A Beautiful Swallow

by Skijarama

The Dreaming Storyteller

I once read somewhere that when you find something wonderful, something that you can't live without, you aren't really aware of how important it is until you feel it's absence. I don't really remember where I read that, and I don't care that much. All I know is that I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment. I suppose you are at least slightly curious about who I am and what in Tartarus I'm blabbering on about. Well, I'm a young stallion, almost able to be considered an adult, though I still have a fair amount I need to learn. I was born in Ponyville 17 years ago, and I have yet to move from that town. I've lived with my mother, father, and brother in our second house since I was born. We had to move from our first because of a few problems with the walls letting large amounts of moisture in. As for my name, I'm Stinging Nettle.

I like to think that my name represents my somewhat nasty personality. Don't get me wrong, I'm a perfectly nice stallion when I like you. If I don't like you, then there can be some pretty nasty words spoken, and depending on circumstances, a really nasty action to accompany the words. A good example, I was in a rather foul mood, and one of the local school bullies whom I detested every cell of, pushed me to the side as he passed. I did not approve, to say the least. I admit, I could have reacted a bit more intelligently, but given the circumstances of what was going on that day, I didn't really have a clear head. I attacked him. He got detention, I got suspended for a week.

Now, while I'm sure that's all very interesting and all, I want to get to the point I made a second ago; The thing you care about being absent. Well, in my case it's a pony. A young unicorn, a few months younger than I am. I would just give you the gist of what's going on, but I haven't talked about this nearly enough to anypony. I'm going to give you every little detail that I can. Even with my rather profound lack in writing talent, I just want to make sure I get this out of my system. It's been bugging me for too long now. And now I'm rambling, and procrastinating against the point. Go figure.

Well, I guess it only makes sense that I just tell you the story starting from the beginning. This was maybe four, five years ago? Something like that.

<^><^><^><^>

5 years ago, I found myself sitting at my desk in the Ponyville school. Cheerilee was up in front of the class giving some lecture that I can barely remember. I don't even remember what class it was for. What I did know was that a friend of mine, Heartfelt Waltz was going to be holding a meet-up between me and fellow aspiring writers of the school to collaboratively tell a story. At this time, I wanted nothing more than to be a writer. I loved reading, and wrote the occasional story when the muse struck me. None of them were good, but whatever. That's in the past, and not the point of what I'm talking about. Waltz was a great storyteller, though she liked to incorporate elements from other things into it. Either way, she told good stories, and liked to get everypony else involved.

Our typical formula is we'd each invent a character, and take turns deciding the actions of the various characters, jotting down our ideas, and passing them to the front. Each pony got 3 pages to work with for their turn, with limited control over the other characters. When I say limited, I mean it had to be approved by the creator of the character if it was dialogue, and everyone if it was a story-important action or effect. Anyways, the class went on, and eventually wrapped up. I grabbed my stuff and made my way to Waltz's house.

The house eventually came into sight. The second story window that I knew lead into Waltz's 'meeting room' (Really, it was just her bedroom) had light shining from it, indicating that the rest had already arrived. I checked my small saddlebags, making sure that I still had my quills, ink, and paper. If I ran out Waltz would supply more. She was very generous like that. Either way, I stepped up to the door, ran a green hoof through my unkempt, long brown mane, and knocked. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Waltz herself. She wasn't as tall as I was, had a dark, midnight blue coat, and a silver mane. It was kind of an interesting contrast, really.

“Hey, Nettle! Glad you could make it. How was the assignment?” she asked.

“Eh,” Was my response. At this point, I'd been home schooled for most of my life. Therefore, I was still getting used to interacting with ponies, both outside of my family, and inside of my age group. She tilted her head at me. She was much more used to the social scene than I was, and also had a bad tendency to over-analyze reactions.

“You seem a little out of it. You OK?” she asked me. I nodded.

