Marked

by Turtwig-Tales

Epilogue 2

Night had long since fallen over the city when Cherrywood finally returned to her apartment. She was exhausted, but pleased.

She had stayed with the foal for some time, telling him the story of her ‘trip’ to Canterlot. He seemed to understand the severity of the situation, and agreed to call off his trip. It took an hour or two for his parents to show up, and Cherry stayed with him the entire time. When they did arrive, they took turns lecturing the poor colt and thanking her profusely before heading home. The colt had even given her sheepish wave as he headed to certain grounding. It felt good.

Dropping her saddlebags near the door, she glanced at the clock on the wall.

Not as late as I thought…Maybe I can do a little work…she thought.

Her stomach growled an additional option.

And maybe eat something.

She trotted to the kitchen, filling the kettle with water and placing it on the lit stove. From the cupboard she retrieved a cup and placed it next to the stove, ready for when it boiled.

Ah, instant noodles. A single mare’s best friend.

While she waited for the water to boil, she booted up her computer. The technology was still relatively new, but it had caught on quickly. Her workplace had adopted it for official reasons, and she often had to do additional work at home.

However, Cherry had found out that you could draw in a digital format, and she couldn’t resist her fillyhood calling to her. When she gave it a try, she found she enjoyed it. No issues with buying supplies or finding storage space, both of which were godsends, given her limited space/budget.

Recently, she had found a site that allowed ponies to commission other ponies for various forms of art, usually in a digital form. Upon urging from some of her followers (She was still surprised she had so many!) she gave it a try. It had been slow at first, but she had recently received a commission from user by the name of “SolarSovereign1000” for a picture of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They had been very polite in their limited exchanges, had given her nearly free reign in the specific details, and stated that they would “price was no object.”

In short, a commissioned artists’ dream.

Cherry had working on the piece for a week now, and was almost finished. She just couldn’t seem to get the final details right. Sovereign had been so kind to her so far, and she wanted to deliver something that was perfect.

What she had decided on was a talisman depicting both of the princess’ cutie marks circling each other. It wasn’t overly complicated, but she still labored over every detail. Perhaps a bit too much, as it had almost been a week since she was first commissioned.

Cherry sighed as she tweaked a few more details. Whenever she looked at it, she always found something else wrong with it. Why couldn’t she just be satisfied with it?

Her eye caught a small figure on the shelf above her desk. His fur was a lot thinner than it had been, and he had been sewn back together many times. Even as an adult, Cherry valued the company of her old friend.

“What do you think, Robearto?” she asked, turning the screen towards him. “You think it’s ready?”

Robearto didn’t reply. He didn’t talk much these days, but Cherry could still understand his meaning behind that silence.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s as good as it’s gonna get.”

Cherrywood adjusted her glasses and saved the file. She’ll give it one last look in the morning before she sent it to Sovereign. All she wanted to do right now was eat her noodles and go to bed.

She had other work to do, other commissions to complete. Tasks for another day.

As she turned off the screen, she spied her flank in her reflection. Shifting to get a better look at cutie mark, she thought about how far she had come from that little filly that had caused such a ruckus so long ago. She smiled.

I guess this cutie mark isn’t so bad after all.

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Funny how it all comes around, isn't it? The Mark is always right.

[TCC56]

Simple, sweet and nicely done.

[Dashie04]

I cannot express how awesome these epilogues are.