Findin' Friendship (Finished)

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon was happy to be home after the Apple Family Reunion. It was nice meeting her fellow family members in Ponyville, but it was also nice coming home. Being with all those ponies made her realize something that now stuck out like a pear in a bushel of apples. In the short time she had been in Appleoosa, she had not made a signle friend!

She could not believe it as she was a very sociable pony who could charm the bees to buzz in unison. But her charm wasn't enough to yet a friend, romantic or otherwise.

"Ah' wish ah' had a friend here in Appleoosa" she said as she sat on the porch of her home, "It's mighty lonely bein' the only one to talk to about things."

She looked over at her fiddle case as if it said something. "Well old girl, yer certainly a comfort to me, but yer not a great talker. Ah'm lookin' fer a pony friend. But maybe if ah' play a little, ah' can bring a possible friend over."

Tuning her fiddle, she began to play an upbeat little diddy that was both energetic and soothing to those who would pass by.

[Mojo]

Sheriff Silverstar

Louise LaMare

Doc Holly Day

As the lively fiddle music filled the air, it drew the attention of many of the residents of Appleloosa. First, Sheriff Silverstar pokes his head out of the door of his office.

"I wonder where that thar music's comin' from?" the mustached lawpony asked as he followed the sound of the distant fiddle. As the Sheriff walked by the Doctor's Office, Doc Holly Day stepped out.

"You hearin' that wonderful fiddle playin' too?" the red maned unicorn asked.

"Yep! Foller me, let's see who's a playin' it," the determined Sheriff said as the two bronies walked together just as an airborne Louise LaMare hovered above them.

"Sheriff, Doc, who's playing all that fabulous music?" the Pegasus mare asked.

"That's jist what we're gonna find out," Sheriff Silverstar said as the trio continued their quest until they found the house of Apple Cinnamon. All three were delighted to discover that she was the source of the great fiddle music.

"That's some mighty fine fiddle playin' miss," Doc Holly Day said with a smile.

"Sounds truly wonderful," added Louise LaMare as she landed.

"You sure know yur stuff, ma'am," the brown Earth pony spoke, "I'm Sheriff Silverstar, this here's Doc Holly Day and the purty gal Pegasus is Louise LaMare. Pleased to meetcha!"

[Lux]

As Apple Cinnamon played, she was unaware of the crowd she was attracting. Normally it suited her just fine being her and her fiddle. Yet when she finished the fast tune. Apple Cinnamon was greeted by three ponies. She had seen them in town before, but due to time and other circumstances she was unable to properly greet them.

"Well howdy y'all," she said greeting the three, "Ah' must say this is rather unexpected seein' y'all here at mah front porch. But ah'm very obliged that you are! Thank y'all kindly fer bein' here to hear me play. But where are mah manners? Mah name is Apple Cinnamon. So what would like to here me play? Somethin' fast or somethin' slow?"

[Mojo]

"I love fast paced square dancin' music, can ya play it fast, ma'am?" Sheriff Silverstar asked.

"I play an accordian myself," added Doc Holly Day, "maybe I could gallop back to my house and fetch it so we can play music together!"

"I'm with the others," Louise said, "how long have you been in Appleoosa? I'd be happy to give you a tour of the town!"

"All of us would be pleased as punch to show ya around!" added the mustached lawpony.

"This town could always use another fiddle player when we have hoedowns and square dances," the red maned unicorn said.

[Lux]

"Well, ah' can certainly play something to git yer hooves stompin'."

Before she started, Doc Holly Day offered to bring his accordian.

"That would be lovely sugah'! Ah' always wanted to play with other ponies."

The three ponies then mentioned about giving her a tour of the town. Apple was excited to hear that the three would offer this, taking time out of their day to do so.

"Ah've been here fer a few months, but ah' admit ah' haven't been given a formal tour of town. Mostly ah've been findin' where things are accidentally. But ah'd be pleased as punch to get a tour from y'all! Thanks fer offering it to me. Let me put away mah' fiddle and we'll go on a tour. Then afterwards if y'all want to hear me play some more, ah'd be happy to do that."

[Mojo]

"Sounds like a plan to me," Doc Holly Day neighed with delight.

"I can't wait to show you our General Store!" added Louise LaMare. "It's a great place to pick up groceries and it has a Ladies' Clothing section too! I was surprised to see their variety of dresses and shoes!"

