I woke up with my mother's words echoing in my ears. It was still some time in the night, but not overly late. I laid there for a while, letting the memories of my mother's embrace wash over me. Then images of Twilight crying rose back to the surface.
I sat there and pondered what had happened to make her cry. It seemed so different than the Twilight I had come to know over the last year. I looked over and saw the bag I had brought with me, and focused my magic on it, causing my geode pendant to float over to me. I held it for a moment, hoping that maybe the red gemstone would hold some sort of answer. Sadly, though, it merely glinted in the light filtering in from Luna's moon. No answers would come from this quarter.
Sighing, I got up and padded down the hall to the Princess’ room, knocking gently. The door opened promptly, showing the Alicorn sitting on a cushion reading.
"It's a little late, Sunset," she said, setting her book to the side. "What's the matter?"
"I had a meeting with Princess Luna," I said, not meeting her gaze. "I'm not exactly in a huge hurry to go back to sleep. What are you reading?"
"One of A.K. Yearling's older Daring Do books," she smiled as she looked at the book, running a hoof across its cover softly. "There's supposed to be an amazing meteor shower later tonight, so I'm just passing the time until then."
"I'm surprised she even made it as an author," I said. "The first book didn't do too well."
"Maybe not, but the second made up for it," Twilight said, wings ruffling slightly as she shifted. "Your dream, what was it about?"
I looked down, tears welling in my eyes. "I'd rather not talk about it, if that's ok, Twilight," I whispered. "Some of it is still just a bit raw."
"Your mother was in it, wasn't she?"
I nodded. "After breaking up the nightmare itself, Luna let me have a few words with Mom," I felt my throat close up a little on the sadness. "I didn't even know she could do that. I saw Mom's last moments, got to talk to her, hear her say that she..." I didn't make it any further in the sentence before I lost any hold I had on my emotions. Tears flooded down my face and sobs wracked my chest.
Twilight climbed up and wrapped a wing around me. She stayed quiet, letting me pass through my grief on my own.
"Six years," I cried. "I've been gone six years and never once did it occur to me to even let her know I was ok." I had turned so that my head was pressed into her shoulder. "I could have asked you to forward a message, I could have come back sooner, I could have..."
Twilight shushed me as my voice gave out again. "You couldn't have known this was going to happen," she whispered. "You at least got to see her again, dream or not." She glanced out the window. "It's late, and you have a big day tomorrow. You should get some rest."
I nodded, wiping the tears from my muzzle. "You're right," I said sullenly. "Big day." I saw her look of concern crease further as I left her room.
I looked towards the room that Sunshine had been given and thought momentarily about apologizing for being flippant earlier, but I couldn't bring myself to walk those few yards. I instead wound up on the balcony between our rooms, staring out blankly at the starscape, the constellations and star names vaguely flitting through my mind as I tried to keep my mind on anything other than my grief.
I couldn't, though. I kept seeing memories from foalhood, the party from when I got accepted to the School for Gifted Unicorns, my cute-ceañera, the party she had put together when I told her I had been chosen to be the Princess' private student. A few sobs slipped free, tears building again. Didn't a pony have a limit on tears? I just put my head on my hooves, the tears falling silently.
"Sunset?" a quiet voice said behind me. "Are you ok?"
Horseapples, I thought. I didn't have the energy to face another Twilight, especially one that I had somehow hurt earlier tonight.
"I'd like to be alone right now, Twilight," I said, hoping the sound of my voice didn't betray the tears. "I'm sorry if I woke you up."
"Sunset," she said softly, sounding closer. "Look at me, please?"
I raised my head but didn't look back. "Please, Twilight," I whispered. "Just for tonight, let me have this time."
"You're not ok," she said, almost like confirming a hypothesis. "I'm here, and you can talk to me. Don't try and bear this alone."
"Sure?" I whispered. "After all, I managed to hurt you earlier and I'm not even sure how."
"Sunset," she said, her voice going stern, like it had been back at the portal. "That is not even important right now. Now, are you ok?"
I turned, letting her see the matted hair on my muzzle where tears had run before. I was sure that my eyes had gotten about as puffy and red as they could be and I suddenly felt exhausted. I got ready to make a sarcastic remark, but only a choked sob managed to make its way out.
Seeing that, Twilight rushed forward, her glasses falling off in her haste. She wrapped me up in a hug, tighter than the Princess' had been.
"I miss her, Twilight," I whispered. "I miss her so much."
I don't remember when or how I wound up in bed, but when my old mentor raised the sun, I was tucked in, a tissue still tucked in the frog of my hoof.
I sat up and saw the dress Rarity had made sitting draped over a clothes stand.
No more avoiding it, it was time to say goodbye.