[Coralwood Corral] On the subject of Pen Pals

[Meow]

Raspberry had an idea! While receiving constant written communication from her parents was interesting.. it could only entertain her for so long. It was at this point that Raspberry decided to try and find herself some new pen pals! With a bundle of papers and pen in that adorable little mouth the little pony settled for an afternoon of letter writing. It wasn't going to be hard, but it was going to take her awhile. She was writing only one letter, but was writing it multiple times and to multiple addresses.. or no addresses at all!

• • 
    Hello stranger!
    My name is Raspberry Coral but you can call me Raspberry! I'm a little unicorn living on Gallopocous Island with my big sister! We are the care takers of my family's inn, the Cozy Cove. I'm only a little pony so I don't get to travel much yet but I dream of one day exploring all of Equestria; for now I want to know more about what is out there. Books can tell me a little, but they are so boring - would you like to tell me more about who you are and where you live? Can't wait to hear from you!
    - Your New Friend, Raspberry
    

A multitude of this same letter was copied over and over again onto a simple piece of paper before they were tucked into containers. A few were rolled up and tucked into bottles to later be tossed into the ocean and picked up perhaps on the beaches or on a ship. Some more were tucked into envelopes to be sent out into various packages and mailings. There was no telling where the mysterious letters would show up, perhaps one arrived at your home? Would you write back to the curious little pony?

(So here we go! This is an open ended invitation for pen pals! Anyone is welcome to reply with a letter of their own. This board is going to be very leisurely in pace as letters come and go from Raspberry to your own characters. If I get a lot of replies I will start keeping a log here in the first post to help everyone find letters for them! You are welcome to reply with an rp post similar to mine, or just the return letter! (thanks to NeonPop for the idea!))

[Neon Pop]

·.·• Neon Pop •Ã‚·.·

So Neon's day, terrible. Her manager took it upon himself to order her around for modeling shoots, and she had changed so much and went through so many darn costumes that day her hair was fried. It was irritating, you know how much conditioner thats going to take?! As poor Neon dragged her hooves home she sighed, horn glowing a bright pink as she passed her mail box and it opened, letting the letters fly out and follow the pop star. "Wonder what came in the mail today..." Neon said with a yawn as she walked into her home, bright, colorful and full of pop art. She let the letter float in front of her as she flipped through them and low and behold, there was a curious little envelope.

Neon raised her brow and looked over the hoofwriting, seemed like a little fillies, must be fan mail, right? Well, she was terribly wrong, since it wasn't addressed to her and the letter inside just made it more clear. "Oh! Penpals! I didn't think anypony did this still!" Pop said as she walked over to her desk and sat down. Her orange eyes skimmed the letter, it was small and simple, staight to the point. Just somepony wanting to learn about the world! So why not help out?

With that, Neon pressed her hoof on a piece of parchment and slid it over to her, picking up a quill with her magic, and started writing.

Dear Raspberry,

What a shock to get a letter from somepony so far away! I have visited Gallopocous Islands, actually I do every summer. Its very lovely there, and the weather is so nice. I've actually seen that in, Cozy Cove? I stayed there once, but that was yeeeeaaaars ago! Its good to see you're helping your sister around there, I know that place can get pretty busy.

Lets see, a little about me? Well I'm a unicorn, pretty old, haha ok, not that old, but I'm an adult. I live in a cozy little place in Ponyville, and I'm a singer. I live by myself, honestly I lead a pretty quiet life, sometimes, and I'm the only kid in my family, which to me is great! I didn't ever have to share my toys. Haha. Ponyville is pretty nice, the ponies are sweet here, everyone is friendly. I bet you'd like it here, there are a lot of little ponies for you to meet, and things to do.

I have to say this is a fun little thing you did, writing a letter to just somepony. Its refreshing to see, and I'd be happy to keep writing you. Just keep in mind, I do run a busy life most of the times, so it might be hard to always reply on time, but know I never forget a pony! I have to run now, so I hope to hear back from you!

-Sincerely,

Neon Pop

Neon looked the letter over and with the aid of magic, folded up the paper, stuffed it in an envelope and jotted down Corals address. She did wonder though, if the pony would even know her name, but that didn't matter in the end. All that was important was keeping in contact with this one, and sharing things with her.

