Chapter 1: Here I Go
"All those boarding the train to Fillydelphia, please make your way to the train..."
Lovestruck frowned, her ears falling down at the announcer's voice from the intercom. Her options were running out, she knew, every train departure another song unsung and another path not tread. Of course, she wasn't sure if that was such a bad thing.
'Maybe then I won't have to go on this trip after all,' she mused, though she knew that it wasn't true. She had spent the last week making preparations for her journey, both mentally and physically. A week ago, she had spent a better part of an hour wondering what to do, then another trying to write to her parents about her plans so they'd know how to contact her. Then she spent an entire day waiting for a response, which was a fruitless effort in and out of itself.
Dear Lovestruck,
Perhaps you could find somepony to bring home during your trip?
With love,
Mom
Dear Lovey Dovey,
Do you want me to send money? I can send some, if you want.
With hugs and kisses,
Dad
Lovestruck rolled her eyes at the memory. 'Typical Mom and Dad...'
Then, her plans came to an abrupt halt as she found that there wasn't even a way for her to communicate with Cadence. However, that was soon rectified when Cadence presented her with a magical crystal. Despite the fact that they were a millennia behind, Crystal Ponies had many different forms of communication, and certain crystals held the ability to send messages of any sort, including letters and even verbal recordings. Lovestruck remembered feeling a level of sadness at knowing that Equestria might have held more technological advances had the Empire not been imprisoned for a better part of a millennium.
Lovestruck looked down at the crystal around her neck, a small sense of admiration going over her as she did. She always did appreciate the arts of the Crystal Ponies, all the way from their architecture to their cultural wear and festivities. She smiled in remembrance of being able to witness the Crystal Heart's ability and how Cadence had been the one to help enact the action of it.
'I wonder what it must have been like, seeing it for the first time in a thousand years...' Lovestruck mused, her eyes wandering back to the direction of the sparkling empire. She felt a pinch of envy towards Princess Twilight, who had been the one to help aid Cadence with the transformation of the desolate place into making it the empire of love it was meant to be. Lovestruck had only been made aware of Cadence's position as the new ruler of the empire after the empire was returned to it's former state.
Lovestruck sighed, then shook her head. She had bigger things to worry about than the past.
Her eyes looked back up at the chart in the ticket booth, where dozens of destinations and times blinked green and red at different times. She bit her lip in anxiety, then released it as she realized what she was doing. She wasn't about to start another nasty habit for her to worry about.
"Where do I go?" she murmured to herself, her eyes flicking from one place to another.
Vanhoover? No, that was too far across and went right over Galloping Gorge... Las Pegasus? Knowing her luck, she'd end up broke and married to a stranger... Dodge City? She spent enough time in the country... Manehatten? The city was never really her scene, either...
While she muddled through her thoughts, ponies bustled on around her, completely unaware of her internal struggle. She stood still in the midst of the rushing and felt as though she was frozen in time. Random bits of conversation brushed past her ears, reminding her of how alone she was.
"Mama, can we go to the..."
"Sweetheart, are you sure we packed the..."
"Neighagra Falls is so beautiful this time of year..."
Her ears perked up and she stared up at the screen. She slashed through each row until she came across Neighagra Falls. It had yet to be sold out, and the next train was about to board. She darted over to the booth, startling the ticket handler out of their seat.
"Can I have a ticket for Neighagra Falls?" Lovestruck breathed, reaching into her bag to grab her bits.
The ticket handler got over their surprised and looked to their screen for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, you may. Good timing, too, since it's the last one."
Lovestruck slid her fare through. "Is it always this popular this time of year?"
The ticket handler nodded. "Yeah. I used to work at a station back in Canterlot and you would not believe all the ponies that went there during the summertime."
"Any clue why?" Lovestruck asked, her interest piqued.
"Eh, just some legend that young couples believe in," they responded, shrugging a bit, "there's this myth that if you go down to the falls with somepony, one of you will end up proposing by the end of the trip."
Lovestruck arched a brow. "You don't think it's true?"
The ticket handler mirrored her expression. "Do you?"
"Fair enough." Lovestruck took her ticket. "I guess it'll be interesting to see a proposal or two."
The ticket handler laughed. "Well, have fun with that."
"I'll try to." She smiled at the ticket handler and waved a farewell. As she retreated from the booth, she pulled out a scroll and pen, scrawling a quick message.
Dear Princess Cadence,
Expect to hear from me when I get to Neighagra Falls!
Sincerely, Lovestruck
And with that, Lovestruck galloped over to the train, her eyes sparkling . "Neighagra Falls, here I come!"
* * *
It only took a matter of hours before Lovestruck regretted her decision.
