Peachy

by trinidream

Breakfast and Magic

I was still on the floor the next morning, and it didn’t bring any surprises. The room was still dark. Besides the fact, due to how I was positioned on the floor, I noticed the small desk lamp next to the bed and switched it on with a hoof. Unfortunately, the morning didn’t bring what I was hoping for: a break. As I turned back towards the bed, there was Confetti now smugly staring at me. “What’s wrong with you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Then, a migraine surfaced as a plethora of memories crashed down on me.

The warm feeling of nostalgia, “I’m gonna name him Confetti!” Peachy’s young voice as a colt rang through my mind like it was my memory. I instinctively rubbed at my forehead, trying to rub the pain away. It worked…very little.

I blinked a couple times and when I actually settled my eyes back on the bed, Confetti wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “Confetti?” I asked a bit too loud and then heard raps against the door. I looked over, and he was standing there, looking rather impatient. He bounced up against it, as if trying to open it himself.

I rolled my eyes, and walked over, pulling the door open and bumped noses with the mare behind it. “Oh! Uh…Water…” I greeted. “Good morning.”

“You’re still not Peachy…” I don’t know how many times my heart will drop at that sentence. Or the way she says it. “Any news?”

“I’m starting to wonder…” I trailed off, keeping my thoughts to myself. What caused the spark to remember memories that weren’t mine? “Nevermind.” I waved a hoof, but she still looked at me skeptically. “News?” I tried to jog anything that came from the dream last night as I followed her down the hallway. Even though that was a lucid dream session last night, it was hard to remember. “Um, well...Peachy and I talked again. I found this book...and it made me lucid dream…” I explained, “I...can’t say I remember much though.”

“Is he still doing okay?”

“Surprisingly...he doesn’t seem bothered.” I stopped midstep. “Why doesn’t he seem bothered?” The question plagued me. Who wouldn’t go insane in their own head? For that matter, why is Peachy always so calm when we meet again? “I just don’t know…” My thoughts were still running, but with questions I didn’t want to ask out loud. What if Peachy wasn’t the reason I was put here? What if the spell was just an additional coincidence?

“Huh?” Water seemed really confused. Like she couldn’t keep up. “Well…” She drew out the word as if she was uncomfortable with the subject. “Look, I won’t be lying when I say this whole thing is strange but-“ Her sentence dropped when three raps came at the door and her ears flattened, obviously annoyed. “That’ll be Cider…” She lowly mumbled.

“No, what were you going to say?” I asked, shaking my head. “What are your thoughts?”

“Don’t worry about it.” She waved a hoof. “We’ll discuss more during dinner. I have to get to work anyways…” She muttered.

I sighed, letting the air trail slowly out of my nostrils. “Fine.” I passed by her, walking over to the door and opened it, revealing Cider smiling too wide to be sane. “Sis?” I asked her upon instinct.

“Ready for breakfast?” Her voice cracked and she seemed on edge. Either she didn’t get enough sleep, or she and Pillow Talk discussed some forbidden topics last night. Unless I’m reading her wrong.

“Ready when you-“

“I’m ready! Where should we eat?” She cut in. Sweat was beading on her face, and her eyes darted from me to around her. Then, she started prancing in place. Her hooves so featherlight that she started floating when her wings randomly flapped.

Her nerves were putting me on edge. “Is something wrong?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.

“What? No!”

While she lied through her teeth ranting, I was tapping my chin trying to think of where we could go. The bakery was probably open. I wasn’t in the mood for donuts, but I’m pretty sure they have other options. Though, I didn’t notice that she was still talking.

“I might have a crush! I also think Pillow Talk came onto me last night.” She said, eyes wide. “I can’t fathom having a marefriend!” She paused, looking at the ground. “Do I even…I mean, a mare who is a friend, sure, but I…I never suspected or even considered…I don’t even know my orientation.” She was sweating so much now. “I can’t-“

This was what she was freaking out about? Unless she's using it to panic instead of my problem? “Did anything else happen or was mentioned?” I asked.

“Mm-mm…” She shook her head. “I tried to ask her about the spell you cast, but she wouldn’t tell me any of the details.” I felt a wave of relief come over me. “I just…want to h-have…does the bakery have peach fritters? I’m craving them after last night.” I guess we were on the same wavelength about where to eat.

