[Solstice Heights] Yearning for company.

[DoctorWilliam]

Cutesy Blue woke up as late as the midafternoon. He had no schedule in his lifestyle, and thus there was no need to control when he went to sleep, and when to awaken. Yawning, he climbed out of bed, rubbing his eyes with his rather thin forelegs. He looked around the circular room, to him, as well as many other ponies I might add, the room was rather plain.

The bed in which he sat on laid across from the room on the opposite side of the door, which lead to the staircase downward into the kitchen. Aside from the bed were two bookshelves that stood closely next to each other, another shelf on the other side however, sat by itself. Next to the door was a worn wooden chest, containing certain equipment that he either used on a daily routine, or never.

Cutesy Blue ignored the chest for the time being, and entered the staircase. Trotting downstairs, he was greeted by the same, messy, cluttered, vile surfaced kitchen. His parents had no time to clean the place, as they were all very busy ponies. He hardly would clean the kitchen himself, only washing the dishes twice to quadruple a week.

Despite Cutesy’s irresponsibility; being home all day and all, he was far from lazy, more or less just unmotivated, and unconfident. With his spare time, he took strolls in the wilderness outside of Solstice Heights, drew when he felt inspired, crafted simple tools, and practiced magic for minor conveniences such as lifting objects, or breaking something open.

Whenever he saw an unclean area in the house, he always asked himself three questions:

Does the condition of the area give me an allergic reaction? Is the condition of the area making me feel ill? Does the condition of the area make me unhappy? If all of them marked ‘No’, then he left it be.

Dirty dishes, and vile smelling garbage are two great examples of objects that answer one of those three key questions.

Cutesy Blue didn’t have to care how the inside of the house looked. No one came to visit, and no one to look. His parents had to worry just as much as he did about the house’s cleanliness. His parents were very busy ponies, and did business up at Canterlot. Cutesy Blue doubted that anypony that worked with his parents would go through as much trouble as to visit one of their co-workers when they most likely have their hands full with other duties to attend to. That, and his parents probably would have automatically rejected the offer of a pony coming to visit their home. One pessimistic side of Cutesy thought that if that were the case, it would be because of him.

Either way, it all boiled down to one thing. Cutesy Blue was his own island… A somewhat depressing, lonely island.

Cutesy Blue looked over at the sink. It was once again filled with dishes to clean. He sighed.

***

By the time Cutesy’s mother and father came home from their daily jobs, all the dishes in the house were spick and span, and had plenty of spare time to make a drawing that he left out on the counter. To the parents’ surprise he was improving. It was now evening and Cutesy Blue sat at the dining table, acknowledging his parents’ return.

“You’re home early…” Cutesy said in a bored tone. His parents didn’t seem to mind. Cutesy Blue sounding unenthusiastic to everything was common for him. He didn’t mean to sound that way, he just did. He had other tones to go with his tone of boredom, but his natural tone seemed to be the most noticeable.

“Yes, we thought we’d get off duty early today…” Cutesy’s Mother responded to his statement. “…to give you a few assignments.”

Cutesy’s ears perked up. His initial thought was ‘What sort of assignments!?’ He couldn’t even remember any sort of assignment from before that had been important enough to skip the last third of work to see him.

Cutesy Blue’s dad answered his question for him. “We thought that this house should be cleaned up to look nice and pretty. It’s a nice house, but It’s still pretty messy, and compared to the houses we go to in Canterlot, this place is a rather pigsty. Your mother and I just thought that we should try to make it so we can come home to a nice, clean house after work.”

Cutesy Blue had been corrected of his previous misinterpretation that they simply didn’t care just like he did.

Cutesy Blue didn’t respond, his ears lowered back down. He knew where this was going.

“…So we thought “Maybe we should give Blue a bit of responsibility too while we’re at it. He’s home all day, after all.” And there it was, just like he had expected for him to say.

Cutesy Blue shrugged. “All right then. What do you need me to do?” he replied calmly.

