Heaven’s Not Too Far Away

by Godslittleprincess

Chapter 4: When I Look at You, I See Your Beauty

Author's Note:

FlashLight Week Day 4. The prompt of the day is "Element." This was one of the hardest prompts of the week to attempt to incorporate into my story. I'm not sure how well I did it, but I did the best that I could. I think if you look hard enough you might be able to find examples of each Element of Harmony in this story. Maybe.
Also, there's something that I would like to address from the previous chapter. Yes, I made Micro Chips Flash's best friend instead of one of his bandmates. I did this for two reasons. One, his bandmates are even less canonically fleshed out than he is. Two, Micro Chips is my second favorite Equestria Boy.
Last thing, Plumber Karts in this story is supposed to by an EG-verse version of something that exists in real life. Guess what it is.

“What do you mean our magic can’t get rid of cancer?” Twilight exclaimed. She and Sunset were inside her lab, discussing the day’s events, especially the discovery that Flash was about to lose his mother to cancer. Twilight sat in one of the chairs while Sunset made herself comfortable on the floor.

“If magic can cure cancer, then Equestria would have gotten rid of it a long time ago. The fact that it still exists there pretty much proves that it can’t,” Sunset Shimmer explained, “at least not presently.”

“But what about the Elements of Harmony and the Magic of Friendship? Aren’t they different from the other magic in Equestria?” Twilight had a feeling that she was just grasping at straws, but she wanted to help Flash too badly to care. “They stopped us from nearly destroying the world for crying out loud. Can’t they do anything?”

“The Elements of Harmony and the Magic of Friendship are different from any other magic that I’ve studied or seen,” Sunset conceded, “but even they have their limitations. You can’t just blast every terrible, evil thing with them and make all the world’s problems disappear. If it was that simple, life would be too easy.” Sunset paused before continuing, “Besides, the magic changes when it crosses over into this world. We don’t know what using it on Flash’s mom would do. On top of all that, physically bringing an Element of Harmony here is one mistake that I’m definitely not making again.”

Twilight sighed as she lay her head on one of her work tables. “There’s got to be something we can do to help Flash and his family. There just has to.” She began to twirl her hair in her fingers as she thought. Then, she stopped twirling as she pulled a section of her hair in front of her face and just stared at it.

“What about re-growing hair?” Twilight asked Sunset, still looking at her hair.

“Excuse me?” Sunset turned to Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

“Can Equestrian magic re-grow hair?” Twilight reiterated. “One of the most common side effects of cancer treatments is hair loss. If Flash’s mom ended up losing her hair, would we be able to make it grow back the way it was?”

Sunset groaned and pressed her fingertips into her temples. “Of all the magic that exists in Equestria, hair growth spells are one of the most unpredictable. Don’t ask me why, but it just is, and we have years’ worth of magic research to back it up.”

Twilight leaned back on her chair and propped her feet up on the table. For a while, she just sat there, staring at the ceiling.
Then, she swung her feet back onto the floor and sat up.

“I think I know what I have to do,” said Twilight as she pulled out her phone.

“What are you doing?” Sunset cried, her eyes wide as she watched Twilight scroll through her contacts.

“Calling Pinkie Pie.”

“Twilight, you can’t tell her what’s going on with Flash. It isn’t our business to share.”

“I’m not going to.”Twilight shot Sunset a dirty look as she called Pinkie’s number and held her phone up to her ear. Sunset sighed and threw her arms up into the air before flopping down on the floor.

“Hello, hello, helloooooo,” sang a familiarly chipper voice. “Pinkie Pie’s phone, this is Pinkie Pie speaking.”

“Hi, Pinkie, it’s Twilight,” Twilight replied. “I was just wondering who supplies the wigs for Silly Wig Club. I kind of need one to help cheer up a friend.”

“Well, a lot of them are donations, but the really poofy ones I make myself.”

“You know how to make wigs?” Twilight exclaimed as she suddenly straightened.

“Oh, yeah, I make a new one every time I get a haircut.”

“Do you think you could make me one except not poofy?”

“Hmm, gee, I don’t know, Twilight. I’m not used to working with hair that isn’t mine. How good do you need the wig to look?”

“I need it to look as totally natural as possible.”

