The Last Shot
Chapter IV: The Last Shot
With a heave of my chest, I push my back against the armchair out the front door of my apartment. I haven’t moved the furniture in here ever since I first moved in, so I forgot how heavy this piece of crap was. I sigh with relief, finally having the damn chair outside, but the new obstacle is this dense snow. Of course, I have to push it past the snow… I look to my left where the parking lot for my apartment building is and I see the moving truck, sitting idly. The two men who operated the truck sit on the bumper and laugh quietly at my struggle. Again, that all too familiar pit of rage is lit ablaze, but I can’t let myself get out of control. I admit losing my temper is one of my failures and it often causes me to lose a fight. I need to cool my head. Being able to control my emotions is the first step to success, right?
I put both of my hands on the back of the chair, beginning to push it through the knee deep snow. Unfortunately, snow starts to fall into my boots and touch the leggings I have on, freezing my legs to the bone. The breath clouds that exit my lips reminds me of the fire in my heart, except now it’s not a fire of anger. Now, I only feel the need to make this work. All of this effort has to work, right?
Now this fire is one of desperation. A flame telling me that this final shot is the last chance I have to be happy in this human world. Perhaps things would be different in a pony world, but I have to think about my current life. If I had pulled the revolver out at that homeless shelter, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. Instead, I decided to go home and think about all of this. Suddenly, one of my hands loses my grip on the chair, causing me to slip on the ice and snow.
I breathe in and out heavily, while staring at the reflection in the ice. Thinking about my options, I guess there is only one more thing I can do. Gently, I wipe the sweat from my forehead and get back up, pushing on the chair again. The snow drastically decreased the mobility of the chair, but I’m able to move it slowly towards the truck. If helping people is something that makes someone happy, maybe it doesn’t work when you help any random stranger. Maybe… you feel happy once you help someone you know.
Pushing the chair through the last stretch of snow, I finally get to rest my arms, looking at the movers. “Well?” I ask, pointing at the chair. Their chuckles finally stop, as they hop down from the bumper, easily tossing the chair into the truck. After this, they go back to their resting positions and wait for me to get the next piece of furniture. I tried asking them to move it for me, but of course, they told me it would cost more to have them move the furniture themselves. Funny. I don’t remember reading that in the contract… Even if I did take it up with their superiors, it would be more time and effort that I wouldn’t want to waste, though I suppose I’m just wasting my time and breath as it is. I sigh, walking back to the front door of my apartment. Usually, I would slip on the ice towards the front door, but thanks to the chair, the ice is broken, making an easier path to the doorway.
Walking inside, I close the door and shiver slightly, embracing the warm room, at least for now. It wouldn’t surprise me if the heater dies any second now. I take my first few steps toward my bedroom, before my eyes are attracted to the coffee table. I could sell that too… Maybe it would earn a quick buck. Before I let myself think a moment longer on the idea, I turn around and walk to my bedroom. I already calculated the prices, these two pieces of furniture should be more than enough. Opening my bedroom door, I see the mattress is propped against the wall where I left it. Quickly, I walk over to the dresser and open the first drawer, grabbing a soft measuring tape. It isn’t the most handy item to measure something with, but it’s the only thing I have, so it will have to do. Placing one hand with the end of the tape on the top right corner of the mattress, I move my other hand and stretch the tape along the top. I already measured this hunk of junk an hour ago, but it’s better to double check than end up regretting another choice. That’s another thing I do a lot. I don’t check my bases. I need to fix this mistake of mine before it costs me again, like it did a year ago.
Thirty-eight inches. The mattress seems to be thirty-eight inches, the same measurement from before. A slight smile comes to my lips for a second. It should work then. I hold the two ends of the tape where they are and slowly move it over to the window. Not only is the window as wide as the mattress, it’s bigger. Right around forty inches wide. Perfect. Where the window is located, it is parallel with the bed frame and subsequently, the dresser behind that. Normally, moving a mattress shouldn’t be that difficult, but given how tight my hallway is, it would take much longer to push it through the doorway and down the hallway. I admit that this turned out to be a lot more work than I expected it to, but… If this is one of the only ways I can find happiness, is it really wrong of me to try…?
