//------------------------------// // 02 - Sunny Side Up // Story: Shutter and Sunny in the Case of the Gurgling Gurgler // by shuttertwitch //------------------------------// “Uh, you might want to hurry!” Squeaked a high pitched voice from the other side of the door. Shuttertwitch began the process of unlocking all 4 deadbolts of his double-sized entry, a bit much you might say, but what with all the expensive equipment in his house, he just couldn’t sleep soundly unless he knew it was well-secured. Around the click of the third lock he heard a muffled crash and a squeaky “OOPS!”. This was Sunny’s trademark, as familiar to Shutter as her bright yellow coat and her green, excited eyes. “I think I dropped something!” Whined the stridulous voice on the other side of the heavy wooden slab and Shutter quickly finished unlocking the door only to open it to a floating bag with four sunny-yellow legs peaking out from underneath. They were quivering slightly under the weight of the load they were carrying. A warm gust of summer-time Ponyville wind blew in through the doorway and carried on it the sweet smell of happiness. Shutter couldn’t help but take a quick moment to breath it all in: the blithe, fragrant floral aroma, the earthy smell of old trees and worn dirt paths, the spicy acridity of a fire stove and maybe a hint of bread baking fresh somewhere down the road. “I went shopping, heehee!” The floating bag snickered, or rather, the filly behind the sack, but Shuttertwitch couldn’t yet see her. He shook his head to clear it of the intoxicating aromas of the outside world and focused on his friend. Two giant green eyes and a tuft of orange mane peaked around the large cloth grocery pack and Shutter saw Sunny Tendersmile, his best buddy, appear there in front of him with an embarrassed grin on her face. “I think I got too much!” She snorted. “Sorry about the eggs.” Shutter looked down and saw that a cartoon of eggs had fallen from the bag and splattered all about his porch. Some egg-slime had even got on Sunny’s bright yellow hooves. “It’s OK, Sunny.” Smiled Shutter. “I’ll clean it up in a bit. Let’s get you inside before you drop anything else though.” “Okie!” Shined Sunny and she shuffled her hooves to get the egg off, then carefully stepped over the mess and made her way into Shutter’s house. Sunny and Shutter slowly inched toward the kitchen, Shutter walking backward to keep an eye on the filled-to-the-brim bag that Sunny was shakily levitating with her unpredictable magic. He didn’t want any more of Sunny’s famous “oopses” that he’d have to clean up. They finally got the sack to Shutter’s table and immediately Sunny dug in with glowing excitement. “I got your faaavorite,” She sang in a cheerful tone, hooves still deep in the cloth bag. She was waiting with wound suspense like a wide-eyed frog about to leap, ready to reveal what Shutter was already guessing to be true. His favorite? Could it be? “You don’t mean…” Shutter bit his lower lip in excitement and scooted his glasses up with a cerulean hoof. “Tadah!” She pulled out her hooves to reveal two items. A strangely decorated glass bottle in one hoof and a bundle of broccoli in the other. She was a bit too excited with her “tadahing” and accidentally knocked the grocery bag over, scattering the rest of the contents all across Shutter’s kitchen table and floor. “Ooops,” she grinned. Shuttertwitch let out a childish squeal, disregarding the mess she’d made. “Hot sauce and broccoli!! My favorite!!!” “Not just any hot sauce,” Sunny replied. “THE hot sauce!” “No way!” Shutter eagerly grabbed the bottle out of Sunny’s hoof and they both exclaimed together: “UNCLE PAPPY GRIFFIN’S GUT PUNCH!” Shutter held the bottle high above his head in excitement, emulating a certain green-clothed hero of lore he’d read about in the library. “Yep!” Sunny smiled triumphantly, her orange hair springing to life as she held her head high. “But you can only get this stuff in… how did you?…” Shutter shook with excitement, it’d been months since he’d tasted it. Sunny winked an emerald twinkle, “I got friends.” She whispered with a cool smirk. The two ponies cleaned up and put away the rest of the groceries. All the while, Shutter was eyeballing that bottle of Uncle Pappy Griffin’s Gut Punch hungrily. He put some water on the old stove and lit the wood in the belly of the kiln underneath it. He preferred his broccoli steamed, you see, so steamed that it was mushy and then he’d liberally sprinkle the hot sauce on it and gulp it down! “You knooow,” Sunny spoke up from behind him as she stuffed her face with a macaroni pie she’d picked up from the Sugar Cube Corner on her way to Shutter’s house. “I uhm, didn’t just come here to bring you some groceries—“ “I knew it!!” Exclaimed Spectre from the other room. He’d been eerily quiet, no doubt waiting for Sunny to say something about her latest discovery. “I just knew it! She’s going to get us into trouble again!” The camera whined.
 With the water set to boil and the broccoli suspended above it in a steaming basket, Shutter galloped into the office and picked up Spectre the camera in his teeth. He brought him into the kitchen and sat him on the table across from Sunny so he could be part of the conversation as well. He knew Spectre would have nothing but negative things to say about Sunny’s proposal, but still he didn’t feel comfortable leaving him out of the conversation since he would no doubt be going on whatever excursion Sunny was about to propose. Sunny chomped another bite of pie and then spoke, spewing crumbs from her mouth as she talked. “No no no. No trouble!” She swallowed. “It’s just a little mystery that’s all.” “A little mystery! Bah!” Spectre exclaimed in a yellow torrent of magic. “That’s how it always starts!—“ “Let her talk, Spectre.” Shutter hushed his friend and work partner. “I want to hear this.” Spectre’s violet aura grew a bit brighter, but he didn’t speak again, he kept quiet. “They call it the Mystery of the Gurgling Grove!” Sunny whispered dramatically. She scooted her butt about in her chair for a moment to get comfortable and let the tension rise, then she began to tell Shutter and his angrily quiet camera the story she’d heard during her travels. And this, friends, is how their next adventure began.