“Who’s running the store while I’m….taking a break?” I asked as we exited Dream Weaver’s store?
It was exactly as I thought it would be. There were charms and potions all over the shop for various things, and a back room where I did readings, I guess?
“Well, your store is closed today. But until you’re feeling up to it, you have employees that watch the store for you. We send the ponies who want their dreams read to Zecora,” Sweet Feathers explained.
“Who’s Zecora? And what readings?”
“Zecora is a zebra who’s in the same line of work, but she’s located farther out of town. And you read dreams, sweetie. That’s your special talent.”
Huh. So now there are zebras. Awesome, I thought as we continued farther and farther away from Ponyville, my legs getting weaker and weaker. I didn’t like the idea of meeting Dream Weaver’s adoptive son, but I couldn’t loiter. It’s was better if I interacted with him in a group than one on one. Besides, the sooner I got the hang of this place, the sooner I could figure out how to get back. But for that, I needed to know Dream Weaver’s routine.
I found myself crossing a bridge and staring at this adorable little cottage. It was a tree with windows surrounded by beautiful green leaves and a door attached to the trunk with small bird houses hanging off the end of some of the branches. I wanted to squeak with the sheer cuteness of it. Which helped I must admit, because it distracted me long enough for Sweet Feathers to knock on the door before I could think of a reason to stop her. I started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t do this. I had no idea how to deal with kids. I couldn’t do this. I should wait. I probably should have waited. WHY DIDN’T I WAIT!?
The door opened to reveal Fluttershy. I hate to admit, she looked more beautiful in person. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she spotted me.
“Oh, I’m so happy you’re okay!” she exclaimed softly. Then, next thing I knew, the yellow pegasus wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I stiffened at the unexpected contact. She held me tighter as she whispered in my ear with a broken voice, “I was so worried.” I couldn’t help but relax a little bit, seeing as she was just so happy to see Dream Weaver. Before I could return the embrace awkwardly, I felt her stiffen up and let go of me suddenly. “I’m so sorry. I forgot about….” She started, blushing madly. When she couldn’t think of anything to say, she just squeaked another “I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her. Sweet Feathers had time to get things explained and deal with the situation, but Fluttershy didn’t have that luxury. She must have thought she was overstepping her bounds. Not wanting to make her squirm any longer than need be, I put a hoof on her shoulder.
“It’s okay. I understand. Don’t worry about it,” I reassured. She looked up at me and gave me a grateful look. Smiling back, I take my hoof back. “So your name is Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy tilted her head for a moment before her ears stood up in understanding. Nodding her head, she answered, “Yes I am.” She hesitated before she continued, “Do you recognize me?”
Another pang of guilt stabbed me in the chest, “I’m sorry, I don’t.”
“Oh…” Her ears went down in disappointment before she perked up again. “Well, why don’t you come in? Excuse the mess; I had a patient that I needed to take care of. I didn’t have time to clean up.” She explained as she stepped aside for Sweat Feathers and me to walk in.
As I walked in I took a moment to take in my surroundings. It was a simple little cottage; a cozy love seat next to the stairs leading to the upper level, a stone fireplace, and the whole house seemed to be filled with beds, small houses, and cages of all different sizes. As I walked in further, I spotted a white rabbit napping on one of the beds near the windowsill and my heart melted.
“Oh…what an adorable little bunny,” I cooed as I got a closer look. When my shadow hovered over the rabbit, it opened its eyes lazily. He looked around before his face settled on mine. Squealing in surprise, the rabbit jumped over to Fluttershy, landing on her back. When it got settled, the bunny turned to me and ended up chattering angrily at me, pointing, screaming and crossing his arm in defiance.
“Oh Angel, it’s just Dream Weaver, you know her,” Fluttershy assured.
Angel looked back at me. His gaze hardened till it turned into a hard glare. I couldn’t help but flinch under his gaze. I always hated being judged, but being judged by a bunny was worse. Angel chattered angrily at Fluttershy before he turned his back on us.
“Of course it’s Dream Weaver. Who else would it be?”
Damn…that rabbit is clever.
“I’m sure you’re just a little hungry. Why don’t you wait in the kitchen and I’ll make you a special treat. I promise,” Fluttershy assured Angel. Seemingly satisfied with the results, Angel leaped towards the kitchen, giving one more glare at me.
I couldn’t help but get anxious at that bunny. It was clear that Fluttershy could understand animals and Angel knew I wasn’t Dream Weaver. What if he convinced Fluttershy of that? I shook my head. Impossible. As long as I feigned ignorance, they couldn’t possible know that I’m not Dream Weaver.
“How has Silent Melody been doing?” I heard Sweet Feathers ask.
I froze at her question. This was the reason we were here, but I was so scared. I didn’t want to turn around and contribute to the conversation. I wanted to move on, talk about anything else but the condition of Dream Weaver’s son. I knew that I needed to deal with this sooner rather than later, but dammit! All I want to do was run.
“He’s getting better, but sometimes when he doesn’t seem to pay attention,” Fluttershy replied.
