[Appleloosa, Open] Cheery's Ice Cream and Fan Shop, Ready to Serve!

[FlameddragoAG]

[colour=#40E0D0]Pleasant "Cheery" Flurries[/colour]

http://fc00.devianta...oag-d5kw9e2.png

-This story will pretty much be free to post in any order. Just post whenever you can.

-It will also be in a sort of line system; Cheery will be taking the first person in line and if you want to join in, just get in line and converse with other characters until she can serve you!

Today was yet another wonderful, sunny day in Appleloosa. Normally ponies from the small town wlouldn't say the same, as Appleloosa was always sunny. And hot. Oh so hot. The heat would normally affect the hard workers who take care of the town's apple orchard, or any other job requiring to work outside making it really tiring to work in due to the sun, as Cheery would say.

That's what Pleasant Flurries works towards, what she wants to achieve. To make the hot, sunny town of Appleloosa bearable with frozen treats and ultra-powered fans, spreading chills and balanced temperatures everywhere!

And that's what she does everyday with her pride and joy, 'Cheery's Ice Cream Emporium of Wonders and Fan Store', an unnecessarily long name, but Cheery believes that a long, colourful title always brings in the most customers!

So, in order to work at her pride and joy, first she needed to get out of bed, which Cheery was currently failing at.

[colour=#40E0D0]"[/colour][colour=#40E0D0]...W-Wait Mr. Bunny...D-Don't leave with my pancakes..."[/colour]

Cheery continued to dream... well, whatever she dreams about, and sleep past her alarm clock, which was still ringing away without disturbing Cheery somehow.

The clock continued to go off for another twenty minutes before she finally snapped out of it.

[colour=#40E0D0]"...Thanks for the nice...Wait, what's that ringing...?"[/colour]

Before she knew it, she was out of bed with a panic-ridden look and a messy mane and down the stairs.

[colour=#40E0D0]"What in the name of Celestia's wrong with me!? I've never slept past the clock before!"[/colour]

She stopped by the kitchen and got what she needed, set up her counter, cleaned up missed messes from yesterday, and flipped the 'Closed' sign to 'Open' all in about in a span of about ten minutes. She had been doing this all of her life, setting up an ice cream shop, so it wasn't too hard to cover all of the bases.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Good, good. I'm not too early, not too late. I'm fine, noponies going to be angry."[/colour]

Cheery took her spot from behind her counter and took out a necessary piece of equipment, the menu, and placed it right near the cash register. Cheery didn't need to look at it to know what the prices were, as she memorized them all. Single scoops were three bits, doubles were five, waffle cones were an extra bit, and her special super-powered, custom made fans were fifteen. Ponies could just ask what flavour they wanted, she had them all. No stone was unturned when it came to ice cream flavours. She had all the basic's and even some strange ones that she came up with herself, that were surprisingly delicious.

Keeping a cool head, Cheery stood by the counter with a huge grin on her face, ready to greet the first customer that came through. She had a nagging feeling that she forgot something, but wasn't sure what it was.

With a messy mane and matted coat, Cheery hoped to give her first customer of the day the best start to the morning as she could.

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor took a deep breath as he walked through the dusty streets of....what was it? Applesosa? Snooza? Eh whatever the place was called, he was here and thats what counted. In fact he enjoyed coming to this town, even if he could never bother to remember the name of it.

What he liked about the town was how it was right in the desert. The almost inhospitable envoriment reminded him a bit of home. The heat and rocky outcroppings made this place a test of survival. So why were ponies living here? Frankly they didn't seem the type to like to live in hot aridi enviroments, but he guessed even a pony had to be tough every so often.

'Well if they can live here then I guess they must be tough.' He thought.

Razor wiped his brow, the heat was tolerable but even he could use some refeshment. Not that he would tell anypony or griffon that. As he walked he saw the quick change of a close sign to open. He checked the shop and was surprised to see an ice cream shop in a hot area. Razor didn't really understand the thrill of ice cream. He had never tried it before, but he knew what it was made of.

"Hmmm....why not. Might as well see why ponies like it." He said to himself as he walked on over.

Pushing the door open he walked in, and was surprised by the sudden change in temperature. But when he saw the owner of the store, he figured it was that fancy unicorn magic all unicorns seem to have.

'Pfft. Magic. Give me good old claw and wing power over it.' He thought as he walked over.

Reaching the register, and sighing as he had to stand on his back legs in order for him to be in decent view of the unicorn he said, "Hi uh....nice place...."

[FlameddragoAG]

Cheery didn't have to wait very long for the first customer to come in. It was almost like he was waiting just outside of the store, waiting for some fresh ice cream!

When he came inside the store, she was shocked to see an actual griffin stop by. She never really seen a lot of griffins stop by in Appleloosa, much less come to buy ice cream from her. She also saw him shift a little, probably due to the temperature. That normally happened often too. One second you find yourself on the hottest day in Appleloosa, the next you find yourself thinking it's Winter when stepping inside her ice cream store.