Neon took the letter in her mouth and stepped away from the desk, heading back outside to her mail box, where, she opened it and placed the letter inside, so that soon it would return to the little filly in the islands. "How exciting!"

[WillowWisp]

Grim Tales was just on his way home from school; he'd only been living in Ponyville for a couple days. His parents had sent him to stay with his cousin, who had recently moved to the town. As he neared the home they shared he blinked. The flag on the old mailbox was up. Being a good little foal he went to fetch whatever was inside, only to find a letter not really directed to anyone. It just had the home's address.

He went inside quietly, sure his cousin was sleeping as she did during the day, and up to his room. Opening the letter he couldn't help finding himself a little confused. A random letter, from a random pony out on the island off the mainland. The sender apparently hoped that whoever lived where the letter appeared would write back.

Deciding it wouldn't do any harm, he called for Scribe, his spider and got ready to dictate a letter.

'Hello Raspberry,

My name is Grim Tales, but my family calls me Grimmy. I think you and I are probably around the same age. I'm an Earth Pony though. I'm currently living in Ponyville with my cousin. Her name is Willow Wisp and she's known for being kind of spooky. I think she tells the best ghost stories though. Our home is a "haunted" house. Or so the rumor in town seems to say. I haven't seen any ghosts though... unless you count the one on my cousin.

It must be interesting to help at your family's inn. I'm just going to school. I want to be a writer someday. Sorry if the words are a little sloppy sometimes, my spider, Scribe, actually writes for me. I have a very hard time holding a pen. Sometimes I wish I had magic for that.

So what is the island like? I've never been out there. I've just seen pictures in books. I hear there are all sorts of neat animals there, and plants. Do you have a favorite island plant or animal? My cousin has a fruit bat as a pet. Do you have bats there? I hope I'm not asking too many questions. I've never had anyone to really write to before.

I hope you get this letter in return,

Grim Tales'

With the reply written, Grim had Scribe copy the address from the letter onto an new envelope. He folded his reply and tucked it in, found a stamp and placed it on the outside of his response. Quietly he made his way back down and outside to the mailbox. As he slid the letter in and closed the small door he wondered if he would hear back.

[Captain Fidley]

Wrenchhead was cleaning all the strainers and filters in the engine room of the Venture, like he did every Saturday. To his surprise, he found a small sealed bottle in one of them, half buried in the usual muck and dirt. A message in a bottle? he thought, puzzled. Musta sucked it up outta the ocean when we took on feedwater last week.

He took the bottle back to his workbench, tucked into a corner of the steel and brass maze that was his pride and joy. With a small knife he carefully cut out the cork and pulled out the letter with a tiny set of pliers. He sat back on his stool when he was finished, idly fiddling with a bolt. He was intrigued with the idea of a pen pal. The grease-streaked griffin had never really had time for friends, thanks to his apprenticeship to a master mechanic at a young age. Work had been the focus of his waking hours for as long as he could remember.

He decided that the strainers could wait, and found his pen in a pile of parts. Finding a clean, blank piece of paper was harder, so he settled for the blank and not too-smudged backside of an old pump diagram.

Raspberry Coral,

My birth name is Ironbeak, but people have been calling me Wrenchhead for as long as I can remember. I'm a griffin, and I work as the main engineer onboard an airship called the Venture. It is a very big ship, and I have to do a lot of work to keep it flying. Being an engineer means that I'm responsible for making sure all of the machinery works. The engine is my pride and joy. It's noisy and hot to work by, but I keep it running smooth and all of the brass polished because its my job, and I'm proud to do it.

Maybe one day the ship will come to your home. Despite all the traveling I do onboard, I don't always get to see much because I'm so busy working. I would love to see a tropical island though, and would definitely make time to get off.

I think I hear my captain calling. I need to get back to work.

Luck and Prosperity,

Wrenchhead

He folded the paper up, scavenged an envelope from the ship's post office and dropped the finished letter in the mail bag. It would go off into the system at their next port of call.

