//------------------------------// // Filly Feather St. (Part 1) // Story: Summers of Change // by Silver Letter //------------------------------// A couple of lean Pegasus ponies trotted up the crumbling sidewalk of Filly Feather St. It went up a hill where lots of old wooden houses were built long ago. The sparkling waves of the sea with a long white ribbon of sand where tourists and locals alike played are behind them. The sea went on until the horizon and the vast nothingness beyond. It was still the early hot days of summer and every bit of coolness wasn’t taken for granted. Sprinklers that watered lawns, little pools for young foals, or just meandering through the shade of the trees that lined every street in the old town of Sweetie Shores. The two of them, a colt and a filly, were enjoying their mornings of getting up late and eating something other than the plain yogurt they had at the elementary school. They were headed towards a friend’s house. They didn’t live on Filly Feather St. Their house was at a nicer part of town near the beach where the sidewalks were not so bad and the shops lacked bars on the windows, but it wasn’t as if the colt minded. He was wound up and eager for one of their usual races up the hill since they left home. He prodded his sister with a tap on her shoulder while she was looking at some songbirds above. “I feel like running. You think you can beat me there without having to use your wings?” He grinned arrogantly at her but the filly could only sigh and acquiesce to his challenge. They burst into a full on gallop while a couple old ponies looked up, drawn from their flower pruning. The colt was named Sapphire Skies, a well-built foal in every sense of the word. His legs were springs that carried him further and faster than most others, even Earth ponies in their class. Even though his sister may have tried her best, her cheeks growing so red and puffy with every breath, he could overtake her in an instant if he wished. It was about having fun; each tree root that broke through the cement was an obstacle to overcome and no matter who won, it was just about breathing in the salt air and bathing in the sunlight. Sapphire never worried about it. He would always win, even if he held back enough to pretend otherwise. He made sure to make it to the familiar white fence by about one pony length. Two is a bit much and he would never be as mean as to make it five. They stopped and panted in the shade after. On the other side of the street, a mail pony was doing her rounds. The filly, Diamond Skies, stretched her hooves. “Well, that was fun as usual but I hope I’m not going to start smelling now,” she complained. “The last thing I want is to smell like a colt.” Sapphire chuckled. “What about winning like one?” “I don’t need to be a colt to win at things,” Diamond said indignantly. “But would you still smell as good?” Diamond huffed. “How would I know? Go smell them yourself.” “Alright….I get it. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll be back to normal in a few minutes. Smell doesn’t last in the dry heat, you know.” “Yeah and it probably won’t even matter if it didn’t.” He knew what she meant and said nothing more as they passed the fence and walked across the dry grass and concrete stepping stones towards the front door of that typical two story house with a steep triangle roof. Every home had a porch and were painted white, light blue or sometimes a sandy color. This one had chairs to sit on and a wind chime that lightly rang from the air that blew in from the sea. Sapphire reached and knocked on the door. Diamond waved flies away from her face and groaned. When the knock went unanswered, he tried again. “There’s no way she’s not here.” He pounded on it impatiently until he felt a tug on his mane. “Quit it!” “How about instead of putting a hole in their door, you read what’s in front of your face?” She pointed to a taped note to the left which told visitors to ring a buzzer. His expression soured as most children did when told what to do but he went and quickly slapped the buzzer. A voice came from a black speaker slightly above his level. “Hello? Who’s there?!” It was their filly friend although she sounded muffled as if caught chewing something. “It’s us. Let us in already.” Right away, a screeching sound emitted from above and they heard hard mechanical clicks from behind the door like some kind of insect. Instead of opening normally, the door flung itself open, revealing none standing behind. “Oh boy, I wonder what this is,” Sapphire said with more annoyance than interest. They both knew it had to be something Pixel Wavelength had conjured up from that strange mind of hers. When they looked behind the door, they saw a complex contraption: a large piston, long bars and gears attached to the door and the adjacent wall. Much of it looked like old steel cut and soldered. Diamond saw it and being aware of how dangerous that was, she swallowed anxiously. “I hope she’s okay.” The two of them went down the hall towards the basement door. It was cooler inside than in the heat of day with most of the curtains draped but they could already smell the things the filly and her father kept in the basement. That day, it was smoky. Other days, it smelled like rubber, oil or some other fumes. As they opened the door and went down, the smoke nearly made their eyes water. At the bottom of the wooden stairs, they saw Pixel hunched over something large and complex looking. It had a fan and pipes and a ton of wires. It looked like it was being operated on. The filly’s long electric blue mane was pulled back and bunched together like a bundle of wheat. Her hooves were out of the way as she looked at some kind of electronic component. She tapped the brittle green board on the metal as if contemplating how to use it. She had a wrench gripped between her teeth but soon took it out. “Hello, you two. What brings you by?” She looked up and smiled as they approached. She put down the delicate electronics and the wrench and grabbed a fresh towel to wipe her hooves. “Well, we haven’t seen you since break started and we tried stopping by before. I guess we just want to know where you’ve been,” Sapphire said. He stepped around a few scattered objects on the floor. He obviously didn’t want to sound too concerned but it was all a part of how colts loved to act. Pixel thought it was cute. “If you missed me then I was probably at the junkyard.” “Why would you go to someplace like that? I mean, there’s that old stallion and that dog that chases any pony that jumps the fence,” Diamond said, her face scrunched in perplexity. “First of all, the old stallion doesn’t bother me but that’s because I ask nicely before going there. I don’t jump the fence,” Pixel said matter-of-factly. “And I was there because I needed raw materials for my newest projects.” “You mean, all of this electronic stuff?” As usual, Sapphire was oblivious to what her stuff could do. “What’s the point? You have magic. I mean, aren’t these things for ponies that don’t have magic?” He made a weird face, emphasizing the last part about not having magic as if saying that technology wasn’t for her. Pixel sort of felt like protesting but she knew it could only start some drawn out argument about