A previous version of me probably would have said yes to that question. Now, I’m not so sure. Placing my hands on the upper corners of the mattress, I take a deep breath before putting my foot on the middle. I look behind me at the ground and close my eyes. This will probably hurt.
Slowly, I pull back, letting my body fall towards the ground, pulling the mattress with me. With a slight thud, I land on the ground and toss the mattress on the bed frame by twisting my leg to the left. Quietly, I grimace at the pain throughout my back and on the back of my head. Bringing my hand to my head, I groan, rolling over to my belly before pushing myself off the ground again. That wasn’t the best idea ever, but with how heavy the mattress is, it’s easier than carrying it. Pausing to take a deep breath, I walk to the right side of the bed frame, making sure the mattress is perpendicular with the window, aligning the end of it on the windowsill. Now, all it will need is one good push. Walking around to the other side of the bed frame, I hold my hand up and point out my index finger. Where the window is located, it is directly beside the sidewalk in front of the moving truck. One good push and the ice should carry it right where I need it. Slowly, I wipe the sweat off my forehead again and raise my left foot, pressing it against the dresser behind me. I gently align my right shoulder on the mattress and sigh.
Pushing with my legs as hard as I could, the mattress slides out the windowsill easier than I expected it to. Finally, that’s done with… Standing up, I jog out of the room and down the hallway. It’s weird to see the living room without the armchair, but I still have the couch and coffee table. A part of me considers bringing the table out with me as well, but I avoid the thought again. Walking out the front door, I get out just in time to see the two movers throw the mattress inside the truck. I try to catch my breath as I walk up to the men.
“Well? There’s the furniture. Where’s the money?” I ask, slightly annoyed how long this has taken. I was expecting to get to the store and have plenty of time to get to work, but now it looks like I will be late. One of the movers goes around the truck and gets in the driver side door whereas the second one looks in his wallet.
“Here. Thirty.” He takes the money out of his wallet and hands it to me.
“What about the rest? It’s all supposed to be worth one hundred twenty-five.” I put the thirty in my pocket and look at him.
“You made us wait too long. That was the deal. One hour of work and we waited half an hour more than that.” He turns around and snickers at me as he walks to the passenger side door. Before I can react, he closes his door and the truck pulls out of the parking spot and drives away from me. What the hell…
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The warm environment of the store aisles certainly makes it easy for a customer to let go of their hard-earned cash, inviting customers to every possible item they can buy. Usually, I don’t go to supermarkets or big brand stores, but today is different. My hand holds the money as hard as I can in my pocket, avoiding the more secluded parts of the store. At this point, I’m not quite sure what I’m looking for exactly. It has to be something useful or a necessity, so toys or electronics are thrown out the window. It’s not like I can afford those with this meager amount of cash anyway. I didn’t even want to buy a gift. I could use this money to buy myself something nice. Like a new coat or boots. Or…
Looking to my left, I see the grocery section of the store that includes a bakery that makes new pastries every day. My stomach slightly growls again as my body wants me to walk to the left, but I try to ignore the urge. It would be so easy to buy myself something, but… wouldn’t it be better to find something that can make me happy long term than something that would make me happy temporarily? I sigh, turning to the right and walking away. Maybe next time.
The vast walkways of the store act as a simplistic maze, directing customers to the products they want and so much more. In this case, I suppose I’m letting the maze take me where it wants to go. I don’t really know what to get, but about half of the products in this store are already out of my price range, making the selection very limited. As I walk down one of the walkways, I see a mannequin dressed in winter clothing with a puffy jacket and mittens to match. Of course, there’s no way I could afford these. They are high value items made by reputable brands, but it did spark an idea in my mind. Knowing how cold I’ve been in the past couple weeks, I suppose a good gift would be something to keep a person warm and happy during this season of unforgiving frost. Maybe… a blanket? Or a coat? A gift like that would definitely make any creature have an easier time dealing with this winter.