“Ooh, sorry, I don’t think I’ll be able to help you, Twilight,” replied Pinkie, making Twilight wince, “but if you need a wig that bad, you could try asking Zephyr Breeze. He knows practically everything about hair, real and fake.”

“Zephyr Breeze?” Twilight questioned skeptically. “As in Fluttershy’s brother Zephyr Breeze?”

“Yeah, he donates a new wig to the club at least once every month.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll ask him then. Thanks, Pinkie.”

“No problem, Twilight. I’m sure Flash’s mom is going to love your surprise.”

“Thanks.” Twilight was about to hang up when her eyes widened as she whipped the phone back next to her ear. “Wait.
How did you know I was getting a wig for Flash’s mom?”

“Oh, just a hunch,” Pinkie chirped.

“Please tell me that you don’t know why I’m getting Flash’s mom a wig.”

“Would it have anything to do with all the grilled cheeses that Flash has been getting at the diner?”

“P-p-p-Pinkie, if you know, you can’t—” Twilight began before Pinkie interrupted her.

“Tell anyone.I know. If Flash wanted people to know, he’d tell when he’s ready. Ooh, gotta go. My shift’s about to start. See ya later, Twi. Buh-bye.”

With that, Pinkie Pie hung up, leaving a completely dumbfounded Twilight staring at her phone.

---

After Twilight explained to Sunset what she wanted to do, the two of them rode their bikes to Fluttershy’s house. Fluttershy should be home from volunteering at the animal shelter already, and more importantly, none of the girls really knew what her brother did in his free time, so going to their house gave the two girls the best chance of finding him. Twilight and Sunset braked their bikes in front of a small, one-story, red house with a pastel green roof. Outside, a middle-aged woman with cream-colored skin and a voluminous magenta bob was tending to some chrysanthemums.

“Hi, Mrs. Shy,” Sunset called to the woman. The woman yelped in surprise and dropped her trowel before looking up to see the two girls waving at her.

“Oh, hello, girls,” Mrs. Shy greeted back. “If you’re looking for Fluttershy, she just got here. Go on inside. Just leave your bikes on the porch.”

“Okay,” replied the girls as they wheeled their bikes up to the porch and leaned them against one of the supports. Then, they removed their helmets and attached them to the handlebars before entering the house.

The two of them found their rose-haired, butter-skinned friend comfortably seated on the sofa with a book in her hands surrounded by her various pets. Fluttershy looked up and smiled once she saw Twilight and Sunset enter.

“Oh, hello, girls, what brings you here?” the shy girl greeted, setting her book aside.

“We,” began Sunset Shimmer, “or, more accurately, Twilight needs to ask Zephyr Breeze for a favor.”

“Oh?” said Fluttershy as she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“I can’t tell you why, but I really need his help,” Twilight continued.

“He should be in his room taking a nap,” replied Fluttershy. “Follow me.”

Fluttershy led her friends down a hallway with four doors. A loud snoring can be heard coming out of one of them.

“Zephyr!” Fluttershy called, knocking on the door where the snoring was coming from. “Zephyr! Wake up! You have visitors.” The snoring stopped.

“Unless it’s Rainbow Dash, don’t wake me!” a whiny male voice called back.

“Zephyr,” Fluttershy warned, “get up and open the door now, or I’m going in there and taking your covers.”

A few seconds of silence later, the door opened revealing a tall, groggy-looking teenage boy with green skin. His soft, wavy blonde hair was loosely secured in a man bun. He slouched forward and gave the three girls an annoyed scowl.

“What?” he simply uttered.

Twilight stepped forward and spoke, “So, Zephyr, Pinkie Pie tells me that you know how to make wigs.”

“Yeh,” the younger teen replied nonchalantly.

“I need you to make me one. Well, not me specifically, but I need it to help a friend. Can you get it done by the weekend?
Uh, THIS weekend?”

Zephyr looked from Twilight to Sunset to Fluttershy then back to Twilight. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe saying, “What’s in it for me?”

Sunset facepalmed as she growled, “We’re not getting you a date with Rainbow Dash, Zephyr.” Zephyr turned to the red-haired girl and frowned.

“And I don’t let people copy my homework,” Twilight added.

