//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: What They Don't Know... // Story: Filly Eyes // by Betty_Starlight //------------------------------// So, my name is Sunny Starscout! I became an alicorn earlier when I reunited all three pony races by convincing them that friendship was a better choice than hate and mistrust… And now, there’s a unicorn filly living in my guest room! It’s a good thing earth ponies are more accepting now, because I think she would experience a lot of hate otherwise. I’ll admit that I’m starting to love Jessi Trotsky, and her quirky ways, although I still can’t shake this feeling that there’s more to this story I don’t know. There I was, in the office of my house and working on my latest poster design to encourage friendship between earth ponies and unicorns, when I heard the little filly shriek from the living room! “STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!” She yelled as I ran out of the room, towards the living room, past the dining room. I arrive in time to see the panic-stricken teal-green filly staring at the pony outside the door with her wide dark orange eyes as her wavy grayish-white mane jittered. The new pony is brown with a blond mane and has on a blue clerk’s cap and a blue dress shirt. I frown and look at the filly, “That’s just the mail pony! Relax! He’s here to deliver the mail!” The mail pony says, “Well uh, yeah! I have a package here for Sunny Starscout and I need her signature!” Jessi looks back at me over her right shoulder and frowns, “So um, you got this?” I smile at the filly, “Yes Jessi! I’ll take care of the mail! You go ahead and go back to your room and color now!” I then look back up at the young mail pony while smiling, “Sorry! She doesn’t like anypony she doesn’t know!” The other pony frowns at me, “Oh, okay! Uh, well I just need you to sign right here, and I’ll be out of your mane!” <*****> So, I sat on my tummy on the blue pillow on the wooden floor of my room, I used my magic to hold a blue crayon in my azure glow and thought to myself as I colored the dragon about how scary the big world really is, and I thought about all the things that happened to me… My life wasn’t always so serene… I had a family once… A mother and a father, but then, they got killed in an accident… The doctor never told me what happened, though. Just that they were dead… I left the hospital in distress and went back to my house… I was alone there and all I could do from then was just live my life… All I can really do is just keep living, I think to myself as I color the dragon’s red companion… When suddenly, there’s a knock on my door. I raise my neck to my red wooden door on the right, “Um, yes?” “It’s me! Sunny! Hey, can I come in?” Says the feminine voice on the other side. I frown, “Um, sure Sunny!” The door glows golden and then opens inward to the left to reveal an orange pony with a horn and wings. She trots in to see me there, with my stuffed Pinkie Pie at my right side, snuggling me as I operated a red crayon in my pale blue magic. There are several coloring books and crayons strewn about the floor before me and a yellow box of crayons at my right… She smiles at me before asking, “Jessi, why don’t you trust other ponies? Did something happen to you?” My mouth scrunches in aversion as I stare wide-eyed at the alicorn and stammer out, “Um, I don’t like to talk about it…” I sigh, “Listen, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to trust anypony…” I frown, “Hardly seems worth it, really?” She frowns as she stares at me curiously, “What do you mean?” I frown back at her, “Well, friends usually just steal from you and use you! Uh,” I blink, “I swear, I haven’t stolen anything from you!” She widens her eyes, “W-what?” I nod, “Well, yeah! You should never let anypony too close to you because that’s how you get hurt!” I sigh, “It’s better to be just by yourself… I know I won't hurt me, and I know I can rely on myself…” I smile, “It’s better this way, Sunny…” She stares at me with a wide-eyed blank expression before saying, “Jessi! That’s really sad!” I frown again, “It is?” She nods her head, “Yeah! I mean, aren’t you tired of being afraid?” “I don’t know. I know that other ponies are evil and mean, though!” I nod. She widens her eyes again, “What?” I nod again and smile, “Yeah! Better to be by yourself!” She stares at me blankly while saying, “Do you think I’m evil and mean, Jessi?” I frown again, “I don’t know?” I widen my eyes, “Uh, so far, so good!” She changes her stare to something more intent, “Jessi… I’m going to hug you, now…” I widen my eyes in confusion, “Um, okay?” She takes two paces towards me and embraces me in a tight warm hug with her forehooves. I give out a little squeak, “EEP!” before tentatively returning the hug with my own forehooves… She disengages back to her hooves on the floor in front of me. I now sit on my haunches on the pillow as I stare at the alicorn perplexed, “Uh, why did you do that?” She looks back at me and says, “Because you need love and support!” I frown deeper, “I do?” She nods, “Well, yes Jessi! You have to learn to let friendship into your heart! You don’t wanna be alone forever, do you?” I widen my eyes, “Well, sure! Why not? I mean, other ponies are bad news! You shouldn’t ever let them in! Far better to be alone!” I nod… At that moment, I could almost swear I saw the alicorn’s heartbreak as she stared back at me with her green eyes and said bluntly, “That is really sad, Jessi!” “It is?” She nods again, “Well, yeah