Hippo

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After spending a short minute with her customers who were all collecting themselves and coming out of their tents, Applejack trotted back to the business side of the selling booth and greeted her little sister's excited attitude. "Heh heh. Alright, AB. I want you on sellin' and pourin' duty. You can make sure the bits are being collected properly and you can be in charge of the cider pump. No one gets a drink without your permission." Applejack relayed to her the responsibility she was to hold, knowing full well she would take control of it like she owned the place. In several ways though, Apple Bloom did own a piece of what was going on. "I don't expect anyone to get irate today, but in case they do, you just let them know that you control the flow. Ain't nobody gonna get impatient with a strong cute little filly who delivers the goods!" Applejack glanced at Granny Smith's pocket watch and saw the clock within striking distance of the beginning of the sale. She knew that the first day was always the most hectic, but she was sure that they made enough cider for the first day to make several customers happy. The only worry is how many would be soured that they weren't able to try the first batch. Applejack leaned towards the megaphone and started speaking to everyone standing in the road. "Alright, ya'll. It's that time you've been waiting for all year. It's officially cider season!" Almost immediately, the booth was crowded by excited ponies and creatures reaching for a taste. Hooves, talons, wings, and claws all shoved for their chance to be allowed to drop two golden bits into the coffer on the table. What looked like a neat line of four-legged civilians was quickly turned into a mob of customers who were more keenly aware of the number of barrels waiting to be emptied more than their place in line. A line? This was no line. This was a free-for-all. Applejack quickly guarded the space by the keg so that Apple Bloom would have space to work. "Take it easy, everypo-, I mean, everyone. Be patient, and there will be enough cider for all." Current fresh cider supply: 100% They weren't kidding. Silverstream thought it strange that so many would camp out in order to drink a single cup of cider. To be fair, a lot of common things were peculiar to the hippogriff, but this was definitely an oddity on many scales. Silverstream decided to head over to the farm to see what the fuss was about, and well, she still wasn't sure. She could barely make out the words on the signage by the farm because she was standing so far back in what she guessed was the back of the line. Squinting, she looked ahead to see if she could recognize any students from the academy who decided to get up so early. She saw a lot of ponies she had never seen before. They may have not been from Ponyville. And she also saw non-ponies as well. And was that Gallus? It was! Positioned a few hundred meters from where she was standing, she could just make out his signature bright blue coloration. "Gallus!" She impatiently yelled, much to the detriment of those standing around her. It didn't appear that Gallus heard her, so she decided to fly up to where he was. A short minute later, she arrived hovering over her griffon friend and yelled again. "Gallus! This is absolutely insane! How long have you been in line?"

Upon hearing the gray unicorn's optimism, Applejack perked up to respond to his curiosity. "Yup. All that and more. We stand by our cider the same way you do. You will leave here wanting more." She heard a snarky blue griffon several ponies back yell his patented indifference, almost seeming like a small jab to how over-hyped he may have thought the cider was. Before Applejack could respond, several ponies chuckled at the arrogance. She smirked. "Tell ya what, fledglin'. If you do in fact end up liking my cider, you must tell everygriff in Griffonstone about it, so that next year, you can compete with all the griffons to get in line to taste my decent-to-okay cider." Taira had called behind Applejack. He wanted to know if he was pressing apples like they had discussed. "Mornin' Taira! We have three cider presses. One of them is kind of broken right now, so to start, you will be on one and Big Mac will be on the other. I need you to press all day." Applejack inflected her voice to illustrate that this was a warning as much as it was a command. Cider pressing was easy if a pony was only doing it for a short time. "As long as Granny has you filled up with approved apples, I need you to be on that treadmill like yer runnin' from some demons or sum'm. And don't you use magic. We can taste the difference." Applejack had built trust with Taira ever since he arrived to pay his end of the bargain. A bargain Applejack was willing to talk down, but the creature seemed insistent that he remain loyal to his wager. She only required him to do things related to the farm like an earth pony would. For the most part Taira had obeyed that premise, but she decided to remind him again on this important event. "If you need a break, just let me know." A stock of barrels for the first pour were already ready to serve, but new apples were being sorted and thrown into the press as the preparations to start the sale were ending.