She stopped to consider why a griffin of all creatures would stop by for some ice cream. Mabye it was the fact that he liked ice cream and wanted some. Ooh! Or mabye he heard of her store from far away in Griffinland and wanted to have her godly ice cream because he heard of how good it was!

Cheery was overcome with joy at the thought of such an exotic creature stopping by to sample some of her treats! Before she knew it, she ran up to the griffin and grabbed his talon in her hoof and shook it up and down furiously.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Hello Mr. Griffin! I can't begin to tell you how honoured I am to see one of your kind here! You must have heard me from far away and wanted to try out my amazing ice cream, right?"[/colour]

Before Cheery could continue being the hyperactive mare that she was, she stopped and let out a gasp.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Oh, silly me! I forgot to tell you that you are the first customer of the day! Hurray! Now, I need to do something amazing so you'll be sure to go home to your griffin friends happy! Now, stay here and don't move! I need to get something extra special for you!"[/colour]

Before she knew it, she was out of the store front and into the back, where the kitchen was, preparing something extra special for her griffin friend. She never even stopped to ask his name, tell him her name, or anything! She was just too excited!

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor was shocked by the sudden greeting and rapid conversation and talon shake. Frankly the rapid progression of his claw going up and down so fast was starting to hurt.

'Ow. Ow. Ow' Razor thought, glad when it finally stopped.

"Hey uh great to be first, but....." However before Razor could finish the unicorn was gone,"....and she's gone."

Razor sighed and just looked around while be waited, "She'll be back...I think."

'Of course I'd rather be plucked of all my feathers before I told anygriffon about this. I'm mocked enough as it is.'

[FlameddragoAG]

"Oh boy! A griffin as my first customer! I have to make something extra special for him, and I have just the flavour for him!"

Cheery spent as little time as she could to make her complimentary gift she always gave to first customers. Today she thought she would try a new flavour she just came up with.

After spending about ten minutes in the back, Cheery came out with what she wanted to give to her new griffin friend under the snow white glow of her magic. She made her way back to the counter with a big smile and set down her gifts for the griffin. Their was what looked like a small bowl of brightly coloured ice cream, a small fan of some sort, and a small yellow and red box with a pink bow on top. It was hard to tell what exactly it was, except that the box was about as big as a simple flower pot.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Alrighty then, Mr. Griffin. Sorry about the wait, but I wanted to make this special for one of my first griffin customers! First off is a small sample of what we have to offer you!"[/colour]

Cheery picked up one of the gifts, a small bowl of ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate sauce. What the ice cream was made of, was the interesting part. The ice cream had all the colours of the rainbow all in one scoop.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Now, I have to offer a special ingredient I got all the the way from Sweet Apple Acres, in Ponyville! Have you ever been there before? Anyway, this flavour is from a fruit called a Zap Apple. The kind ponies up there sold me a few jars of their Zap Apple Jam, and I managed to turn it into an ice cream flavour."[/colour]

Cheery then thrust the small bowl towards the Griffin. Even though this was a new flavour, she knew that with her many years expertise with ice cream would pull through and have a new winning flavour to sell. Afterwards, she would introduce the griffin to her other complimentary gifts that she had to offer. And she could take all the time in the world, because it looked like nopony else wanted ice cream or fans at the moment.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Go ahead and tell me what you think. Only the best for my new griffin friend!" [/colour]

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor took the bowl of ice cream and looked at it curiously. The coloring was odd, but what worried him the most was the sheer friendliness of this pony. It was sort of disturbing.

"Uh thanks, and my name is Razor." He said.

Razors obvious shortness would be plainly obvious to Cheery now. Razor looked from the bowl to the mare to the bowl again.

'Well here goes nothing.' He thought as he took a slow small bite. He swallowed and licked his beak once.

"Hmm. Creamy...pretty good," Razor said, "not much of an expert cause I've never eaten this stuff before."

[FlameddragoAG]

Cheery was ecstatic that the griffin took the bowl of ice cream, yet very nervous, as she cared about how he thought about her ice cream, as she did with all of her customers. She wanted to give 110% to them, especially through her ice cream.

When the griffin stated his name, Cheery almost couldn't believe that she didn't introduce herself or ask the griffin for his name. She was crestfallen that she was unable to do that after chatting his head off and not letting him speak, but she was just too excited, she didn't think clearly. Cheery fought to control herself as she spoke in a calm voice, friendly voice.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Oh, terribly sorry I didn't ask for your name. I was just so excited to see a griffin come into my ice cream shop, and I just couldn't hold my enthusiasm. Nice to meet you, Mr. Razor, My name is Pleasant Flurries, but everypony just calls me Cheery, as it says on my sign outside."[/colour]

She then stepped over and shook Razor's talon again, just as furiously as before as if they just met. Afterwards, she gave him a big, friendly hug. Gotta make him comfortable and happy, right? After all, that was her number one priority!

