother?”

“Uh... nnnope?”

“Now what’s that s’posed to mean?”

“Ah guess the answer is ‘ah don’t know.’”

“How can ya not know somethin’ important like that?”

“Because ah've only seen her once.” He immediately knew he had let way too much slip with that last statement, and as Applejack’s eyes grew wide, he braced himself for the storm. She knew the answer.

“Dear Celestia, really Big Mac? If you’re thinkin’ who ah think you’re thinkin,’ that’s way worse than Pinkie Pie!”

“Eeeyup,” he replied after a few seconds of silence. “It’s not like ah asked fer these feelings, Applejack. Ah know that girl is trouble ‘n more ways than one.” At least he knew it, and admitted it, but really? How could her brother fall for the biggest floozy in all of Equestria?

“Well, ah guess you’ll be happy to hear she’s due fer a visit soon.” She donned a smirk as her brother’s ears shot straight up at the revelation, and while imperceptible to nearly anypony else, she could tell he was blushing hard.

“You’re bein’ honest, ain’t ya AJ?”

“Big Mac, ah don’t lie, you know that. Not for anypony. Cerulean said his sister was comin’ down for a visit sometime this month, didn’t say what day exactly. Guess she wants t’ see Dawn.” Big Mac noticed her face fall once more, and looking up at the sky he noted that it was nearly nightfall.

“Come on, Applejack, none o’ that,” he commanded as he heaved the finished bale onto a waiting cart. He motioned for Applejack to sit as he fixed the harness to himself and began to pull the load back towards the barn. “Ah think we could both use a touch of cider.”

“Ah told you, I ain’t drinkin’ anymore. Wakin’ up with two stallions in mah bed, both taken... ah thought Equestria was gonna end.”

“It turned out alright.”

“It was still scary!”

“Eeeyup,” he chuckled, arriving at the barn as the both stacked the hay inside the barn. Big Mac stopped her as she began to load the earlier loads in and motioned her to follow to the cellar. Grabbing two mugs from the wall he began filling the two, ignoring his sister’s protests.

“Ah thought ah told you I ain’t drinkin’.”

“Eeeyup,” he replied, holding the first mug out to her. It took her a good thirty seconds of staring before she finally accepted, sipping the foamy treat like steaming tea, afraid of being burned. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to admit, but she had grown quite fond of their family’s hard cider, and her appreciation came back as sips turned to drinks, and drinks turned to gulps. Big Macintosh knew she didn’t normally indulge the way she was, but he knew that she needed to unwind, and as such he made no motions to stop her. They laughed and chatted, until after several cups she fell asleep, sliding down the wall before landing across Big Mac’s lap. He gave her a tight squeeze, holding her for a few moments before lifting her gently onto his back and taking her back to her room. He opened the window a crack to let the cool spring breeze cool the room, and placed a glass of water on the night stand should she be dehydrated upon waking. “Sis, you’ll find yerself a pony real soon. Just be honest with yerself, an’ don’t give up.”


After a rather stern lecture from Twilight a month prior, Dawn had given up resisting her bed time. This didn’t stop her from being a rather vocal mouthpiece for her stomach at all hours of the night, but that was to be expected. It was a rather simple affair at first, Twilight’s milk being enough to sate the foals ornery stomach, but as of recently she had developed a taste for cupcakes, being soft, sweet, and unhealthy. Twilight lay the blame for this solely upon Cerulean, who avidly defended that he didn’t feed her the cupcake, but that she stole it and rather messily devoured it within a moments notice. She looked up expectantly as the crying stopped and Cerulean returned wearily to bed.

“Did it work?” Knowing that Dawn could likely hear them, Cerulean nodded rather than giving verbal confirmation. Plotting with Pinkie Pie to devise a nutritious cupcake had taken several trial runs, with most of the products tasting like one was biting directly into a vitamin pill, but a few days ago, Twilight and Pinkie had managed to have a monumental breakthrough, and tonight labeled the trays upon trays of nasty cupcakes entirely worth the time and effort. “Cerulean, what do you make of Silver Moonshine?”

“Well, he seems nice enough,” he said softly, holding Twilight close and absent mindedly stroking her mane as he pondered the question. “I don’t see anything immediately wrong with him, though I do find it odd that he insists on covering not just his Cutie Mark, but most of his body as well.”

“I was thinking the same thing, but that’s really a minor detail. Do you think, that maybe,” she started, opening her eyes and staring at Cerulean’s chest, “that he may be the pony for Applejack?” Cerulean’s silence wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but as he wasn’t one to ignore her, so she waited patiently for a reply.

“It’s a little too early to say, but Applejack didn’t really pay him any heed when she was there. In fact, it was almost like she avoided him. I know she has some inhibitions about stallions, but I know... no, we all know she’s trying to deal with her loneliness alone, and it’s only going to make it worse. I don’t know if she will even be able to recognize him as the pony for her, or anypony for that matter.” He felt Twilight squeeze a little tighter at his dire words. “Don’t worry, Twilight. We’re going to do everything we can for her, together. And, if you want my opinion, I have a good feeling about Silver and her. It’s not founded by any type of science or anything, but I think they have a shot. But it’s not going to be easy for him, not the way she’s been feeling.”

“Maybe the grand opening tomorrow will help?” It was a fanciful statement, one that neither of them believed would come true, but both fervently wished it were the truth.


Berry Punch helped half drag, half carry Silver Moonshine up the stairs to his room, causing her to take a moment and thank everypony that had no doubt done the same for her on numerous occasions. It was a little different, she admitted, since his exhaustion was due to magical strain and not intoxication, but the results on his body were the same.

“Ruby, darling, could you go grab some water for your uncle?” Though tired, the little filly snapped to attention, leaving and returning a short while later with a glass hovering beside her. Berry cradled his head as he sipped the fluid, restraining the urge to drain the glass and inevitably inhale some of it. He let out a grateful sigh as the glass was removed, Berry handing it back to Ruby who set it on the desk. “You really pour your all into your drinks, don’t you.”

“It’s the only way to make them great,” he whispered, not feeling the strength to raise his voice any louder. He opened his eyes half way as Berry’s hoof touched his brow, and she quietly rose and opened a window before returning.

“Are you going to be able to undress?”

“No, but don’t worry about it.”

“You haven’t changed in two days and you're sweating like crazy. Even I am more hygienic than that,” she chuckled softly, before growing serious again and turning to her daughter. “Ruby, can you wait downstairs for mommy? I will be down in a few minutes.” The filly was curious but obeyed without a word, and as the hoof steps receded Berry eased her cousin into a sitting position and began to remove the suit, starting with the jacket. As anypony but family, the situation would have been a great deal more embarrassing than it was, but this was lost on the both of them, knowing there was nothing risque or suggestive about their actions. Berry turned her eyes away as the clothing came loose, and she tossed it to the floor and prepared herself to face him. “They haven’t healed at all, have they,” she said softly, her eyes tracing over his frame.

“No. It’s part of who I am now, and not even magic is going to help.”