[Dubstep]

For a few hours now Dubstep had been pacing up and down the banks of one of the little rivers near Ponyville, mumbling different tunes and beats to himself, "Dum daddi doo dum daddi doo di dum....hmm feels like it's been done" he said to himself, "ARGH! The beats just won't come! So uncool..." Dub sighed plopping down on the damp grass, "What I wouldn't do for some inspiration right now." as if on queue a mail Pegasus flew over head and a single letter fell out landing on Dub's head "Oi? What's this?" he said grabbing the paper, "Hmm, a letter with no target address on it eh?" opening up the letter Dub read it to himself, "Ooooh, pen pals, groovy!" reaching into his backpack Dubstep dug out a pad and a pen and began to write.

Dear Raspberry,

Hey there, how's it goin? It's nice to see kids taking an interest in learning about the world and such. Well, my name's Dubstep, feel free to call me Dub or Dubby, I'm a Unicorn and I'm a DJ originally from Fillydelphia, but I just recently move to Ponyville, my stage name is DJ Neighsay. Ponyville's a nice little town, lots of cool ponies and an amazing cafe that serves some of the BEST Blueberry Muffins.

My parents went to the Gallopocous Islands for their honeymoon, they said it was a real pretty island with some real groovy music, I want to visit someday, maybe we'll get the chance to hang out then! My dad gave me some neat drums from there one time, they have these really cool designs on them, real groovy colours on it. Oh, sorry about that, I tend to ramble when I start on music, it's a passion of mine. What kinds of things do you enjoy doing? I'll enclose Ponyville's post office's address in the letter, since I'm living in my own little tent at the moment, can't wait to get your letters!

-Yours truly,

Dubstep

"Oh! I GOT IT! Man this is just what I needed!" Dub smiled to himself, as new beats, based on tropical island, music came to mind, "I better get this mailed out first though~" he laughed as he headed off towards the Post Office, wondering when the next letter would arrive.

[Meow]

Raspberry was excited! She'd not got just one letter back so far... but four! They all stuck out from her mouth as she rushed back towards the Cozy Cove from the mailbox, darting past guests and her big sister and up into her bedroom. She couldn't quite get the letters open fast enough, carefully ripping them open one by one to read them. As each replier mentioned who they were and from where Raspberry tugged out a map of Equestria to mark an X on their locations and write down their names along with a small note about them that she could gather from the letter. Once she'd read over each of them at least twice she drew forth her notepad and began her replies.

• Dear Neon Pop,
  
  • Oh wow, every summer? Will you be coming back this summer? I would love to meet you! It's exciting to have found somepony who has actually visited us, I'm sure the inn has changed since you were here last. It use to belong to my parents but now it belongs to my sister, Coral Blossom. She's a really good inn owner, the people visiting us always compliment her on what a good job she does, I think she does a good job to.
    I've heard of Ponyville, we've had ponies visit us from there before. A singer? Really? That's amazing! I'm sorry I've never heard of you but Coral said she did, she says she remembers you when you visited cause she's a little younger then you, and she thinks she knows where your house is on the Island. I'll have to ask my sister if she has any of your music so I can listen to it before I get your next letter!

Your Friend, Raspberry

-------------------------------------------------------

Dear Grimmy and Scribe,

• Wow! You are the second pony I got a letter from in Ponyville, I wonder if you know my other new penpal! A haunted house seems excited, we don't really have any of those here. The only ghost stories I've ever heard I've read from books at school. I've never seen a ghost either. Hehe, I wish I had a spider to write my letters for me, though I guess unicorn magic is just as good. It's okay when you get the hang of it, I was kind of sloppy too when I was first learning out to write with magic, sometimes I still use my mouth instead.
  The island can get kind of boring during the school year because so many ponies are stuck at home while their foals go to school, that's when we get all the older ponies visiting us and there aren't many that travel this far. It's really fun during the summer where foals are off of school and we get lots of families visiting, then there are lots of other ponies my age to play with. Oh yes, the Island has lots of plants and animals, the flowers are all really bright and colorful, my sister's cutie mark is a pretty flower. Animals? They are okay, but my favorite is fish! I can talk to them! One of them was telling me he barely escaped from a bird this morning!
  I don't know if we have bats but I'm sure we do, I think there are caves near the volcanoes, there are two on the island! Great hearing from you and look forward to the next letter!

