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Under the Starry Skies

by Wintergreen Diaries

Chapter 2: Delivery

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Chapter 2: Delivery

Insomnia can arise from many different factors. That’s not to say Silver Moonshine didn’t know why he was giddy, no, he was quite aware, but simply knowing the problem is quite a bit different than fixing it. Excitement, much like worry, is quite adept at stimulating a steady stream of thoughts, in direct conflict with the empty mind required for losing consciousness. He had hoped to get to bed early so he could get to work first thing in the morning, but it was soon clear such hope was misplaced. Hoisting himself out of bed, he climbed up a smaller flight of steps that led onto the roof, which he had specifically designed to be flat and open. The sight that graced his eyes was one he promised he would never tire of, as his vision was dominated by the starry expanse. His worries, expectations, and other cluttering thoughts melted away at the natural beauty. A single star shot across the sky, and he reached out a hoof as if to catch it.


A heavy heart tends to give one a strange affinity for sleep. Applejack, normally eager to get to work, refused the sunlight’s repeated attempts to disturb her, raising the covers above her head and remaining inert, pressing deeper into her pillow. A extra half hour of sleep wouldn’t hurt nopony, and it was with this that she was nearly unconscious when a heavy hoof descended upon her door, jarring her back to wakefulness.

“C’mon, can’t a pony get some shut eye ‘round here?” she moaned, pulling a pillow over her head in an unsuccessful attempt to drown out her brother’s voice.

“Ah know you ain’t been feelin’ well, but we have a big order on apples t’ fill. Come on, Applejack, they ain’t gonna deliver themselves.” Big Mac stood aside as his sister’s tired head poked out of the door, her disheveled appearance not bothering her in the slightest. Her mane was a disaster, having been pulled from its ponytail and rolled upon multiple times as she tossed and turned in the night. In fact, if it wasn’t so long, Big Mac could have mistaken the mess for a certain DJ pony he saw come through a while back, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.

“What’re you laughin’ about, huh? It’s mah hair, isn’t it.”

“Eeeyup.” The door slammed in his face, and he descended the steps, deciding to wait for her to collect herself before giving any further details. It was well past apple season, so whatever pony had ordered the apples paid extra for the ones stored in the cellar. It was rare that ponies were willing to pay the premium for the apples themselves, normally choosing instead to enjoy the preserves and pastries that the Apple family sold instead. A number of local business placed orders from time to time, but nothing on the scale of the one that had come in a few weeks back. Applejack stared at the mirror for a moment before exiting to make sure Snow Drift and Freefall were awake. They were not, though whatever dream they were having landed them quite happily tongue tied. She was not aware of the dream, only that any hopes she had saved in the back of her mind for considering giving one of the young stallions a chance promptly breathed its last, and they awoke not to her voice but the slamming of the door behind her.

“Take it easy sis, you’re gonna bring the whole house down if you keep that up,” Applebloom cautioned, giving her clearly agitated sister wide berth as she stomped out the door and over to the cellar where three empty carts were already waiting. The order called for red delicious, royal gala, and granny smith, one cart for each type. She wordlessly went to work, and as she was finishing, Big Mac gave her the address.

“I’m not familiar with that one. Wait, don’t tell me, are these fer that new place in town?”

“Eeeyup.” Well that was just great, why couldn’t he have said so before? She took a moment to again examine the disaster that was her mane, not even daring to look at her tail. Big Macintosh said nothing as she abandoned the order and raced inside. He had just made it to the door when he heard the water start running and comprehension kicked in. His sister always prioritized efficiency over appearance, so if she was taking the time to get her looks in order, it could only mean one thing. Big Macintosh was not bothered by her interest in whoever this Silver Moonshine was, but if he wasn’t kind to her, there would definitely be some ruckus down in Ponyville.

Hastily drying off to make sure any dust kicked up wouldn’t instantly coat her in mud, she tied her mane and tail as usual and returned to the carts. It wasn’t until she was halfway to town that she realized in her haste to get ready she had not remembered her beloved stetson. She heaved a sigh and continued on, determining to grab it when she returned home for the second cart. Come to think of it, why in Equestria wasn’t Big Macintosh helping? Oh well, didn’t matter. She would be at Silver’s soon enough.


