Applejack's heart was heavy as she approached the school steps. She looked around for her friend among the crowd of students, but Sunset was nowhere to be seen. Applejack made her way to her locker, emptied her book bag of her textbooks and wandered to the library. Most likely, Sunset had arrived early and was already there.
Applejack pushed open the door and, sure enough, there sat Sunset pouring over a computer screen. The farm girl took in a deep breath and walked over. “Morning, Sunset!” she grinned.
“Hmm?” Sunset seemed to have been pulled out of deep thought. She turned to face her friend. “Oh, good morning, Applejack!” she smiled, “Sorry, didn't see you walk up.”
Applejack folded her arms. “You really haven't been seeing a lot of things lately”
“True...” Sunset nervously tapped her pen on the table.
“Look,” Applejack let out a deep breath, “I have something--” She paused, not sure how to formulate her next phrase. “I have something you probably need to see. Is there some place we can go?”
Sunset looked confused.
“Someplace, um, private?” Applejack expanded.
“Well,” Sunset replied, thoughtfully, “there are those practice rooms off the music room. Those should be private enough. But, we only have ten minutes before class. Can we do this after school?”
Yes, Applejack thought, best not ruin her day. She let out a smile, “Sure, I'll meet you in the music room after last period.”
---
Applejack sat anxiously in the the music room. Class had been out for fifteen minutes, and still no sign of Sunset. She pulled out her phone. “Where are you?” she texted.
Not a moment later, Sunset came barreling through the doors. “So sorry,” she panted, “the meeting with my partners for our group project went over, then, got caught up in the hall and--” She stopped when she noticed Applejack really didn't care. Sunset gave a sheepish grin. “So, what was it you had to show me?”
Applejack looked around. Though they were alone, she still grabbed Sunset by the arm and pulled her into one of the smaller practice rooms. The room was already cramped to begin with. The upright piano against the wall didn't help. Silently, Applejack sat her friend down on the wooden bench.
Sunset began to get worried. “Applejack,” she said, gently, “is everything okay?”
Applejack said nothing. She reached into her book back and pulled out the newspaper she had found the night before. She let out a sigh. Even at the last minute, she wondered if she were doing the right thing. Closing her eyes, she handed it to Sunset.
The other girl took the newspaper and looked at it, puzzled. It was quite old, about ten years. It also wasn't a local paper. There were many references to Foalronto and it's surrounding areas. However, there was no escaping the headline in bold lettering “Family Killed in Deadly Crash”. Sunset felt her breath get caught in her throat. With a deep breath, she summoned the courage to read the article.
“The bodies of three of the victims of Thursday night's crash involving a drunk driver, one other vehicle and a tractor trailer have been identified. Family members have come forward to verify Light Shimmer, aged 27, his wife, Moon Shimmer, aged 28 and...” Sunset faltered, “...and their...their...”
Sunset couldn't bring herself to read the rest. She placed a hand over her mouth and took in deep breaths, trying to suppress the coming tears.
“...and their daughter, Sunset Shimmer, aged 6” finished Applejack, solemnly. She was leaned back against the wall, head hung low. Her hat was moved to cover her eyes.
Sunset looked at Applejack in shock. She hadn't realized she had read aloud.
“That's what you meant” Applejack continued, “When you said some part of you was hoping for something. What I'm not sure about is what, exactly.”
The seated girl wiped her eyes. “Mind if I bore you with a long story?”
Applejack let out a single laugh. “Ha! You don't know my great cousin Goldie. She's all about long stories!”
Sunset scooted over on the piano bench and patted it for Applejack to take a seat. Her friend silently obliged.
Sunset took a moment to gather herself:
“I was very young when I started at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The school is in Canterlot and my town was several miles away. So, I lived in the dorms on campus, like many of the other students, and my parents would travel every other weekend to visit.
“One such visit, they tell me the news that my aunt had given birth. (Great, another cousin, right?)” she elbowed Applejack, “They were planning on making the trip to Foalronto, where my aunt and uncle lived. They wanted me to go with them, but I had exams the coming week and couldn't get away.
“So, it was decided that they would go ahead and I would meet them there after my exams. The plan was I would have tickets purchased and waiting for me in my name and I would take the train. I was pretty excited. I'd never taken the train alone before. There was some talk about having somepony accompany me, but since there were no stops, or transfers to be made, they felt I would be fine on my own.
“Well, with everything set, they went off and I stayed to study for my exams.
“Finally, came final exam day. I remember it well, everything went exactly as planned, and them some. The task was to reverse age a plant. We were all given dead plants and told to return them to sprouts. Well, this is a spell I'd studied extra hard on. Not just the spell alone, but accompanying spells as well. Anyway, not only did I return the plan to a sprout, but also to a seed and, this was the cherry on top, returned it to the original pollen and flower. Well, that was an easy A+!” She looked over to see Applejack giving her an odd look.
“We do a lot of magic on plants” Sunset explained, “They're kinda like our version of your lab rats in this world.”
Applejack's expression didn't change.
“Look,” said Sunset, sternly, “there are still many things in this world I find weird! Who are you to judge?”
A smirk came across Applejack's face and the two shared a short bout of laughter.
“Well, anyway,” Sunset continued, “once the exam was complete, I was summoned to the headmaster's office. Not all that atypical, being Princess Celestia's personal student meant I was there quite a bit. Generally, we would discuss my progress and plan my upcoming studies. Again, being the princess's personal student, my lessons were more closely tailored to me and my abilities.
“Still, these meetings were often in the weeks after my exams, when they had a chance to review my results and consult my professors and tutors.
“I walked into the office and Princess Celestia was there. Again, not all that extraordinary, she would sit in on the meetings from time to time. Given her busy schedule, she couldn't make all of them. Yet, as I entered the room, something seemed off. Something about the air wasn't right.
“Generally, there were smiles when I walked in. This time, it was a completely different picture. They looked at me differently. It was a sympathetic look.
“Without a word, Princess Celestia walked up to me and pulled me into a hug. 'It's going to be okay, Sunset' she said, 'We are all here for you.'
“Naturally, I didn't understand. Yet, I knew something was wrong. My eyes darted about the room looking for answers. Confused and scared, I cried out for someone to tell me what was going on. It was then that the headmaster told me what had happened."
Sunset took a moment to wipe her eyes. “I won't go into much detail, but basically my parents were involved in Equestria's version of a car accident. They didn't even make it to see their nephew.” She took in a shuddered breath, letting her tears fall. “You asked my what I was hoping for? I was hoping that she would be spared. If not for my exams, I know that I would have died with my parents. I was hoping that, maybe, she had something similar. Or, maybe, I was also hoping too much...hoping that, somehow, her parents lived. That she wouldn't be an orphan. That she wouldn't have to experience the same pain as me.”
Applejack wrapped her arms around her friend and gave a warm smile. “That's not a bad thing to hope for.”
Sunset smiled back, sniffled and wiped her eyes. She turned to the page where the story continued. There, at the center of the article was a picture of the happy family. Lovingly, she ran her fingertips over the people in the picture. She gave a little chuckle at young Sunset. A little girl with wild hair and a broad, mischievous smile. “Exactly like me” Sunset muttered under her breath. She turned to Applejack. “How on earth did you get this?”
Applejack gave a sad smile. “That's the same accident that killed my parents. They were 'the other vehicle'.”
Sunset's eyes grew wide. “Oh,” she gasped, “Applejack, I'm...” She lost her words. Instead, she hugged the other girl tightly. Applejack adjusted her position slightly to allow Sunset to get closer. This was something they both needed.