She felt a shuffling against her left side. She turned her head towards the origin of the feeling. Upon seeing nothing, Aqua shook her head. I still do that... "Yeah, Sunny? You good?"
Sunny hummed questioningly. "I am yes. Why do you ask?"
"Ah, nothin'. Probably just you adjusting how you're sitting or whatever. I felt you move and wondered if you were good."
Aqua heard Sunny hum to herself as she shuffled once more, though Aqua couldn't feel it.
Deciding to be playful, Aqua levitated the ball a bit away, still in her magical grip. Getting better at holding the ball steady from the small bursts of wind... Aqua leaned in, ducking her head and looking up at where the voice sounded from. "Nodding, are you? Without me..?" Aqua shook her head. "For shame, Sunny..."
Sunny began to stifle a giggle.
"I thought you were better than this. Better than nodding to a blind child." Another shake of the head, "For shame..."
"You are perceptive enough to notice, little Aqua."
"Damn right, I am. Hell, I'm even able to tell who's walking based on just the sound of them walking. Like their cadence or whatever. Or even just hear someone's breath and know who it is..." Aqua's head dipped slightly and her eyebrows felt heavy. Reminds me of hanging out with friends...
"Aqua?" Sunny sounded concerned. "Are you... good?"
"I... Yeah." Aqua nodded lightly before a corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "And hey, I noticed that! Glad you're starting to learn how to talk like the rest of us. Congratulations."
"It is a very slow process." Aqua could hear the smile in her voice.
Aqua raised a hoof and leaned further into Sunny's side. "Well, Let me help you with some tips. The first thing to make you sound more hip-." Aqua snorted. Yeah, that's the perfect word for it. "First thing to make you sound normal is definitely to use contractions..." Aqua turned to the side for a second, "I think that's the word." Turning back, she continued, "Anyway, the things you put between two words that become combined or whatever. Things like the word- phrase, my bad- I am to the word I'm. Like, in writing, when you use the apostrophe between the I and the m after it."
Sunny giggled. "I will endeavor to practice that. Do you enjoy the study of language, Aqua?"
Aqua shrugged. "Eh, not really. There's a thing here or there that I find interesting, but that's about it."
"Are you able to think of one thing?"
"Oh. Uh..." Talking with my brother at night would work, I guess. "Yeah, alright I got something. So back when me and my brother lived together, we'd be on different bunks. Me, being the younger one, I was spoiled and chose the top bunk. Though, I think he preferred the bottom bunk. Anyway, bed time came by and we'd do all the normal getting ready for bed stuff, but when it was actually time to fall asleep, we'd start to talk. Normally nothing of substance, but just talk. Talk in the way that siblings often do. Sometimes it'd be nice, other times it'd be a miniature fight. But when-." Aqua heard a particularly unstable breath from Sunny. "Sunny?" Aqua bumped a hoof into Sunny's side. "You- you good?" Did I say something fucked? Aqua felt her eyes twitch upwards and shook her head, stabilizing herself. Not now. Gotta focus on Sunny.
Sunny took a while longer than usual to respond after the pegasus shuffled. "Yes. I am fine. Continue."
Aqua's eyebrows furrowed upwards and she spoke softly, "Are you sure?"
Aqua felt a wing wrap lightly around her back. "Yes, little Aqua. I am fine."
She's lying. "You really didn't sound fine, but alright. I won't pry... Do you want me to continue the story?"
"Yes. I would like to hear it."
Slowly, Aqua continued, "Alright... I think I was talking about me and my brother's late night talks..." Think I just gave context... "Okay, so we'd talk after bedtime, but when we were having an argument or a debate, whatever you want to call it, there'd be some misunderstanding. Like we'd be arguing about something about something, and like after wasting half an hour to an entire hour of us talking in circles, I'd realize that there'd be one critical word we'd completely misunderstand. Not exactly that one of us had the meaning wrong in our head, though that was also sometimes true, it was a thing of I'd know the word to mean a certain thing and set of things connected to it that'd be adjacent or work in close to the same context... Anyway, I'd realize how we understood the word was different... I ended up finding that really, really interesting. But like only that. Pretty much nothing else about language really grabbed my attention. I just like knowing about those differences in word meaning to different people..."
Sunny was still slow to respond. "I... Understand."