Zephyr turned his frown towards Twilight. “Man, you girls are bad at being convincing.”

“Look, I can’t really give any extra details, but if you do this, you’ll really be helping us make someone’s day,” Twilight practically pleaded.

Zephyr just sighed and started to turn around. “I’m going back to bed,” he said as he shut the door.

The three girls groaned. Fluttershy turned to her friends with a determined look in her cerulean eyes.

“I’ve got this,” she said as she entered her brother’s room and shut the door behind her.

“Hey! Sis, what gives?!” Twilight and Sunset heard Zephyr whine from behind the door. “No! Oh, no! Not that! Anything but that! Um, I can’t see you!I can’t see you! …You’re still there, aren’t you?! …And you’re still looking at me like that. …Ugh!”

The sound of a bed creaking could be heard, and afterwards, the door was thrown open. Zephyr and Fluttershy stood on the other side with Zephyr gesturing for Twilight and Sunset to come in. Twilight and Sunset entered, and Zephyr shut the door behind them.

He gave the two of them a defeated look and deadpanned, “Do you want it straight, curly, or wavy?”

“Straight,” Twilight answered immediately.

Zephyr turned to a desk in the corner of his room. Magazines, hair catalogues, bottles of various hair products, combs, scissors, and other related items were strewn on top of it. He shuffled towards the desk with a speed that would have made zombies looked lively and pulled out a chart with different colored squares.

“Just pick what color you want, and I’ll take care of the rest,” he lifelessly muttered to Twilight, handing her the chart.

Twilight took the chart from him and looked through it, trying to remember what color Lantern Heart’s hair was. While Twilight did that, Zephyr shoved a pile of catalogues and magazines on the floor to make space on his desk. Then, he opened a drawer and pulled out several bundles of hair, laying them flat on top of the desk. However, as Zephyr examined and counted each bundle, his eyes widened.

“Uh-oh,” he said.

“What ‘uh-oh’?” Sunset replied as all three of the girls looked up and turned towards him.

“Um, I don’t think I’ll be able to finish by the weekend,” Zephyr squeaked as he shrank back from the stern looks his sister and her friends were giving him. “I’m a little short on straight hair.”

“What?!” Twilight cried.

“D-d-don’t worry. I’ll still be able to get your wig done. Will next weekend be okay with you?”

“I don’t even know if I have until next weekend,” Twilight nearly screamed.

“Look, I’m sorry. I really am this time,” Zephyr rapidly spoke as he raised his hands between him and the angry Twilight.“I just don’t have what I need. Unless you can get me some more hair, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.”

Twilight just stood there, trying to pant her anger out. She clenched her teeth and clutched the back of her head with her free hand. As soon as her fingertips pressed into her hair, her eyes widened as she unclenched her teeth. Then, she grabbed her ponytail and held it out to Zephyr Breeze.

“I know it’s probably not the right color, but if you dyed it, would this whole length be enough?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight!” Sunset cried, shocked at what her best friend was suggesting.

“Hmm,” Zephyr pursed his lips as he examined Twilight’s hair, comparing its length to the other bundles’. “I might be able to stretch it out, but the wig’s going to turn out pretty short. Depending on who you want me to make this for, it might only end up going up to her chin at the longest.”

Twilight sighed and bit her lip. “Okay. If that’s the best you’re going to be able to do, then I’ll work with it.”

“Great. Just step into the bathroom with me so that I can wash your generous donation,” Zephyr blathered, as he opened the door into the hallway and led Twilight to the room directly across from them. “By the way, you didn’t tell me what color you wanted yet.”

“Hold it!” Sunset cried, causing everyone to stop and turn towards her. She looked Twilight in the eye and asked, “Twilight, are you really sure about this? You don’t have to do this, you know?”

Twilight closed her eyes and took a breath. She looked at Sunset resolutely and answered, “I know I don’t have to do this, but I want to, and yes, I’m sure of that.”

“I just hope that Zephyr doesn’t make me regret what I signed up for,” Twilight thought to herself, glancing at Zephyr with uncertainty.

“Oh, and Zephyr,” Twilight continued, causing him to turn towards her. Twilight held up the color chart that he had given her earlier and pointed to a dark red square. “This one.”

