“This place is really busy…is it always like this?” I asked as we walked around, amazed by the hustle and bustle of the town. At the same time it was also relaxing; like a living organism working perfectly in sync.
I walked in the middle of the street with Sweet Feather and Silent Melody beside me. Fluttershy wanted to come along, but she had to keep an eye on her animal patients. I didn’t mind though, as much as it was completely awkward for me, I was glad for the company. Sweet Feathers pointed out different shops to me while Silent Melody walked next to me without making a peep, of course. I did catch him a couple of times stealing glances at me, but every time I caught him, he would quickly look forward again.
I didn’t blame him. Here he was walking with someone familiar yet a complete stranger. It’s completely normal to feel a little uneasy about this. Well…as normal as the situation could get. I was really only half paying attention to what Sweet Feathers was telling me, the other half once again trying to sort out my situation. I know that I told myself to focus on one thing at a time and decided to figure out Dream Weaver’s routine, but it was hard. I had to adapt to this so quickly, I never really had time to let this soak in. It took everything I had not to start hyperventilating and have an anxiety attack. Just focusing on not freaking out made myself start thinking about home…
“You seriously need to stop worrying.” The voice on the other end of the phone sighed.
I found myself pacing the girl’s bathroom back and forth at my high school. Senior year was coming to an end and it was time for ‘end of the year projects’. At first it was fine, until class after class was assigning the projects and I found myself swamped with work. First I had to put together a workout routine for my Rhythmic Art’s class, write a five page essay on the chronological order of what we studied in History, give a presentation on the career that we wanted once we were out with the qualifications and the steps we had to do to get there for English, and then we had to build an exact scale model of one of Rome’s famous theatre’s for Theatre Art and it all had to be done this week!
The stress of it all was getting too much for me and I found myself excusing myself from class and heading to the bathroom, determined not to let anyone see me having my usual anxiety attacks. Not knowing what to do, I called my mom, the one person who understood what I was going through and could help.
“I can’t help it. I have so much I need to get done and only a little bit of time to get them done in. I don’t know how to get the exact measurements of a scale model and I don’t even know what I want to do when I leave high school! How am I supposed to write my paper on nothing?!” My breathing became more rapid and I felt tears threatening to escape. I hated when I got like this. I’ve always gotten anxiety attacks easily, but since entering senior year they became more frequent.
“First off, I need you to calm down. I’m not going to talk until you’ve calmed down. Now breathe. Don’t focus on anything else until you breathe.” My mom coached on the other end.
I didn’t want to breathe, my brain wanted to focus on all the chaos that was running through my head. After a brief hesitation, I started taking deep breathes. I didn’t think of anything but breathing in and out, in and out. After a few moments, I felt myself calming down. I was still worried and still felt like crying, but it wasn’t so chaotic anymore. Taking one last deep breath, I put the phone back to my ear. “I’m okay…” I studdered.
“Are you sure?” my mom questioned.
Confirming with myself that I was indeed okay, I gave a weak, “Yea..”
“Okay, now, what is the first project that is due?”
After a moment of thinking, I answered, “History.”
“Alright, when you get home from school today, you will focus on your history.”
“But what about the other projects? My Rhythmic Arts is after that, then my Theatre Arts…”
“Ally, stop. Don’t think about the others. Right now, your main focus is History. Put the others out of your mind until that is done. After that, then you focus on the next one. If you think about everything all at once, you’re going to overwhelm yourself. One step at a time.”
I started to cry. Not in the frustration kind of cry, but the relief of feeling all my anxiety lifting off my shoulders.
“Are you crying?” my mom asked.
“No…”
“Crybaby.”
“I get it from you!!” I comment back, giving a weak chuckle.
I heard my mom laughing on the other end and found myself laughing with her.
“Alright hun, splash some water on your face, cool off for a bit and head back to class. You’ll get through this. I love you.”
“I love you too mom. Thank you.” I replied weakly and hung up with a smile on my face.
