Alodie trotted over to the fridge, opening it with a white hoof. The air around her was flooded with a warm, sticky humidity that she had become quite accustomed to in her visits to Geldany every summer; what she had more trouble adapting to was the lack of ceiling fans or forms of air conditioning. Her family of five ended up hovering around a grand total of two fans between using bug spray to keep off pesky mosquitoes. As consequence of the weather, the unicorn's normally relatively tidy mane had a slight halo of frizz to it that she was to unconcerned over to try to rid herself of it. As the small fridge opened, cool air spilled out and around her. The white unicorn took a moment to bask in the brisk air, then set about her task.
Her horn glowed, consumed in a golden aura as she used her magical ability to lift out a large, full pitcher of iced, sweetened tea. Not something found in Geldany in any means, it was certainly an oddity of her family, but her Mother and Stepfather alike had originated, like her, from North Cattleina, and had no intention of leaving behind their Southern roots no matter the oceans they crossed. A cup (and minor spill) later, she trotted back out of the kitchen, and down the hallway that led past her younger siblings rooms. Her brother's, piled with neat orderly cars stacked up and lined in such specific rows you would never know the little colt was only two. And her sisters-
Alodie stopped in her tracks, having just gone past the open door, tea held magically in the air before her. What in Equestria...? She took a few steps back, and poked her head into the room. It was obviously a filly's room, with a large bunkbed, filled with pink walls, pink stuffies, and pink pillows, and toys. However, instead of being strewn about the room in their normally disorderly fashion, the little pink filly had lined up
each
and
every
one.
The line stretched across the room, and as Alodie's eyes followed it, her mouth opened in a wordless gape. The dolls were sitting up, the stuffies leaning on eachother to support eachother, even the teacups and saucers had joined the party from the toy kitchen. They made a long, orderly line from the far corner of the room to the one nearest the door, each toy with about an inch of space between them. In front of them, on one side, a pink filly crouched, head cocked as if trying to see a certain angle. The filly looked only slightly similar to Alodie, with a pink body instead of white, and a brown in purple mane that contrasted her sister's black and red. In any sense, they looked close to nothing alike, but, as the two were only half siblings, it made sense. Much more sense then the situation at hoof, anyway.
Alodie found her voice. "Uh...Ziggy?"
"Yah?" Asked the filly, still transfixed with the line.
Alodie cleared her throat, and smiled, trying her best to sound as normal as possible. "What are you doing?"
"Playing." Responded Ziggy, earning an eyeroll from Alodie.
"Well, yah." Her elder sister clarified, taking a few more hoofsteps into the room. "But, why are all your toys like that?"
The pink filly finally looked up, her brown and purple mane falling in her face a bit. "I'm looking at the lines." She said, as if it made perfect sense.
"Lines...?" Alodie's eyes scanned the line of toys; there was only one line of toys, and none of the dolls seemed to be wearing anything close to stripes. "I, uh, only see one."
Ziggy sighed, as if she were the elder of the two, and patiently explained. "I don't mean that line. I mean the ones in between."
Alodie looked again, but she still only saw one line of toys. "Can you show me?" She asked. Her sister's ear flicked a tad. "Please?"
Ziggy looked up, probably intrigued by the please that she rarely solicited from her elder sister. "Sure." A flash of violet, and her younger sister's horn lit up in a magic bright and fluid, and much more advanced then anypony would think for any normal 5 year old filly, which Ziggy most certainly wasn't. The lights in the pink room dimmed by her sister's will, and a streak of violet began on the floor. Starting on the far wall, it quickly snaked its way along, between each and every toy, forming a long, simple zig zag, that shone brightly before fading out, and the room becoming light once more. Ziggy looked at her sister expectantly, trying to see if she finally understood. "Do you see it now?"
Alodie blinked. Her eyes were a bit dulled from the sudden shifts in light, and a faint imprint of the line had stayed in her sight a moment after the light itself had vanished, and her eyes were watery for more then simply that reason. She set down her glass on the floor, and walked over, careful to avoid knocking over the toys. She pulled her sister into a hug. "Thank you for showing me." Ziggy hugged back, then quickly pulled away, not being a cuddly filly at all. "You can go now." She said, although not unkindly.
Alodie laughed at the typical remark from her sister. "Alrighty kiddo. You, uh, have fun then, okay?" She said, picking up her tea again as she trotted to the doorway.
Ziggy nodded, and smiled at her sister, before looking back at the toys.
The white unicorn trotted back out, gently closing the door behind her. She stood a moment, waiting for anything; A sound on the other side of the door, a message from God, the sound of a bird outside, but she heard nothing. The moment passed, and Alodie smiled, taking a sip of her tea as she continued down the hallway to her own room. It was cool, sweet, and went easily down her throat, cooling her from the inside out, leaving her refreshed, and feeling a bit better then she had before/
Her sister was different, and yet Alodie had a feeling she would never see the world as beautifully as Ziggy did, despite her various difficulties. Yep, she's odd alright. Alodie thought, as she trotted on. As odd as sweet tea in Geldany.