Cheery had also noticed Razor was a bit of a grump, but that really didn't bother her too much. A little more of the old Cheery Charm and he would laughing and smiling away with the ice cream store owner!

Cheery then started to pay attention to Razor again as he was trying out her ice cream for the first time. She held her breath, hoping that the Zap Apple ice cream would get a good review.

After hearing his response, which was less than desired to Cheery, she heard that Razor never had ice cream before. Now this was some news to Cheery. She thought at first the griffin was here as some ice cream tester from the land of Griffins, but apparently not. Mabye this was way Cheery got a less than desired review from her ice cream. He really wasn't what she would call an ice cream connoisseur. This intrigued Cheery a bit, and entailed her to question Razor about his whereabouts.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Wait, really? You never tried ice cream before? At first I thought you heard of me and came flying over to try out my goods. You must have stopped by to try some for your first time, I suppose. Are you new here in Appleloosa, or did you just not decide to try out my ice cream until now?"[/colour]

Cheery had completely forgotton about what she was just doing moments ago, forgetting about her other gifts and just focused on the strange griffin, who peaked her curiousity. She held a puzzling look on her face with a hint of wonder. She really wanted to know this guy's roots.

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor went through multiple feelings in those brief seconds of getting the ice cream and tasting it.

First: He was sure he would need a new talon soon. And after that began to have his usual spasm/panic attack whenever he came into close physical contact with a female.

"I...I...I uh...just Razor please." Razor said, lowering his head to hide his blush, glad that the hug was over.

After that, and the introduction from Cheery, a fitting name considering things, he tasted the ice cream some more after the initial taste test.

When Cheery asked her question Razor looked at her and said, "I've been in this town at least three or four times. I just don't usually stay long in an area after I make a delivery. You just caught me during one of my few pauses between the work schedules. And yes, I've never tried ice cream before until now. I don't think we have it at all in Aquellia. At least I don't think so."

[FlameddragoAG]

Cheery was listening attentively while hearing the griffin's tale. She wanted to cut the ultra friendly act a bit short, because she always liked hearing the many stories of the customers. It was a nice change of pace for her. She also didn't seem to notice Razor seize up when she hugged him. Nothing she should pry into, it wasn't her buisness and she was all about being polite to customers.

So apparently this guy Razor lives in a place called Aquellia. Never heard of the place, but probably because I didn't do so well in Geography back in school. Razor also delivers packages of some sort and was just outside of my story by coincidence after making a delivery. Quite different from what I thought at first.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Hmm, so you deliver packages from this Aquellia place. What kind of things do you deliver, like letters and such?"[/colour]

Cheery also thought that Aquellia not having the wonderous delight that was ice cream was a little silly. Mabye he was a little like a grump because he never enjoyed ice cream as a kid. Or foal. Or whatever a baby griffin is called.

[colour=#40E0D0]"It's also a little sad to hear you never tried ice cream before. Having ice cream as a child really brings out your positive side, you know. Visiting my first ice cream store taught me that, and it gave me my Cutie Mark."[/colour]

Cheery pointed over to her flank, showing off her Cutie Mark to Razor, just in case he didn't see it before and as a visual aide.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Mabye, if you want, I could give you some more of my ice cream for your friends back in Aquellia so they can experience it. And mabye some for the kids so they could try. Ice cream can always bring smiles and good memories."[/colour]

One of Cheery's good traits and motives were always to make people have better days, to bring smiles and good feelings with her attitude and ice cream. Hopefully she could at least try to do the same for the griffins of Aquellia.

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor chuckled slightly for a brief moment, "Heh, no I don't deliver packages for Aquellia. It's an entire nation after all, they can do that themselves. No I do deliverys for anypony or griffon that hires me."

Razor stands proudly and spreads his wings to make him seem majestic and powerful, as well as a short griffon can, "Razor Deliverys, the single fastest way to get your package from here to there. Thats my new slogan, pretty cool huh?"

Razor took another bite of ice cream, still small bites but he was unconciously starting to try more and more. It was pretty good, though he certainly wouldn't eat it all the time, after all too much sugar would be bad for him. Still.......maybe once in awhile.

When Cheery indicated her cutie mark Razor looked at it for a few moments, "Hmm. Nice. So this stuff really makes ponies happy?"

Razor took another bite of ice cream, but twitched and looked away at what Cheery said next, "Uh....I don't think that would work. Not like I really have many friends back home anway."

Razor stayed silent for a time before growling once and taking a huge bite of ice cream savagly, swallowing it swiftly.

[TotalEcplise]

Astral Romance and Pound Sterling exited the train, it was only a short short stop, theyd be here for about six hours where the crew rested up. The before he even left the train car Pound had declare it too hot to wear his normal get up, his coat cane, and top hat would sit comfortable in is suitcase today. The cynogriffon was a show off, but even he had his limit. So for today he opted to cover his head with a black do rag. A single gold and fire ruby chain swung from his neck and he wore a black sweat band on his arm with the name Aether Flow Records on it, not to much, but he still made it work. His partner on the other hand had to be a fussy mare and wear her entire outfit. She wore her ice blue mane back, it was held in place by a hair band with the same label as the griffon's sweat band. Teal colored shades shielded her eyes from the sun, and she carried a massive teal parasol to protect herself from the heat.

