//------------------------------// // My Shy Little Butterfly // Story: The Little Things In Life // by Cabral095 //------------------------------// Chapter 2: My Shy Little Butterfly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sun hung high in the sky, filling the air and ground below with warmth and light. The bright, springtime flowers were in full bloom; with bees buzzing about collecting pollen and nectar, and colorful birds singing their various songs. Squirrels scurried about and a bunny hopped into the bushes. Inside the building nearby, a little yellow filly gazed at the outside world through the sliding glass door. Her eyes looked past the road towards the small park, watching the strange creatures move around as smaller giants like the one that fed her earlier chased them and each other. More of the things came out of weird boxes with wheels, accompanied by the bigger giants. All of them were smiling and laughing, and the bright colors of the flowers and animals captivated her. While the filly was seemingly entranced by the outside world, Jeff approached her quietly, hoping not to scare her. He passed the couch, and sat a few feet away from her on the floor. He admired the view with her for a moment, the sight giving him a small smile while the small pegasus looked on in awe. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” The small filly visibly flinched, turning slowly to meet the sight of the creature from before. Despite his best effort to seem less threatening, she darted off in a panic, hiding under the putrid orange couch. Jeff turned and looked under the couch. “It’s ok,” he assured her, “I’m not here to hurt you. Come out please?” The small filly just scooted further back under the couch with a whimper. The darkness, a substance she normally feared, brought comfort to her now, hiding her from the beast. Jeff sighed in defeat and looked back out through his glass door. Watching a family at the park across the street, laughing and playing together, he developed a bit of whimsy and sighed. “I know you’re scared, I guess I can’t blame you. Humans - my kind, I should say - probably look pretty scary to you. We’re big and loud, go everywhere and take everything and we're not the nicest beings on Earth. We fight and yell ... and sometimes hurt one another, but that’s only some of the time. Most of the time we get along, or try to ignore what we don’t get along with. When we do get along it’s really nice. And even if something bad does happen we usually manage to focus on those small and happy moments in life that make the bad stuff tolerable.” Jeff sat silent for a moment, letting his words linger. Figuring his speech would have won her trust or a chance he looked down expecting to see her ... Nothing. Well that didn’t pan out at all how I expected ... And I took a second to actually think that out.. Am I just that bad of a speaker? Maybe I am ... Who knows? Well, let’s see here, she really liked looking at all the plants and animals outside ... Ah! I think I’ve got just the thing. Getting up to put his new plan into action, he waltzed over and opened the sliding glass door. “I have something to show you,” Jeff kindly said. Curiosity overcame the small filly’s fear and she peeked out from under the couch ever so slightly, her legs poised ready to duck back under just in case. Jeff grabbed his small potted plant on the porch table, the flower he had been trying to grow, and re-entered the apartment; shutting the door behind him quietly. Slowly walking back over to the couch, Jeff kneeled down next to the edge. Once more, the small filly quickly ducked under further under the couch; hiding from the creature and what she figured was an instrument of doom. Jeff set the plant down gently, and sat next to the couch. “Take a look at this. Don’t worry, it’s just a little flower,” Jeff soothed. “But I want you to look at what’s on the flower.” From her position the small filly could see it was a plant of some sort and slowly peeked her head out from under the couch. Her eyes adjusted to the minor light change, and she saw before her, a yellow flower. Underneath a large leaf hung a small ... thing. Curiosity overwhelmed her fear, and she crawled closer to the curious object, confusion plastered on her face. “It’s a cocoon,” Jeff said softly. “Do you know what a cocoon is?” The little filly flinched his words, but didn’t run into hiding. She simply whispered, “No.” Yes! I got her to speak! ... I’m too happy about that. “A cocoon, is a.. sort of home,” He started. “Um, you see, there’s a little creature inside of it.” “Is ... Is he stuck?” the worrying filly asked. “No,” Jeff replied. “He’s sleeping.” “Sleeping?” “Yeah,” Jeff nodded. “You see, the creature sleeping, is called a caterpillar.” “Why is he sleeping?” The filly leaned closer to the cocoon. “Well,” he started, “the caterpillar was sad. Everyone