//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Start of Something Beautiful // Story: Worlds Apart // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// As Shining Armor, Cadance, and I continue our snack, I tell them about the girl that frequently comes into my store, and how we had a conversation this morning and she bought those strings. “Do you like her?” asks Shining Armor. “I never really spoke to her before until today, so it’s a little early to judge.” “You have to go to work tomorrow, right?” questions Cadance. “Yeah?” “So why don’t you try talking to her tomorrow?” “I don’t know,” I moaned sheepishly. “What if I’m swamped with customers or she doesn’t even show up?” “That’s not the most positive thinking,” chides Cadance. “Just try your best to have a conversation with her. Get her to trust you like you did with us.” After all that I had been through today, I think it would be in my best interest to bite the bullet and try something new. “Alright,” I say. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” “That’s the spirit!” cheered Shining Armor. His enthusiasm makes me smile. “Who’s hungry?” I ask. I go to the grill and set the coals alight. ________________________________________________________________________________________ I set the plate of grilled peppers on the table along with a stack of corn tortillas, sour cream, cheese, and black beans with the salsa on the side. After carefully constructing, my fajita, I take a bite, savoring its spicy goodness. Even without steak, I can make a wicked fajita! I watch intently as Shining Armor and Cadance are going to take their first bite out of their very first fajita. Their teeth bite in and they chew. Shining Armor’s eyes close as he leans his head back, making happy moaning noises as he eats. Cadance’s eyes roll into the back of her head and she lowers her head in pleasure as she makes a hearty, “Mmmmm.” “Is everything good?” I ask. “This is wonderful,” says Cadance. “Ian, with your cooking abilities, I wouldn’t see how a girl wouldn’t love you.” Her compliment makes me blush… a lot. Cadance giggles. Shining Armor is making another one already despite still being on his first one. One could say that’s rude, but I consider it a compliment. Cadance and Shining Armor tell me that they will do the dishes, and that I should jump into the Jacuzzi until they are done with the dishes, during which time, they will join me. I go upstairs to my room and put my bathing suit on. As I walk down, I can see that Cadance and Shining Armor are actually almost done with the dishes. Their horns were glowing as I saw almost all of the dishes being levitated in the air. Wow. Magic really does make everything easier. I take off my shirt and throw it on the deck and toss my towel on a chair. I turn on the jets and set my feet into the water. The water temperature is perfect. I step down the stairs and into the center of the pool. I then bend my knees and lower myself until I am fully submerged in the water. I near-immediately pop out and float to one of the seats, putting my arms on the pools edge and immersing myself in the wonderful Thursday afternoon. Mere minutes after I come in, Shining Armor and Cadance walk up to me and join me in the pool, towels set to the chair next to mine, wrapped sloppily on the arm. “Oooh,” sighed Cadance, “the water is divine. I may never want to get out.” “Like I said,” I begin to joke, “you’re free to the Jacuzzi anytime.” Cadance giggles. Her laugh is absolutely adorable. Along with her pink fur, her large eyes, and her long mane as it wades on the water, she is certainly a gem, even by human standards. She eventually catches me staring at her. “Is something wrong?” questions Cadance. I’m immersed by how wonderful she looks. “You’re so freakin’ gorgeous,” I quietly slur. Cadance is taken aback by my statement, blushing brighter than a ripe strawberry, but smiles knowing that I mean it solely as a compliment. “Hey now,” chuckles Shining Armor, noogying my head, “that’s my wife you’re talking about.” I laugh along with him. I rest back at my spot. “Oh Shining Armor,” I say, “what’s your secret?” “Secret to what?” “What were you able to do that could allow you to have such a wife like Cadance? Even beyond her stunning appearance…” Cadance blushes again, “…but she’s easily one of the kindest and most caring individuals I’ve ever met.” “It’s not that hard,” laughs Armor. “You just have to muster the courage to ask her. I remember the day like it was yesterday. Do you remember it, dear?” “Please,” says Cadance, “you tell the story much better than I do.” I direct all of my attention towards Shining Armor as he tells his story. ”Me and my friends were playing catch outside in the Canterlot Royal Guard Training Academy grounds, when all of the sudden, one of my friends tosses the ball too hard. Over in the distance, I see a pair of mares walking and gossiping amongst each other, completely unaware of the ball as it was heading in their direction. “I scream, ‘You two. Look out!’ They turned around only to see the ball in coming towards them. Knowing they couldn’t react in time, I use a spell that stops the ball and prevents them from hitting them. I gallop over to my ball to retrieve it and apologize to the mares. As I looked at one of them, I was immediately captivated by her beauty. “I try saying that I was sorry, but according to Cadance, all I managed to do was make a long winded sigh. She then looked at my cutie mark and noticed the star. ‘Hey,’ she said, ‘you wouldn’t happen to be related to a pony named Twilight Sparkle, would you?’ Upon mentioning her name, my interest skyrocketed. ‘You mean Twily?’ I ask, dumbfounded. ‘She’s my sister.’ “We were having a pleasant conversation after that, but my friends were calling me back over and she had to get back to her studies. We exchanged names and addresses and decided to meet up for tea the next day. And that would be my very first date with my wife: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” Cadance chuckled at the revelation of her full name. “So that’s it?” I ask. “That’s your story?” “Nope,” says Shining Armor. “It’s only the beginning. And right now, you need your own beginning.” “So, what I got from your story is that you met a girl, found that you had something in common, and then you go on a date with her? It just doesn’t sound that simple.” “You’d be surprised,” says Shining Armor. “Love can be very spontaneous. Just do what you think is right; that’s all you can do. Seeing the way you treat us, it shouldn’t be too hard for you.” Shining Armor’s confidence in me is overwhelmingly inspiring. “Alright,” I say with vigor, “I’ll do it.” We spend the rest of the afternoon and night talking about trivial matters and humorous anecdotes. The night is in full swing, and I finally got the answer to my question about electricity. “The higher end towns like Manehattan, Canterlot, and certain parts of Ponyville can afford it,” explained Shining Armor, “but most of the rural towns cannot.” I walk out of the pool and to the window to look at the clock. It’s already 10 PM. Time flies. “Listen,” I call to my friends, “I need to get to bed; I need to be up bright and early to manage the shop before I open it.” “Alright,” responds Cadance. “Good night.” “Also,” I call back, “once you’re done, I’d suggest taking a shower. The cleaning chemicals in the water can make your skin really dry. If I don’t see you tomorrow before I leave, I’ll see you later.” “Okay,” says Shining Armor. “Good night Ian.” I hop into the shower to rinse the chemicals off of my own body. The warm water feels just as soothing as the water in the Jacuzzi and I want to stay there with my friends some more, but responsibility calls and I have to be at work. I dry myself off with the towel and walk back to my room. Before I walk upstairs, I look at Cadance and Shining Armor through the living room window. They’re swimming around and (pardon the pun) horse-playing around, splashing water on them. Their happiness together is one that couldn’t be faked, unlike the one my mom had with my dad. No, I’m not going back to that. I walk up the stairs and slip into some pajamas and crawl into my bed. Today has been an eventful (and to an extent) stressful day. However, with my two new friends by my side, I’m ready to greet the day with open arms. ________________________________________________________________________________________ My alarm rings at 6 AM. I almost immediately shut it off so as not to disturb my guests. I gather my usual polo/slacks uniform for the shop along with some underwear and socks and take them down to the shower, this time lathering my body and hair with soap and shampoo so I can present myself to my customers. Today is a Friday, so the store closes at 9 instead of the usual 10. Also, Friday is the busiest day of the week, so I’m going to have to be on the lookout for that one girl. After drying off and shaving, I put my clothes on and make my way to the kitchen. I prepare a bagel with cream cheese and eat it. As I have my breakfast, I write a note for Shining Armor and Cadance. It says: Dear Shining Armor and Cadance, I am at work now and won’t be back until around 9:30 at night or possibly later. There is plenty of leftover peppers, tortillas, and salsa to make more fajitas. If not, I also have cucumbers and cheese to make sandwiches with. Anyways, I’m off now. Please be careful around the house. From, Ian. P.S.: If the phone rings or the someone other than me is at the door, do not answer it. In fact, hide. Not every human will be eager to meet you. P.P.S.: Sorry if I frightened you at all. After all the time I spent with them, I couldn’t believe that I forgot to discuss the possibility of visitors with them. Hopefully, the note will suffice for now, and I can explain later. I quietly pin the note to the inside of the door to the room where Cadance and Armor are sleeping. With that done, I grab my keys and go to work. The sunrise was beautiful on my drive down the hill into town. It was even more beautiful as I played Octivarium on my iPod as I drove. As usual, the song ends around the same time as I get to my usual parking spot behind my shop. Once I exit my car and get to the building, I open the back door and turn on the lights. I do an inventory of the shop and see that everything is in order since I left it yesterday. It’s around 7:00 now, and the store doesn’t open for another two hours. I decide to practice on some of the instruments in the store for fun. I put my iPod on speaker and play along on the various instruments. It’s a great way to kill two hours. At around quarter to 9, I make my final checks to make sure the store is in order. I see a small mass of people gathered outside the shop waiting to be let in. Friday really is my busiest day, and with Summer vaction in full swing, people have a lot of free time. Eventually, the clock rings 9 and I let people inside. I see people immediately going through my CD collection, picking up guitars, people playing