(Stormcolud)
I pulled back from the sudden pressure on my face. I opened my eyes to see a very distraught looking Rainbow Dash. She covered up her mouth in horror as I looked at her in shock.
"I-I'm sorry! I don't know wha-" She started coughing mid sentence. I looked at her miserable state, and how much emotional turmoil she was in at the moment. I just sighed as I pulled the sheets higher onto her.
"You need to rest, you should go back to sleep." I said before rubbing the side of my face against hers. She turned a deep red as I left the room.
"Stormcloud?" She asked before I left the room.
"Yeah Dash?" I replied as I looked over my shoulder.
"Are you mad?" She asked nervously, causing me to chuckle .
"No Dash, I'm not mad. Just get over this silly hangover so we can talk, ok?"
"I'm not going to be able to sleep." She said worriedly, and her face had a look of pleading. I sighed, making my way over before laying next to her. She tried to hide her face by looking away, but I could tell she was smiling. We laid there for a few minutes, her pressed against me ever so lightly, breathing in and out, with an occasional wing twitch from her. Eventually I heard her light snores, and I knew she had drifted off. I carefully snuck out, closing the door behind me. I had to go out to Ponyville for supplies, and hopefully nobody there was extremely in the know about nobility. I had not mentioned to Rainbow Dash how I got the money for stock brokers in the first place. My father had started out in the lower middle class, with little hope of moving up dramatically in life. He was different though- instead of going to college, he started a small business. A local gang had been bothering him, as he lived in Detrot (like Detroit). He had done some detective work, and managed to find that the gang had a large weapons cache in a warehouse bordering an area owned by the Mafia. He tipped them off about the weapons cache, and the small gang had been straight up wiped out. By law of the street, the Mafia now controlled the newly purified area. They may be a gang, but the Mafia remembers who its friends are. My fathers business skyrocketed, due to the recent influx of grateful customers, and eventually he owned most of the neighborhood. He moved to Canterlot as his business' eventually began to run themselves. His life became a rather overused successes story, leaving out the Mafia. He met my mother at a formal ball, and she recognized him from the videos her college professor had shown them about the new age of business. You can infer the rest. I had gotten stocks for my 18th birthday present, and my father had given me connections with some amazing stock brokers. Before long, I had moved to Ponyville, and now here I was, a millionaire at the age of 21. So needless to say I was somewhat famous due to my fathers standings. I grabbed a pair of sunglasses before I left with a bag of bits tied around my neck, and a saddlebag to carry what I bought in. I had bought a rather large complex in the area to open up a winery of sorts. It had an extremely large cellar, and I had bought most of the alcoholic drinks from the Mafia to help keep family ties strong. The shipment was supposed to arrive in a few days. I had been asked by one of my fathers associates to see if I could set up deals with the owner of sweet apple acres to buy a large shipment of their apple cider. Apparently is was the best in all Equestria, and ponies made lines longer than the eye could see just to get a single mug. He was willing to pay handsomely, 500 bits a keg. I decided thats where I would go first. I also noted that I should make my own order also, separate of the 50 kegs the acquaintance had wanted. I left my house, locking the door as I left. I could see a huge plot of land, covered in apple tree's. That had to be the place. I flew above the clouds, staying as inconspicuous as possible.
Before long, I saw a barn with a two story house next to it. I landed at the entrance, next to a wooden sign mounted on two posts that said 'Sweet Apple Acres'.
I walked up to the barn, looking for someone to talk to. An orange earth pony approached me with a friendly smile.
"Hi there, an' welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! My name's Applejack, what can I do ya for?" She said in a thick southern accent.
"Hello Applejack, my name's Stormcloud, and I have two things to talk about, both involving your
apple cider." I said, trying to sound professional.
"Well, I don't know, Granny is awful protective when it comes to that subject, and if you're here for the recipe, it is a no. Keeping that in mind, what did you want to talk about?" She asked cautiously. I inwardly sighed, knowing that this might be harder than I thought.
