The Never Ending Sunbeam

Zephyr Sunbeam was sitting on a cloud, crying. A few pegasi had been bullying her and beating her. This wasn’t unusual, the pegasi in Cloudsdale loved to pick on her. She drew in a few rapid breaths and cried as silently as she could. She wiped the tears out of her eyes and buried her face into the soft cloud beneath her.

The soft white fluffiness of the cloud felt good on her red, hot, tear-covered face. She tried to calm herself down by taking a few deep breaths, and she did her best to get herself to stop crying. She looked around her body to make sure there were no visible cuts or bruises.

There was a large dark gray, almost black, bruise on her left arm, but she figured she would be fine going into town, but she might as well grab her bag first. It would be good to change into a shirt with longer sleeves as well, so she could cover up the bruise. She nervously flew back to her house to get her bag and to change. She sat inside for a few minutes, calming herself down a little more. She got herself a glass of water and made her way to the bathroom to clean herself up.

Zephyr stared at herself in the mirror. Her light blue skin was covered in dirt and there were scuff marks all over her, even though she had just washed herself this morning. Her red and yellow striped hair and tail were both matted and tangled. She looked closely at her face, and she could see tear streaks in the dirt in her fur. For a moment she contemplated taking a quick shower before she went out.

She shook her head and her hair flew back out of her eyes and away from the rest of her face. There was a small, light brown bruise on her cheek, but her hair usually covered that area, so she didn’t bother messing with it.

She lifted her arm in front of her so she could look at the bruise she had seen their earlier. It looked really bad, and seeing it made her feel sort of sick; Zephyr didn’t do well with blood or bruises or anything else of the sort. Her eyes wandered around the mirror, looking at different places on her body, eventually settling on her cutie mark. It was a picture of the sun being partially covered by a gray cloud.

She decided she should change into pants or longer shorts as well. Some ponies tended to make fun of her cutie mark. She smiled slightly, remembering how she first got it. She shook her head so her mane covered half of her face again. She brushed out her mane and tail and she wet a rag and washed the dirt and grime off her skin.

Once she was satisfied, she left the bathroom and went to her room to change. Once she had changed, she grabbed her bag to carry what she was going to get while she was out. She grabbed a few bits, what she thought she would need, and she put them into her bag.

She flew out of her house, making sure to lock the door on her way out. She made sure to avoid Mist Fire, Gray Skies, and Dark Cloud; the guys who usually bullied her. She once had a relationship with Gray Skies, but then he became friends with Mist Fire and Dark Cloud, and things between them didn’t end very well.

She sighed slightly and continued flying into Ponyville. She landed near the market and walked along, wondering what she wanted to eat. “I could really use an apple…..” She thought to herself. “Or maybe some peaches. Oh, I could really go for some peaches, they’re so sweet, and juicy…..” She passed an apple vendor and the small country filly smiled at her.

“Howdy! Would ya’ll like an apple?” She asked in a heavy country accent, still wearing that cheery smile on her face. The filly had a yellowish coat and a reddish mane, and she wore a reddish pink bow in her mane.

“Uhh..… Sure.” Zephyr said, giving the little filly a shy, awkward smile. “I’ll take two, please.”

“Sure thing.” The little filly grabbed two apples from the cart behind her and she held them out. “That’ll be ummm….” She turned to look at the sign to see how much the apples were. “Four bits.” She said, turning back around.

Zephyr had already seen the sign, and had four bits in her hand. She held it out to the filly and the filly took the bits, exchanging them with the apples. “Thank you.” Zephyr said as she stuffed the apples into her bag.

The little filly smiled. “Thanks fer stoppin’ by. Ah hope you have a good day!” She called with a small wave as Zephyr walked away.

“You too.” Zephyr giggled slightly at the little filly’s adorableness. She smiled at her and then turned to walk away. She looked around the market, wondering where she would go next. Zephyr sighed slightly, remembering that she had only brought 5 bits, and now she only had one more left, so she couldn’t buy any peaches even if she found some. Even so, she continued to walk aimlessly through the town.

“I would really love to eat some peaches, I wonder where I could get some. I’ve never seen any in Ponyville though. That might be because I’ve never looked though….” She thought to herself. She looked around for peaches, not finding any.

She continued walking, looking around at all the shops, wondering where she was going to find some peaches. After a few minutes she had stopped paying attention the shops and lost herself in thought. She continued walking though, and she had left Ponyville behind her, she was out in the country on the outskirts of Ponyville.

In her head, were memories of her past, and she wasn’t paying attention to the real world. She wasn’t thinking about where she was, or what she was doing, or who might see her. She heard a somewhat high- pitched voice tinged with a country accent calling out.

She snapped out of her thoughts and back into reality, turning towards the sound of the voice. She saw a black young man with yellow stripes all over his black body, almost like a zebra, but of course the coloring was off. He had a red and yellow striped mane like hers, though the brightness and contrast of the red and yellow were very different. He was a pegasus like Zephyr, and he seemed kind of shy as well.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” He asked. He sounded sort of worried, but hesitant. He adjusted his hat so it wasn’t hanging down over his face. He had yellow eyes, they stared at Zephyr with a kindness in them, though his eyebrows were scrunched up in worry.

“Yes. I’m fine.” Zephyr said, a little hesitant to be talking to a stranger after everything she had been through.

“You look hurt, is there anyway I can help you?” He asked.

“Hurt?” Zephyr asked. She remembered the bruise on her arm that she thought she had covered with her shirt. She lifted her arm to look at it, and saw that the sleeve had run up her arm to reveal the large, dark, bruise. “Oh….” She said. “I…..  I promise, I’m fine, really.” Zephyr stuttered awkwardly, releasing a small sigh.

