//------------------------------// // Right there in front of me // Story: Pony heart // by sunsetsjournal //------------------------------// Chapter 10: Right there in front of me “Fluttershy?” called Sunset, as she knocked on the door of the animal shelter: “Fluttershy?” repeated the girl, not hearing an answer: “That’s strange...I sure hope I didn’t get the time wrong”. Her friend’s cottage was not far from the school building, situated in the very heart of a park. Surrounded by dark wooded fair pines and golden rain trees, showing off their bright leaves, illuminated by the sunshine, and purple robe locusts with their shamrock coloured crown, it melted into nature, conveying an enchanting atmosphere; even Rainbow Dash had once admitted it brought up the picture of a fairy tail house. White and grey bunnies were munching on some fresh- looking carrots, while a group of bees, buzzing around the white daisies, were collected nectar for their honey, tawny coloured house sparrows kept staring at the girl with their dark eyes from the nearby tree branches, while a couple of azure feathered starlings were snuggling together, holding each other in a tight embrace, resting in their comfy nest. As soon as Sunset turned to grab the phone from her pocket, she heard a loud roar, shortly followed by a feminine screech and what seemed to be the cries of at least ten birds all at once: “Fluttershy!” shouted worried the girl: “Are you there? Let me in!” This time it didn’t take long for the door to open, revealing a quite unpleasant view: Fluttershy’s hair reminded of the back of a porcupine, her face was covered in dust and her clothes were torn apart and, judging by the looks of it, had been bitten off by some animals, plus one of the girl’s sleepers was missing on her foot: “Hi, Suns...” whispered the girl, fatiguingly rubbing her visibly tired eyes: “How are things?” “Fluttershy, what happened to you, but more importantly what’s happening inside?” “Well...it’s kinda hard to explain, maybe it’s better If you come see yourself”. As the girl entered the small cottage, she could not believe what was before her sight: the whole parquet was a mess covered in claw marks, two pink flamingos were fighting over the carpet, a couple of cats was resting on the purple sofa which of course had been used to sharpen their close, a white bunny was desperately running away from a medium sized barking dog, the curtains had been taken off the window and were currently been used as blankets by a large furry bear, while an annoying vervet monkey was dangerously hanging from the wall light, giving the impression it would fall on the ground at any moment. Seeing all this, Sunset had remained speechless and could not stop staring at the weird and chaotic scene of the rampaging animals; her moth was wide open from the shock: “Ehh...Sunset?” called Fluttershy, bringing her friend back to the world of the living: “are you okay?” “What…’nd I mean...how?” struggled to say the girl: “you’re the best at handling woodland creatures, how could you ever let this happen?” “Well...you see...” at that moment, the monkey jumped from the wall light and landed on a vintage pendulum clock which needed but a few movements to end up on the floor; the sound of glass shuttering followed and the primate burst into a sadistic laughter: “Mmm...” grand her teeth Sunset, seeing her friend chasing the animal without even coming close to catch it: “how do you even manage to live under such pressure?” “Oh, it’s really rewarding” replied Fluttershy who had decided to take a break and rest on the sofa, or rather what remained of it, causing the felines to flee: “Sure...”answered Sunset, putting on an unconvinced face: “Besides” went on saying the girl: “they’re usually not this messy” “And what caused them to behave like this?” “As I was saying, I started up our usual story telling session, so every creature would be ready to turn in for their afternoon nap, but one of the raccoons snuggled to me, I caressed him on the head, then Angel started complaining and Hairy got nervous because he couldn’t get asleep and, well...I guess you know the rest”. “Yeah...” whispered in response Sunset: “I know, but do you?!” “what do you mean?” asked Fluttershy, turning around. At that very moment the bear decided to get up and claim the carpet as his own, roaring so much to cause his poor owner to faint: “Fluttershy?” shouted her friend desperately attempting to wake her up: “Fluttershy, don’t leave me!”; It did not take much for her to realize that the girl had completely lost her consciousness. Sunset gulped, as she heard the unbearable cries of the woodland creature fighting each other, turning Fluttershy’s shelter into a chaotic arena; then the girl began to feel a horrible fear: “what do I do?” went on thinking: “how can I stop this If not even Fluttershy...” the girl’s gaze laid on her friend: she was laying on the ground, among the remainder of what had maybe been a piece of furniture, broken into a million pieces by the powerful fangs of the bear, quite, defenceless, with her eyes and mouth shut tight, cold as a corps. It was only then Sunset experienced true terror: the fear of some animal suddenly lunching at her, mixed with a way more intense one; seeing her friend in that stated had made something lit from inside the deepest corners of her soul. She kneeled before her, with her eyes wide open, which were burning like a raging fire, then gently touched her cheack, while moving one of her long locks away from the left eye. The girl slowly burst into crying; her eyes were unable to hold the tears inside, drops of water began to wet her pretty face: “Fluttershy...”whispered then the girl: “...Fluttershy… wake up” it was like something inside her had just broken, something not even her could describe, a delicate and fragile part of her, usually hidden away from everyone’s sight, finally revealing itself: “Wake up, Fluttershy...this is no time for sleeping, cut the act” she spoke those words, yet her friend’s lips remained shut: “Fluttershy, don’t leave me...I need you to be here with me...Fluttershy...Fluttershy!”