Pipp Petals was a pop star.
And as she had come to realize long ago, being a pop star made her recognizable almost everywhere she went. She rarely went out in public unless she was performing, mainly because her fans made it difficult to have a normal outing. Then one day, the ponies discovered a place called Earth, occupied by tall creatures, called "humans", who had no idea who she was and paid her no mind.
It had been fun while it lasted.
Eventually, the humans discovered her singing ability. From that point forward, she was hounded almost everywhere she went, always being asked to perform on the spot, or to perform at a certain event. She tried to fulfill as many requests as she could, what with it being how she made a living, but she couldn't satisfy every demand, and it stretched her mental capacity to a breaking point.
Having just finished a show, Pipp had been able to escape the venue and all the screaming humans, and she was looking for a place to settle down and think without anyone badgering her. She found an empty bench next to a tall water fountain and thought it would be the perfect place to gather her thoughts.
As she approached, she noticed the bench wasn't empty. A male human sat upon it, seemingly lost in his own thoughts as he stared idly at the water monument before him. Pipp noticed how young he looked compared to all the other humans she had seen at her functions.
"Um, excuse me?" said Pipp. "Do you mind if I sit here?" Her voice caused the human to snap out of his conscious and look over at her.
She braced herself for the standard adoring expression and compliments she usually received when humans noticed her, but she was surprised. The human simply said "Go ahead" and went back to staring at the fountain.
While Pipp was relieved that he wasn't badgering her, she was also surprised. She wasn't used to humans having better things to do than pay attention to her, especially when the other option was staring into space. It was a nice change, and she decided to revel in it.
Lifting herself up onto the bench, Pipp curled up her hooves and folded her aching wings. It was then that she realized how truly exhausted she was, and she felt like she could fall asleep on the spot. She tried to focus on keeping her eyes open, but she could slowly feel herself slipping...
Pipp snapped herself awake. She couldn't fall asleep on this bench; she was only here for a moment of peace. She was about to adjust her position when she noticed something beneath her head. It felt like some sort of pillow; she looked down and noticed it was the human's leg.
Pipp reddened as she lifted her head. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered. "I was just really exhausted and-"
The human cut her off. "It's all good," he said. "Don't stress it."
Pipp was once again taken aback at how mellow and unconcerned this human was.
"Um, how long has it been?" Pipp asked.
"'Bout thirty minutes," the human replied.
Once again, Pipp felt her cheeks burning. She had fallen asleep on the lap of a human. What if somebody took pictures of her? The last thing she needed was for somebody to start spreading rumors.
"Did anybody-" Pipp started to ask, before being cut off again.
"Nope," the human replied. "Nobody but me."
Pipp started to become more and more curious about this human. In a word where everybody seemed to know and love the Princess of Pop, there was this human, who either didn't know her or simply didn't care. "I don't mean to bother you, but, what's your name?" she asked.
"Terry," the human replied.
"Oh, hi Terry," Pipp said. "I'm Pipp, but you, um, probably knew that already."
"Nah," Terry replied. "Nice to meet you though."
Wow, Pipp thought. He doesn't even know me! "What are you thinking about?" she asked.
Terry gave a small sigh. "Life."
"Is something bothering you?" Pipp asked.
"Nah, just got a lot to think about," said the human. "Sometimes it helps to just sit back and figure things out."
"Do you come here often?" Pipp wondered.
"Every once in a while," said Terry. "It's a pretty nice fountain, so, I chill over here sometimes."
"Are you always alone?" Pipp asked. "Don't you ever have anyone to talk to? Another human to share your thoughts with?"
Terry gave another small sigh. "Nah, but it is what it is. Can't worry about it too much."
Pipp felt bad for Terry. She knew that whenever she felt like she could no longer hold in her thoughts, she had Zipp, or her mom, or one of her other friends to talk to. But Terry didn't seem to have anybody.
"Do you have any friends to talk to?" Pipp asked.
"I had a friend," said Terry. "He died last year."
Pipp was shocked. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea," she said in a hushed voice.
"It's cool," said Terry. Pipp could hear the tiniest bit of emotion in his voice. "I'm aight."
Pipp didn't know what to say. She had never really met anypony, or human, like Terry. She wasn't really good at verbal consolation. She leaned her head on Terry's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said softly. "I'm sure you'll find someone."
Terry let out a small chuckle and stretched his arm out across the top of the bench, brushing it against her wings. She knew that soon, the two of them would part ways and most likely not meet again. But for now, all Pipp wanted was to stay in the moment.
"It really is a nice fountain," she said, trying to bring a lighter topic to the conversation.
"Yeah," said Terry. "It's cool, but the water gets kinda cold late at night. You can usually feel it."
After another minute or so, Pipp understood what Terry was talking about. She felt a cold swoop over her, and instinctively she folded her wings close to her body to contain her shivering. She then felt Terry's arm wrap around her, making her a bit warmer. "Thanks," she said.
"No problem," said Terry. "So what do you ponies do for a living?"
"Well, I sing," said Pipp. "That's how a lot of you humans know me. It gets really stressful though, when all the humans come up to me and try to get me to sing for them. I know I probably should do it, but...I just get uncomfortable. It just doesn't make me feel like singing. It makes me want to get away from them."
"I feel that," said Terry. "Ain't nothin' wrong with wanting a little peace. It's what I come here for."
"It's why I came here," said Pipp. "It's a relief to meet a human who isn't begging for me to perform."
"I'm sure it is," said Terry. "But you gotta give those other people one thing."
"What's that?" said Pipp, looking up at Terry.
For the first time, she saw the human crack a smile. "If it wasn't for them, I would never have had you to talk to."
Pipp smiled. She was sure that her and Terry would have a lot to talk about.
Author's Note
Just a lil sum I decided to write for y'all. I'm really just tryna see how this does.
Y'all like it? Lemme know, maybe I'll continue it.
Peace.