Even though I didn’t particularly enjoy being here to buy a gift, I feel a new sense of inspiration stir in me. Maybe this could work. I grip the limited cash I have on me tighter and rub my forehead slightly. As I walk into the clothing section, I can smell the distinct scent of freshly washed clothes, bringing my hand to my nose. They clearly used too much scented detergent when washing these products. If I buy something from this store, I should make sure to wash it thoroughly myself when I get it home. Maybe it’s just my sensitive sense of smell, but I don’t tend to like clothes that are overly scented to mask any other pertinent smells. Not every product smelled like this, though. Some items seem quite tame in terms of appearance and smell, but nothing stood out to me as a good gift.
Until I saw it.
Looking forward, I see the more butch section of clothes in the women’s clothing lines. By that, I mean items like big leather boots, work jeans and leather jackets. Usually, I wouldn’t go into this section in a store, but something finally caught my eye. In the middle of the jacket selection, there was a casual zip up leather jacket hanging up with matching fingerless gloves attached to them. The coat itself has a bright red sheen to it with yellow and orange flames rising from the bottom up to the halfway point of the jacket. It didn’t look very extravagant or something that is trying to grab someone’s attention and it feels pretty thick with an inner lining inside of it. Warm, modest, stylish. This would be a perfect gift for her. If I truly want to try and be happy by giving instead of taking, this would be perfect. After all, that’s what I want, right? I want this to be perfect.
Almost too eagerly, I search the jacket for a price tag, running my fingers across the smooth yet soft surface of the coat. No doubt about it, she would love this, knowing her personality. My fingers finally find the price tag on the collar of the jacket, hidden inside of it. Almost as quickly as I get that butterfly feeling of finding this gift, it fades away when I see the price. Closing my eyes, a heavy sigh exits my lips as I let go of the jacket, clenching my fist. Of course, I was stupid for even thinking this would be a good gift. Turning around, I walk out of the section and take a deep breath. I bring my hand to my forehead again, rubbing and trying to force this migraine out of my head. I am not even happy about this gift giving thing, so it’s not a big loss… As quickly as the thought comes to my mind, I open my mouth.
“I’ll just have to find something else she will like. That’s all.” Shaking my head, I walk further away from the butch section of women’s clothing, walking into the more colorful regions. It’s just another fucking disappointment, huh? Why should I have to stoop so low to be happy in this world? Maybe I’m just fated to lose this battle. Ugh… “Why does this have to be so damn hard?!” I angrily sigh to myself, grabbing onto the nearest clothing rack and gritting my teeth. If this is the “magic of Christmas”, I want no part of it. It’s so damn stressful that I’m left wanting to pull my hair out instead of actually buying a gift.
A heavy breath comes out of my lips as I lean over. “It’s fine. Just… think. What would be a cheap but useful gift?” I ask myself in a faux positive tone. An irritated grin slowly crawls over my face. Only a couple different things came to mind. Of course, all the good gifts are usually expensive, which I accounted for when I sold my furniture, but of course, I was ripped off. It’s not like I could do much about it now anyway. Their supervisors probably wouldn’t believe a woman who is on the damn poverty line. I mean, she’s probably lying, right?
Finally, I open my eyes and realize the clothing rack I am holding onto isn’t necessarily a… normal one. Since when did I walk into the bra section? I wasn’t that distracted, was I? I could have sworn I was in the middle of the pants section of women’s clothing, but here I am, standing in the bra section, awkwardly holding onto a clothing rack with many different kinds of bras loosely strung up on hangers. Some of them were even holiday themed. Who in the world would need a holiday themed bra? As a gift?
