//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: The Fourth Filly // Story: Filly Eyes // by Betty_Starlight //------------------------------// I start trotting south down the road leading towards the edge of town where my house is and I feel my two long pigtails gently stroking my back as I walk, same as always, but it is different now… I stare out over the wooden fence on my right at the same field where I used to kick my ball, and it doesn’t feel the same anymore… I frown because I now know for absolute certainty that the world has changed… My world was different and would never be the same…. I open my mouth and let out a long heavy sigh… I close my eyes as tears begin to form and before I get a chance to truly cry, I’m suddenly enveloped in a strange blue light… That’s when my world truly began to change… <*****> So there I was, waving my wavy mane out of my face as I stared at the two mares across the table from me… Sunny Starscout the alicorn on my right and Izzy Moonbow the unicorn on my left… Sunny opens her eyes and says to me, “And so, that’s it! I love Izzy! And I want to be with her! We’re moving in together and you’ll be seeing a LOT more of me, from here on out!” she smiles. “Cause, you know? We’ll be living in the same house!” My eyes are wide as saucers as I stare back at this strange pony, “Say what now?” Izzy smiles and starts to giggle, “Well uh, maybe we should just show her, baby?” Sunny turns her neck right to the unicorn and says, “Well, if you think you’re up to it?” before frowning… Izzy turns her head left to Sunny while keeping the wide grin on her face, “Oh, I know I’m ready! I’ve been ready!” and moves her head towards the alicorn to plant a big smooch on her mouth! I suddenly wake up with a start as my head shakes against the enormous white pillow behind it as I lay there, with a pink earth pony plushie in my forehooves, and I begin to scream, “AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!” I get up in bed and sit on my haunches, “Golly! I need to stop getting stoned and eating ice cream before bed!” and shake my head before falling to my front hooves on the floor with a clack shortly before the other clack of my hind hooves hitting the floor behind them… I shake my head once more and walk to my door on the far corner of the room... I’m soon across the hall and I knock on the blue door with my right forehoof, “Misty! You’ve been in there for two days now! Am I gonna need to call in the Maretime Bay Marines and the special forces squad to search for you?” It’s silent before I hear a feminine voice say from behind the door, “Yeah, I’m good Twinkle! Uh, what’s happening?” “Well, since you got Boris, you’ve kinda been with him and won’t really spend time with anypony else! That’s a little concerning, you know?” “What? I haven’t been gone THAT long!” “Oh golly, Misty! I just said it’s been two days! Can I see you now, or do I need to get some gasoline and burn you out first?” I say before my eyes widen at this disturbing thought. “Hang on!” The voice frantically replies. “I’ll get a counter-terrorism unit in here! You won’t stand a chance! Now come on, Misty! Open up!” The door finally opens to reveal the frowning face of a blue unicorn with a swept over purple and neon green curly mane, “Um, yes Twinkle?” I frown at the unicorn, “Well, golly gee! It lives! You doing okay, Misty?” She looks up at me with her cerulean eyes and keeps her frown in place, “Well uh, yeah! Me and Boris have just been having a swell time! Yes! Just swell!” before smiling at me nervously... “Uh, where is Boris, anyway?” She turns her head right towards the rest of her room and says, “Well, he’s somewhere in here? I mean, I never opened the door or window, so he couldn’t have escaped at any point, r-right? I mean, he’s gotta be somewhere in here!” I’m silent for a moment, “You lost the cat, didn’t you?” She turns her head towards me with wide eyes and speaks frantically, “Oh, uh, no! Of course not! Heh heh!” she smiles, “I just uh, don’t know where he is right now! Yes!” before giggling nervously… “You don’t know where he is because you lost him…” She frowns, “Well, he couldn’t have gone far! Come on! Help me look!” before staring up at me apprehensively. “Uh, p-please? If you don’t mind? I really wanna find that cat!” I giggle before beginning to trot in and as she makes way for me in the doorway, I snidely comment, “Well, right! I mean, where else could he be, right?” “Of course!” She turns her head right towards her bed, “Uh, you go search near the bed and I’ll check the closet!” I nod, “Seems simple enough?” before squatting and taking off to fly over towards the bed and then, propping up my body