Gallus got the picture, and so did everypony else in the class. But his additional questions created new life in this lesson. "Oh yes. We have a large stock of baby food, and baby toys, and baby bear repellent. It's all right here." Silverstream giggled. The inside knowledge of Gallus' near future made this especially funny to her. "Alright, alright. We got it. That's good!" Applejack nodded with acceptance that the class had understood the principle she was setting, but denied the continued existence of such an absurd lesson. Fluttershy probably has enough nurturing classes. Applejack didn't need to overlap a lecture on good faith with an extra chapter of gentleness. "Okay, now that you guys got a good whiff of what it means to have good integrity when buying and selling things, I'm going to allow class to end early, provided you spend a little time in the market talking with some of the ponies and their wares. Ask them about what they sell. Do they make it themselves? How long have they been selling things in Ponyville? Alright?" Applejack signaled to the class to adjourn, and as student ponies dispersed many of them starting walking up to merchants asking them random questions. Many of the seller ponies were excited to see such a small flood of customers, but became quickly confused and annoyed that they were so inquisitive without any bits to spend. Silverstream hovered towards Gallus to walk with him through the market before Applejack stopped her. "Hey Silverstream, I was wondering if you could help me tomorrow with somethin'. I need a pie delivered. Goldie Delicious is writing a new edition of Apple family genealogy and she needs an apricot-infused pink lady apple pie for inspiration." Applejack rolled her eyes up. "Don't ask. Anyway, I usually deliver this type of stuff myself, but I'm not going to be able to make deliveries tomorrow, the rest of the family is busy and I don't trust the mail ponies for something this important. But, I can trust you, and I know you students don't usually have much to do on your days off!" She winked. Her assumption of the student's free time was not incorrect, but may have been taken as an insult to some. "I'll pay you with a bushel of apples for your troubles." Silverstream smiled at the opportunity. "Oh, I'd love to, I can do that! It's not that far of a flight is it?" "I don't think so. I think it's only a few hours round trip if you're not dilly-daddling." She was also aware of how close Silverstream and Gallus had gotten over the past few months. The desks where the two sat in her classroom were more magnetic with each other every day. "Gallus can go with you, too, in case you're afraid of getting lost." Gallus was close enough to be in the conversation, and Applejack decided to include him. "Gallus, you interested in flying with Silverstream to my aunt and back tomorrow?"

The rooster crows at the first light. As the sun peeks over the horizon, settled fog is exposed in the valleys of the apple orchard giving it the nonverbal command to quickly disperse. Conditions were perfect. It was a relatively beautiful day with a chilly breeze to remind all living creatures of the coming holiday seasons, the first of which was to be a Ponyville tradition known by ponies far and wide. It was cider season at Sweet Apple Acres! Along the road back to Ponyville from the farm were rows and rows of tents where ponies camped last night in an attempt to try and beat the crowds. The famous cider had created an insane demand for its taste, but the Apple family way of doing things would only yield so much cider for so many ponies to drink. Applejack would always assure everypony that there would be enough cider for all as long as ponies were willing to not take shortcuts and wait for the process of making the best cider in Equestria. And even though she would always be faced with criticism of short supply, she would be right all along and in time everyone would eventually go home happy and Applejack would be able to take a few barrels of cider for her family and herself for the next few weeks. The season wouldn't officially start for another hour or so, but even so several ponies were getting restless in their cooperative lines waiting behind the great cider counter set up at where the farm paths meet the road. The counter was adorned with all the spigots and tools needed to uncork new barrels and squeeze the apple nectar into wooden tankards, which were clean ready for their first pour. Applejack allowed ponies to bring their own vessels for the cider, but if not, she had a rotation of clean mugs ready for every customer that needed them. The sign above told everything everycreature probably already knew. 'Two bits for a cup, limit one per pony per day.' "Apple Bloom, could you bring over that spare pump, I think this one might quit on us at some point." Applejack yelled lovingly to her little sister as the orange mare looked over her counter for problems to minimize. To Applejack this was like any other day, it just had the higher volume of customers and slightly more tourism. Ever since the debacle from Flim and Flam trying to put the farm out of business, a healthy coating of sympathy and appreciation covered the cider season operation, with some ponies offering their help on the back end to make more cider and clean equipment involved in the process. Of course, Applejack was more than willing to pay a fair wage to the ones who earned it. She stepped out onto the road and looked down it, seeing the long line of ponies getting excited for their cider breakfast. The low sun reflected off the luster of the Ponyville road. "Howdy! How ya'll doing this morning? You guys ready for cider season to start?" Cider season wouldn't start for several minutes, but it was still nice to have a little moment to make small talk with the colorful ponies of Ponyville to help them manage their expectations and to gauge how impatient the crowd might become this year.

Starlight could only say so much to make Silverstream's worries feel powerless. Everything she was hearing from the councilor was true. She had it in herself to carry on without her old friends and learning about life and relationships without them would be clear in time, even if it wasn't crystal at this current moment. And as the thoughts of her current friends already in the mindset of being apart from them filled her head, she began softly weeping at the idea. But the troubling thought experiment brought attention to another dilemma she had about this situation, and she would be remiss if she were to leave the office having not expressed herself fully. Silverstream cleared up a few tears and inhaled a snotty sniffle with a warm smile. "I think I would like a cup of that tea, please." With the company of Starlight to listen to her feelings, Silverstream took a small minute to meditate. She knew a lot of her problems just needed expressing and if she could be heard, maybe that was all she needed to continue. But a sticking problem showed itself in this session and it became scary enough for the hippogriff to address. "I would have never met the cool creatures at this school without everyone who was apart of it playing their part. I owe Headmare Twilight Sparkle a great deal, but I also am thankful for the initiative everyone had that brought me to this point. Queen Novo was so gracious of the Storm King's demise that it brought the Mount Aris councilgriffs to a conclusion that they should send a constituent to explore what the friendship academy was all about. And my parents also trusted that it would be a good experience for me. All of my friends' parents too had a role in bringing me closer to them. If Grandpa Gruff was a little more stubborn, I may have never met Gallus." Silverstream put her claws up as a way of illustrating her lack of control she felt she had over her own life. "It all felt so orchestrated for me, for us, I mean. Once I got here, I was curious enough to meet my new friends and build trust with them, but it would have never have happened if everyone didn't cultivate for me the opportunity to do so. And I just don't think that environment exists outside of these walls." Silverstream had a wild imagination that could ponder many existences she has and hasn't seen. But since it occurred to her that the friends she made were mostly the result of her environment, she lacked the confidence that she could create a scenario from scratch that would lead her to making new friends in the future, a future she was not aware of how soon it was or where it would take place. "I don't think I know how to make friends outside of school, councilor Starlight." Her confession hurt herself harder than she realized, for after she said it more tears started to well up. It was flabbergasting to even herself that a hippogriff who was known for her zany hyperactive curiosity would have difficulty exploring new friendship opportunities. That was how difficult friendship sometimes seemed. If it was so easy, they wouldn't have had to build an academy for it.

