Fundamentals

by FerociousCreation

Snap Challenge

Fundamentals
Ch. 7

Minuette hummed along to herself, enjoying the cold air that bit at her ears. A blue and white striped scarf was tightly wound around the mare’s neck, the end drifting behind her in a playful flutter. Another item that was kept around Minuette's neck was a camera, the device swaying around as she walked.

Now at Moon Dancer’s study, Minuette gave a loud knock on the door. “Just a second minute Minuette!” Moon Dancer shouted, a nervous tone in her throat. “I… need to find something first.”

“Are you sure?” the blue unicorn called back, wondered if anything was the matter. "I can help you find what you need." A shadow fell upon Minuette and slightly startled the mare.

“Hello Minuette!” Party Favor spoke as he started to descend toward the unicorn. Minuette’s eyes widened as she saw Party Favor wear what she could describe as balloon pegasus wings. However, they didn’t flap like a natural pair pegasus’ wings, but they buzzed like an insect. Instinctively, Minuette took a picture. The flash of the camera almost blinded Party Favor and he stumbled on his landing. “Could you not have that much of an intense flash?” Party Favor wiped his eyes, spots forming in his vision. “If I were to guess, that would have been Celestia’s camera with her lighting magic.”

Minuette chuckled at the joke before apologizing, “Sorry, it just… I never get to see a unicorn fly with…” She squinted at Party Favor’s wings. “...balloon wings. So I took a picture.”

“Well save the flash for night. Otherwise, you will make the sun jealous with its obnoxious blink.” Once more, Minuette let out a laugh.

“Aren’t you the funny stallion today,” she smiled.

“I have my reason.” Party Favor looked curiously at the camera. “Speaking of, is there a reason why you have a camera?”

Lifting the device with one hoof, Minuette replied, “Because Moon Dancer is starting her research on cutie marks, I want to record her progress through pictures. And I am sure you and I know how Moon Dancer wants her friends to acknowledge her and her research. So, I might as well take the initiative.”

Party Favor grinned, “Well I am glad you are. Because I feel like I am the only one being her best friend.”

Minuette stuck out her tongue in protest. “It isn't a contest to be Moon Dancer’s best friend; this is to encourage Moon Dancer in her journey to fame and recognition. And when Moon Dancer is famous and recognized by all of Equestria, I can say that I was the one who took her pictures.”

“So it is a contest.” The stallion couldn't help by laugh at Minuette as the mare realized she contradicted herself. “Then if that is the case, I will win over Moon Dancer’s friendship and defeat your picture capturing game.”

Feeling a “friendly” competition on the size, Minuette couldn't help but let out an obnoxious chortle. “As if you have a camera to take pictures.” In an instant, Party Favor created a balloon camera, almost similar to Minuette’s.

“You were saying?” Both unicorns stared at each other with aggressive stares before breaking into a laugh. No longer wanting to play argue, Party Favor and Minuette wondered what was taking Moon Dancer so long.

Minuette stepped forward and knocked at the door. “Moon Dancer, you doing alright?”

“I am doing fine!” she called back. But following her words of clarity, Moon Dancer shrieked, then a crashing of things hitting the ground quickly followed. At once, Minuette and Party Favor entered the study, worried if Moon Dancer had hurt herself.

At the center of the room, the two unicorns saw the cream furred mare sprawled on the floor, and a table was turned over. It appeared as though Moon Dancer was either standing on the table, or she somehow tripped over the table. Several objects lay on the ground in a messy manner, luckily nothing made of glass. Minuette and Party starred in awe before they took picture in unison.

“You know, when somepony screams, shouts, or ejects their voice in a matter that beg the words ‘help me,’” Moon Dancer grumbled, “I would expect my friends to assist me. Not take a picture. Or at least, I can assume that, but I cannot see without my glasses.” It suddenly dawned unto Minuette and Party Favor that their friend did not have her spectacles.

“Did you lose them?” Party Favor asked.

“I was… looking for them,” Moon Dancer blushed. “Yet, somehow I ended up on the table in desperation of trying to find them.”

Minuette smirked at Party Favor. “You know, it is funny how the moment you started living here in Canterlot, Moon Dancer has now formed a habit to lose her glasses.”

He shrugged, “It’s not my fault. And she usually loses her glasses when I am nearby. Lucky for Moon Dancer, I came by to say hello, and now, will find what she has lost... again.”

“Instead of arguing,” Moon Dancer interjected with a growl in her voice, “I would appreciate my friends to help me seek out my glasses!” Not wishing to see, nor hear Moon Dancer in an angry fit, Minuette and Party Favor began to make their way around the study in hopes to find the unicorn’s spectacles before the other. Minuette briskly walked up the stairs to get a bird’s eye view of the study. At the second floor, she squinted her eyes and peered down to the room below. Moon Dancer was now upright, but sat still, perhaps for her own safety and not trip over any more tables that may obstruct her path.

Minuette then looked at Party Favor, his body small in her eyes. He was standing in a corner and… was writing something down. Quickly taking to her camera, Minuette closed an eye and looked through the eyepiece. She zoomed in to what he was writing, but his body was obstructing what was being scribbled down. For memory sake, she snapped a photo; however, the camera’s flash was still on and blinked a bright white light.

