“Well, Pinkie! You've once again thrown an outstanding party!” Twilight raised a bottle of cider to her friend, and took a sip from it.
“Oh thank you thank you thank you, Twilight!” The pink earth pony beamed, “As soon as I heard it was the fifth anniversary of first elephant to be seen in Ponyville, I knew that I just haaad to throw a reaaally big party!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together, then leaned over and picked up an apple cupcake with her tongue, swallowing it whole.
“Pinkie, Dear.. You really should chew your food, before swallowing. What if you choked?” Rarity pointed out as she took a nibble out of a cookie she was holding up magically.
“What's wrong with a lil danger, Rare?” Dash smirked and ate a cupcake whole, imitating Pinkie, to which the white unicorn simply rolled her eyes.
“Well, um... She kinda does have a point, Rainbow..” Fluttershy added quietly, hiding behind her mane as she spoke up.
“Girls, lets not start arguing.” Twilight interjected as Dash opened her mouth again, closing it promptly.
“She's right. Let's all jus' have a mighty fine time while we're here!” Applejack kicked out her hooves and started eating a slice of apple pie that was in front of her.
The other five nodded and giggled, munching on their snacks and bobbing to the music playing in the background. Twilight was taking another sip from her cider, when she noticed a gray pegasus with a yellow mane walking quickly through the crowd, tears streaming from her eyes.
“Girls, do you know who that is?” she gestured towards the mare.
The others turned just as the pony in question marched into the wall right next to the wall, stomping and seeming to curse something before running out the door and flying away.
“Oh, that's Ditz, one of Ponyville's Mailmares.” Dash shrugged and took a bite of an apple fritter, “She must have delivered a letter to the wrong pony or something and got yelled at.”
Twilight frowned at her friends disinterest, “Well, I've never seen her before.. Probably because I get all my letters through Spike. She seems very upset.”The unicorn felt concerned for the mare, who was clearly distraught if she couldn't even tell were she was going!
“No one really talks to her.. If they do, its because she messed something up, and they are never nice.. I tried to help her when she was upset once, but she flew away when I got close. I usually see her smiling quite happily when she is alone, though.” Fluttershy explained.
“Well, shouldn't someone go see if she's okay?” Twilight asked, to which all of her friends gave her a quizzical look.
“Twi, ah know ya' mean well, but.. It's just that she doesn't really talk to anypony. She's a bit.. dull, to but it bluntly.” Applejack looked as if her own words hurt her.
“Well, I'm going to go talk to her.” Twilight turned from her friends and walked towards the door.
“Good luck, Twilight!” Fluttershy called out, before sinking back to her quiet self and turning back to her friends.
Twilight left Sugar Cube Corner, and looked to the sky. It was late in the evening, but the sun hadn't set yet, and it was casting an orange glow over the horizon. She scanned the sky, looking for any sight of the gray mare. Seeing no one in the sky, she sighed, and was about to head back into the party, when she noticed a pegasus far off in the distance landing beyond a hill on the horizon. The unicorn, assuming this must be her, trotted off in the direction. The path she followed led her outside Ponyville, into the fields near where Fluttershy lived. Twilight couldn't help but wonder why a mailmare would want to live away from the place where she worked, but shrugged it off as she saw a small cottage next to a lake in the distance. “I'm sure this is nothing a good friend can't solve.” She said to herself with a smile as she walked up to house, noticing that the door was left ajar.
“H-hello?” she called out and knocked, pushing the door open as she did. Cautiously, she walked into the home. There was nothing to light up the dark home, so Twilight had to squint to examine the room; there were a few chairs and a staircase, and a doorway on each wall leading to a different room. Slowly, she closed the door behind her. She walked softly into the room on the right, which was darker than the room she had initially entered. “Hello? Anypony here?”