Silverstream looked back at Gallus with concern. It wasn't that she didn't trust he could handle the sort of task he had been given, she just wasn't sure he knew entirely what he was in for. However, Silverstream accepted she was just over-reacting to the aspect of responsibility and yielded to Gallus' charisma on the subject. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She couldn't help but maintain a fluid thought process on the idea of Gallus watching a kid. Part of her wondered why she wasn't asked. Was it because she wasn't responsible enough? She was sure that she demonstrated her value as a caring individual enough to be considered a candidate, but maybe she was too hyperactive for foalsitting. No, that can't be it. It must be because the care-taking course has not rotated to her, yet. What Gallus may have learned in Kindness already, Silverstream could counter with an uncomfortable amount of knowledge related to advanced techniques of piping schematics for residential buildings in large cities. It was an elective she chose. In addition to her thoughts of being unqualified, she also visualized in her head Gallus' rearing a young pegasus over the course of a sunny day. He was showing him tricks and skills while being positive and supportive. The thought made Silverstream's eyes begin to well. "Alright, now it's time for some role play. I'm gonna be a customer and one of you can be a business owner. Who wants to be the seller?" Several hooves shot up at the possibility of pretending to stand behind the world famous Apple family vending stall. Silverstream raised her claw, too. "OOooo ME! Pick me! Me me me me me me me!" Silverstream used her other claw to anxiously hold up her arm. Applejack wanted to pick someone other than Silverstream because she was always the first to volunteer, even when she wasn't sure what she was signing up for. But since she seemed so excited and it had been a few days since Silverstream was used in one of her object lessons, she decided to let her play. "Ok, Silverstream, yer up." Silverstream giggled with excitement, trotted in place for a few seconds, and then flew over the counter and stood behind it. "So, what are you selling today? It can be anything. What is it?" Silverstream thought for a moment, her foretalon meeting the end of her beak. "Um. I don't know. Oh! I know. Babies!" Applejack's teaching expression fell for a second. "Babies?" Silverstream emphatically nodded. "Okay, babies," Applejack said regrettingly. "I would like a baby. I would like to buy one baby, please. But wait, do I need to do anything to the baby?" Applejack looked at the class, but then eventually back to Silverstream who just seemed to be content on smiling. "I'm asking you, Silverstream, do I need to clean the baby or anything? Can I just have it in my living room without having to care for it?" It was concerning to Applejack that Silverstream was so quick to suggest something intrinsically valuable without having any common sense to react to her questions related to caring for the product of importance Silverstream wanted to pretend to sell. She could have waited a little longer and she would probably have gotten it, but she wanted to save time so she decided to ask the audience. "Anyone else?" Applejack looked around and saw Gallus was the least engaged of the other students. His body language showed he was listening and he was close enough to be apart of the class, but he still didn't seem entirely adhered to the lesson. So Applejack prodded him to encourage him to stay focused. "What do you think, Gallus. Would it be right for me to assume I would have to care for a baby if I bought one from Silverstream here?" Silverstream smiled and waved behind Applejack.