Your Friend, Raspberry

-------------------------------------------------------

Dear Wrenchhead,

• Wrenchhead is a silly name, but I guess it makes since for your work. Though I don't really know anything about airships.. I've never seen one before.. and I only remember seeing two griffins before, both who came to the Island to collect something from the volcanoes, they didn't stay long though, they seemed like very busy griffins too.
  So an engineer works on an airship? I don't think we have any engineers here on the Island.. I've never heard of that before either. It sounds like you have a very important job to keep a big machine flying though! I think being on an airship would be exciting, I never thought anyone else could fly if they didn't have wings. Will you send me a picture of the airship?
  Oh, I do hope this letter finds you, I'm sending it to Ponyville along with all my other letters since sister says there is no real way to track you down and it will be up to the mail ponies to find out where your airship stops. Maybe you can ask your captain which towns you will be in so I can send your letters to the right place? It would be great to have you visit the Island, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself here if you don't mind the warm weather.

Your Friend, Raspberry

-------------------------------------------------------

Dear Dubby,

• A Dj? And from Ponyville? WoW - I had a lot of letters end up in Ponyville, that seems so funny to me. One of the other letters I got was from a singer! Oooh, those blueberry muffins sound yummy, my sister is a good baker but she usually makes strawberry and coconut stuff. I'll have to ask her about blueberry ones!
  I'm happy to know your parents enjoyed themselves, the inn used to be owned by my parents so they probably meet yours, now my sister owns it and she's a really good owner. Oh yeah, I know about the drums, we have a lot of ponies that make them and play them, it's fun to dance to! I like to adventure around the island, my sister knows a lot of it but I'm still learning and she only lets me adventure so far. I also like talking to fish! I talk to some here at Cozy Cove who have been living with use since they were little babies, and sometimes I can find fish out in the small cove nearby, they are very fast and very colorful!

Your Friend, Raspberry

Raspberry heaved a slight sigh to herself as her pen lowered and she gave her head a slight shake... even with magic writing all those letters was really tiring and she wouldn't get them all folded and into envelopes until after dinner. After she addressed them all and bundled them for mailing to Ponyville she made the short walk to the Island's post office and excitedly dropped them into the mailbox.

[WillowWisp]

Grim hadn't been expecting a letter back to be honest. He never really was that good with being social, so he was sure it would carry over in letters as well. But he had to admit it was nice to hear back. That meant someone actually got his letter and found it interesting enough to respond.

With the letter in his mouth he trotted up to his room, a bit proudly at that. Of course it got a brow lift from his cousin as he passed her, but since he seemed to be in a good mood, she didn't stop him. Grim was usually a gloomy little foal, so to have any expression other than such was rare.

'Look Scribe, the letter we wrote got a reply,' he called to his pet once he was in his room. 'We should write back,'

He read the note over and over, trying to make sure he would cover everything said when he dictated his response to his helpful spider.

'Hello again Raspberry,

I was really happy to have you write back. I'm not so good with making friends, so getting a letter made me feel special. Maybe someday we'll even get to meet. Though I hope I won't scare you off if we do. I'm known for being gloomy.

Writing with magic? I always envied my cousin for being able to use magic. I guess it's just because I wish I could write for myself. I don't know why I can't get the hang of using my mouth like everypony else. But at least Scribe is there for me.

So you can talk to fish? That must be interesting. I bet they can tell you all sorts of stories. I mean, the ocean is so big! Not to mention all the different kinds of things that live in it compared to what's on land. I wonder what the underwater version of a bird is.

The flowers sound nice too. A flower Cutie Mark seems like a common type, but they're always different kinds of flowers. I don't think I've ever seen a tropical flower mark. What about you, do you have a Cutie Mark yet? There must be all sort of different types on an island, since the jobs and talents there would be different than here.

And finally, volcanoes? Really? Wow! I've only seen pictures in a book. That would be really neat to see. Maybe I can ask Willow Wisp if we can go to the island for a vacation when I have a break from school. Though my cousin doesn't really like super sunny places... but if there are caves around, she would probably like that.

I hope we can keep being pen pals,

Grim Tales and Scribe the spider'

With his response written, Grim excitedly hurried to put it in the mailbox. He really hoped he would hear back. Writing seemed much easier than talking.