There were sounds of wings flapping, then suddenly the gray mare landed in front of Twilight, poking her hard in the chest with a hoof, knocking the unicorn to her haunches “Who are you? What are you doing here?? Come to make fun of me some more?” She glared at the purple mare, but one of her eyes was directed off to the side “Grr.. Stupid eye!” She poked it and tried to focus on her intruder, but the eye wasn't cooperating. With a sigh, she sat down and hung her head “Well.. Go ahead then.. Get it over with..”
Twilight rubbed her chest with a hoof, wincing from the pain caused by the poke, and watched the mare with a confused look, “Make fun of you? Why would I do that? I came here because I saw you at the party. I thought you might need a friend-”
“I don't need help! And I don't have any friends..” the pegasus sighed again, and turned around, “Please just leave me alone..”
Twilight could feel to pain eminating of the pegasus, and stood up, placing a hoof on her shoulder, prompting the mare to look up at her, “Hey, I'm not here to hurt you. And if you don't have any friends, well.. Then I will be your friend.” Twilight smiled warmly.
A slight look of hope appeared in the yellow maned pony, as she seemed to be looking both at Twilight and the hoof on her shoulder at the same time, “Y-You're not going to make fun of me?”
“I would never, I promise.” She kept smiling, and recalled what Dash told her earlier, “Ditz, that's your name, right?”
The look of happiness seemed to drain from the mares face as she shook the hoof off her shoulder and glared at the unicorn, “No! My name is not Ditz! Or Ditzy Doo! Or Derpy Hooves! Ugh why can't anyone remember my name!” She growled and rubbed her temples, “My name is Sunshine, okay?”
“I-I'm sorry, that's just what I was told..” Twilight felt her ears flop back as she had obviously caused this mare pain, “Nice to meet you Sunshine, my name is Twilight Sparkle.” She held her hoof out.
The mare looked at the hoof with a confused look, “Why are you here? What do you want from me?”
Twilight blushed and pulled her hoof back, “I told you.. I saw you at the party, and you looked upset. I came here because I wanted to cheer you up. You know.. You looked like you needed a friend..” She kicked a hoof at the ground, and turned towards the door, feeling like she was about to be thrown out.
The pegasus looked her over once more, easing up a bit as she noticed the unicorn's expression. She didn't know if she could trust this Twilight.. But it was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't constantly making fun of her. With a deep breath, she held out her hoof “A-alright then.. Nice to meet you too, Twilight.” She gave a weak smile.
Twilight turned back with a big smile, seemingly recharged by her acceptance, and shook the extended hoof, “It's my pleasure. Now, do you want to talk about what happened?”
Sunshine looked down for a moment, before taking a deep breath and standing up, “I suppose so.. If you're willing to listen.”
“Of course I am! That's what I am here for, after all.” Twilight grinned, “But.. Is there a place in here a little bit.. brighter?”
~
A few minutes later, Twilight and Sunshine were sitting in the living room, which was now lit by a lantern and a few candles. It was very homely, there was a a couch and two arm chairs in the center, in front of a table that rested on a red and white carpet. In front of the table was a fireplace, which seemed to have been dormant for some time. Atop it was a mantle, that had pictures of Sunshine with a little filly scattered about it. On one wall there was a large painting of a beach, with a lighthouse perched on a cliff side above it. Sunshine was lying down on the couch, while Twilight was sitting on a chair next to her. The pegasus was still not sure if she could trust the purple mare, but decided she couldn't hurt her any worse that she already was.
“Now,” Twilight looked over to the other mare. “why were you so upset?”
With a sigh, Sunshine began to explain. “Well, as you can see..” she points to her lazy eye, “I have a messed up eye. That, and because I'm so shy has led people to think that I.. well, am mentally challenged.” She looked down, ears folded back, seeming to tear up a bit “I try to explain things, but I always get shut out by more harsh words.. So I tend to stay away from other ponies. But today, I felt like having some fun, so I decided to go to the party at Sugar Cube Corner, thinking that the happy mood would keep people from making fun of me. But I was wrong, and I got chased out of there like usual..” she sighed again, laying her head down in her hooves and looking away from the mare she was talking too, “It's always been like this, since I was a foal.. I've always been treated the same.”