against it with my hind hooves on the floor and then, using my strong little wings to lift me up and over so I roll the mattress down the side of the bed… Misty widens her eyes, “Wow! Those wings are powerful!” I flap backwards in the air and then begin to float towards the ground while saying, “I guess so, huh? Hey! I’ve been doing some thinking!” Misty frowns, “Huh?” I stare at the floor beneath where the mattress goes on the bed frame and fail to find a kitten there, “You’re free from Opaline, now! Also, you should probably check the closet?” She nods and trots towards her closet to her left as she said, “Uh, right! What do you mean, free?” She opens the door to her closet in a blue glow as I say, “You’re free! You can do whatever you like, now that you’re no longer under her hooves… And you got your cutie mark, now!” She scans the floor of her closet while saying, “Oh, yeah! I guess you’re right? Killing her was a great move after all!” I widen my eyes as that’s not what I meant at all! “No Misty! I mean, uh…” I blink when I remember all of those things I was telling her about it being a good thing that Opaline is dead and realize that I’m treading a thin line here. “I mean, you got the rest of your life ahead of you! You’re finally free!” Misty raises her gaze slightly to glare further into the back of her closet, “Oh, yeah! Uh, I guess you’re right?” Suddenly we both hear a knock on the door and a feminine voice say from behind it, “Uh, girls! Are you in there? Did you get a cat?” I raise my view towards the door, “Um, maybe? It’s a strong possibility? Why do you ask Izzy?” “Because there’s a kitten currently on my unicorn butt!” My eyes widen at how casually she just mentions butt, but shake my head before saying, “Uh, it’s not hurting your butt, is it?” “Uh, not really, no? It’s mostly just vibrating and being warm back there.” “So, your butt is fine?” “Yes, Twinkle! My butt is just fine! Uh, can I come in now?” “You probably should, huh?” The doorknob glows blue and the door at my right swings open to reveal a smiling blue unicorn with her familiar wavy puff-ball mane and she trots in so I can now see a slumbering gray kitten on her back, currently snoozing on it’s side with it’s head down as it vibrates and makes little engine noises before turning her head left to face me, “I found a kitten! Why is there a kitten?” I stare up at Izzy as my eyes grow to enormous proportions and almost water as I know I need to lay it on thick here, and then I nervously stammer out, “M-Momma Izzy! He followed me home and I’ve been calling him Boris! Can we keep him, pleeeeeaaaaaasssseeee?” before she begins to frown and her mouth starts to visibly quiver… Izzy’s eyes widen, “Oh, no! I see what you’re doing! We’re not keeping the kitten!” she blinks and turns her head slightly left towards the snoozing feline on her back. “We’re not keeping this adorable and precious little ball of gray love with his little ears and his small tail and pretty green eyes…” Misty frowns at this sight before turning her head right towards me, “We’re keeping the cat, aren’t we?” I turn her head left to Misty, “Yeah probably!” and nod. Izzy continues, “NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! WE’RE NOT KEEPING THE KITTEN!” I turn my head right towards Izzy to continue my attack, “The cute kitten?” Misty turns her head left to Izzy, “The precious kitten?” I grin at Izzy at this point as I’m almost certain she’s breaking down, “And his fluffy tail?” Misty also smiles, “And pretty ears?” Izzy faces both of us by adjusting her gaze diagonally and frowns in resigned defeat, “This isn’t fair, you know that?” I nod and honestly reply, “Life isn’t fair, mom!” before widening my eyes. “Believe me, I know!” Misty nods, “And how!” Izzy mutters back lowly, “I’m going to get you for this! You’ll see!” I giggle, “And little kitty paws!” Misty chuckles too, “And tiny whiskers!” “Ack!” Izzy screams in irritation before turning her body to trot out the room hurriedly while a very confused kitten falls off her back with the sudden movement, but easily catches itself on its paws on the floor and recomposes itself as the door shuts in magical fury… Misty turns her head right to face me, “We’re keeping the kitten aren’t we?” I smile, “Yup! Now,” before normalizing my mouth. “I need to wake n bake! You wanna chill with me or do something else?” Misty frowns, “Well, I don’t mind being around you as long as you don’t breathe icky smoke on me!” I nod, “Done!” before turning right and trotting out the door across the hall to the open red door leading into my room as the greenish blue unicorn filly follows close behind… “We have successfully retrieved the Misty!” I