[colour=#008080]"Urgh this heat, it's dreadful out here!"[/colour] whined Astral Romance.

The unicorn had thought it was wise to wear her usual attire around Appleloosa, despite the objections of a certain griffon. The mare was now under her umbrella and looking at the ground, every second she was losing strength under the unrelenting heat of the sun. Now she was paying the price for maintaining her and I quote "Queenly appearance".

[colour=#008000]"See, ah told ya not tah wear da cape."[/colour] Pound Sterling said.[colour=#008000] "but noooo, ya just had to, like somepony out here was gonna care."[/colour]

Astral looked up at the cynogriffon and harumphed. Turning her nose up to the air, she stormed away, carrying her umbrella with her magic. Pound rolled his eyes and ran after her and grabbed the umbrella.

[colour=#008000]"Ya look like ya could drop at any moment, just...just let me hold dat for ya."[/colour] He said. She may be a bit difficult at times, but she was still his friend.

Astral turned away from, the griffon and covertly snickered into her hoof.[colour=#008080] "Darling, how nice of you. And I thought you didn't care." [/colour]she said fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Pound pinched his beak with his talons and sighed. The two walked under the umbrella for a little while longer before something caught Pound's sight.

[colour=#008000]"Yo check it, an ice cream shop!"[/colour] He directed Astral's head towards the building. [colour=#008000]"I don't know about you, but ah'm going in there!"[/colour]

[colour=#008080]"Well of course I'm going, anything to get out of this terrible heat, plus you'd probably blow our budget on Ice cream if I leave you to your own devices." [/colour]Her head nodded sagely as she spoke as if what she said was an absolute truth.

[colour=#008000]"Pssh, whatever."[/colour] He said as he entered the shop, taking the umbrella with him.

[colour=#008080]"Wait!"[/colour] Astral yelled, her pristine coat simply could not be subjected to the harsh Appleloosan sun.

The Cynogriffon stepped into the establishment with Astral Romance cowering under his wing.

There was already two others there, I griffon and a mare. He assumed the pony to be the proprietor or the establishment seeing as how the griffon was eating ice cream.

Pound's lupine tail swished back and forth in excitement. He hadn't had ice cream in months.

[colour=#008000]"What's up? Looks like we made it in before da crowds huh." [/colour]He said addressing the occupants of the shop.

[FlameddragoAG]

Cheery continued to listen to Razor talk about his life, where he lived and his job. She learned that he had his own delivery service, delivering whatever his clients gave him, visiting everywhere in Equestria and beyond. Cheery always wanted to go out travelling the world, seeing all the wonderous sights of Equestria. Razor was pretty lucky to be able to fly and have this job, in Cheery's own opinion.

[colour=#40E0D0]"That's really neat, I'm really jealous you get to travel the world like this. It was always a small dream of mine, but my ice cream shop and making ponies happy here is a bigger dream of mine. Ooh, and I like the slogan too. Are you really that fast? I've always wanted to fly. Even though I don't have wings or anything..."[/colour]

When in response to Cheery's generous offer of ice cream, she noticed that Razor had a slight edge to him after she mentioned friends. He whispered something Cheery couldn't catch, but noticed his slighty aggresive disposition, how he growled before finishing his ice cream sample. This saddened Cheery a bit. She was no therapist, but she could tell that her mention of friends tipped him off.

Before Cheery could voice her concern over the suddenly distraught griffin, she heard the tiny sound of bells ringing. She looked up in time to see a unicorn mare with a sort of high-society air about her. Mabye she was from Canterlot? She was curious of this mare, and of learning what had become of Canterlot since she left for Appleloosa. After all, she was born from there. She also came along with what seemed to be another griffin! She really was attracting a lot of odd creatures today. At least she was glad she had some more company. Today was an unusually slow day. Oh well, she always liked a bit of chit-chat.

Cheery gave a little wave to the two customers, calling them from across the room over Razor's shoulder.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Hello there! Welcome to Cheery's Ice Cream Emporium and Fan Store! I'm with another customer at the moment, but if you sit tight for a teeny bit longer, I'll be ready to take your order! Luckily it isn't a crowded day, huh? I guess nopony feels like ice cream or super powered fans today."[/colour]

Cheery giggled to herself a little, and turned back to her main concern. Now, she really liked the griffin, and seemed to be a lonely sort of guy how just needed a friend. She wanted to talk to him a bit more, but she now had two waiting customers to serve. She really didn't want to turn him away after their talk...

