Summer Days

by Alex The Lone Wolf

Day 17 - Love Mosquito

Once again, we were stuck with pretty much nothing to do. The only thing we had to look forward to was Applejack's dinner and the bits we'd earn. If you ask me, I was at least glad we had made another friend. I almost couldn't wait to see what other friends awaited us, and I guess that was what made me want to explore the town a little more. If we were able to follow through on our dream and end up staying in Ponyville, it would have been absolutely nice to have ponies like Pinkie Pie and Applejack as our friends.

However, I didn't think this day would be the start of our last days together.

---

Athena had shaken me awake, so I could go with her on another walk through town. It was our third day here, and even though it was a much smaller town than Fillydelphia, we still hadn't gotten to see everything here. After all, we had spent the first day settling in and eating sweets at Sugarcube Corner. Then, we spent the day after with work, but I had high hopes that it'd be worth it once we got our bits. Either way, we were probably going to be in this town for quite a while, so there was no real rush.

Athena and I browsed through some stores, but we didn't stay for long when they didn't really have any eye-catching things. After all, it's not like we had much money to buy anything. Nevertheless, nothing really interested me too much, as usual. I continued to walk alongside Athena and accompany her to whatever she was interested with instead.

"Oh, look over here!" Athena pointed towards a building that was rather different design-wise. In other words, this building appeared to be formally flourished and aesthetically promising. "It looks new. Let's check out what's inside!"

I wasn't completely on board with going inside, seeing as the building itself appeared too feminine for my tastes. However, since it was for Athena, I decided to go in along with her.

"Finally! I can see it now! My very own boutique!" We began hearing as we walked in. We took a glance around, and it appeared that we were the only ponies in the shop. "Oh, the swarm of customers I'm going to have when I produce all of the designs living inside my sketches! It's going to be fabulous!"

Athena was right. The place was definitely new. There was hardly any kind of merchandise up to browse or look through.

"Hello!" Athena took the liberty of shouting out cheerfully.

This unicorn had been eyeing a particular empty section of her shop before Athena had called out. When she had realized that ponies were inside her apparent shop, she turned around and gasped at the sight of us, dashing towards us. However, she paid attention particularly towards Athena. I guess it made sense. "My very first customer! Yes, darling? What can I get you?" As she continued speaking, I took the time to have a good look at this pony. I had to admit…she was really beautiful, but sticking with reality, she was probably way out of my league. "I may not have anything here per se, but I'd be happy to place in an order! Here, here!" She guided Athena towards the counter and opened up a sketchbook there, skimming through pages and tapping at them every now and then. "I may not have the finished designs with me here, but I do have quite the variety to choose from right here. If you like something you see, by all means, tell me! I'd be happy to make any changes should you want something more on the original design."

"Ooh!" Athena finally received the opportunity to voice her reaction. "They all look so pretty!"

This pony appeared to study Athena for a moment. "Oh, you know what?! I believe I might just have something you'd absolutely adore! Stay right here!" She immediately raced up towards the second floor of this store. I never guessed a pony like her would be as excited and quick like Pinkie Pie.

"Wow…!" Athena continued to flip through the pages of the sketchbook lying on the counter. "They're all so beautiful! Isn't it weird, Alex?" She asked as she turned her head towards me. "She's almost just like Coco."

As soon as I heard that name, I sort of felt a shock surge through my body. I had almost forgotten all about her, and I honestly hadn't even noticed the similarities between this pony and Coco in relation to dressmaking. I couldn't help but my feel my mood turn sour.
"Oh… I didn't mean…" Athena seemed to try to apologize when she realized what she said.

I shook my head. I couldn't let something like that still bother me. "It's fine…" I tried to keep a bold face inside the store, but the more I tried to ignore thoughts of Coco, the more they kept wanting to fill my head. I decided to head outside to try to clear my mind. I didn't want my first impression towards this fashion pony to be a bad one anyway. "Hey, uh, while you're looking at dresses, I'm going to step outside really quick." I tried to say in a positive way.