Sunset Shimmer sighed and placed her hand on Twilight’s shoulder, acceptance and resignation written all over her face.
“Okay, Twilight, if you’re that sure, then I won’t stop you.”

Before Zephyr could resume leading Twilight to the bathroom, however, Sunset grabbed him by the shirt and pulled the younger boy close to her face with a hard glare. “Zephyr, I am only going to say this once. If you give Twilight a bad haircut or mess up this wig, I’m going to maim you.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t mess anything up. Gee,” Zephyr cried, pulling himself free from the feisty girl. “Man, you’re almost as evil as my sister.”

---

Later that day, Sunset and Twilight left Fluttershy’s house, taking their bikes with them. Instead of riding their bikes, however, the two of them simply wheeled them along as they walked. Neither said anything for a while, but eventually, Sunset broke the silence.

“How are you going to explain what happened to your hair to your parents?”

“I guess I’ll just tell them that I donated it to a good cause,” Twilight replied, running her fingers through her newly shortened hair.

“And they’re just going to accept it?’

“I sure hope so. The fact that Zephyr gave me a nice cut should deter any further questioning. I’m honestly more worried about how I’m going to hide it at school tomorrow.”

As soon as Twilight mentioned school, Sunset stopped in her tracks, and her mouth fell open as realization dawned on her.

“Ms. Harshwhinny,” she uttered, causing Twilight to also stop.

“Aww, great!” Twilight groaned as she facepalmed.

---

The next day at fourth period, Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk with only her eyes peeking out of the hood of her sweatshirt.
She was slouching as far down her desk as she could go, attempting to melt into the floor.

Flash once again arrived at class with only seconds to spare, showing that he wasn’t quite fully himself yet. Hints of worry could also be seen in his eyes. However, he did not seem as tired as he was yesterday and seemed much more put-together, so that was one improvement.

Neither Flash nor anyone else present seemed to notice Twilight’s odd behavior. If they did, they didn’t pay her any mind.
Twilight was grateful for that. If she could just get through the rest of the day without taking off her hood, she would be able to avoid stirring up any unwanted drama.

“Ms. Sparkle, you know that I don’t allow head coverings in class,” Ms. Harshwhinny commanded with a shrill voice. So much for that plan.

Twilight slowly sat up. She could feel the entire class staring at her, their gazes burning into her bones. She shared a look with Sunset who winced on her behalf. Twilight’s hands shook as she brought them up to her hood. She hunched towards her desk, trying to hide her face as much as possible. Then, in one swift motion, she pulled down her hood, revealing her recently acquired pixie cut to the world. Almost immediately, a deluge of high school gossip smashed through the floodgates.

“Whoa! Girl, did your boyfriend break up with you or something?” exclaimed a boy from across the room.

“He must have for her to do something so extreme,” agreed one of the girls.

“Leave her alone!” Sunset shouted.“What she did with her hair is none of your business, and her boyfriend did not break up with her! She broke up with her boyfriend!”

Realizing what she had just said, Sunset Shimmer clamped her hand over her mouth as Twilight threw a pencil at her.
Sunset gave Twilight an apologetic look, but Twilight could only stare at her disbelievingly.

“Enough!” shouted Ms. Harshwhinny, slamming the thickest book in her ownership on top of her desk. “You may all discuss Ms. Sparkle’s sudden and drastic change in hairstyle in your own free time, but right now, you’re here to learn literature from me. If I hear another peep from any one of you, I am sending the offending student straight to Vice Principal Luna.”

The classroom became almost deathly silent, and once again, the rest of the period passed uneventfully.

“Hey, Twilight!” Flash turned towards the girl in question and called her when the bell rang.

Hearing Flash call her name, Twilight turned to him. She wore a completely neutral expression, but just beneath her skin, her stomach had dropped all the way to her pelvis, and her top and bottom molars were grinding against each other.
“Please don’t ask about my hair.Please don’t ask about my hair,” she mentally pleaded.

“Did you and Timber Spruce really break up?”

Twilight shut her eyes and sighed. Then, she opened her eyes and shot Sunset another pointed look before answering Flash, “Yes. Yes, we did. Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal, and it’s definitely not why I cut my hair.”

