//------------------------------// // Home // Story: Best Friends, Too // by shortskirtsandexplosions //------------------------------// The front door's barely been closed for twenty seconds, and I already feel like I've stomped a cardboard box full of kittens to the curb. I lean against a wall, sighing... then sigh some more. Why did it have to end so soon? We were having so much fun. Even if we weren't doing anything, we were just... ...being together. A sore lump forms in my throat. I zap magic at a lamp in the corner of the foyer. It switches on, but I don't notice a difference. The shadows are all the same. I shuffle towards my living room, glancing at photographs and portraits along the way. I see snapshots of myself against the backdrop of Ponyville. In almost every frame, I'm alone, but judging from the unicorn's smile you wouldn't think twice about it. And for the longest time, neither did I. But then the days drifted by. Twilight Sparkle became the town's paragon of organization and magic. And this solitary unicorn gradually woke up to how... empty her routine had become in the wake of change. And then Minuette strolled into my life... tossed some sugar into the coffee... brought the kick back. I smile... but then that smile immediately fades, for all I can think of is her drooping blue ears under a cold spotlight. There's a first for everything, and though Minuette's lethargy was short-lived, it still stabs my chest from the inside out to think that I brought that cloud upon her... Upon my very best friend. "Friggin' idiot..." The cramped walls echo a grumbling voice. "...didn't have to call it off so soon." A sigh. "Why do you always do this to yourself?" Somepony knows the answer to this, but I feel as though I know her less and less with each passing day. With Minuette around, I've no longer felt the need to. Perhaps that's where the joy springs from, laced in those sparkly giggles... My teeth chatter. I'm fidgeting in place. My eyes glance all around my living room. I don't know that I'm looking for something until I find it. "Hah!" An umbrella. "Silly filly..." Minuette must have left it here the last time she visited. But that's alright. "I should... probably give this to her." Yeah. "It's not too late. She should still be awake at her house." Yeah... There's a smile on my face... a deliciously heavy thing that tugs me towards the front door, faster and faster. I levitate the umbrella by my side, breaking into a full gallop. At last, I swing the door open... ...and there Minuette stands on the stoop, levitating a metal instrument by her head. "Aaack!" She jumps, lowering her hoof from the doorbell. "Aaaah!" I jump as well. There's a dull, thoughtless second, during which we collect our breaths... and our shivers. "Uhhhhhhhh..." Minuette squirms. "H-hey! Uhm..." I glance at my umbrella, then hold it towards her. "I was going to bring this back to your place—" "—I thought you might want to borrow this egg-beater!" She blinks. I blink. "...figured you left this the last time you visited—" "'Cuz who doesn't like scrambled eggs at sunrise—" She winces. Silence. We look at each other, then at our instruments. A beat. We break into laughter. "Hahahaha!" "Heeheeheehee!" "Heheheh..." I shake in place, clutching myself. "You know what I-I just realized?" "Wh-what?!" she squeaks. "This isn't even your umbrella!" "I know!" She rolls her eyes. "I hate that color!" "And I hate scrambled eggs!" "I know!" More laughter. The crickets go silent. Perhaps they're scared. We certainly aren't. The night resonates with Minuette's giggles. It could be the sunrise for all I care. "Wowsers..." she exhales, wiping a happy tear from her eye. "I don't know what got into me." "It's okay," I say, resting the umbrella against a wall. I smile through the door at her. "It was very thoughtful of you, Minuette" "No it wasn't," she sighs melodically. "It was silly. Thoughtless." Another sigh, this one duller. Her blue eyes fall to the wayside. "Like everything I say or do." I squint. "Now don't say that." "No. It's okay." She waves a hoof, twirling the egg beater about as if she's about to turn around. "You already made it clear you were calling it in for the night, Amy." "Well... actually..." I clear my throat, glancing up at the stars. "I'm... not that super tired—" Minuette spins around, beaming, full of teeth. "Really?!" I flinch. She blinks, then her ears droop again. "I'm... I'm sorry..." She gulps, then her eyes peek up at me. "Confession time? Between best friends?" I gulp. "Sure." It's dry. "I... I know that you like your space and all, Amy. And that's super cool. I like how you're... heehee... so thoughtful and contemplative about everything. And I respect ponies who need their alone time... even if I can't always understand it..." "Yeah...?" "But... I just want you to know that..." She clears her throat, her blue saucers darting about, in orbit around me but never quite landing. "...I really... really enjoy spending time with you. And it only gets more and more fun. And... when I'm not around you... it's... not fun." She inhales... exhales. A very slow thing, unfolding. "And all I can think of is spending more time with you the next time we meet. Because... it makes me happy." A giggle—off to the side. "Happier than I already am..." At last, her eyes make contact, and they pierce straight through me. "If... you can believe that." I stare back. "That... eheheh..." She brushes her mane aside. "...that's not weird, is it? I mean..." A gulp. "For best fr-friends?" "No," I breathe. "I-I mean... there's nothing wrong with being happy," I say. "I just..." My lips trip on my teeth. I stare into the night past her. So much emptiness—a familiar shade. I ponder just how long I've been afraid... mortified of dipping into a place even darker... a shadow formed by the collapse of something so precious... something like this. You can only become something so much before it crumbles. I think that's why I've loved organizing things. It's my mad attempt at keeping all the pieces together. It's a tough enough task on my own... "Amy?" My eyes fall to hers once again. Such a warm ocean. She comes to the surface with a smile. "Whatever you say... I'll always be there for you." Twinkling. "I promise." It's like I can taste the ice cream again. Somehow, I don't think I've ever believed another pony so much in my life. "Hey... uh..." My ears twitch. My mind jolts. "Have you ever listened to Shadow Spade?" Minuette blinks, eyebrows straight. "What." "Shadow Spade! Uhm... the radio show!" "I... can't say I-I have..." "It's on in less than fifteen minutes," I say—stammering, really. "Rarity told me all about it last time I visited her to get a blouse altered." A smile. "It's really thrilling stuff! Mystery... mystique... mares in noir fashion." "Heehee..." Minuette giggles. I'm alive again. "That's a lot of 'M's.' Bet it stands for ''MMMmmm'—delicious stuff!" "It's a radio show, Minuette," I drone. "Not an ice cream cone." "So?" She pouts, giggle-snorting. "My ears can eat too!" "Well, hope they're famished." I motioned into the living room. "Come on in. I'll fetch us both some lemonade." "Heehee..." "What?" "You only have lemonade when it's daylight out, silly." "I told you earlier I'm not tired, remember?" "Heehee... I remember." "Sooo—" "Fetch the lemonade, you silly goose! Jeez!" "Heheh..."