Aqua spoke up once more. "I- uh..." I shouldn't give them more... "You know what? Never mind." Aqua shook her head. Hearing shuffling to her left, Aqua spoke up again. "Look, Sunny." I sound old saying that... Aqua leaned further into Sunny's side and put a hoof on her shoulder. "There's something on your mind, and while I don't want to be pushy... Are you sure you're okay? Is there any way I can help?"
Aqua stayed still in that position for what felt like a whole minute before Sunny spoke up, "In the future, yes. But not now, Aqua."
Fuck. Aqua slowly nodded and tried rubbing Sunny's side, though it was hard considering how much larger and taller Sunny was. "Alright... Sunny just remember. We're friends, even if fairly new ones. You can say what's on your mind to me. I promise that I won't tell anyone... And if I can help, even if it's only just listening, hit me up... While I'm not a therapist, my mom was one." Shouldn't have said that. Too late now. Works as sharing trust. Aqua feigned a chuckle and a tiny smile. "She almost wanted me to become one. Last time I talked to her I think she still did... Anyway, my point is that I picked up some insights, if you ever want to just vent."
Sunny hugged Aqua closer with her wing and spoke up, "Maybe soon, Aqua..."
"Alright." Aqua nodded and faced the larger person as her mind raced. She's not okay. Maybe..? No. Maybe it's a sibling problem..? That might be it... It would make sense.
The two sat in the late afternoon breeze in silence, though Aqua was focused on Sunny.
More chapters huray, thanks author
The only bit of a downer for this chapter is that there isn't more of it. I do appreciate the more introspective look into Aqua's past.
Also, welcome back! Hopefully life smooths itself out for you, and I do look forward to more of this.
Final thing, one error I noticed
"the things you put between two words that "
Huzzah! More chapters
I guess sunny is the disguised princess after all
Sunny getting overwhelmed with emotions when she's near Aqua shows she's starting to trust her just a little bit. It's nice to see.
Also glad you made to your new place safely. Hope the unpacking goes smoothly.
Still curious what the cracking/popping of Aquas horn is gonna amount to. I’ve got my theories
Anyways great to hear you’re doin alright!
Nice! new chapter. The hiatus tag almost made me have a heart attack tho lol.
Sorry for the late responses to pre-hiatus comments.
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Thank you.
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I wanted to show the distinct way that The Job gets done. Two reasons: One because I really love the idea, and two, I have a reason I needed to put this chapter in at some point. I can't say what that reason is yet, but there is a major reason.
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Immortality is rarely enjoyable.
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Thank you, and you're welcome!
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I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not blind nor crippled in any way, but I often find myself tripping over basic ideas and solutions to things while writing for Aqua because of just how much sight is required. None of the major crippling effects are fun. And thank you.
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Perhaps it is. It is curious, isn't it? And don't worry about reading quickly. I still feel that my story is far, far too short, so take your time to read. Enjoy everything at your own pace.
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Ding Ding Ding. This one got it.
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And thank you for being here to read!
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I actually do wish I made this chapter longer, though I ran out of time to do so, sadly. And while I could write more, The date of the story's creation has passed. The window of Aqua's mind is closed. Thank you for the wishes, though I'm not completely back yet. Also, thanks for spotting that, fixed it.
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Yup. Still fairly busy, but I will probably putting one out randomly whenever I get the inspiration until the time where my life has settled.
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It kinds does seem like it...
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The relationship is advancing. From acquaintance to friend. Friend to well-known friend. Thanks! I'm definitely taking my time with unpacking though. This past month has been very exhausting so I just wanna rest and take a few days where I don't need to leave the house or do anything.
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Oh don't worry, I definitely haven't forgotten about her horn. And thank you. I wish the same to all of you!
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Thanks. Also, sorry. I actually forgot I still had it there, though I don't think I'll remove it till my life calms down further so I could actually made scheduled chapters. But until I get to a point of scheduled, I'll leave on hiatus. I'll probably release a chapter here or there during this, though.
Once again, I hope all of you are doing good and have a good day and night.
Welcome back! I hope everything went well with your move. It certainly takes a lot of time and energy, so I hope you're doing well
Thank you for the new chapter, it was nice to experience things from Aqua's perspective again. I'm pretty sure my theories are like 99% confirmed at this point! Looking at you "Sunny". I still have my theories about Aqua, but I've made a few more. Some of the information lean toward one side, but I can see how you could use it in interesting ways.
In any case, I look forward to future chapters, and good luck with your college and congratulations with your new place! Take care!
Interesting. Wonder if its that easy for the mask to slip around most ponies or if it’s just that Aqua is better at noticing her tells due to heightened senses/proximity.