I took a deep breath and turned towards Fluttershy, “What do you mean?’”
Fluttershy acknowledged my presence. “He may not talk, but I can tell when he’s listening or not. Sometimes we’ll be having a conversation, and the next thing I know, his eyes just don’t seemed focused; like he’s off in another world.”
I felt my ears flop down at the thought of Silent Melody being troubled. I couldn’t help but feel bad…
Ever since I got here, I’ve felt nothing but horrible for everyone around me. Especially Dream Weaver’s son. Honestly, I was getting tired of my chest hurting constantly, especially when it came to Dream Weaver’s son. Losing his mom while still being here must be torture. I felt my knees go weak with the thought of meeting him. Was it a really a good idea to put him through meeting me? I’d be a constant reminder that his mom is here and yet doesn’t know him. Should I really do that?
I caught a blur of purple and blue outside Fluttershy’s window. My heart skipped with the realization of what I just seen and I knew that I had to.
“Is he outside?” I asked, my eyes glued to the window.
I could hear the two ponies hesitate to answer me, but Fluttershy ended up answering me with a nod. Continuing to look outside, I headed towards the back door, ready to meet Dream Weaver’s son.
As I stepped outside, I realized that I walked into a garden paradise. There were flowers and vegetables everywhere. It was like stepping into a meadow of beauty. The sun beat down on my dark fur, warming and calming me, the scents of flowers and fruit wafting through my nose giving a nice scented delight. As I gazed around, my eyes found the reason for my visit.
Silent Melody was sitting on the ground in front of what looked like strawberry plants. Taking a closer look, I noticed a small basket beside him filled with ripe strawberries. I took a few steps toward him, heart pounding so hard, I was sure he could hear.
After a few steps, I found myself hesitating. What do I do? What do I say? Should I clear my throat? Tap him on the shoulder? Sit next to him. UGH! THIS IS TOO HARD! I think I can back out now. He doesn’t know I’m here. I can still leave and save this for another time. I took a step back and realized I stepped on a twig, snapping it in half.
I saw Silent Melody stiffen and whip his head around, eyes meeting mine.
Stupid twig! This is so cliché!!
Our eyes locked for what seemed like hours. I saw his eyes widen and as quickly as it came, go back to being vacant. After a moment, Silent Melody stood up and walked over to me, standing only a few paces away and continued to stare vacantly at me.
All I could do was stand there. I didn’t know what to do. I felt so awkward and lost that I was at a loss for words. I didn’t know how he was going to react and that terrified me.
Suddenly, he lifted up his hoof and held it out in front of me. I stared at it like it was a foreign object. I didn’t understand what was happening until I realized he was waiting for me. I could feel my face turning red from making him stand there and I quickly shook it.
Knowing that I couldn’t just shake hooves with him forever, I stuttered. “Hello…”
Silent Melody nodded his head in acknowledgement.
Another awkward silence.
“H-how are you?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
More awkward silence.
I coughed out my discomfort, “Has Fluttershy been treating you okay?”
Another nod from Silent Melody, followed by more silence.
Dammit, this is killing me. And it was. His face gave away, nothing. No sadness, no anger, or happiness; nothing. He didn’t give me anything on what was going through his head. All he gave was a blank stare. I didn’t know how to steer the conversation, not that I was getting much. With a defeated sigh, I decided to go for broke and sat down.
“So you know the situation, right?”
He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, he gave me a nod.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s weird for you to see me like this, so this is where I stand.” I took a deep breath and continued, “My name is Dream Weaver. My mother is Sweet Feathers and I have a cousin named Fluttershy. We live above my shop in Ponyville where I sell poisons and tokens for everyday living and I read dreams as a special talent. I have a son named Silent Melody who I adopted around six months ago who doesn’t speak. I don’t know how close we are, if you see me as a mom, a sister, or just someone who takes care of you. I don’t know anything about you, but I want to. I stopped and gauged his reaction, but he still gave nothing, so I continued. “I’m scared. I know nothing of this place or anyone in it. I don’t know how to raise a kid and that is going to be hard on you. But I hope that we can get through it and help each other. I’m willing to try if you are.”
I held my breath, waiting to see what he’d do. I wasn’t getting anything from him and found myself spilling everything. I didn’t know if I put too much on him or not, or if he really understood what was going on, but I hoped maybe he’d help me despite that.
Silent Melody continued to just stare at me, but this time, I could tell he was thinking. His eyes looked my focused than before, contemplating my words. After what seemed like hours, he gave me a small smile and a nod.
I breathed out a sigh of relief and gave a nervous laugh. “Thank you. I’m so relieved.” And I was. I didn’t know what I would do if he rejected me. It would have made life a little bit harder. Realizing that we were just standing in the garden staring at each other, I gave a nervous cough and stood up. “So, I was planning on getting Sweet Feathers to show me around Ponyville. I was wondering, if it’s not uncomfortable for you, if you’d like to join us?”
Silent Melody didn’t answer right away, but instead got up, picked up the basket in his mouth and headed inside. I stared after him and then followed.
“Is that a yes or a no?”