Part 1: An Earnest Proposal
Sundancer, The Giving Pony
Part 1: An Earnest Proposal
"Take care everypony," Sundancer called back into the schoolhouse, "and don't forget that everypony needs a helping hoof!"
With a last wave and smile to the fillies and colts of Ponyville Elementary, Sundancer set down the road back to town and to her home with a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and a cozy beige sweater protecting her from the brisk autumn air. The sun was starting to get low on the horizon and she needed to get home in time to cook dinner for herself and Shady Grove.
In no time at all the young unicorn crested the hill that looked over town, and let out a sigh of contentment. It may not be her hometown, but it was her home all the same. The ponies of Ponyville had welcomed her with open hooves and every day she tried to repay their kindness ten times over in whatever way she could.
"Excuse me, miss," a masculine voice called from behind her. So caught up in her thoughts had she been that she let out a small yelp of surprise as she turned. The stallion approaching her was a Pegasus, probably no older than her, with a slate grey coat and brown hair with a red streak near the roots. He wore a light brown vest and a deep blue scarf, no doubt to guard from the encroaching autumn chill.
"Oh my, I'm sorry! I didn't hear you coming, and you gave me a bit of a scare," Sundancer said as she composed herself.
"Sorry about that," he replied, "we Pegasi are known for being light on our hooves. My name's Silver Stroke, I'm a writer for the Ponyville Gazette."
"Oh, I know you!" Sundander said, curiosity piqued. "You wrote that lovely piece on the Ponyville Medical Centre that convinced Town Hall and some of the local business ponies to make a large donation for new equipment."
"Correct you are, miss...?" he said, trailing off.
"Sundancer," she finished for him. "My name's Sundancer."
"That is an absolutely lovely name, has anypony ever told you that?"
"Oh, a few ponies here and there. Sorry for asking," she continued, "but why are you taking time out of what I assume is a busy schedule to talk to me?"
"Well Sundancer, you are part of my busy schedule. Please, let's walk and talk," he added, gesturing to the road back to town.
"Oh, um, sure," Sundancer replied as the two set down the twilit road.
"You see," Silver began, "I've been looking for a new story in the vein of the piece you mentioned, something that'll galvanize the ponies of this town to help each other and come together for something greater than themselves, even when there aren't calamities like Tirek's attack or that shared dream Luna gave us all a few months ago that force us together."
"What a lovely idea! You must care a lot about this town."
"I do very much, and this is the sort of story that I absolutely cherish the opportunity to write because it really makes me feel like I'm making a difference in others' lives. So, imagine my surprise when I get a tip that there's a particular saffron pony in town who has dedicated herself, body and soul, to helping every pony she comes across."
"You mean me? Oh, please, you flatter me," Sundancer said meekly. "I'm no great shakes, really; I just do what I do because it makes me feel good and it makes somepony else's life better."
"But that's exactly why you're so special," he replied. "I've never heard of anypony else so selfless and giving in all my life, and the Element of Generosity lives two blocks down from me! I mean, your cutie mark says it all; a heart with a caduceus in it certainly signifies a pony to come to in a time of need. It fits you almost as well as my quill & parchment fits me," Silver added, gesturing to his own cutie mark.
"That's really kind of you to say, and I do appreciate it, but you still haven't told me why you wanted to see me." Sundancer could make an educated guess, but it would be better to hear it come from him than to presume.
"Oh geez, sorry, I have a bad habit of getting caught up in a train of thought," Silver said, bopping himself upside the head. "I was hoping I could meet up with you at the schoolhouse, but I was just a little too late for that. I started following the road back to town when I saw you walking, and now that the ice is sufficiently broken I'd like to ask if you'd be the focus of my next piece?"
"What sort of piece would this be?" she asked. "I mean, I'm all for the idea and I absolutely love the enthusiasm you have for your work, but I'd just like to know what I'm getting into."
