What?
It was a cool, autumn day. Since it was only one week into autumn, only a few trees had their leaves changing colour, and falling already. Sunny woke up with a yawn, it was cold, she shivered slightly, knowing it was going to be a cold day. A light blue hoodie with pink stars was in a box near her bed, so she pulled it out and put it on. She got her iconic bag, did her hair and went down to the kitchen, her friends seemed to have been awake already. There was a box of yummy chocolate coated cereal in the kitchen, so she got that.
She poured the milk and cereal into a bowl, grabbed a spoon before sitting down to eat. Sunny liked the sweetness of the chocolate, she put a spoonful in her mouth and noticed an odd texture to it. It didn’t taste bad, just weird and bit grainy, she shrugged it off and had another mouthful. It was the same, an odd grainy texture along the smooth bits of chocolate covered cereal.
Sunny was confused, she grabbed the box of cereal to check the ‘use by’ date, yep, it wasn’t till a very, very long time, so she checked the milk. Milk still had a long way to go, so she went back to her bowel and had a slow but still another mouthful, where she felt something tiny crawling along her face.
After crunching and swallowing her mouthful, she slapped the spot where the crawling was felt. “Ow!” Sunny exclaimed as she had hit her nose harder than expected. She moved her hoof down to her view and looked close. An ant! There was an ant on her hoof! Struggling as it was crushed by Sunny’s massive hoof.
Confused, Sunny moved her hoof away from her view of the bowel, expression changed from confusion to horror. There were ants swimming along the chunks of cereal! She was eating ants! She looked down in terror, she felt disgusted. Investigating further, the whole box had ants through it, leaving and entering through a hole in the bottom. Even worse, there was a train of ants right near where she picked the box up. She stared at the trail in horror as she followed it to an open window the ants were rushing through. Clearly, somepony left the window open at night and some ants discovered the food inside the house.
Well, at least it wasn’t a raccoon. “Atleast it was just an ant trail coming from outside, just need to remind everyoony to close that window at night!” After Sunny had a relieved sigh, a raccoon threw a bag of chips at her head. “Seriously?” She then noticed a bat hanging from the ceiling!
Sunny grabbed a broom, she shouted at it as she looked at the ceiling. She felt this was too simple to use her Alicorn powers for so she grabbed a step ladder and stood on her hind legs. The broom was waved near where the bat was hanging before Sunny smacked it. The bat started to fly around the room before dashing towards Sunny, surprising her and making her fall off the step ladder and onto her butt.
She grumbled as she grabbed the broom and chased it out the window before closing it. On her way back to the table she noticed a duo of seagull on the floor fighting over a loaf of bread. She mumbled angrily, “Where did you two come from?” Then she opened the window again and chased them out, “Shoo! Shoo!” She screamed.
she stood facing away from the table she walked back, listening and looking any animals to chase out. Right behind her was a skunk on the table that she was about to back into. As Sunny stepped back, bumping the table slightly with her backside she looked back in horror. The skunk lifted its tail at Sunny, “Oh... Oh please no-“ Sunny whimpered before being sprayed in the face.
After having a less ant-filled breakfast, and getting rid of the skunk spray smell she stepped outside, it was a cloudy, windy day. Nearby, Zipp and a few other ponies were playing soccer with Pipp filming it. Sunny walked along the path for a bit before something big and hard hit the side of her face. She found herself of the floor and a ball rolling down the hill.
“Sunny!” Zipp’s voice shouted as she ran over.
Sunny rubbed the spot she was hit in as Zipp apologised and went back with the others. She sighed and walked along before stopping not long later to hear Izzy calling out.
”Sunny!”
”Huh?” Sunny said as she turned her head in the direction Izzy was in. “What is it, Izzy?” Asked Sunny as she walked across the damp grass.
”Check this out!” Izzy said with a giggle, then her tail started to twitch, “Oh look! It’s happening again!”
”Twitchy tail? Reminds me of-” Responded Sunny as she took another step and ended up fallingin a small, muddy ditch, her underneath area and muzzle was covered as a result.
”Oh, that’s what fell this time, it was you...” Izzy said, slightly concerned as she poked her head over and looked down at Sunny, “Are you okay?” Izzy helped Sunny out of the mud, she giggled, “Now you’re Muddy Starscout!” Sunny groaned as she felt the wetness on her belly. She wiped her muzzle with a foreleg. Izzy looked at the ditch, “Forgot to mention... uh, that’s gonna be something... What were you about to say?”
Sunny shook the excess mud from her head, she gained a smile, “Twitchy tail whenever something falls... Oh, yes! That’s like the power of the ancient pony, Pinkie Pie! Her tail did the same thing when something was falling!”
”Wow, that’s amazing!”
”Has it ever happened before!?” Asked Sunny with excitement.
”No... only after that coffee I drunk last week, that put me in a hyper rush...” Izzy exclaimed, sounding confused. Then her tail started to twitch again, Sunny gasped as she looked up and around, she didn’t see anything. She looked up for a bit before confirming nothing was falling.