[colour=#40E0D0]"Hey, umm, Razor? I really find you quite interesting, and wouldn't mind talking to you a bit more. I have to take these customers orders though, I don't want to keep them waiting. If you want to talk more after I'm done, you could take a seat over by one of the tables. You seem like you need a friend, and I think I could help you in that department. But if you don't want to, I completely understand. I'm not forcing you."[/colour]

Cheery then gave a little wink, and gave Razor a reasurring smile. Cheery could never have too many friends, especially ones as interesting as Razor.

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor smirked when he heard Cheery say how neat his job was. He did enjoy it when others made such a comment, after all flying was and always will be the single greatest activity.

"Yeah, flying is fun. Soaring thousands of feet above the ground, nothing holding you back or down. It's the ultimate expression of freedom." Razor said, "and of course I'm fast. I'm the fastest griffon, no THE fastest flier in the entire world."

Razor took another, more moderate and normal bite of his ice cream. When he heard the store bell ring, he looked over and frowned. Two more guests, and one of them looked like the snotty higher up types.

'Great. This shall probably be the highlight of my day.' Razor thought sourly. He was just making a guess, but if that over dressed look on the newcomer unicorn was not a sign that she was from some high class family then it at least showed that ponies lacked any sensibilities on survival. The heat in this town would fry her, probably why she had to come inside an ice cream shop.

Now the other one was a different matter, it was another griffon and Razor felt his height problem come down on him like an avalanche. Razor really really didn't want to deal with comments on his height right now, but he also was not going to go off and hide. He was a GRIFFON, a proud member of a powerful and strong species and he would not disgrace himself by hiding.

Razor was so focused on the two newcomers he didn't even register what Cheery said to him, he had to plan any possible interactions with these two carefully. Taking his ice cream Razor flew over slightly to a table and sat down, his chair posistioned near the wall so that nogriffon could sneak up on him from behind.

After that, he just slowly ate his ice cream, watching and waiting for.....whatever came next. As he ate he tried all he could to make himself seem bigger, and hoped that by sitting as far from the other as he could in the store that might help.

[TotalEcplise]

Now that she wasn't being attacked by the hateful rays of the sun, Astral could safely crawl out from under Pound's wing. Her ears perked up when cheery called out to them.

[colour=#008080]"Of course dear, we understand."[/colour] Astral telekinetically closed her parasol and removed her cape. She took a seat at a table near Razor. Once seated she took off her shades and clipped them to her hair band.

Pound took notice when the other griffon flew of to a table in the far corner of the room. Must be a griffon thing, but then again the Pound came from a small village where everygriffon new each other. So the thought of avoiding another griffon never really occurred to him.

[colour=#008000]"Astral can ya order for me, ah trust that ya know what like. Ah wanna go talk tah our new buddy over there."[/colour] He said chuckling. The griffon adjusted his do rag and walked slowly over where Razor was seated. [colour=#008000]"Hey, why ya sittin' ova there by ya self lookin' like someone put a lemon in ya ice cream? C'mon, you should look a lil more happy than that, seein' another griffon in Equestria is pretty rare."[/colour] He took a seat across from Razor and smirked. [colour=#008000]"Name's Pound Sterling, nice tah meet ya."[/colour] He said respectful.

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor looked at Pound, slowly he lifted his claw to shake and said, "Razor. I guess it has been awhile since I've seen another griffon."

Razor felt alright for now, but you could never be sure. They could be slowly leading into the ridicule, Still it did not do to be impolite.

"What brings you to this place?" Razor asked.

[FlameddragoAG]

Cheery could only smirk at Razor's claim to his speed. She had an inkling that he was only just stretching his ego a bit, but she was curious to see how fast the griffin could go. She also admired his slightly poetic claim to flying, she could completely agree with his words. Cheery knew that it came from the heart.

After offering him to stay after she served the two new guests, she could sense Razor tense up when he turned around to look at the new arrivals. Mabye he was shy? Or perhaps a childhood incident that made him wary of strangers? Was it only his kind he was afraid of, or was it only to general presence? Cheery gave herself a mental note to go in that a bit more with Razor when she had time to spare.

After noticing the new customers, Razor then without acknowledging Cheery's offer, flew over to one of the further booths, chewing warily on his treat.

I guess that means yes. Interesting. Very interesting. I have to chat more with this Razor after this.

Tearing her gaze away from Razor, Cheery then remembered here place, and realized that she had two new customers waiting for some frozen treats or fans. And speaking of fans, she completely forgot about the free one she was supposed to give to Razor. Oh well, better just wait on that. Cheery stashed the fan and her other gift under her counter, ran into the back and made sure everything was ready to go, cleaned herself up a bit, and ran back out. It was go time.

Well, time to turn on the old Cheery Charm once more and get my sale on.

