Summers of Change

by Silver Letter

The White Pony (Part 2)

Pixel Wavelength was driving down a beachfront avenue at a crawl. It went along the beach, down a hill and going north for miles to the cliffs. She was looking for a particular address but with nopony else on the road but her, she took her time. She had a map on the other seat but she didn’t need it. She had the picture of the house in her mind. The homes were spaced more widely than her old home at Sweetie Shores. There were a few boutiques and cafes that lined it as well. It wasn’t a tourist trap; beachgoers might even be banned on the private sands.

A few older foals suddenly burst into view from the side. They rode on skateboards and bikes and went across the road towards the beach. Locals most likely but Pixel didn’t think about where they were from as she forced the motor vehicle to a lurching stop, nearly spilling her coffee.

“Stupid kids,” she muttered under her breath. A couple of them turned to look at the vehicle for a moment but rode off soon after. Motor cars were still rare but ponies did use them from time to time. They could get up to 80 kph so nopony could run as fast. There were airships but that’s mostly a rich pony’s thing and there weren’t any airports around anyway.

She kept going on the road that was as smooth as silk until she reached her destination, a round house at the edge of a sandy slope leading to the beach. She went to the curb and pulled the parking brake then turned it off. Even with her seat as far back as it could go, she felt squished. It wasn’t meant for a taller pony. She got out and let her legs settle to having to stand again. When she closed the door, she clipped a few stands of her mane and when she pulled it out, she winced.

She noticed that a couple middle aged ponies across the street were staring at her. She smiled and waved but they continued walking. It was certainly nothing normal about her that day and she could see how they might think her odd. She was a stranger for one but an alicorn too. And it wasn’t just the polished white car that set her apart but the phone she had in her right hoof. She raised it and took a photo of her new house. It was so big that it could have fit her old childhood house inside. She could see inside through large glass panels and the domed roof was grey.

She walked across the lawn towards the front door. To her sides, palm trees swayed in the wind and she smelled flowers and salt. When she got to the door, she hesitated. She never used a keycard before but the one that doubled as an I.D. for her work was meant to open it instead of needing a key. She slid it at the inconspicuous slot and the door whooshed open. A robotic voice welcomed her home and she smiled.

Her home was very modern and as open as could be. It was layered with the main floor filled with light by the large windows. The floors were hardwood and there were brick pillars that held up the roof. She could look over the glass siding of the walkway into the lower floor. She went on and passed the main room into the kitchen which looked state of the art. She later stood on the balcony and pulled out her phone as she looked at the sailboats that dotted the sea.

She went in her phone’s contact list. With everypony wanting a cellular phone, she now had nearly all her friends from home and the university on the list. She even convinced her parents to accept one last year as a gift. They still preferred the old style phone though. She called Ferris’s office.

“Hey, Pixel,” he said. His voice sounded somewhat gravely on the phone. Voice clarity was still an issue that had to be addressed by the company.

“I’m at the house. The view is so pretty from the balcony.”

“I’m glad you like it. I thought it would fit your tastes well.”

She realized that she was glad just to have him on the phone. It was a long drive to get to the west and that whole time on the highway, she hadn’t spoken to anypony. Whenever she went even a few hours without speaking to somepony, she would feel lonely. And Ferris was probably the one she would call first. He would always find time to listen. At the university, she would often call at night when she couldn’t sleep and he would never hang up or tell her to leave him alone.

“It’s too bad you couldn’t be here yourself,” Pixel said.

“You know, I had a meeting with some investors but I’ll fly over there as soon as I can. When have I let you down?”

Pixel chuckled amusingly. “You are a stallion of your word.”

After their conversation, she hung up and went back inside. She looked around the kitchen as she was already feeling hungry. The stainless steel refrigerator was empty and all her stuff were still in boxes. She figured that she would have to go out or starve.

It was becoming evening as she strolled out on the streets. The wind rolling in from the sea was cool. The sidewalks were neat and the lawns well maintained. A sprinkler system or two watered the grass.

When she had walked far enough, she saw that the place she reached was zoned for businesses. It was up a hill but not at the top. Homes layered the upper hillsides; with their lights on, they looked amazing even from there. She could turn and look at the sea but she took a photo of the rising moon. Celestia must have decided to bring it out early that evening. It was pretty. The sun looking shy behind the clouds, the moon slightly higher and a splash of stars up above.

