Makes The Day A Little Brighter
Once upon a time, in the beautiful town of Bridlewood, there were unicorns of all ages living together. Some of them tended to crops and trees, harvesting full bounties of fruit and grain and mushrooms. Some built houses and homes, so that everyone would have a place to call their own. Some created art, writing and practicing joyful musical pieces or crafting sculptures out of the glowing crystals that grew in every part of the town, reflecting the light in the ponies’ hearts. Foals played under the branches, adults came together to talk and laugh, the elderly enjoyed the calm breezes, the scent of moss and the sunshine filtering through the leaves of the trees. And the whole time, everywhere you looked, every place was filled with light and magic and-
“Bing-bong!”
The young colt squeaked and slapped a hoof over his mouth, blushing as he shuffled a bit deeper under the covers. “Sorry, momma.”
His mother chuckled, reaching out to tussle his mane. “It’s alright, dear. You don’t need to apologize.”
The colt frowned and scrunched, swatting lightly at the hoof and mumbling into his blanket. “But you said those superstitches are stupid.”
“Mmmh, I said that I think the superstitions are silly, not stupid. There’s a difference.”
“There is?”
The mare hummed and nodded. “There’s no harm in being a little silly. And you should never feel like you have to apologize for your beliefs, as long as they’re harmless. Lots of unicorns believe in those ‘forbidden words’ and I’ve never heard of it hurting anypony.” She tapped her muzzle. “Although ‘mayonnaise’ seems very silly even for that. I never did find out how that ended up on that list.”
“Silverspur said it’s because ma… the m-word, is made from eggs, and that’s the reason the pegasususes stole our magic.”
“Did she now? Well, I suppose it doesn’t make any less sense than any other explanation I’ve thought of.”
There was a short pause in the conversation, both ponies lost in thought before the colt hesitantly looked up again. “Momma… do you think the pegasuses really took our magic?”
“Well…” She thought for a moment, trying to figure out how best to phrase it. “If they did, then nopony I know ever figured out how they did it. I think it doesn’t really matter much.”
“But if they did took it, doesn’t that mean we could get it back from them?! You said that back when we had magic, everything was bright and everypony was happy and…”
“Alpha, look at me.” She waited until she had his full attention before making a slow gesture around the room. “Tell me, what do you see?”
“...my room?” Alpha scrunched and looked around, following his mother’s view around as she waited for him to elaborate further. “My… toy chest? The colored lights pa hung up? The window? The… window painting?”
His mother smiled and nodded at him. “Light… colors… fun… we already have everything here that we need to be happy. Magic would be amazing, but… if we had to go and fight the pegasi for it, I don’t know if that would make anypony happy.” She sighed softly. “I was really young when magic disappeared. Old enough to know how amazing it was, but young enough that there wasn’t really much for me to miss yet. But most unicorns took it really hard, and never really got over that, and now not even the children know how to have fun and be happy. I think that’s the most important thing. Once ponies here remember how to be happy, then we can think about magic.”
“So all we have to do is remind them how to be happy?” Alpha frowned and tilted his head. “But how do we do that?”
“I suppose all we can do is show them.” She picked up a puzzle cube he’d left on the floor by his bed and brought it over to the toy chest. “Sharing your toys with the other foals is already a very good start.”
He frowned a little deeper and looked down. “They don’t seem very happy when they play with my toys. Sometimes they don’t even want to try.”
“But sometimes they do. And maybe they don’t realize that it makes them happy, but that’s what makes it even more important for us to show them until they learn.” She moved over to his side and leaned down to lightly kiss his forehead. “Sometimes all ponies need is a little bittle of sunshine to brighten their day.”
“Moooooom!” Alpha blushed and squirmed, trying to hide under the covers. “Don’t say it like that, that’s embarrassing!”
His mother giggled and pulled back, heading back to the door and pausing to look at the squirming lump under the covers. “I think it’s nice. And I know that you always brighten up my day. As long as I have you, I know that I’ll always remember how to be happy.” She smiled and turned off the lights, slowly and quietly closing the door.
Alphabittle slowly poked his head out from under his blanket, yawning as the room settled into darkness and mumbling into his pillow. “G’dnight, mom. Love you…”
~~~~~
“Alpha, do you remember the teahouse down on Lattice Road?”
