Chapter 6: Gimme Shelter
Leaving Shining Armor and Cadance to sleep again, I get ready and leave for work. I expect Penny to be waiting for me like we discussed. As usual, I get to my store around twenty after 7. Usually, I would walk straight up to the door and unlock it, waiting for 9 to chime so I can officially open the store. Instead, I go to my trunk and take out a case. With my free hand, I pull my keys out of my pocket and unlock the door.
Upon entering the store through the back, I see none other than Penny standing at the window to catch my attention. I put down my case and flip through my keys to find the front door key as I walk over. She prances in as I open the door.
“Hey,” I greet.
“Hi,” she responds. “So what’s this big surprise you had?” I walk over to the case on the floor, Penny following me, and I open it. I show her my dad’s Chapman stick. “Oh my God!” she exclaims. “Is that a real Chapman stick?”
“Yes,” I say. “It was my dad’s favorite instrument.”
“Can I try it out?”
“Of course, just be careful with it.”
She wastes no time in taking the instrument out of the case with care and strapping it on and plugging it in. Being a bassist, she primarily plays on the lower two strings, doing an improvised jam. Either way, she’s good.
“Whoa,” I exclaim, “you’re like a female Tony Levin.”
She looks like she’s having so much fun on the instrument. In fact, I can honestly say that there wasn’t a single person who was happier playing that instrument than my dad. She’s even almost as natural. She finishes the jam, to a light applause from me.
“You really knew how to work that thing,” I say, putting the instrument back.
“Me and my dad went to a King Crimson show one time, and we had a chance run-in with Tony Levin, and we both got to jam on his Chapman stick.”
“You… got to jam… with Tony Levin?”
“Well, yeah.”
She makes it sound like nothing special.
“Jeez, and you’re jealous of me that I have perfect pitch?”
“No, I still am. Plus, you said you can teach me.”
“Oh right.”
“So, what’s your secret?”
“Well, like I said, it’s quite simple. You know how to read music right?”
“Mmhm.”
“Well this is kind of like seeing the music in your head. For example, you know the Iron Maiden song Rime of the Ancient Mariner right?”
She gives me a look that says, “Duh, I’m not an idiot.”
“Anyways, you know the bass part after that slow section?”
“Yeah.”
“What note do you start off on?”
“F#.”
“Can you play an F#.”
She answers me by playing the high F# on the G string of a bass on the display wall.
“Did you know that it would sound like that when you played it?”
“Of course.”
“Just remember that pitch… you got it?”
“Mmhm.”
“Now hum it.” She does so right on key. “And that’s all there is to it.”
“Wait, that was it?”
“You sang an F# right on key. You did it.”
“That was… incredibly easy.”
“See if you can try it on the other notes.”
She’s a quick learner. She does the simpler things, like humming what the pitches of the open E, A, D, and G strings would sound like and then plays them, getting giddy every time she hits a note right. She continues practicing this until it’s time to open the shop.
“I guess I better get going,” she says.
“Come back tomorrow,” I say, “and I can teach you how to change your own strings.”
She makes a short gasp, obviously touched by my offer.
“Sounds great,” she said.
With that she leaves the store.
________________________________________________________________________________________
I return home that night to Shining Armor and Cadance greeting me as always. While I don’t get to see them very often, their greeting me back home every night always lifts my spirits. I’ve grown so accustomed to them now that I even give them a hug like they’re my family members.
Being an only son, with too distant of relatives, these two otherworldly ponies are basically the only family I have nearby. However, despite my wanting to stay up with them, they and I both know that I have to work the following day. Tonight, I decide to pop the question.
“Cadance? Armor? Do you two ever get… lonely by yourselves?”
“What? No,” responds Shining Armor. His voice sounds oddly reminiscent of the way Mark Wahlberg said it in The Happening, leading me to believe that he is lying.
“It’s just, you two are cooped up in this house all day, and there’s really nothing to do except maybe the Jacuzzi, but it just seems that you two are dying for something more.”
“What did you have in mind?” asks Cadance.
“Guys, if I asked you if you would object to meeting Penny if I were ever in a situation to bring her here, would you?”