"Some mare time, hm?" Silverstream giggled, indicating she knew what that meant without understanding the specifics. She started walking forward through the shopping area where residential ponies were setting up shops for the afternoon. Some ponies were tearing down their displays for the day, as well. And there were browsing ponies looking at all the wares others had to show, some of them sparking up detailed conversations with the sellers that they probably knew very well. Applejack was near the opposite end of the marketplace waiting for all of her students to show up for the outdoor lesson. "Over there!" Silverstream, still hovering, flew towards the academic audience to get in range of the professor's voice and landed. The class consisted of about fifteen students. "Alright, ya'll. Today we're out here to learn a little sum'm about value." Applejack slaps the counter next to her, which was currently empty. "This here is my vendor stall in the Ponyville marketplace. Every day we trek out here with our best apples and baked goods to sell to ponies the greatest our farm has to offer. Ponies from nearby come here and to other sellers in this area to buy the things they need and want with the hard earned money they probably worked hard for. So. What value does any product have? Does the seller bring any value to the product they bring? Why would anypony part with their bits to get something that I or anyone else selling things here values for less or the same as the coins they would trade for? And what makes them come back a second time to buy more?" Applejack pulls out a spare apple she had in her possession. "Let's say you have a recipe that calls for six apples and you need to make the recipe in four days, but you can only buy apples today. You come to my stall and ask how long the apples stay fresh for. Now, I want to make a sale. I want to earn your money. So I should say that the apples last forever, right?" She paused with a smirk. "No! Wrong! If I lie to you and you wait too long and the apples spoil before you can used them, you will be disappointed. I may have earned your bits with a sale of six apples, but I will never earn your sale ever again because I lied. But. What if you asked if the apples would last for four days. And let's say, they don't, they last maybe three days at most. I would tell you that they would only last three days. You don't buy apples because you probably changed your mind on your recipe, but because I was honest the next time you do need apples, perhaps the next several times, you will trust me with every concern you have about buying apples. By doing so, I have increased the value of my business and increase the value of you as a customer." Silverstream let her mind wander during the lecture and after a few daydreams, could not help but consider a new question lingering on her brain. The thought of Gallus being trusted to watch a foal by himself seemed pretty substantial as she knew what it was like to watch her infant cousins when she was growing up in Seaquestria. Considering how nonchalant Gallus was acting about it, she wasn't confident he was processing and relaying the information correctly. She leaned to Gallus and whispered. "Gallus, how long do you have to watch the baby for?" Silverstream had never met or seen Zap Apple. The way Gallus implied it, the foal seemed to be the age of a newborn. She couldn't imagine Gallus changing anyone's diaper, let alone a newborn pegasus foal he had never met before. Was Rainbow Dash crazy to trust Gallus? "Seems like a lot of responsibility."

The two took flight out the window and as they fluttered towards Ponyville's busier roads, Silverstream reacted goofy to Gallus' phrasing. "Professor AppleDash? I've never had a class with them as the teacher!" She shouted unnecessarily. "Oh, are they related to Applejack, or Rainbow Dash. Or maybe they aren't related at all." Silverstream pondered a moment as they glided down. "Or maybe they aren't even a pony professor, maybe it's a beast priest, or a cockroach coach, or a creature teacher." Silverstream still found room to express her confusion of what Gallus implied, not giving him much room to answer what she would have been able to figure out if she hadn't been subconsciously organizing a creative, yet incorrect assessment. But she allowed a new thought to rearrange her priorities. As the two landed at the marketplace, she asked more curiously, "Wait, you're going to babysit!?" Silverstream was shocked and happy at the unknown order of events that ended in Gallus having to be an impromptu father figure for a day, ironically the only father Zap Apple may have ever had outside of Big Macintosh. "That's so adorable!" Silverstream picked herself off the ground again and hovered over Gallus, her claws squeezing her jaw at the pleased astonishment.

Silverstream came out from behind a rock softly dusting the sea floor, humming while doing so. She was in her own mind, very happy about how the day had gone so far, and it was nice to express to herself how she was really feeling without Gallus being next to her to contaminate her honesty. The truth was that she was having a criminal amount of fun, and she didn't want to stop, but she knew a short moment apart from Gallus would probably be best before continuing to party. Suddenly, her brother swam over to talk to her. He was surprised and glad to see her. Silverstream traded the hug well, after all, she hadn't see him in a few months. "What do you mean? It's the holiday break, school wont be in session until after Hearth's Warming is over. So I'm here to participate in the Three Days of Freedom Celebration™. Isn't this party amazing, probably the best it's ever been! Oh! And Gallus is here, too. Since he didn't seem too jazzed about being away from his new friends for the holiday, I invited him to come here. Do you want to see him?" Without Terramar's expected response, Silverstream started leading the way back to the main dance area. She stopped and looked around for Gallus. It didn't take very long to spot him for apparent reasons. "Now, we weren't sure what he would look like when transformed with the shard, but he seems fine. His appearance is a bit shocking though, so just be careful." Silverstream lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think he might be self-conscious about it." Silverstream waggled and flowed to the refreshments. Gallus was there trying to make sense of the hors d'oeuvres. "Gallus! Look, this is my baby brother, Terramar."

Fluttershy noticed the hesitation on the griffon's face. It obvious to her that he had probably never had this kind of responsibility before. But it was also obvious to her that he earned a chance to prove he would succeed. She chuckled at his awful nervous joke and when he accepted the opportunity she responded brightly. Underneath the two, Angel was thumping at Fluttershy's hooves trying to get her attention. "Great!" She put a hoof on Gallus' shoulder and started walking him out of the classroom. "I'll go tell Rainbow Dash the good news, she is going to be so thrilled!" When the two got to the door, Gallus asked about how many hours he would be watching the kid. Fluttershy answered quickly but continued to walk his exit due to Angel's desire for attention. "Oh, don't be silly Gallus, it'll be for the whole day." Angel started tugging on her tail. Fluttershy lightly suggested Gallus to move out of the room with her hoof, and continued to explain to him details through the remaining crack of the closing classroom door. "Tomorrow morning after breakfast, just go to Professor Rainbow's house which usually hovers just over Stirrup Street, north of Ponyville. She will fill you in on everything else you need to know and you'll finally meet their son! Okay? I have to go now, Angel is getting cranky because he hasn't had his lunch yet. Good luck!" Fluttershy closed the door, and then proceeded to discipline Angel for his impatience.

