What Lies in a Moment

by PaulAsaran

Snowybee: A Little Landmark

A Little Landmark
By Snowybee

A hammer went bump in the night.

Whoops and shouts, music and firecrackers spiced the gradient evening. Not a cloud to obscure the swinging heavens. A starry night fizzed upon the lips of the yawning, awaiting sky.

Apple Bloom set her pop aside. Sweat and dirt pasted to her coat, she took up the hammer once more.

Festivals shined joy all around,

And so far away, out of sight,

The moonchild worked without a sound.

There was no formal invitation. The folks all gravitated to the center of town, after a long day's work. As was their nature, they celebrated another day. Another day where the foals grew a little taller, learned a little more. The adults enjoyed each other's company as they watched. Ambitions and dreams prospered or withered with this day, but either way, they meant just the same thing.

‘Tomorrow would come.’

Tools spun and bored, sawdust blown clear,

Screws in place, chains duly tested,

Hard did she work, shedding no tear.

Another hit of the fizzy cola. Apple Bloom sang in her head. With the hammer swiftly reclaimed by her teeth, she had not the means to sing in earnest. The party raged on in the distance. Oh, did she want to join in.

However, the moment she turned back to work, the sight of her school house's caved roof served as a reminder.

In this task, she had invested.

The sun slipped away. She worked feverishly. All eight chains held fast in the long timber bar. She scanned the stack she had made, and deftly picked four legs. Reality sunk in. She'd need help.

But then they'd ask: why didn't she go to the party? Even her sister would turn down Apple Bloom’s response.

‘No job mattered more than being with loved ones.’

...was what she'd hear. She grasped the first long bar with her forelegs. No party could be more important.

“Hello?” called a voice.

Apple Bloom’s heart imitated a tennis ball, having nearly punched right out of her body. She turned around, shaky as an old mare.

Moon child meets the mare, chilly green,

Eyes nocturnal but bright as day.

A neighbor not met, only seen,

The two had little which to say.

She carried an instrument case upon her back. The mare huffed, as if she were in some hurry. No one else with her, and on a night like this?

The mare — wasn’t it Lyra? — watched just as close in return. The chains strewn about the well-treaded ground, the planks and tools piled neatly off by the side. Lyra smiled. Not even a moment before, she stood at a tilt in the direction she wanted to go, dancing with anticipation. Now, she calmly approached the filly.

Apple Bloom looked to the legs of her grand design, the planks much too large for her to lift alone. Golden magic seized one. Lyra grunted, trying to look composed in the presence of the filly. Sure enough, the large hunk of wood pivoted off the dirt into a standing position. Such a strong unicorn!

“Alright, give it another t-try,” Lyra said.

Exchanging nods, they get to it.

Magic power, clever movements,

The structure rises, bit by bit.

Soon, her vision at last cements.

Legs set in place, the two take a breather. The spare pop she had brought found itself in Lyra’s hooves. She tried to politely decline. She clearly never met an Apple before!

They shared a toast. With a dopey smile, Lyra takes a big swig. “My first toast ever, and it’s with a soda. Classy, right?”

“Pop’s classy,” Apple Bloom says.

“Soda.”

“Pop,” the filly hissed.

“Sodapop!” Lyra grinned widely, then took her second and last swig of the bottle.

She eyed the adult warily. “You ain’t gonna ask why I’s all alone?”

“Nope.” With that, she hopped back to it.

The crown jewel lay before them. The long, sturdy bar at the center of it all. The chains looked rather intimidating all of a sudden, like some hardcore dungeon monster from a comic she’d have read. The crazy mare with her grabbed the heavy thing with her magic. Calm as Lyra looked, she stayed her objections.

Big ponies must have been freakishly strong, and not just her big sis! It wobbled just a tad, but the bar definitely took to the air. Apple Bloom hurried up one of the legs, wrench at the ready.

When the first screw cleanly entered the bar, her nerves went away. The filly focused, and soon the first side was deftly fastened. She hurried and did the same with the other side. As she pulled the wrench away, Lyra groaned behind her.

The unicorn looked more beat than when Apple Bloom met her, sitting on the ground with a hoof to her chest. Her ears pinned back in guilt. The filly slid down the leg and hastily approached.

Before she could say a word, Lyra waved her off. She caught her breath soon enough, then stared ahead. Apple Bloom cocked her head. What was so interesting?

A swingset. Three sets of swings, sans the seats. And she’d made it.

A hoof punched her shoulder. “Good job, kid.”

She blinked. Why did her cheeks ache so much? Why did her eyes burn?

By the time she came to her senses, Lyra was already a hoof out of the playground.

“Th-thanks!” she cried, whilst waving a hoof. Lyra merely waved back, then carried on down the path.

Oh, how she wanted to feel bad for taking the mare’s time. Her big sis taught her to be grateful for helping hooves, but more than the filly’s muscles ached. Maybe Lyra wanted her to be happy.

A breeze kicked up. Where silence once reigned, the chains pattered instead. The first sign that everything would go back to normal. She watched them sway in the breeze. Tomorrow, she’d spend time with her friends on the swings, just like always.

As long as she had her four hooves, no disaster would keep that away from her for long.