“I bet they have apple fritters.” I replied. “Are they comfort food for you?”

“Are they comfort food-“ She mocked. Do I really sound like that? “Don’t be coy, you know I love my fritters!” She jabbed a hoof into my chest and I backed away from her fury.

“Sorry.” I quickly replied. “Let’s go…” I said, beginning to walk.

“Hey,” She paused, “When are you going to come home?” I blinked, the question seemingly coming out of nowhere. “I mean, when it comes down to it…you belong on the…” I closed my eyes tightly as a reflex, as I walked on. “Farm.” She choked out.

I felt frozen. I couldn’t take another step and she faced me as some unknown anxiety surfaced. I swallowed, my throat gone cold. I couldn’t get a word out. What’s happening? Peachy?

“Y’know you’re a part of the Peach family line?” She continued. “Dad…wants you back on the farm.” All of a sudden, a flashback of arguing with him surfaced. There was a lot of yelling, and the argument never really had a conclusion because Peachy fired off an impulsive teleport spell. It left him burnt because he didn’t cast it correctly.

“Can…can we not do this?” I managed to say. “Let’s go to the bakery.” I smiled, I could feel my spirit dropping. The happiness I felt earlier, leaving. Then, I slowly began to see hair fall into my face feeling a different weight to my hair. I picked up a hoof, inspecting my coat that had turned a shade duller.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean…” Cider whispered, her eyes widening.

Ponies around us started to notice. I caught Marcysia out of the corner of my eye, and she put a hoof to her mouth. “What’s…wrong?” I asked, my voice soft.

“Your mane…” She gestured to her own, and I reached up a hoof but the floof of it wasn’t there. My hoof ran into my horn, but it didn’t hit mane. I moved it down, to feel some hair resting flat against my head. “It’s…was that because of what I said?”

I didn’t say anything because I felt unsure. This feeling, why did it come on? Suddenly a brown blur bounced into my peripheral and something sugary was shoved past my lips along with a hoof. I gagged, and blinked, surprisingly finding Sweet Tooth next to me, her hoof covered in chocolate icing.

“Chew!” I flinched, chewing the cake in my mouth. All it did was leave me slightly nauseated, but the sugar helped a smidge. “I don’t know what you said to him, but we don’t need Peachy depressed!” She huffed, directing her attention at Cider Drip. “He is planning Marcysia’s grand opening party!” Right, the grand opening… “It’s really important for her.”

“Heh…Sweet Tooth, it’s fine.” I said, swallowing the remaining cupcake. “I’ll get over this.”

“It is not fine! She clearly said something out of bounds that bothered you.” She whined. “Don’t keep it in.”

I didn’t want to vent. I knew what to vent about, but it just seemed wrong. All the while, Cider was looking at the ground. Why couldn’t we just go to breakfast? She must feel horrible. “Cider…” I stepped towards her, and she looked up. “Do you still want breakfast?”

“Sure…”

---

The walk to the bakery was quiet. I could still feel the straight, not poofy mane on my head. It draped over the other eye, restricting my vision a tad. Whenever I flick my head it would fall back into place frustrating me. After I ate the cupcake, the original color of my coat returned. I still feel weird nonetheless. The same weight in my chest was still there, like I suddenly got homesick. I looked over at Cider and she smiled at me for a second, before her face returned to that sorrowful expression. It was going so great. Why did she have to ruin it with that one question? The one question that puts me on edge. Wait, correction that puts Peachy on edge.

“I’m sorry…” She said again, once we entered through the bakery doors. “I just wanted to know. The farm isn’t home without you and ever since Mom died-”

I tuned her out, not wanting to hear her. Putting on my biggest smile I turned my attention to Creamy Mix behind the counter. “Hey Creamy!”

“Woah, Peachy…your mane is-”

“I need some coffee and…” I trailed off looking at the options before me. “And…” I couldn't think of what to eat. “Get me a big slice of that double dutch chocolate cherry cake.” I said pointing to it.

“We can only cut small pieces of that.” He grimaced. “It’s too much chocolate. Plus, it’s still morning.” He was growing increasingly nervous from my glare. “Aand Rushy told me not to give you any-”

“Look, I am having a bad day.” I said, ripping him towards me with my levitation. “I want a big piece of cake and some coffee stat. I’ll pay extra just get me the food.” Once I realized what I was doing, I let go of him and gently put him back on the floor. “Uh, sorry…” I whispered.

