A cool breeze ruffled Sky’s hair as he led Sunny down the driveway. Summer was beginning to transition into autumn, and a few leaves on the trees had turned yellow. One of the nice things about Canterlot High was that most teachers didn’t assign homework on weekends unless it was part of a long-term project. Therefore, Sky was able to enjoy a relaxing weekend free of obligations. It was now 16:30 on Sunday, and he was taking Sunny on a nice afternoon walk.

To change things up, Sky decided to walk Sunny on a different route. Instead of turning right at the end of his driveway, Sky turned left and headed two blocks west on Aquamarine Avenue before taking another left onto Lilac Road, a quiet street with lots of nice houses. While Sunny trotted happily along, sniffing tree trunks and chewing on blades of grass, Sky admired the elegant architectural features that many of the houses on Lilac Road had. He was particularly impressed by the covered porch and Roman-style columns of number 87, a sprawling three-story lavender house with a huge yard and patio. Sky had always liked looking at nice houses – going on tours of historical mansions was one of his favorite things to do during the summer. There were only a couple of other people on the opposite side of street, and Sky enjoyed the solace of being mostly alone with just his dog for company.

Sunny was full of energy this afternoon, and Sky soon found himself being dragged along. He yanked on the leash to prevent Sunny from going too fast. Sunny stopped, lifted his leg to pee on a telephone pole, and then continued on his way at a more leisurely pace. On the opposite side of the street, Sky noticed that the front half of number 36 was burnt black, with nearly all the windows boarded up, and yellow construction tape across the door. “Wow, must have been a big fire there!” he remarked to no one in particular.

When Sky reached the end of Lilac Road, he turned left again onto Moonstone Avenue, a wide and busy street with lots of small businesses. It was considered one of Canterlot’s downtown areas, but Sky hadn’t been here very often. As he walked Sunny along the fairly busy sidewalk, he looked around at the various shops on the street. One of them was a store that sold merchandise from Canterlot’s public transportation system, such as old maps and bus timetables. Sky made a mental note of the address, since it looked like a really interesting little shop. A few doors down the road was a small bakery, and Sky could smell the aroma of freshly baked pastries through the open window. Just as he was passing by, the door opened and a certain girl walked out, holding a small white box.

“Sky!” Lyra exclaimed with a smile. “Wasn’t expecting to run into you here! What are you doing?”

Sky had been sitting at Lyra’s art table for the last few days, but he was still a bit shy around her. “Hey, Lyra! I’m just taking my dog for a walk, that’s all.” He motioned to Sunny, who was already eyeballing the box Lyra was holding.

“Hi there, buddy!” Lyra extended her hand for Sunny to sniff, but he seemed more interested in the box she was holding. “No, no, this isn’t for you! Sorry!” Lyra giggled as she lifted the box out of Sunny’s reach.

“Yes, Sunny is very food-motivated. What’s in that box, anyway?”

“I just picked up some eclairs. This bakery is really good! Bon Bon and I come here all the time.”

“Oh, nice! I love eclairs! I don’t think I’ve ever been to this bakery, though, which is weird since I don’t live that far away.”

Lyra smiled. “Well then… do you want one?” She opened the box and presented it to Sky. Inside were half a dozen small eclairs.

“Ooh, yes! Thank you!” Sky picked up an eclair and took a bite. The combination of vanilla custard, chocolate icing and freshly baked dough was delicious. “This is amazing!” he said after swallowing. “One of the best pastries I’ve ever had!”

“Told you this place was good! It may be small, but it has the sweetest and freshest pastries around! Want to walk together for a while?”

Sky was surprised. “Sure! Are you… going anywhere?”

“Nope, I’m just heading home. We can walk together until we get there!”

“Sounds good to me!” Sky finished the eclair, and then he and Lyra continued walking along Moonstone Avenue. As they passed by the last few shops, Sky stayed quiet as he wasn’t sure what to say next. Lyra, noticing the awkward silence, decided to ask him a question. “So, when did you get Sunny?”

“About five years ago. I got him as a puppy. He’s still just as cute and silly now as he was back then. Do… you have any pets?”

Lyra shook her head. “No, not anymore. I used to have a beagle named Wilfred, but he died three years ago. Sometimes I watch Bon Bon’s dog when she’s out of town, but that’s it.”

Sky nodded. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“That’s okay. He was fifteen, so he lived a good long life.”

They were now walking out of the downtown area and back into the residential neighborhood. Sky was enjoying the leisurely stroll, but then he suddenly stumbled on an uneven piece of sidewalk. “Ah, shit!” he muttered as he regained his balance. He then blushed profusely, embarrassed to have almost tripped in front of Lyra.

“Are you okay?” Lyra asked.

“Yep, I’m fine.”

Lyra smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that bit trips a lot of people up. My sister fell off her bike there once, and I had to carry her home.”

“You have a sister? How old is she?”

“She’s a freshman this year, so she’s two years younger than me. Her name’s Minty Bubblegum. Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope! I’m an only child. And to be honest, that’s the way I like it. I mean, Sugarcoat and I get along great as cousins, but if she was my sister… oh boy!”

Lyra laughed. “That’s totally understandable. I have plenty of stories about my sister being annoying!”