Twilight didn't know what to say. She thought about the pain the pegasus must have had to endure her entire life, and how no pony should be treated like that. “Sunshine.. that's horrible. I'm.. so sorry. If it means anything, I don't think there is anything wrong with you. And I think your eye only makes you unique!.”
The pegasus looked back to her, and Twilight smiled warmly. Blinking away a few tears, Sunshine lifted herself up and smiled back weakly, “You.. You mean that?”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight pointed a hoof to her eye, and giggled.
Sunshine couldn't help but to giggle as well, and Twilight beamed at the sight, making her blush, “Thank you, Twilight.. I needed a laugh.” She smiled meekly.
“It's my pleasure!” Twilight chirped, “So, friends?”
Sunshine nodded, “Friends.” She smiled and got up from her couch, walking slowly over to the purple unicorn and pulling her into a hug. Twilight was a little surprised by her sudden warmness to her, but returned the embrace.
The pegasus pulled back with a big smile, having been a very long time since she had been close with someone who wasn't her own kin. Just as she thought that, she remembered something and looked at a clock sitting on the table. “My filly will be home soon, would you like to join us for dinner?” She asked excitedly.
Twilight's head seemed to jerk up a bit, “Filly? You're a mother?”
Sunshine nodded with a smile, “Her name is Dinky. She's my little muffin.” She said with a giggle and gestered towards the pictures on the mantle.
Twilight looked over the pictures with a smile “I would love to stay for dinner, thanks!”
Sunshine flew up into the air with a big grin, “Alright then! I'll get dinner started!” she quickly took off into what Twilight could only assume was the kitchen.
The unicorn couldn't help but giggle as she sank back into the chair. “Such a sweet mare. I wonder why everyone seems to be so mean towards her..” She started to think, but then she heard a clink, and turned to see the front door opening.
“Momma! I'm home!” called out a little filly unicorn as she walked in and closed the door behind herself. Her coat was a very light lavender, and her mane matched the same color yellow as her mothers. She looked around, and saw Twilight looking at her from the living room. Not used to seeing other ponies in her house, she yelped and looked around nervously, searching for Sunshine, “M-momma?”
The mother came flying out of the kitchen and swooped over to the filly, picking her up and nuzzling her mane, “Why hello dear! How was your time at your friend's house? Did you have fun?” She smiled and gave Dinky a squeeze, making her squeak.
Twilight couldn't help but giggle, and the filly blushed brightly. “Yeah, I had fun momma. Now let me go! That mare is laughing at me.. Is she your friend?”
Sunshine giggled and rubbed her mane with a hoove, “Yes, her name is Twilight. She's mommy's new friend.” She smiled up at unicorn, “And this is my little muffin, Dinky. Named after her grandmother.” She giggled and ruffled the filly's mane more.
“Mooom cut it out!” she squirmed in her mothers grasp.
“Ohh, fine.” She smirked and let her filly go. “Now, go upstairs and get cleaned up while I finish up dinner, okay dear? Twilight's gonna be eating with us tonight, so behave yourself.” She giggled.
“Yes, mom.” Dinky rolled her eyes and started heading up the stairs. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the cuteness. Sunshine noticed this and smiled back, before going back to the kitchen to finish cooking.
After some time, Twilight found herself sitting at the diner table with Dinky, while Sunshine placed down plates of food in front of them. The elder unicorn looked over the plate, which had apple pasta, a dandelion sandwich and a salad on it, “Wow, this looks delicious Sunshine!”
“Why thank you, Twilight. I usually don't cook for anypony other than Dinky and myself.” She smiled and sat down with her own plate in hoof, “I hope you enjoy it!”
“My momma is the best cooker ever!” Dinky clapped her hooves together and licked her lips, looking over the meal in front of her, ushering giggles from both the elder mares.
“It sure seems like it.” Twilight commented, eying over the food once more, and smiling happily at Sunshine before they all dug in.