[Neon Pop]

·.·• Neon Pop •Ã‚·.·

Neon was lucky, it was a good day, with little recording, little song writing, no photo shoots, no interviews, no place she had to be. It was nice, and it gave her that time to relax and call it peace. This left Pop to do one thing, take a nice long nap out in the sun! The mare laid comfortably in her back, sunglasses on her face, neon hair blinding in the warm sun. It was invigorating to sit out there, especially with her pet, Alejandro.

Speaking of which... That damned alligator waddled off when she was practically asleep, to where she didn't know, nor cared. Wasn't like he was going to start trouble, right? Wrong. There was a shriek that made Neon jolt awake and scramble to her feet, causing her glasses to fall of. "What was that?! Alejandro?! Hey! Where are you?!" Neon huffed as she ran in the direction of the scream, which just happened to be the front of her house. There she saw Alejandro glaring at the poor mail pony, who was now half way down the block now. When Neon Pop stopped, she sighed and looked to her alligator, and couldn't help but laugh. The mail the pony had, was obviously thrown at him in a flurry, as Alejandro was now decorated with envelopes. As Neon laughed, she saw that little filly's writing from the last letter, and her heart swelled up!

"She replied!!" Neon said as the mail floated off her companion and followed her as she ran inside. "Alejandro! You better get in here and stop terrorizing the neighbor ponies!" She giggled.

Sitting down she opened the letter and read carefully, and... was pleased! Quickly she pulled out a quill and parchment to write her responce.

Hey Coral Bee!

I hope you don't mind me calling you that? I tend to make up nicknames for everypony I know to make it easier to remember. I have a lot of names to keep track of, ya know! I was so happy to see your reply! I wasn't expecting it today cause its a day off for me. Things have been sweeeeet today! And I wish you were hear to see it. I have a pet alligator named Alejandro, he wandered out to the front while I was sun bathing, and scared the mail pony! It was so funny to see Alejandro showered with my mail! He's such a trouble maker, but I feel bad for the mail pony!

Ya know, I'm not too sure if this summer I'll be poppin' up. Pretty sure I will, but I have an album due out around that time, and usually when I throw out new singles, I go on tour, but... now that I think about it, I could use a break! I should talk to my manager and see if I can force out some vaca time and soak up the sun! Oh man I miss the beach, its so lovely there and the ocean air! It never gets old! I should bring Alejandro if I do come, so you can meet him! I'm sure he'd like it too, he's a sucker for tropical places.

To be honest, I'm happy and a little relieved you never heard of me. There are so many ponies who have, and it almost feels like I have met them before, cause they know me, ya hear what I'm saying? Its an odd feeling, but cause of it I have to keep up relations and seem like I know them back. But with ponies who don't know me, its nice, cause its like a get a new slate, and they learn about the real me and I learn about the real them, not some happy fan who sees the idol, ya know? But I think I know your sister too! Real sweet, I can't believe she's got that place all to herself now! Thats real great, I'm happy for her, and you! Cause you're helping! Haha

Well I'll end this now, Alejandro is looking at me like he's hungry, so I better feed him. Hugs and pop kisses!!

Your Pop Mama,

Neon Pop

With that, she dotted her 'i's and crossed her 't's proudly and nodded at the sight of her letter. She quickly folded the paper and slid it into a new envelope, jotting down the addresses and licking the back to seal it. The letter was done, and read to be mailed off the following day, which she made special care to do the moment she woke up.

·.·•Honeycomb•Ã‚·.·

Honeycomb trotted about her honey shop just after excusing her last customer for the night, duster in her mouth, dusting away any dirt that had found its way into the shop. She always took special care with her shop, and she loved every inch of it. It was her pride and joy after all, and so many ponies loved her treats. With nightly dusting out of the way, the yellow pony took to restocking and facing all her jars, her friendly bees buzzing about madly as they started to get settled in for the night. Honey never minded them, usually let them do want they wanted around the place, after all, they were the true honey makers!

With a content sigh and a once over, Honey trotted over to the front door to lock it and turn her sign over, when she looked out side and spotted her mail box. How could she be so silly, she forgot to get the mail! Honeycomb giggled and opened the door, trotting out into the cool night air and looking into that mailbox. Happily she pulled out the few envelopes there, walked back inside with them in her mouth, closed and locked the door, and made her way up stairs to her home, turning off the lights down below.

