//------------------------------// // Drift Drift // Story: The Oldest Lullaby // by flutterdash1 //------------------------------// Punctuality was not exactly something that Shut Eye forced upon himself or prided himself in. Rather, it was a quirk of his personality that he was typically always ahead of schedule. The idea of being ‘just in time’ or, worse, ‘late’, caused near panic attack levels of anxiety in him. More often than not, if it was not some vital function he was required to attend, if he found himself in a position where he knew he would be late then Shut Eye would rather find a good excuse and skip attending. When the function was a requirement, he worked hard to ensure he was very early. Sometimes hours early, just to be safe. A simple meeting with friends was not a major function, however, and Shut Eye’s anxiety levels were kept in check. He still arrived at the coffee shop early, but only by a few minutes. He liked to be early so that he could pick a table outside. If Zippity Zip had arrived first, she would have just taken the first table she could sit at after getting herself a half a dozen cups of coffee. Shut Eye borrowed from two neighboring tables one chair each to add to the table he had unofficially ‘claimed’ for himself and his friends so that all six of them could sit together. The waiter appeared and set up a large sun umbrella to give them shade just as Bon Bon arrived. “Good morning Shut Eye!” Bon Bon said, giving him a hug. “Good morning Bon Bon,” Shut Eye said, hugging her back. “You beat Zip, I’m surprised.” “I saw her a bit ago,” Bon Bon said as she took a seat next to where Shut Eye sat down. “She was heading to Time Turner’s, I think," Both of them smiled at the thought. Whenever Time Turner was around Zippity Zip too long, the introverted stallion started to get jittery and anxious and very irritable. It was pretty funny. Time Turner arrived a few minutes later, looking rather winded. “Sorry that I am late,” He said, joining them all at the table. “Its ok Turner,” Bon Bon said. "Berry isn’t here yet.” “I was working with Derpy when Zippity Zip showed up. Derpy dropped the… uh… well, it was a bit of a mess,” Time Turner explained. "Zip had to run off to Trottingham for work so she will not be able to join us.” “Awww,” Bon Bon said, frowning. Shut Eye frowned as well. Zippity Zip enjoyed her job a little too much at times, and often forgot about invitations to brunch, or anytime with her friends. “We’ll just have to do without,” Bon Bon said with a sigh. “Just us and Berry Punch when she gets here.” “Oh?” Time Turner asked, looking up from the brunch menu. “Is Carrot Top not coming?” “He said she was busy today,” Bon Bon answered. "She really overworks herself like Zip” “Not like Zippity Zip does,” Shut Eye commented. "Carrot Top isn’t nearly as happy about it.” “I must concur with Shut Eye,” Time Turner said, nodding. "Carrot Top always seems so… ” he gestured vaguely with his hoof as he searched for the word. "...miffed about work.” “That’s why I wanted us all to take a small break,” Bon Bon said. "Have a nice brunch, enjoy the magic show, spend some time together.” “Magic show?” Shut Eye asked. “Yeah,” Bon Bon said. "There’s a magic act in town today. The Great and Powerful Trixie. We were gonna go meet Lyra there.” “Oh that sounds like a wonderful time!” Time Turner said brightly. Shut Eye nodded in agreement, having not seen a magic show since moving to Ponyville. They all ordered their meals while waiting for Berry Punch, but by the time they were almost finished it was silently agreed that she, too, was not going to be joining them. Unlike Carrot Top and Zippity Zip, though, this was a bit less surprising. She had probably been out late again. “Well, we’d better get going," Bon Bon said. "I don’t want to be late.” “I’ll get the check,” Time Turner said, waving down the waiter. "It is my turn, if I recall," Shut Eye nodded to affirm Time Turner’s memory. Shut Eye had paid last week and was not exactly rolling in bits. Foalsitting was a great lifestyle, but it was hardly a high paying job. Not in Ponyville, at least. The three of them set out towards the center of town. Bon Bon was asking Time Turner about what he was working on when Zippity Zip had shown up to make a mess. Shut Eye did not know a lot about what Time Turner did, but he knew it often involved a lot of science, chemicals, things that went kaboom and wizz-pop, and overall just gave him a headache whenever he talked about it in too much depth, and gave him a general feeling of unease whenever he visited Time Turner’s home where it all took