. All of a sudden her voice became louder than those of the beasts, the surrounding environment became peaceful, as If the animals’ instinct had warned them to be quite. Angel bunny was the first to near Fluttershy, then, after staring at her, he got close to her chick and rubbed his fur against it; then it was Hairy ’s turn. The frightening bear lowered his eyes on the unconscious girl and lowly signed in his own way. It was then, perhaps because she had heard her friend calling for her or the animals ’s cries, that Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes: “W...what’s happening? Where...” “You’re wake!” exclaimed Sunset with a tone indescribable joy in her voice: “I’m so glad you’re okay!” “ Well...I think I am, did I just faint?” “You did! You don’t know how worried I was...or should I say...” as she was speaking those words, the girl turned toward the animals: “we all were”. Fluttershy smiled, kindly stroke the bear under his chin, then took Angel and hugged him in a tight embrace: “Hey, Sunset” said the girl, raising her eyes: “would you mind taking me to bed? I feel like I need to rest a bit” “Sure”. Her friend gently placed her arm on her shoulder and slowly lead her to the bedroom: “Thank you” said the girl, having regained her usual sweet voice: “luckily for me, you were here” “Oh...no need” blushed Sunset: “besides, it’s not like I did anything special; you should have seen me a few minutes ago: completely helpless” “Oh, but you did something, Sunset!” “really?” questioned the girl, putting on a doubtful face: “what’s that?” “Well, you were there to stand by my side” “I guess so...” replied, signing, the girl: “I wish I had taken that emergency course they propose us last year, maybe I could have done something more” “Maybe” answered her friend with the most beautiful and at the same time natural smile: “But there is one thing friends always do: not letting others down and that counts more than anything else”. At the sound of those words, Sunset, having remained speechless, could not help but hug the girl: “Perhaps it’s me who should thank you”. The two of them held each other tight for a few more moments, before Fluttershy started to speak again: “I’m sorry you had to see the shelter in this state, it’s usually much nicer” “Don’t worry, I figure even little creatures can get mad If they don’t have their regular nap” “Ah” signed her friend: “That’s true, I guess, but worth to see them happy” “Do you think they’ll be happy, after what happened? They literally demolished the other room!” “Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure they’re already fixing that up, am I right Angel?” The little rabbit was staring at the two girls, hidden behind the door, yet at his owner’s warning, run to the other woodland creatures: “Wow, you sure know how to handle them!” “What can I say? It’s a gift, plus I don’t really handle them or anything, I just try to be nice and know they would do anything for me as mush as I would do anything for them” “What’s it like to spend your time communicating with them? I realize this may sound silly, but I’m just curious” “I don’t really feel any difference between dealing with them or my closest ones like you; sometimes I even feel like I’m being more sincere to them than to anybody else” as Fluttershy was saying these things, her friend remained stunned: “Wow, I never knew you were so deep!” “You think so?” “I’ve just said that” “well… you’re kinda the first one” blushed the girl: “I guess you need to have a pet to fully understand what it feels like” “Oh, I think that’s a splendid idea, Sunset!” suddenly exclaimed Fluttershy: “We’ ll find you a pet!” “Wow, slow down, I didn’t say I wanted one...at least not right now" “What? But I thought you wished to understand” “I do, but I don’t feel like It’s the right time for me to a have a creature wandering my apartment” “Mmm...fine” sighed at that point her friend with a tone of disappointment: “But I promise that you’ll change you’re mind by the end of the year!” “If you say so” replied Sunset, surprised to see her usually calm friend being so strong willed and determined all of a sudden: “Say...” went on saying the girl: “do you have any preference? Personally I think that you’d love to have a snugly kitty with you” “I’d rather something with less fur” “How about a tropical fish, then? I’ve got a beautiful one at my pet shop at the mall; its scales even match the colour of your hair, I think Rarity would approve, too” “Of curse she would, but, to me, it would be cool to be able to hold my pet” “Then what would you like to have?” “Well, I’ve always had a thing for...” the sound of glass