//------------------------------// // Friction // Story: Distance Over Time // by Nonchalant //------------------------------// Part Two - Friction Logged in as ShimmeringSplendid Private Chat with FlutterButter Preview Links enabled Preview Images disabled Chat created three years ago Last Active 4 hours ago > [07:33] FlutterButter: I’m all set in our apartment! I got here safely, though it was very loud and a little scary on the plane over. Oh my, I just realized how early it is for you! I’m sorry! Hope this message doesn’t wake you up! > [11:58] ShimmeringSplendid: Thanks for letting me know, babe! > [11:58] ShimmeringSplendid: Silly as it is, I was a little worried for you. You’re alright after the trip? I know that kind of thing stresses you out :( > [11:59] ShimmeringSplendid: Had a bit of a late morning, sorry. You didn’t wake me up at all! > [11:59] ShimmeringSplendid: Gonna be a slow day though. I’ll get back to you with more excitement tomorrow. For now, I did find a cool song I think you’ll like. “A Trip Beyond the Seaside” by Resonant Chime. Lemme know what you think! :P stay safe, love ya! Sunset stretched out on her bed. Looking fondly at the messages to and from her girlfriend, she idly plucked at her guitar. It was one of those low-energy days for her. As committed as she was to actually accomplish something over the school break, she had just gotten out of school. She deserved a bit of rest. Swiping over to the “Rainboom Rodeo” chatroom, she glanced at the jokes and videos Rainbow and Pinkie made a point of sharing nigh-religiously after waking up. Exhaling sharply at a particularly amusing clip of two dogs attempting to confront a duck rather disastrously, she turned her attention properly to her instrument. Running over a familiar solo seemed a good way to start, so she let her hands fall to the starting position that felt most fitting at the time. She remained perfectly focused on her task, guiding her hand through the notes and bends automatically while equally evaluating her own technique. She sighed and stopped, a particularly tight ascending melody coming out a little too muted. She repeated the segment a dozen times before moving on. While thinking on what song might benefit the most from practice, she absently strummed a set of chords she’d come up with not two weeks prior.  In fact, she’d come up with them for…  ‘Fluttershy, huh?’ She stretched her fingers and started again. ‘I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think I’d surprise her with a new song right before she left. I knew it was gonna be soon. Too soon to finish the thing.’ She started adding little flourishes to the chords—there weren’t any lyrics yet. Flipping open the notebook on her simple, sturdy nightstand, she decided to cut corners by seeing which previous lyrical idea she could co-opt for the new composition. ‘It’s gonna be a while before I hear from her again, though. She never was the best at checking her messages.’ Finding a suitable candidate, she kept going. “Flying past the clouds, ran away, never looking back, Shooting for the sun every brand new day, Couldn’t turn around, Though I wouldn’t if I wanted to Looking for the wonders lying in my way…” She nodded, satisfied with the fit. ‘Shame. It’s a good travel song. Hopefully the distance makes it mean something that offsets the quality.’  ‘I wonder if she’d show it to anybody else. She says she has friends over there, but she isn’t very specific. Hopefully they’re for real. She needs to get out more. Meet more people that aren’t me.’ Sunset blinked hard. ‘Where in the hell did that come from?’ Thinking harder about it, she found that she agreed with whatever part of her had birthed the idea. It actually felt rather familiar, that thought. She knew Fluttershy had other interests, though beyond the generalities she couldn’t for the life of her recall specific details. ‘She likes cute stuff and animals, sure, but she never really talks about shows or anything. Says she likes to read, too, but we’ve never talked about that either.’ More strumming, this time for the chorus. The chords fell flat, implying a far more funerary meaning than she was comfortable with. ‘Let’s move this one up like… this? Yep. Sounds better. Let’s see…’ “Fly today to fly away, Never stop until I pay my dues Every sky along the way Another life that has to say goodbye.” ‘Geez, that’s still kinda dark.’ Sunset shrugged, clearing her phone’s notifications. ‘I suppose there’s something to songs about starting over, isn’t there? Must be nice to do that willingly. No expectations, no preconceptions.’ She scribbled the chords over the corresponding lyrics, opening a voice memo app to record the melody. ‘I imagine that’s what these summers are like for Fluttershy. She must have found someone she likes over there.’ Sunset reflected again on the distance she’d felt last year around the same time. She hadn’t known when Fluttershy would leave then, either. She hit a sour note and paused the recording, falling back onto the deep grey pillows behind her. ‘That’s enough of that for today.’ The girl stood up. The guitar was sent back to its corner and the recording was named and filed away. She opened and closed several different apps in quick succession. Music, DragonFlare chatrooms, MyStable, Bakery Battles, HayTube… Sunset took another deep breath. The familiar feeling in her core settled into place. She bit her lip, then sat down on the floor. Barely even registering it, her fingers went right back to the easily accessible DragonFlare icon.  ‘I mean… I know I wouldn’t be so happy here if I were her. She talks about her summers so often…’ Logged in as ShimmeringSplendid Private Chat with FlutterButter Preview Links enabled Preview Images disabled Chat created three years ago Last Active 5 hours ago > [12:42] ShimmeringSplendid: Enjoy your time away :P Should be enough time to get your head on straight and get to know some better people over there. You should be better off between them and the rest of the gang, eh? She turned off her phone again and got up. Grabbing sunglasses from a small, angular desk across from her bed, she stepped outside. Pinkie had said she wanted to get the gang together for a late lunch, and it wouldn’t do if Sunset was the only one missing. Reflexively, she pulled out her earbuds and plugged them in. Reopening her music app, she pressed “shuffle” and put the phone back in her pocket. She frowned. That didn’t quite sound right, did it? She pulled the phone out again and pressed “shuffle” one more time.  ...again. ...again. ...again. ‘I love having a lot of songs, but usually I’d find something I feel like hearing by now…’ She kept on reshuffling the music the entire time she walked out of her small apartment building. Song after song she recognized flew past her eyes as she tapped out an impatient beat on her phone screen.  Ultimately she gave up, coiled up her earbuds carefully into her pocket and walked to meet her friends in uneasy contemplation. ‘Honestly? I’m not even sure I could eat right now anyways…’