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 Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 4:05 am
 After their first encounter, Candy Skull and Fashion Evestan became quick and close friends. He'd never really had a friend before, but the more the two hung out, the more he found himself chattering away and having fun. Sometimes he'd even consider asking his parents to enroll him in Miss Cheerilee's class… Sometimes. While he was able to relax and open up around Candy, he doubted he would be able to handle a classroom full of staring eyes. He still had no idea how Candy had dealt with it for so long, but he hoped it was better for her now that he was always waiting for her once the bell rang. Hanging in the shadows, wearing dark sunglasses, he'd try to look like some rebel colt, too cool for school. Of course, behind his sunglasses he would anxiously watch every pony around him, and the whispering some would do when they'd see Candy heading towards and walking away with him would send him into inner panic attacks at first. Candy had a way with calming him down, though, and always assured him she felt a lot better with him there!
Today, however, something was clearing bothering her… "Candy-Can, whats up?" He gently shoulder-bumped her as they walked towards his house, deeply concerned but trying not to be overly protective.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 4:07 am
School had been getting slowly better since her and Evestan had become friends… Having someone she could talk to helped a lot, and she'd often find herself rambling about drama and who said what and just… School stuff, ya know? Stuff that every other pony got to talk about with somepony, but she never did… Until now. It was so weird to her, and almost daily she would apologize for talking too much, and every time Eve would tell her apologizing was utter nonsense and ask to hear more. Shoot, the more they hung out, the more he'd start talking about things, too!
Except… Today wasn't a day she really felt like talking. Sure, things had gotten better… The more she was with Eve, the more she felt normal. The more she felt normal, the less she paid attention to the others aura's in class. The less she paid attention, the more relaxed she felt. The more confident she acted. And with him picking her up from school every day? Some of the other fillies actually had hints of jealously in their auras. Who was that strange colt? Why did he like her? Of course, they'd talk mean about it, make nasty rumors, but after she got brave and blatantly stated to a bunch of gossiping fillies "he's teaching me how to steal the souls of the heartless" with a deadpan stare in their exact direction, ponies pretty much left her alone. Unfortunately, Candy didn't think Eve's presence in her life could help with this particular problem…
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 11:55 am
Eve waited… and waited… and waited for a reply. When he got none, he realized she must be deep in thought. What on earth got her so wound up tight? "Candy…?" He nudged her again, and she almost tripped. "Oh sweet alicorns, how far gone were you? Can-Can, what's wrong??" He helped her get straight, pulled her to the nearest shade tree, and sat down in front of her. Something was up, and he wanted to at least try to tide things over so she'd be ok in front of his parents for dinner. They could be… a bit much, and he knew the last thing his friend needed was to be grilled by adults who had literally no idea how to help a school-going filly.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 11:59 am
Eep! Candy was startled from her thoughts when she was nudged, and her hooves got all tangled up. With Eve's help, she got straightened out, and then suddenly she was being escorted somewhere. Judging by the slight drop in temp and the rustling sound above them, they were now under a nice shade tree. Candy let out a long sigh and leaned against the bark with her horn.
"So… the school dance is coming up soon…" She took a deep breath, and just let it all out. "And it happens every year and every year there's a dress theme and every year we're all required to attend and every year I beg Miss Cheerilee not to make me but every year she does because she thinks it'll be good for me and I'll make friends and she's so sweet but she doesn't seem to realize that if these ponies wanted to be my friends they would already be my friends by now but they're not because they don't want to be so I don't know why she thinks a stupid school dance is going to make a salt lick of difference? And I'm blind in case you hadn't noticed so of course I can't exactly see clothing to be able to see what the hay I'm wearing though I guess it doesn't really matter because I could be the best dressed there and nopony is going to give a flying flip but I at least kinda try but I think Miss Cheerilee is starting to get really suspicious because I always tell her that my parents are out of town and so that's why they can't help me put an outfit together but I have to say that every year and every other time that something comes up that they should be involved with because I can't exactly tell her the truth because I'll be put a home and be even more of an outcast than I already am and what if somepony who's really mean adopts me and it's even worse worse?!?" The filly finally paused for a breath, and then her head sunk even lower against the tree. "And to make it worse worse worse… this year the dance is on my birthday…" By the end of the sentence, Candy's voice was barley a whisper, and she was doing her best to hold back the tears.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:28 pm
. . . Well. Eve had started to raise a hoof to gently rest on her shoulder as comfort, but when the filly let it all out at once all he could do was stand there, frozen in sadness and shock and just… He didn't know what, but with every word his heart hurt more and more for his friend. When she got to the last bit, his legs actually started to feel weak and he leaned against Candy's side, wondering how in Equestria this filly shouldered all of this, and then for this year to be on that day of all days… How? He knew she was strong, but he never realized just how strong… Just hearing her pain had him short of breath and feeling weak, but she felt it… "Candy…" The colt breathed, then he shook his head, which probably wasn't the best idea as he was kinda dizzy. "Candy." He said more firmly. "Candy, this year is going to be the best year." Great, now his own eyes were watering up… but his head was starting to become clear with determination, and he was forming a plan to make this all ok.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:29 pm
When Eve rested against her, she lost it for half a second… Then she felt his aura, felt how her pain had affected him, and became angry at herself for putting this burden on his shoulders. This was her problem, not his, and now she had her best friend feeling like the world caved in on him. That anger exploded outwards a bit when he tried to reassure, unfortunately.