At first, she had been enthusiastic about the entire trip, if her bouncing in her seat was any correlation. Then, as the first hour faded into the second, she felt her joy turn into dread, as she usually did whenever she got caught up in the moment. The cheerful bounciness of the train's wheels against the tracks turned into an uncomfortable experience that made Lovestruck nauseous, the somewhat charming lighting of the gaslights suddenly became dim and hard to see in, and the clamor of dialogue and chatting from the other passengers made Lovestruck's head pound.
'Well, at least nopony is sitting next to me,' Lovestruck thought, a bit relieved as she looked to the empty spot beside her.
Suddenly, the door to the train car opened, a loud grunt emitting from the stallion who entered. His dark mane was frazzled and messy, his coat was rustled, and his green eyes were narrowed in annoyance. Lovestruck was quite familiar with the look, as it was one she put on whenever she was irritated or extremely sleep deprived.
The stallion walked down the aisle with a frown on his face. "Stupid sleeping cars... Stupid train service... Stupid... Train."
Lovestruck felt a prick of unease as he came close to her seat. 'Please don't sit here... Please don't sit here...'
Then, against her best wishes, the stallion stopped at her seat. "Can I sit here?"
'Buck.' Lovestruck scooted over, her side pressed close to the window. "Uh, sure."
The stallion sat down beside her after he placed his bags above him, a notepad in hoof and a pen in his mouth. "Ctherry Thizzy."
Lovestruck blinked. "Huh?"
He sighed, then put the pen down. "Cherry Fizzy," he repeated, not looking up from his notepad. "My name is Cherry Fizzy, just so we get through introductions."
"Oh," Lovestruck said.
A silent moment passed between them, but it didn't last long when Cherry looked towards her. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
"I don't like telling strangers my name," she responded, feeling a tad uncomfortable.
Cherry looked at his notepad. "Suit yourself."
Lovestruck glanced at his notepad, her brows raising in interest as she did. She quickly scanned the words, her interest piquing with each word.
Characters: Greyheart Sharp Stone Brave Heart?
Setting: Small town Big city OK, I'll worry about that later, it's not important
Plot: Mare meets guy at place. Romantic connection. Stuff and stuff with the things. (That doesn't even make any sense...)
Lovestruck's concentration was broken as Cherry moved the notepad from her sight. "Hey, I was--" She paused and her ears drooped guiltily. "Sorry... Shouldn't have done that..."
Cherry sighed and he put the notepad down. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I have anything good, anyway..."
Lovestruck raised a brow. "What do you mean? What are you trying to do?"
"Nothing," Cherry told her. "It's nothing important..."
Lovestruck spared him another once over, her brows furrowing a bit in worry. "How long have you been on the train?"
"Hours," he answered. "I got on from Dodge Junction and I haven't been off since."
"Dodge Junction? Wow, that's a pretty long way from home. Where are you heading?"
"Neighagra Falls," he told her, showing her his ticket. "I'm trying to get some vacation time before I get back to writing... Something to clear my head." He sighed. "Not that I can come up with anything worth reading."
"Is that what this is for?" Lovestruck asked, pointing at his notepad.
Cherry pulled it towards him protectively. "Yeah, well, it's not important. Besides, why do you care?"
Lovestruck frowned, his tone a bit offputting to her. "Well, I like to keep notes for my work, too. Maybe not like you do, but I do keep an awful lot of them." She smiled a bit sheepishly. "Whoo, my room was just covered in the stuff. I had to get a filing cabinet for it!" She took the notepad and put it in front of her. "I could show you how to take notes if you want."
Cherry let out a small 'hmmph'. "Yeah, well, I don't think I wanna take note-taking advice from a teenager."
Lovestruck's cheeks turned bright red, partially out of embarrassment and partially out of anger. "Hey! I'm 21, thank you!"
"Really? You look kinda short."
Lovestruck let out a small growl in her throat. "You know what, never mind." She kicked his notepad over to him. "Figure it out yourself, Barry."
"Cherry," he corrected.
Lovestruck's eyes cut over to him icily. "Whatever."
They didn't speak for the rest of the train ride.
* * *
"Attention passengers, we have arrived at Neighagra Falls," the PA announced. "Attention passengers, we have arrived at Neighagra Falls. Please gather your luggage and personal belongings..."
"Ugh..." Lovestruck groaned, lifting her head off of the seat. "My head is killing me..." She looked to her left, then frowned distastefully as she saw Cherry snoring blissfully beside her. "Oh, right, you're still here." She nudged him. "Come on, move it, I gotta get off the train."
Cherry didn't budge, though his snores did grow louder.
Lovestruck grunted. "OK, move it, Barry, before I make you move."
This time, he did move, though not as Lovestruck hoped. He rolled over, pressing himself against Lovestruck. His drool covered cheek pressed against hers, causing her to frown in distaste as she prayed none of it touched her mouth.
"OK, I warned you." She sparked her horn alive, then encased Cherry within a field of green aura. Then, without a care, she tossed him off the seat, causing a loud thud to reverberate through the train.