“Oh hey, nothing, that’s wer-“ Sunny managed to say before a flowerpot fell on her head, “Ouch!”, followed by an anvil “Ack-“, barrel of hay “Oof!”, cart of apples “Ow!” and a piano.
Izzy cringed slightly as she looked at the pile of stuff that fell on Sunny. She then looked up to see a grey mail pegasus being scolded by another for accidentally opening a cart full of parcels in the sky. “You okay, Sunny?” Asked Izzy to the pile Sunny was under.
Sunny, no longer wearing the hoodie from earlier, and Izzy walked towards Hitch’s office to give him a visit and take him on a picnic. On the way, Izzy’s ears started to uncontrollably flop around, “Floppy ears, what does this mean?” Izzy asked as she looked at Sunny waiting for an answer.
Sunny responded with a big smile, ”Oh, according to the old friendship book it means-“ She said before a group of ponies on skateboards skated past a puddle she and Izzy were near, completely soaking Sunny. “Something like that...” Grumbled Sunny.
Izzy giggled, “Alright, Soggy Starscout.” Sunny gave Izzy a death stare as a response.
”very... funny...” Muttered Sunny as she rolled her eyes.
A while away the group splashed another pony. “I’ll have my revenge!” Trixie screamed at them angrily.
They soon entered Hitch’s office. “Hey Hitch!” Sunny exclaimed, “How are you?” His office was tidy, in a corner was where Sparky the baby dragon, now a few months old, was taking a nap in his cot.
Hitch smiled before noticing that Sunny was dripping with filthy water, “Oh, Sunny!? What happened to you!?” He shouted.
”A few ponies splashed me with a puddle...” Sunny responded bitterly, still salty.
“Huh?” Izzy questioned as she looked at her legs, “Uh, Sunny?” She said with a smile as her ears started to flop, eyes fluttered and knees started to twitch in that exact order. “What does it mean when my ears flop, eyes flutter, and knees twitch?” She asked.
Sunny shook her wet hooves, “Oh, it... uh...” She started to think, “Either means there will be a rainbow or a-“ She managed to say before somepony slammed the doors opened violently, sandwiching Sunny between the wall and the door of the office.
“Sherif!” A green pegasus with a yellow and white mane shouted, “I have a complaint!”
Everypony else was too busy looking at the doors, very concerned, as they moved back to their closed position. Sunny fell to the ground, fazed. Izzy pictured stars circling her head. “Why do my explanations keep getting interrupted?” She mumbled as she got up, rubbing her head.
“You okay, Sunny?” Hitch asked, now standing up with a first-aid kit, he looked very concerned.
”You shoulda looked where you were standing!” The pegasus spat as she stomped her hooves.
Sunny shook her head to get rid of the dizziness, “I’m fine, so, we gonna go and do the picnic?” She asked.
Izzy started to scratch her horn, it never felt itchy before, which was strange. Hitch sighed, “I’m sorry Sunny, I can’t today... something came up, and there’s a storm coming... I’ll be able tomorrow!”
Sunny looked down is disappointment. “Seems itchy horn means somepony is going to be disappointed!” Izzy replied happily.
Hitch also noted Sunny’s damp and muddy appearance, “I suggest you have a bath when you get home, okay?”
Sunny looked at herself, legs covered in mud, and chuckled nervously, “Oh... heh, good idea!”
The two ponies walked through the town again.
“Hey, we should go to that bakery!” Izzy exclaimed happily.
“The same one that gave you coffee as part of a wrong order?” Sunny asked. Izzy nodded but Sunny sighed, “They are closed today,”
Izzy skipped ahead, “Then let’s go to that-“
but soon it started to rain. Izzy laughed and giggled in response as she splashed in a puddle, Sunny was less amused as Izzy constantly splashed her. “Hey!” Exclaimed Sunny as she sheilded herself with her hoof.
“Oh, race you home!” Izzy shouted playfully.
Sunny chuckled, “You’re on!”
The two mares started to run through the ran, hoping to win their little race! As they ran to the hill the brighthouse was on, they didn’t run on the path. That was a mistake, Sunny ended up falling into the same, muddy ditch as before, but this time getting muddier as it was filled with water. On the bright side, due to the way and position she fell in Sunny’s bag wasn’t submerged in the muddy water, meaning nothing inside was damaged or muddy.
She laid there, on her right side in the small muddy ditch. Hair, legs, stomach and tail engulfed by the muddy water. Izzy giggled as Sunny pulled herself out, her right side of her body being much more muddy than her left. “Did you enjoy your mud bath, Muddy Star-“
”No-“ Sunny interrupted her.
Izzy’s knee twitched, horn itched and ears flopped, in that very order. “What’s that?”
”Good ques-“ Sunny managed to inform before a lightning bolt hit her. “AAAAA!” Izzy had a glimpse of her skeleton as she was hit, like in a cartoon where a character was shocked. After that shocking experience, Sunny stood there, slightly charred and annoyed.