"Absotively!" Sheriff Silverstar neighed. "Our little ol' town's got a lot more than many ponies think it has. We got a barber shop with a barber that also styles mare's manes. We got a blacksmith who'll custom forge any kinda horseshoes you'd ever need. Got a lot more to show ya too, Miss Cinnamon!"

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon listened intently at the three ponies, all of whom were saying what Appleoosa had to offer in terms of stores.

"Hmm... well a barber shop would do wonders to tame mah sometimes unruly mane. An'd sometimes ah' can use a good pair of horseshoes fer mah travels. So, what other stores do you have her. Ah' can go to anyone you want first! Lead the way!"

[Mojo]

Louise LaMare neighed happily at Apple Cinnamon's eagerness.

"Great! Shopping is one of my passions!"

"You kin say that again," Sheriff Silverstar giggled.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, SHERIFF?" the brown Pegasus mare grunted.

"Oh, nutin', nutin' at all, Miss LaMare," the nervous lawpony quipped.

"That's better," Louise said, turning her head and giving Apple Cinnamon a quick wink. "Let's go!"

"And our tour will take us by my office," Doc Holly Day said, "it's always good to know where to find the town doctor when ya need'm."

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon couldn't help but giggle at the way the Sheriff and Louise LaMare payfully teased each other.

"Well alright then," Apple said, "Ah guess ah can can look at some of the shoppin' establishments here. Sometimes ah need a good retail therapy."

Doc Holly Day mentioned that the group would be passing by his office. sure enough she saw the nice building where the pony was set up.

"Well it's good to know where to find one. Ah'm not too much of the adventurin' type but in case ah catch some nasty cold or such ah'll know where to find you."

[Mojo]

Soon the group reached the General Store. Louise led the way inside.

"See Apple Cinnamon?" the light brown Pegasus mare asked, "This store has everything from food to farm equipment!"

"Bags of flour, bags of oats, even candy imported from the East!" added Sheriff Silverstar.

"Plenty of canned goods too," Doc Holly Day said, "and of course, there's plenty of .."

"DRESSES!" Louise shouted, bringing her new friend over to the clothing section of the store. "These lovely dresses are made locally and so are all the shoes too in true Pioneer style! See anything you like?"

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon stood in wonder at the General Store. Granted she had been here at times to get basic needs, but it wasn't until the three ponies pointed out what the store had to offer that she was amazed by it. Sheriff Silverstar seemed more practical about what was in the store like flour and oats. These were things that the country singer pony was familiar with. Then Louise suddenly grabbed Apple and took her over to the area were the dresses were asking her what she liked.

"Well, ah'm not really sure. Where ah' came from, dresses were kind of a thing fer only fancy parties, an' we didn't see many of those. But anyway let me see if there's somethin ah' like."

She scanned the clothing rach filled with a rainbow of assorted dresses. It was mind boggling trying to find something that would not only be good color wise but also her body type.

"Err.. ah'm a bit rusty at this. Louise, mind helping me out trying to find that might suit me. Sorry Sheriff Silverstar and Doc Holly Day, but ah think this may be out of yer area of expertise."

[Mojo]

"Reckon yur right, Miss Cinnamon," Sheriff Silverstar said with a wide grin. Maybe Doc and I should mozy on over to the hardware section.

"Er, yeah, gotcha Sheriff," Doc Holly Day said, taking his cue as the two stallions began to turn to walk away.

"Hold it right there you two!" Louise said sternly. :"Don't go too far away! When we're done shopping here, there's still a lot of other places in town to explore."

"Don'tcha worry none, gals! Me and the Doc will be right over thar when yur ready," the mustached lawpony said.

:"Good! Now Apple, let's have a good look at these dresses," the light brown Pegasus mare said as she began to sort through the racks. "You'd be surprised at the number of social functions here in Appleoosa! There's Hoedowns, Barn Dances, Ice Cream Socials, things like that! Hay! Here's a nice checkered dress you might like. Perfect for our next square dance! What do you think of it?"

[Lux]

The two stallions in the touring party were quick to admit that fashion wasn't their forte. This gave Apple Cinnamon a little chance to not only look for a nice dress but to get to know Louise more. One thing she was looking for was to have a mare as a friend to have a little girl talk.

Apple had to stiffle her laughter when Louise took charge of the stiuation, including the other ponies. She then was presented with a list of the social events going on in town.

"Oh mah! I never knew that there were so many events goin' on! Sounds like a great time. I'm going to have to check them out."