him being shortsighted or about how technology makes pony life much better. There’s not much she can do since he’s just a foal and yet, he could come around when he learns more about Pegasus life beyond flying. At least she hoped that he would. It’s good that he and his sister have ambition but she always saw it as the childish kind. There’s not much depth in just wanting to be like some pony else. And until they figure out what they want, those two are just going to be getting up at 9:30 every morning and wasting the day reading comics or hanging out at the beach. They just don’t understand. “Don’t worry about it. I just have a lot to do. Dad and I have projects to work on until summer is practically over.” “Yeah but what about us? Are you saying that you don’t have as much time for friends anymore?” He did have a point. There would be days where Pixel would be cooped up in her basement, working on her projects, and consumed by them. She collected circuitry like children her age normally did with toys. She’s only ten and she’d already pushed things like childhood friendships to the margins of her life. At least at school, she would see them at lunch or in the halls. She listened to them talk about simple things. Sapphire dreamed of being like his father and joining the town flying squadron. It’s not glamorous like the big city flyers but in any town with half Pegasus ponies, it’s still a high priority. And it has been so long that she didn’t know whether he was still interested in that all Pegasus academy over at Las Pegasus. Maybe spending some time away from her cluttered lab is a good idea after all. “You are important to me. I’ve just been distracted lately.” She gave him a very friendly smile. “Just let me clean up down here and I’ll come meet you upstairs?” “Okay. Are your parents gone?” Diamond asked. “Yes. Both are working.” They nodded and clopped back up the tall steps. Pixel turned to the white sink and started to wash her hooves. The blue aura of her magic dispelled the grime that clung to her, turning brilliant white hair back to unblemished perfection. She then sprayed a fine mist that smelled like lavender into the air and let it settle upon her mane. She never shied away from grease or dirt but it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t try to look her best when going out. She went upstairs and found her friends waiting in the family room. They sat on some old hoof chairs and Sapphire played with the bead jar. As Pixel grabbed her sunglasses and hat from the rack, she smiled. They are certainly a playful pair. Sapphire’s once convinced her that those beads were rare pearls and that foals came from eggs. He was her first playdate back in elementary school. He teased her often but he knew when to stop and he never made her cry. They were just good friends. Pixel learned that some ponies are like those horrible hall monitors back at school that were like statues with their icy stares. Her friends weren’t like that. They did those things because they cared enough to pay attention. Even at that age, it was clear to her. It’s why she loved being around them. The three of them decided to go to a nearby ice cream parlor that the neighborhood foals went to often in the afternoons. It wasn’t far from the movie theater or the park. Pixel knew that she had a thousand places to find a friend if she really wanted. A few other foals had the same idea and was crowding around the counter. They stared at the array of buckets with various ice cream flavors ready to be scooped up into a cone for only a few bits. The owner, Mr. Swirl, was bent over into the chilly looking freezer to get one of the fillies her vanilla ice cream with extra sprinkles. None of the foals knew his first name. It wasn’t that they didn’t like him. He was known by every young pony in the neighborhood. But it was normal for them to just not care or even question it. Pixel ignored the chatter of the other children and thought about what she wanted. Her favorite was strawberry and she seldom picked any other flavor. That usually annoyed Sapphire. His ice cream was always a mishmash of random flavors smashed together in an ugly colorful blend. It was the same with everything he ate. He was the one that got the rest of the class sticking their hay fries into their milkshakes a month prior. Pixel definitely preferred a routine but she had to admit that his unusual ways did work out once in a while. Pixel had her heart set on the strawberry so she stood and waited for the other foals to be served. At the end of the counter, an Earth pony colt in her class received his double chocolate ice cream and turned from the counter to find a seat. He sat and licked at it while his friends paid for theirs. She recognized him immediately. His name was Potato Mash, being that he came from a long line of potato farmers that settled the inland valleys. Their eyes met and she felt a chill; she could never tell what he was thinking. She’s always known him to be a moody guy and he still was that day. Not that smiling rarely was a bad thing. He was a good colt but it wasn’t so apparent back when they first met. In the first grade, he had made fun of her in the playground. But not for what most would think. She wasn’t so easily understood by other ponies. She liked things that nopony else in her life really knew about. Pony society had always been traditional first. She was told that traditions build the society, not technology. The thing that Potato had targeted were burns that were on Pixel’s white coat, going along her forelegs. Pixel always hated that ponies distrusted technology and ponies used to stare at the inconsequential burns she used to suffer when she just started to flirt with the melting of simple wires. Ponies just didn’t accept what they couldn’t grasp and that included a foal caring about such things most of all. It used to feel like a burn on her heart. One of the worst things a pony could say about technology was to call it just another form of magic. When an older pony said something like that, she hated it worse than when Potato insinuated that she was a danger to herself and others with her robotic toys she liked to bring to class. Somehow, comparing it to magic hurt deeper than when Potato tried to have the toys built by hoof banned from the school once. When he did, Sapphire and Diamond were the only ones that stood up for her. Sapphire was her greatest defender and was always her closest ally. He always threatened to stomp her bullies into dust but she could always calm him if she needed to. But the only reason why she could stand to look at that colt was that it came to an end. She caught him once after class and kept bringing the issue up until one afternoon, he broke down and conversed with her. Being moody but non-violent, he ended up telling her about a lot of things. About his family’s lost farm and losing all his friends and his old life when he had to move to the coast. At that age, there’s nothing worse than having to move away. Ever since then, they spoke sometimes when eating lunch together or when they saw each other at the beach. She’s hesitant to call him a friend but if it wasn’t for her ability to empathize, he might have turned out to be anything but a friend.