Slowly, my cheeks begin to feel warmer than before as a thought comes across my mind. A gift. Something seems funny to me, giving a bra as a gift. Funny in a weird sense and not an actual humorous sense. A soft cloud of embarrassment hangs over my head as an appealing visual inhabits my mind. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but it almost feels like sweat formed on my forehead as my mouth becomes uncharacteristically dry. Hastily, I pull my arm away, pulling the clothing rack down unintentionally. My wide eyes look down at my hand as I wipe the cold sweat from my forehead. I nervously chuckle before slightly kicking the bras away from me and walking away from the section. Why does gift giving have to be so damn hard?
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“That’ll be 29.95!” the cashier said all too chipperly. Reluctantly, I hand over the thirty dollars I have been holding onto all day. It hurts to see that much be given away for a damn gift. All just to be happy. I quietly sigh to myself. That was enough money to survive for three weeks, easily. All it takes is the right investments, but with the flick of my wrist, all of it is gone. I can almost feel my belly growl now. I suppose it’s all going to be worth it if this works, but… if it doesn’t, then I suppose it still doesn’t matter.
Looking down at the counter where I have my items, I can’t help but feel surprised at the fact that these few items can easily cost thirty dollars. The only items I am able to pay for are a pair of red cotton gloves and a big blanket that should easily cover anyone around my size. The blanket itself didn’t have any real pattern to it. It was just a dark blue blanket with two or three stars messily thrown across the surface. It feels pretty thick when you touch it and I think it even glows in the dark. Pretty childish, I know, but it was one of the only good blankets that wasn’t bundled with a whole set of bedding.
The cashier finally processes my now long gone cash and hands me back a nickel as the only thing in return. For a second, a dejected look appears on my face, but just as quickly, a more confident look comes up as I take the nickel. It’s useless to let anyone see my true emotions, so, let’s make them think I’m just as confident as ever. Besides, I shouldn’t have any regrets about buying this gift. For a second, a headache causes me to hold my head and breathe in heavily. I’ve already made it clear to myself that if this doesn’t work, it all doesn’t matter in the end. So, what should it matter if I spend thirty dollars or not?
As I walk out of line from the checkout lanes, I look in my plastic bag and account for my items. All two of them. Looking around me, I see multiple people buying a lot more products than me, presumably for Christmas and the holidays. Though, two people did catch my eye as they also left the checkout lanes. The first is an old lady and the second is a young girl, the latter also pointing directly at me as she talks to the former. I can’t help but wonder what she is saying about me. The girl does seem familiar to me somehow. Shaking my head slightly, I hold my hand over my mouth to hide an exhausted yawn that I let escape. I think I saw her at the homeless shelter yesterday? Yeah, she’s the sister of Applejack, right? What was her name? Apple something… Apple… Blossom? Apple bomb? No, that can’t be it.
The young girl’s head turns to me after she nods to her grandma, starting to run over to me. A pit in my stomach develops as I see her run towards me. Maybe it’s just my own anxiety, but I can’t help but feel like this is going to be annoying.
“Hey! A-Adagio!” Her small voice calls out my name just as soon as she runs up to me. A frown comes across my face as I look at her take a deep breath. “H-how’s it going?” she asks with a nervous expression on her face. What exactly did she want? An awkward silence passes between the two of us for a bit too long before I finally respond.
“Um… Good. It’s going good,” I say with an awkward tone, looking into this girl’s piercing orange eyes, filled with either excitement or wonder. I bring one hand to my hair and run the strained strands in-between my fingers, feeling the soft texture. “What do you want…?” My mouth mutters the question apprehensively, despite my familiarity with this girl. A dejected look comes across the girl’s face for a moment before she makes herself smile once more. Clearly, she wants something, but what it is alludes me for now.