"Okay…" Athena answered with her concerned gaze lingering on me as I exited the store.

---

Once I was outside, I closed my eyes and took a big gulp of air before slowly exhaling it out. I almost couldn't believe I was still letting something stupid like this bother me. I should have been over it, but my heart seemed to think otherwise.

It's just… I was so close to having a special somepony. I was so close to being able to experience a different kind of love for the first time. And I almost hate nothing more than being so close to achieving something only to fail at it at the very end. It absolutely infuriated me.

"Psst!" I unexpectedly heard at a short distance from my side. I turned and noticed a familiar pony waving towards me. It looked like it was Pinkie Pie, but she had been wearing some kind of cloak for some reason… "Come over here!"

What could she want with me?

I decided to follow her, but she ended up taking me behind some nearby trees as if we were to have a private ultra-secret meeting or something. Once we were covered under this huge oak tree, I began to question Pinkie Pie over her sudden intentions. "What's this all about, Pinkie?" I asked. "Something you want to tell me?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I'm not this 'Pinkie' you speak of." She answered strangely.

"What the hay are you talking about?"

Before I got an answer, a green glow suddenly emitted from her and practically almost blinded me for several seconds. It wasn't until I was able to see where I found a completely different pony before me. In fact, I wasn't even sure if I could call this being a pony.
Insect was the first word that came to mind, but unlike most insects, she was much taller than I was. I didn't know what to make of this. For the first few seconds, I could only stare absentmindedly at her before I felt myself back against the tree we were at. On the other hoof, she seemed to enjoy my reaction by showing off a little smirk on her distorted face.

"What are you?!" I exclaimed, beginning to have second thoughts of whether this was really happening or if it was a dream.

"I'm known as a 'changeling', darling." She lifted up my chin with her hoof as if I was a small foal. "In fact, I'm the queen of them. You may acknowledge me as Queen Chrysalis. Actually, you should."

I turned my head away from her hoof. "So, what? What do you want with me?"

"I'll have you know that you are very lucky." Queen Chrysalis began to observe me all around in an extremely uncomfortable manner. "I'm not so very direct with other ponies, but I happened to find something very…attractive and alluring about you."

"What's your deal?" I responded a bit angrily. "You're really creeping me out here."

Queen Chrysalis took this rather lightly and chuckled softly. "You have no ponies by your side, yet you have so much love to give. Why is that?"

I didn't care who this 'Queen Chrysalis' was. I wasn't going to bother with her if she was going to make things personal.

"Who do you think you are?" I threw out bitterly.

"Playing hard to get, hm?" She returned, allowing her tongue to slip out and lick her lips. "That just makes me want you more."

This was ridiculous. This had to be some unicorn playing some kind of prank on me. I had no idea who this 'Queen Chrysalis' was, and there was no way in Equestria she could know anything about me, especially if I was just a small simple Earth Pony out of many others.

"Very funny." I responded, my mood ultimately worsened. "I'm not dealing with you." I began to take my leave, and it appeared Chrysalis didn't follow.

"Don't worry, my little pony. We'll see each other very soon." She said before I had left her completely.

What a creep.

---

At the entrance to the shop I had left for just a moment, I found the pony, whom had been ecstatically excited to reveal her sketched designs, poking her head out the door as if she was searching for something. However, once she caught sight of me, she immediately began waving me in.

"You must see this! Come! Come!"

I should have been wondering what the big fuss was, but I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable from the confrontation with the strange pony linger in my mind. In fact, I felt the need to look behind me and towards the tree I had been taken to before feeling safe enough to move forward. She didn't appear to be lingering around there anymore, so I decided to take the first step into pretending it never happened.

Inside, I found an extremely unexpected surprise. Athena had been standing on a kind of podium, but I honestly was extremely close to not recognizing her if it weren't for her key features. For the first time in both of our lives, she had been wearing a dress. Even then, it wasn't just a dress. It was a frilly but extremely elegant dress. I've hardly ever been around dresses, so I didn't even know how to describe everything in intricate detail. To put it simply, she was wearing a kind of a dress a princess would wear, and to top it all off, she had her hair moved around with the use of certain accessories. It all really just made her extremely stunning.