“Yeah, just wasn't a very fun day. Is everypony else here yet?” I asked, taking a questioning step forwards, asking silently for permission to enter. She nodded and stepped aside, letting me in.

“Yes. We're only waiting on one other. Head on up. I'll stay down here until they show up,” Waltz said with a strange smile on her face. I knew that look; she was hiding something, and it was fun for her to keep it hidden. She gave me that look at my birthday party when she gave me my present. Whatever, I thought. If she wants to hide something, I'm sure she'll reveal it shortly, and it'll be a pleasant surprise. I made my way up the stairs. Taking a left at the top, I entered into Waltz's room. OK, headcount time. Teal Buckler was here, Violet pedal was here, as was Brimstone.

Teal buckler was a teal color, with a cranberry colored mane, with little streaks of dull grayish blue in it. Violet pedal had a fitting violet coat, and a lavender mane. Brimstone was the youngest one here, and had a gray coat, along with a red and yellow mane. Wait... that meant we were all already here. It confused me. Who could we possibly be waiting on? All of the members of my circle of friends was already here.

“Hi folks. Anypony know who we're waiting for?” I asked.

“Not a clue,” Buckler replied, walking up to me. We hoof-bumped really quick, and then I turned to Brimstone, who shrugged.

“I don't know the name. I just know that Waltz is pretty excited. Supposedly she's bringing in a good storyteller,” Brimstone confirmed, shrugging. I nodded slowly and looked out the window of the room. As I did, I spotted a white unicorn mare, looking about as old as I was, trotting slowly up to the house. My mind kicked into gear, and I quickly put two and two together.

“Well, whoever it is, she's here, I think,” I replied. She was a snow white color, with a long, flowing blue mane. It was a nice sight, honestly, even from this distance and with my poor eyesight. At this point in my life, I really didn't look for attractive features. I wasn't interested in the dating scene or anything like that as all I ever saw happen in it was a lot of garbage and drama. I snapped myself back to reality as Violet came up next to me.

“Pearly white unicorn with a blue mane?” she asked, to which my reply was a sharp nod. She smiled slightly. “Ah, yes. I’ve seen her around the schoolyard before. I think she just moved here a few weeks ago,” Violet said, leaning forward towards the window slightly. I turned my gaze back to the rest of the room. It was fairly neat, with a bed in the corner, a desk opposite of it, and then the long table with six chairs around it. The walls were plain and simple. I heard the door open downstairs, and some words were exchanged.

I couldn't make them out, however. I didn't try to listen in as I was more focused on trying to remember if we were starting a new story or continuing an old one. I supposed it would make sense to start a new one, given that we were bringing in a new storyteller. Whatever the case, the door popped open and Waltz walked in, followed by the white Unicorn who was smiling pleasantly. It was actually a very warming smile to see, now that I think about it. I am not sure what, but there was just something to that smile that got to me.

Waltz smiled and rested a hoof on the white Unicorns shoulder. “Everypony, welcome the newest edition to the group! Twinkling Swallow!” She gave Swallow a friendly smack on the back, causing Swallow to jump slightly. She was nervous. “Go on and say hi.” Waltz urged, gently pushing Swallow forwards a bit.

Swallow smiled at us, “Hello, there. I'm Twinkling Swallow. I was told by my new friend, Waltz, here that you were all aspiring writers who work to help each other. I am a writer, too, and am hoping to help each of you out, and be helped myself.” She smiled at the lot of us, but said no more after that. Something stirred in me, a compulsion to introduce myself.

“I'm Stinging Nettle. Don't let the name fool you, I'm a pretty nice guy, usually. It's a pleasure,” I said in a friendly tone. That seemed to get the others to introduce themselves as well.

“I'm Teal Buckler. Very nice to meet you, Swallow.”

“Violet pedal, but you can just call me Violet.”

“Brimstone, nice to meet 'cha.”