shuttering on the ground, suddenly interrupted their conversation: “What just happened?!” exclaimed worried Sunset; the sound of a small animal crying immediately followed: “Angel!” shouted Fluttershy, as soon as she realized the one moaning was her adored bunny: “He must have got hurt!” “What me to help?” asked her friend, as she saw her leaving the room in a hurry: “Thanks, but I think I can manage without fainting this time” “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to...” “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a moment” “Ah” exclaimed the girl, left alone: “Now this situation feels familiar! I guess it couldn’t be avoided, though”. Sunset took the occasion to look around at the way her friend had decorated the place; the interior design of the bedroom showed Fluttershy had quite the taste: her blankets matched the colour of the walls, painted in a fresh bright white, just above the bed, precisely where three comfy pillows had been placed, there was a wooden bookshelf with pictures of the girl’s animal friends and a small cactus on it; placed by the wall there were two large wardrobes and a cabinet of the same colour of the bookshelf, the whole thing was on the same side as the bed so it would crate a rather elegant effect, on the ground laid a black and white carpet, a couple of putted chairs were not far from Sunset and a pair of white curtains, decorated in a fancy light grey texture, was hanging on the large window. It did not take long for Fluttershy to come back which, of course, was something to be surprised at, at least for her friend: “Wow, you sure were fast!” “I told you it wouldn’t take long; here” replied the girl, handing Sunset a cup of tea: “Thanks, it’s delicious” said the girl, after taking a sip: “Glad you like, it’s my favourite. I had planned to have a tea party together, but...” “Things didn’t turn out so well” “exactly” signed, hearing those words, Fluttershy: “Listen” intervened Sunset, noticing her friend had put on a disappointed face: “I have some spare time before I have to get back to my place, got anything in mind you’d like to do?” “Oh, there is one thing” replied the girl, after reflecting a bit: “You see… I am currently working on this new song for the Rainbooms, but I’m kind of out of ideas” “Got it, let me see”. Fluttershy took the pink notebook, where she used to write her songs, from the wall cabinet and handed it to Sunset: “It’s this one, It’s still untitled, too” “Let’s see: I spent so much time serchin’...diggin’ holes too deep...the picture’s never clear...I finally succeeded” “So...”questioned the her friend: “what do you think?” “The concept is great, but I agree with you: it does need something more” “I know, would you help me then, please?” “Are you kidding? Of course I’ll help, now we just have to find the right inspiration...”. As much as the girls wanted to come up with an original idea to improve their newest song, they both seemed to have run out of creativity that afternoon; hours passed by and they still had nothing but a bunch of waste paper in the rubbish can: “Oh!” exclaimed Fluttershy, giving up: “It’s been ages and we still got nothing, I think we should just stop for today, it’s almost sundown” “Ah” sighed Sunset, as her friend spoke those words: “Maybe you’re right, it’s clear today is not our lucky day” “Nor was to me yesterday or the day before” “I am terribly sorry I couldn’t help you after all” said Sunset putting on the saddest expression her friend had ever seen: “Don’t worry, I know it’s hard” “Funny though, I should be able to create thousands of songs like this one” “What do you mean?” “That the theme of this song is very dear to me” hearing those words, made Fluttershy’s curiosity lit; at that point the girl gulped and said: “Might I ask you why?” Sunset did not answer: “You know, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, I just figured...” seeing that the girl was staring at the wall without uttering a single word, she apologized: “Hey Sunset, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to...” “It’s okay” interrupted her friend: “I guess I own you an explanation after bringing this up. Say, Fluttershy” questioned Sunset, looking deep into her eyes: “do you like stories?” the girl timidly nodded: “You see, there was a time when...” “Not this one” whispered Sunset, struggling as usual to find the right book in the giant royal library: “not this one, either. Ah, why can’t anypony try to organize these books properly?!”. After a little more time and a bit of luck, she finally managed to find what she was looking for: “Here it is: the complete record of magic history, volume thirty-three”. The filly’s horn lit up and the enormous encyclopedia was magically lifted without a problem. As the girl passed by the exit door, she heard a familiar voice, calling for her: “Hello, Sunset!” “Oh, good morning, Mrs. librarian!” the elder mare Sunset was talking to was old, her long mane white as snow, her once vivid purple eyes had clearly lost the light they must have had during youth, her face groovy and wearing a pair of thick orange glasses: “Busy as always, I presume?” “Yeah, I really gotta go study for my next advanced magic exam” “Then I won’t keep you here, just wanted to invite you to my sister’s birthday the day after tomorrow: you’re part of the family after all!” “Oh, I would love to, just need to ask the princess first. You know? In case she has anything in mind for me to do that day” hearing those words, the librarian nodded and the girl set off for her room in the eastern wing of the castle. Truth to be told, Sunset was not really considering going to the party, not at the moment at least, even thought she liked talking to Mrs. librarian from time to time: she found her very sweet and the two of them seemed to get each other. Having arrived at the room, the girl placed the book on her desk: “Wow, that thing sure was heavy: now let’s start this thing!”