Cheery saw the new griffin walk over to Razor, and they started chatting. The slightly posh looking unicorn was sitting in a seperate table. She should probably let them know she was ready.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Alrighty then, I'm all set to take the next customer! Just come talk to me and I will be more than glad to take your order!"[/colour]

[TotalEcplise]

[colour=#008080]"Astral Romance, charmed to meet you,"[/colour] She said once she had reached the counter. [colour=#008080]"I'm feeling adventurous today, hmm...I'd like two double scoops, they can be whatever flavor combinations you see fit, oh and we can't forget the waffle cones. Why, they just wouldn't be the same without the waffle cones!"[/colour] She said excitedly. She coughed elegantly into her hoof and brought her emotions in line. Astral looked around the emporium and then back at the menu. The list of items was pretty standard, but one thing stood out from the crowd. Fans. At first, Astral thought that it was some sort of typo, but it was blatantly obvious that it wasn't, that the unicorn had no choice but to drop that train of though on the spot.

[colour=#008080]"*Ahem* I sorry to slow you down, but I have a query. Ice cream and fans, selling them both in the same place in a town like Appleloosa is genius, but still, it's quite strange. What gave you the idea to open this establishment?"[/colour] She gave the Cheery a flat look, but she always looked like that.

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

[colour=#008000]"Me and Astral are on our way back tah Manehattan, we just finished performin' in this concert in Stalliongrad. Every so often da train stops so that the crew can get some rest, so ah guess work brought me here."[/colour] He said as he met Razor's claws for a friendly shake.

He looked over to the counter and watched Astral order their ice cream. [colour=#008000]"Ah hope she doesn't order me somethin' ridiculous." [/colour]

He sighed and looked back to the Razor.[colour=#008000] "What about you, Ah get da feeling that you're a decent ways from home?"[/colour]

[FlameddragoAG]

It seemed like only the unicorn was coming up for the order. Cheery had to wonder about her two new customers, were they together as a group? They didn't really seem like they would be friends or otherwise. Once the unicorn had ordered, Cheery held a grin on her face and responded cheerfully.

[colour=#40E0D0]"I know what you mean about those waffle cones! An ice cream cone isn't one without that crunchy, waffley goodness! But I still sell normal cones, for the little ones!"[/colour]

Cheery giggled to herself, licking her lips at the thought of her delicious waffle cones. She now had a craving for her own ice cream now, but she had to save her hunger for after hours. She didn't want to eat up her sales, especially after last time she had an ice cream craving inside her own store.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Anywho, it's nice to meet you, Astral! Can I call you Astral? I like to have a more personal relationship with my customers. Anyway, my name is Pleasant Flurries, but I'd rather go by Cheery. Are you sure you don't have a specific flavour you want? Anything you ask for, I probably have it in stock. I have pretty much every basic flavour you could think of, with my own special Cheery spin on it." [/colour]

Cheery was surprised to see that she didn't seem as posh as she thought. She guessed that Astral would be more snooty and uptight, but she almost seemed like the complete opposite, almost a little like her!

When Astral spook again and asked about Cheery's motives for the store and choice of fans, she gave a short laugh and rolled her eyes. If she had a bit for every time she was asked about her bizarre product choice, she would probably be pretty close to buying the lot of Canterlot. Better explain the gist of it.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Ah, if I had a bit for every time somepony said that... The reason for all of this all came from my childhood in Canterlot. I was always a happy filly, always wanting to give ponies a brighter day with my personality. After a fateful day at the local ice cream shop, I noticed how happy ponies were to recieve ice cream by friendly ponies, so I decided that's how I would continue to spread my cheerfulness, and that was when this appeared."[/colour]

Cheery turned around to give Astral a good look at her flank, where her Cutie Mark had decided to call home.

[colour=#40E0D0]"I worked at that same ice cream shop for many years until I heard about the recent construction of Appleloosa, where an ice cream store was sure to benefit the worn out ponies who work at the apple orchards. So I packed up, and moved out here to make a buisness. Oh, and the reason for selling fans is more of a 'permanent' way to spread my friendly nature. It also helps out the hard working ponies out on a hot day. I even built and enchanted the fans to give a cooler blast of air to counter the dry, warm air of Appleloosa. Would you like one? You don't look like you're from here, but a nice souvenir to take back home might be good."[/colour]

[colour=#40E0D0]"Speaking of locations, where are you from? I havn't seen you or the griffin around here. Are you visiting, or are you here on your job? It's always neat to hear different stories from different ponies."[/colour]

[TotalEcplise]

She thought on it for a moment before nodding at Cheery.[colour=#008080] "You may call me Astral if you want. And I eat any and every flavor of ice cream, the frozen delicacy can do no wrong in my eyes. However, if you happen to have some self invented exotic flavors not found anywhere else, please surprise me."[/colour] She said with a grin on her face.

Astral Romance listened attentively to Cheery's story. It was a quaint little tale, the mare loved to see others come upon there special talents through happiness. She had gained her cutie mark by expressing her sadness, so she couldn't even enjoy the moment it appeared. Cheery was very animated, and her story brought a warm smile to the unicorn's face.