drums, and looking at the display case for various accessories. One thing that always irks me about letting people play the drums is that there’s hardly a good person who plays them. It’s as if that what they played on on hard difficulty in Rock Band was enough to suffice for great drumming prowess. It really brightens my day when I see skilled drummers sit on that stool and really rock out a tune, and today was no exception. At least half of the people who went on the drums really knew how to work them. I’m lucky if three people can play them on any given day. By around mid-afternoon, the store begins to quiet down, there only being a few customers in the store. I was finishing ringing up a woman who was buying her son a new guitar, and then, she showed up. Come on, Ian. Don’t blow this this time. After I’m done ringing up the mother, I walk to the girl who, as usual, is observing the bass guitars. “Hey,” I greet, leaning on the wall. She turns around and finds me right there, surprising her. “Hello,” she says, uncharacteristically personal to boot. “Aren’t you supposed to be working the store?” “Who says that I’m not?” “Hm. What do you want anyways? I’m not taking your 11 dollars back if that’s what you’re asking.” “No, nothing like that. I just wanted to ask how your strings are working.” “About that, my dad used to be the one who changed the strings on that instrument, but I don’t live with him anymore, and I don’t know how to do it so-” “You wanted to ask me if I could change the strings for you?” “…Yeah.” She blushes in slight shame. “Don’t worry,” I say in an attempt to lighten her embarrassment, “not too many people know how to change strings. Why don’t you bring your bass over tonight and I’ll see what I can do.” “Yeah, I’m kind-of busy for the rest of the day.” “How about tomorrow at 8 in the morning?” “But don’t you open up at 9?” “It can get busy on a Saturday morning. Plus, I don’t mind making an exception.” On instinct, I wink at her. Oh Christ, did I really just do that? I do my best to keep my composure in light of my action, but she either didn’t seem to care or she actually enjoyed it, her slight smile as evidence. “Okay then,” she giggles, “I’ll see you tomorrow at 8.” With that, she leaves the store. Did I do that right? Minutes turn to hours as it’s already ten to 9. I make my “last call” announcement, signaling that if a customer wants to buy something, they must come to the register immediately to make their final purchases. The only customer however, is an older gentleman who bought a pack of guitar picks and a Megadeth Rust in Peace tabs book. I ring up his purchase and I watch as he leaves the store. I’m usually generous with the time and will sometimes let customers look inside when closing time is only a minute away. No such thing happens though, so I’m safe to close the store as normal. On my way home, I can’t wait to tell Shining Armor and Cadance about the progress I did (or maybe didn’t) make. Come on, don’t think like that. I enter the house and call my friends names to tell them that it was only me. I hear no answer. I begin to look around the house, hoping that they didn’t run off or something bad happened to them. I look out the living room window and take a sigh of relief to see the steam rising where the Jacuzzi was. I walk outside to see Cadance and Shining Armor sitting in the Jacuzzi having a grand old time. “Ian!” calls Shining Armor. “How’d it go, buddy?” I wave to them and take a seat on the chair near the Jacuzzi. “Was she there?” asked Cadance, giddy with anticipation. “Yeah, she was there.” “And?” they both chime in tandem. “She wants me to change her bass strings tomorrow morning at 8.” I could tell by the looks of their faces that it wasn’t the most exciting answer that they could have heard, but they’re still optimistic. “That’s good,” reassures Shining Armor with a nod, “that’s still good.” “Listen,” I say, “I know you were expecting sparks to fly immediately, but give me a break, Romeo and Juliet. I’m new at this.” “Oh,” exclaimed Cadance, “don’t think we’re trying to rush you. As a pony who specializes in love, I know that certain relationships take longer to develop than others.” “What should I do tomorrow?” I ask. Armor laughs a little. “Remember what I told you, pal.” “Something of interest, right?” “Yeah, but if you can, tell her how beautiful she is.” “Well,” I admit, “she’s not that beautiful.” Shining Armor and Cadance look at me like I’m sort of madman for saying such a thing about someone. “Wait, wait, wait! I meant that she’s not drop dead gorgeous, that’s all. She really is very pretty, but I find that it’s her bass playing that captivates me.” Shining Armor and Cadance sigh in relief. “Well there you go!” cheers Shining Armor. “Something of interest.” I can’t talk about this much longer. The more I dwell on it, the more apprehensive I’m going to get. I stand up and explain my whereabouts. “I’m going to bed; another early day at work tomorrow.” “Alright,” said Cadance. “Good night!” After changing into my pajamas in my room, I find it difficult to sleep, wondering what will transpire tomorrow. ________________________________________________________________________________________ I wake up the same time around 6, shower, dress, eat breakfast, and leave the same note for Armor and Cadance. With that, I grab my keys and go. As always when I enter my store, I check inventory and play around on the instruments. My playtime is cut short when I hear a light banging on the window. To my surprise, the