Sky then spotted something sitting near the edge of the curb. At first glance, it looked like a piece of cardboard. But when Sunny saw it, he immediately darted over, picked it up with his mouth, and began wolfing it down. Within ten seconds, it was gone, and only then did Sky realize what it was. “Looks like Sunny found a slice of pizza!” he laughed.

“He did?” Lyra looked down at Sunny. “Well, he ate it so fast I didn’t even notice! Guess he won’t be needing dinner tonight!”

Sky reached down and pet Sunny on the head. “Oh, you speedy boy!” He then shook his head and laughed again. “Goofy dog.”

“Did you do anything fun this summer?” Lyra asked as they continued walking.

“Yes, I did!” Sky replied. “During the last week of June, I took a trip to Montreal and I got to see a lot of cool stuff.”

“Ooh, what kind of stuff?”

“Lots of stuff! Montreal is an awesome city, probably the best one I’ve been to. For one thing, certain parts of the city are connected by a network of underground tunnels. They have lots of nice shops, connections to subway stations, and elevators and escalators to the buildings above. I loved exploring the different tunnels and walking around from one underground mall to the next. If you ever go to Montreal, you should definitely go on an underground walk at some point!”

“I didn’t know about that! That does sound really cool! I bet you saw a lot of cool buildings there too.”

“Oh, definitely! There’s one tall building that has an observation deck at the top, and I got to go all the way up. The view was amazing – I could see the whole city from up there!”

Lyra giggled. “You’re starting to make me jealous! I didn’t go on any big trips this summer, I just relaxed at home.”

“Well, that sounds like a nice summer too!”

Just then, Lyra’s phone vibrated. “Ugh!” she growled as she unlocked it and read the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Sky asked.

Lyra sighed. “My ex-boyfriend just messaged me on MyStable. We broke up in the spring, but he won’t stop begging me to get back together. I’ve told him a hundred times, we’re done! I’ve blocked him on pretty much every other site – guess I forgot about MyStable.”

Sky felt a twinge of jealousy upon hearing that Lyra had a boyfriend before. “He sounds like a jerk! Who is he?”

“His name’s Noteworthy. Same grade as me. He actually looks sort of like you.” Lyra then backtracked. “No offense, of course. His personality is nothing like yours.”

Sky shrugged. “None taken. I don’t know him.”

“Well then, you’re not missing much. He’s a selfish creep. Sorry if I’m being negative, it’s just that he won’t take no for an answer and it’s really annoying!”

“It’s all right. I understand.”

Sky and Lyra came to a Y-intersection with Amber Road, which branched off to the southeast. “Looks like we’re at my street,” said Lyra. “Are you going this way too?”

“No, I live north of here. I actually took a longer walk than I planned.”

Lyra smiled. “Well, before I go home… do you want my number? I mean, we’re basically friends now, aren’t we?”

Sky blushed in surprise. “Oh… yes! Yes, I’d love that!”

Lyra giggled and handed her phone to Sky, who blushed again as he handed his to Lyra. After they exchanged numbers, Lyra got ready to cross the street. “See you tomorrow, Sky!” She bent down to pet Sunny one more time, before looking both ways and crossing onto the opposite sidewalk. Sky smiled as he watched her depart. Right now, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

Sunny, being a good boy, had been sitting patiently next to Sky. Sky gently tugged on the leash. “Come on, Sunny, time to go home!” Sunny quickly stood up, and Sky led him down one more block before turning onto a side street that led back to Aquamarine Avenue.

When Sky arrived back at his house, it was just after 17:00. He led Sunny up to the back porch, then told Sunny to sit as he unlocked the door. After he opened it, he detached Sunny’s leash and collar, and Sunny trotted into the house, making a beeline for his water bowl. Sky followed and saw that Evening was already cutting bell peppers on the kitchen counter, preparing for dinner. “How was your walk?” Evening asked.

“It was great! I actually ran into a friend of mine over on Moonstone Avenue.”

“Oh, nice! Who was it?”

“It was Lyra! You know, the girl I met at the mall a couple weeks ago? She’s in my art class too.”

Evening smiled. “Sweet! I bet that must have been a nice surprise for you.”

Sky chuckled nervously. He hoped his mom wasn’t aware of his crush. “Yeah, it was. It’s always nice when you run into a friend unexpectedly. By the way, what’s for dinner?”

“I’m going to be making ketchup rice with chicken and peppers. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great!” Rice covered in ketchup had always been one of Sky’s ultimate comfort foods. It probably sounded weird to anyone else, but to him it was delicious, and Evening was an excellent cook. “When will it be ready?”

Evening looked at the clock. “I probably won’t start cooking the rice until about a quarter past, so dinner will be ready around six o’clock.”

“All right. I’ll probably be hungry by then.” Sky left the kitchen and went to the living room. Air was working on something in his office, and Sunny had gone in there with him, so Sky sat on the couch by himself. He unlocked his phone, scrolled through his contacts list, and smiled again when he saw Lyra’s name and number. Although he planned to wait a day or two before texting her, simply having her number felt wonderful.

Author's Note

Sky is one lucky dude, isn't he?

Part of this chapter was inspired by my trip to Montreal in June 2019.