"Best year?" She squeaked quietly, then her voice got a little louder. "Best year??? HOW? Eve, I… I got nothing! I can't keep up the charade, I'm gonna get taken away… This year… This year is going to be the LAST year!!!" She had jerked away from him and paced back and forth a couple times, but got so worked up she lost track of her surroundings and after the last word of her mini-rant, she smacked face first into the tree. Emotions flooded her, and she wanted to scream… but instead, she sat down, pulled it all into her chest, closed her eyes and just breathed. She was /not/ going to keep unloading on Eve like this. It wasn't fair to him...
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:39 pm
The colt about fell over when his pony pillow suddenly vanished, but he got to his hooves quickly. Not quick enough, however, because he didn't realize Candy was on a crash course until BONK. He stood quiet for a minute, waiting for her to scream it all out, but she didn't. She got quiet. Too quiet. Scary quiet. Holy Alicorns… Eve had never admired anypony more than he was admiring her now. And he was more determined than he'd ever been.
After a couple seconds of silence, Eve sat back down and stared at her, willing her to feel the same thing he was feeling. "Candy Skull. What is my name? What is my full name and what do I have a knack for?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:40 pm
For a moment, Candy didn't even hear him. She was lost inside her mind, focusing on breathing, on not letting her aura push against him, on keeping still and keeping it all in. When his words finally made it through the fog, she frowned ever so slightly. Eve? Eve… She actually couldn't focus enough to remember… Eve… Evestan… What did he have a knack for? Dolls? Costumes? How was that going to help… Fashion Evestan… She didn't think a dolled up doll was gonna keep her from being laughed out of the school on her birthday and taken away to who knows where...
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:48 pm
No reply. That's ok, she was in her head. "Fashion. Evestan. F A S H I O N. I wasn't named that for my skill with birds, Skullface." That was his version of 'dollface' for her, and he only used it when she really needed to hear it. All the comfort and compassion he had was packed into that one word. "I'm making your dress this year, and you're not going to argue. You're going to let me do this for you, you're going to have to forgive me for accidentally poking you with a pin or twenty, then you're going to strut in there and every filly and colts jaw is going to hit the ground. When they ask who made the dress, you're going to tell them your parents made it home for your birthday, they had it designed and tailored just for you, and that it's one-of-a-kind and you're the only filly who's ever going to have it. You're going to act like the most important pony in there, and your aura is going to scream it so loud nopony can ignore it. You hearing me, Skullface? I'm not letting you get taken away."
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:23 pm
The first thing Candy registered was the hardness to his voice. Eve had never sounded like this… Was he mad at her? She needed to listen… to focus… No, no that wasn't anger… it was… strength. Determination. Slowly, ever so slowly, his words got through, and then cleared out, the emotional haze swirling around her mind. A dress. Of course. She'd only get taken away if it became obvious she didn't have parents at all. So a dress… from her 'parents'… Fashion. That kind of fashion. If he could make doll dresses, why not pony dresses? He made pony costumes, and that was kind of the same thing…? As her brain processed this, her eyes began to open, and she slowly let her head lean over to rest against his nose.
"Eve… You're the best pony ever." Happy tears sprung from her eyes, and suddenly she found herself hugging him like her life depended on it. On him. Which really… it kind of did.
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:23 pm
Eve laughed happily at her change of tone, thrilled beyond words that he lifted her spirits like that. He was also scared… What if he couldn't deliver what he promised? What if his dress wasn't good enough, and everypony laughed at her? Even if the 'my parents got it for me' story flew, he still needed to make something that would wow the others out of their minds… He did his best to keep these worries from reaching Candy, however, and instead dried her tears and got both of them moving, as being late getting home would surely send his own parents into a panicked frenzy.