Silver descended the stairs with a cavernous yawn, attempting to ignore the soreness in his back from falling asleep on the roof for several hours. He made a mental note to put some padding up there, or maybe even a mattress when he could, to stave off further discomfort to his spine. Today was the day he was to start preparing for the grand opening, and getting everything done in two days was going to be a real challenge. A challenge he was confident he could handle, though not by himself. Having written to a number of ponies suggested to him by Mayor Mare, he had selected a few to aid him in getting the place up and running. The clock read just past nine, so his deliveries should be arriving shortly.

Letting himself out of the back, he walked a short distance to a storage shed where he would be stockpiling the dry ingredients, as well as performing his magical experiments. A cellar door in the corner led him down a flight of steps and into an earthen room, one wall lined with oaken casks and a steel table across from them. A ventilation shaft gave much needed air to the area, which would otherwise have been quite stuffy, not to mention dangerous to experiment in. Returning to the outside, he took a seat and waited for the first arrival. A red unicorn foal was grabbed just in time to not share Pinkie’s fated encounter with the wards. Silver smirked as he lowered the ward to allow Ruby and Berry to enter, where he was immediately attacked by the hyper filly, enthused to have a day off from school to help with what she could.

“Berry, you look like you had a little much last night,” he said with a grin as she held a hoof to her head as she staggered over, blocking out the sunlight with the other.

“Too much? Is there such a thing?” she replied, grimacing as her usual hangover was in full swing.

“Contrary to your personal creed, yes, there is. However, I’ve been working on something you may benefit from greatly.”

“A cure for hangovers?” she asked excitedly, not daring to believe that even magic could produce such a wonder.

“Yes, actually. See what you can accomplish being sober?” he said with a laugh as he wrapped a hoof around her shoulders. The idea of being able to drink more with no after effect had approximately the same effect on Berry Punch as Pinkie being given free reign in the world's largest candy factory, and so overcome with glee was she that she threw herself around her cousins neck. Related or not, it was a little much for the stallion who, having a rather light coat, was visibly blushing within a matter of seconds. The blush only deepened when he saw a beautiful orange earth pony approach, pulling a fully loaded cart with ease.


Applejack had been too busy gazing at the structure to notice the embrace, but as she brought her eyes back to her destination she noticed the stallion bantering with Berry, the blush visible even from a distance, and heaved a sigh. First day in town, and he’s already chatting it up with the neighborhood drunk. Berry Punch was nice enough, perhaps too nice when she was still coherent, but alcohol was something too easily abused for Applejack to consider respectable. She only partook rarely, and only within the confines of her own home. And after the “incident” with Storm Blitz and Cerulean, her aversion for the substance had only grown. Still, it wouldn’t be fair to assume anything. He at least deserved a chance.

“Top o’ the mornin’, y’all. I got a delivery of apples for the owner of this establishment?” It took Silver a moment to regain his voice and fall into his usual friendly tone, which also doubled as his business mode of speech.

“That’d be me, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Silver Moonshine.”

“Ah know.” She knew? He hadn’t met many ponies yet, so how... Wait, the one standing in the back being quiet?

“I never caught your name before I left yesterday, may I ask?”

“Applejack.” Why ‘n tarnation am I bein’ so short with him? This ain’t like me. Come on, AJ, you promised you’d give him a chance. “Ah see you’ve already made a new friend,” she said, motioning to Berry who was watching the proceedings with concealed amusement.

“Well, we do have a pretty interesting history together. Berry Punch is my cousin, you see. She’s also my business partner, she helped me plan the location and gather workers from around town.”

“It’s good t’ see her doin’ something... well, better with ‘er time.” Silver suppressed a snicker as Berry gave Applejack an indignant look.

“Mommy spends time playing with me, what’s better than that?” Ruby asked, staring up at Applejack with confusion. Applejack hadn’t meant it to sound offensive, and the presence of the filly caused an immediate shift in her tune.

“Ain’t nothin’ more important than family, sugarcube. You got that part right. Sorry, Berry,” she offered, straightening up and give her an apologetic look, “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it.” Way to make a great first impression. Show up, make unfounded assumption, insult cousin. Can I just go home now? She glanced behind her and noticed she was still harnessed to the cart, giving her an out. “Where’d you like these apples, Silver?”

“Just inside here is fine,” he said quickly, motioning to the cellar. Applejack quietly went about her work, unloading the cart with impressive speed, balancing half barrels of apples atop her head with ease.