“W-well, I just wanted to come over and uh…” For a couple moments, her mouth stalls the statement and her eyes seem to dart away from mine and down to her hands. It seems that she still hasn’t thought of what to say. This should be simple. Just tell me what you want and then we can go our separate ways. “I kinda wanted to say thanks I suppose. For helping out yesterday. You know? At the homeless shelter?” Her curious eyes finally make contact with mine again. For a brief moment, she looks like she’s as helpless as a small rabbit or perhaps a hamster in a cage. “It really helped us out and I um… I suppose I didn’t expect you to be there, you know?” Again, her words have a way of angering me, but I can see her point. I, of all people, am definitely not one to help others, but… desperate times call for desperate measures.
“It was… nothing,” I barely say, breaking our eye contact to look around us. I didn’t necessarily want others to know that I helped at that homeless shelter. “Let’s try to keep that between us, okay?” I gently flick my hand back and forth at my neck to indicate I didn’t want to talk about this. Maybe her small mind will understand.
“Well, I was still glad to see you! It seems that you’re really turning yourself around or at least trying to.” A frown forms on her face before she outstretched her hand for a handshake, an offer I did not accept. “Listen, the real reason I came over here was to… talk to ya. Ya see, I admire hard work. That’s something my big sis taught me, but either way, it’s inspiring to see you working on yourself and help people for a change.” Her previous blush and nervous tone have completely disappeared at this point, leaving a more confident exterior. She’s telling me the truth. “I still kinda assumed you were your same old self from before when I saw ya at first, but knowing that Sunset could turn it around, I know you can too!”
“Don’t compare me to Sunset Shimmer.” Immediately, I interject, trying to stop her comparison. “We are nothing alike. I… I wasn’t there to work on myself. I’m still the same mean girl from school,” I say, trying to make an evil face out of my already tired expression. Honestly, it feels like a lost cause, this girl has already made her choice to believe I’m “changing my ways.” Her hand slowly reaches up to my left cheek, startling me at first as she inspects the badly damaged side of my face. Unsurprisingly, the cheek still stings when anything touches it, causing me to push her hand away.
Short and brief, she only says, “I don’t believe ya…” Her orange eyes still pierce mine and I can’t help but sigh. “What happened to ya?” her voice asks in a curious and sad tone. Great… She feels sorry for me. That is not what I want.
“The world is a mean place. Almost as mean as me.” I look at the bag of items I have and at the clock on the wall. Apparently, Apple Bomb caught notice of this.
“Whatcha buying, if ya don’t mind me asking?” she says with a world of wonder in her eyes. It seems she’s chosen to give up the previous topic, finally.
“It’s just a… gift.” I can’t believe I actually have to hear myself say that. A part of me still wants to reject this personal mission and return the gift, but another part of me still says that this… is the only way.
“A gift? What will you wrap it with?” she asks quickly. “Plain color wrapping paper or with patterns? Patterns are most people’s favorites.” Her chipper voice hits my mind rather harshly as I am now the curious one.
“Wrapping paper…? I was just going to put it in a box and all.”
“Just a box? How could you do that?! That’s not the correct way to give a gift!” Correct way? There’s a correct way to give a gift? “Well, at least on Christmas,” her mouth mutters with a nervous chuckle. “When are ya going to get the wrapping paper?” Apparently, she assumes I would go and buy wrapping paper for this gift now. The more obvious problem being that I only had a nickel to my name.
“I can’t exactly.” Honestly, now that the idea of a correct way to give a gift is in my mind, it almost hurts to not get the damn paper. I want this to be perfect, because if it isn’t… I’m not sure I will have the cause to keep breathing anymore.
“Hmm? You can’t? Why not?” She asks again, just making herself a bigger nuisance for me. “Are there no designs you like? Or maybe the person you’re getting it for doesn’t like the designs? Are they made out of cheap material? Oh, maybe-”
“God! It’s because of this.” In one action, I finally pull out the damn nickel from my pocket and try to appease the nuisance. “Are you happy now?”