place. They arrived at the center of town as a loud series of pops and some flashes emerged from an unfolding stage. A periwinkle unicorn appeared from the smoke and began to wax eloquent on the stage. “Watch in awe, as the great and powerful trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!” A large away of sparks and firecrackers and flashing lights dazzled Shut Eye and Time turner. Shut Eye looked to see where Bon Bon was but saw her slipping away into the crowd, probably looking for Lyra. He returned his eyes to the stage as The Great and Powerful Trixie summoned a bouquet of flowers out of thin air. “Marvelous," Time Turner muttered next to him. "I wonder if that was a sleight of hoof with an invisibility charm, a summoning incantation, or actual magical creation. The first two are easy enough to replicate with a simple voxel engine and…” Shut Eye quickly lost the thread of what Time Turner was trying to ‘explain’, though it seemed his friend was mostly talking to himself anyway, so Shut Eye did not feel guilty focusing instead on the show. Shut Eye could not see it, but somewhere in the front of the crowd were a few hecklers. Or at least, that’s what Trixie intoned when she looked down and called some of the ponies ‘neigh sayers’. Shut Eye grew excited when Trixie issued a challenge to the hecklers. He loved it when members of the audience were part of a show. Not himself, of course. He was far too shy for that. But seeing a performer ad-lib their entire act around audience members was always awe inspiring. After Trixie put on a show about her conquest of the Ursa Major, Applejack the apple farmer went up on stage first. She put on a rather fantastic lasso show that Shut Eye would have liked an encour of, but then Trixie one-upped her by hogtying the farmor. He laughed at the display, along with most of the crowd. Time Turner was not laugh, though, he was staring at the stage with peculiarly sharp eyes and doodling symbols in the dirt with his hoof. Shut Eye could see his jaw working, as if he were trying to write with a pencil that was not present. One of Ponyville’s weather pegasai went up on stage next. Shut Eye knew her name was Rainbow Dash, largely because she was perhaps the most egocentric mare in town. He did not hold that against her, though. For all of her boasting, Rainbow Dash did live up to everything she claimed. Or at least, everything Shut Eye had heard her claim. So far he had only really her her claim the best or fastest flyer in Equestria. If she tried to claim fastest pony, though, he would feel obliged to talk Zippity Zip into challenging her to a race. Rainbow performed a rather exceptional series of aerial acrobatics that Shut Eye thought was suitable for a Wonderbolt’s show, Trixie responded by using the very rainbow that the pegasus had created to spin her around like a top. Up next was a white unicorn that Shut Eye was pretty sure was named Rarity, but he was not entirely certain. He did recognize her as the owner of the boutique shop, though. She created a rather elegant dress with just the curtain of the show and also did up her hair in a mere couple of seconds. Very impressive magic, if not too much for showmanship. Shut Eye figured that owning a dress shop would make magic around dresses pretty routine for the mare, but he was not one to judge. Trixie had accepted the challenge, after all, so it was up to her to upstage the newcomer rather than the newcomer to necessarily be fantastic. Trixie’s rebuttal was quite amusing, and the green seaweed-like hair that Trixie had turned her mane into caused the white mare to run off screaming. “Hey Turner, Carrot Top’s here," Shut Eye said, pointing over to Carrot Top who looked rather miffed from Rarity’s comment. Time Turner had not heard him, though, and was still muttering to himself, so Shut Eye worked his way through the crowd towards her. That became rather easy because the show had, apparently, ended and the crowd started to disperse. “Well hello Shut Eye,” Carrot Top said with a smile when she spotted him. “Good morning Carrot Top,” Shut Eye replied. The two shared a short hug. “How are you doing?” “Well enough,” Carrot said with a sigh. "I’m sorry about missing brunch. I was… what is Time Turner up to?” she asked, looking over his shoulder. Shut Eye looked back over and Time Turner was using a large stick to write on the ground now. He rolled his eyes and sighed, but smiled. “I think he’s trying to mathematically figure out Trixie’s act," He said. "Let’s go stop him… or get a pencil and notepad. We won’t hear the end of it if someone tries to walk over his notes.”