Sunset and Quickheart: Friends Forever

by DaiAtlas2016

Good Times Come With Bad Times.....

Spring 1989......

If you think our relationship was all sunshine and rainbows, you're dead wrong. It started going downhill when Sunset dropped out of school in 1989, when she was 14, and got a job at a nearby restaurant. I would've been 14 as well, and she seemed to drift away from me as time went by. She started talking to me less and less, taking only a few seconds every time she passed me to say hello.

I was miserable. What was so important that she wouldn't care about me at all? Her new boyfriend, Carl, she met at the Gala last year. I never even bothered leaving the kitchen when she was home, because Carl was always there, with his hoof around her and making small talk, it made me sick!

Mrs. Shimmer noticed me in the kitchen one day and asked, patting my head, "Is Carl here again?"

I gave an angry yip and nodded before turning away from her.

"Oh, Quickheart....you aren't jealous, are you?", she asked, sitting next to me and scratching my ears.

I whimpered and nodded.

"Quickheart.....you know she still loves you, she's just a little preoccupied, that's all....", Mrs. Shimmer smiled.

Mr. Shimmer came home from a doctor's appointment.

"How'd it go?", Mrs. Shimmer asked, jumping up to greet him.

Mr. Shimmer didn't reply, he looked upset, we both could tell something was wrong. I got up and laid at his hooves, I knew what it was. I could feel it, I have a very strong connections with the Shimmer Family, so I could always tell exactly what was wrong. I wish I didn't know this time.

"I....I....have pancreatic cancer. The doctor gave me at least until the end of the summer....I'm sorry...", Mr. Shimmer sighed, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Oh no.....are you sure there's nothing we can do?", Mrs. Shimmer asked, throwing her hooves around him and crying.

I whimpered, I wish there was something I could do. But I had been unfortunate enough to been born a Pygmy Dragon instead of a all powerful genie.

Sunset came into the kitchen.

Doh.

"Mom! Dad! Carl just left and.....what's wrong?", she asked, seeing their wet eyes.

They took her to their bedroom, and told her. She burst into tears, while I would've gone to comfort her, I was still a bit sore at her. But when I looked at her again, I couldn't stand it anymore. I jumped into her lap and she grabbed me and held me close, crying in my fur.

"Hey this means I don't have to take a bath, right?", I thought to myself, trying to lift the mood.

Oh, who am I kidding, Mr. Shimmer is sitting here, getting ready to disappear from the face of this planet, and I'm sitting here trying to crack a joke. We spent as much time with him as we could, Timothy and Mrs. Shimmer especially, researching, trying to find a speck of hope. All to no avail.........

Summer 1989.......

Here we were, in the Canterlot Hospital, spending our last moments with Mr. Shimmer, who was lying in a hospital bed.

He turned slowly to Mrs. Shimmer and Timothy and smiled, "Delilah....I've always loved you, and I'll continue to do so after I'm gone...."

"I will too....Walter......I love you.....", Mrs. Shimmer sobbed, holding his hoof.

"Timothy, you take good care of her, okay?", he said to the now about 50% mature Timothy.

Timothy replied with a yip and that stupid smile on his face. That goes on my bucket list: teaching Timothy when it's okay to smile that dumb grin of his.

"Sunset....,you make me so proud....take care of your mother when I'm gone, and don't be afraid to follow your dreams...understand?", he stated, looking at Sunset Shimmer.

"Okay.....I will......Daddy.....", she sobbed, hugging him tightly.

He finally got to me, petting my head, "Quickheart.....I've always wondered what it is about you that makes this family complete.....and, I think now I know.....your heart.....it doesn't matter what the situation is......you're always there for somepony.....it doesn't matter if they did something to you in the past and you're mad at them, or if they've hurt you.......you're there for them....to the very end....Quickheart....take care of this family....Delilah....Timothy....and your Sunset....I know you'll do your best. You've been a great friend, boy. But now, is the end....promise me you'll take care...."

I whimpered, nodding before I nuzzled his face.

"Farewell....I love you all......"

I had hoped I would never hear that sound for a long time....yet...there it was....ringing in my ears.....it was over. Everyone burst into tears , except for Timothy, with that darned smile on his face. The funeral, it was beautiful, exactly what he deserved. Now that Mr. Shimmer was gone, Mrs. Shimmer had to take a job, it was something she enjoyed though, teaching kids at the Canterlot Elementary School.

Sunset, wasn't quite too easy on letting go....in fact, I think this is where her motivation to try and become an alicorn came from. I found a book on her bed, it was opened to a page saying something about alicorns being able to heal any disease, sickness, or curse. It got even worse after her boyfriend dumped her....but that's a chapter in my story, for another time....

Present Time.....

"Quickheart! I heard you ate some tomatoes today! I brought some more up for you! Are you feeling a bit better?", Luna asked.

Another thing I liked about Luna, was the fact that she knew exactly what I was saying, thanks to her telepathy.

"Yeah, I think....just...going over some....unpleasant memories.....thanks for the tomatoes.", I replied in thought.

"Why would you do that? Most ponies try to forget the unhappy memories, but why do you plague yourself with them?", she asked.

"Because...you've got to take the good with the bad....some memories may seem horrible....but in the end....they bloom into something much more beautiful....", I smiled.

"You really are a poet, aren't you?", Luna laughed, sharing my tomatoes with me.

"I try......", I grinned.