kept making fun of him for looking so silly. He didn’t have the strength of the ant. The beautiful songs of the grasshopper. He wasn’t as pretty as the ladybug, and he was definitely not fast. “The caterpillar was sad, and went to find someplace where he could be left alone. He was so ashamed of himself, so he built this cocoon where no one would have to see him ever again. The caterpillar fell asleep inside of the cocoon, with sadness in his heart. He longed to become beautiful, like the birds of the air. “After a long time, the caterpillar woke up. He didn’t want to wake up, but he.. um, started to get hungry. So Mr. Caterpillar left his cocoon, in search of food. He wriggled and forced his way out of that cocoon. He was soon free, but something was different about him; he had wings and was now made up of so many different colors.” “Was he pretty?” the filly asked. “Yes,” Jeff continued. “He was so happy, he flapped his wings up and down with joy. And for the first time in his life, the caterpillar smiled. After that, everyone who saw Mr. Caterpillar no longer laughed at him, or made fun of him. They all wanted to be like Mr. Caterpillar, and be his friends.” That has got to be one of the cheesiest stories I ever made. I mean come on, Mr. Caterpillar? Ugh, this is why I don’t write. I hope that the pony at least liked it. Oh, I still need a name for her. The small yellow filly smiled as she gazed upon the cocoon. “Don’t worry, Mr. Caterpillar, I will make sure you get your sleep.” The filly looked back to the strange creature that had shared the tale of Mr. Caterpillar. “Will Mr. Caterpillar be ok all by himself?” “Yes he will,” Jeff reassured her. “But if you want, you can make sure Mr. Caterpillar is safe everyday, and you can even talk to him while he sleeps. That way he will know that he isn’t alone” The little filly smiled, and looked back at the cocoon. She sure is timid at first. She doesn’t take too well to first impressions, but once you get her to talk, she’s quite kind. She sure seems to love creatures. “Do you have a name?” Jeff asked the yellow pony. The filly shook her head. “Can I give you a name?” Jeff asked her. The filly looked unsure, but said, “Ok.” “Well then, let’s think here.” Jeff pondered a moment. “How about Fluttershy? You are pretty shy; and since I didn’t want to copy butterfly, I went with flutter ... because ... you flutter around?” I am terrible with this. ‘Because you flutter around?’ Really?! That’s just stupid. “I like it,” whispered the small pony. She likes it. I should stop doubting myself. His chest slightly filling with pride. This was too easy naming them. I thought I would spend hours on the computer looking for awesome names. That or end up on some baby naming website. Glad this worked out, but it still bugs me as to why they are in my home. How did they get here? Jeff watched Fluttershy eye the cocoon, circling the plant and fiddling with the dirt in the pot to make it more even. Her little manipulations and the look of happiness on her face made him smile. I suppose I can worry about that later. I mean, this isn’t so bad. All I have to do is feed these small ponies some fruits and vegetables and give them water. Plus, they talk too! That’s like every pet owner’s dream. Though, I guess that makes them more like roommates than pets. “Well, Fluttershy, I have to get back to your other friends, please take care of Mr. Caterpillar, and the flower will you?” Jeff said standing up. “Mhm.” Fluttershy nodded. “If you need anything just come find me or one of the other ponies.” Jeff walked away from Fluttershy and Mr. Caterpillar, and back towards the bedroom. I’m actually kind of glad I made that analogy with Mr. Caterpillar, er the caterpillar. It actually applies rather well to Fluttershy. I mean, she is shy, and that can represent Mr. Caterpillar. After she emerges from her shy little cocoon, she will be one amazing little butterfly ... ~~~~~ A light blue mare stood before a statue. The unicorn wore a majestic purple cape littered with stars. Her silver-blue mane shone brightly against the sun while her hate-filled eyes burned at the odd statue. “Trixie has done everything you demanded!” the mare shouted. “Now return to Trixie what Trixie was promised!” The statue chortled, “A deal is a deal.” The statue remained motionless as it spoke. The creature encased in stone was an odd creature indeed. It had two horns, one being a deer antler and the other being a goat horn. The statue had one fang that stuck out of his mouth. There was a bit of facial hair at the bottom of its chin which drooped down, about a foot in length. Its right arm was a lion’s arm, yet its left arm was actually an eagle’s claw. The statues legs were mismatched as well; the right leg was similar to that of a lizard, and the left leg was goat-like. In addition, it had a bat's right wing, a pegasus' left wing, and the