Optimism from a Starscout
Kyle sat on the hill overlooking the field of grass, watching the sun set over a row of trees. He'd never seen a sunset like it in this area before. It was so different from his own home; here, the colors were brighter, and the sky had more of a red tinge to it.
He didn't know why he liked to watch it so much. Maybe because of the way the light danced over his face, or maybe that one time when he and Stan were kids and they'd taken the bus out into the fields by themselves to watch it together. But Kyle was pretty sure there was something else to it that drew him to look at it, but it seemed to elude him. He'd tried for years, and could never figure out what that something was.
The sound of footsteps brought his attention back down to earth; an earth pony trotted up the hill towards him. “Hey, Mr Human," she said softly, stopping a few feet away from him. “You alright? I haven’t seen you at mare town bay so I thought I’d find you here.”
Kyle glanced down at the pony, smiling faintly. “Heh, wow, you’re the first pony to ever get the word ‘human’ right.”
The earth pony laughed, and walked over to him. “Well it was a bit difficult to pronounce at first, but once I got used to it, I was able to make do." She knelt down beside him. The silence hung between them as both watched birds flapping across the horizon. “Oh, right, I never told you my name, did I? My name is Sunny Starscout. And yours?”
Kyle trained at the horizon for a moment longer before answering her. “Kyle Broflovski.”
Sunny nodded. “A bit of an unusual name, don’t you think?”
Kyle shrugged, then looked back at her. “It just sorta stuck with me, I guess. I don’t really have anything else to call myself.”
Sunny smiled. “Well as unusual as it sounds, I like it.”
Kyle turned to look at the sky again. “So do I.”
They stared up at the sky together for a little while, until the setting sun caused Sunny to glance over at Kyle. “So… you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”
Kyle’s brow furrowed slightly. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, for the past several days you’ve been looking sad all the time, and you sit on this hill when you’re upset.” She tilted her head, looking at Kyle curiously. “I was worried about you. You haven’t been around lately, and you don’t look any happier than usual.”
Kyle turned away from her. “It's nothing, really. I’m not upset.”
Sunny raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Then why are you sitting out here all alone?”
His eyes shifted back to the view as the sun dipped below the treeline in the distance. His mouth slightly opened, but no words came. There was a part of him that felt like it needed to open up, but it was another part of him that couldn't bring himself to say whatever he wanted to. Instead he let the conversation die off, the only sound coming from the wind rustling through the trees as the night fell.
Sunny nudged his leg with her nose. “Are you okay?” Her voice was soft, careful not to startle him. “You can talk to me if you want.”
Kyle hesitated for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. “No…no I am not fine.” Sunny waited patiently until he finally spoke again. “Today has been…a very trying day.” He paused, biting his lip, searching for a better word to describe how it had gone. “Upset, maybe.”
She nodded. “Okay, why is that?”
“Because I screwed up big time. Badly.”
“How bad?”
“Well, I messed one of the neighbors' garden beds over, and now their tomato plants aren’t growing. Then there’s the historical statues I knocked down in front of a teacher and students in a museum. I sneezed in front of a capsule of explosive magical dust which said dust exploded the entire building and everypony was angry with me…” Kyle trailed off. “But it’s not the biggest problem I’ve dealt with today.”
“Oh, then what is it?”
Kyle looked down at the ground. “There was this kid who dropped their ball. I caught and was gonna give it back when…” he swallowed, “when a random rock fell hard onto my foot, and I kicked his ball and sent it flying into his face. And it broke his glasses. His mother was furious with me. You wanna know what she said to me before she left?”
Sunny shook her head, a sympathetic look on her muzzle.
“She said i am the most idiotic, stupid monster she knows, that I should leave town and go back to wherever is I came, and I don’t belong here. I don’t belong anywhere.” Kyle’s breath hitched and he clenched his fists.
Sunny nuzzled her snout against his shoulder blade. “That isn’t true. That’s not your fault at all! Everypony makes mistakes. And you’re not a monster Kyle, you’re only a monster if you behave like one.” She smiled brightly at him. “I know that today hasn’t been easy for you. But it’ll get better. Not everyday is dark and gloomy, you know. Some days are just plain ordinary.”
Kyle blinked a couple times, surprised by what he was hearing. This gentle acceptance? Sunny seemed so earnest, and she seemed genuinely concerned, even though there was no reason for her to be.
Sunny looked up into the sky again. “Life can be a bit of a downer sometimes. But you gotta move past all that negativity and live in the moment. What's important is to enjoy it now, even if it's hard. You gotta keep your head held high and smile even when everything feels terrible, or else there'll be none left at all. And remember…” Her tone grew somber, almost solemn. “I'm always here for ya. Whenever you need me, we're here for each other. We've got this.”
Sunny's expression quickly brightened again, and winked. “And in my book, I think you’re pretty great!”
Kyle stared at Sunny incredulously. He was completely lost for words. It’s been a while since anyone said anything like that to me, he realized. And to someone who he had only known for a short period of time too. How had he managed to forget such a simple thing? In fact, where did all of these thoughts come from? It was almost as if he had heard them somewhere before, but he couldn't place the exact meaning behind them.
Sunny laughed lightly. “You okay?”
Kyle shook his head slowly. “Yeah. I...thank you.”
“Anytime. Hey, my friends and I are planning to play this dungeon card game at my place. You wanna come?”
Kyle blinked at Sunny for a moment, he opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He rubs his nape, turning back away from her and looking at the sky again. It was quiet. He didn't quite feel comfortable going to someone’s house that he knew nothing about, even if it wasn't necessarily someone he knew well. But then again, he had already spent way too much time hiding in his tent for far too long. But who knows, maybe this could be a chance for him to make some friends. Besides, he didn't know Sunny very well either. Maybe this will help him bond with her and more friends to come. A warm feeling filled his chest as he thought that.
After a few moments of hesitation he looked over at Sunny. Finally finding his voice. “Alright. Sure. I'd love to," he said, a small grin gracing his features. Sunny returned his grin and nodded happily.
“Great!”