“What? Of course not,” replies Shining Armor, sounding much more genuine.
“The way you talk about her,” says Cadance, “she sounds like a really sweet girl. I’d love to meet her.”
I give a reassuring smile, more for myself than to my guests. Then, like clockwork, the telephone rings. I pick it up. It’s Penny. I can hear her breathing heavily, like she’s been crying or is really frustrated. Maybe both.
“Penny? Are you alright?”
“Ian. We need to talk tomorrow. This isn’t something I can really discuss over the phone.”
“Don’t worry. I’m here for you.”
“Please, just help me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”
*click*
The nervous look on my face brings out the same reactions in Shining Armor and Cadance.
“What happened?” asks Cadance.
“I don’t know,” I answer. “I’ll find out more tomorrow.”
Shining Armor and Cadance still don’t look satisfied.
“I have to get to bed. I’ll try and talk more about it tomorrow.”
“How?” asks Shining Armor.
I guide them to the phone. I write a ten digit number on a sticky note and place it next to the machine.
“You see this number?” I ask. “I will call the house tomorrow with this number appearing on the little screen here. If any number other than this one appears on that screen, don’t answer it, okay?”
“Okay,” agree both Shining Armor and Cadance. We all go to bed to await Penny’s news tomorrow.
________________________________________________________________________________________
I wake up at the usual 6. I decide to leave earlier than normal. If Penny wants to tell me something so urgently, she’ll try to leave as early as possible. I want to be there for her.
I get in my car at twenty to 7 and go, getting to the shop at 7 o’clock sharp.
Plus, if she follows her little philosophy, she’ll probably be here by now.
As predicted, I see her standing at the window. She looks terrible, like she didn’t get any sleep. She has a large rolling suitcase in one hand and her bass in the other.
I let her in, to which she immediately goes to the drum throne and sits down.
“Alright,” I say, “what’s the matter.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “this will probably sound really inconvenient.”
“Yes?”
“Can I stay with you for a few days?”
“A few days? Why?”
“The plumbing in my apartment is screwed up. I was going to take a shower, and as I’m waiting for the water to come on, this brown, smelly liquid starts pouring out. I thankfully saw this quick enough to turn off the water before I could get fully soaked. I then turned on the sink to both the bathroom and the kitchen, and they’re pouring the same nasty water. I had to wash myself off with a couple of bottles of water that I keep in the fridge. When I went outside to ask my landlord what happened, I saw other people looking for him too, and for the same reason.”
“Yuck.”
“I know. They haven’t found the cause of the problem, but until they could get it fixed, we can’t live in our homes. I grabbed my bass and some other affects and toiletries and now I’m looking for a bed to sleep in tonight.”
“Where did you sleep yesterday?”
“One of my neighbors let me borrow his truck, since he didn’t have any close relatives or friends either.”
“Jesus, really? You could have asked me. I would have taken you in in a New York minute.”
“I didn’t want you to worry about me.”
“Well, you did that in a hurry with your phone call.”
“No, I mean I knew you had to work tomorrow. I mean, I’m an employee at a movie theater who was off today. You own one of the biggest music stores in the town. I think your sleep is a lot more important than mine.”
Her selflessness is very touching.
“So the long and short of it is, you want me to let you live at my house until they fix your apartment.”
“And?”
“Of course you can.” She’s about to smother me with a hug, but I stop her. “On one condition though,” I add.
“What is it? I’ll do anything.”
“Right now, I have a couple of friends visiting over from a different state. Not to say that I don’t have room for you. It’s just, they’re… different.”
“Different how?”
“They can be very self conscious about their looks, and they’re super-vegetarians.”
“You mean like a vegan?"
“No, not like a vegan. They can’t even look at meat without feeling uncomfortable, so if you could refrain from eating meat around them, please do so. And just don’t freak out around them when you first meet them, okay?”
“Alright, fine. It’s probably nothing I couldn’t handle.”
You’ll be surprised.
“First off,” I say, “let’s get your stuff into my car.” I walk with her out the back door and place her stuff in my car. Now she hugs me, so I pat her on the back in consolation.