Tonight!? Willikers. She wasn't expecting her to suggest a date so recent. But she did say that any day was fine. Rara's complexion was bright and her posture was positive. Either she was really looking forward to some Apple family cooking, or she was excited to share a kiss with her friend. Probably both. "Heh heh, yep." Applejack came out from behind the counter once again and approached Coloratura. "I have kissed so many ponies today, including princesses. I can't believe even the pony of pop is here to make me feel like ah'm some kind of world-class kisser." Applejack chuckled. In her mind, the privilege was always hers, and she never considered how important her own glory of heroism or agent of harmony she was known for was to ponies of all types, include those who gained fame through their special talents. Applejack puckered her lips, closed her eyes, and leaned in for Rara's muzzle. She planned on letting the kiss last longer than a normal one. Wouldn't want to shortchange the kissing agreement for three times the minimum order of apples. Silverstream upon getting support from her dragon friend dropped her fear, but her ears were still lowered for sake of disappointment. As soon as it was obvious to Silverstream who Tempest was, but then also who she is now, she felt she had to clarify. "I'm not scared anymore. But there's no reason to be rude about it." She scoffed. A few seconds of silence from the hippogriff, and she decided to let out her own thoughts on the matter. She did so by increasing her voice to make sure the purple unicorn could hear her. "You know, it's one thing to have some sort of evil past you regret. But it doesn't mean you have to be a bully!" Silverstream went over to Grubber and rested a claw on his back. "I don't know this little guy very well, but I know he's a student of friendship just like me. So if you got something mean to say this poor little spiky hamster, then you'll have to deal with all of his classmates, his friends, too." Even though Tempest's temper was subsiding, Silverstream did not let her resistance fade. She did not want to take a chance on letting someone rule her emotions. Perhaps she countered Tempest's anger too much, but it would only be because she was not convinced of the unicorns more relaxed state as she was her outburst.

Once all of the other students left the classroom, Fluttershy closed the door. She turned around to meet Gallus at her desk. Fluttershy was wearing a wide smile, wider than her relaxed smile she showed as default. She was happy about what she would ask of Gallus. "You are one of my best students. So great, that I have an opportunity that I think you should take. And if you accept, I will allow you to forgo the weekend essay assignment. My friends are in need of a foalsitter. Professor Applejack and Professor Rainbow Dash have a cute little colt, as I'm sure you know. But they made plans to have some time together and need someone to watch him at Rainbow's place. The problem is, none of the other Professors are available. I have several appointments with new animals visiting the sanctuary, Twilight is busy running the country, and Pinkie Pie and Rarity cannot fly to the cloudominium. So I offered a solution. Why not have my best, most trustworthy student with wings watch the little guy while his parents spend the day free from having to worry about who was watching him. And assuming all goes well, and I know that it would, I will also mark you down with some extra credit. Well, what do you say? Want to put all those kindness and care-taking skills to the test?"

The class erupted in giggles and whinnies. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "So you would listen to somepony who intended to do harm to others and embrace them, and then do whatever they needed help with?" Fluttershy asked perplexed. But, then her face evened out and she smiled gleefully. "Exactly! See class, Gallus has properly shown that even when dealing with others who may not have your best interests at heart, it's always best to approach them with kindness so that you can help lead them in the direction where they will change their mischievous ways. Good job, Gallus." Fluttershy softly stomped her front hooves back and forth, prompting the rest of the ponies in the class to do the same on their desks. Angel was in the corner of the room with an unsatisfied frown on his face. He rolled his eyes and shook his head before staring at the griffon with resentment. Fluttershy began speaking again to continue the lesson. "Now, when faced with decisions on two friends that have differing opinions..." The school bell rang indicating a change of class. "Oh!" Fluttershy flew to her desk and picked up a stack of papers. As ponies started to file out of the classroom, Fluttershy hovered by the door to pass out papers to each of her students. "Tonight, I want you to write a small essay about what you would do if you had to confront someone who was trying to steal something from you. And next week, we'll start a new chapter on when to be assertively kind. Have a great weekend everypony!" She noticed Gallus was in line and decided to interrupt his routine to the next class. "Gallus, could you stay here for a moment? I need to speak with you."

"Yes!" Zap jumped up and buzzed in place for a few seconds before landing back on his hooves. He wasn't sure what his rainbow mother was about to show him, but he hoped that he would be able to participate. He loved seeing the moves his role model showed him, but he was also more willing to try things himself than he used to be. He was eager to see if he was about to see her do a trick he could learn to do today, or if she was going to incorporate him into the trick as well. Whatever the case was, the foal that Zap was would throw all the caution into the wind in order to impress himself on something he may or may not be capable of doing, his imagination at the very least taking him to the heights of enjoying his first year of flying.