~
About an hour later, Sunshine had just tucked Dinky in to bed and read her a bedtime story. With her kin asleep, she was trotting down the stair, humming a song to herself.
Twilight was waiting by the base of the stairs, and exchanged a smile with Sunshine as she approached, “Thank you for the great time, Sunshine! I really enjoyed dinner.”
She giggled and nodded, “I'm glad you did. And thank you for cheering me up. It's nice to have a.. friend.” She gave a meek smile.
Twilight walked up and gave her a big hug, “Yes, I couldn't agree more. I'm happy I can be your friend! But, I have to get going now, I'm sure my dragon is worried about me.”
Sunshine's eyes went wide, “You.. have a dragon?”
“Just a baby dragon. He's my assistant.” Twilight laughed nervously and rubbed a hoof against her foreleg .
“Oh, well that's.. unusual.” the gray pegasus couldn't help but think out loud.
“Here, maybe. But back in Canterlot, a lot of unicorns have dragon assistants. After all, you have to hatch one to get into the Princess's School for Gifted Unicorns.” Twilight explained.
“Y-You're from Canterlot? And you studied under the Princess??” Sunshine was clearly shocked, wondering how such an obviously important pony wound up in her home.
“Yes, I grew up in Canterlot. And I still do study under the princess, I'm her star pupil. She's taught me personally since I was a foal, not letting me out of her sight until she decided I was old enough to study on my own. But I still had to write her reports on what I learned, and I still do til this day.” Twilight smiled, feeling proud of her relationship with the ruler of Equestria.
Sunshine felt her jaw hanging open as she stared in awe at the unicorn. Here she was, just a simple misunderstood pegasus living alone with her filly in a house off the beaten path, and standing in front of her was the protege of the ruler of all the land, harolding from the royal city! “Wow.. That's.. Amazing! You must feel so special!”
“Well, I don't want to seem like I'm bragging.. But yes, I do.” Twilight blushed, realizing she was almost boasting about her experiences, “But hey, I'm still just a normal, friendly pony. Hey, do you want to come to my house tomorrow? Maybe meet my friends?” Twilight tried to change the subject, smiling earnestly.
Sunshine's trance was suddenly broken at the thought of meeting other ponies. The thought making her sink down a bit “I.. Well, I don't know.”
Twilight smiled reassuringly, “Come on! My friends are really nice, they will like you, I promise!”
Sunshine thought for a moment, thinking over all the outcomes before deciding that no one that was this sweet unicorn's friend would be a nasty pony that would make fun of her eye, “Well.. Okay. Your place, tomorrow.” She smiled at her new friend, “Where do you live?”
Twilight pepped up and gave the pegasus an excited look “I live in the Ponyville Library! You know where that is?”
Sunshine nodded, “Of course! I am a mailmare after all.” She giggled
With a final embrace, Twilight left the little cottage, heading home. She turned around to see Sunshine waving at her from the doorway, and she stopped to wave back, smiling brightly as she turned and continued on.
Early the next morning, Sunshine was busy in her bathroom brushing her mane, nervously looking herself over in the mirror. She wanted to make a better impression on Twilight than she had the day before, so she was trying her best to make sure she looked perfect. When she was finally happy with her mane, she set the brush down and took a deep breath, staring into the mirror. Straining hard, she managed to get her eyes to line up straight, but as soon as she eased up, it drifted back off into the opposite direction.
“Stupid eye....” She sighed, rubbing at it with her hoof before exiting the room. “Dinky dear, did you finish your breakfast?” She asked as she made her way into the kitchen
“Yes mom! It was delicious!” She smiled happy at her mom as she got up to put her empty plate in the sink
“I'm glad! Are you all ready for school, then?”
Dinky nodded, “Yep, I'm all ready!” She trotted over and pulled her saddlebag that was leaning against the table leg onto her back
Sunshine looked up at the clock, “Well then, lets go! If we leave now, you should get there early enough to ask Miss Cheerilee that question you had about your homework.”