“Well first…” His mother started, then pausing; showing that they haven’t actually thought of what to assign him.

“Go out and get some cleaning supplies. We’re going to need a lot if we’re going to go through with this.”

Now this wasn’t what Cutesy Blue expected. ‘…Out…? Dad can’t mean out in public!’ Cutesy Blue had never gone out in public by himself before, let alone gone out in public for three years, despite it not being too far away.

Cutesy’s father approached him, and lifted out a pouch of bits from his saddlebag with his horn.

“Here’s fifty bits. This should be enough for all the supplies you need. We’re going to need a new set of mops, brooms, cloths, sponges, ammonia, soap, bleach, and dye. Do you need a list?”

Cutesy Blue shook his head. “Are you sure you want me to get the supplies? I mean…”

His father interrupted. “Come on now. You’re old enough to go out on your own. We don’t expect you to stay home all day.”

Cutesy Blue was speechless. He didn’t even consider the fact that he might be allowed to leave home by himself. Then again, would he really want to? Cutesy Blue thought to himself. All his life, he had trouble getting along, and socializing. Why would he risk humiliation by going out in public? Cutesy Blue shook his head, thinking that now was not the time for anxiety.

“Is that a no?” His father asked, misinterpreting his headshake.

“No! I mean… Yeah, no, that wasn’t a no.” Cutesy Blue responded, stuttering a bit.

“Well, ­­­­what are you waiting for, then?” His mother found a place in the conversation.

Cutesy Blue gulped.

[Jeroin]

It was a rather strange day for Cobalt. It was about midafternoon and he was in Solstice Heights. The pegasus Sunshine Beam of Canterlot lived here, and he wanted to ask for his help on a specific mechanical problem for a contraption he was making. It was supposed to grind rocks into a fine sand. However, the stallion was nowhere to be seen. The neighbors said he was in Cloudsville visiting relatives. Though it only set Cobalt's plans back a few days, and he was in no hurry. The river water in Solstice Heights was fantastic. He found a little cranny in the rockbed that was perfect. His transportable water-purifier and his many travelling books were unpacked and the charms for guarding his makeshift house were in place. He though for Ottostrophe, his pet otter. He was in the care of a friend right now, no doubt moping about.

* * *

Cobalt was out in the marketplace, saddlebags filled with purified water and some empty space should he find a good book. His forelimbs felt good today. The marketplace wasn't anything like Ponyville, Canterlot, Hoofington or Manehatten. It had a quiet feel but was also very busy and strange. Ponies sold a lot of goods he had never seen before - no doubt the spoils of travelling the strange terrain. There was a sparkling sapphire the size of Cobalt's eyes. He longed to buy it, but he didn't have enough bits at the moment. He resolved to quickly get some water sold so he could purchase the fine treasure. The ponies here had already bought about 4 bottles of it, surely he could rack up enough bits in no time. He wore a automaton harness which had water and was purifying equipped bottles of water on full display. It also attached to his flippers and gave them better grip on the ground. Cobalt smiled confidently. it Nothing could go wrong today.

Or so he hoped.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Jeroin

[DoctorWilliam]

Cutesy Blue's parents waved bye to him as he trotted down the steps the hill laid out. Cutesy Blue looked down, not making eye contact to the ponies that were doing work on their yards which laid out on the side of the steps separated by a few feet of pony-made leveled terrain. This was way out of Cutesy Blue's comfort zone, having his hooves cover cobblestone road where many other ponies had stepped on. As Cutesy Blue reached closer to town, the more nauseous he felt. He began to hear uninterpretable mutters of dozens of townsfolk. Before he knew it, he was in the marketplace. Cutesy Blue tried to calm himself down as he lifted his head to read the signs that hung over the doors. It took him a moment, but in the distance, he saw a sign that said 'Bradie's cleaning utilities'. Cutesy Blue trotted slowly, trying desperately not to rub against other ponies' coats.

