Previous Chapters
Close
Restless2,011 words
Taste of Freedom3,089 words
Artists3,145 words
Perspective1,851 words
Work It3,380 words
Balance2,139 words

Balance

Complete silence was rare in the Brighthouse bedroom, with five mares all sleeping in their own beds. There was always some rustling, murmurs, or the soft steps of somepony going to the washroom, sometimes whispered conversations from one corner of the room to another. Misty had quickly learned to sleep through all of it. In fact, she found it easier to sleep knowing the others were there. Yet, what still stirred her awake every now and then was the collective rustling of sheets and clopping of hooves following the distant beeping of a phone alarm.

She sat up slowly, her blanket still resting on her withers and her ear swatting as she caught pieces of "Good Morning"s and sleepy conversation. She blinked her eyes open to see a few of the others already up and stretching, no sunlight filling the room, just dull daylight from the windows behind her.

"Oh, sorry, Misty." Zipp turned to her while stretching her wings, already wide awake by the looks of it. "You're on late today, right? You can go back to sleep."

"Mh, yeah..." She slumped back down onto the round, soft bedding, taking up the space where the seating area of the bedroom had been just two weeks before. She curled up, closed her eyes, and listened to the voices of her friends as they all headed down out of the room, until it was quiet again, besides Izzy's turning and murmuring in her sleep, and the pounding of rain on the windows.

The second alarm was much closer and Misty tugged her legs closer against her body, while trying to bury her ears in her pillows, waiting for somepony to turn it off. She finally relented and crawled to the edge of the bed to do it herself when the sound become more insistent. After it was silenced, she turned on her other side, only to be faced with bright sunlight streaming in and tickling her snout.

She pushed herself up and looked blinking into the room. All the other beds were empty, even Izzy's. She leaned over the edge to look at her phone and check the time. About an hour until work. She set her front hooves onto the floor first, stretching out her back, before following with the rest of her body, trotting over to the calendar on the wall.

Monday she had been at the museum, staffing the gift shop. Tuesday she had run deliveries for Sunny. Wednesday she had worked two jobs, inventory at Mane Melody and foalsitting Peach Fizz. Her parents had even paid her a little more than agreed upon, given how out of control the little unicorn's magic was getting. Today was Thursday and Misty was double-booked once again. But before she had to be in town, she still had a little bit of time to get ready.

She yawned as she made her way down to the washroom, to brush her teeth and put her mane in order. She was still somewhat getting used to the new, vibrant colour Pipp had finally talked her into, but she didn't dislike it. She headed down to the kitchen afterwards, finding a covered plate left for her with cold but fluffy waffles, besides a second that had already been picked clean of all but crumbs.

After having breakfast, she took the new satchel she had bought a few days ago and took one of the many spare umbrellas - apparently Izzy had gathered about a dozen a while ago, then didn't use them all in her project -, just in case it would rain again. With the summer nearing its end, rain was an almost daily occurrence now, but it was just another thing to slightly adjust her routine for. A small change, the kind she didn't mind much. She'd had enough of the major ones for the near future.

Securing the umbrella under the flap of the satchel, she headed out, closing the doors behind her, and trotting down along the road into town, skipping over the small puddles in her way. The frequent rainfall and drop in temperatures meant less ponies on the streets, more choosing to stay inside when they could help it. There was less of a crowd to disappear into, but also less eyes on her to be nervous about.

When she got to Mane Street, the line in front of the smoothie stand was short as well. Sunny was working steadily, chatting casually with her customers. Misty slowly walked up along the line, smiling and waving when she recognised one of the ponies. She waited by the stand until Sunny had a free moment between customers.

"Hey, Sunny. I'm ready to go if you have something for me."

"Cart's already loaded up." Sunny tapped her phone to send the delivery list to Misty's. "Be safe, alright?"

"You got it." Misty smiled and moved to the back of the stand, looking over the list once before attaching the cart to the straps of her bag.

The rain didn't surprise her on this shift, despite the clouds hanging thick and dark on the horizon. She figured out a good route on her phone and made her round, humming to herself between stops and keeping up her smile with every customer, thanking them for the tips she got and practising keeping eye contact with some of them.

When she returned, Sunny already had another set for her, so she only took a small break before planning her second route. And when she returned from that as well, she was just in time to see Sunny close the front of her stand, emerging from the door a moment later.

"Good work, Misty," she said with an easy smile, handing her one last smoothie. "You've been doing great lately."