“Alright! Lets go then.” She smiled and walked towards the door
Sunshine followed behind her, stepping in front to open the door, “After you~” She gestured out the door with her hoof and took a small bow. They both giggled, and Dinky bowed back before walking out.
“Mom, you're so silly.” the filly giggled to herself as her mother closed the door. Sunshine smiled and nuzzled her before they both set off for town.
They trotted together down the path into town; it was a bright morning, the sun just cresting over the treeline behind them. It was late in the year, however, and the chill of the night still lingered. The dew on the ground was only making it worse, as the elder mare's hooves were getting soaked. Looking over, Sunshine noticed her daughters coat collecting a lot of moisture as well.
“Dear? Would you like to ride on mommy's back? You must be pretty cold.”
Before Dinky could answer, Sunshine already had her head under her belly, lifting her up slightly. With a nod of agreement, she lifted her up on top of her head, and slid her down her neck so the filly was resting on her back.
Sunshine felt cold wet hooves wrap around her neck, “Thanks mom, you're awesome.” the filly giggled and nuzzled into her mothers mane. With a big smile, the pegasus raised her wings, covering the sides of her filly with her warm feathers.
“It's my pleasure dear. I can't have you getting sick, now can I?” she said with a smile
“Yuck, I hate being sick!” The young unicorn stuck out her tongue, making the elder mare giggle
With her child all snuggled up, Sunshine continued off at a brisk pace, almost a gallop. 'Oh, this is going to be so much fun!' She thought to herself, 'It's been so long since I've been over to a friends house!'
The filly clung to her mothers neck and giggled excitedly as the air blew through her mane, “Go faster momma!” she cried out
Sunshine however had just made it up to the school, and turned to show her filly the building, “I'd love to dear, but we are here already!”
With a pout, the young filly slid off her moms back and stretched out a bit, “Aww, I was hopping for a longer ride...”
Sunshine smiled warmly at her little girl and leaned down to nuzzle her mane gently, “Don't worry dear, mommy will give you another ride later.”
“Yay!” she cheered and turned towards the school, “See you later, mom!” She chirped as she trotted towards the building.
Sunshine was left waving at her filly, a warm smile on her face. Once Dinky was inside, the pegasus opened her wings and took to the sky, “Okay, if I'm going to show up this early, I might as well as get some breakfast for us to munch on... And I know just the thing! Muffins!” She cheered and flew towards the direction of Sugar Cube Corner.
~
A little while later, Sunshine was walking out of the bakery with a big smile on her face, and a basket of steaming muffins on her back. She showed up just as Mrs. Cake had finished a batch of banana nut muffins, her favorite! The aroma alone making her drool upon entering the bakery.
“Oh, I hope she likes these... What if she doesn't?” She let out a gasp. “What if she is allergic to nuts?! Maybe I should have asked first... I hope I don't kill her.” She gulped as the library came into view, 'Keep it together, Sunshine.' she said to herself. With a sigh, she walked up to the door of the library, nervousness making her whole body tremble. She lifted up a hoof and clumsily knocked on the door, each hit with a different intensity and beat. 'Dang it, keep it together I said!' She took a deep breath and stood tall, waiting at the door.
After a few moments however, she let out her breath and looked around, 'Huh, It's too early for her to be out... Maybe I will knock again.' She shrugged to herself and knocked again, this time steadier and stronger. After a few more moments, she was about to knock again, when she heard something on the other side.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.... Hold your horse shoes.” Twilight groaned from the other side.
Sunshine winced under her harsh tone and backed up, 'Oh dear... I've upset her already...' She felt her ears flop down and she prepared to fly off, but the door suddenly flung open.
“Yes?” Twilight said flatly, before seeing the frightened mare in front of her, “Oh! Sunshine! I'm sorry, it's just... You woke me up. I didn't mean to sound so rude.” She stepped aside with a smile, “Please, come in.”