. As she read those pages, she found them extremely difficult, especially because of the archaic language they were written in; nothing too hard for her though, she had in fact accomplished many tasks even more complicated than that one, plus she loved challenges, so she found that reading very interesting: “Ah” yawned the girl, at at certain point: “What time is it?” Sunset turned around and looked at the clock, hanging on the wall: “Oh good, It’s dinner time, I’m starving!”. The filly quickly left her sit and walked toward the door: “I wonder what the chef cooked tonight...” before opening the door, though, the girl noticed something on the floor: “A note...in my room?” exclaimed Sunset: “Somepony must have left it here, while I was caught up in that book; now what does it say: "Hi Sunset, sorry we started off with the wrong hoof earlier, we didn’t know you had to prepare for such an important test; anyway I am sure you’ll pass it with full marks as usual. There’s a big party next Tuesday night for my birthday, the whole magic school will be there and we’d love to have you there, too, so you can maybe teach us a few of those spectacular spells of yours! Will you come, then? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you’ll come; see you next week, Your Minuette” “I can’t believe I got two invites for two different birthday parties, and worst of all, in a time like this!” sighed the filly, putting the invitation away: “wait a minute!” suddenly thought the girl: “did she say the whole school?”. Sunset read Minuette’s note once more: “She did: this means the purple filly I met the this afternoon is supposed to show up at the party, too. Perhaps…” her reflecting was interrupted by the manly voice of a royal guard outside the room: “Dinner’s ready, Miss; the princess is waiting for you” “Oh, almost forgot: comin’!” “So, that’s pretty much the end of the story” “Wow, Sunset!” exclaimed Fluttershy, after her friend had finished speaking: “I didn’t know you and Twilight had know each other for such a long time” “We didn’t, we crossed each other just once that afternoon, then I never managed to see her again” “Can I ask you something, Sunset?” “Sure, why not?” “If you had the chance to turn back time, would you introduce yourself to her the first time you saw her?” “the answer is yes, but again, back in the day I didn’t know her, you or any of the others would be so important to me: the word friendship never crossed my mind” “I see...” said at that point the girl, noticing her friend was becoming more depressed by the minute: “...did you go to Minuette’s party in the end?” “What do you think?” Fluttershy remained silent: “I can’t believe all I ever needed was right there in front of me and yet it was just too close for me to see!”. Sunset’s friend stood still without uttering a single word, watching the girl’s usually cheerful face slowly turning into a sad expression: “Well, the past is in the past” she finally intervened: “let bygones be bygones: I don’t know anything about the Sunset you told me about, for I only know one Sunset and I am proud to call her my friend!” “Fluttershy...” like flowers, closed from the cold of the night, bloom in all their beauty in the light of day, a weak flame slowly began to melt Sunset’s heart, freeing her from a thick block of cold ice, until her were yes full of tears: “Thank you, I needed to hear that” said her in the end, as she hugged the girl: “That’s what’s friends are for” “You’re at least the fifth person to say that to me this week” “Well” giggled Fluttershy: “At least now you know it’s always true!” “Yeah” the two of them hugged once more, but then something brilliant crossed Sunset’s mind: “I’ve got it!” “What?!” questioned, startled Fluttershy: “I know how to finish the song” “Goodness, what do you have in mind?” “Remember what I said a couple of minutes ago about friendship?” “That it was right there in front of you, but you didn’t notice that?” “Exactly, it’s just the idea we needed; c’mon, help me out!”. Hearing those words and her friend’s relieved voice, made the girl smile, then she took a pen and, without asking, she started writing together with Sunset. The girls worked themselves to the bone all night long, no breaks allowed, and only at down did they finally let themselves close their heavy sleepy eyes: “And that’s how we wrote that song” “Wee!” exclaimed Applejack: “It sure was an adventure!” “Indeed!” intervened Rarity: “But it was totally worth it! Right Fluttershy?!” “Right, and how to finish our song wasn’t the only brilliant idea that crossed her mind that night, even If it took slightly more for her to finally realize that” “Yeah” replied the girl, while laying her gaze on her shoulder were a crested gecko, covered in the most spectacular maculated golden scales, was resting: “Isn’t that right, Ray?”