For an awkward moment, Apple something looks at the coin in a confused state. Finally, the concept seems to click for her as she looks at me with a sympathetic tone in her eyes. God, that is not what I wanted… Could she please just go away? Quickly, she brings her hand to her mouth and seems to think about something. An idea seems to come to her mind as she grabs her phone and starts typing something in furiously, presumably texting someone.
“Do ya know where Garden Hooves Park is?” she asks, seemingly unrelated to the previous topic. Annoyed, I nod and look at her confused.
“Why would I need to know where that park is?”
“Because I… I can help ya make this gift perfect,” her voice says in a more depressed tone than before. “I can only really offer three options of wrapping paper, but I hope one can work. Would ya like purple with stars, red and yellow checker pattern or plain green?” Before I know it, an overwhelming feeling of confusion hits me and I can’t seem to fathom why she wants to do this.
“Why would you help me exactly…?” I ask skeptically.
“Just pick one please. I need to hurry if I’m going to do this.” Normally, I would usually reject her offer. I would want to throw her across the room for insinuating that I need help, for trying to make me seem weak, but… I have lost most of my options. This gift is the final thing I can try before it’s all over. The last attempt. Dejectedly, I sigh.
“Red and yellow checkers…”
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The cold bench I sit in is positioned right in front of a playground for children, a concept I failed to remember when agreeing to meet at Garden Hooves Park. Most “parks” around the city are just small areas of nature where one can sit among the trees or have a relaxing walk, but this one is located near a big elementary school and therefore, a neighborhood with a lot of children. Subsequently, Canterlot High isn’t far from here as well, though I’m not particularly thrilled about that fact.
Garden Hooves Park was advertised as the first park in the city with a splash pad for the children to play in, but the real honor of that title belongs to a small park that was demolished to make the mall near Canterlot High. It’s a shame. Even though no one hardly ever visited that park, it was a nice quiet place to think about things that were either troubling you or about the things that made you happy. Regardless, Garden Hooves Park isn’t the first park with a splash pad, but it certainly is the most popular.
With an annoyed breath, I look around for a clock to tell the time. Apple Bloom said she would be here by four, but I feel like it’s much past that. Funny. I remembered her name this time. Probably because she finally told me her name again before running off. She is… an odd kid. I still don’t know what possessed her to help me. Maybe she just has a heart of gold, but that will surely lead to people taking advantage of her. I slowly bring my hand to my eyes and rub softly, trying to get rid of the approaching feeling of exhaustion.
I didn’t want to accept this stranger’s kindness. It makes me feel weak to even think I need help, making me even more worthless as a siren. Unfortunately, when someone is out of options, they become desperate and desperation often leads to doing uncharacteristic things. I suppose one could say that my life is at that stage now, accurately painting the picture of me. What happened to the mighty Adagio Dazzle? Simple. She was buried, the final part of that dream laid to rest on the night of Sunset’s visit.
Quickly, I open my eyes as I hear what sounds like wheels approaching me. Not the wheels of an automobile, but ones that sound small enough to fit on a toy car or maybe a wagon. Sitting upright again, I see Apple Bloom running toward me as she drags a wagon behind her. Sweat drips from her forehead and a slightly pained expression is painted on her face. Why does she go to such lengths to help me, a siren who tried to take control of her school? She confuses me to no end.
Standing up from my seated position, I wave slightly to the yellow girl as her bow bobs to her every movement. Immediately, she waves back with a wide smile on her face.
“S-sorry! I didn’t mean tuh be late!” She says, letting out more of her cowgirl accent. I guess Applejack really was from a farm family. Her red wagon trailing behind her and what seems to be a red tablecloth tied around her neck, giving the appearance of a hero’s cape. Her pace slows down as she finally reaches me, puffing heavy breaths in and out of her chest. “I-I’m glad that…'' She takes another deep breath before turning around to grab the wrapping paper from the wagon. “I’m glad that ya waited for me! I didn’t mean to take so long.” As she grabs the paper, I see the tablecloth she has around her neck has a blue badge pattern sewn into it with the silhouettes of three girls. I can only assume that one of them is herself, given the big bow on one. At the corner of her cape, her name is also sewn into it with gold thread.