tail of a snake. With a flash of white, a large wagon appeared as well as a hat that matched the cape worn by Trixie. The wagon had her cutie mark: a magic wand over an eclipsed moon. “There you are Trixie,” the statue said. “As promised, here are your goods. I even restocked your fireworks supply with some of my own special designs,” the statue told her, laughing near the end as if mocking her. Trixie placed her hat atop her head and entered her wagon in a huff, slamming the door behind her. Within moments the wagon began to glow and vanished in a bright flash of white and purple, teleporting her to wherever she deemed worthy of her presence. The statue chortled. “Perfect ... ” ~~~~~ Jeff entered his bedroom beaming with his success. “Ok girls, I’m ... back?” Jeff looked around the room and saw that the the colorful equines had vanished. The smile on his face vanished just as quickly. Oh now where did they run off to? I told them to stay here, wait no I didn’t. I should have. Stupid me. Ok, they couldn’t have gone far. Jeff began searching the room for the hiding fillies, checking in the bed sheets, under the bed and pillows, in the closet, under the table, and behind the curtains. All results came back negative; the only thing he found was a pair of shoes oddly placed behind the curtains. Without any other obvious places to look through, Jeff scratched his head and gave the room a last eyeing, hoping to catch some sort of clue as to the fillies’ whereabouts. “Ok, ok. They’re like inches tall, there is no way they’d be able to open a door let alone get out of the building ... although Dash can fly ... and Sparkle can use magic ... oh this is-” *Thud* The spare room! Following the sound, Jeff rushed towards the spare room, doing his best to not start panicking. When he entered the room he saw the small fillies searching through a box labeled: “Old stuff I never have time for anymore, but keep anyway.” Why do I still have that box? I thought I threw it out during the move. I bet Brian stashed it in here when I wasn’t looking. Oh well, there’s nothing important in there ... I think. A muffled shout was heard from inside the box. “What’s this?” Exiting the box, Dash dragged a small yellow figure along the ground. “That, Dash, is a Lego.” Jeff sat next to the blue filly. “You build with them.” “Build? Build what?” “Well, anything really, or almost anything. Here.” Jeff reached into the box, and scrounged around for some more Legos. Pulling out a few colorful blocks, Jeff set to work. With a few clicks, the bricks were arranged into a misshapen ... thing. “You see, these bricks come in a whole bunch of sizes, shapes, and colors; and you can stack them together and build all kinds of stuff ... though I usually just stuck to the directions ... or square castles ... lots of square castles ... ” Jeff set the small wall down next to Dash as he started drifting into his memories of crappy lego castles. Dash was quick to grab a few more bricks, and place more of them together. A smile grew on her face and she flew into the box to find more. The rustling of the Legos snapped Jeff back to the present. “So where is everyone else?” Jeff asked. “I’m up here!” Pinkie furiously waved her hoof at Jeff from the computer desk. “Did you turn the computer on by yourself?” “Oh is that what this thing’s called?” “What did you think it was called?” “A flashing block,” Pinkie replied gleefully. “Heh,” Jeff chuckled to himself. “Well that’s a good name for it, but it’s a computer. It’s supposed to help with work. You can make pictures, talk to people, create videos, and a lot of other stuff.” Pinkie sure learned how to work the computer real quick. This scares me. Note to self: create something more complex than “qwerty” for a password ... maybe “password1”. “Hey!” Pinkie shouted. “What are all these little picture things?” Jeff sat down in his computer chair, and looked at the screen. “Those are icons, Pinkie. They represent the programs on your computer ... You don’t know what programs are, ok. Programs are.. um. They’re like rooms.. They have different things in each room, and each room is made to do something specific. “Like this one goes to the internet.” Jeff grabbed the mouse and clicked the icon. “It takes you to this room; the internet. The internet is ... Um, the place where you can look at pictures, moving pictures, talk with other people ... um.” This is why I hate the internet. INTERNETZ WHY U SO COMPLEX?! This is probably a bad idea as well, but it can’t hurt ... much ... “You know what, Pinkie, I’ll let you explore the computer on your own.” Jeff pulled out the keyboard and showed it to her. “The computer and internet are something you have to explore yourself. It’s because it’s so complicated I can’t explain it all.; but look at this.” Jeff typed “Pinkie” into the search bar and pressed Enter. Pictures of pink balloons, pink cake, the