Jessi! You’re a good pony! You should have friends!” “I should?” She frowns and says, “Well, yeah!” “Why?” “Well, think about how wonderful it would be to have friends there, with you!” “It would?” She shakes her head slightly, “Are you just gonna keep giving responses like that?” I frown again, “I don’t know? Maybe?” She stares at me long and hard, before finally saying, “You don’t know, do you?” “Know about what?” “How much better your life with friends could be!” “Well, I got you? And I think Izzy will probably be by later too, yes?” She swallows, “Well, yeah…” I smile, “Okay! I got you two! No need to let anypony else in! I’m good!” She shakes her head, “Jessi, you really should have friends your age! Uh, didn’t you have anypony before?” “Um, no? Not really…” She blinks and leans towards me slightly, “Well, don’t you think that’s sad?” “No… I mean, if other ponies are evil, it’s better to be alone anyway, right?” She stares at me carefully, “Do you think I’m evil?” I move my head back a little bit, “I don’t know? Maybe?” She shakes her head and sighs before saying, “We’ll talk about this later, Jessi… You just keep playing in your room and I’ll call you later when dinner is ready, alright?” I widen my eyes, “Sounds good!” <*****> I stare back at the blue unicorn sitting across the table from me, “I don’t know, Izzy! I just can’t shake this feeling that something happened to her earlier. I mean, ponies aren’t just born mistrustful, like that!” Izzy sighs before staring at me keenly and saying, “Well, have you asked her?” I nod, “Yeah, but she refuses to talk about it… “I sigh, “I want to help her, but I’m not really sure where to start?” Izzy perks up and smiles at me, “Well actually Sunny, I have somepony in mind!” <*****> What I just smoked earlier was still coursing through my mind as we left the house. She said we were heading to Maretime Bay, but she never told me why? I also know that since she can’t fly, I can’t just fly there… I’ll need to trot by her as we travel… She stares at me from the left side of the road as we both trot southeast in that direction, “Well, Twinkle Shine, Sunny has a new houseguest!” I widen my eyes at the other pony, “Houseguest?” She nods, “Yup! She’s a filly, just like you! I think you two should hang out!” I stare back down the road as we both continue to trot, “Um, since it’s there, no weed, huh? Uh, what’s her name?” <*****> We arrive at Sunny’s cottage a few hours later and Izzy trots up three steps to the wooden porch to knock on the door with her right forehoof… We both hear Sunny yell from the inside, “Come on in, Izzy!” I widen my brown eyes to the unicorn, “Does she know I’m here?” Izzy looks over her right shoulder at me and smiles, “Yeah, Twinkle! You just wait there! I’ll be right back!” before turning her head to the door and focusing to make her horn and the doorknob glow blue and the door soon swings open to the left and Izzy trots in and closes it behind her… There I was, alone… My wavy bluish-white mane blew in the breeze, and I could feel the wind on my pink coat as I stared back over my left shoulder past my red rook cutie mark, as I could’ve sworn I heard something… I furrow my brow as it then occurs to my drug-soaked mind that I might just be paranoid? I adjust my gaze back towards the house and frown… <*****> I sit on my bed with my back propped up to the back wall, where my pillow sits with a book on earth pony philosophy perched up on the pillow, currently sitting before me. My tongue is out the left side of my mouth as I try to comprehend what the author is saying. Well, I can understand the reason why you need to keep your hooves on the ground and view things realistically, I ponder to myself. Though I can’t help but add, but to just stay in a box like that also hinders thinking? I think on balance and temperance when there’s yet another knock on my door! I raise my head towards the door to my left and yell out, “Come in!” The doorknob glows golden and soon, it swings to the left to reveal Sunny standing there on the left and a peculiar pegasus filly I’ve never seen before on the right… This filly has a wavy bluish-white mane and tail, with a pink body, and auburn eyes… She stares at me, “Uh, hiya! I’m Twinkle Shine!” I frown, “Oh cool! Hi Twinkle Shine! My name is Jessi Trotsky!” Sunny smiles, “I think you two should meet! I bet you would hit it off?” I stare back at Sunny, “But, we already met?” I stare at the alicorn for a moment before adding, “Okay, we met now! You two can leave!” Sunny enlarges her green eyes while staring at me, “Jessi! You two were supposed to hang out today!” I widen my eyes to the alicorn, “What? You never mentioned another filly! You never said I’d have to get along with anypony else!” I raise my neck, “I declare shenanigans!” Twinkle stares on blankly as the alicorn says, “Now, come on Jessi! It’ll be good for you to interact with other fillies!” Twinkle herself adds with wide eyes, “Golly! You don’t even know me!” Yeah, and that’s the problem! I add in my own head before stammering out, “Okay, fine! We’ll hang out and play or whatever!” Twinkle raises her neck to her right to stare up at the alicorn as Sunny says down to her, “Now you two have fun! I’ll be in the living room with Izzy, okay?” Twinkle gulps, “Uh, yes ma’am!” before staring back forward towards me and taking a few paces into the room. The door soon glows yellow and shuts behind her, causing Twinkle to flinch slightly, before she stares up at me with her wide eyes and asks, “So uh, what