"What do you think?!" The shop owner beside me asked, yearning for my answer.

I was speechless. Instead, I found myself staring at the bright grin Athena had presented, but she seemed to grow more embarrassed the more I looked.

"It's that good, huh?" She lightly joked.

I managed to casually pull myself together and give her my answer. "Yeah, it's great. It really is. What about you? Do you like it?"

She twisted and maneuvered a little as she turned her head towards her body. "I totally love it." She mentioned with a little less excitement than I thought she'd have. As a matter of fact, she sighed a little afterwards. "It's just…there's no way I'd ever be able to afford it. This has to be worth a ton."

"Oh, it's not too expensive, darling. After all, I haven't integrated any jewels or gems." The designer responded. "If you'd like, we could negotiate a price?"

Athena shook her head. "I'd totally be interested in buying this dress, but I don't have much money to begin with." However, she sent a quick glance towards me. "Hey, how long do you think you'll have this dress for?"

"I'm still setting up shop, so I might not have many customers, as you can see." She chuckled. "Nevertheless, if you find the dress to your liking, I don't mind holding it for you for quite some time."

"Give me a few days." Athena requested. "I think I'll have a good chunk of money soon enough, so I'll stop by when I do, okay?"

"By all means, darling! Do take your time." She generously allowed and walked over to the counter. She pulled out something small and hovered it over to Athena with her magic. It appeared to be a business card. "Here you go!"

"Rarity, huh?" Athena grabbed a hold of the business card and studied it for a moment. "Pretty name! I'm Athena!"

"Fabulous to meet you, Athena. I think your name is simply divine!" Rarity closed her eyes and grinned for a moment before turning to me. "And who might you be, if I may ask?"

"Alex." I replied rather simply.

"He's my brother." Athena tacked on with a sense of pride.

"I can certainly see the resemblance." Rarity acknowledged, but I was pretty sure she wasn't talking about our personalities…

I got to witness Rarity remove the frilly garments off Athena's body and place her hair back the way it was before. With her magic, it was an extremely short process, and it explained how quick Athena had been dressed up back when I was outside. It was a big surprise to witness Athena in a dress for the first time. I hadn't even bothered wondering how she found herself in one so quick to begin with.

"I'll see you real soon, okay, Rarity?" Athena promised.

"I look forward to it!" Rarity shared the mutual feeling as she politely waved back.

As Athena and I walked back outside, I heard her sigh in somewhat delight.

"Haah. I can't wait to have something like that for my very own."

"I don't mean this in a bad way, but I never thought I'd see you in a dress." I mentioned honestly.

"I know, right?" Athena appeared to acknowledge. "I looked super cute, didn't I?"

She eagerly gawked at me until I'd give her the answer she had been waiting to hear. "Yes, Athena. You were cute." I felt myself turn away in embarrassment as I surrendered my voice for the moment. It wasn't like me to say such things.

"Speaking of cute, what do you think of Rarity?" Athena continued to pummel me with topics I found rather embarrassing. "She was really pretty. You should try and talk to her more! Ooh! Maybe if you two start going out, I'll get a big discount on dresses!"

"Take it easy." I calmly suggested. "Don't you think you're going a little too far into the future?"

"Hm. I guess you're right." Athena agreed and turned to look forward at the path ahead of us. "Hey. Let's go through here. I can see a bunch of duckies and critters. Maybe it's a park?"

"Lead the way." I allowed, causing her to take notes from the bunnies in the vicinity and hop her way forward.

---

I began to wonder if this area we proceeded to explore was still part of Ponyville. In fact, all you could see was just green, as Athena would put it. There were huge open fields if not trees. Back in Fillydelphia, you'd see buildings and the like taking place of the vast uncluttered space.

The two of us continued to quietly walk along a stream until we eventually came across an unexpected pony who had been sitting in a particular part of this area by herself. I supposed she was just enjoying the scenery or something. I had planned to continue on and ignore her presence, but Athena decided to jump in and say hello.