“Now,” I say, “how about I teach you how to change strings?”
________________________________________________________________________________________
After another hour, she finally has the technique down.
“You make everything seem so easy,” she states.
“You’re a quick learner, what can I say?” She blushes.
“Listen, I’m obviously not doing anything today, and you’re letting me into your home, why don’t I help you around the store?”
“That’s quite alright. I have it covered.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t mind.”
“No please. Enjoy your time off.”
“Suit yourself.” With that, she leaves. I pick up the phone to call Cadance and Shining Armor about my situation.
________________________________________________________________________________________
It’s around noon, and it’s surprisingly busy for a Tuesday. As I’m taking care of some customers at register, I notice Penny walking in with a bag.
“I got you lunch,” she says.
“I can’t right now,” I say, “I’m very busy.”
“Can you tell me about this guitar?” asks a customer.
Before I have the chance to tell her, “In a minute,” Penny is already helping her. I can’t hear their conversation, but as she finishes talking to them, I see the customer take the guitar off the rack and bring it to the register.
“Nicely done,” I compliment.
“What, you didn’t think that after coming into your store after all this time that I wouldn’t know about the stuff in here.”
“Alright,” I relent, “you can help me with the rest of the day. By the way what’s for lunch?”
“I got you a falafel.”
With her help, I might just be able to eat in a half hour.
________________________________________________________________________________________
It’s finally closing time and Penny and I are about ready to go to my house.
“Are you ready to meet your new roomates?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said sarcastically.
We both get in the car after checking to see if Penny’s stuff was still in the trunk, which it was. With that, we make the trip home. I told Shining Armor that I would call them both down when Penny was properly situated. Penny seems incredibly enthusiastic about meeting my friends, but she’s unprepared for what she’s really about to see.
As we walk to the front door after parking the car in the garage, I ask Penny if she’s really ready for this. She gently punches me in the shoulder and tells me to get on with it.
We walk through the front door and I tell Penny to take a seat on my couch. She does so after setting her bags down. The moment of truth arrives.
“Shining Armor? Cadance? She’s here.”
Penny looks at me like I just called out two imaginary friends, as no one would name any human that. Once the equine figures come out of my parents' bedroom, she can officially see why.
Not trying to scare her, Shining Armor and Cadance walk down the stairs slowly, revealing themselves fully for Penny to see, who is completely stunned. Shining Armor and Cadance accept this as a natural reaction.
“I- Ia- I- I- Ian?” she stutters. “Are those things…”
“Real?” I finish. “Yes. As you or I.”
“Hello,” quietly says Shining Armor. Penny immediately cups her hands to her mouth.
“That horse just talked!” she squeaks.
“It’s okay,” I say. “They’re incredibly friendly. And they like to be referred to as ponies.”
Shining Armor makes small steps towards her. Penny remains as calm as she possibly can as the unicorn approaches her. She then outstretches her hand and turns her head away, still unsure how this mythical creature will respond. Shining Armor gets close enough that his muzzle is just inches from her fingertips. He makes a small exhale, the feeling of his breath causing Penny’s fingers to curl up a bit in shock. Once she opens them back up, Shining Armor leans in so Penny’s fingers are lightly placed on Shining Armor’s nose.
Penny turns around to see Shining Armor give her a warm, inviting smile as her hand touches him. She then moves her hand down the side of his face, cheek, and then neck. Penny places her other hand on Armor’s neck and gives him a hug. Shining Armor rubs Penny’s back with his chin. Penny elicits a happy, childlike laugh. She can’t believe that she’s hugging a real life unicorn. Shining Armor begins gently laughing too, making her even more at ease. The two of them befriending each other is absolutely heartwarming.
“Ian, I don’t believe this,” says Penny.
“I told you they were different,” I say with a wink.
“Hello Penny,” says Shining Armor, breaking from the hug to give her a hoof/handshake, “I’m Shining Armor.”
“Hi,” she sighs while shaking his hoof, still surprised by this turn of events. She then walks over to Cadance to introduce herself.
“Princess Cadance,” she says shaking Penny’s hand, “but please call me Cadance.”