color pink, and “Pinky” from “Pinky and the Brain” appeared as well. “So all you have to do is type here for what you want,” Jeff pointed to the keyboard. The small pony had fallen asleep from boredom; a small snot bubble had grown on her small nose. Oh great, she fell asleep. Wait, what is ... ? Ew, a snot bubble ... I’ve never actually seen that before. That’s funky. “This is why I sell toys, not computers,” Jeff mumbled to himself. A small pop was heard, and Pinkie jumped up. “You have toys?!” She questioned. Jeff jumped back. “Well yeah, some. I work at a toy store, so I bring home toys on occasion.” “You have to take me!” Pinkie screamed. “Well, I um, can’t. Sorry,” Jeff apologized. “You see, people don’t take well to um, talking ponies.” “Why not?” Pinkie inquired. Crap, how do I explain to a pink talking pony that: ponies don’t talk, aren’t pink, and definitely aren’t three inches tall. “Well,” Jeff started, “ponies normally don’t talk ... and they aren’t pink ... or your height.” “Why?” “Um ... I don’t really know.” Fumbling through his thoughts, Jeff attempted stitching something together. “Well because ... Um, you’re something special.” “Special?” “Yeah, one of a kind. There is nothing on Earth like you.” Jeff smiled. “So, Pinkie, I’m going to check on the others. You can have fun on the computer. Wait, can you read?” “I think so,” chirped the pink pony. Well that’s sure comforting. At least I know she won't be searching up bad sites, or worse creating accounts on sites ... I should probably clear my browser history ... and max out the safe search functions ... just in case. This was probably a bad idea introducing her to the computer, but what can go wrong? Wait, everytime someone says that, something does go wrong ... Ugh, I’m just overreacting. “I’ll leave you to it then, Pinkie; have fun.” Jeff turned and left the pink filly to her new toy. As he stood to leave, Dash flew in front of his face, halting him. “Hey,” she said. “Do you have anymore of these?” In her hooves she held a small Lego brick. “Yeah, I have a lot more actually.” Jeff smiled. “I’ll just go and get them.” The little filly smiled and flew back down to her Lego creation, a simple wall. The multi colored wall wasn’t anything special, other than being slightly higher than the rainbow-maned filly; and twice as long. Jeff departed the room and entered his bedroom. Walking past a few empty boxes on the floor, he approached his closet and opened it. Using the sun's light to illuminate the space inside, Jeff read the various labels written in black marker on the boxes until he found the one marked: Legos. I’m glad I kept all these Legos, I knew they’d come in handy someday. Once more, Mom, I’m right. All these toys I kept can be used for the ponies. Well, at least Dash. I don’t know about the others. Jeff picked up the hefty box and turned to depart the room. He halted before the door and saw Sparkle sitting on his nightstand with another book in front of her. Like any other person, Jeff was curious as to what she was reading and set the box down to investigate. The filly was so enraptured by the finely written words on the book that she didn’t even notice Jeff sit on the edge of the bed next to her. “Are you reading another book?” he inquired. The filly looked up, suddenly aware of Jeff, and smiled. “Yes!” She eagerly responded. “I finished the other one a while ago.” “You ... finished Where The Red Fern Grows already?” “Yep!” she beamed. “So once I finished that, I went into your closet and found another book.” Jeff looked at the words on the top of the page, the words read: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She’s reading that?! How smart is she? I didn’t read that book until high school. “This book is very different from the other one, a lot more ... fantastical ... I think.; but it’s very informative too! I’m learning all sorts of things about magic.” “Oh, that’s good that you’re learning about ... ” Hold on a minute ... “Sparkle, are you able to use magic?” The filly slowly nodded. “But, I haven’t learned that much yet.” ... I ... I don’t know how to respond to that ... So these fillies can actually use magic? I mean, I know I thought them magical, but not in this way. Uh oh, she’s still looking at me. I need to think of something quick! “‘That much? What can you do?” Jeff uneasily asked. The filly pondered a moment. “I can turn a page in this book.” Sparkle stepped off of the large book, and her horn began to glow. Her eyes shut as she focused her concentration upon the book. Soon, a faint purple glow outlined the page of the book; Sparkle’s face contorted in strain as the page turned over. *Pant* “See? How’d I *pant* do?” “That was ... very impressive. I wish I could do that.” “You can’t? I thought that was why you had this book. To learn how to use magic.” “Nooo, books like that are just entertainment for me and others like