"Three!? You got it!" Applejack bent down behind the counter so that all was showing was her tied yellow tail. From the abyss that is under the counter, she lifted out two more bushels of apples, one with each leg. She gave a mighty grunt as she thrust the bushels up with as much grace as you'd expect from a strong farmer earth pony. "That's fifteen bits." Coloratura was persistent about dinner, which made Applejack begin to question her fillyfriend's intentions. Although regardless of the motives, she was glad to have the pop star around. But she had no desire to write a schedule or keep dates and her offer was open-ended. "Tell ya what. Any day of the week for the next four years. How's that sound? There may be days where we work longer hours or we may have extended family over for a weekend, but we always make sure to have supper as a family every night, no exceptions." Applejack brought her hoof to her chin and tapped a couple times. "Well, unless the fate of Equestria is in the balance in which case, the family supper will commence when that kind of issue is settled." She countered herself with a smile. "And so, since I have no idea when Tirek is going to try to blow up Ponyville, you might as well show up whenever you are available, and upon walking into our home in the evening, you will see supper being prepared. You are always welcome to join us." Applejack put her hooves on the table and stared into Rara's eyes. "Always." Tempest's explosion of anger caused Silverstream's wings to fold. As she stood observing Grubber getting scolded, she felt her own safety might be at risk. So she softly started backpedaling towards Smolder's place in line. But then, the angry unicorn responded to Silverstream's question. Even though, Tempest's anger had been tucked away, Silverstream was still very cautious about what to say next. So instead of risking a social faux pas of her own, she decided to slowly nod her head in agreement as she looked at Tempest with frightened eyes.

Silverstream accepted the embrace from Starlight. And for the most part, she was reassured that it was likely her friends would always stay connected in heart. Considering it's likely that her friends would feel the same way about her that she would about them once they went their separate ways, she could understand the emotions anyone would go through when they have those short bouts of loneliness. But what she didn't understand was how she could function as a hippogriff perusing her interests when her friendships are not socially guaranteed. And so while she took the hug she was given, her expression showed one of incomplete satisfaction, and she would do her best to convey her ongoing issue. Being only a learned hippogriff for a short time, there were still a lot of things and emotions Silverstream had to observe and deal with. And sometimes she could even understand the concept, but she had a hard time putting them into words. Something as complex as friendship has such a simple and attractive concept that anyone can appreciate, but it often felt that only a few scholars could ever do so much as to write a book about it or travel the country lecturing on the small intricacies of relationship-building and the science of social acceptance and tolerance. And for the most part, that was why she visited Starlight. There were times when Silverstream just needed to be taught a small lesson about any obscure subject matter, but most of the time she visited the councilor's office in hopes that Starlight would be able to translate her thoughts and feelings into words she can express for the first time. "I trust that I can learn things without my friends, even though I may not want to. But as I learn things about myself and the world around me, it comes with the trust that I will be able to share these moments with my friends. I'm afraid that if I lose connection with them, I will lose my passion to pursue things that interest me because who I am now is shaped by my friends here at the academy." Silverstream illustrated with her claws holding an invisible object. "Like imagine I had a can of sardines. If I opened it and tasted the sardines, I might be able to tell if they are extra salty or if they are from a certain part of the ocean they are from but I wont know for sure unless I can share my results with someone else. What if Gallus is able to taste these sardines and convey to me that they are not as salty as I thought they were. And what if you tasted one and knew for sure that they weren't even sardines! I'm inspired by my friends to discover new things. Where do I get my inspiration from without them?" Though Starlight assured Silverstream that her friends would always be with her in some capacity, it did not satisfy Silverstream's issue with how to visualize how she could get excited about it.

It was a beautiful day. The birds outside were chirping new songs, the trees in view were shaking their hellos to the refreshing breeze of the first days of Autumn, and the waterfalls of the streams were making their signature ambiance. It was the perfect day for Fluttershy to be indoors. Not exactly against her will, though. Today she was in class teaching her students the next lesson in the Kindness track, a curriculum designed to teach ponies and creatures from all places the meaning of kindness, how to use it, and why it was so important to establish harmony and friendship. And it was thorough. Day one was always about cordial greetings and object lessons about how to treat one another, but in a more advanced class, students would have to prepare several essays and projects showing what they've learned in the department of kindness. Since no one has ever actually graduated from the School of Friendship yet, it was unclear how much about kindness Fluttershy was supposed to teach to her students. But for the sake of striving to bring up students to be the kindest Equestria has ever seen, she would go over everything she knew about the subject and relay it to her students in engaging assignments and lectures. "And so class, that is why we always want to be aware of how others are feeling about..." Fluttershy paused. Along the window side of the classroom, she spotted a unique cerulean griffon who appeared to not be engaged. Now why she could not be absolutely sure, the student's eyes being closed and mouth hung wide open was an indication that they might not be paying close attention to her lesson. She walked over to the student and gave him a soft jostle with her hooves. "Ok, Gallus. What would you do in a situation like the one I described?"