“It’s fine. I don’t have much else to do anyway.” Other than going to work, but that ship has already sailed. “Listen, kid. I don’t mean to demean all the effort you’ve done so far, but why are you helping me? You have no reason to, since, well… You know what I did.” Honestly, I don’t know what compels me to be nice to her, to not treat her like garbage like I would usually do. Maybe it’s because she’s trying to help me here and let’s face it, Adagio, you’re out of options.
Maybe the other reason is that she’s right. I have been trying to “change my ways” even if I don’t admit it or realize it. The only reason I have been trying is to be happy for a change, but so far, no luck. God, I would still take power over this any day. It was the only guarantee I had of happiness in my life. Why should it be any different now?
“Yeah, I do know what ya did,” she said with a soft tone, breaking me out of my train of thought regardless. “Still, I think it’s great that you’re helping other people and getting a gift for someone. You may not admit it, but it’s still a great step to being a better person. And well… I guess I admire that.” Slowly, she places the big roll of wrapping paper in my arms. “By golly, I would say everyone in the Apple Family enjoys that kind of honesty.” Her genuine smile makes you want to believe every word she says, but I just shrug in response.
“Thanks. For the wrapping paper and what you said. Just… please don’t-”
“Say anything, I got it.” Her hand gives me a big thumbs up as she turns the wagon around. “Consider this a thank you for helping out yesterday and a good luck gift. On finding whatever you’re looking for.” With a big grin, she turns around and drags the wagon behind her, slightly waving before she stops in her tracks. “Oh! If ya ever need advice about friendship, I suppose I could always help there as well!” A thoughtful look appears on her face as she pulls her phone out to text someone again. “Just… just come by the clubhouse my friends and I built, if ya need help. It’s on the outskirts of the apple farm.” A final look of happiness and respect is given to me and I try to give a smile back. “Good luck, Adagio!” Finally, before I can say anything in return, Apple Bloom runs off into the distance, her wagon making a squeaky echo as it rolls away.
Looking at the wrapping paper in my hands, I sigh loudly in relief. If this will really help me give a gift correctly, then I’m glad to have it. Now there’s only one thing left to do. Looking in the direction Apple Bloom came and left from, I give a small wave as if she was still there to receive it. Goodbye, you strange girl.
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There it is. The gift I spent more than half my day working on sits there on the front step. I hesitate to call it a porch since it’s more like a concrete slab the length of an average person, but nonetheless, it sits beside the front door. Given, the packaging of the gift is sloppy and lazily wrapped together, but it’s the best I can do. It’s not like I’m one of Santa’s little present goblins. Looking at the present from this far away, though, isn’t particularly appealing.
Standing outside of an apartment complex, I have to hide behind a tree to watch the gift, making sure it isn’t stolen by some porch pirate. I’ve had too many of those incidents happen in my life already. I suppose I am also a bit anxious and nervous for some reason. I don’t particularly care about the present being accepted or not, it’s just this feeling of whether or not I also failed with this. Really, I guess I am hiding more so that I can watch the gift being opened without being seen myself. Although, I didn’t quite expect for it to take this long for the door to open. Given the time of day, it sort of makes sense that she wouldn’t need to go anywhere and may not check the front door until early tomorrow. Maybe I should just wait until then to bring the gift over.
As soon as I think about leaving though, the door finally opens to the apartment and a figure steps out in front of the doorway. Her long fiery hair is seen as clearly as the sun and I can’t help but feel my blood begin to boil again, seeing her once more. Sunset Shimmer stands on the front doorstep as she takes in the area that surrounds her apartment. I didn’t enjoy placing that gift on her doorstep at all, but when I thought about giving a gift to someone I know, she was unfortunately the only person available, with Sonata and Aria gone. It hurts to give a gift to the woman who ruined my life, but at this point, I have to silence the seething hate in my soul. I need something to make me happy and as much as I doubt this will, a small part of me still hopes it will do just that so I can avoid taking my second option hidden away in my purse. After all, she is the only person who wanted to help. It wasn’t exactly a cake walk to find your apartment, so you better be glad I took your advice, Sunset.