Most businesses were closed up for the day but a few were still open. Some were sit down places where ponies with nice dresses and suits dined by candlelight. A fine café down the street looked promising but she didn’t think that it would be good enough to satisfy her that particular night. Finally, a pizza parlor caught her eye. More specifically, the “Artisan Pizza Parlor”. Frankly, in her experience, anypony that bothered to use such words were just showing off but that sounded like the best choice at the moment so she went inside.

The bell on the door ringed as she entered. The clientele seemed young, school age mostly. They were drinking sodas and milkshakes and talking about who knows what. A stallion in an apron was giving a pizza to one of the ponies at the counter. She looked around. Everything was smooth and clean. But she also felt the stares of those around her but it didn’t last. Strangers probably didn’t bother them too much and that helped to calm her nerves.

She stepped up and glanced at the menu above written in multicolored chalk.

“You’re from out of town?” the cashier inquired.

Pixel nodded. “Yeah. I sort of just moved here.”

“Where at?”

“The round house down by the beach.”

“Oh, that one? It’s been sitting there for years waiting for an owner. I’m glad the town council finally allowed somepony to move in to be honest.”

She ordered a couple slices of the pizza with several fried vegetables piled on. The cashier, which turned out to be the owner and a resident of the same street she was on, insisted on giving her a free drink. She thought it kind and accepted graciously. She then sat at a table and held the pizza. Its crust was brown with little seeds visible. The vegetables were also uncommon but after biting them, she thought they were exceptional. The crust was thin but delicious. The place obviously catered to the health conscious that many well off ponies bought into. It surprised her as to how good it was and she didn’t think she could go back to regular pizza after that. She would have even bought a whole one if it didn’t look weird.

A few foals entered suddenly. She glanced upward and recognized them as those from earlier when she was driving. They also noticed her after passing their preferred orders to the owner.

“Ah, it’s the white pony,” the foal said. He was a teenage colt with acne and bruises up and down his forearms. A skateboard tucked in his backpack looked like the culprit.

Pixel put down the pizza. “Excuse me?”

Before the colt could speak, a shorter unicorn colt tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and said something under his breath.

“Hey, aren’t you Pixel Wavelength?” the older colt said.

“Yes, I am.” Pixel was slightly concerned at first but she didn’t think the colts presented a threat. “You’ve heard of me?”

“Weren’t you the one that was interviewed on Equestrian radio recently?”

She nodded and suddenly his demeanor changed into something resembling curiosity. She also relaxed as he told his friends to pull up chairs and they all sat down at her table.

“I know you work for Spark Industries. They have a presence here in town. For a few years at least,” he said.

Pixel wiped her hoof with a napkin. “I do work for them but I wasn’t really sure about what you mentioned. Is it about me?”

“No, at least I had no idea about you moving here. Spark Industries is building these tall towers all over Equestria. Including one here. From what I know, it’s about phone technology. The same kind you invented.”

Pixel smiled. “I suppose you listen to the radio?”

“Mostly for music,” another colt said. His hair looked greasy even though he hadn’t touched any pizza yet.

The older colt seemed fascinated about something other than food though.

“You have that prototype that you had when you were in Manehattan?”

“Wait a second.” She looked in her bag and touched her phone. She felt a bit excited to show it off and it was probably going to go well considering how the very idea drew their attention in. The radio program the colt mentioned was the Starlight Storm Personality Hour. She had agreed to go on their program a week before she left the city although it was quite a new experience for her. Storm was a tall mare with curly pink hair and nerves constantly burning. She was the kind of pony to pursue the newest and hottest interests and there was nothing hotter than mobile phones. The Wave OS was the first to hit the market. It was exclusive to Manehattan at first but soon, ponies all across the empire wanted one. Those colts in such a well off town would be begging their parents to get one, despite their rarity and cost. One could easily fetch a price of 1,000 bits.

When she did reveal the phone, the older colt could hardly sit still. She turned it on and showed them the reflective rectangular screen.

“I can’t believe I’m the first to see this. Can you really use it to call and send messages?” he said.

“Of course. I am in communication all the time.” She then showed how the screen moved when she pressed the buttons and she had a contact list, photo manager and even a music program. One of the colts asked if it ran on magic. The older colt sneered and corrected him by saying it was a battery.

They listened to her every word. She showed them a few pictures too. She stood with Starlight Storm’s hoof over her shoulder, both gazing happily into the camera while in her studio with photographs of famous ponies lined on the wall behind them. She liked that night. The ponies coming and ogling over her pictures with the famous and influential. Recognizing her name, her voice, her face. She liked feeling important and knowing that ponies saw her as important. It was like a wonderful dream that had come true.