The sun slowly rose past the mountains overlooking the small town of Ponyville. Out of all of the possible windows the sun’s rays could have decided to hit, the rays managed to find an opening in my bedroom curtains, “gracing” my face with their “loving” goodness, urging me to get up. I groaned and turned the other way, lifting my blanket over my head in the process, and hoped the rays would leave me alone. Sadly, they followed me, their light breaching through my layer of blanket protection.
I grumbled and slowly got out of bed, not really caring where my blanket decided to fall. “Looks like I’m getting up early today,” I groaned. I ran a hoof through my bedridden mane, wondering if I should comb it now or after I came back. Opening my curtains, I glared at the slowly rising evil ball of orange-yellow in the sky, hoping that Celestia would never hear that from me in anyway. My brain decided on leaving the mane as it was. With that being settled, I did a few quick stretches to loosen these old bones of mine, before heading out to do my usual morning activity-doing a quick lap around the town. Since it didn’t matter which direction I turned right from the start, just picked a direction and jogged across the quaint town, hoping to beat my personal record: ten minutes at full sprint with an average jog of twenty.
Although the sun was just starting to rise, I could feel the town slowly waking up, the few other morning birds slowly getting out of their beds and getting ready for their day. The fresh morning dew grabbing ahold of any and all fixtures it could, giving everything a silvery sheen that I never got bored of. All of the reflecting lights along with the soft, gentle breeze made me love mornings like this, even if it meant getting up early.
I could feel my body loosening up by the time I hit Sugarcube Corner. They were always the first business open; nothing could stop them from falling off schedule, not even Mrs. Cake’s pregnancy.
I opened the door. A bell jingled over my head, alerting them of my entrance. Mr. Cake was behind the counter, the bags under the orange coated stallion’s pistachio eyes more prominent than usual. He looked up and gave me a smile. “Morning there Icy.”
“Morning Mr. Cake, how are you?” I asked him as I reached the counter.
“Same old, same old,” he yawned, putting a fresh plate of muffins in the display. “How about you?”
“Feeling old,” I said with a grin. “How’s Mrs. Cake?”
“She’s alright, sleeping in today.” He paused and checked the clock on the wall. “The usual I take it?”
“Yes please.”
He bent down, grabbed a plate of muffins, and placed two into a bag. I reached into my bit pouch and gave him the bits owed before reaching over and grabbing the bag with in my mouth. “Thanks Mr. Cake,” I told him in a muffled voice before trotting out.
“Have a good day!” He waved goodbye, slipping into the kitchen to get the rest of his display ready.
With the delicious muffins securely held by my teeth, I trotted back to my place. I’d managed to beat my record, not including the quick stop through Sugarcube Corner, by a minute and three seconds. Anypony watching me could see the grin plastered on my face as I walked inside my apartment, a two bedroom flat near the town market.
Convinced that I couldn’t ignore the light outside anymore, I opened up the brown curtains, only got them since Ditzy said to get curtains that worked with the tan brown wallpaper, letting the natural light into my living room. The walls were bare of any pictures, not a big fan of those. Somepony who cared for home decor would probably be in pain: a light blue couch, a lighthouse throw hiding a huge hole, and coffee table placed over a large forest rug, with several bookcases along the walls, all jam-packed with various books and notepads. A few pictures were placed on top of the bookshelves, though it mostly barren. I didn’t care if it looked out of place and that none of it matched; I got the furniture for function.
Along the way to my kitchen, I couldn’t help but notice that the wallpaper was slowly starting to peel along the kitchen’s doorway. Grey and Ditzy will get on my case if I don’t fix that soon.
The kitchen itself is just your standard affair: stove, sink, cupboards; nothing too fancy or expensive. Nestled inside was small dining room table with four chairs. The table was scuffed and had several deep scratches, but that only added character to it. I placed the bag onto the table then grabbed a glass and the bottle of apple juice from the cupboard. I wolfed down the two muffins and chugged down a glass of juice. Guess I was hungrier and more thirsty than I though. I threw away the bag and placed the glass in the sink and did a quick stretch to pop some joints loose.
I went into my room to open up its curtains. Most would think that just having a bed and dresser would make for a sparse bedroom, but it didn’t bug me. Just meant that there was more room for an entire map of Equestria with intel on the latest movements on all things gryphons and dragons. What? I’m not paranoid; it’s just useful to know what your enemies are up to and planning as of two days ago. Upon second thought, I closed the bedroom curtains, no point advertising to anypony that might see through the window.