declare as the other filly giggles behind me and I begin to trot over to my table on the far side while she stands near the door and use my right forehoof to collect the small tan pack of rolling papers and then, rise to my haunches to begin the process of rolling a joint with my forehooves. “So Misty! Freedom! What are you gonna do now?” “I don’t know Twinkle? I mean, I am still a filly right? I guess that means I should be going to school with you?” She says with an unsure look on her face before turning her head to the left and magically closing the red door behind her. I nod, “Well, right!” before suddenly realizing that I’m probably gonna end up helping her with her homework… Misty sighs, “Well uh, hey Twinkle! You go ahead and fire up! I’ll go make pancakes for breakfast!” her green eyes widen, “I’ll make some for you and Izzy! That’ll show you I’m good!” before turning to the door and trotting out after magically operating it, and shuts it behind her… I bring the freshly rolled joint to my mouth and pin the cardboard tip down in my mouth before taking the red oval hoof lighter to my mouth and firing up to inhale the flame into the end of the joint and ignite it… I soon taste the earthy flavors of the burning devil weed inside the wrap… I begin to think to myself that Misty probably doesn’t like talking about the future? Suddenly, I see a bright blue flash on my right! I widen my eyes and turn my head in that direction to see what appears to be an earth filly… She has an orange coat with long green pigtails held in place by red ribbons… She stares at me with her green eyes as wide as mine and says, “Cozy? Uh, you changed your mane! I like it!” she sniffs the air. “C-Cozy! Are you smoking?” I exhale smoke slowly from my nostrils while eyeing this other filly very carefully… “Cozy? I haven’t been called that name in some time… Tell me, why do you know it?” before bringing the joint to my lips again for another drag… She frowns, “Don’t you know who I am, Cozy Glow? I’m Little Snack! We go to The School of Friendship together!” I exhale smoke from my nostrils once more, “Uh, Little Snack? The School of Friendship has been gone for about two thousand years now… And I’m not Cozy Glow anymore…” before bringing the joint to my mouth again… “Y-you’re not? Well uh, who are you? What should I call you?” She asks with an inquisitive frown and wide open expectant eyes… “Call me Twinkle Shine…” I furrow my brow, “I...I haven’t gone to The School of Friendship in some time!” I widen my eyes to the orange filly. “Do you know what year it is?” <*****> I trot back to Twinkle’s room with a smile on my face, pleased with myself that I had just made the perfect pancakes and I just know she’ll adore them! I did like the reaction Izzy gave me earlier and I’ve been just so good today! I have her plate with three delicious looking buttermilk pancakes on them, with two squares of butter on the top and just drenched in delicious looking syrup! I look at her door and force the knob to glow and it swings inward to my left as I trot in with a big grin on my face and stare at the pink pegasus filly, currently holding a smoking half joint in her right forehoof on my left and say, “Hey, Twinkle Shine! I made you some pancakes!” when suddenly, I become aware that Twinkle is not alone in the room! I turn my gaze to the right of her and see an orange earth filly with long green pigtails standing at the far corner of the room… She smiles at me nervously as I widen my eyes, “Oh! I didn’t know you had company! Uh, hang on! I’ll go make some more pancakes! Um,“ I frown. “Would you like some pancakes mysterious filly I don’t know?” The orange filly widens her eyes, “Uh, actually, yeah! Pancakes would be great! I haven’t had breakfast yet!” “Oh, okay strange foal! I’ll leave these on the table for Twinkle and go make yours now!” Before turning my head left to the round wooden table with Twinkle’s pipes and stoner gear on it and after finding a clear spot, levitate the white plate near the edge. Then, I turn and trot out the door, while being sure to magically close it behind me… I stop in my tracks immediately after exiting and I hear Twinkle’s familiar squeaky voice say, “That went a lot better than I expected!” I hear the other filly say in her raspy high-pitched feminine voice, “Yeah, I was expecting a lot more questions!” I turn around and force the knob to glow before the door swings open and I trot back in and stare at the new filly, “I’ve never seen you before! Who are you and what are you doing here?” She keeps her green eyes trained on me as a nervous smile begins to form on her face, “Well uh, you see, that’s a long story!” (To be continued...)