“Right right.” He shook his head, obviously coming out of shock. “What about for you?”

I turned towards Cider looking at her for a second. “I’ll just have a small piece of that coffee cake and some peach tea.” She said softly. I guess she was still feeling guilty.

“Okay, paying together or separate?”

“Separate. Together.” Our voices sounded in unison. I closed my eyes, keeping my head down. I wanted to pay for my food separately. I shook my head, and then shot her a glance.

“Separate…I guess.” She sputtered.

“Peachy…your total is 35, and Cider 14.” He was smiling but I could feel some awkward tension in the air.

We put our bits on the counter and once we got the food, sat down at one of the in-house tables. I immediately started on my cake which was the right amount of fudgy icing and made me melt at the flavor immediately. “Mmm…”

“How does that work?” I looked up to see Cider Drip staring almost in amazement at me. I was grinning ear to ear, just filling my mouth with the piece of cake. I licked my lips, darting my eyes around the room for the source.

“How dauf wud work?” I asked with a mouth full of cake. Then, I noticed the piece of mane that wasn’t in my eyes had sprung back up. The cake and coffee were soaring my spirits, I’ll admit.

“Your mane…is fluffy again.” She said, patting my head twice. The action alone annoyed me but I didn’t say anything. “Still, I haven’t seen your mane that straight since…since…” It was like she was having trouble recalling it. “Since you went through your band phase as a colt. Wearing eyeliner…and refusing to do your chores claiming you were gonna musically tour the world so chores were pointless.” She chuckled.

“Pfft.” I laughed too, taking another swig of my coffee as I had it in my magic. “Okay okay, no. I was going to audition as a backup dancer for Duchess Luminescence.” I pointed a hoof then blinked. Where did that come from? “Though, I missed the try outs.” I could only stare as the memory crossed my mind, putting me in a strange mindset. I needed to lucid dream and talk to Peachy, if he’s still there. I was in complete control here, yet I’m saying things I didn’t even know I knew.

“Peachy? Remember?” I hadn’t noticed she had been talking. “Were you listening?”

“Haha, hah. No.” I admitted. “I was thinking about…something else.”

She looked down at her empty plate and then picked up her tea. “Do you think you’ll ever-” She stopped her question when my mouth turned into a frown.

“Cider, please. We can have this discussion another time.” I replied, careful not to let my temper get the best of me. I finally finished off the cake feeling the sugar rush and caffeine jitters already. “All I am focused on right now is Marcysia’s cafe.” I smiled. Maybe a chocolate cake and coffee wasn’t the best choice. I still needed to find a place that sells balloons and figure out Peachy’s signature spell.

“Right. Hey when is the cafe opening?”

“Tomorrow.” I smiled. “Oh shoot.” I stood up, feeling panicked. “Tomorrow and I still gotta…” I didn't know what to do with the energy I was experiencing. It was like a growing energy inside me from burning through the sugar. I needed to expel it.

“Peachy? Are you…”

I could feel sparks and then my eyes went funny. I laughed, feeling sugary drunken happiness and bounced a couple times. Suddenly, I felt a huge electrical burst run through me and then I saw sparkles and confetti fell out from nowhere. I swayed, stumbling to the table until round two hit me.

“Never. Again…” I heard Creamy Mix from the counter, and just barely saw him ducking behind it.

Another sudden spark of energy and I felt like the world blacked out. I opened my eyes seeing stars and even more confetti was around me. I felt like I got hit by a train and I flopped to the ground feeling general burn out. The grass tickled my nose. Wait, grass? I stood up immediately noticing the scorched earth and the soft glowing light of the lamps on either side of what was going to be the cafe building. “I…teleported?” I was at a loss for words and so was the earth pony coming out of the cafe. Yes, I was internally thinking about the cafe but to teleport here?

“Peachy! What the hay was that? I just…you appeared in a flash of light!” She exclaimed. “I…never saw anything like that.”

“Hah…I atetoo muhsugar.” I sheepishly admitted, slurring my words together in an attempt to speak. “Tired…” Sugar crash maybe? I sat up, shakily but fell the next second. That spell must have really done me in. “Peachy…hand party hats…” I sang a bit before my eyes refused to stay open.