Sunset’s bright eyes look down to her right and she finally notices the gift I placed on her doorstep. “Hmm? What are you doing here, little thing?” Sunset asks herself, picking up the gift. My face contorts slightly with disgust, hearing her talk to herself. Just open the package so I can be on my way… “Did Applejack send you? Or maybe Fluttershy?” Her hand reaches into her pocket and grabs her phone, looking at the time presumably before putting it back in. With a happy breath, she opens up the wrapping paper and puts it on the ground inside of her apartment. Looking at the box, she shakes it a little to try and guess what’s inside. I can’t help but pull on my hair as I wait for her to open the box. Just open it already.
I feel slightly anxious, seeing her hands come so close to opening the box. Will she like the gift…? Why am I even thinking about if she would like it? I should be the one happy from this… Even if I try to push the thought away, it still persists, remaining in my mind. I have worked so hard to make this gift perfect, to even buy this gift. I almost feel like if she’s not happy with it, I won’t be… I just want to be happy. I would do anything for that.
Sunset’s hands finally open the lid to the cardboard box, a smile appearing on her face as she sees what’s inside. Does she like it…? I feel my heart beat a little faster. Maybe this is it. Slowly, she reaches inside and picks out the cotton gloves, pulling them on and smiling at how they feel and look. She likes the gloves… She really likes them… My heart begins to race for some unknown reason as I can’t seem to peel my eyes from Sunset’s happy look. It’s been so long since I’ve felt… To be honest, I’m not sure what this is… Am I happy…? Looking closer, Sunset finally pulls the blanket out of the box and my anticipation feels like it’s at an all time high. Why is my body reacting like this?
Gently, Sunset rubs her face against the material of the blanket, seemingly forgetting she is outside. A giant smile emerges on her lips as she cuddles the blanket for a couple moments. My heart feels like it skipped a beat or two as I feel the corners of my mouth begin to tilt upward. Sunset seems to enjoy her gift. Legitimately. Why am I smiling? Why do I… feel happy? If anything, I expected this to be the final failure. Sunset finally places the blanket inside her apartment before locking the door and admiring her new gloves again. Why…? She’s my enemy and… I feel happy from seeing her happy? My eyes stay glued to Sunset Shimmer as she walks down the sidewalk, away from her apartment. My heart still hasn’t stopped racing and my mouth has long since gone dry from the nerves. I… I made the perfect gift. I made her happy. I… I feel happy… For some reason, I didn’t ask myself why I felt happy over this. Instead, I can’t help but wonder why my body won’t calm down. And why this stupid smile won’t leave my face.
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amazing chapter like always!
I love it very much
Santa's little present goblins. Haha that got me laughing, thank you
11141059
I'm glad you enjoy it~ I hope you read further!~ There's more funny things down the road
Oofity.
Huh, I thought she was moving somewhere with what she was doing with her furniture, but she's really selling it to earn some cash. Good for her.
Maybe she should of asked someone to help her so this didn't happen. But the answer is obvious so I won't say it as Adagio learned a lesson about being ripped off.
For a second I thought Adagio wanted to get herself a new jacket, but is really a gift for Sunset!
It's Apple Bloom!
Bloom, not bomb Adagio.
Just be thankful she helped you Adagio.
elfs Adagio.
Proud of you Adagio.
11425542
This was definitely one of the chapters I liked writing the most~ It was funny, entertaining and heartwarming, so I'm glad you liked it~ Speaking of which, your comment made me laugh quite a bit. May want to remember that jacket for future reference
Also, Apple Bomb (
) was definitely pretty sweet in this chapter XD
Très mignon !! 😊