As the three of them walked out of the classroom together, Sunset continued to apologize profusely, “Oh, Twilight, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to say it. Really.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I was trying to hide it anyway,” Twilight reassured her best friend.

“So, why did you cut your hair?” Flash asked Twilight.

Twilight winced as soon as the question left Flash’s lips. She threw a questioning look at Sunset who merely shrugged back.

“You don’t have to say if you don’t want to talk about it,” Flash continued. “Everyone’s just a little surprised. That’s all.” He looked at her and tilted his head to the side. Then, he smiled. “If it makes you feel any better, I think your new haircut looks good on you.”

Twilight smiled back. “Well, thank you.” Her smile quickly fell, however, as her eyes widened in realization. “Umm, Flash,” she squeaked out, “this is going to sound weird, but can you text me your address?”

Flash raised an eyebrow at her quizzically. “Why?”

Twilight bit her lip and looked away from him. She took a breath and looked back at him. “You’ll know in the weekend,” she audibly whispered with only the barest hint of a smile.

Twilight’s cryptic answer bothered Flash a little, but he elected to trust her. Pulling out his phone, he did what she asked him to do and pressed send. Twilight’s phone vibrated in response.

“Thanks, Flash. I’ll see you later,” Twilight said to him, her smile fully returning as she and Sunset rushed ahead.

---

That Saturday afternoon, Flash and his younger brother hadn’t received any job offers, so the two of them were at home enjoying a game of Plumber Karts. One little known fact about Flash is that he sucked at video games, so unsurprisingly, First Base was thoroughly thrashing him. To Flash’s relief, the doorbell rang.

Flash got up to answer the bell, but when he opened the door, all he found was a package on top of the doormat. The package was wrapped in brown paper and stuck with an adhesive label. The label had his mother’s name printed on it.

Flash looked to the right and to the left but couldn’t find any trace of who could have possibly left the package. The only reasonable thing to do next was to bring the package inside and call his mother, so that’s what he did.

“Mom!” Flash called as he returned to the living room, the package in hand. “Someone left a package for you.”

“A package?” questioned Lantern Heart as she and the other two women in the family entered the room. She had become paler and significantly thinner in the last three months. Most noticeably, her head was completely bald. “That’s weird. I didn’t order anything.”

“It doesn’t look like it came through the mail,” Flash clarified as he handed the package to his mother.

Lantern Heart turned the package over in her hands and examined it on all sides before she tore the wrapping and opened it. She gasped when she saw its contents.

“What is it?” asked Base, setting down his game controller and gathering with the rest of the family.

Lantern reached inside and pulled out a short, dark red wig and a hand mirror. “Oh my!” she exclaimed. “Someone sent me a wig.”

“It’s a little darker than your old hair color,” her sister noted. “Not to mention shorter than your normal hairstyle.”

“Try it on anyway. I want to see how it looks,” urged Grandma Birdie.

Lantern Heart hesitantly fitted the wig over her head and looked at herself using the hand mirror. The hair unfurled past her ears but not quite up to her chin. The style framed her face perfectly. Lantern Heart couldn’t help but smile at what she saw.

“How do I look?” she turned to her family and asked, still smiling.

Everyone else smiled back at her, especially Flash who was giving her one of his special smiles. “You look beautiful, Mom,” said Flash, his voice beginning to break. “Like you always do.”

Comments

[Banshee531]

I'm actually lost for words after reading this. Nice work, looking forward to the rest.

[Foxhelm]

Twilight smiled back. “Well, thank you.” Her smile quickly fell, however, as her eyes widened in realization. “Umm, Flash,” she squeaked out, “this is going to sound weird, but can you text me your address?”

Wait a minute... didn't Sunset use to date Flash? Wouldn't she know his address?

That Saturday afternoon, Flash and his younger brother hadn’t received any job offers, so the two of them were at home enjoying a game of Plumber Karts. One little-known fact about Flash is that he sucked at video games, so unsurprisingly, First Base was thoroughly thrashing him. To Flash’s relief, the doorbell rang.

If First Base wanted to level the field and give himself a challenge, they should race on Rainbow Road, many a skill player has failed that route, there are so many horror stories about driving that road.

[Godslittleprincess]

8980881
I'd like to think that she never had any interest in meeting his family.

[Equestrian Defender]

This is so beautiful.