That's Life

by Bandy

Up and coming

It had been four years since the blue unicorn had walked these streets. So much had happened in the years since he took his late-night strolls around Ponyville.

He passed a bar and heard the light, melodious tones of a saxophone flow through the open doors. He stopped. Yes, he remembered this bar; he had been thrown out of here several times before.

As he walked in, the pony playing the saxophone stopped playing, opting instead to stare at the newcomer to the bar.

The owner, seeing who had just entered his establishment, trotted over excitedly.

"No way! You're-"

"Please, call me suits." he said, laying a hand on the owner's shoulder. "So, throw any more musicians out today?"

The owner's face flushed with color. "He he... Um, sorry about that."

He chuckled at the owner's less than stellar reaction. "Eh, it's in the past. Nothing we can do now but laugh about it."

The both chuckled, one out of genuine laughter, one out of nervousness.

As they were chatting, the pony who had been playing the saxophone shuffled over to the conversation. "Um, Mr. Suits- sir? Would it, Uh, be okay if you maybe... Well... Could I have an autograph?"

He smiled. "It would be my pleasure." Paper and parchment materialized from some unknown hide away. He scribbled his initials, and then levitated it back to the budding musician, his smile threatening to burst right off of his face.

"Wow! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" he let out an almost filly-like squeal before returning to the stage.

"You know," said the owner, "we got another hour or so before we close up. I'd be honored if you could get up there and play a little.

"I'd love to. But I can't. I promised myself I'd meet up with an old friend. But I’d love to stop by sometime later. I’m here for a few days on vacation."

The owner’s face lit up with a smile. "Okay, sounds like a plan. But hey, thanks for stopping in."

"My pleasure." he replied, shaking his hoof.

After appropriate goodbyes, he left, smiling to himself that he wasn't being thrown out this time. He continued along his old route, determined to get to his destination before sunrise. The land had visibly changed in the four years he had missed; the landscape, instead of a sepia tone mush, had become visibly brighter. He had the moon to thank for that, the bulbous yellow orb in the sky waxing at its apex and giving off copious amounts of light. New buildings dotted the streets, throwing off his sense of direction slightly. "Didn't know there was a store there," he mumbled to himself as he rounded a corner. The street was still terribly lit, but the moon's light made any amount of artificial light unnecessary.

Just then, a flash originating from an alley to his right blinded him. A second flash shut out his vision entirely. What the hay was going on?

"Hey Suits! Give us a smile!"

"Suits, is it true you had an affair with the princess?"

"Suits, when are the new songs gonna drop?"

He cursed silently as he realized what was going on: he had been ambushed by paparazzi.

Before he could react properly, he had been swarmed by a crowd on ponies, all waving recorders or cameras in his face. Bright flashes continued to distort his vision. He desperately turned, attempting to find some place of refuge from the onslaught of reporters. He spotted a hole in the crowd and dove through it, nearly losing his balance and knocking a reporter's camera to the ground.

"Hey, man! Watch it!"

"Get a real job, MAN." he shot over his shoulder as he retreated through an alley and onto another one of Ponyville's interconnecting streets. He knew they would try to follow him, so he decided to leave post haste.

By some large sum of stupid luck, he wandered onto the street he was looking for. The bright neon sign that hung outside proudly, if not somewhat bashfully, proclaimed the name of the shop in question.

"Finally," he mumbled, straightening his jacket before bursting through the door.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How may help-" The mare operating the front desk, a brown unicorn with a swirly green mane, went into a mild state of shock at her customer.

"Um... Hi. Is Pinkie Pie here?"

"Y-y-yes. She's baking a fresh batch of cupcakes in the back."

"Do you mind if I go back there? She's an old friend of mine."

"Well, Uh, we're really not allowed to let anypony in the kitchen, but I guess you can."

"Thanks, mate." he mused before trotting into the kitchen, excitement nearly bubbling right out of his pores.

The kitchen was smaller than he expected, even smaller by the presence of a pink mare that was pulling a fresh batch of cupcakes out of one of the ovens. She turned around to set them on the faux-marble counter top, but as she did, she noticed the guest that had appeared.

"No way... Suits?"

"The one and only."

He was immediately hit by a blur of pink, winding up on the ground with pinkie on top of him, crushing one of his hind legs.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so happy to see you! I got the songs you sent, and they were awesome! It's so absolute-a-rifically awesome you’re here! Well, not because you’re famous or anything, but because I haven't seen you in forever! Oh, what have you been doing (besides being famous and all)? I'll bet you-"

"Pinkie, pinkie! My leg," he stammered as a fresh wave of pain shot through his leg.

"Oopsie daisy. my bad."

"Yeah, not a problem," he mumbled, stretching his injured leg before standing upright. "So, how are ya, Pinkie? It's been four years since I was last here."

"Oh, I'll tell you everything! Let's go to the front room, though."

"Lead the way, madam," he said as he bowed and gestures to the door way. He couldn't help but smile as the mare giggled at his chivalrous behavior.

"So what's new in Ponyville?" he asked as they took a seat at one of the tables scattered around the interior of the shop.

"You wouldn't believe the crazy stuff that's happened here. Since you left, this one pony named Twilight Sparkle moved to town. She's a student of the princess," she added, waggling her eyebrows for effect. "She's super nice and all, but she has a way of getting trouble to find us. A lot."