The teenaged colt paused to think for a moment, staring down at his cup before looking up to look at his mother. “That dreary old place great uncle Algae owns? What about it?”
“He’s thinking of retiring and I was…” His mother paused to grab the spatula and flip the mushroom omelette she was making. “I was thinking that maybe you would like to take it over from him.”
“I mean, I could I guess… I’m not sure running a quiet dark little hole in the wall is what I want to do with my life, though.” He slowly pushed his cup back and forth.
“It doesn’t have to be, though.” His mother plated the omelette and turned around to join him at the table. “I know it isn’t the most… inviting place right now, but you don’t need to keep it the same way your great uncle left it. And from what he told me it’s still in pretty good shape.” She hummed. “Well, mostly. He said something about some critters in the store rooms, you’d probably have to deal with that first.”
“Well, I can give it a look. No promises though.”
“I think it’s a good opportunity for you. And it could be a nice place for ponies to get together. There’s not enough places like that left in Bridlewood these days.” She smiled. “And who knows, maybe you can brighten up their day with a little bittle of sunshine.”
“Ugh, moooom. Not again!” Alphabittle huffed and quickly picked up his cup to hide the light blush.
~~~~~
Alphabittle looked up at the sound of the door opening, seeing his mom walk in pulling a small cart behind her and looking around. “I like what you’ve done with the place. It already looks much nicer than the last time I was here.”
“It’s not quite ready yet.” He put the room against the wall and walked over to meet her. “I need to clean up a bit more, and the whole place still looks kinda empty.”
“Well, hopefully I can help with that.” She stepped aside to gesture at the cart, piled high with boxes, toys and various odds and ends. “I brought some of your old things from home.”
“Are these… my old toys?” Alphabittle opened one of the boxes, pulling out a wooden spinning top and a puzzle cube. “Huh. I haven’t seen some of these in years. Are you sure these are the right kind of decor for a teahouse, though?”
“Why not? It’s your place now, right? If nothing else they might make conversation pieces.” She pulled out a crystal-studded yoyo and let it roll up and down a few times. “I don’t know if anypony else even still owns one of these. Put them up on a shelf, it might make ponies curious enough to visit.”
“If you think so.” He shrugged and took one of the boxes, carrying it over to the counter. “Not like I had any better ideas. Thanks, mom. Hey, do you want a cup of tea?” He moved behind the counter and pulled out a cup, leaning down to look through the drawers with tea leaves and dried berries. “We have peppermint tea, we have crystal berry tea, we have a mix of peppermint and crystal berry and, uhm… that’s pretty much it. You know, I can kind of see why great uncle Algae was always in such a bad mood...”
His mother chuckled, carrying over another box. “I’ll have a cup of crystal berry, thank you.”
“Coming right up!” Alphabittle put the kettle on, then perked up. “Oh, that reminds me! Remember the critters in the back rooms that you told me about?” He stepped out from behind the counter and whistled around a hoof. “Alphadillos, out front!”
There were a few squeaks and some skittering before three balls rolled out between the tables, jumping and unfolding into three armadillos that landed in front of him, the smallest of them stumbling and falling over. It quickly pulled itself up again, lining up between the other two to stand at attention.
Alphabittle grinned and turned to his mother, moving around the ‘dillos to point each one out in turn. "Mom, these are…” He paused, looking them over with a light frown. “These are Fae, Dillo and Al.” He leaned down to hiss at them quietly. “Come on guys, we practiced this. Al to the right, Dillo to the left. No, your left, not my left! Look, I'll stand behind you then it's both our left."
She giggled and watched for a moment before turning away to leave him to his argument with his new employees, one ear perked to catch his annoyed whispers and their argumentative squeaking as she picked up a couple of the knicknacks she’d brought to arrange them on the shelves.
"Al, just stand next to– what? Your sister didn't bite you, don't be– actually that does sound like her but that's still no reason to..."
She paused to think for a moment, then placed the puzzle cube on the corner of the bar counter where it would be out of the way but in reach.
"You can't threaten to unionize, you're already a family!"
She hummed and pulled a purplish blue crystal out of a small separate box, along with its little metal stand.
“Sorry about that, they’re still in training… oh hey, isn’t that the crystal from the mantelpiece at home?” Alphabittle walked over, leaning in slightly to look at it. “I thought that was some kind of family heirloom. Are you sure you want it to be out here in the open?”