girl is waving to me with one hand while her other hand is holding the case to her instrument. Seeing as there would be no point in keeping her out, I unlock the door and let her in. “What are you doing here so early?” I ask her. “I have to walk here from my apartment. Also, it’s part of my philosophy: ‘Plan on showing up early, and you’ll make it on time. Plan on showing up on time, and you’ll be late.'” “What does that mean?” “You know. What if there was a problem on my way here and I needed to make a detour that would add 10 minutes to my commute? Now I’m showing up on time when I left earlier than needed.” Interesting philosophy. “Anyways,” she remembers, “the strings.” “Right.” She lays the case on the table and unzips it to reveal her instrument, the Rickenbacker Model 4004L Laredo. Even with the broken string, it’s still a wonderful looking bass. “So,” I begin. “Do you want me to replace just the broken string?” “No, I’d like you to change them all.” “Alright.” I lay the bass out and begin to unwind the tuning heads. As I work, I begin to talk to her. “So what kind of music to you like to play?” “Lot of metal. Specifically Iron Maiden, Metallica, all of those 80’s metal bands. The real kind of 80’s metal anyway.” Knowing that she’s referring to glam metal there, I laugh. The E string is out. “Favorite songs or albums?” I continue questioning. “To play or to listen?” The A string is out. “Either.” “I love any Metallica song featuring Cliff Burton, playing anything by Slayer or Anthrax can be fun, but nothing can beat Steve Harris’ bass playing hands down.” The D string is out. “What about you?” “I’m more into the prog stuff. Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.” “Classics, huh?” “I actually enjoy a wide variety of music. In fact, Number of the Beast is one of my favorite albums of all time.” The G string is out. “Is it?” She giggles a little. “Don’t worry. I’m not one of “those” metalheads. I highly enjoy Greg Lake and Roger Waters too.” I guess we do have more in common than we thought. “Did you bring the strings?” I ask. She hands me them. I rip the bag open, sort the strings out, and begin to place them in. “So,” I continue, “who taught you how to play bass?” “My dad. He used to play bass in a band in his high school years and he taught me all he knew.” The G string is replaced. “And you?” “Same. In fact, I had to learn all of these instruments before I began to manage the store.” “That must have been a pain.” The D string is replaced. “More or less. It was all just a matter of learning notes and getting your fingers moving in different ways. Other than that, it was pretty simple.” The A string is replaced. “I’m guessing you also had to learn to change guitar strings too.” “Oh yeah. You really can’t be the only employee of a guitar shop and not know how to change a string.” “Right, right,” she agrees. The E string is replaced. I begin tuning each string by ear. The E string is in tune. “Did you tune that by ear?” she questions. “You have perfect pitch?” “Guilty,” I chime. The A string is in tune. “I’m so jealous. That must make things so much easier.” “In all honesty, it does,” I admit. The D string is in tune. “Would you like me to teach you sometime?” “You can teach people how to have perfect pitch?” The G string is tuned. Her bass is now ready. “Sure thing. Just another thing my dad taught me. Anyways, your guitar is done.” “Thank you, thank you so much!” she practically squeals. She begins to place her bass in her case. Now is the moment of truth. No turning back. “Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow?” I ask her. “Tomorrow? Why?” “It’s just that… I really enjoyed your company today and yesterday and…” She suddenly catches on. “Are you asking me on a date?” “Yes,” I quickly confirm. “The store is closed on Sunday, after all. Do you like movies?” “Love them.” “How about tomorrow afternoon, I take you out to dinner and we catch that Prometheus movie that came out?” “Awesome. Where did you want to eat?” “Wherever you like.” “I like Italian food.” “Does Maggiano’s work?” “Sounds great.” She then walks up to me. “Do you really find me attractive enough to go on a date?” I’m letting my emotions get the best of me. I decide to be honest with her. “Looks have nothing to do with it. You seem like a very nice and talented girl whom I’d like to get to know. And, on a side note, you do look very pretty.” She blushes. She then goes near my cash register and writes something on a piece of paper. When she finishes, she goes back over and extends her hand to mine with the paper stuck in her palm. “Penny Lewis,” she says. I accept her handshake. “Ian Carlington.” “I’ll see you around,” said Penny. With that, she leaves the shop with bass in tow and a large smile on her face. I unravel the piece of paper in my hand and look at it. All that she wrote was her name, her address, and those ten familiar digits. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11 hours of work later, I arrive home. Shining Armor and Cadance are in the kitchen having a snack when they notice me walking in while beaming. Shining Armor and Cadance can see where this is going. “And?” they both ask. “I’m taking her out tomorrow for dinner and a movie. Her name is Penny.” Shining Armor and Cadance squeal with joy and hug me, while jumping up and down. “I’m so proud of you!” shouts Cadance. “Lets celebrate in the Jacuzzi!” After a long day at work with a relatively stressless one tomorrow, a dip in the hot tub sounds absolutely splendid.