Sunset Shimmer burst out of the doors of Canterlot High, her face sore from tightly cringing, her cheeks wet with warm tears.
The cold December morning air nipped at her skin, her legs and her socked feet cold and soaking wet as the snow she desperately sprinted through slipped down the hem of her boots. Her chest felt a strong and distressful weight inside, the pain and suffering of a broken heart of recent emotional trauma that occurred earlier today. She felt herself collapsing on her knees before the base of the Canterlot High pedestal, an altar standing tall and wide in front of the entrance where the only way back home to her homeland of Equestria was through a magical mirror, topped with the stone statue of a horse standing on its hind hooves.
Sunset Shimmer looked up at the horse with leaky flooding eyes. She had heard years ago that the horse standing tall on its hind hooves was the symbol of pride and spirit of Canterlot High. It was painfully and toxically ironic, Sunset thought, that the pride and spirit of the high school was been taken down a peg, and it was all thanks to the appearance of a mysterious MyStable user who exploited secrets... secrets that belonged to the students and the students alone... and spread them around the school like an infectious disease.
The worst part of it all was that Sunset Shimmer was the scapegoated "patient zero" of that "disease."
Nobody, not even her friends would take her side of the story, let alone believe her innocence in this.
She remembered her last encounter with her now-former friends. She saw the looks of disappointment etched across their faces, the brows furrowed at their foreheads, the tears flowing from Fluttershy's eyes. She could hear their accusations flowing through her hippocampus, the tones of their voices dripping into her psyche like acidic venom.
She remembered how badly their last words stung her.
"Secret stealer!"
"We trusted you, Sunset! We thought you were our friend!"
"How could you do this to us? After all we've been through together?"
"You're not the person we thought you were! You're not our friend!"
"This is it, Sunset. You're not going to take advantage of us anymore."
But nothing stung her more like the last thing her former cowgirl friend told her.
"Tell whatever secrets you want. But we're not going to listen."
It took that particular statement and their backs turned to her to realize what she truly was.
Alone. Abandoned. Accused of a crime she never committed.
Those actions along brought Sunset to cry in the hallways alone while the other students of Canterlot High cast her an accusatory sideways glance, or passed by her like she was only a ghost, unseen and unheard by everyone else. The damage inflicted to her was so great, Sunset threw her books down and ran for the exit, her heart broken and smashed like an iron sledgehammer to a mirror.
That brought her to base of the Canterlot High statue, hugging the corners of it tightly, spilling her tears all over the marble surface while she sobbed to her heart's content.
A heart, once blackened, stained, and tainted by her own arrogance, dictatorial dispositions, and selfish desires that made her quite infamous throughout the school, then purified by a fellow pony princess-turned-human and her five human friends, now repaid to her by having said human friends stomp all over it at the first sign of trouble. For all of the times when she saved the school from the Dazzlings' hypnotic music, feeling that she had been accepted into a small group of friends and having been invited to their slumber parties and the Apple Family's Christmas Parties, this was the biggest slap in the face of all time. She did everything good to redeem herself and this was her just reward.
Sunset's eyes laid on the surface of one side of the portal magically built within the marble.
She couldn't take much more of this heartache.
She needed to get out of here.
Urgently, Sunset reached her arm out to touch the portal, hopes of returning home to Equestria and collapsing in the comforting embrace of Princess Twilight Sparkle's hooves reaching so high.
Except all that Sunset's fingers did was touch something else.
Cold.
Hard.
Solid.
Marble.
Not one ripple in the fabric of the marble's space.
Suddenly, Sunset's worried increased tenfold.
"Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
Sunset pressed her palms against the surface of the state as hard as she could. She nudged it, budged it, and pushed it as much as her weight allowed her.
But in the end, the high school student could not escape the human world.
The portal was closed.
She was stuck here.
Stuck in torment.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Sunset's eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking from between her lids as she pounded her fist against the surface of the marble, hopes in vain of trying to receive her only friend's attention on the other side of the closed portal.
"Princess Twilight! You have to let me in! Please, you've got to open up the portal, you've got to! There's nothing left for me here! I've lost my friends! They don't want to talk to me anymore! The magic of friendship is gone! I can't go back to the school! I can't stay here any longer! I'm all alone! Please, Twilight, you've got to open up the portal! I'm all alone! I'm all alone! I'm all... all... alone..."
When the reality of her situation finally sunk in, Sunset lost the urge to carry on. She felt herself slipping to her knees, feeling the burning sting of the cold snow on the surface of her knees. She hunched her body over in the snow and fell against the marble, emitting a throaty, high-pitched whimper that converted into a smaller sob, her shoulders shuddering with each spasm of her lungs.