do you do for fun?” I sigh down at the other filly, “Well, I like to read and write, and I also enjoy coloring on the floor?” Twinkle frowns, “Yeah, but uh,” she stares up at me, “I have a better idea! I pilfered a few bits Izzy won’t miss! Wanna go for milkshakes with me?” I widen my eyes at this devious little filly before saying, “Uh, sure! Shouldn’t we tell them we’re leaving?” She smiles mischievously, “Oh, where’s the fun in that?” <****> I climb out the window first and flap my wings while my body heads towards the ground, to lessen the impact. I trot forward before turning my body to look at the nervous green unicorn filly inside the window and say, “Looks clear!” I could tell she was tense as she slowly and tentatively moved her hind legs out the window first and they dangled out towards the ground as she held on with her forehooves, before releasing so her little body drops to the ground, and she lands with a thud on her hooves… But I’m not nervous! No sir! I’m perfectly fine right now! She turns her body back towards me and says, “Okay uh, do you know where it is?” I smile, “Sure! Follow me!” before turning my body left to trot down the road. I can hear her hoofsteps behind me as she stammers out, “Never thought I’d be sneaking out of the house?” “Sometimes, it’s better to make your own rules!” I say back to the obviously anxious unicorn filly behind me, as I remained stalwart and together, for the sake of this other filly! “It’s just down the road a couple of blocks! We’re not going far!” I add… <*****> I could already tell that this other filly was nervous. I simply continued to trot behind her as we headed down the road to the malt shop. Truth be told, Sunny had already taken me there, but I also knew I needed to stay together for this other filly! Wait! Was I actually caring about her? I just met her! That can’t be right? I continue pondering on the dynamics of this future relationship as we make our way down the road, past the cottages on the right and the open treeline to the left. “Sunny lives on the outskirts of town, so we probably won’t see many ponies heading up there!” I mention to this strange other filly. “Well golly gee, I know that! Uh, hey! Do you remember where the malt shop was here in town?” I frown while continuing to trot behind her, “Well, either we already passed it, or that’s it up there!” I see her raise her neck to stare at the glowing neon purple sign with the white cup holding a brown liquid and straw coming up on our right as we continue to trot that direction, “Yes, of course! I knew that!” “Did not!” I teasingly yell at this other filly. “You don’t know that!” she retorts! I giggle slightly before adding, “Come on, Twinkle Shine! If you knew, you wouldn’t have asked me!” “You don’t know that either!” She replies while continuing to trot as we approach the sign. “I could’ve just been testing you!” We both stop and turn our bodies right to face the open storefront with the neon malt sign to the left of the glass entryway as I say back to her, “I call bullcrap!” She shakes her head and says, “So uh, I’ve seen this place! But you know, I’ve never been inside! Uh, you know what’s good?” before turning her head right towards me. I look back at her and smile, “No worries, Twinkle! Just order chocolate! Trust me! You’re not gonna be disappointed!” <*****> I smile at the unicorn with my head turned left towards her as we trot back home from the soda shop, “Golly, Jessi! That sure was yummy! But you know, we really should be getting home soon before they notice we’re gone?” Jessi looks back at me and says, “Hopefully, they don’t already know!” I smile at the unicorn, “Well, best case scenario, right?” Jessi nods, “Right! Let’s hurry!” As we hurriedly trot across the edge of town, I say to her, “So uh, wanna be my friend, Jessi? Isn’t this better?” Jessi smirks, “A better way to be bad, maybe?” I snicker, “Uh, yeah! Jessi raises her neck as we continue walking, “Uh, oh crap! They’re on the porch now! Looks like the jig is up!” I smile and say, “Oh, don’t worry about that Jessi! I’ll take care of this…” <*****> Twinkle Shine faces the annoyed alicorn and the concerned unicorn on the porch as she lowly stammers out, “Well, golly gee! I just wanted to be nice to my new friend and so, I got us milkshakes!” Izzy frowns, “Yeah, but why didn’t you tell us you were leaving?” Twinkle stares up at Izzy with wide eyes, “Well, I just didn’t want to disturb you with your friend Sunny, and I thought it would be fine! Since, you know, the malt shop is only three blocks away…” I nod from Twinkle’s right, “Yeah, I mean, I’m smart! You know I can take care of myself Sunny!” Sunny sighs and stares at me carefully, “That is true! But please try to be more responsible from here on out and actually let us know when you leave!” I smile and nod, “Will do, Sunny!” Izzy frowns at the pegasus, “Where did you get the money for milkshakes, anyway?” Twinkle stares back at the unicorn with huge brown eyes and calmly says, “Well, golly! I sold some old toys I didn’t want anymore and, “she turns her head right to me and smiles, “I just wanted to treat my new friend to something yummy!” Izzy smiles at the pegasus, “You’re a good filly, Twinkle Shine! I’m proud of you!” Twinkle turns her neck back to Izzy and smiles warmly, “Aww! Thanks Izzy! But you know, I try to be on my best behavior after everything…” Izzy nods, “I know Twinkle Shine and you’re off to a good start!” Twinkle continues to beam, “Aw! Thanks Izzy!” (To be continued…)