“Even as muddled as I am, I should warn you that most mares don’t appreciate such blatant staring, Silver.” His cousin’s voice snapped him out of the trance that the orange earth pony had put him under, and he immediately averted his eyes.

“Could you say that any louder, Berry?”

“Ok, if you insist. EVEN” she started before he forcibly silenced her with his hoof, which he hastily removed as he felt her tongue give it a good slobbering. Applejack ignored the event, attaching the harness and turning the cart around. Silver looked up as she called back over her shoulder.

“Ahm finished with this cart. Ah’ll be back with the other two in a bit.”

“O-ok, I’ll be here!” he shouted, perhaps a bit too forcefully. Berry’s laughter told him that he wasn’t just imagining it.

“My, it seems your Uncle Shiny’s silver tongue has melted, Ruby.”


Being lost in thought had kept Applejack from keeping note of her progress, and she had just entered the treeline when she heard strained grunts coming from somewhere nearby. Following the sounds she found the other two carts of apples moving short distances at a time as Freefall and Snowdrift desperately attempted to move them to their desired location.

“Wow, that hurts mah eyes, you two.”

“What? These things... are heavy!” Snowdrift countered, continuing his unsuccessful attempts to pull the cart more than a few inches at a time. He fell forward as Applejack released the harness and donned it herself, pulling it with ease and heading towards Silver’s whatever it was.

“Why don’t you two just pair up an’ pull together? You don’t appear to have boundaries with each other.” The two gave each other a confused look as the earth pony disappeared into the trees. It shouldn’t have surprised her, really, but it stirred something inside of her as she arrived on scene. Silver was chatting up a storm with Carrot Top, who had just delivered a cart of her freshest produce. Applejack attempted to proceed to the cellar unnoticed, but Silver had noticed her as soon as she had appeared on the horizon, even with the busy crowds. However, since Carrot Top was a client, he obliged her chatter and let Applejack begin to unload, wishing the mare in front of him would show the same work ethic. It wasn’t that she was particularly annoying, just that he was, for once, highly distracted by a mare. By the time he pried himself away, Applejack had just finished unloading and was about to return she waved to Cerulean and Twilight. Dawn was playing “Queen of the Dome” as per usual, gripping Cerulean’s mane like reigns and failing to sit still longer than ten seconds.

“Hey there, Applejack! What’s with the cart?” Twilight called out, waving.

“Silver Moonshine placed a pretty big apple order a while back, n’ today’s delivery day.”

“That explains how you got past the wards.”

“Hey, Silver. Could you let my friends through?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Did he really just call me that? An’ why do I feel happy ‘bout it? “Would you mind introducing us, Applejack?”

“O’ course. This here is Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia and local librarian. She loves all things magical an’ trust me, you don’t wanna make her angry.”

“I can attest to that,” Cerulean nodded sagely, smiling as Twilight shot him a mock glare.

“The blue one is Cerulean Snowgleam, Twilight’s husband and local buffoon.”

“Ouch, Applejack, that’s kinda harsh. I’ve gotten more smart.”

“Smarter,” Twilight quickly interjected.

“Whatever.” He suppressed a sigh as both of his ladies laughed at his error.

“An’ that little filly that has a death grip on ‘is mane is their daughter, Dawn Starshine. I’m pretty sure she’s smarter than ‘er dad already, though her speech could use some work.” The filly crossed her fore hooves across her chest as if to say “I’m working on it” and babbled out her counter argument. “Say, Silver, what’re you gonna do with all these apples anyhow?”

“Some are going towards food, some towards experimentation, and some towards things of a more secret nature.”

“You’ve got too many secrets, Silver.”

“Now don’t you worry, all will be revealed in due time. You all won’t be kept in the dark much longer, so please, I beg your patience.” Cerulean and Twilight nodded their agreement, and Applejack begrudgingly gave her acceptance of the statement as well. Dawn, however, had locked her gaze on the stallion. Noticing the inquiring glance, he walked over and addressed her directly. “Excuse me there, miss, but I seem to have caught your eye. What’s on your mind?” An outstretched hoof pointed towards his clothes. He hadn’t noticed that he hadn’t changed since the previous day, and he laughed quietly at the foal’s powers of perception. “You are quite right, I should pay more attention to my hygiene. I will do my best not to let it happen again in your presence, my lady.” To his surprise, Dawn sighed at his woeful misinterpretation of such a simple gesture, and proceeded to lift the tail of his jacket with magic, revealing his Cutie Mark for a split second before he hastily slapped a hoof over it.