[colour=#008080]"Such a beautiful tale, truly spreading cheerfulness is an excellent occupation, regardless of the form it takes. Work never feels as such when it's something you enjoy. Oh, I'd love a fan. The idea of a hoof made and enchanted fan sounds simply magnificent. It will definitely come in handy when I travel to the warmer parts of Equestria."[/colour]

She looked over at her friend who was chatting with the other griffon. [colour=#008080]"Well he's originally from Bareback Gulch, and I was raised in Canterlot, but we both reside in Manehattan at the moment."[/colour] she tapped her hoof against her chin as she thought of a good way to word it.[colour=#008080] "Hmm, well I suppose you could say it's mostly work and little bit of sight seeing. The trains stops ever so often, the crew do need their rest after all. We're in transit to Manehattan from Stalliongrad. We performed quite the concert there, honestly I'm still a little drained. I decided that I wasn't going to stay coped up in that train car, so I drug Pound out from under his covers so that we could explore the town. Really, I swear the griffon sleeps like a stone."[/colour] She shook her head and smiled.

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor shook the fellow griffons talon, "You sing? Must see the world alot then. I've been up to Stalliongrad a few times. Really chilly, really different from home."

Razor felt a bit comfortable now, after all he had been anyway from his kind a while now and meeting a fellow griffon was rare in pony lands.

"So what's the unicorn with you do? Girlfriend or something?" Razor asked chuckling at the absurdity, what self-respecting griffon would date a pony? It went against all laws of nature really.

"I deliver packages and mail across Equestria mostly. I'm my own business, Razors deliverys. Owned and managed by the single fastest griffon in the world."

[FlameddragoAG]

Cheery was glad to hear that Astral liked her story. It was a story that she felt happy sharing with anypony willing to hear. Perhaps she should ask about her childhood, and how she got her Cutie Mark. It looked pretty cool, if you asked Cheery.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Aww, thanks for the compliment! I love sharing my stories with ponies. Perhaps one day, I can inspire a small foal with it one day, and mabye pass on my friendliness with them!"[/colour]

Cheery became even more surprised to hear that Astral was quite the ice cream connoisseur. Cheery instantly lit up, and became a little less subdued than she was before.

The next thing that Cheery said really got her even more excited. She heard that Astral was born in Canterlot! That's where she was raised! Shame that she now lived in Manehattan though, she was hoping to get some news on how Canterlot was holding up. Nevertheless, Cheery felt really connected to this unicorn, she had to know more.

Astral was still speaking with Cheery hardly paying attention to what she was saying. She let the mare speak though, it was rude to interrupt a pony when they were talking. At least she caught words like 'Stalliongrad' (which made her even more happy(if that was possible)), 'concert' (did she sing? well, it did show that on her flank, so it was obvious), and 'Pound' (the griffin's name?). She really wanted to pay more attention though, but the fact that a fellow Canterlot citizen was here really made her less calm, and more like her crazy side, only focusing on that one point.

After Astral was done speaking, Cheery let her silly side come out and proceeded to wrap the mare in a squeeze hug with a huge grin on her face.

[colour=#40E0D0]"Oh my gosh, I can't believe this! I was born and raised in Canterlot! I can't believe this, oh, and you're a unicorn too! Did you go to a magic school? Which one did you go to, we might have been in the same one! Oh, we have soooo much to talk about!"[/colour]

Cheery continued to hold her in a choke hold, overcome with happiness and caught up in her 'Cheery Charm'.

[TotalEcplise]

[colour=#008000]"Sing? Naw, ah'm a hip-hop artist, a rapper and ah'm part of a band. Ah play the instruments that require a lil' more dexterity than what pony hooves can manage. And true that! That frigid place is much different from da gulch, heck so far ah haven't found a place that reminds me of my home town. Doesn't matter much though seeing as how ah live in Manehattan now."[/colour] His head started to itch, the arid air of Appleloosa really irritated his skin. He removed his do rag and stuffed it in a small pouch he carried on his side. His lupine ears twitched from the sudden exposure to the open air.

[colour=#008000]"What her? Pfft! She wishes. Honestly though, ah can't say ah haven't thought about it, but in the end ah decided that she's way too high maintenance for me."[/colour] He said as he leaned on the table casually.

[colour=#008000]"Talk about gettin' around, ya must have seen just about all of Equestria by now with that kinda occupation. So, where ya from from ?"[/colour]

----

The mare noticed as Cheery's eyes seemed to light up as she talked to her. Something said that she should shut her mouth, but Astral was enjoying the conversation to much to pay attention to the nagging feeling in the back of her head. She told Cheery where she was from the ice cream mare's energy seemed to sky rocket. Astral could only brace herself for what was about to happen.

Air? Who needs air, apparently Cheery's excitement was suppose to be enough to sustain a pony. If not, Astral was in trouble because Cheery's hug was choking the life out of her. As the air escaped her lungs, the shopkeep bombarded her with speech. She wiggled around in the mares hooves until she got enough room to draw breath. Astral truly detested being touched by strangers, but she figured the excitable young mare meant no harm. She smiled awkwardly at Cheery before addressing her.