"Hi!" Athena greeted.

The pony on the other end almost jumped onto her four legs once she heard Athena. With a short gasp, she turned in our direction and appeared to cower herself into a ball. She looked absolutely shaken by the sight of Athena. I found it ridiculous, seeing as Athena was one of the friendliest and socially inviting ponies you could ever meet.

"W-w-who are you?" I could barely hear from a few steps away.

"O-oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" Athena attempted to apologize as meaningfully as she could. "I'm Athena. What about you?" Athena decided to wait for an answer from this timid-looking mare, but all she could get was a pony who could barely keep eye contact for a second. Having waited a while with no answer whatsoever, Athena began to rub the back of her head as if she was trapped in an awkward moment. "Haha, that's strange. You almost remind me of someone."

For some reason, the mare responded to this comment.

"I…I remind you of someone…?"

Athena nodded her head. "Yeah. She was kind of shy, just like you."

The moment I guessed the pony she had been speaking of, another voice swooped down from the skies.

"Looks like you're clear, Fluttershy! Not only would you be by yourself, but you wouldn't be too far from where I'm gonna be staying at!" A pegasus had landed and retracted her wings as soon as her hooves touched the ground. However, as if a complete opposite to the pony she had been talking to, her voice was rather loud and proud. The one thing that caught my attention the most was the color of her hair. Never before have I seen a pony with her mane and tail dyed in a perfect rainbow. Was that natural?

Nevertheless, it looked like Athena wanted to introduce herself towards this new pony, but before she could say anything, this said pony caught wind of an uninvited duo and began to react rather defensively. "H-hey! What are you doing here? This is supposed to be a private spot!"

"I-is it?" Athena stuttered just a bit. I supposed she wasn't expecting this kind of behavior at all, especially since the ponies we had met here were so friendly. "I didn't know. My brother and I are kind of new here and we were just walking around…"

This slightly aggressive pony didn't bother to pipe down a notch or two for some annoying reason.

"Well, Fluttershy here is not good around other ponies, so move along, buddy!"

Afterwards, she turned to speak with her apparent shy friend, and I decided we should just leave. I didn't even know this brash pony's name, and she was already getting on my nerves.

"Come on, Athena." I finally spoke, gesturing her away from the others. "I guess every town has its kooks." Of course, to be clear, I had only been talking about rainbow-colored one.

"I guess…" Athena responded and walked alongside me.

---

As we made our way back into town, I found Athena was still being a little too quiet for comfort. I figured the unexpected encounter was still on her mind and bothering her.

"Don't sweat it." I decided to tell her and snap her out of her thoughts. "You should already know the truth is that not everypony is going to want to be your friend." I began explaining as if I knew exactly what she was thinking. "Besides, you probably shouldn't take it to heart. I'm sure she had her own problems and insecurities. It's just the way that ponies are. After all, I'd be the same way with you if I thought anypony was trying to hurt you."

"Yeah… You're right." Athena decided to finally release a glimpse of her sweet smile. "We've met Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity. I'd say that's practically way more friends than we've made in our life. Well…considering ponies our ages…"

I followed her short burst of a giggle with a smile of my own. "You've got it, Nene."

Her cheeks soon became home to a red-infested blush. "You really haven't forgotten, have you?"

I felt my own set of laughter brewing within me as the memory resurfaced in my mind. "Ever since I made you laugh so hard that you let out a whinny that one time? How could I? Come on, you gotta admit the name's 'cute', just like you would say."

"It is…" Athena looked away in humiliation. "But for it to come from such an embarrassing moment…"

"I don't think it was embarrassing at all." I refuted.

"Well, you're not the one who made the noise, were you?!" Athena's joy spiked as she began to engage in a playful conversation with me. "Just wait! One day, I'll make you laugh so hard that you'll have a name of your own!"

"When pigs fly."

"Okay, then." Athena continued. "Next time we go to Applejack's, I'll see what I can do about that!"

As the two of us made our way home, our banter cheerfully continued.

….if I only knew that this would be the last time…