"Oh, it won't be anything too fancy," Silver answered as his eyes lit up. "Just an honest, down-to-earth biographical piece about you; where you come from, how you got into your work, how you got your cutie mark if you'd permit me to ask, things like that. You could plug some of the charities you work for as well so it'll give the ponies something to latch onto when the article goes to print."
Sundancer took a few moments to think; if there was one thing Sundancer could give Silver Stroke credit for, it was that he was passionate. He really seemed to care about his work and the good it could do, something that she shared with him. Plus, it could be a very good opportunity to get more publicity out for the charities she works for.
Still, the last thing she wanted was to be lionized as a saint and have publicity heaped onto her. She had moved to Ponyville to get away from the big city and the attention that comes with that, after all. But whenever she caught her gaze drifting over to Silver Stroke, his earnest smile and the gleam in his eyes told her that this was a pony she could trust to do the right thing.
"Mr. Stroke," Sundancer declared, "I would be honored to help you with your piece. Come by my place tomorrow at around five o'clock in the afternoon and I should be finished up with my work for the day. It's near the center of town by Town Hall, and it has a large awning with my cutie mark as a pattern. You can't miss it, as much as my neighbors wish they could," she added with a chuckle.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Silver said as he flapped up into an excited hover. "This'll be the piece of the year, just you wait! I'll be over promptly at two, and you'd better have a comfy chair ready 'cause this interview is gonna be exhaustive! See you then," he added as he zipped down the road and back to town. With a giggle, Sundancer followed in his wake at a much slower pace, happy that she had made yet another pony happy.
* * *
Part 2: The Morning Routine
Sundancer, The Giving Pony
Part 2: The Morning Routine
"BEEP!... BEEP!... BEEP!..."
With a shuffling of blankets, Sundancer slapped her hoof down onto her alarm clock to silence its incessant beeping. Cracking an eye open she glanced at the time; seven-thirty in the morning, it read. Slowly she wriggled her way to a sitting position and gazed out her second floor window, taking in the sunrise and the beginnings of the business day around Town Hall. As much as she wished she could sleep longer, a tired smile crept across her face as she watched the town waking up with her.
"Sundancer, are you up?" called a young voice from down the hall.
"Mm-hmm," she murmured back, just loud enough to carry. "Go make yourself some breakfast while I get ready, okay?"
"Sure thing!" With a quick clip-clopping of hooves Shady Grove was down the stairs and busying himself with the cereal bowls. Gingerly she set her hooves down on the plywood and made her way over to her vanity mirror.
"Sundancer, we're out of Fruity Hay Bits," Shady called from downstairs. A twinge of guilt caught in Sundancer's throat; she had meant to pick up a couple of boxes on the way home but her conversation with Silver had completely pushed it out of her mind.
"I'll pick some up while you're at school, okay?" she called back as she brushed and styled her mane. "Is there anything else you'd like while I'm out today?"
"If you could pick up some cupcakes from Sugar Cube Corner, that'd be super! Lily Leaf's birthday is tomorrow and I wanted to get her something nice!"
"Aww, that's so sweet Shady. I'll be sure to get enough for the whole class, and be sure to tell her that I wish her a happy birthday too!"
"Thanks Sunny!" he replied back, using the pet name he'd made for her when he was little. Sundancer knew that Shady was smitten with his filly friend; she could see it coming from a mile away, but a pony's affections aren't for other ponies to comment on. With a last brush and the addition of her blue scrunchie, she made her way downstairs.
"Good morrow to you, Master Shady," she proclaimed as she entered the kitchen, voice thick with a posh accent.
"Really, this one?" Shady asked. Sundancer gave a quick and snooty nod, and with an eye roll Shady turned to face her.
"And to you as well, Ms. Dancer," he greeted in return, voice equally as hoity-toity. "Tell me, my fair lady, will you partake of a strong mug of coffee this fine morning, or would you prefer the juice of the orange with your repast?"
"Why, I do believe I will enjoy a strong glass of orange juice, good sir. One needs to keep their vitamin C levels up so as to ward off that dreaded scurvy, don't you know?"