Louise then shown to Apple Cinnamon a nice checkered dress.

"Oh that is a very lovely dress! Ah' could definitely see mahself in it dancin' an' socializin' in it. How much does it cost?"

[Mojo]

Louise LaMare squeeled with glee that Apple Cinnamon found a dress she liked.

"The price tag says five bits but it's high quality and worth every bit!" the light brown Pegasus mare neighed. "But the nice thing about the storekeeper, you can usually haggle with him on the price of clothes, especially since you're a relative newcomer to Appleoosa. Hay, I wonder where the boys went?"

Sheriff Silverstar and Doc Holly Day found their way to the front porch of the store and were now engaged in a quick game of checkers. The two stallions stood over a pickle barrel where the checker board sat.

"I'm gonna win THIS time, Doc!" the Sheriff boasted as he moved one of his red checkers. "There! Top THAT move!"

"If you insist," the red maned mustached unicorn giggled as his horn glowed and one of his black checkers performed a triple jump. "King me, Sheriff!"

"Jumpin' Jeehossaphat!" the lawpony yelled. "Didn't see that one comin'!"

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon couldn't help but smile as Louise LaMare was excited she found a dress for her.

"Five bits," she said in shock, "That's actually not that bad. Ah've heard that there are places that change ten or fifteen fer dresses. But ah' guess ah can try and bringin it down."

At the mention of the two stallions, Apple looked around to see if she could see them.

"Ah don' know where they trotted off, but it can't be far. Let me pay fer this dress first."

She went up to the counter and set the dress before the cashier.

"Howdy there! Ah' heard yer the manager of the store. Ah'm new in town and just tryin to get started here. Would ah' be able to purchase this dress fer three bits. It is quite lovely an' will be great fer the wonderful events here."

[Mojo]

The nameless storekeeper of the General Store smiled, and then held up a small sign that read "Four bits and it's yours".

"Told you he'd negotiate," Louise whispered to Apple Cinnamon. Meanwhile, outside on the porch Doc Holly Day just won another checker game.

"Gotcha agin', Sheriff!" the red maned unicorn laughed.

"That's three in a row! Best four outta seven?" the mustached lawpony asked.

"Yur a real glutten fer punishment, ain't ya, Sheriff? You've never beaten me in checkers."

"Thar's a first time fer everythin', now git that board set up! I'm feelin' lucky today!"

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon noticed that the owner didn't speak but instead presented a sign. She wondered if the poor pony was born mute. The thought that a pony couldn't speak or sing sent a shiver up her spine as singing was the mare's life. At least the owner could hear her or read her lips to understand.

"It's a deal then," she said fishing out her coin purse and placing four bits on the counter, "Can ah' have a box fer that? Ah' still have some places to visit."

The last thing she wanted to do was get her dress so lovingly found by Louise damaged as she continued her tour of the town.

[Mojo]

The storekeeper nodded and smiled, collecting the bits and then quickly producing a flat clothing box. He gently placed the garment inside before tying it shut with some string.

"Thank you, sir!" Louise neighed. "And let me know when that shipment of typewriter supplies arrives from back East. Working on a new novel and I know I'll run through plenty of ink ribbons and paper."

As Louise finished speaking, Sheriff Silverstar walked back into the store, looking very depressed.

"Doc beat you in checkers again, Sheriff?" Louise asked.

"Five straght times!" grunted the mustached lawpony. "Doc must have some kinda system fer winnin'. One of these days I'm gonna whip'm! Jist you wait an see!"

"Keep tryin', Sheriff," Doc Holly Day giggled as the red maned unicorn walked in. "Miss Cinnamon! I see ya made a purchase! Good fer you!"

"I can't wait till our next barn dance!" Louise neighed, "And a certain mustached stallion better ask ME to go with him to it."

"Think she's talkin' bout YOU, Doc?" Sheriff Silverstar laughed until an angry Pegasus mare grabbed a rolled up newspaper from a nearby table and stuck him over the head with it. "Hay! I was jist funnin' ya, Miss LaMare!"

"You better be!" Louise said sternly before smiling and winking.

[Lux]

"Thank you kindly," Apple Cinnamon said colecting the dress box, "Ah'll be sure to return soon here."

She then followed Louise outside where sure enough Doc Holly Day and Sheriff Silverstar were playing checkers.

"Thank you kindy Doc," Apple said in response to his compliment of the dress, "Ah' can't wait to try it on fer an event!"