The sound, along with the flash, startled Party Favor, his ear twitching to where the noise and light came from. “What was that?” Moon Dancer asked, turning her head this way and that. Party Favor glanced up at Minuette, knowing she had such a device that would cause a flash like that.

“Umm… just… taking memorable photos.” Minuette pointed her camera at Moon Dancer and took another picture. The light stunned Moon Dancer and she shook her head in an attempt to remove the spots from her vision. “Yup, there is another one for the scrapbook.”

Party Favor approached Moon Dancer with his friend’s glasses floating by his head. “If you keep taking pictures with that flash,” he spoke, “Moon Dancer may have a sight for sore eyes, and not in the good way.” Despite the lame joke, both mares managed to laugh. “I have your glasses here.” Party Favor tapped his friend’s shoulder and then hooved the specs over to Moon Dancer.

“Thanks for not being focused on taking pictures, and instead, finding what I need to see,” Moon Dancer spoke as she ran her head through the chain loop, then resting her glasses in their rightful place. Party Favor looked up at Minuette with a cocky smile on his face.

“Well, the better friend would make sure his friend has what they need before doing other lesser important things.” Says the stallion who was writing suspiciously in the corner, Minuette grumbled internally. “Speaking of…” Party Favor pulled out his camera and pushed a button at the top. Moon Dancer was surprised to hear the colorful object make a clicking sound while her friend took a picture. “...I think this will be a great photo.”

Moon Dancer half smiled, curious about her friends. “What prompted the taking of pictures?”

“Well, because you are quite the friend, and love to be included with your friends,” Minuette spoke proudly, “plus, you are going to be using me as your very first cutie mark test subject, I want to make this day memorable, along with many others to follow.”

Moon Dancer blushed by Minuette and her words. “Oh, wow. That means… a lot actually.” Party Favor noticed Minuette was trying to charm the cream furred mare with her words, and felt the need to use some of his own.

“However, Minuette, you are unaware that it was I to be Moon Dancer’s first cutie mark test subject and not you.” Party Favor straightened himself and stood tall, trying to outshine Minuette with a toothy grin.

Clasping her hooves together, Moon Dancer rose her bushy brows. “You are right Party Favor; you were the first I tested when it came to cutie marks!” She stood up and walked over to the desk, and began flipping through a notebook.

Without noticing Minuette on the approach, the mare held a pin in her hoof and stalked behind Party Favor. Slowly, she brought the sharp object close to Party Favor’s camera before the stallion caught her in the act. “And just what are you doing?” he asked in a low tone, not wanting to alert Moon Dancer.

“Thwarting your plans to impress Moon Dancer and make you the better friend!” Minuette hissed. “You stole my idea to take pictures of her while she progresses toward a future of fame and fortune!”

“And unlike you, I wish to cherish the memories of my friend and myself as we both grow our friendship together!”

“You think I am in this for my own personal gain? I want Moon Dancer to be happy with my picture taking skills and the memories I capture! Don’t try and make me look like the villain.” Minuette then grinned, “And what were you writing down earlier?”

Party Favor froze. “It- it’s none of your concern!”

“Then why are you acting defensively?” Minuette pressed, her muzzle nearly touching the stallion’s.

Getting to the page in her notes about Party Favor’s experience without his cutie mark, Moon Dancer faced her friends and… noticed the two were glaring quite bitterly at one another. “Are you two alright?” she asked, a bushy brow raising with curiosity. Minuette and Party Favor jumped away from each other and both gave Moon Dancer a too wide of a grin.

“Nope, nothing wrong here!” Minuette answered, flicking the pin she held somewhere else.

“Yup, just two of your friends being… friends,” Party Favor added.

Moon Dancer was not so sure to believe her friends, but “believed” them anyways. “Well, I am going to set the table back up again. Then, we can begin the study of cutie marks.” With enthusiasm now in her blood, Moon Dancer began to do what she said.

No longer looking at the two unicorns, both Minuette and Party Favor leered at one another once more. “Remember this Smarty Flavor: I was her friend first.”

“Yet I was the one who claimed the best friend title the day I arrived in Canterlot,” Party Favor countered.

“We will see…”

Author's Note:

I am so sorry for the long delay of this chapter!

I do would like to have longer chapters for this story, but I seem to find myself unable to write a long chapter within a week's worth of time. So, instead of a very long chapter, I will cut up my long chapters and shorten them up, and make updates to the story more consistent.

Again, sorry for the delay...

Comments

[Emperor]

Noooo, don't do shorter chapters. Down that path lies darkness, and evil, and chapters so short I read them in three or four minutes and go "Wait, that's it?"

If Party Favor is capable of making balloon cameras, then that would imply he is capable of creating balloon lenses. He should find out the prescription on Moondancer's glasses. Then the next time she loses her glasses, just give her a set of balloon glasses, made to order for exactly the eye strength she needs. Much cheaper than regular glasses!

[FerociousCreation]

7898811 You may have given me an idea for a chapter.

I'm sorry! I am only one person and can only do so much. At least the story will have more uploads more often from now on

But thanks for commenting on my stories. It's nice to see an active reader return and comment.

[Yoshifan30]

Oh boy another situation of favoritism and Minuette and party favor are basically in a competition who's a better friend and something tells me this is not going to end well