It was essentially 'Get to know the newcomer' time. We spent maybe twenty or thirty minutes just talking to Swallow about various things. Eventually we settled in around the table to begin the session of telling the story. I was assigned to be Swallows 'coach and instructor'. It was my job to make sure she knew what she was doing. It took a few minutes when her turn came around, but she caught on quickly. We had started a new story. We were young, and very creative.

We began off with Brimstone setting the scene; A realm called “The void” being our starting point. The void was a realm divided into three factions who constantly warred with each other. Two of these factions, after a long standoff against each other for control of an area, sent in their very best warriors to do battle in a special arena to decide who should claim the area. I took the reigns here, detailing the battle, mostly. I always had a knack for fight scenes, especially when they had really ridiculous levels of power.

Next up, Violet connected the two warriors by a common enemy. This common enemy's Void-swimmer attacked the arena, causing the two warriors to have to fight their way out and flee. After, Waltz had some characterization between them on the Void-Swimmer that the warriors found. Then, Buckler followed up with a scene of the duo landing in the capital city of the third nation to try and communicate a cease-fire.

Swallow took the reigns here, and told of how the common enemy arrived shortly after and did battle with the two warriors. We continued with this particular pattern. We eventually stopped as the sun was setting outside with the two Warriors splitting up to try and find the 'Avatars of the Elements.' Now, given when I'm writing this, you may think 'Elements of harmony.’ Well, that's wrong. Its the universal elements of nature. Completely different thing. This was still three years before the Elements of Harmony were to be rediscovered by Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

Either way, we quickly compiled our sheets into a stack which Waltz put away, for reference when we met up next week, and proceeded for the door. Swallow glanced about as we stepped outside. Farewells were exchanged as everypony began to go their own ways. As I was turning to go my own way, I heard hoofsteps behind me. When I turned to look, I saw Swallow following me. I hesitated then, as did she. An awkward silence hung there for a second. I was the one to break the silence. “There uh, something you need? I mean, I gotta get home soon or my parents will object,” I said. Swallow nodded.

“Well, my house is in the same direction, though it's further off. I was wondering if I could talk with you along the way?” she inquired, a slight tilt overcoming her head as she looked at me, almost curiously. I hesitated. I had the bad tendency to over-think other ponies’ intentions. She stepped a little closer. “Please? I'm still trying to learn about this town.”

“Uh... Sure, why not?” I finally settled on. I gave her a smile as she trotted up next to me. My house was about ten minutes away, so that gave me ten minutes to answer any and all questions she may have had.

“So, what are the winters like here?” she asked after a moment. Oh, right. Winter was rolling closer, wasn't it? My birthday, which was only a month ago, was in the fall. So, that being said, winter was approaching. With that confirmed, at least, I began to wrack my brain for any information that could answer her question.

“Huh. Never been asked that one before. Well, they're cold, obviously, but I've never had to go out with anything more than a scarf even on the coldest of days. Snow gets pretty deep, but not so deep that walking is a problem. I'd say about.. hm... three inches, tops?” Swallow nodded, and got a thoughtful look on her face.

“So, what about the Winter wrap-ups? How do you usually get them done efficiently? I mean, every town has their own practices for it,” she inquired further.

“Ah. Well, this one may irritate you, seeing as you're a unicorn. Magic is not allowed when cleaning up winter, with the exception of the pegasi's passive abilities to manipulate the weather. You're horn will pretty much be forbidden if used for helping clean up winter," The deadpan look she was giving me was actually kind of amusing.I stifled a chuckle.

“Why is magic not allowed?”

“Earth pony tradition. This town was founded by earth ponies, and we are a very tradition-based community,” I explained, snickering after I was done. That face left quite an impression on me, I hope you realize. She nodded, deadpan expression being replaced by a much more neutral one. We walked on in silence for a moment with me awaiting her next question. One thing I found that always helped me set my mind straight on stuff and remember details was to interview myself. Just ask myself a bunch of random questions that related heavily to the topic.