He made it to the doorstep of the shop, and hurtled right in, anxious to get away from the crowd. To Cutesy Blue's relief, the shop had very few ponies. He signed in relief, and trotted over to the shelves... only to be met by another conflict. Cutesy Blue was overwhelmed by how many choices and alternatives there were for cleaning utensils and products. All he needed were some mops, ammonia, bleach, wrags, and sponges, sure, but there were so many kinds made by so many other companies! Cutesy Blue sat there, dumbfounded.

[Jeroin]

The automaton whirred frantically as another bottle capped off. Smiling, Cobalt used the little Hippocamp magic he had to lift the bottle into the air and into the saddlebag of a cream-colored mare with light green eyes and red mane. She smiled happily as she said, "Thank you, young colt! I was going over to the river later to get water, but now I see I can just get it from you! Where do you usually set up shop?"

Cobalt chuckled lightly, "Oh no, ma'am. I'm just a drifter here. I came to meet Sunshine Beam, but he's out of the coop, so to speak. I do have a den near the river here, but I'm afraid it's only temporary."

"Oh. Well, that's just a shame. Nice ponies like you are always welcome of course. Have a nice stay, Mr.Cobalt!", and with that she trotted off. Cobalt beamed internally. No one had ever called him Mr.Cobalt. He liked the sound of it.

Later, a young filly smiled as she held several bottles of water in her saddle bags. Her defiant, blue eyes twinkled as she stared at Cobalt. "So, what are you, anyways?"

"Well, little filly, I'm a Hippocamp."

"A Hippo-what? Is that like a hippo?"

Cobalt smiled, "No, not quite. Hippocampi were born of sea magic. They are sorta like Pegasus in that they're born blessed with special powers."

The filly tilted her head slightly, "I thought only unicorns had special powers."

"It's not like that. Pegasi can walk on clouds and manufacture weather. Not to mention they can fly. Sort of like that, Hippocampi can breath underwater and have water-related magic, if weak."

She smiled and then said in a rather lower tone, "Well, Mr.Hippocamp sir, could you help me out?"

Cobalt was taken by surprise. "Depends on what you want."

"You see that store over there - Bradie's Cleaning Utensils? Can you get me a bucket from there?"

Cobalt took this with a large degree of surprise. What did a filly need a bucket for? "What do you need a bucket for?"

The filly's eyes gleamed, "Momma say's I should go buy one. But I have plenty of other chores to do. Can you go get it while I go get some Tree Sap from the vendor over there?" She nudged her muzzle to a far off location across the street."

Cobalt sighed. Something told him he was not going to like what was going to happen. "Alright, I'll be back in a second."

[DoctorWilliam]

Cutesy Blue kept staring at the shelf for a good five minutes, in his own little yet overwhelming world.'Oh Luna, think Blue, think!' The blue unicorn looked up to see just what he was looking for. A mop packaged that just said 'MOP'. Cutesy Blue smiled, but before he could stand back up... "Um, hello? What are you doing just sitting ther-" Before the pony speaking to Cutesy Blue could finish her sentence, Cutesy Blue yelped, started by the sudden voice next to him. As suddenly as he cried out, he flinched violently, slamming himself against the shelf behind him, causing it to fall over, causing a loud 'CRASH'. Cutesy Blue turned around anxiously to see what he had done, the other side of the store was a mess, cleaning products spilled all over the floor, and severed broom handles could be seen sticking out from under the shelf.

Cutesy Blue just stood there, his eyes widening 'Oh, look what you've done now, Blue...'

"You're going to have to pay for all this, you know." Said a clerk pony at the counter at the other side of the shop in a very stern voice. Cutesy Blue now stood frozen, trying to hold back tears.

[Jeroin]

It was a mess. Cobalt could see he had come at the wrong time. Several broom handles lay on the floor as if they were the victims of some horrible war. Cleaning fluid spread like blood. Cobalt looked up from the carnage to see a young colt, shivering as a clerk pony stared him down.