She looked at the scene behind the strange stallion in front of her. There was a fence, and behind the fences were big, strong, tall trees with pinkish-orange fruits hanging on the branches. They looked a lot like peaches, perhaps they were peaches. “Ummmm….” Her gaze left the trees and she met the eyes of the stallion in front of her.

“Yes ma’am?” He asked, cocking his head slightly and scrunching his eyes up in curiosity instead of worry.

“Oh, nevermind, it’s silly.” She lifted her hand and waved it like she was shooing the thought away as if it were an annoying fly. She looked back up at one of the trees and at one of the peaches hanging down on one of the branches. It just looked so good, so juicy, so sweet. She was dying to eat one, she had been craving peaches for a long time.

The strange stallion followed her gaze. “Would you….” He paused and looked back at Zephyr. “....like a peach?” He paused again, for just a second, and then added. “Ma’am?”

“I’m afraid I only have one bit.” She said sadly, looking away from the peach and at the ground in front of her, scuffing her hooves softly on the soft, brown dirt. She nibbled on her bottom lip, wondering if she should go back home and get a few more bits so she could buy some peaches.

“I’ll give you a peach for the price of knowing your name.” He said shyly. His face grew red and his eyes darted away from Zephyr and shifted to the ground. “I mean… If you want….” He added awkwardly.

Zephyr looked up and smiled, this was the nicest anypony had ever been to her, except maybe that filly at the apple cart. She trotted happily over to him, “I’m Zephyr Sunbeam. What’s your name?” She asked.

“I’m uhh… My name is Peachy Stripes.” He said, slightly surprised that she had actually told him her name. She smiled at him and he smiled back shyly.

Zephyr giggled a little bit, she was suddenly in a much better mood and she was acting like her old self again. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She said, her big, bright smile never faltering or fading.

For a moment, Peachy thought she was just smiling and being so happy so she could get a free peach, but even after he gave her the peach, she continued to smile and talk to him.

“So you live here and work on this farm?” Zephyr asked, gesturing to the peach farm behind them.

He nodded. “I was just working in the fields earlier, and I saw you walking by. Not many ponies come out to these parts, and so I walked up to the gate to greet you, but then I saw that bruise on your arm..….” He trailed off and turned his head so he wouldn’t have to look into her smiling face.

Zephyr ruffled the feathers on her wings and spread them open a bit to cover it up, which her shirt sleeve wasn’t doing a very good job at. She blushed and averted her eyes from Peachy’s.

“What happened?” He asked.

“I-it’s a long story…..” Zephyr said awkwardly.

“I’ve got time.” He said. Zephyr chuckled slightly. “Would you like to walk around the orchard with me?” He asked.

Zephyr looked up at the sky, it was getting kind of late, but she figured it couldn’t hurt to stay a little longer. “Sure.” She said with a cheerful smile.

Peachy Stripes turned and Zephyr walked alongside him, though slightly behind him. They walked together around the orchard talking and laughing and looking at the beautiful plantation that surrounded them.

The sun was setting behind the trees and they walked, and Zephyr knew that if she went home now, or any later, that she would get jumped by her usual bullies. She tried to hide the fact that she was scared and nervous, but Peachy could still tell.

“Is something wrong?” He asked, looking at her with worry in his eyes.

“N-no, I’m fine,” Zephyr stuttered nervously. She continued to eye the dark sky as it continued to grow darker. She began to get more fidgety and nervous.

“Zephyr, of something is wrong, you can tell me.” He said. They stopped walking and just stared at each other for a moment. Peachy Stripes couldn’t help but notice how romantic the setting they were in was. The sun was setting and the leaves were slowly drifting off the peach trees. He blushed slightly and looked back at Zephyr, who was looking around at their surroundings as well.

“Zephyr…. I know we just met…” Peachy started. He averted his eyes, not being able to keep eye contact with her. “I just… I feel so close to you and… Well……” He paused, not knowing exactly what to say.

“What?” Zephyr asked, looking at him nervously, her face turning a dark red color.

Peachy Stripes didn’t know exactly what to say in that moment, so he just leaned forward nervously and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

Zephyr didn’t know what to say, she didn’t know what to do. She just stared in front of her blankly. “I... I…” Zephyr backed away nervously.

More worry was strewn across Peachy Stripes’ face. He had taken a bold move, and it hadn’t turned out very well. He suddenly got very nervous and scared of what she might do, or what she might think of him now.

Zephyr turned slightly and Peachy saw the slight smile on her face in the fading light and her bright red cheeks. She spread her wings and flew away. Peachy spread his wings as well and followed her up into the sky.

“Zephyr! Wait!” He called. She turned to see him following her, having totally forgotten that he was a pegasus as well. She stopped and landed on a medium sized cloud. Peachy landed on the same cloud once he reached it.

“What is it?” She asked. “I really need to get back home, it’s late.” She stuttered awkwardly.

“I know, I just…..” Peachy stopped and yawned. He sat down on the cloud and Zephyr did the same, also yawning.

“You just what?” She asked after her yawn.

“I just…. I didn’t give you your peach yet” He blinked, and his eyelids drooped so they were almost closed. He yawned again and laid down on the cloud. Zephyr yawned as well, and the cloud just felt so soft and warm. She laid down across from Peachy without answering and closed her eyes. She snuggled into the cloud and fell asleep. Peachy blinked and yawned a few times and then drifted off as well.