“Were those... alchemical symbols, Silver?” Twilight said slowly, suddenly extremely curious. Alchemy basically combined modern chemistry with magic to achieve different results, but it wasn’t often used or studied.

“I’m surprised somepony recognized them,” he replied, pulling the jacket back just enough so his Cutie Mark could be seen more clearly. His flank was adorned by a jug, bearing no label but two symbols instead.

“Spirit... silver spirit, and aqua... aqua fortis?” A light bop on the head from Dawn caused him to instantly correct himself. “Aqua vitae, right Dawn?” He smiled as her tiny hoof pat him on the head, a reward for a job well done.

“Well done, Cerulean, I’m impressed. You can learn.”

“Oh, you teach me plenty, Twilight.”

“Don’t start, you,” she laughed, kissing him briefly before turning back to Silver.

“Since you know them, you can probably guess what my talent is, but I’d appreciate it if you’d keep quiet about it for now.”

“I don’t think it’s anything you should have to hide, but ok,” Twilight affirmed, Cerulean and Dawn both nodding their agreement.

“Can they at least tell me? Ahm all curious now.” Dawn drew a hoof across her mouth, sealing the secret safely within. Applejack couldn’t possibly bring herself to be angry with the motion, and thus returned to her work, resolving to bide her time. Just like Silver had said, she’d find out soon enough. Noticing that Carrot Top had finished unloading as well, he hastily made small talk with Twilight and Cerulean until she left, at which point he heaved a small sigh and turned back to the real topic at hoof.

“I wish everypony was as understanding as both of you. I expect there are some who will have little tolerance for my creations.”

“You’re talking about alcohol, right?” Cerulean offered, recalling the chapter he read on alchemy a few months back.

“Mostly, yes, but not exclusively. I want this to be a family friendly establishment, and thus will have a number of drinks for the children.” Ruby Pinch, who up until recently had been examining the cellar, scampered up the stairs and inserted herself in front of Silver.

“Uncle Shiny finished the shiny drink! It tastes super yummy and makes you glow!”

“Can that really be safe to eat, then?” Twilight asked, trying to figure out how that could come about. Cerulean whispered something in her ear and she blushed deeply before muttering something to herself and looking away.

“Every drink I create is tested several times before being released to the public. Unfortunately, aside from Berry I don’t have any others lined up, and I like to try things on a wide variety of ponies to be safe. So, if you know anypony with a good sense of adventure, send them my way.”

“We’ll do it!” Twilight immediately agreed. “Since alchemy involves magic, I’d love to see what kinds of things you can do with it. And besides,” she continued, casting a wary eye on Cerulean, “somepony will have to keep this one under surveillance, lest he wake up in another’s bed.”

“That’s only happened once! Errr, twice.” He stopped for a moment before a giggle from above confirmed his suspicions that it was a good time to cease his ineffectual prattle. A sudden warmth on his cheek eased his concerns as Twilight nuzzled him briefly before turning back to a grinning Silver. “Also, as far as adventure goes, I think I know two pegasi that would fit perfectly.”

“Names?”

“Rainbow Dash and Storm Blitz, the local Wonderbolt celebrity couple.”

“Whoa, are they really with the Wonderbolts? That would go a long ways in getting my tavern to take off.”

“Uncle, you said it!” Ruby laughed as she attached herself to a foreleg.

“It’s ok, Ruby, I’m pretty sure they’d have figured it out soon enough. Do you happen to know any earth ponies that might be willing to indulge in testing my drinks? I have Berry, but I need one more. Maybe Applejack?”

“I don’t think she’d be interested, sorry. She doesn’t particularly care for alcohol, especially not after a recent ‘incident,’” Twilight explained. She exchanged a knowing look with Cerulean as the stallion’s smile faded just a little, but enough for them to catch it. “Pinkie Pie loves trying new tastes. A little too much, actually, but she’d be more than willing to help.”

“Is that the mare that had a nasty encounter with my wards?”

“That’d be the one,” Twilight replied.

She was suggesting he attempt to experiment on a mare that circumvented the wards, made an open declaration of party on his establishment, and pronounced him and his cousin as a happy couple? “Absolutely not.”

Next Chapter: Sea of Confusion Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 11 Minutes
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