Summers of Change

by Silver Letter

The Blank Flank

Pixel Wavelength wouldn’t just visit Sapphire once during her birthday weekend. She returned every other week. Everything was uncertain at first. Love was somewhat of an experiment in of itself. They grew into a routine to make things feel normal like the idea that Sapphire was something more than a friend even though he had always been in a way. After enough times, Sunstone was waiting with a homemade cupcake the next time she arrived. She took every chance she could to take some time off from that major project with Ferris. By then, summer was mild and the days often breezy and good for kite flying. She wanted to spend more time with Sunstone, to get to know her more and to let her get comfortable with Pixel’s presence.

Sunstone felt like going to the park and must have asked a hundred times because Sapphire was tired of hearing of it all week. Often while she went and played, the two of them would walk and talk. They were getting familiar with the last ten years. They also tested the conversation waters. Sapphire could talk about his little one for hours but stray too close to his failed marriage and he might clam up. She too couldn’t talk about what she was up to with Spark Industries, not for a lack of trying from Sapphire as they laid in bed. It was harder for her to talk about other things though, seeing that she had so few interests outside of work.

But they did have lots in common. They loved ice cream and playing board games. Watching Pegasus flight contests on television too. They also loved the company of foals, especially Sunstone, the brightest of them all. As soon as they reached the park, she went into full gallop towards the other end with playground equipment.

“Is it okay that she takes off without even stretching her legs?” Pixel asked with some worry.

“It’s no problem,” Sapphire assured her. “Most coaches like me now recommend that we stretch after exercising. It prevents unnecessary injuries and such.” He watched closely until the filly turned a corner over the hill.

“Sapphire, have you ever thought about moving to someplace new?”

“I hadn’t really since Sunstone was born. This is my home. I guess if Sunstone ever learns to fly like I did, she would be a great shoe in to the town squadron someday. Why? Were you wanting to move back?” His ears suddenly perked upward.

The idea had floated to her occasionally while she was working or daydreaming with Sapphire and Sunstone beside her. She definitely missed the town and seeing her retired parents every day. But she didn’t want to say something definitive and end up disappointing him. She knew that it would be wrong.

“That would be lovely but I do like my house up north,” she said somewhat regretfully.

“I understand.” He used his hoof to stroke her mane gently. “If I had a house like that, I might not want to leave either.”

“Yes, it’s really nice. You ought to see it. Of course it’s just a thing and that’s not what’s really important.”

“I suppose it would be the ponies that gives us things?”

He knew her so well that he might as well be able to read her mind. How could he had known that she thought that way? It was true that if she left then it would be like she abandoned Ferris. Even leaving home for her own benefit had been trying and the one thing that helped her to go to college was the fact that her father had sacrificed so much to make it happen. She embraced change but she didn’t do it lightly. Even so, it made a lot of sense.

She smiled at him and they held hooves. Every moment with him was something to cherish, she thought.

Suddenly, Sapphire’s phone began to emit a light melody. He held it up and pressed the main button, a sphere with the Wave OS symbol in glowing blue lines, to respond. He said hello but for some reason, they both heard muffled grunts and then a sharp cry. He looked towards the ridge where the park trail curved around and out of sight.

“What happened? Is everything alright?” Pixel said. He stood, his face very tense.

“I don’t know but that was Sunstone’s number.” They both got up and ran off, going around the small pond that would take them to the playground faster than by running. Pixel observed Sapphire closely. She saw that he was tired and his legs looked weak. The last thing they needed was them cramping on him and sending him into the ground. But she wouldn’t be shocked if that wasn’t on his mind.

They spotted her easily. She was like a little flower, squatted in the wood chips, her muzzle pointed downward and her mane obscuring the top of her face. When Sapphire landed and reached her, Pixel saw trails of silver on her cheeks. Her upper back leg had a scrape that looked like a dark smudge.

“Sweetie, what happened?” He checked for injuries but there seemed to be nothing else wrong. The filly tried to speak but the sounds bubbled out between her raspy breaths.

“Daddy….my phone is gone!” she cried. They both tried to get more out of her but she couldn’t say much. Pixel was livid. What sort of pony would steal from a little filly? It wasn’t just beyond the pale but also beyond her comprehension. She ran across the park, and she quickly spotted several colts running off and rushed after them, cutting them off at an alley.

The tall colt looked almost frozen at seeing a mare bear against them so swiftly. Pixel looked as intimidating as a pony like her could bear, her neck lowered and horn angled low. He still had the phone in his hoof. She felt powerful as if she could crush them in one step if she so chose.

The tall colt tried to regain some of his composure and glared up at her. He, like his friends, had coats riddled with matted patches and dirt. They must have been town locals from the less fortunate areas. She would usually feel sorry for them but not at that moment. They needed to be punished.

“Who are you?!” the colt exclaimed. She thought he sounded more scared than anything else.

“Why did you hurt that filly? What had she done to you?”

“She just insulted us so we showed her who’s boss around here.”

Pixel snorted in anger. She wanted to throw those colts into space but she somehow kept her cool. “She’s not one to insult. You must have started something.”

“Yeah, right.” He threw the phone to her and she caught it. “Here’s the blank flank’s stupid phone back. You going to let us go?”

“First you tell me what in Celestia’s name a blank flank is.”

The colts laughed at her. “It means ponies that don’t have their special talents yet.”

Pixel’s heart raced out of anger and confusion. “Did you three come up with that on your own?”

“We wish. A friend told it to us. I guess some ponies in Ponyville or some place in central Equestria came up with it last year.”

“Just go. Now.” Those three didn’t waste any time and sprinted down the alley. Pixel stood there alone until she calmed down and walked back towards the park. What foals could come up with always depressed her at times, even when she was one of them; yet, blank flank was obviously something new and more pervasive than ever. The idea grew in her mind that texting had allowed the cruel phrase to spread like bacteria from the rural towns to the coast and perhaps even the big cities beyond. She felt helpless and other than going to comfort the filly, she had no idea what to do.

She returned to Sapphire. The stallion told her that he was taking her to her doctor to get her bruise looked at then to see her mother. She understood completely and asked if she could get some needed rest at his place. A little walking alone would do some good. As the two left, she watched and sighed. She missed them already.

When she arrived at the house, she saw a letter near the door. She picked it up and saw that the note attached to it had her name written in ink. She opened it and pulled out the letter. The words she read were few and to the point. She was needed right away back at her house. If she didn’t, her task would be assigned to somepony else. Her heart felt heavy. It wasn’t in his hoof writing but his name was still at the bottom. She didn’t hear his voice when she read it but she knew that his mind had thought it. The day she had was harsh, full of blank flanks and empty hearts that came to her from her own invention. She had to go. Sapphire would understand. Pixel had Sunstone’s phone. A crack ran across the top part of the screen. At least she would have it fixed and mailed back really soon. It couldn’t be any easier.