His mother glanced up, raising an eyebrow. “A family heirloom? Not exactly, no. Did I really never tell you about this?”
“You said that you’d tell me when I was older.” He gave her a deadpan look back. “Considering you told me about the quartz and the trees years ago but not about this, I figured you’d stolen it or something.”
“Ah, well…”
“Wait, what? Seriously?” He blinked and stared at her.
“Not exactly?” She sat down and looked at the crystal. “Back when I was a filly, this was put up in town hall. Right out in front in the entrance hall for everypony to see. Then when they renovated the place they took it down and… I kind of swiped it and took it home before they could throw it out or lose it in some dusty old basement or anything. Nopony noticed and even if they did I don’t think they cared, but… I always felt like it was something more. Like there was a tiny bit of that thing that everything else in this town lost still left inside this one.”
She sighed and smiled. “Or maybe it’s just a pretty crystal. But if you hold it into the light…” She held it up to the closest beam of light from the windows, watching as the core of it shimmered and glowed with a purple light. “See? Just a bit of sunshine and it becomes something magical.”
“Bing Bong!” Alphabittle twitched, then glared. “You did that on purpose.”
“Maybe.” She giggled and stood up again, walking over to a shelf near the bar and setting it up. “Either way, I don’t think this is something that should sit at home for all my life. So I’m passing it on to you. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll have a family, or you’ll find somepony else who brings some light into this place and then you can pass it on to them.”
“Thanks, mom.” He smiled at her for a moment, then moved back to the cart. “Alright, let’s get this all unpacked. Critters!” He paused to stare down at the pile of dillos all trying to wrestle their siblings into submission. Rolling his eyes he walked right past. “We’ll work on that.”
~~~~~
Alphabittle sighed quietly and grabbed his puzzle cube to distract himself, the teahouse quiet and dark despite the multiple customers and the several lights strung up along the ceiling, the silence only broken by a cough from a corner table and the steady wooden clacking of his toy.
A young stallion at the counter who had been staring into his cup drearily for several minutes glanced up, watching his hooves fly over the cube. “...what’s that?”
Alphabittle glanced up, pausing for a moment before resuming the twists and spins. “Puzzle cube. It’s pretty fun.”
“Huh.” The stallion gave a faint nod before turning his attention back to the dregs of his tea, staring down into the cup silently.
Alphabittle finished the cube and started to mix it up again, considering the random thought that had crossed his mind before speaking up again. “...care for a wager, maybe?”
The stallion stared blankly into his cup for a beat before apparently realizing that the question was directed at him and looking up again. “A wager? What’s that?”
“You know, a bet.” Alphabittle shrugged, doing a few more twists before placing the cube down on the counter. “A game. If you manage to solve the cube in… I don’t know, three minutes? If you manage to solve it in that time I’ll give you a refill for free.”
The stallion stared at him for a moment, then down at his empty cup before looking at the cube. “Huh… Sure, I guess? It’s your tea.” He picked it up, turning it and looking it over. “So I just… twist it to make the colors match up?”
“That’s the idea.” Alphabittle grinned faintly, rooting around under the counter before coming up with a small hourglass and putting it down on the counter. “Three minutes. Time’s running.”
The stallion frowned down at the cube and gave it a slow twist, eyebrows drawing together as he focused on the toy and slowly started to speed up, muttering something under his breath as one of the sides he’d put together was pulled apart again in an attempt to fit another side.
“Time’s up.” Alphabittle tapped the hourglass to shake the last few grains sticking to the top half loose, holding out his hoof for the puzzle cube and inspecting the two sides his customer had actually solved. “Not a bad try, but you’ll have to do better than that.”
“Huh.” The stallion went silent again, staring at the cube for a few moments before glancing at his cup. “...can I get another try?”
“This thing’s not going anywhere.” Alphabittle shrugged, already mixing up the sides again as he thought. “That said, I can’t exactly let you keep trying until you get your free tea. That seems like it’d be bad for business if everypony starts doing it. Maybe if you got something to bet, make it a proper wager…”
The customer frowned. “So what, I’m supposed to pay for tea and then might not even get my tea?”
Alphabittle shrugged. “Doesn’t have to be money. It’s just a small game. Got anything small you don’t mind losing?”