Misty took the smoothie and dragged a long sip through the straw, glad for the refreshment after being on her hooves for the last few hours, while levitating the delivery wallet up to Sunny, who began sorting out the payment. "Thank you," she finally said after swallowing, "I feel like I'm getting better, too. Knowing the streets and which paths to take, I even did more small talk today." She slightly puffed out her chest, proud of the gradual progress.

Sunny smiled wider and brought the tips out with her while she closed up. "I hope it's okay to say this, but I'm really proud of you, Misty. You're working almost every day but I've never seen you happier."

"Yeah, well... it wouldn't be that way without all of you." She pocketed the tips and glanced at her phone again. "Oh, speaking of which, I still have something else to do. I gotta be going so I won't be late."

"Two in one day, again? Don't work too hard, okay?"

"Don't worry, this one won't be too tiring." She giggled to herself and stepped in to briefly hug Sunny with one foreleg, pressing against her neck without quite nuzzling her.

"Oh, will you still join us at the beach later?" Sunny asked as Misty started to walk off.

"I wouldn't miss it. See you later, Sunny!" She waved and fell into a canter, taking sips from the smoothie on her way. After emptying it, she dropped the cup into a bin and galloped part of the way to the park, weaving past ponies and only slowing down once she felt the grass under her hooves.

She trotted off the path and over the grass to one of the trees, already spotting who she was looking for waiting in the shade. "Hey, Izzy." She stopped and sat down beside her.

"Hey, Misty. You're right on time." Izzy leaned over, putting her foreleg over her withers. "We have optimal conditions and we can get started right away!"

"Okay." Misty nodded with a determined smile. "I'm ready when you are."

"Then let's go!" Izzy jumped to her hooves and skipped out of the shade, before dropping right back into the grass in the sunlight, flopping down onto her side. Misty followed suit, lying down next to her and dropping her flank into the grass. Both of them took a deep breath before releasing it as a long sigh. "Thank you for always coming to my nap appointments."

"Wouldn't miss it," Misty said quietly again, her eyes drifting closed. The sun had dried the grass and leaves of raindrops and both the ground and the light itself felt warm, despite the breeze occasionally ruffling through her coat. The voices of foals playing and distant laughter joined with the singing of small birds, weaving into a blanket of sound different from the voices of her friends and the drumming of raindrops on the windows, but no less comforting.

After a few minutes, Izzy shifted next to her, sinking against Misty instead and lightly nuzzling her neck. Misty adjusted her head a little to not have Izzy's horn poking her cheek and put one leg over her withers, before starting to drift off again, the warmth of her friend adding to the relaxing comforting atmosphere.

The sun was going down when they woke up. Izzy stretched and yawned openly while Misty just tensed her muscles a little bit, still aware of the other ponies nearby. They started to head down to the beach together, chatting about whatever came to mind on the way. Misty managed to make Izzy laugh enough to draw out a few of her cute snorts, another small victory to add to the day.

The beach wasn't very crowded, most ponies preferring to go during the day, especially with temperatures dropping faster once the sun was starting to set. Sunny and Hitch were setting up a small fire, while Pipp was lounging on a folding chair, and when the next shallow wave reached shore, it carried Zipp with it, stepping out of the water and shaking out her wings. She was the first to spot the two unicorns heading down the path and called out to them, bringing everypony's attention to them.

Misty sat down in the chair next to Pipp's and leaned over to watch as she started to show her ClipTrot videos, while Izzy ran straight for the waves, crashing herself into the water. Everypony played and relaxed in their own scattered way until Sunny called them together to start roasting treats over the fire and playing word games.

By the time Hitch started playing with Sparky in the sand and they once again scattered a bit, the sun was barely still peeking over the horizon. Misty looked out past the fire and over the waves, the last remaining light sparkling on the surface of the water.

"Hey, you mind if we chat a little?" Zipp slowly came up, stopping a few steps away.

"Not at all. I was kind of just spacing out."

"Good. So..." She took Pipp's chair next to Misty. "How are you doing? Really?"

Misty looked out at the water again. "I'm doing... well. I'm happy, I think."

"You sure?" Zipp scoffed quietly at herself. "Sorry, you do look happy. It's just, sometimes it's hard to tell if somepony is doing better, or just getting better at hiding things, you know?"

"I don't want to hide anything from you ever again," Misty said quietly, but firmly.

"That's nice to hear, but you're entitled to some privacy. Just so you know."