The water around Silverstream went from being an embarrassing warmth to a positive sign of social encouragement. The energy of the arena the two were dancing in was only hindered by themselves and how far they were willing to take it. And as the two young creatures shrugged off the nervousness by ignoring it, they both grew more and more comfortable of the situation, with each, and most importantly, with themselves. The pink seapony couldn't typically keep up with her own emotions, but if she could, she would need a filing cabinet to sort through the appendixes she was establishing with Gallus. She never realize how interesting he was at times. She always like his fake disposition because she could usually tell when he was being genuine, and it made his honest moments so much more satisfying, even when he would pretend it didn't occur seconds later. But this time, when Gallus told Silverstream he doesn't really do dancing, she could not question the integrity of his words because of a lack of faith in her own. "Oh, well, I was taught by my family, I guess. We have lots of dancing competitions in Seaquestria, so it's harder to grow up without some kind of familiarity." Silverstream pointed a short glance at the seaponies dancing around them, all of them dancing in unison as if they had rehearsed this specific waltz the night before. At this point, Silver was well enveloped in Gallus' talons. She had taken to his style of swim dancing, regardless of how out of sync it was with every other fin in the trench. After she fell silent from the brief conversation for a few seconds, she softly lay her head on the base of Gallus' neck, sporting a small smile. She was content, and she felt very happy to be in the presence of a friend who may have been becoming more than just a friend. Instinctively, she felt the urge to mention it to him. And since, Silverstream was never known to hesitate to speak her mind, she tilted her head up at Gallus, continued to smile, and opened her mouth to speak to him sincerely. "Gallus, I-" "Alright, now its time to get back to the grooves and the moves. Put your fins together for some straight up beats!" The jockey changed songs and the mood had completely changed. Seaponies everywhere diced around to re-position for the next episode of the dancing for the night. Silverstream just floated with Gallus, talon and hoofins still locked and frozen. Silverstream giggled slightly, expressing her humor of what just happened, but was also only a little disappointed she wasn't able to finish her moment the way she had thought it would. But that was old news now, she guessed. "I have to go use the little girls room. I'll be right back." She swam out of Gallus' clutches and off to the side behind a nondescript rock.

"Oh. Hehe. Well, I don't usually buy dinner, ah make it! But if you wanna come over for some real good eatins sometime, we would absolutely love to have ya." Applejack couldn't read other jests from ponies too well, but all the same she would respond with her sincere intentions. Applejack would love to have her old fillyfriend visit more often, even if it meant having to tie Apple Bloom to a chair to prevent the young pony from jumping all over Rara with her obsessive questions. Applejack walked back behind the booth. "I reckon you came here to buy some apples, huh?" Applejack listened with a smile to Rara as she spoke about a proposition but then admitted her curiosity about the apple sale for today. The musical mare seemed hung on the term 'self-respecting'. It wasn't clear to Applejack how long Rara's corrupt manager had a hold of her passionate decisions, but it seemed clear to her that she was still adjusting to the self-managing lifestyle and all of the extra worries of maintaining integrity were causing her to pull her own reins in a little to make sure she was properly processing her intentions. "Don't try so hard, Sugarcube, I know you're one of the most self-respectinest ponies ever!" A slight chuckle and Applejack responded to the singer's apple preferences. "Oh well now, that's easy. All of them. Apples are healthy and nutritious and always do a good job cleaning those air pipes next to yer gullet. Provided you don't have apple skins jammed in between your teeth, they should all be good for when you are about to do a show. Now I don't know what you mean by acidic, but I'm guessing you want something less tart. Sometimes apples with a more tart lean can get you all puckered up! So I would suggest a crisp apple, like uh, gala." Applejack reached back and grabbed a bushel of gala apples and threw it on the counter. "Oh, how many bushels did you say?" What's that? Selling apples at a discount and a surprise along with it? Silverstream beamed at the thought. What could the surprise be? "See ya, Councilor Starlight! See you tomorrow, in your office probably." Silverstream waved goodbye without laughing at her joke knowing full well it was probably the truth. Smolder told Silverstream about the farm and how she was doing research for a paper she had to write. "Oh yeah, this place is huge too, isn't it?" Smolder listed off the names of some of the ponies that lived here. She knew, Applejack of course. "Wait, what!? All of the ponies that live here have apples in their names!? That is so awesome, and kind of confusing. Like, what if they tell someone else to put an apple pie in the oven and then end up cooking a pony instead. And what if I ask for my wagon to fill up with red apples and I end up pulling a red-colored earth pony back to the school for snacks?" Silverstream thought briefly at her exaggerated theoretical problem, but she was seriously concerned about possible confusion. Back on Mount Aris, it took several hours for her family to find a young seapony named Craggy Creek all because they kept looking in the streams that delta'd into the ocean from the mountain tops, instead of searching in the Aris Wood where he was lost. She then noticed Grubber, a hedgehog she once saw in the halls at the academy. Seeing him wiz by to talk to the purple pony in front of her invited her to introduce herself. She flew curious to him and hovered over the two. "I saw you at the school during orientation." She hung a single digit of her claw on her beak. "Um, what are you exactly?" But before she could hear his answer, she had just noticed him mention the name of the unicorn he was talking to who seemed to be in a rather grumpy mood. "Wait, you look familiar. Have you had someone paint a picture of you and put it in a book titled 'Equestrian War History: The Storm King'?" Even if Silverstream could confirm her suspicions of this pony being the same one with the same severed horn, she did not retain the chapters of that text book enough to be able to remember who Commander Tempest Shadow, second-in-command of the Storm King, was.