"Ow!" Cherry yelled, holding his head.
Lovestruck smirked and she got up from the seat with flourish. "See ya, Cherry. It wasn't a pleasure." She looked up at the overhang, then snatched her saddlebags down. "Enjoy your vacation."
"And you enjoy your trip, you snippy little-- Ow!" Cherry held his head once more as Lovestruck's bag slammed into his head as she walked past. "Yeesh, watch where you're going!"
"Can't hear you, too far away!" Lovestruck replied, trotting out of the train car and then hopping onto the platform. She held a hoof over her eyes as her vision adjusted to the sun's light, then lowered it as the train station came into view. "Now... Where do I go first?"
"How about you go somewhere where nopony can hear you?" Cherry muttered, stepping off the train after her.
She frowned at him. "Following me already? If this is your form of flattery, try it on some other pony 'cause that's not my cup of tea, mind you."
Cherry rolled his eyes. "I have to get off the train, too, stupid." He shook his head. "Yeesh, you're so self-conceited."
Lovestruck smirked at him victoriously. "And you just made your statement redundant. No wonder you aren't published."
Cherry glared at her. "Like you know anything about getting published."
"Well, at least I know enough that in order to have a story, you have to have a cohesive plot with cohesive characters that aren't two dimensional and have ridiculous, unrealistic names," she replied. She looked at his bags, where his notepad was undoubtedly crushed in with Celestia knew what else he had in there. "Next time you wanna write a story, invest in a good imagination and maybe you'll get somewhere."
"Yeah, well, at least I'm not some rude mare who feels the need to comment on everything around her and stick her muzzle in other ponies' business!" Cherry snapped back. He turned around on his hoof and stalked off. Then, he looked over his shoulder. "Adios, you jerk!"
"Saying something in a foreign language doesn't solidify your point, cherie!" Lovestruck shouted back at him. She paused. "Wait a second..." She sighed. "You know what, it's not worth it. I'm just gonna go ahead and leave before everypony starts staring at me... And they already have. Wonderful."
She rolled her eyes as she tromped away from the train station, then opened her saddlebag mid-trot to grab a scroll. She pulled out her fountain pen and scrawled a message:
Dear Cadence,
In Neighagra Falls. Already severely annoyed and regretting my decision. Expect update soon.
Sincerely, Lovestruck
Lovestruck activated her crystal and watched the message disappear with wonder as it swirled around and dissipated in a series of sparkles. Then, she looked ahead to the town in front of her, a pinch of unease resting in her heart. Then, like she had been doing all morning, and would possibly be doing for the remainder of her stay, she sighed. "Well, Lovey... You're here now. There's no turning back now." She looked up to the sky, where the sun was still rising. "Oh, here I go."
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
737 users online
757,945 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I love your revamp of the chapters. I can actually follow it easier, as well. Good job
Ohh, this is looking great.
I don't know why, but I hear her as Jessie Flower/Toph Beifong from Avatar TLA. OK, a little older and more quiet Toph, but I think with a few tweaks, it works. She is supposed to sound young, teenage-like, isn't she?
Rent? Ugh. More people should get to know the source.
Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about their actual voice sounding... but on their literary voice. I guess having a clear vision of their sonic voice would do that, though!
I like the way they relate. They start out sorta shaky... and quickly annoy each other, both being rude eventually. Good.
Much better than the original (if I'm just going to be honest), but that should be expected. I'm excited (like, I'm not sleeping until this story is finished) to see more.
I'm gonna suggest Kimberley Brooks for Lovey.
Liking the revamped story ... I enjoy seeing how jaded and snarky Lovey is, and how she and Cherry immediately rub each other the wrong way ...
Inoue Kikuko for Lovey!
Or Iguchi Yuka.
Rainbow Dash?
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, John Stamos, Arin Hanson, etc.
Okay, this is a huge leap forward. The characters have much more depth of personality, and plot flows so much more smoothly. Somehow you managed to address all the criticism you got and are still doing the same basic story. Bravo!
Very nice. I was surprised to see it all revamped, and a bit worried you'd remove the whole snarky aspect of Lovey's personality. But that didn't happen! I love what you've done with them.
I'm not sure what her voice should be like, I honestly don't know that many actors. I'm sure you'll come up with something.
I'm thinking Ashleigh Ball, sort of like a Blythe Baxter voice...
I may have ship... just maybe
Dear Lovey, Have yu ever considered writing for dating sims?
http://www.crunchyroll.com/the-world-god-only-knows/episode-4-on-a-crusade-560138
Awww, they really love each other
When's the wedding?
What about Linda Larkin who plays Jasmine from Aladdin? It seems like it'd be a good fit. By the way, great plot, great characters, and great grammar! I give you... wait for it.... FIVE STARS!!!
Lovestruck x Cherry Fizzy
OTP 2015