"I am here for a business partner who is arriving in a few days. He is bringing me a large shipment of assorted drinks, and was hoping to go back with around 50 kegs of your cider." Her face looked apologetic.
"Well I'm sorry partner, but we only make the cider a few times a year, due to the amount of effort that has to be put into it." I decided to give her a nudge in the right direction by hinting at what she was passing up.
"Oh that's a shame, I guess he'll have to go back to Detrot empty handed then. She looked at me in realization. Anyone that made hard cider, wines, or any form of alcoholic drinks knew that the only people selling alcohol in Detrot were mobsters. She seemed to be thinking of a way to re-consider without seeming desperate, as it would be bad for the price negotiation if she seemed to be.
"All the way from Detrot, huh? Well, I guess, but only if he's got the bits. I can't just go making these kinds of exceptions for anypony, ya hear?" I nodded, and we negotiated a price, eventually settling on 135 bits a keg. I had done very well, and I knew the buyer would be happy. On my way out, three little fillies ran into me.
"Ow!" The one who had ran into me had a yellow coat and a red mane with a large bow tie in it. The other two skidded to a halt behind her.
"Oops, sorry mister." The yellow one said embarrassed.
"Hey what's up with your saddlebag?" The commentator was an orange pegasus with tiny wings. I looked at my saddlebags, realizing the orange one was right. My saddlebags were in terrible condition.
"It appears I need a new saddlebag." I said surprised, causing a white unicorn to jump into the air with a gasp.
"You can buy them from Rarity at the Crystal Boutique!" She said enthusiastically.
"I'm new here, do you mind pointing me in the right direction?" I asked, laughing at their energy.
"Maybe we can find our cutie marks in tour guides!" The yellow filly said before they dragged me off.
(10 minutes later)
I stood at the door of an extravagantly ornamented building, the three 'Cutie Mark Crusaders', as I had learned they were called jumped up and down near me. The door opened to a white mare with an expertly cut mane.
"Hello and welcome to Carousel Boutique, where-" suddenly a shocked look came over her face.
"My goodness! I hope your here to buy new saddlebags my dear!" She said in a posh accent.
"Actually yes, I was. These three here were kind enough to escort me here!" I said laughing. I looked behind me but they had ran off already.
"Here, come inside. I am Rarity, what would be your name?" She asked, leading me inside. I waited until the door was closed to answer.
"My name is Stormcloud, it's a pleasure to meet you Rarity." I said, making her freeze. She looked over at me in surprise.
"Wait, Stormcloud, the son of-" I interrupted her before she could finish.
"Yes, that is me. If you don't mind, would you mind not telling anyone? Your the first person to notice, and I'd prefer to keep it that way." I said pleadingly.
"Why of course! Now lets get your measurements!" She said happily.
(2 hours later)
I put the saddlebags on, and they fit perfectly.
"How much do I owe you?" I asked, grabbing the bag around my neck.
"Oh don't worry about it. I'm more than happy to help somepony else out once in a while !"
I tried to get her to change her mind, but she insisted.
"Is there anything I can do to help you then?" I asked hopefully. She looked deep in thought before she smiled.
"Actually, yes! You see, a friend of mine, Rainbow Dash, lives in a cloudhome. Now being a unicorn, I can't deliver this to her." She said levitating a package into my saddlebag.
"You know Rainbow Dash?" I asked laughing.
"Yes, why? Is that funny?" She asked confused.
"No, its just she's at my place right now. She challenged me to a drinking game!" I said, causing us both to laugh.
"I remember when she challenged Applejack to one of those! She was so hung over she couldn't fly home the next day!" She said smiling.
"Yep, sounds about right." I said before leaving.
-A/N hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that I read everything you guys send me, and all your thoughts are appreciated. Anons can comment on my story, just so you guys are aware.
- Your humble writer, ALunarModule