Princess Twilight's mirror portal was closed.
Did something happen on the other side of the portal?
Did Twilight intentionally close the portal on her side?
No, that couldn't be it. How could she?
After all, she was the one who showed her a better path from the dark road she took. She bonded with her a little during a sleepover at Pinkie Pie's place. She helped fight to save the school from the Dazzlings. Surely, Twilight meant to keep the portal open on her side in case Sunset ever wanted to come home.
So... why did she close it?
It didn't matter anymore.
Nothing mattered to her anymore.
That part was crystal clear.
That part was what calmed down her sobbing.
That part was what finally deflated her of all emotions.
Sunset, her path ahead slowly coming to its end, stood up, stoic but emotionless on the outside, but feeling empty on the inside. Like a deflated balloon, Sunset felt every ounce of energy to fight this crisis ebb away from the very essence of her soul. The empty was soon replaced by thoughts of despondence, and with that despondence, she allowed her brain to go into autopilot as she stood up on her own two feet and sulked away from the school grounds. With nowhere in mind for her destination, she headed into town.
The halls of Canterlot High seemed as dim and bleak inside as it did outside.
Everywhere one student turned, there was always an argument, harassment, or a physical fight happening nearby.
All of it was made possible by the mysterious MyStable user(s) "Anon-a-Miss", and their gathering of secret-spilling apostles.
It was thanks to the influence of Anon-A-Miss that Canterlot High School was currently in the worst cyberbullying case they have ever seen. Deep and personal secrets have been exposed to the students. Friendships have been completely broken. Students have been on the receiving end of ridicule. They wept into an emotionally-shattered shell. They exchanged physical blows and harsh exclamations. They couldn't even show their faces around the school, knowing their secrets made them an easy target for harassment.
And who should take the brunt of these blows but five certain human girls, sitting sullenly at their table in the bustling cafeteria? Their faces were forlorn from sadness, anger, and betrayal, having recently cut off ties from their one "friend" who stabbed them in the back. They believed their "friend" was the one who spread their secrets around the school, starting with Applejack and working her way around the five girls, one by one. Soon, the entire school knew of their deep and dark secrets, and all the evidence pointed fell onto Sunset Shimmer's phone.
Now they were short one fellow friend... one fellow Rainboom.
Even Granny Smith's homemade apple pies tasted as bitter as what they felt.
Their mulling over what happened was interrupted when a few pig-headed students made a few "oink oink" noises as they passed Applejack, laughing it off even when the cowgirl shot them her meanest glare. Knowing it did nothing to sway them from the bullying, Applejack slumped forward, sighing as she played with her food while holding her head up with her hand placed under her cheek.
"Ah can't believe it," she said, her tone beyond depressed. "Ah just can't believe it."
"Well, believe it, sister! We just kicked out our best vocalist from the Rainbooms, and all of it was because she couldn't keep her proverbial mouth shut!" Rainbow Dash barked, slouching back in her seat, crossing her arms, and huffing. "If you ask me, we're better off without a secret-stealing snitch like her in our group!"
"I just can't believe Sunset turn on us with that horrible 'Anon-a-Miss' site, even after all she's done for us!" Rarity stated.
"Yeah, we don't want to be friends with a secret-stealing Meany McMeanypants!" Pinkie Pie concurred, shoving a whole slice of cake in her mouth, chewing it up stressfully and swallowing it whole. "They always try and sucker up to you for love and affection and friendship, and just when you think they can keep a little secret, they always find a way to turn it against you!"
"Hear hear!" Rainbow Dash and Rarity shouted, banging their fists on the table.
"And ta think, Ah actually invited her to our Christmas party too," Applejack said dejectedly.
Fluttershy rested a gentle hand on Applejack's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Applejack. We just didn't know better until it was too late."
"Well whatever the case, I'm glad Sunset's not here with us right now," Rainbow Dash said, leaning back in her seat. "The next time I see her face around, I wouldn't hold myself irresponsible for what I would do to her in ten seconds flat."
"Now wait a minute, Rainbow Dash," Rarity quickly interjected. "What Sunset did to us was horrible, but we mustn't be so quick to resort to violence."
"And why not, Rares? Everything she did with us up until now feels like it was all a big slap in the face!"
"Yes, but if we do physically return that slap to her face, we would be no better than her, would we?"
Rainbow Dash growled at her posh's friend's resistance to violence, but she could see her point.