He frowned and thought for a moment, then reached down and pulled out a small bag, looking into it. “I got some dried fruit snacks…” He pulled out a large apple ring and put it on a napkin on the counter. “How’s this?”
“Looks like we have a deal.” Alphabittle smirked and put the cube on the counter again, flipping the hourglass over.
~~~~~
“Alpha? Are you in here?”
Wiping his hooves on a rag, Alphabittle looked up to see his mother come around the corner to the back area of the tea room, led by Dillo running ahead of her. “Over here, mom!” He tossed the rag to Fae, who squeaked indignantly and tossed it to Al instead.
“So I see.” His mother looked him over, then looked past him at the large machine taking up the space he’d cleared. “Is this the big project you were talking about?”
“Yes! It’s something new for the teahouse!” He perked up and moved over to wipe the sawdust away from its front. “I think this could really bring some life into this place.”
“Well, that’s good.” She nodded slowly. “So, what exactly is it?”
“It’s a dancing game! Well, it’s supposed to be, at least. I got all the music I could get my hooves on but so far, well…” He showed her a box of disks and picked one at random, moving behind the machine to open a disk slot and switch out the one inside. Closing it up and gesturing to Al to power it up, he winced when the sound of off-beat drum sounds and slow, depressed strings filled the room. “Yeah, pretty much all of them are like this. Not exactly something you can dance to.”
“Hmm…” His mother nodded slowly, sifting through the box as she looked for something. “Most of these are from the last few decades, it’s no wonder they’re not exactly the most upbeat tunes. I wonder if… ahah!” She held up a disk and pushed past him, switching out the disk in the machine and turning it on. “This one came out the year I was born. Sadly there wasn’t much of a market for it soon after because of… well, you know. I didn’t think I’d ever find a copy of it again after I lost mine.”
Alphabittle tapped his hoof, tail swishing and ears twitching as he listened to the song. “This is pretty good…” He grinned as the song went into the chorus. “Really good. This is perfect!”
“Good to know that I still know a few things you don’t.” She moved back around and stepped onto the small stage made of tiles with colored horseshoes. “Well? Let’s give it a try.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You realize I have to put on the actual steps to go with the song before it works.”
“And you’re not going to put in the steps to the song until you know them, are you?” She pranced in place, tail swishing in excitement. “A great many things I have taught you but I think I would remember if dancing was one of them. Pay attention now, there will be a test. Al, give me a beat!” She pointed at the armadillo sitting in the power wheel, grinning as the critter started running and the song spun up again.
~~~~~
“Hey everypony, who’s up for a friendly wager?”
~~~~~
“Not a fan of puzzles, huh? How about something with hoof-eye coordination instead? Ever seen the ball and cup game?”
~~~~~
“Good game! Here’s your cup of tea.”
~~~~~
“Quiet evening, huh? Interested in a card game?”
~~~~~
“Hmm? Oh that, I won that a couple weeks ago. If you want it, I’m happy to bet on that instead.”
~~~~~
“Alright critters, one more try. I think we almost got it synched up to the music right.”
~~~~~
Alphabittle looked up from the cup he’d been polishing, watching the door slowly open. Customers at this time of day were rare and the tea room was completely empty aside from him and the critters, most of the lights around the room turned off and leaving it slightly darker than usual.
He frowned in confusion as nopony walked in, looking closer until he spotted the pair of eyes peeking around the door from near the ground level.
He watched as a small filly with its mane tied into a braid slowly shuffled into the room, glancing around at the dark corners nervously and looking over at him every few seconds.
“Can I help you?”
The filly swallowed and shrunk down a bit more, staring up at him. “I-I, uhm… the other foals told me I should, uhm… come here? Nopony else wanted to, uhm… a-and they said this place had…” She blinked and trailed off, eyes going wide as she stared right past him.
Alphabittle looked around in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on with the filly. “This place had… what? We don’t usually get foals your age here.”
“What is that?” The filly slowly started walking closer, eyes still fixed on whatever had caught her attention, pupils blown wide.
“What?” He frowned and looked around again, trying to follow the filly’s line of sight and landing on a shelf. The shelf that held the crystal his mom had left him, illuminated by a small beam of sunlight from a window overhead and shimmering in the light.
