//------------------------------//
// ...which means it's become a habit... 
// Story: Blue Sunny Days and Pink Lemonade 
// by Masterweaver 
//------------------------------//

"So... hey. Question."

"What is it, Lemon?"

"Like... seriously, I know I asked before, but it's sort of seriously bugging me." Lemon gestured at Sunny's arms. "See, cause, earth aspect thing, I can sort of hear technology--"

Sunny rolled her eyes. "Yes, we've established this."

"No no, really, look. The thing is, with those things... I get nothing. I mean they're clearly tech, but..." Lemon shrugged. "Somebody wears headphones, and I can't feel the phones unless I'm, like, a foot away. Even then it's small, because it's sort of a part of them. But I can feel something. An echo, okay? Same with smartphones and other personal gadgets."

Sunny Flare frowned. "Where are you going with this?"

"There's this one girl. Vinyl Scratch. Think she's a transhumanist. She's got quite a bit of herself upgraded... don't know all the details, but her dad's apparently a big robotics name or something. Anyway, like I said, not full on cyborg, but she's done stuff to herself. Throat for the singing, L.E.D. network on her boobs--"

"What?"

"Yeah, she can literally flash her tits." Lemon smirked. "Think her girlfriend likes it."

Sunny Flare blinked in surprise. "Wow. Some people. I mean, I can understand the urge to modify your image, to a degree, but... altering your body so fundamentally?"

"Hey, she chose that life."

"...yes, well." Sunny rubbed her wrists. "Not everybody gets to choose. Still, I suppose I can't begrudge her decisions. She's not forcing them on anyone, is she?"

Lemon Zest shook her head. "Like I said, she makes her choices by herself. Kinda interacted with magic in a weird way, though."

"Really now? How so?"

"Well, you see, like I said--I get tech, and tech gets me. Earth pony aspect. I also get music, and music gets me. And this is a teched up girl with a thing for remixing." The pink girl smirked. "First time we met, she went high as a kite. Lucky thing her galpal and godhorse were there to clear things up. I mean I could dig it, but I'd like some forewarning."

"...What?" Sunny Flare frowned. "Are you saying she.... what, flirted with you?"

"Well, in the same way a cat flirts with catnip, sure." Lemon sniffed her hair. "Hey, seriously though, what's with the idea that people like talking about how people's hair smells?"

"I... would assume it had something to do with intimacy," Sunny replied hesitantly. "The closeness of... olfactory sensors to the scalp during... intimate engagements with, ah... you know..."

"Sweat?"

"...yes. Let's say sweat. Sweat is a good term."

"Riiiight." Lemon shook her head. "Anyway, so while she was close to me, I couldn't feel her tech. It was a part of her, in a way that phones and headphones just aren't when they're being used. Didn't realize she had tech until after her galpal cleared that up."

"Well, if it's subdermal that would make sense."

"Yes, it would." Lemon crossed her arms. "Thought it was like that for a while myself, but..."

She frowned.

"...so I visited my cousin the other day."

"Ah, the one in the sanitorium? She was doing well, I take it?"

"Well enough. She's... gotten a bit of unique magic, so Sunset had to come in and talk with her, but... she's good." Lemon cleared her throat. "Anyway, not going to talk about that, that's personal, you see."

"Of course."

"Thing is, sanitorium is near a hospital, right? For practical purposes."

Sunny Flare sipped her coffee, quirking an eyebrow.

"And since I was sort of there with the godhorse, some people said 'oh can you bring healing,' and Sunset was sort of forced to give a whole sermon on the spot--I called her pals and stuck around until she could get out, but I got sight of a lot of people there." Lemon tapped her arm. "Not just the faithful or the desperate. People who would come to see what was happening and then walk away, or people like, just, passing through. And this was at a hospital."

"So you said."

"So... I saw a few people with prosthetic limbs."

Sunny Flare, very slowly, lowered her coffee cup.

"And, you know, they felt like Vinyl. Like, I could see the tech, but to my magic the tech was part of them--"

"I think," Sunny Flare said firmly, "you should stop talking right now."

Lemon Zest took a deep breath. "...I'm not going to ask how. Okay? I want to, but I know that you... that whatever it was had to be seriously traumatic. But... the thing is, I'm your friend, right? Which means, you know, even if my mind knows you have it all under control and you can handle it, part of me is going to worry."

"Part of you is always going to worry." Sunny Flare looked out the window. "That's the thing, there's always going to be part of you that wonders where those you knew ended up, if they're okay. You let that overwhelm you, you can...you can go mad. You can..."

She trailed off.

"...Sunny--"

"Sonata."

Lemon blinked. "What?"

"What do you think Sonata is up to now?"

"I... uh..." Lemon shrugged helplessly. "Still looking for her sisters?"

"Do you think she's found them?"

"Maybe one. Or both. I don't know, but what can I do about it?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Lemon blinked as Sunny Flare stood up. "That's kind of cold, don't you think--?"

"You can do nothing for Sonata," Sunny Flare declared, "and you can do nothing for me. Not in this. So just drop it and move on. We will all be much, much more comfortable that way."

Lemon shook her head, standing up herself. "Look, I can't just ignore this, alright? I can't just not care. I can keep quiet, sure, but that's not the same as--"

The blue girl narrowed her eyes. "If you keep pressing on this, I cannot guarantee my civility will be maintained."

"I just want to know that you're alright, Sunny!" Lemon insisted. "Just tell me you're alright!"

"I have not been alright for FIVE FUCKING YEARS!"

Every eye in the coffee shop turned toward them.

"...Sunny, look--"

"Shut up. I'm out."

"Sunny, wait--!"

The blue-skinned girl spun around, spiking her cup into the trashcan and storming out the door.

Lemon stared after her for a moment.

Then she turned to the crowd. "...Look, I... it..."

After a moment, her shoulders sagged. "Sorry to cause so much trouble. Just... go back to your drinks, I guess. I'll... figure this out."

Her fists clenched. "I will figure this out."