Roleplay Type: WoE Cast Name: Fluttershy Sex: Female Age: Mare Species: Pegasus Eye color: Light Blue Coat: Yellow Mane/Tail: Long semi-curly pink mane and tail Physique: Light and dainty Residence: A cottage just outside of Ponyville that is located near the tree line to the Everfree Forest. Occupation: Is head of an animal sanctuary and is a caretaker of all kinds of animals from all places Cutie Mark: Three pink butterflies Unique Traits: Embodies the element of kindness. Uses her ability to show respect to others as a way to gain them as a friend and ally. Can talk to and understand animals. Is a great singer. Excels at care-taking of animals, ponies, and creatures in need. History: Fluttershy grew up in Cloudsdale. She was a slow learner in many subjects and didn't appear to have any special talents or interests. One fateful day, while being defended by Rainbow Dash by way of pegasus race, Fluttershy fell down and was caught by a cloud of butterflies and was introduced to a green wilderness she had never seen before. She immediately fell in love with her surroundings and the beauty of nature. And when a sonic rainboom scared the critters around her, she was able to comfort them using her charm and her voice. It was then she received her cutie mark. When she grew older, she started dedicating her life to protecting animals and providing a place of refuge at her cottage. Some animals, like her best animal friend Angel Bunny, stayed with her and lives in her house. Other animals came and went as they pleased. Over time, Fluttershy noticed the issue of not being able to house as many animals as she felt needed, so she had built an animals sanctuary where the animals had a place where they know they would be safe and if they needed anything. When Fluttershy would go on adventures with her friends, her talent of being able to charm others into agreeability became important in some scenarios where the world needed saving. Especially when dealing with creatures of the unnatural world, Fluttershy would find a way to ease the ferocity of her adversaries by instilling a calmness that no one else could introduce. Today, Fluttershy is mostly maintaining the sanctuary and looking after animals and is in constant determination to create as much harmony among the creatures of Equestria as possible. Character Personality: Fluttershy is extremely introvert and shy. She is hard to become close friends with because of her shyness, but she can learn to trust others against rejection over time. She has learned several lessons of assertiveness that have taught her how to be proactive in her attitude and voice. Fluttershy has a temper that is rarely seen but is generally built on the constant internalization she might incur. Having friends and animals she can relate to allows her to keep this rare temper a well-kept secret. Anything that draws attention to her like her singing or her short-term modeling career will immediately make her uncomfortable and evasive. Also, things meant to scare, even for entertainment purposes, is something she outwardly avoids. Fear and the suspense that fear implies are emotions she does not like to deal with and would therefore prefer to avoid that type of conflict which creates an unfortunate rift between her and her friends who enjoy scares associated with celebration, like Nightmare Night or even a surprise party for her. Character Summary: Fluttershy represents kindness for the current generation of ponies in Equestria. Though she can be overly shy and afraid of confrontation, she is able to counter violent behavior and caustic attitudes with her ability to charm others with kindness and respect. She can talk to animals and has a very understanding relationship with them. She grew up in Cloudsdale where she was born to Mr. and Mrs. Shy, and has a brother named Zephyr Breeze who is most recently employed by the Canterlot guard as an entry level guardpony.

Zap's eyelids grew heavy as he lay on his mother's barrel. The soft sound of her warm voice kept him from completely drifting for the time being. She explained about where the timberwolves would go and how they most likely would be trekking for the rest of the night. Part of Zap felt sorry for them. He was warm in bed while the timberwolves in all their fierceness were still having to deal with the elements of the Everfree and the darkness that it entailed, but he was grateful to be safe. Now that he was assured he would not have to fear the timberwolves climbing through the window to seek revenge, he was left to contemplate the happy moments of the evening despite all the terror. These thoughts of joy lingered as he felt more deeply to the spell of slumber, his breath matching the music of his mother's heartbeat. "It was a nice stick," he softly uttered, as his head started dipping and his legs fell limp. Zap Apple was a simple colt growing up in a simple family on a simple farm, living the simple pony life. Every night he dreams about what he will be when he's older and about places he's been when he experienced happiness. At some point in the near future he will experience sudden nightmares about the terrors of the forest, perhaps a timberwolf looking for a pony snack or a smelly cave full of waters capable of drowning. His memory will never let him live without the reminders of his mortality, especially in a place like the Everfree. But tonight the realm of dreams will spare him, and Princess Luna will be allowed to focus her attention in other ends of the dreamscape for nightmares that haunt the ponies of Equestria. Tonight he will experience the bliss of eating cupcakes and apple fritters in the backyard of a re-imagining of the barn house with all of the family ponies who love him. His wings fully developed to give him effortless flight, he would fly around the farm elated with the euphoria of being apart of the best family in Ponyville. Until morning, he would live his simulation to the fullest, preparing his reality for brilliant challenges and the beauty of life that awaited him. And when he was awake and ready, that life would have to come face to face with little Zap Apple, the most curious pegasus you're ever going to meet.