“It’s amazing.” The filly breathed softly, still staring. “I’ve never seen anything that pretty.”
“You mean… this?” He moved over and carefully picked up the crystal.
The filly blinked, then shook her head. “No, the other thing! The one next to it!”
He paused and blinked, slowly putting the crystal down again and moving his hoof to the side, picking up the crystal-studded yoyo. “...this one?”
“Yes! I’ve never seen anything so sparkly! What does it do? Why is it up there?” She nodded rapidly, eyes never leaving the yoyo.
“It’s… a yoyo. It’s a toy. You do this, and…” He wrapped the string around his hoof and dropped it, letting it spin at the low point for a second before tugging lightly to let it spin itself back up, then repeating the motion, the crystals throwing colorful spots of light around the room as they spun.
The fillies pupils were blown wide enough to fill almost her entire eyes and sparkling as she watched it go up and down. “Ohmygosh…” She whispered softly under her breath, then perked up and started vibrating in place. “That. Is the greatest. Thing. EVER!” She started bouncing in place, trying to match pace with the yoyo going up and down.
Alphabittle stared at her for a moment, spinning the yoyo up again and slowly placing it on the counter, her eyes following it the whole time. “Would you… like to have it?”
Her eyes suddenly snapped from the yoyo to him, mouth hanging open in shock for a moment before she whispered reverently. “Can I? Really?”
He looked her over for a moment, glancing around the room as he thought, his eyes landing on a dark corner at the back and staying there. “Well… I like to play a game with ponies from time to time. If you want to have it, we could play a game over it. Do you have anything you would wager for it?”
He turned his attention back to the filly, watching as she shuffled in place nervously, visibly thinking. “I… I don’t know? I don’t really have anything I could…” She paused, scrunching in thought before slowly reaching up for her ponytail, pulling at the pink ribbon holding it in place. He watched as her blue mane immediately fanned out, falling across her back in fluffy waves as she held up the ribbon for him. “I, uhm… I got my ribbon?”
“...okay.” He nodded slowly, taking the ribbon and carefully setting it down on the counter next to the yoyo before turning to walk over to the back of the room, giving small signs to his assistants, ear twitching when Dillo unhooked a rope by the counter and the shutters above that part of the room opened up.
The filly shuffled up next to him, staring with an open mouth at the beam of sunlight illuminating the large new machine. “What is that?”
“That is the game of choice for a price like that.” Alphabittle smiled softly as he moved up to the machine and gave it a light stroke with his hoof, nodding at Fae and Al who had already climbed up into the power wheel. He stepped back and took his place on one of the two dance pads. “Alright, step onto that one over there.”
“This here?” The filly jumped onto the other pad, all four hooves fitting onto one of the tiles. “Whoa, the horseshoe pictures are blinking! What are they for?”
“It’s a dancing game.” He smirked lightly, pointing at the machine. “That machine will play a song and the wheel in the middle will show the steps. You get points for stepping on the right tiles in time with the music.” He watched her inspect the tiles. “Let’s make it best out of three. We play three rounds, and if you win one you’ve won the game.”
She looked down at the tiles and up at the machine several times, thinking hard before giving him a determined nod. “Okay. I can do this.”
“That’s the spirit!” He chuckled and nodded at Al and Fae, the music starting up and the wheels spinning into the first steps. He leisurely followed them the way he’d practiced, glancing over every few seconds to see the filly excitedly jump and flail around in her attempts to hit as many tiles as she could.
There was a ding from the machine and the music stopped, the little crown sign on his side swinging out to note him the winner.
“Awww… I lost, didn’t I?” The filly slumped down dejectedly before straightening up again. “You said three rounds! That means I still got two, right?”
“That’s right.” He nodded, pointing at Dillo to reset the game. “Ready to give it another try?”
“I’ll win this one.” The filly nodded, staring hard at the wheels with the steps as the music started up a second time. She immediately started jumping around, trying to hit the steps faster and twisting and crossing her legs to reach them.
Alphabittle moved along with the song, watching her a bit more closely and wincing as she stumbled several times. He saw her trip over her own hooves and quickly moved to catch her as she tumbled off the pad. “Whoa, careful there. Don’t hurt yourself.” There was another ding as the song ended and he winced again as the sign swung out on his side.