It worked wonders on stories. Well, so long as I knew the right questions to ask. Anyways, Swallow followed up on her last question, “Any other traditions I should know about?”

“Well, were you here for the running of the leaves?”

“What's that?”

“I'll take that as a no.” I chuckled as she gave me another look. “Sorry. Anyways, the running of the leaves is an annual autumn event where the locals come together in a large race. The point is that the shaking from so many hooves will knock the leaves out of the trees. It could be considered a sort of 'autumn wrap-up', if you look at it correctly.” I explained. She nodded silently. We continued our walk in a peaceful silence for a long while. I don't know why, or, more accurately, I didn't know why at the time, but being able to walk home with somepony by my side for the entire way was very comforting. I just felt less pent up, less stressed. I like to think that it was this event that spurred me to take so many long walks with my brother later on in life.

Either way, we eventually reached the street my house was on. “You were pretty silent for a while there. Got any last questions?” I asked.

She nodded pleasantly.“Yes, though it's less about the town and more related to you yourself.” She confirmed with a nod. She turned to face me fully. “Why do you want to be a writer? Like, what inspired you?”

That question caught me off guard a little bit. “Uh... well... I'm not sure. I first started writing when I was six, believe it or not. About the same time my older brother started, now that I think about it.”

“You're brother wants to be a writer, too?”

“Yeah, but he's eons ahead of me. He's like, what, five years older than I am? Something like that. I read his first work when I was little, and I always kinda copied what I thought would be fun. So, I wrote the most pitiful piece of garbage ever to grace paper at the age of six.” I smiled when she laughed.

“Oh come on, it can't be that bad,” she said between snickers.

“Actually, it is. But I guess what inspired me was my brother. He inspires me in a number of ways, even if he and I don’t always get along. He wants to be a novelist of stories about the older days of Equestria. As for me, I just kinda write whatever hits me as a good idea,” I explained. She nodded, finally recovery from her light giggling. “So, what about you?” I asked.

“Well... I’ve always loved a good story. I guess part of why I want to write so much is because I find how simple it is to be the best part. It doesn't require a lot of training if you have the knack for it. You just need to know a few basic things: What you want to say, how to say it, and why you want to say it,” she explained.

“Example?” I inquired. She smiled, though somewhat sadly.

“It actually started with a dream. I had this dream one night, and it began a whole string of them. I still have them, telling an ever evolving story in my head. I learn a lot from these dreams, and well... Some of these things I never see reflected in the real world. I want to try and change that. I know I can't get rid of the negativity, but if I can at least be noticed by writing a good book that accurately conveys my point, maybe... just maybe... I can make the future generations more willing to do the right things,” she explained, then smiled at me. I took a moment to process that.

I wrote to tell a good story. She wrote to better the world around us. I smiled softly at her. “That's the best reason to write I've ever heard,” I admitted. She nodded happily. Before either of us could get in another word, however, the distant chiming of a bell began to go off. I was late in getting home. “Horse apples! Uh, I gotta go! Oh man, am I gonna get it now!” I said quickly. I quickly turned and galloped home. It struck me that I forgot something. But given how my parents could be about my curfew, I figured it could wait.

The sun began to set, and the moon rose as I entered my house to an irked look from my parents.

Comments

[Soft Shell]

Hmm
*Pulls out a muffin*
Oh my love..
*Starts singing*
Dont tell me, its not worth fighting for,
You cant tell me, its not worth dieing for!
*Holds his muffin to the sky*
You know its true...
Everything i do...
I do.... for you.
*Bites into his muffin*
I will never forget you...
*Swallows the muffin*
My love...

[Skijarama]

3406897

Ok, that's amusing, and very creepy all at the same time.

[Soft Shell]

3406965
Then my work here is done,
*Puts on a hat and grabs his briefcase*
You can send my muffins to me via mail.
*Leaves*

[Skijarama]

3407018

...........

*blinks*

...

[SummerOfGold]

New story, eh? Can't wait to see how this one turns out!