She had to laugh at how Louise LaMare and Sheriff Silverstar interacted with each other.

"You know somethin'? Even when you two tease each other, it's cute. Ah' just hope that someday when ah' find a stallion that we'll be just as in love as you two."

[Mojo]

Hearing this, Louise and Sheriff Silverstar turned to look at other and then exchanged smiles.

"At HEM!" Doc Holly Day neighed to break their 'love trance', "if'n you two horsies er finished, we promised our young friend a tour of the town so it's time to press on."

"Absoltively," the mustached lawpony said.

"Yes of course Doc," added the light brown Pegasus mare, "Apple Cinnamon, where would you like to go next?"

"Young love," the red maned unicorn giggled as he turned towards their new mare friend. "Don'tcha worry none, ma'am. I've been around this old world long enough to see many a filly and colt fall in love. You'll find the right stallion someday, and thar's plenty of eligible fellers in this town! Why, if'n I was thirty years younger, I'd be sparkin' ya myself!"

[Lux]

The two ponies looked like they were lost in love. It was only when Doc holly Day spoke up that the two finally came to their senses.

"Well ah' don't have anywhere in particular to go to, so where ever you feel is best to go next, then that's fine with me!"

AC then blused when Doc holliday gave his advice and added that if he was younger, he'd be courting her.

"Well ah' must say that ah'm falttered that you find me so attractive to want to court me if you were younger as you said. And yer right, all ah' need is findin' the right one."

[Mojo]

"That's the spirit, young lady," Doc Holly Day said with a smile. "Why don't we all take a tour of the town's Clock Tower next?"

"Great idear, Doc!" Sheriff Silverstar neighed. "The Clock Tower's THE tallest buildin' in all of Appleoosa!"

"That's true," added Louise LaMare, "of course, the original Clock Tower was destroyed during the Buffalo Incident, but thanks to a very generous donor from out of town, it was fully restored."

"Yep! Not only did that Pegasus dude offer to pay for all the materials for the repairs, he even rebuilt the inner clockworks all by himself!" the older red maned unicorn bragged. "What was his name?"

"Said he was Perfesser somethin' or other. Talked with a funny accent too, but he sure did a jimdandy job on the Clock Tower. Wanna see it, Miss Cinnamon?"

[Lux]

"Well ah' think it would be nice to see the clock tower," Apple Cinnamon said. She had seen the structure before in her travels through town, but she guessed that was a way to go inside it, or even an observation floor where a pony could see the whole town and beyond.

"Actually," Apple Cinnamon said as she followed the other ponies, "Ah' keep hearin' about this buffalo incident. What happened? Ah' guess ah' wasn't here when it happened."

[Mojo]

"Believe it or not, young lady, Appleoosa was almost destroyed that day," Doc Holly Day said.

"That's right!" added Sheriff Silverstar, "back when this here town was bein' settled, us townfolk planted our town apple orchard on the only flat land outside the settlement. We didn't know this land was used by the local buffalo herd for a traditional stampeding trail! Anywoo, them buffalo was plenty sore about it, and after hearing a HORRIBLE song sang by a certain pink filly..."

"You mean Pinkie Pie?" Louise LaMare blurted out.

"We don't mention her name in this town, Miss LaMare!" the unicorn doctor neighed.

"Well, after she sang, the chief of the tribe declared he was gonna flatten the orchard and the whole town! So the next day at noon, the battle began! The buffalo rushed in, but we were ready with our apple pie brigades and traps! It was only when Chief Thunderhooves got clobbered with an apple pie that the fighting stopped. But when that big shaggy tasted our apple pies, he LOVED them and proposed a compromise. They agreed to allow the orchard to stay, if'n we'd cut a stampeding trail through it AND give'm fresh apple pies as 'rent' fer the property!"

"It was durin' the battle that the original Clock Tower got smashed. But thanks to the efforts of our generous benefactor, the Clock Tower was restored!"

[Lux]

Apple Cinnamon listened to the three ponies spun their yarn about the buffalo and the town. She loved hearing stories told, especially since she was a singer and singing was just storytelling with music.

"Oh mah stars! I didn't know that it was that bad of a fight. To think that ah' may have been caught up in that or even that there might have not been an Appleoosa to move to. That would mean not meetin' any of you, an' that would be a shame. Ah' guess ah'm going to have to watch what ah' sing too. Wouldn't want to have a battle started by mah signin."