[colour=#008080]"Sadly no, my home environment wasn't exactly... conducive towards academic growth and I left Canterlot when I was just a young filly."[/colour]

[ShadowWalking18]

"Hmm, sounds cool. And yeah, I can see how a griffon would be better at playing some instruments better then a pony." Razor said.

When Pound said he lived in Manehattan, Razor was surprised, "Guess you like the big city. Me, I just stay for a day or two in wherever town or city I'm in before moving on. Staying in one place is for older or married griffons or ponies in my mind, besides I prefer being able to travel anywhere I want."

Razor looked over at the unicorn, who was being hugged by Cheery, "She does seem to be the type to demand everything to be expensive. Canterlot ponies seem to be like that, at least to me."

"And yeah, I've been practically all over the place. North, south, east and west there are a very few places I haven't been. But my knowledge would be limited since I don't stay in one place for long. Though some of the best ways to see the world is during marathon races. Flying from one end of a map to another, through tricky and dangerous terrain all while trying to win a race that really makes for an exciting time. I get so excited just thinking about it!" Razor said as he started to rock his chair back and fourth in excitement, his breathing comig in and out fast as if he was under some sort of adrenaline rush.

[FlameddragoAG]

Cheery was always a happy pony. Sometimes she liked to show off her happiness in really bizarre ways. Like now, for example. The mention of Canterlot always drove Cheery happy, because of all the nice memories she had there. So when Astral told Cheery that she was born in Canterlot, the thought of having a pony from the same city made her think she had somepony to talk to about it, and share experiences there. And most of all, to hear just the general well-being of the city, since it had been quite a while since she had been there.

When Astral told Cheery that she didn't live there long, as she left when she was a filly, kind of brought Cheery down a notch. She was so excited, but now that it was false, kind of made Cheery feel a little...homesick. She was brought right back to what she was doing in the first place, and forgot all about the conversation and Razor and Astral, and only thought of her work in Appleloosa in order to cope with her emotions.

She immediately let go of Astral and thought of her home. Her training. Her job. Canterlot. Suddenly, she started bowing her head, rambling on about how unprofessional she acted. She even started to tear up a little as she apologized to the unicorn mare.

[colour=#40E0D0]"I'm so-so-so sorry! I just invaded your space like that, an-and it was completely uncalled for! I just wanted to make my customers comfortable, but it w-wasn't protocol!"[/colour]

And then she remembered what Astral was doing there in the first place. She was a customer, of course! And she kept her for so long without her order, how silly of her to break protocol like that! She was taught to always treat your customers with respect back in... Canterlot...

[colour=#40E0D0]"O-Oh, and sorry for keeping your order waiting! I-I just got so caught up in our conversation! J-Just give me a jiffy and I'll bring your ice cream faster than you can say 'g-great service!'"[/colour]

Cheery than rushed into the back without another word. A good ear could almost make out a sniffle coming from the ice cream store owner.

[TotalEcplise]

[colour=#008000]"Ya think ya know, but ya don't. No disrespect, but ah've seen ponies play violins, guitars, and lyre's, then tell me that they can't play a piano. Ah've seen ponies GRIP things with their hooves...It makes no sense.[/colour]" He said with a half lidded expression.

[colour=#008000]"Well it's close to work, and my employers pay my bills so yeah. Besides, Ah'm too laid back, Ah have all the freedom Ah need when out there on stage doin' mah thing. Ya know?"[/colour] He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Memories of him throwing down rhymes in the underground clubs of equestria flashed through his mind.

[colour=#008000]"She's, umm, not quite like that, it's hard to explain."[/colour] He pointed at her with a talon. [colour=#008000]"She acts quite posh, but in reality she's quite down to earth on most things. Life shapes us in strange ways."[/colour] The griffon stared at Razor, almost staring through him. Razor started talking about his travel experiences, his excitement grew with each word he spoke.

[colour=#008000]"Haha, got some passion out of ya with that Ah see. Seeing ya like this Ah have to ask. What was up with the puffy big chest act earlier?"[/colour]

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

Cheery just sort of deflated. [colour=#008080]Was it something I said.[/colour] she wondered. She didn't mean to suck the girl's fun away.[colour=#008080] "It's okay darling, really it is."[/colour] She said apologetically. [colour=#008080]"I enjoy, socializing. Really I do."[/colour]

Cheery dashed away leaving the Astral to her thoughts. She huffed and thought back to her school days in Canterlot. That deflated look, just tore at her heart. It's how she looked for so long during her stay in the capitol city. She never wanted to make another pony feel like that.

Astral walked over to the table where Razor and Pound were chatting. Her head was down and it looked as if she was deep in thought.

Pound's left ear twitched, his predatory senses picking up Cheery's sniffling from where he sat.[colour=#008000] "What did you say to her?"[/colour] He didn't even turn to face her, but his voice was obviously irritated.

[colour=#008080]"I-I don't know."[/colour] She replied.