"Sure." She looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks, Zipp. I... feel better. I feel useful. And more confident, I think. I'll always be grateful for what everypony is doing for me, but I... don't feel indebted. As much. I think."

Zipp left her another moment to think before setting up to say something else, when Hitch came trotting up. "Hey, girls. I want to go for a dip, but Sparky is all tuckered out. Can you watch him for a minute?"

"Sure. Come here, little man." Zipp picked up Sparky as he started stumbling towards the chair and sat him down next to her. He leaned into her coat and she draped part of her wing over him while Hitch headed over to the water.

"I'm glad he's okay," Misty said quietly, watching the dragon fall asleep. "After everything that happened. I'm glad he's okay with me, too."

"When he grows up, he probably won't even remember," Zipp said confidently. "You'll just be one of his five aunts."

Misty giggled and sighed quietly. "I'm okay with that."

Zipp once again let silence linger for a moment before speaking up again. "Do you still hear her?"

Misty looked into the fire, trying to see past the flames, an anxious tension barely returning.

Get back here, Misty!

"A little. Sometimes." She huffed through her nose and looked up at Zipp again with a firm smile. "But she can't tell me what to do anymore."

Author's Note:

Thank you again, everybody, for reading.
This story ended up being two chapters longer than expected, and about two or three times in words than what I was going for.
I rarely have such an easy time putting my ideas down and the positive reactions to the first half was very encouraging.
I hope you enjoyed this last chapter as well.

717 views

Previous Chapters

Comments ( 8 )

Viewing 1 - 50 of 8
- Newest First
- Oldest First

OneAmongOthers

OneAmongOthers #1 · Jul 31st, 2023 · 3 · ·

Good to see Misty feeling comfortable around friends now. This story does make me a little excited to see what lies I store for chapter five and six of Make your Mark, and where they go with it. I am wondering what lies in store for Misty and the rest of the mane five.

These stories here are a really nice thing to have In between seasons to see how the fan base like us keeps telling new and interesting stories. In any case thanks for the read it was a good story.

Axolotl222

Axolotl222 #2 · Aug 1st, 2023 · 1 · ·

"You sure?" Zipp scoffed quietly at herself. "Sorry, you do look happy. It's just, sometimes it's hard to tell if somepony is doing better, or just getting better at hiding things, you know?"

I don't think I even need to comment on that line.

Axolotl222

Axolotl222 #3 · Aug 1st, 2023 · 2 · ·

Fanfiction and abuse have a very complicated relationship. On one hand, the freedom fanfiction provides can allow us to talk in depth about a subject that most media tends to shy away from. Unfortunately, many people seem to confuse the term "real" with "gratuitous suffering" and end up being too shallow and over the top to be taken seriously.
This, however, is not one of those stories. Instead, it's a rare example of someone taking such a tragic topic and actually making it into something uplifting, and showing that even in times when living feels like a struggle there's always hope.
And we can always use more stories like that.

redmar

redmar #4 · Aug 1st, 2023 · 1 · ·

It's good that Misty is doing well and doesn't feel indebted to her friends.

ScisetShimmerEvan

ScisetShimmerEvan #5 · Aug 1st, 2023 · 1 · ·

After having breakfast, she took the new satchel she had bought a few days ago and took one of the many spare umbrellas - apparently Izzy had gathered about a dozen a while ago, then didn't use them all in her project -, just in case it would rain again. With the summer nearing its end, rain was an almost a daily occurrence now, but it was just another thing to slightly adjust her routine for. A small change, the kind she didn't mind much. She'd had enough of the major ones for the near future.

project, just*

"You got it." Misty smiled and moved to the back to the stand, looking over the list once before attaching the cart to the straps of her bag.

to the back of the stand,*

"Then let's go!" Izzy jumped to her hooves and skipped out of the shade, before dropping right back into the grass in the sunlight, flopping down onto her side. Misty followed suit, lying down next to her and dropping her flank into the grass. Both of them took a deep breath before releasing it as a long sigh. "Thank you for always coming to my nap appointments."

Wait, that's what it was!!!

"A little. Sometimes." She huffed through her nose and looked up at Zipp again with a firm smile. "But she can't tell me what to do anymore."

Proud of you Misty.

While this ending wasn't 100% how I thought it turn out to be, in the end, I really enjoyed it. It's probably something thst might just happen when the next batch of MYM episodes drop on Netflix in jusr a few weeks.