"You have the bits to get this out, right colt? I don't have time to call your parents." The clerk said as he grumbled through a small notebook. He was white with a blue mane, and a Cutie Mark of bits and a notepad. He looked up from the floating notebook as he realized the colt was about to burst into tears.

Cobalt decided to improvise. He regained composure and walked in front of the clerk, and very un-enthusiastically said, "How many bits, sir?" The clerk could only see the upper half of Cobalt's body and thus did not have a hint of surprise in his features. Without hesitation, he said, "About sixty bits." The colt whimpered.

Cobalt sighed as he pulled out the bits from his pouch around his neck. I am going to regret this so much, he thought as he pulled out around a hundred bits. He looked at the colt with a glare of anger, and quickly barked, "Well, what else do you need?" The blue colt's eyes widened as he took a step back. Cobalt wanted to groan, this colt was to bashful to even understand what was happening. He then noticed there was a little scratched up note hanging in his open saddle bag. Using the most precise magic he could muster, he picked up the note and looked at it. He then read off the list, adding the extra and said, "..add these to the total and that sums up what we want from you for today." Cobalt again used his bored tone, "And this adds up to...?"

The clerk smiled, "About 107 bits, total."

Cobalt handed the 110 bits to the clerk with his mouth, saying, "Keep the change." He then gave a look of uncontempt to the young colt again, and then nudged his head to signal for him to follow. They left the store.

Cobalt turned to the shivering colt. He had a look of utter terror in his eyes.

[DoctorWilliam]

Cutesy Blue stood there for a second, not sure how he could possibly tackle this situation, let alone how to react to it. He would've never expected a complete stranger to bail him out on one of the worst situations he has ever been in. It could easily be considered that Celestia herself sent him to save his hide. Still, even if Celestia made the situation better, it was still pretty bad. Cutesy Blue wasn't sure he should follow this stranger. It didn't help that the pony was a creature that he had never seen before. 'What should I do? What should I say?' Cutesy Blue made his decision, and slowly trotted towards him. He didn't dare look back as he did so. For the short time going through this stomach lurching experience, he didn't think that he would ever want to go back outside into the market place, but anywhere is better than in here.

[Jeroin]

Before Cobalt could say anything, the young filly from before came up. Her unicorn horn glowed brightly as the bucket by Cobalt's side was lifted in a pink aura. He blue eyes twinkled again as she looked up to Cobalt and said, "Thank you!~" before trotting off with a little bit a bouncy step. A small pouch of tree sap floated by rather ominously. The colt was staring at the ground, though with one eye trying to process what has happening.

Cobalt huffed, and then finally said, "How did that happen?"

[DoctorWilliam]

The blue unicorn didn't say anything for a few minutes, anxiety still getting the best of him. He turned to look at the hippocamp, but not directly at him. Cutesy Blue answered silently "I was spooked..." He was looking for anything else he could say, though not sure if he needed to, or even should go into more detail. "I'm very sorry... I'm not used to this kind of excitement." Cutesy Blue felt pretty stupid as he made those words leave his mouth. He expected the hippocamp to stare at him questioningly, for Cutesy Blue knew it must be hard for many ponies to consider a normally daily routine to be any sort of 'excitement'.

[Jeroin]

Cobalt's assessment of the blue unicorn was complete the moment his voice dropped to a mere whisper. He smiled encouragingly and then patted his mane with his right hoof. The unicorn seemed to recoil from the contact.

"How much do you get out? Sorry for pointing it out, but you don't seem to be the type. I myself prefer to stay in and read books."

[DoctorWilliam]

Cutesy Blue looked back down. "It's been three years or so since I've gone to town... But really, I guess I've always been like this. I've never been able to get along with other ponies when I was younger, and really, being in a place like this is pretty alien... I get out, but I don't go out to places where there are loads of people. Whenever I'm around strangers, I get the feeling that I'm doing something wrong... Am I in trouble?"