The Importance of Small Details
"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."
--Arthur Conan Doyle
"I hate them!" Wallflower screamed. "I really do! They climb up all the trees, and they gnaw on the buds and twigs, and they build huge, messy nests of dry leaves and all sorts of garbage! I hate them so much! There's a REASON people call them tree rats!"
Juniper Montage adjusted her glasses. "Did you ever think maybe you're taking this too seriously? I mean, they're just squirrels. The trees can handle it."
"No!" Wallflower clenched her fists. "But I have a plan. The squirrels will regret the day they thought to turn my precious tree friends into their personal chew toys!"
Wallflower reached one hand into her capacious sweater pocket, pulling out a fist-sized object.
Juniper stared. "What is that?"
Wallflower popped the top off the container. "An economy size jar of medicated petroleum jelly!" She thrust three fingers into it, scooping out a large glob. She smeared the goo across the nearest oak tree's trunk. Wallflower grinned maniacally. "Want to help?"
"Um...no." Juniper stepped back. "Do Celestia and Luna know what you're doing to the school's trees?"
Wallflower said, "Snitches get stitches. If you want to live to be a famous movie director, you won't tell a soul."
Juniper backed farther away. "Ok then." She turned and ran.
"Books are better," Twilight insisted.
Vinyl Scratch waved one hand in the air, and tapped the headphones on her own head.
"Oh." Twilight added, "Or books on tape are good too."
Juniper snorted. "And I suppose you think a movie soundtrack is as good as the real movie."
"Well..." Twilight's voice trailed off. "I have to agree with Vinyl about one thing. Sometimes the music really is the best part of a movie. Maybe you don't need video OR dialog."
Juniper scowled. "You two don't even BEGIN to understand. Have you ever even SEEN a movie? I mean, REALLY paid attention from the very beginning to the very end?"
Twilight shrugged. "I do tend to fall asleep partway through."
Her brother Shining walked up. "Hey, Twily. I'm here to pick you up for the thing."
"At the place, yes!" Twilight smiled.
"But one thing, first," Shining said. "I hope you don't mind that I overheard, Miss..."
"Juniper Montage!" The movie fanatic stuck out her hand to shake.
"Shining Armor, Twilight's brother." As the two shook hands, Shining added, "In the Whinny Nam war, the North Whinnynese captured some of our troops, and made movies of them to show for propaganda purposes. But when they showed the movies on Whinnynese television, it turned out a few of the troops were blinking their eyes in Horse Code, sending secret messages to the outside world."
"What kind of messages?" Juniper asked.
"Important ones. The point is, even in a television show, only listening to the audio isn't enough. The smallest details within a few frames of video can turn out to be essential, even life-changing."
"Huh," Twilight said. "So if you're a prisoner who's being tortured every day, maybe movies can be ALMOST as important as books."
Shining and Juniper exchanged exasperated looks. "She's always like this," Shining remarked.
Rainbow raised her eyebrows skeptically at Fluttershy. "It just seems...weird."
Fluttershy said, "But it always makes me feel better." She stepped towards an oak tree, embraced it in her arms, and pressed her lips against it. She rubbed her lips against the bark, and slightly opened her mouth. A minute later, she said, "My lips feel better already. Now YOU try it, Dashie."
Dashie's jaw had fallen open, watching her childhood friend make out with a tree. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Trees can make me feel better than anything else in the world. And late at night, when no one's around?" Fluttershy whispered, "I can get...more intimately affectionate with them. A good tree's love can even soothe my hemorrhoids."
"Huh." Rainbow stared. She whispered to herself, "I wish I was a tree."
A squirrel tried to run up the trunk of a nearby pine, but lost its grip about six feet up, falling to the ground with a thud.
Fluttershy ran to the fallen creature, kneeling to give it a medical examination. One at a time she gently lifted each eyelid, checking for signs of a concussion. "The poor little dear. I don't know WHY the local squirrels are so bad at climbing."
"Heh," Rainbow said. "Maybe they need to buy the tree dinner first."
Later, at home in her backyard, Rainbow hugged a tree, and touched it with her lips. She whispered into a knothole.
"Please!" she begged. "Teach me your ways of love, so someday I can make Fluttershy mine."
Rainbow's hands caressed the tree's rough, unyielding bark.
"Ouch! Another splinter!" Rainbow put a finger to her mouth, and sucked. "Why must love hurt so much?"
"AAAA!" Sonata Dusk screamed. "Everything fell out AGAIN!"
"That's because you tipped it," Adagio remarked. "Also, maybe you should pinch the far end shut with your fingers while you're eating."
"But!" Sonata whined, "When I eat a taco, I'm concentrating on the delicious goodness with my mouth! I can't pay attention to those other things like the taco's other end too, all at the same time! Not if I want to really enjoy it!"
Aria snorted. "So you can't use your hands and your mouth at the same time?"
"Exactly!"
"Then how do you eat an ice cream bar, or a hot dog? How do you ever peel a banana?"
"No," Sonata whispered. "Why did you have to say that, Aria? Now I'm all confused. Now I don't know how to eat anymore! I'm going to starve!"
Sonata heard a metallic clinking and clattering from the next table.
Twilight Sparkle, the new transfer student from Crystal Prep, was cutting her taco into little pieces with a knife and fork. Twilight speared a morsel with the fork, and lifted it to her lips.
In that moment, Sonata was enlightened.