I was more like my mom than my dad. She freaks out over everything just like I do, but unlike me, she’s dealt with it longer and knows how to deal with it a lot better than I do. If anyone could calm me down, it was my mom.
I put the phone back in my pocket and did what mom suggested. I splashed water on my face, fanned it to get rid of my red face and headed to class, feeling a little bit better about my upcoming projects.
“…is Quills and Sofas. It sells exactly what it’s titled. I’m not entirely sure what made the owner think those were a good combination, but you once told me it was your favorite store to go into.” Sweet Feathers explained.
I gave a quick shake of my head to bring me back to the present. Remembering my mom and everything she did for me hurt and it wasn’t going to help me.
“One step at a time.”
Taking my mom’s words to heart, I quickly took a deep breath and plunged into the conversation. “Why was that my favorite store?”
“Well, you’ve always been a diligent pony. You go through so many quills and ink documenting your client’s dreams. You’re basically a regular.” She giggled.
So Dream Weaver is very organized. At least I won’t have trouble with that. I’m quite organized, if I do say so myself.
“Want to go in?”
“Sure.” And with that, we headed on in. I small bell went off as we opened the door to the quaint little shop. My body immediately relaxed at the comfort feeling that surrounded me. I instantly felt warm as I looked at the different sofa’s and beds the adjourned the floor. In the far left of the store were aisles of quills with different designs and endless colors of ink. Going through them, I noticed drawers at the bottom with different materials of parchment. I’m not going to lie, I could feel my mouth watering looking at the different amazing quill designs. I’m a writer. These kinds of things were my cocaine, my kryptonite, my Achilles heel. I was in heaven.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Silent Melody make his way towards a green sofa in the back corner by the window. After he gets settled, he takes out of book out of his saddlebag and starts reading. Getting closer to him, I gave a quick look at the title. It read ‘Music Genius’s Throughout Equestria’. Wow. At his age, all I was reading was Magic Treehouse and Junie B. Jones books. I was quite impressed.
Needing a little more insight on this place, I settled down next to him. He gave me a quick look before he went back to reading. I hated when people interrupted me when I was reading, but I needed more information.
“So is this what you do when we come in?” I questioned.
Seeming to know what I was doing, he put his book away and nodded at my question. I gave a silent thanks that he didn’t seem irritated with me.
“So I’m guessing that I spend a lot of time in here. Ponies don’t usually bring books unless they know that they’re gonna be here awhile.”
Again, I got a nod.
“What exactly do I do?”
After a brief pause in thought, Silent Melody reached into his saddlebag and brought out some parchment on a clipboard with a quill and ink and set it in front of me. I stared at it for a moment before I turned back to him. “I write?”
He nods again.
“What do I write?”
He answer’s by touching his forehead first then points to the air and waves his hoof around.
“Dreams?” Again, he nods.
Wow, so Dream Weaver comes here to get some paperwork done. I can’t help but start to like the girl a bit more. I mean, I usually just stay at home to work on my writing, but it’s still nice that she has somewhere to go to have some peace. I turned to Silent Melody. “And you don’t mind waiting here while I do that? Don’t you get bored?” I asked concerned. I didn’t want to drag him around with me if he didn’t feel like it. But all I got in reply was a brief shake and him taking out his book when he was reading. I felt myself smiling. “Well, if you ever get bored or anything just let me know, okay?”
Silent answered me with a nod and a small smile. My chest warmed with the thought of finally sharing a moment before I notice his eyes widen. Quickly, he takes everything he set down in front of me and puts it in is saddlebag. After he tightens it up, he hops off the sofa and moves a few feet away. I was completely surprised and a bit heartbroken. I thought we were sharing a moment, but I guess it was one sided. I guess he had to remind himself that I wasn’t Dream Weaver anymore. Before I could apologize, a high shrill pierced the air.
“Dreeeaaaammmm!!!” and before I knew it, I was tackled by a blue and yellow blur.