//------------------------------//
// Chapter I 
// Story: Of Moments and Melodies 
// by Church 
//------------------------------//


There is a house in New Orleans
They call the rising sun
And its been the ruin of many a poor boy
And god I know I’m one
























“B-but... but she’s right there, Mum. Can’t you see her? She’s right-”

I received a slap to the face.

“You and your damned imagination! Everywhere we go now, you have to make up some imaginary friend to play around with. Can’t you just find some normal ponies to play with?” My Mum paced around on the newly inlaid carpeting, thinking of more hurtful words. “I could have dropped you off at the orphanage, but your father told me not to. Of all the terrible decisions I’ve made in my days, I decided to listen to him. What a joke.”

I couldn’t help it... tears welled in my eyes. My mother was being mean again.

“B-but mum,” I stuttered, “Pop said-”

My mother raised a hoof to strike me again. I shied away from her wrath. I covered my face, preparing for the worst... but she did not hit me. I stifled a few sobs, turning to face her the best I could. She looked like a monster from one of my nightmares.

“Well your dad is dead, now ain’t he?” she told me. It hurt worse than the smacks. “Now if I see you playing with that damned ‘friend’ of yours ever again I will not hesitate to give you a beat down, is that clear?”

I started to cry. I couldn’t help it, I didn’t know how else to handle myself. It was true, it was all so very true that I just wanted to die, right here, right now. I couldn’t do that. My heart was too strong... and I was too scared.

So I just nodded.

“Good,” my Mum told me. She was wringing her hooves and smirking. It was a sick smirk that made me want to throw up. “Now, let’s just play a little game, shall we?”

I nodded again. I nodded again ‘cuz I couldn’t do anything else.

“Okay. The game is called all good little foals will stay in their rooms and shut the hell up. Got it?” she scolded. It felt like the roof was going to cave in around us.

“Got it,” I whimpered. My tears seeped into the carpet in our new house.

“You are so weak,” my Mum told me as she left the room and slammed the door shut behind her. I dropped to the floor, the gravity of her words fully sinking in. 

I cried. I cried ‘cuz I just didn’t know what else to do. What else was an eight year old foal supposed to do? My Mum’s words were so hurtful and mean... she was nothing like my Pop. My Pop was so kind and gentle, and he was always there for me. He was my best friend. He was my only friend. Now I’ve made a new one, and my Mum doesn’t even want to pay attention to her, let alone let me play with her. I didn’t understand. Mum had changed since Pop died. I didn’t understand.

“There, there,” my new friend told me. She waltzed over to me and reached down to console me, lightly brushing her hoof against my cheek. Her touch was warm and, in a way, a blessing. I felt better. “You are wonderful just the way you are. Nopony should tell you any different, not even your mother.”

I nodded. I let her continue to comb a hoof through my mane, as it helped me to relax. She was not only my new friend, but a guardian angel. She even looked like an angel, but I have never met an angel, so I can’t really say that. All I knew was, she was here and I needed her really bad, but Mum didn’t want that.

“Are you okay?” she asked me.

“Mhm,” was all I could reply. I curled up into a ball beside her, resting my head on the plush carpeting.

“Well good. It’s not all bad. You have me, and right now that’s all that matters,” she cooed. She was a very nice pony, but I couldn’t help but feel bad. 

“B-but Mum said that I can’t talk to you,” I told her. My heart felt achy. I didn’t understand why Mum refused to see her, but she said that she didn’t want me to be around this pony here.

My new friend smiled. “We can keep it a secret between you and me... um, that is, if you are okay with secrets,” she said. “Sometimes secrets are nice, but other times they can be hurtful.”

I knew what she meant. I was going to have to share a room with her anyway, because Mum didn’t bother to check and see if anypony was still living here, and we had already moved in. A secret would have to be kept one way or the other. But I guess that I am lucky. I am lucky that we moved into this house, because any other house, and I doubt that I would be making new friends like I am here.

So I sat with my new friend in my room, being quiet like a good little foal. We had a whisper conversation- I started by asking her how long she has lived here. She told me that she had been living here for a very long time. I didn’t believe her. She looked not much older than me. She was very sweet though, even when she lied.

I was starting to feel better. The walls of my new house seemed to brighten a bit. I asked my new friend what her favorite color was, and she told me it was pink. Mine was blue, but I guess that I could look past that. We didn’t have to agree on colors, ‘cuz everypony has their own opinion. Sometimes Mum doesn’t see that, but they do, and I know it. So colors are not important, but I think that she liked that color ‘cuz of her mane.

I asked my new friend what she liked to do. She told me that she liked to help animals, and that some of the animals around here were her best friends. I never thought to have an animal for a friend before. I can see where that makes sense, ‘cuz animals are cute and fuzzy and huggable, as long as they don’t bite. 

I asked her about the biting, and she told me that that hasn’t happened to her.

Then I asked her about some of her friends that she had. She told me that she didn’t have any anymore. She told me that they all went their separate ways a while back. I felt kind of sad for her at first. I would have liked to have met her other friends if they were as nice as her. That was unfortunate, I guess. But one friend is more than good enough... so I am still happy.

Finally, because I couldn’t just call her ‘new friend’ for the rest of my life, I asked her what her name was. She told me that it was Fluttershy. That was a nice name.

“Nice to meet you, Fluttershy,” I whispered to her. “My name is Daisy.”

Fluttershy smiled sweetly. I could tell that this was the beginning of a long, undercover friendship. 

“Nice to meet you too, Daisy.” She looked over at the pile of moving crates in the corner of my room. They had all of my stuff in it. “Um... do you need some help unpacking?”

I returned her smile and nodded my head. 

I now knew that I was going to like my new house.


o----o

















Song: House of the Rising Sun

By: The Animals