The filly in his hooves slumped down and sniffled, pouting and tearing up. “I-I can’t do it! I tried really really hard and I still lost!” She squirmed to get out of his hold, getting up and shuffling away from the machine.
“Hey now, where are you going? You still have one more try, don’t you?” He frowned, moving around her to cut her off and gently push her back towards the machine.
“But I can’t do it! I’m just gonna lose anyway!” She yelled at him, squirming and turning her head to glare at the blinking horseshoe tiles.
“Well… did you have fun?”
She paused, blinking and frowning up at him in confusion. “...fun?”
“Yeah. Did you enjoy yourself? Was it fun to play the game? Did it make you happy?” He looked down at her, nudging her lightly back towards the machine.
“I… I guess? Maybe? The first round was… fun. I think. B-but I still lost!”
“Losing and winning are parts of the game. But the important thing should always be having fun.” He stepped onto his own pad again, smiling down at her lightly. “Don’t think so hard about winning. Try to relax and just enjoy yourself. That’s what fun is all about.”
“Fun…” She stared down at her hooves for a moment, then up at the machine again. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath, slowly relaxing. “Fun.”
Alphabittle waited until she slowly opened her eyes again, then nodded covertly at his assistants, the music starting up again. He slowed down a little more on his steps, forcing himself to make a few mistakes and watching the filly the whole time. She didn’t seem to notice, her attention locked completely on the wheel with the steps as she moved and bounced and jumped around. He raised an eyebrow as she crossed her forelegs before twisting to reach all four steps at the same time, then bouncing up again to hit the next two.
There was a loud ding from the machine and he jerked his head around as the music stopped to see the victory sign swinging out on her side this time. The filly slowed to a stop, blinking and staring for a moment. “I… won? I won!” She jumped up and cheered, jumping off the pad to bounce around him. “I won! I won I won I won! I did it!” She jumped at him and started to climb all over him. “That was so much fun! I think? Is that what fun feels like! I love it! Can we play again?!”
He chuckled, wincing lightly as she stepped onto his ear in her attempt to climb onto his head and carefully trying to keep her balanced as he walked back over to the tea bar. “I think we can arrange that, yes. Although right now, aren’t you forgetting something else?”
She blinked, then made him wince again as she stepped onto his muzzle to jump off his head and onto the counter, skidding on the wood and sliding to a stop in front of the yoyo. “I won!” She reached out to pick it up, but paused and looked back at him. “Are you sure? I can really have it?”
“You won it fair and square, kiddo. And your ribbon, too.” He nudged both items a little closer to her with a smile. “Although I personally think your mane looks good as it is. More personality, you know?”
“Mum doesn’t like it all fluffed out like that.” She looked down at the ribbon, then shrugged and started tying her ponytail again. A moment later she perked up and grabbed the yoyo, fumbling with the string to wrap it around her hoof and dropping the toy, watching as it bounced and rolled along the counter until it fell over. “...when does it come back?”
Alphabittle chuckled, helping her roll it up again and picking her up to sit her on one of the bar stools. “It takes a bit of practice. Here, you need to wait until it’s down at the bottom and then tug, like this…”
“Ooooh…” The filly watched, then tried it herself, making the yoyo jump a few inches. “This is harder than it looks. You must be really good at this, Mister.”
He hummed, correcting her hold a little. “Call me Alphabittle, kiddo.”
She nodded a little, tongue sticking out in concentration as she focused on her yoyo technique. “Okay, Mister Alphabittle. I’m Izzy!”
~~~~~
“Alright everypony, who’s up for a new competition? The ultimate challenge for the ultimate prizes! Huh, tough crowd…”
~~~~~
“Hey Izzy, back again for another game? How’d you like to try this puzzle cube today, it’s one of my personal favorites.”
~~~~~
“Say, don’t you guys do some kind of music group or something? I’ve been looking for some evening entertainment around here, and I could set up a little stage area for you and your friends.”
The grey mare in the beret blinked slowly, staring blankly at him. “We do poetry with musical accompaniment.”
Alphabittle glanced around awkwardly. “Well… I’m sure people will find that… entertaining, too? What kind of poetry? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you’re not a limerick kinda crowd.”
“I write poems about crystals that resonate with my soul like a perfectly symmetrical lattice matrix.”
He nodded slowly. “Allllright… Let’s hear one, then.”