I made my way to the second bedroom in my flat, taking in what was in front of me. Any and all bits that I saved on all the furniture went straight into making it into my workout room: dumbbells, a squat press, pull-up bar, tread machine, and any other machines that I would need for whatever workout I could think of. Grey told me that this wouldn’t be a good investment, but I’m more than sure that it has paid for itself a few times now.
Even though I was honorably discharged from the army, I still wanted to keep in shape, in case they needed me. The general populace had no idea what was going on, but a few friends left in the guard kept me informed—there have been a few territory disputes near with the griffins near our borders. Although I knew that none of that would reach this close to the capital, I felt that it would be safe to stay in shape as best as I could, since it would benefit Ponyville in the unlikely event we would see combat. It wasn’t because I was paranoid, no matter how much Grey calls me that. It’s always good to have a backup plan.
After an hour long workout and a quick shower, I sat on the couch and relaxed for a bit. It was only 8:30 a.m. and I had no plans. I closed my eyes, my body slightly fatigued; I’ve been neglecting my workout for a while and my body decided to tell me how much it hated me for it.
It felt I was forgetting something, something very important. Aw well, must’ve not been impo- Holy feathers! I bolted upright. Hearts and Hooves Day was next week. I was gonna ask Fluttershy to dinner…
Just thinking about it, my wings rustled a bit and I could feel my face burn as my heart skipped a beat or two. I gulped and tried to psych myself up, pacing around my living room. I can do this! I told myself. It’s super easy; I mean, Tart does it all the time. My body started to shake. I-if he can, I can too…
It took awhile, but I was able to steel my nerves enough to bumble my way over to her cottage just outside of the Everfree. I paused at her door, taking in how wonderfully crafted the door was. Somehow, it perfectly matched the tree’s bark, even the age lines. Critters moved abound, slipping in and out of the windows that dotted the outside. Her garden was freshly watered and the small river lapped against its shores right outside her house. The leaves on the tree itself were green. It made me wonder if the tree itself was still alive.
I raised a hoof to knock, barely inches away from the door, and froze. Thousands of thoughts flooded my brain and my body was just stuck there, no matter how much a part of me was yelling at me to knock. I could hear faint humming coming from inside, a few bird chirps and squeaks.
I can’t do this…
Yes I can!
No I can’t!
Yes I can!
It felt it went on forever, my brain fighting with my heart. I took a deep breath and went to knock-
“Hey Icy, whatcha doing?” a voice asked from behind me.
-and I squeaked, my wings shooting out. Trying to recover whatever sense of dignity I had left, I slowly turned around and saw a grey coated stallion. It was only Grey, an eyebrow raised as he stood right behind me.
“D-don’t do that!” I stuttered, a hoof over my heart.
“...You okay?” He asked, genuinely concerned.
“J-just fine…”
He was silent for a moment, his head tilted slightly before a big grin showed up. His body shook with mirth before he started laughing, nearly falling over.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ve never seen you act so skittish before, dude. I mean, you were in the army, what’s got you so scared?”
“I-I am not scared!” I told him, planting my hooves in front of him.
The door slowly creaked open. “H-hello?” a voice asked.
I screamed a very manly scream and dove behind Grey, making him laugh even harder. A yellow head peaked out, revealing Fluttershy’s beautiful face framed by her long, wonderful mane, her cyan eyes showing her confusion. “I-is so-something the matter?”
“N-no…” Grey said through stifled laughs.
I poked his side. “Shut it…”
“Oh, hi Grey… Icy… w-what are you doing here?” she asked, stepping out of her door. She looked down at her shuffling hooves instead of us.
Grey took a breath to settle himself and wiped the tears from his eyes before he responded. “We just wanted to ask if you needed help with your animal friends. They woke up from hibernation not too long ago and we thought you could use a few helping hooves.”
“O-oh… are you sure it wouldn’t be a bother?” she asked us.
Grey shook his head. “Nah, not at all.” He slid to the side and pushed me forward. I tried to fight him but his stupid earth pony strength was too much. “Right Icy?”
I looked up and saw her looking at me, waiting for me to respond. Boy, the ground was mighty interesting, and I stared at it intently, trying to learn its secrets. I mumbled something.
“W-what was that?”
“I-I’d love to help…” I muttered.
She smiled and grabbed a onto my hoof. I could feel my heart skip as she led us inside, thanking us for helping.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed reading this fun little story. What started off as an idea turned into the story above. If you haven't yet, please check out some of FlashKenshi77's stories. They are pretty good.
Now, some words from the man himself: "I blame you for this."
Always a man with good words.