me. We read about magic because we can’t actually do magic.” “Oh. I see.” “Well I had better get back to Dash with these legos before she kills me ... or something.” “Wait.” The filly spoke up before Jeff could leave. “Do.. Do you have a name?” “Yes,” Jeff responded slowly. “My name is Jeff.” Sparkle smiled as Jeff shyly blushed. I’m such a dork ... Why am I embarrassed to tell my name to Sparkle? Which is still a weird name to me, but that’s beside the point. “Well Sparkle, it was nice talking with you,” Jeff finally said. “Enjoy your reading; and if you ever need me, just shout my name.” The purple filly smiled and returned to the book. Jeff picked the box back up and walked back to the spare room. Upon entering, he could see Pinkie and Crystal on the computer, while AJ had joined Dash next to the multi-colored wall. “I’m back!” Jeff called to the fillies. The fillies looked at him, Dash’s eyes lighting up at the box. Jeff set the large box down by her and opened it, putting the box on its side to dump out some of its contents. Glancing at the computer, he saw that Pinkie was jumping up and down on the keyboard, making a lot of gibberish in the search bar. “Pinkie, what are you doing?” Jeff asked. “I don’t know,” she chirped. “You said to type stuff, and I did.” “Yes, but not by jumping up and down. The internet doesn’t know what you want unless you spell it correctly.” “Well that’s silly, I think it should know what I’m typing! That way I don’t have to type, and I can search everything from balloons, to ice cream, to sundays, to sasparillas, to--” “I get it Pinkie,” Jeff interrupted. Before Jeff could continue, his stomach roared; the room silenced and the fillies looked at Jeff. Of course ... I create the awkward silence. Ugh. It’s just like working with the quiet kids at work. Always just sitting there and staring at me ... Much like they’re doing now. I might as well go and eat; I haven’t eaten today and my stomach is kind of getting mad at me. “Heh, girls,” Jeff said, “I’m going to go and eat something. In the meantime, you play with the Legos. I’ll be in the kitchen ... which is where I’ll be if you need me ... in the kitchen. You know, if you need me for something ... and ... yeah ... Did I mention the kitchen?” “Nooooo, what is this ‘kitchen’ of which you speak” Dash chimed in with some rather impressive sarcasm. I’m such a dork ... Jeff exited the room, leaving the group of now giggling fillies behind, and walked to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, Jeff saw nothing appetizing before him. Sighing, he pulled out a carton of milk and grabbed the box of cereal from on top of the fridge. He placed both on the counter and went to the cupboard for a bowl and spoon. After pouring the Applejacks and milk into the bowl, he ate away at the orange and green rings. I’m eating Applejacks ... I have a filly named after this ... kinda ... there is absolutely no way to make a joke out of this ... None at all. Ok, what am I going to do after I finish eating? I will ... probably just go back and watch the fillies; it is Saturday after all. Nothing eventful is happening today, from what I know. No one has any reason to come visit me. *DING DONG!* Jeff perked up and looked towards his front door. The sound of the bell came again, causing Jeff to panic and run down the hall to his bedroom, knocking his bowl into the air. Checking the clock perched behind Sparkle he screamed. “OH NO! I didn’t!” Jeff grabbed his cell phone from under his pillow. Probably not the best place to leave it, but he never wanted it out of his sight ... which seemed rather counter-intuitive since it was - in fact - out of his sight. Frantically checking the phones screen, it read: Seven missed calls. He opened the phone and saw that Mom was listed seven times. Meanwhile, the doorbell continued to ring. Jeff’s pupils shrunk, and he ran into the spare bedroom. Sparkle turned and looked at the clock behind her, the time reading 3:12 PM. Jeff entered the small room panting, “Girls!” he screamed. “You need to hide!” The fillies all gave him an odd look. The doorbell rang again, Jeff quickly turned his head to the direction of the door. “No time to explain!” Jeff stated. “You need to hide!” “Like hide and go seek?” Pinkie questioned. ... Why does she have to ask questions ... wait! “Yes!” Jeff exclaimed. “Just like hide and go seek! Ok, you go hide and I will find you!” “What are you going to count to?” Pinkie inquired. Pinkie, you’re not helping me! “I will count to ... two hundred thousand ... and five. Now go hide!” The fillies cheered, and ran about the room trying to hide. Jeff ran to the front door. The doorbell rang again. Standing on the other side of the door was Jeff’s mother. A short woman, graying hair, and a light hearted smile. A loud thud was heard. She looked at the door worriedly, and rang the doorbell again. The door