The mare nodded slowly.
“Crystal.
You are a crystal.
Smooth. And hard. Like a rock.
But you’re a crystal.
Crystal.”
Alphabittle stared at her.
“My friends write about a wider range of topics.”
“Oh thank the- I mean, I’m sure the customers will appreciate some variety.”
~~~~~
“Good try, buddy, but not good enough. Pay up.”
~~~~~
“Mister Alphabittle! Mister Alphabittle!”
Alphabittle caught the filly barreling into his teahouse before she could run into any chairs or tables. “Whoa, easy there kiddo. Where’s the fire, Izzy?”
The filly squirmed out of his hold, shaking her head before jumping up and down in excitement. “I got friends!”
“You do, do ya?” He smiled indulgently and ruffled her hair. “Well, about time the other foals figured out what a little bundle of sunshine you are. So, who is it? Latticework? That Vinebud kid from down the road? It’s not Shroom Gloom, is it?”
“Ah… no, it… it’s not any of them…” Izzy slumped down a little before perking up again. “It’s somepony from faaaar away!”
“Far away? You mean outside Bridlewood? Huh.” He rubbed his chin. “I’ve never even heard of any unicorns living out of town. How’d you meet them?”
“I haven’t! Buuuut… they sent me a letter!” She pulled out a piece of parchment and unfolded it to show a crayon drawing. “See here? It says I have friends in Maretime Bay! Wherever that is. And they want me to visit them!”
“Maretime Bay?” Alphabittle froze, staring at the picture. “Izzy…”
“Yes! I’ve never even heard of it! Do you know where it is? I bet they’re waiting already, I need to pack! How long do you think I’ll have to walk to get there? Two hours? Three? Maybe I should take two granola bars for the way just in case.”
“Ah, Izzy, that’s…” He stopped, trailing off as he saw the little filly staring up at him with wide sparkling eyes and a big smile. “That’s… that’s pretty far away, you know? You should, uhm… you should probably wait before you make a long journey like that. Until you’re… older.”
Izzy’s ears slowly folded back, her smile shrinking. “But… what if they’re waiting for me? What if they’re lonely, too, and they really really really want me to visit?”
He winced lightly, biting his cheek. “That’s, well… Do you know when they sent the letter?” He nodded as she shook her head. “Who knows how long it’s been on the way. I’m sure they’d rather wait until you can make the trip, instead of worrying that you might get lost on the way, right?”
“I guess…” Izzy shuffled her hooves dejectedly, then perked up slightly. “Oh! What if they decide they want to visit me instead?” She paused, fidgeting in place. “Do you think they like fun? I’m not sure I should take them home if they do… oh! Maybe I can clean up that cottage down the road, the pretty one in the big tree! Mum says I’m too young to live on my own but if I just clean up a little and spruce it up and maybe put some things in there… I gotta go!”
Alphabittle watched her turn around and run off again, taking the letter with her. He sighed and slumped down a little, rubbing his head and hoping that she’d forget this weird new fancy before she got any more ideas and got herself hurt.
~~~~~
“We have these three kinds of tea. If you know any other flavor of tea, do enlighten me. Otherwise you can take what we have or you can leave it.”
~~~~~
“Hey mom, remember that old playground a few streets over? I was thinking of getting some materials and fixing it up but I could probably use another set of hooves. I know it’s probably not going to see much use but here’s hoping, right? I know at least one filly who’s probably going to love it.”
~~~~~
“Annnnd that’s another win for you, Izzy. If anypony else in this town was half as good as you I’d be going out of business, kiddo.”
“Maybe you just need to step up your game, old stallion. Now hoof over that spatula.”
“Big words from a pony who apparently obsesses over spatulas. I don’t know what’s weirder, that you need eleven spatulas and fourteen wooden spoons or that I had eleven spatulas and fourteen wooden spoons.”
“It’s for a personal project. By the way, I’m gonna need about eight empty glass bottles next.”
“I’m not even going to ask.”
~~~~~
“Is that… a fake eye? Where did you… why would you even… you’re not even trying to actually win this one, are you?”
~~~~~
“I’m not betting this one, Izzy! I actually paid good money for this coupon.”
“Awww, come on! What do you even need an hour of cardboard printing for?”
“Advertisement? For the business I’m running? What do you need an hour with a cardboard printer for?”