"Ah, I fine choice indeed! Verily, I say that my cousin came down with a bout of scurvy and he had to take to bed for three weeks! Such a ghastly illness, that is."
The two of them shared a long and stuffy silence before they both devolved into a fit of giggles. Of all the traditions that they had, Sundancer enjoyed their morning "Ham Acting Lessons" the most.
"Nice job today, Shady," she said as she composed herself. "You're really getting that accent down."
"Not nearly as well as you. I don't know how you can do all of these ridiculous voice without your voice cracking like an egg."
"Take it from me, it takes a lot of practice, plus your voice is still changing. You'll get that hang of it someday, don't worry. So, how'd you sleep?" she asked as she got her juice and settled in at the table with the morning paper.
"Alright," Shady answered. "My horn gave me some trouble last night, though."
"What kind?" She tried her hardest not to let her worry show through; Shady had lived with her a long time and she knew that his condition was mostly harmless, but it still concerned her when things like this happened.
"It didn't hurt or anything, it just kept sparking all night and I think I turned my roller skates into a pile of tangerines," he answered as he poured himself out a bowl of Sugar Oats. "Nothing major, it was just really annoying."
"Do you want me to get in touch with Ms. Chrysanthemum, see if you can stay home today? I know she'll be alright with it, but I want this to be your call."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. The spasms have gotten a lot less severe since I started those private lessons after school, but it's not like this is gonna go away in an instant. Besides, today's the day we go to visit Twilight's Castle! Wouldn't want to pass that up, now would we?"
"Oh right, I forgot that that was today!" Ever since the Castle had shown up in Ponyville, Princess Twilight had allowed anypony to visit and ask her for advice, and she allowed bi-monthly visits from the schools around town; Sundancer had gotten so caught up with Silver's interview that she forgot it was Ponyville Secondary's turn. "Do you have anything you'd like to ask the Princess?"
"Well, I would like to know if she has any books on my condition. After all, she's easily the most magical being in all of Equestria; if anypony knows about horn diseases, it'd be her."
"She certainly should. I'm sorry that there isn't more I can do to help out with this," Sundancer added ruefully. "I just wish I could pop a horn out of my forehead and understand what magic is actually like, y'know?"
"Sunny, speaking from experience here, magic isn't worth nearly this level of aggravation. Remember last Hearth's Warming when I accidentally set the kitchen on fire and turned your ferns into giant Venus fly-traps?"
"Don't I ever!? Those plants still haunt my dreams... so many teeth," she added with a shudder.
"What really stinks is that even if I didn't have this disorder magic would still be a hassle. I mean, last week Rosie accidentally brought the test she was working on to life by concentrating on it too hard and she had to chase it down for ten minutes."
"No way!" Try though she might, Sundander couldn't help but giggle at the thought.
"Yes way!" Shady replied. "We all got a good laugh out of it and we got out of taking the test for that day, but Rosie was so embarrassed."
"At least it's good to know that you aren't the only unicorn with magic troubles."
"I guess," he answered as his gaze drifted. "Oh dang it! I'm gonna be late!"
Sundancer looked behind her at the wall clock while Shady shoveled his food down his face. Nine o'five, it read, and his classes started at nine-thirty. Quickly she sprang to her hooves, putting together a quick lunch and getting his saddlebags together.
"Here you go, all set!" she said. "Don't forget to say hello to Princess Twilight for me, and remind her that my charity auction for Ponyville Medical is next month. It'll be the first one since she got christened and it would do a lot of good for the hospital if she was there."
"No problem!" With a quick hug Shady Grove zipped out the door, and Sundancer watched him gallop away.
"Than colt of mine," she said wistfully, "so full of energy and life."
A small crept across her face as he turned the corner around Town Hall and went out of view before going back inside and getting her things ready. She had a bunch of places to go and an interview later in the day, so she was certainly going to have to hoof it to get everything done on time.
* * *
