The Sun In Her Eyes
The school bell rang, and Sunny couldn’t stop beaming as she gathered up her belongings and left the classroom into the hallway. First off: it was Friday so the weekend was calling to her, and two: she couldn’t wait to get started on the latest assignment given to the class. Her teacher’s instructions echoed in her mind.
“Which pony do you admire the most and why...”
Why… thought Sunny as she walked down the hall with Hitch and Sprout. She wasn’t paying any attention to what her friends were chatting about, and it was difficult to even hear them over the cadence of the crowd of little ponies heading toward the building exit anyway.
“Yo, Sunny!” cried Sprout, nudging her shoulder with his hoof.
The filly startled slightly and looked over.
“We were asking you which pony you’re going to write your report on,” said Hitch with a friendly smile.
Sprout grinned. “I bet it’ll be that Twilight Sparkle or one of the others from those ancient pony tales."
"Actually—" she started to say.
"I’m going to do my report on my mommy!" interjected Sprout. "She’s only the founder and president of the best company in the world!”
“I haven’t decided yet,” said Hitch as the trio finally exited the building. “There’s several I’m thinking about.”
Sunny remained quiet and glanced up at the clear blue sky. The warmth of the spring sun mingled with the gentle breeze blowing through the air as well as the soothing rustling of leaves in the nearby trees. Still smiling brightly, Sunny closed her eyes and let the perfect day fill her being. “I do admire the ancient Guardians of Harmony. There’s so much about them to love. But, no. I’m going to do my report on the pony I have to thank for teaching me about them.”
And that’s when she heard his voice calling to her.
“Sunny!”
The filly’s eyes shot open, and she spotted her father just across the street waiting for her along with a number of other older ponies she recognized as either parents or other relatives of some of her classmates. Beaming, Sunny bid Hitch and Sprout goodbye and galloped over. “DADDY!” she cried as she threw her little forelegs around one of his and squeezed hard.
Argyle chuckled and wrapped his other foreleg around his daughter gently. “Hello, my little pony. Did you have a good day at school?”
Sunny broke the hug, smiled up at her father and nodded. “Yup!”
“Got any homework to do over the weekend?” The stallion’s tone turned teasing and playful. “Because that’s everypony’s absolute favorite thing in the world.”
Sunny giggled and was about to answer but stopped herself. Normally she loved it when her daddy helped her with her schoolwork. But, in this particular case… “Nope!” she said firmly.
Argyle smiled again and crouched down so he was eye level with Sunny. “Perfect. Then I won’t have to feel guilty.”
Sunny gazed at him quizzically. “Guilty? Why would you have to feel guilty?”
“Hop on and you’ll see.”
Without another word, Sunny climbed onto her father’s back, sat down between his shoulders and wrapped her forelegs around his neck.
Argyle stood back up and looked back at the little filly. “Ready to fly? Got to hurry if we want to get good seats.” He grinned and winked.
“Good seats?” Suddenly it dawned on Sunny, but before she could say anything more, Argyle trotted to a clear spot on the road then broke into a gallop. She held on tighter to her father’s neck. “Yeehaw!” she cried happily, mimicking Applejack from the old stories.
The daddy-daughter duo made their way through Maretime Bay, weaving through the crowds and laughing together. Before long, they were standing across the street from the Bay of Stars theatre, where an old-timey but classic play was enjoying a resounding opening week.
“That’s right!” said Argyle. “I got us tickets to see ‘My Fair Mare’! That was one of your mother’s favorites back in the day, and since they brought it back I thought you might like it too.”
Sunny had seen the adverts on television for the play. Her eyes widened and she gasped. “I was going to ask if we could see this!” She let out a delighted squeal and hugged her father’s neck again.
“Let’s run to the bathroom so we won’t have to get up in the middle of the show,” said Argyle. “It starts in twenty minutes, and we’re getting some popcorn of course. It’s not a trip to the movies or theatre without popcorn!”
Sunny giggled and nodded, staying seated on her father’s back as they got in one of the lines waiting to get inside.
Though both sets of doors were open, the lines to enter the building were long enough that it took several minutes just to pass beyond the threshold. Once the duo got past that first obstacle, they immediately stopped by the restrooms, then grabbed some popcorn from the concessions area, and were in their seats with only minutes to spare before the play started.
Still smiling brightly, Sunny leaned against her daddy. The light’s dimmed, and she munched on a few kernels of her popcorn as the spotlights turned on and the curtains rose.
Later that night, after dinner at her favorite fast food place following the play, Sunny sat alone in her room at the little table where she always played Ancient Guardians. This night, however, instead of the figurines of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, a pencil and a single piece of blank paper lay before the young filly. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, she picked up the pencil and began to write. It took her less than a half hour to finish. She stuck the paper into her notebook, put the notebook in her saddlebag then crawled into bed, falling asleep quickly.
The following Monday evening, little Sunny was seated at the kitchen table while her father was making dinner. Watching him cook, she fidgeted in her chair and periodically glanced up at the ceiling. Minutes later, a bowl of hot, fresh potato and cheddar soup was in front of her, the smell of which made her drool slightly and lick her muzzle. She took a quick sip of her orange juice then looked back at her daddy.
“Dinner is served!” said Argyle, smiling as he sat down at his usual place.
Sunny took a couple of spoonfuls of the soup—just enough to whet her appetite—before simply staring at the table. She took a deep, deep breath. “Daddy…?” she muttered, barely loud enough for him to hear.
Argyle glanced at her. “Yes, Sunny?” He suddenly frowned. “Hey, how come you’re not eating? Are you feeling okay? Do you have a tummy ache?”
Sunny looked up straight at her father. “I’m okay. It’s just…” She paused for a moment and took another deep breath. “You know how I said I didn’t have any homework last Friday? Actually I did.”
“Oh?” Argyle’s frown grew. “Sunny… what have I told you about telling fibs?”
“I know, daddy… I just wanted it to be a surprise!”
Argyle furrowed his brow. “Surprise?”
“Wait here!” Sunny hopped down from her chair and hurried out of the room, the tapping of her little hooves following after her. She returned a few minutes later, beaming and carrying a piece of paper which she held out to her daddy.
Argyle gazed curiously at the paper, upon which a single small paragraph was written. He took the paper from Sunny and began to read.
The pony I admire most is my daddy!
His eyes widened and he looked down at his daughter who continued to gaze up at him with a bright and happy smile on her face. He smiled back, his eyes started to water and he continued on.
He’s so good to me! He reads to me and always picks me up after school. The food he makes is so yummy! He plays games with me and takes me to the park. He takes me to the movies and to the theatre. We saw My Fair Mare on Friday after school! He teaches me about how ponies all used to be friends with each other. He’s always there for me and that’s why I love and admire my daddy more than anypony!
By the time he was done reading, a steady stream of tears was running down Argyle’s face.
“Mr. Greenfield wanted half a page but I thought this was good enough!” Sunny suddenly threw her forelegs around one of her daddy’s and squeezed hard. She didn’t even mind the brief chill she felt on her head whenever one of his tears landed on her mane. “Sorry again I told a fib.”
Argyle wiped his eyes with his free foreleg then wrapped it around Sunny. He let out a tiny chuckle. “I think I can let it slide this time. And your teacher didn’t give you a hard time about the old stories did he?”
“It’s okay,” replied Sunny. “Someday they’ll believe and we’ll all be friends with unicorns and pegasus ponies again.”
Argyle chuckled once more and held his daughter close. “Love you, my little pony.”
Maintaining her warm smile, Sunny closed her eyes and sighed contently. “Love you, too, daddy.”