“Novelty cereal boxes, duh!”
“...moving right past whatever went on in that strange little head of yours when you made this, that’s surprisingly good design work. Guh, fine! You get twenty minutes with the printer if you make the designs for my stuff, too.”
“And that’s the business I’m running.”
“Not actually a business.”
“Don’t care, need to design more cereal boxes~! And your stuff, I guess.”
~~~~~
“Hey mom. The usual?”
“Please.” His mother sat down at the bar, taking the cup he slid her way and the milk his smallest assistant pushed over to her. “Thank you, Dillo. I haven’t seen Izzy around for a while, is everything alright with her?”
“I think so… Last time I saw her, she said that she was going to visit some friends.” Alphabittle shrugged. “You know the kid. She’ll turn up again when you least expect her.”
“You’re probably right.” She hummed and smiled. “It’s good to hear that she finally found some friends, though.”
“Oh yes, absolutely. It’s about time the other ponies her age figured out what a little bundle of sunshine she is.” He chuckled, then paused and frowned. “...huh. Had the weirdest sense of deja vu there. Oh well.”
His mother sipped her tea, setting the cup down and looking over to the crystal still in place of pride on its shelf. “So, are you… is that an eye? Nevermind, not important. Are you planning to let her ‘win’ that crystal sometime soon?”
“Not much letting her win involved these days, that filly is one hay of a card pegasus. Can’t say that I haven’t thought about it a couple times, though.” He glanced over at her. “You think I should?”
“If not her, I wouldn’t know who else.” She chuckled, then smiled at him and put her hoof on his. “Don’t stress yourself over it, okay? In the end it’s just a silly old crystal like any of a hundred others growing around this place. The important thing is that everypony can see how much you adore the filly, and I’m pretty sure she knows it as well.”
“She knows that she’s a menace, is what she is,” he grumbled goodnaturedly.
“Yes, everypony can see that as well.” She grinned. “I knew a young colt who gave me quite a bit of trouble like that when I was your age, if I remember right.”
“I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
“That’s debatable, dear. But either way, I think you’re good for each other. And you know what I always say…”
“Moooom, not that again…”
“Everypony needs a little bittle of sunshine to brighten up their day. And as far as I’m concerned that filly is as much a bittle as you and me.”
Alphabittle pouted and rolled his eyes as his mother set her empty cup down and got up again, but couldn’t quite help a smile as she headed out again, looking past her out the door and wondering what kind of trouble the kid was getting up to this time.
~~~~~
“Guess that makes me the winner. Again. Pay up.” Alphabittle smirked lightly as his latest customer put down the snow globe they’d wagered and got up to leave. Putting his prize away under the counter for the moment, he turned his attention to the group of new arrivals, perking up just a little as he spotted Izzy among them. He gave the other four unicorns with her a curious glance while he pretended to polish the counter, none of them looking like anypony he’d met before and all of them looking much more energetic and alert than just about any unicorn in Bridlewood. It honestly answered a lot of questions about where the kid had been the last days. Leave it to Izzy to find a group of unicorns living outside town that nopony else had ever heard of.
He glanced covertly at them again, giving them another look. They seemed surprisingly close for such a presumably short time together, but then again this was Izzy and his own knowledge of friendship was somewhat skewed by growing up and living in this town all his life. Perhaps ponies that weren’t terminally depressed just bonded a lot faster and more obviously.
Quickly turning his attention back down to the rug he was polishing with and pondering over which tea blend would fit each of Izzy’s friends best, he glanced up only when one of the new ponies sat down at the bar, raising an eyebrow at her and pushing a fresh cup of crystal berry blend her way. Leaning down while she was distracted with Dillo he quickly whispered to Fae. “Someone’s putting on a show. Tell the others to ham it up.” He bit back a grin as the filly started to banter. As long as these ponies didn’t hurt his kid, he thought that he would quite enjoy having them around. And if this filly was already challenging him, maybe he could give them a little test to see if they knew how to let loose and have some fun with a quick game, too.
Author's Note
For extra effect, play in parts of the song during the bridge sections of the story (trailing in and out like it was in the dance battle in the movie).
Alphabittle is a much deeper character than it seems if you think about it. I did think about it way too much and I made a blog post with a list of all the things I found between the lines.