“Cadance,” confirms Penny. “What a lovely name.” Cadance blushes, causing the both of them to giggle. “And did you say, Princess?”
“I think it’s time we had some tea,” I state.
The next hour or so is spent explaining Cadance and Shining Armor’s story and homeworld to Penny while drinking tea, all of which she finds interesting. In between topics, Penny asks to feel Shining Armor’s horn and Cadance’s wings, both of which she is rendered breathless by.
“Ian tells me much about you,” said Shining Armor. “From how he described you, I couldn’t wait for the moment when we finally met.”
“He really did make you sound like an absolute gem,” said Cadance, “but after meeting you, I can say that you also look like an absolute gem.” Penny’s face was flushed red the entire night.
“What time is it?” asked Penny.
“Quarter to 11,” I respond.
“Oh my!” cries Penny. “It’s late. We should get to bed. Some of us have to get to work in the morning.” I frowned slightly at her comment, especially since she looked straight at me when she said it.
“But we were having so much fun,” whined Shining Armor.
“I don’t have work tomorrow,” said Penny. “I’ll hang out with you more tomorrow. Deal?”
“Sounds great,” agreed Shining Armor. “Goodnight Ian. Goodnight Penny.”
Cadance calls the same way before they go into my parents’ old room.
“So,” says Penny, looking at me slyly. “I didn’t know Equestria was a state.”
“Alright,” I say. “Let’s get some shut eye.”
“Where should I sleep?”
“You can sleep in my room.”
“What? No. Your room is your room. I can take the sofa.”
“Oh no you don’t! You are a guest in my house, and as my guest, I will not allow you to sleep on the furniture. Now please, grab your luggage and go to your new room.”
Penny looks down slightly. Then, she hugs me and gives me a kiss on the lips.
“Thank you so much for this,” said Penny.
“It’s my pleasure,” I say. She then carries her bag to my room to, presumably, change into pajamas and get dressed.
I go downstairs to the basement and grab a guitar stand from the closet, placing Penny’s bass on it. I then grab a blanket from the linen closet and head back to the living room sofa, placing my head on a pillow and drifting off to sleep.
Stats
Page generated in 0.024 seconds
Total duration
853 users online
631,007 hits today, 2,364,530 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Once again I state, D'awwwwww. This story is very touching
So Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!...!
I can't help but get a smile on my face when I read this story.
Wow this is amazing
YOu deserve a brohoof /)
And a moustache
I give this chapter 5 mustaches. While I would love to see the next chapter asap, I'm willing to wait in order to get good quality.
that was great!
they'd learn so much!
i was waiting for him to show them the tv - war channel
This is a beautiful story. So far it barely needs the ponies, but I guess home sickness will kick in at some point^^
714848 Yeah, you might have to wait a bit for the next chapter; I'm seeing Roger Waters perform The Wall tonight at Wrigley Field and I'm excited as all hell.
Must...resist...heart...from...imploding...from...cuteness!
714492 (\
I think this is written perfectly, it is sweet love but I'm not getting diabetes from it, and I was a bit peeved it ended there.
media-cache2.pinterest.com/upload/208995238927158156_A5WN850g_c.jpg
d'aww inducing moments here!
I LOVED IT!
I WILL KEEP ON LOVING IT!
“I didn’t know Equestria was a state.”
Considering he never mentions Equestria... Is that an accident, or does she know "Something"?
716285 "The next hour or so is spent explaining Cadance and Shining Armor’s story and homeworld to Penny while drinking tea..."
That is all.
716296
Oh, right. I suppose thats what happens when check using a search function instead of rereading the whole thing closely :p
D'aaaawwwwww
. That was awesome
while reading this i looked at a fan and called it a lamp that's a good thing.
awesome x10
D'awwww! This is so cute! Keep it up!
3173388
OH MY GOD that was the cutest most perfect gif I ever seen
Penny's face upon meeting the ponies:
i.ytimg.com/vi/LHvB3Ha__HI/maxresdefault.jpg
This chapter got incredibly cute really quick when Penny met the ponies.
3173388 THAT'S why that moment was so familiar to me!!