Back at the Brighthouse Sunny was in the bathroom, blindfolded as Izzy created something she called a ‘surprise bath’ she heard running water and smelt a familiar smell, berries, one of her favourite. Soon she felt something bubbly at her hooves but didn’t look. “Oops, too much,“ She heard Izzy say to herself.
“Is it some now?” Sunny asked.
”Almost!” Izzy exclaimed.
Sunny could then smell some lavender, she smiled at the pleasant smell. Soon the running water stopped and Izzy tore the blindfold off Sunny’s face. She gasped in surprise as she looked at the tub filled with water and colourful bubbles.
“I used my favourite, rainbow bubbles to make your bath colourful!” Izzy exclaimed, “And I used your bubbles and my smelling salts to give it a lovely smell!”
”That’s... nice, Izzy!” Sunny thanked before climbing in. The water was at a plesant warm, temperature, but there was so much bubbles it coloured her head as she sat in the water. After getting a bunch of bubbles out from her view, Sunny saw Izzy curiously look at her shoulder. “What’s up?” She asked, “Another one?”
”Does achy shoulder mean anything?” Izzy asked with a slight smile.
”Well... according to some ancient entry written by Pinkie Pie... an achy shoulder means there’s an alligator in the bathtub!” Sunny exclaimed happily, she was so happy to teach Izzy about accent Equestria.
Izzy took a concerned glance at Sunny, “Uh... a real alligator?”
Sunny nodded, “Oh yes, her alligator, Gummy, was indeed real!”
”In a bathtub?” Izzy asked to confirm as she looked at the tub Sunny was in.
”Yes in a-“ Sunny said before realising, “Oh- you didn’t put a real alligator in the tub, did you?” She then looked into the water with a gasp as she felt something brush against her leg.
Then on the other side of her, two beady black eyes belonging to a small purple head poked out of the water and did a blep. Sunny gasped in shock and moved back quickly.
The creature in the tub was a similar colour to Izzy’s fur, and had blue patches along its back and a lighter purple belly. “What’s a newt doing in my bath!?” She shouted in shock.
”Newt?” Asked Izzy as she walked over to the tub and had a look at it and giggled, “Oh, you mean salamander!” She giggled as she put her hoof in the water to pull it out. It happily sat on Izzy’s hoof, “There you are, Mini-Izzy!” Izzy exclaimed, “What did I say about free roaming without supervision?” She scolded.
”You... you named a new- I mean- salamander?” Sunny asked as she cocked her head in confusion.
Izzy nodded, “I guess you haven’t met yet, this is mini-Izzy! See? She’s the same colour as me!” She exclaimed happily.
”Oh... uh... cute?” Sunny said, sounding a bit confused. “Wait, don’t salamanders have toxic skin?!” She said, “That can be dangerous if you’re reckless with it!”
Izzy shook her head, “No, well yeah... but Minizzy is a Southern Equestrian Tree Salamander... called SET salamander for short. These salamanders are some of the only species that aren’t toxic at all!” She responded smugly, “Hitch helped me with the research, he’s so good with animals! Did you know that SET salamander's colours depend on what they like the most? It’s so cool!” Izzy shouted with a smile.
Sunny chuckled, “Interesting, I can see what her favourite thing is! Also, have also heard that they are blind when they are born and don’t have tails!”
”Wow! Really!?” Shouted Izzy, “That’s amazing! I taught her so many tricks!”
Sunny was confused, “How long have you had her?”
”I got her a week or so after I moved to Maretine Bay...” Izzy commented.
”Huh? I never noticed her,” Sunny asked, confused.
“Oh, I keep her in the room behind my workshop, where I store extra things,” She explained.
”Alright, can I have a look? After uh... I’m done my bath?” Asked Sunny
”Sure!” Izzy responded before leaving the bathroom.
Sunny chuckled happily as she grabbed a sponge and started to wash her fur. She was loving the warm water and was excited to meet the salamander pet that Izzy had. Meeting Izzy’s salamander was possibly the only good thing that happened so far.
In Izzy’s storage room there was boxes filled with things like rubber, cloth, buttons, thread and such. There was a box filled with tools and a large desk with a tank on it. Ferns and other small plants grew and thrived amongst a large body of water, branches and rocks. Izzy was yet to give the tank a glow-up since she was doing other things. But there were a few coloured rocks and a few objects like a rubber ball, a slide and a miniature version of the Brighthouse. There was a large rock under the light coming from the lamp, that was where Izzy put her salamander, Mini-Izzy likes the warmth the lamp supplied.
Two other salamanders joined her. One being a Western Equestria Tree Salamander, they have a large fin on their back and their colours are often yellow, green or blue, this one being a blue one she named Blue. Blue was a bit smaller than Minizzy. The other salamander, this one yellow and orange, it was the smallest but when it grows up it would be a bit bigger than the other two. A young Eastern Equestria Tree Salamander, like they other two their skin is not poisonous in any way. Their colours are usually the same as the trees they live among, meaning they change colour depending the season.
Izzy smiled cutely at her three salamanders, she recently got the two as Minizzy needed company in her huge tank. She liked her salamanders, but not as much as her friends.