Time flew by, and just as Eve had promised, he poked Candy with more pin holes than anypony should ever have to endure. He wasn't used to making such elaborate clothing! But Candy never complained, never flinched, and stood happily still as he worked his hooves and magic around her. Finally, the day of the dance came, and both ponies were so nervous they were almost sick. After helping her get into the dress, he led her downstairs to show his parents what he'd made for her 'Lunar Lights' dance...
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:26 pm
Candy had no idea having a dress tailor made for her would require so much time being statue still! Eve had made it fun, though, and they'd spend their time talking and laughing and musing ideas back and forth. Being unable to see meant fashion had little appeal to the filly, but Eve assured her she had good style even though she could see the white lies in his aura. It didn't matter though, she knew he was being a friend first, and dress-maker second. Priorities, ya know? He had them right, so Candy would just beam away as if she believed him~
The night of the dance, and her birthday, finally came, and the filly thought she was going to lose her dinner. What if this didn't work? She knew the dress was amazing, she didn't have to see it to have that much faith in her friend, but what nopony believed her? She was almost trembling when she was led downstairs in it, and had to focus on breathing while she waited for the initial reactions...
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:26 pm
As soon as Candy reached the bottom stair, Eve's parents gasped and swooned, obviously in love with her dress. Solid black with silver details, it was simple-colored but elegant, and flowed so effortlessly it resembled the Princess's tails. "Give a little spin, Candy~" Eve smiled, and when she got up on one back hoof like a ballerina and twirled, the dress came alive with color. Fiber optics combined with some unicorn magic made her every twirl sparkle like like the Northern Lights. His parents started crying. Eve started crying. If this dress didn't blow those colts and fillies minds, nothing ever would. His Candy was absolutely stunning… But now, the rest of the night was up to her.
"Go get em, Can-Can~"
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:27 pm
She could feel her cheeks blush bright red when Eve's parents lit up at the sight of her… Never had she seen auras like that caused by her, and she had to focus on breathing again to keep from crying. When she spun around, though, she could almost see exactly what Eve had described her dress looked like, because the auras and colors around her turned so many shades and hues and it was just… breathtaking. She felt breathtaking. This was the best birthday of her life… So far, at least.
Scared out of her mind, Candy hugged Eve's parents and let him walk her almost to the dance. Then she hugged him, took a deep breath, and trotted inside…
Once inside the dance itself, the filly walked a little slower… Ok. Now what? Normally she slunk off to the bleachers, as the dance was held in the gym… But before she could think any further, her teacher came up and joyfully gushed over her dress. This, of course, drew a bit of a crowd, and Candy could feel the growing number of eyes on her. Drawing every bit of courage she had, she asked Miss Cheerilee, "Should I give a little spin?" Naturally the answer was 'yes', and when she did… The entire room gasped. The rest of the night was spent dancing, bragging about her 'parents', and assuring quite a few fillies that 'no, you won't ever find another dress like this~'. The feeling was intoxicating, but Candy figured by Monday morning it'd all probably be forgotten. That was ok, though, because if anypony did try to be her friend now, she'd just flick her tail and walk off. She wasn't about to accept friendship over a dress. Especially a dress made from friendship~
When she left that night, Eve walked her back to his house, and they tiredly clamored up the stairs to his room. His parents let her sleep over a lot, and she had a nice little bed made up on his floor. Something felt different about Eve, though, but Candy couldn't quite place it and Eve swore nothing was off. Too tired from the best day of her life, Candy quickly drifted off to sleep with a smile still on her face...
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Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 8:27 pm
Eve was so happy, but also so nervous, the entire night. He spent much of the time pacing around, trying to find things to keep him busy. He was simply too worried to celebrate his own personal moment, though his parents promised a big special dinner for it the following night. Eve didn't really care, and he wouldn't care, until Candy was out of the dance and still happy as hay.
Sure enough, all he ever hoped for came true. The dance was a hit, the dress was a hit, Candy was a hit. She was beaming ear to ear when he picked her up, and that smile never left her face until sleep took it's hold. Despite her curiosity, Eve did his best to hide his news from her just a bit longer… Tonight was about her. Tomorrow.. Tomorrow he'd tell her about the stitched-looking, button-eyed pony head that had appeared on his flanks as he'd watched her twirl around and light up brighter than any dress ever could~
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