He laughed. "Nah, that sounds like fun if you ask me."

"Oh it's super duper fun! Except for the one time we almost got eaten by that ursa minor."

"What?! An ursa minor?"

"Yeah, fun times. So what have you done all this time? Aside from being famous, and all."

He stared wistfully at the wall, remembering just how excruciatingly difficult it was to achieve such a high status. "Well, a guy who happened to own a recording studio happened to be at a performance of mine. He let me record a couple of tracks, and I just clawed by way to the top from there." He didn't want to go into detail about just what he had been forced to do to get to the top, the memories were still too fresh for his taste.

"Wow, that is so cool!" Pinkie replied. "Oh! I almost forgot! I made this for you!" she held out an ornately wrapped confection. He wanted to ask just how she had managed to do this in the five minutes he had been in the shop, but decided against it as he unwrapped the gift.

It was a cupcake. Double chocolate, no icing.

"Nice. You really know how to make a presentation," he said as he stuffed the confection into his mouth. Four years without Pinkie's signature cupcakes was torture, but every minute of waiting was worth it as he finished off the confectionary masterpiece. "That... Was amazing."

"I knew you'd love it! So, wanna chat some more?"

His face fell slightly. "I'm sorry; I gotta go take care of some personal business. But I'm here for a few days, and I'm gonna spend as much time as possible right here," he said, tapping his seat for emphasis.

If Pinkie's smile got any bigger she would have exploded. "Yay! We should throw a big ol' party to celebrate!"

"Sure, why not?"

Pinkie let out a squeak of delight and sprung out of her seat, skipping over the room, somehow ending up on the ceiling. Gravity had nothing on that mare.

"Well, I better head out. Don't want to bug ya anymore than I already have."

"Aww," Pinkie sighed. "Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You know it. Until then, Ms. Pie." he bowed satirically, making the pony giggle yet again.

He could hear her squeals of laughter die out as he exited the store and headed out towards the edge of town.

-----

The bridge was still there, and although it had been partially reclaimed by nature, the structure itself was still sound. He stood over his old resting spot, his home for the years he had toiled on the edge of the spotlight. Now he had achieved success, and as he stared at the place that had been his refuge from the elements for so long, the place he had gone to when all others had shut their doors, the one spot in all of Ponyville that didn't shut him put, he felt...

Nothing

He felt nothing. He felt no pain as he remembered all the times he nearly froze to death in this very spot. He felt no sadness as he remembered all the times he simply broke down and cried at his situation. He felt no grief for all the miserable failures he had suffered before retreating here. He felt no sentimentality towards the plot of earth under the bridge. It was just another patch of earth, same as the millions of others in the world.

Perhaps it was best this way. Don't look back, no regrets. He wanted to feel something, anything that showed him that he was still connected to the world, but for the life of him, he simply stared blankly at his former home, emotionless as a rock.

He squatted down, and came about to rest in the way he had so many times before. A soft layer of fresh moss cushioned him as he realized just how beautiful the view was. The sun was beginning to peek over the easternmost clouds, turning them an invariable hue of oranges and reds and magentas. The rays from the sun deflected off the clouds at odd angles, wrapping whatever it touched in a bright halo of light. As he stared, he felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy.

No. Don't fall asleep.

The voice jolted him from his slumber. It took him a second to realize that he had simply talked to himself. Again.

Getting up, he reflected on what fame had done to him: he had a rather large home in Canterlot, thousands of mares literally throwing themselves at him, and a sterling music reputation that spanned the entirety of Equestria. He was set for life.

It still bothered him, however, that he didn't feel anything over this most unorthodox housewarming. He had built this grand facade of what this moment would be like. Sad music, a touching goodbye, acceptance of the overwhelming pain. All for naut. Standing here now, apathy the only emotion he could conjure made him feel almost empty, emotionless. Maybe it's for the best. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise, simply the act of repressing any emotion he had working to his favor in the future. Maybe not, perhaps missing a golden opportunity by not showing some grand display of emotion.
That's when it hit him.

It didn't HAVE to be some grand display, some great fanfare of emotions. The simple act of returning here had been all the effort he needed to put in. Simply standing there, staring blankly at his former home had brought this rush of thought, this myriad of intellectual struggle. He didn't even have to shed a tear. The simplicity of the resolution made him want to kick himself for not seeing it sooner. He smiled lightly as the first rays of Celestia's sun hit him, warming his coat slightly as he soaked up the rays, the light bringing his mood up to an even greater high.

The skip returned to his step as trotted away towards his hotel room. He had a party to prepare for, after all. As he walked towards town, the sun caught in a window, temporarily blinding him. He staggered slightly, his good mood offset by the misfortune he had just suffered.

He smiled, and chuckled to himself. One minute, he's on top of the world. The next, he's blind. Pitiable as it was, it was almost hilarious all the same.

Oh well. That's life.

Well, there ya go. "Only two chapters? Why not just put em up at the same time?" valid question. You see, I had originally intended for this to be just one chapter. I forgot to mark the story complete after one chapter, and, since several of you tracked it, decided to give it an ending. I couldn't leave Mr. Mobius hanging, anyhow. That would be just plain rude!

Comments

[Bandy]

The end of this story marks the first time since I joined this site that I have no idea what I'm going to write about next. Sadness.