When she got upstairs she placed the mail down in her dresser and spread them out. There, under a bill, was a letter addressed to no one, and from a filly in Gallopocous Island! "Oh my! I wonder what this is all about...?" Honey asked herself as she pulled the letter from the stack and opened it. Her blue eyes skimmed the writing and read every word of it, and Honeycomb couldn't help but giggle! Oh this was so cute! Certainly she couldn't pass this up! Oh no! So with that, she plopped herself on the floor, pulled forth some paper and picked up a pencil in her mouth to start writing.

Dear Raspberry Coral,

Hello! I just got your letter today. My name is Honeycomb. I am a pony from Ponyville, but I was actually born in Fillydelphia. I don't remember much cause I was really young when I moved here. I actually own my own shop! Its called Honey's Sweet Honey and guess what I sell? Yep honey! I'm a bee farmer, so I have a bunch of hives, and since I talk to the bees, I can usually get their honey easily with out much fuss. There are a few really protective bees, but they're easy to deal with. If I feel I'm going to have a problem with them, I usually just smoke them. Luckily I have only been stung a hundred and eighty two times in the years I have raised them!

I sell all kinds of honey, flavor wise, and I sell honey covered fruit, honey bread and cakes and honey drinks, even make honey jam! It gets pretty busy here during the day. Maybe one day I can send you a sample of the food I sell here! Oh wouldn't that be nice?! Actually, I think I'm going to send you a honeycomb necklace made from real honeycomb. I actually lacquer the old and discarded hives and make jewelery out of them. Their super light and fun to wear.

You live on the island though, that must be fun. I have never visited the islands before, but I am hoping one day that I do. I hear its really nice there, I know my parents honeymooned there after their wedding. Haha, honeymoon. Boy there is a lot of talk about honey in this letter! Though its nice to hear you help out at the inn! A filly should have something to do, builds character! Well, thats what my dad used to say anyway. I should go though, its getting late. It was really fun to hear from you, and I hope we can keep writing!

Your Friend,

Honeycomb

With the letter finished, Honey took to rummaging though her things to find an envelope, and finally, after about a few minutes, found one. She hurried over to the letter, folding it up and placing it in the envelope, soon addressing it and plopping the letter down on her nightstand. Tomorrow morning for sure! And when that sun came up, that letter was out in the mail box to be sent away!

[Dubstep]

"Thanks again for the coffee Mocha!" Dubstep shouted as he headed out of the cafe, he had made the place his regular stop, the environment was great, plus he got to seem some pretty fillies go by or come in to get a drink or two. Heading off to the post office Dub smiled, hoping he got a letter from that Raspberry girl, sure enough he did, borrowing a pad and paper from the postman Dub began to write.

Dear Raspberry,

Hey, good to hear from you again! It's seems Ponyville's becoming a rather hip place to be, which is real groovy cause it means I get to play for all sorts of ponies. A singer eh? That must be Neon, I've chatted with her, she's pretty cool! Oh, I wanted to thank you by the way, when I found your letter I was trying to find a good beat for my next couple remixes and sure enough your letter broke me out of my funk, I'll include a copy of the first song, 'Telepony (Down In The Blue Remix)', it's actually a remix of Neon Pop's newest song.

I loved dancing to the drums when my dad played them, I might have to have him mail them to me. Adventuring sounds like a blast, most adventure I get is from getting lost heheh. I have a HORRIBLE sense of direction, I remember one time I was in the Pony Scouts and we went to the forest, I went out to refill my canteen and ended up getting lost for 3 days! The funny thing is, the lake where we got that water was about 30 yards in the opposite direction of where I headed, luckily I was used to getting lost, so I found plenty of shelter and had plenty of emergency food. I could get lost walking to the store, but thankfully Ponyville isn't too big.

I remember my mom showing me pictures of some of the fish there, really groovy colours, and some of the flowers there are breathtaking. If I get a chance to visit someday you'll have to give me a guided tour!

I hope you enjoy the song, send your family my warmest regards!

Yours truly,

Dubstep

Finishing up his letter and sliding in the disk with his song on it, Dub passed the postmaster the letter and some bits to cover the shiping, "Thanks for letting me use the quill eh, take care." he said with a smile as he headed out, the day was just beginning and Dubstep was in the mood to party after writing to such a cool friend.