opened, revealing a flustered Jeff. His hair was a bit messy, and he was still in his pajamas. “Mother!” he frantically said. “I- I.. What are you doing here?” “What was that noise?” “Oh, that,” Jeff hastily stated. “I sort of ran into the door, but that’s beside the point, Mother. What are you doing here on this fine Saturday?” “Well, you said today you could talk. But after I called you over and over, you didn’t answer.” “Oh we- I was um ... busy.” “Busy with what?” she inquired. “Um ... well it’s a long story.” “Who were you shouting at earlier?” Jeff froze, blinking a few times he regained his composure. “Oh ... the um ... TV. One of my favorite shows was on.” “Uh huh,” his mother skeptically replied. “You were playing hide and go seek with your television?” “Oh, you know the modern shows they have on now; so ... life-like and interactive, you remember Blues Clues right? Think of that, but for grownups,” Jeff nervously said, the biggest forced smile plastered on his face. “W-would you like to come in, Mom? I was just eating some ... food.” His mother nodded, and she entered the humble abode. She saw it was fairly clean, the one item that stood out to her was the brightly colored couch. As she surveyed the rest of the room, Jeff guided her to the couch. “I thought you were watching TV?” she asked. “Oh well, you see I heard the doorbell, and shut the TV off,” Jeff lied. “Look, Mom, I’m sorry for not answering your calls today, I just woke up a bit late. I, um, had a long day at work yesterday.” “Did you have a bad day?” “Hm? Oh no,” Jeff replied. “Just long with a few unexpected things here and there.” Ok, all I need to do is get rid of Mom before she sees the ponies, it shouldn’t be too hard ... I hope. “Have you eaten today, Jeff?” “Um ... I was actually eating when you rang the doorbell.” “Oh?” She asked. “And what did you have for lunch today?” “Applejacks ... ” Jeff mumbled inaudibly. “What was that?” his mother inquired of him again. “Applejacks ... ” he mumbled once more. “Come again?” she asked, seemingly half annoyed at the answers she was given. “Applejacks,” Jeff flatly said. “Have you eaten at all today?” “ ... No,” Jeff replied sheepishly. His mother groaned and stood up, “Come on.” His mother walked to the door. “Wait what?” Jeff questioned. “I’m taking you out to eat. Now go get dressed, I’ll be out in the car.” Jeff’s mother left him alone on the couch, while she walked to the car. Jeff sat there a moment, trying to piece together what had just happened before bolting to the spare room. “Hey girls!” he called, no reply. Dangit! Hustling into his bedroom, he spotted Sparkle sitting on the nightstand. She was glued to the pages of the book she was reading. Her eyes never left the page. “Hey, Sparkle,” Jeff called. “I have to go somewhere.” Sparkle stopped reading the book and turned round. Her eyes looked to Jeff. “What do you mean?” She asked. “Well it’s just that my mother came over. Now she wants to take me to lunch.” Jeff took off his shirt, revealing his lightly toned body. Opening the closet, he collected a pair of pants and a clean shirt. “Well,” Sparkle began, “how long will you be gone?” “Maybe an hour?” Jeff guessed as he took his pants off. Not even thinking about Sparkle, who was watching him. “Ok look,” Jeff started, “I shouldn’t be gone long, Sparkle, I promise to come back.” Jeff put his pants on, and looked at the clock reading the 3:22 PM, embossed in light. “I should be back when this says, 4:22 PM, or somewhere around there,” Jeff stated. “For now you ... um, go find everyone.” “Wait what?” she asked. “I sort of told everyone we were playing hide and go seek, and since I’m leaving, I won’t be able to find them,” Jeff said as he put his shirt on. “So since you’re the only one I can find, you're in charge, and you’re also in charge of finding them. Good luck soldier!” Jeff saluted. After a split second, he was out the door. It shouldn’t be so bad leaving Sparkle in charge. I mean she reads, what can be so bad about that? This should be ... Jeff stopped halfway down the hall. DID I JUST CHANGE IN FRONT OF HER!? ... Oh no, I’ve probably scarred her, she’ll never be the same. No wait, it might not be so bad, she is a talking pony. Also she’s always naked ... That ... That means ... Pinkie was sleeping on my head, and crawling all over me ... NO! NO NO NO! that thought ends RIGHT there! A car horn blared from outside. Thankful for the appropriate distraction out of his thoughts, Jeff ran to the door of his apartment. Sparkle sat on top of the nightstand trying to reason out what just happened. Did he just leave me in charge? she thought to herself. “I suppose I should find the others.” Her horn glowed as her magic enveloped a piece of paper located next to the book. Placing it neatly between the pages, she closed the book, leaped onto the bed, and slid down the sheets to the floor to begin searching.