Sunshine nodded and walked into the warm library, turning around to see Twilight close the door. It was only now that she noticed her disheveled mane and the bags under her eyes, “Oh, Twilight, I'm sorry I came so early... I just, I'm so used to getting up extra early for my job, that-”
She was cut off quickly as Twilight raised her hoof, a smile on her face, “It's alright, Sunshine. I gave you a date and a place, not a time. So don't worry about it.” She smiled at the gray pegasus, who returned the happy look. “Hey, whats that on your back?” Twilight pointed to the steaming basket she was carrying
“Oh! I figured, since it was so early, I could bring you breakfast! They're freshly baked banana nut muffins!” She cheered, “They're from Sugar Cube Corner!”
“Banana nut? That’s my favorite! Thank you!” She smiled and lifted the basket off her back with her magic, setting it down on a nearby table.
Sunshine felt an amazing amount of joy at that, “Really? They are my favorite too! And here I was thinking you were going to be allergic.” She giggled and walked over to where Twilight had moved the basket.
“Allergic? Nah, I'm not allergic to anything that I know of.” She magicked a muffin out of the basket, “Except maybe snakes.... But I've never gotten close enough to one to find out.”
They both giggled, and after Sunshine took a muffin for herself, they both bit into their treats, savoring each bite until the entire muffin was consumed.
“Mmm these are so good!” Twilight chirped while grabbing a second muffin.
Sunshine nodded in agreement and did the same and they both finished their treats off with a sigh.
“Whoo, that made me thirsty. Would you like a drink, Sunshine?” Twilight asked as she started heading off into the kitchen.
“That sound lovely!” She replied with a smile and a nod
After a moment, Twilight trotted back in holding two glasses, “I hope you like milk!” She chirped cheerily and handed her a glass
“Oh, I do!” she took the glass and started gulping it down, only stopping when the glass was empty. A deep sigh left her mouth as she placed the glass down and looked over at Twilight who was staring at her with a curious look, which made Sunshine blush brightly “Eh heh... I love milk.”
“I can tell! It's nothing to be embarrassed about.” She giggled, “I've been thinking about which of my friends we should hang out with first, and I've decided that I'm going to take you to meet Fluttershy first. She's a very quiet, very friendly pegasus. I think you two will get along.”
“I hope so... You're being so nice to me, Twilight.” she smiled weakly, “Thank you. Do you think we could hang out, just you and I? When we are done with all of this I mean.”
“Of course! We'll be hanging out a lot. That's what friends do, after all.” Twilight smiled and used her magic to levitate her cup over to the sink, “Would you like to leave soon?”
“Yeah, sure! I gotta be back in time to pick up my muffin from school, so I only have a few hours.” Sunshine stood up and looked around, trying hard to keep her eyes together as she looked at all the books lining the shelves, “You must never get bored with all these books around.”
Twilight chuckled lightly, “You'd be surprised... It is nice living here though. There is a lot of space, and I do enjoy reading more than anything. Do you like reading?”
“M-me? Well, yes, I do. But it's hard sometimes with my eyes... It's hard to stay focused all the time.” she sighed and kicked at the ground, “I can usually manage by moving my good eye to match the other.”
“Hmm...” Twilight looked up for a second in thought, “What about an eye patch? If you cover up your good eye, try only reading with your bad eye, maybe you can train it to stay in place. Or if that doesn't work, you could cover up the bad eye and just read with the good one.”
“I never thought of that! That might actually work!” Sunshine gave a wide grin and walked up to nuzzle Twilight gently, “Thanks for that idea! I'll have to try it out.”
Twilight blushed and gave the nuzzling pegasus a few pats on the back, “Hey, don't mention it... But um, lets go now, okay? I want to make sure you're back by the time school is out.”
“Oh, right! Let us go then.” she backed off with a smile and headed towards the door.
With a flick of her magic, Twilight opened the door, and the two mares left to head to Fluttershy's cabin, trotting under the warmth of the cresting sunshine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Sorry for the long wait. I've been super busy x.x sorry if these seems a bit rushed, I wanted to hurry and get it up! Next chapter, Fluttershy!