"No, I guess not," she said in a defeated grumble.
"But there's just one thing from all this that doesn't make any sense," Fluttershy said.
"And what's that?" Rarity asked.
"Well, Princess Twilight asked us to look after Sunset after we took her down with our Equestrian magic, right?" Fluttershy asked, making a few of the girls nod their heads. "And after we defeated the Dazzlings together as a band, we considered her our friend. We've invited her to sleepovers, sat with her at this very lunch table, and we were about to invite her to Applejack's Christmas party. But the one thing I don't understand is, why now? Why would she even go back to her old selfish ways just to expose our secrets to the entire school, and right before Christmas? What's there for her to gain since she lost her power? What is she was innocent the whole time? What if she--?"
Having heard enough, Applejack suddenly smacked the table, silencing the area around her. The other four looked at her bewilderedly as her body was as tense as a board and trembling like a leaf. They could see the annoyance and the anger in her face, and everyone knew there was no scarier force on Earth than to see Applejack angry or tense.
"Listen, Fluttershy, Ah know yer tryin' ta figure out another side of this story, but it don't change nothin' now," the cowgirl seethed. "Sunset Shimmer was with us the when we told her our secrets, and she had dirty photos of all y'all in her phone. Even if ya try and convince me there was more to this whole story, it doesn't matter at all. Sunset Shimmer is 'Anon-a-Miss.' She was a rotten apple from the start, guilty as sin, end of story. So let's just try ta get on with this day and not have any more talk of this hogwash. Ya got me!?"
Fluttershy gasped, reeling back from Applejack's outburst.
"Y-Yes..."
"Good."
Applejack continue to play with her food, barely having the strength to eat some more lunch afterwards.
The sound of silence was broken by Pinkie's stressed out scarfing of her cakes, and Rarity grimaced.
"Pinkie, dear?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"You've got a little something around your mouth.
Pinkie Pie slapped a napkin around her mouth, wiped off the cake frosting off of her lips, and went back to her meal.
Sunset hugged herself as she felt the chill of the December air linger all over her skin.
She kept her head down and her hopeless eyes to the ground, watching as her black boots crunched the snow with each step.
She didn't know exactly how long she had started her walk to nowhere, but she didn't care. Where she was going, the concept of time would make little difference to her.
Right now, all she was doing was venturing to the outskirts into the city, following the road that would lead her to her rest.
All around her, there was a diversity of people separated into the mood categories of stoic and smiling, every one passing by her in both directions but paying her no heed. Then again, Sunset never paid heed to anyone who might have seen a high school girl walk so glumly into the city.
As she walked, Sunset noticed a bit of light glowing on the snow. When she looked up, she saw the light was coming from the diner nearby. She took a moment to gaze inside the window of the diner as the people inside ate their fill, drank their warmth, and became merry. At one of the window-side tables, Sunset spotted a small group of people sitting comfortably in their cushiony seats, older than any of the students at Canterlot High, but young enough for them to enjoy each other's company.
In all honesty, it was hard for her look at the sight.
It just served her a painful reminder of what she had lost in one day.
Friends. Being able to enjoy each other's company.
Not hers. Not anymore.
With a big, crestfallen sigh, Sunset continued to her walk past the diner.
Applejack arrived at her locker, vandalized by Post-It notes of crude images of a pig with her "Piggly Wiggly" nicknamed scrawled on a few other notes.
After she ripped them off the door, she rummaged through her books for next period.
She felt a little bad for cutting off Fluttershy the way she did. She didn't mean anything by it; she was still a little sore at Sunset for stabbing them in the back like she did. Talking about her only made the hurt worse, but it was the way she supposedly turned on her after inviting her to the Apple Family farm for the Christmas that made it all the more painful.
When she got her books for her next class, Applejack was about to close her locker when she noticed something taped on the inside of her locker door.
It was a group photo of her and the Rainbooms, during that Battle of the Bands competition against the Dazzlings. They were performing live with their Equestrian magic, with special guest performer Vinyl Scratch in the rear providing the background techno beat. There was her at the bass, Rainbow Dash at the electric guitar, Rarity with her wireless keytar, Pinkie Pie at the drums, Fluttershy with the tambourine, and Princess Twilight providing the vocals.
And her.
Her providing the backup vocals, having the audacity to be upstage to sing along with the princess.
Applejack couldn't help but stifle a growl as she quickly slammed her locker door shut and strode away from it, never looking back.
It wasn't before long that Sunset ventured deeper into the city.
Buildings that reached as high as a kite surrounded her on both sides, with some dark spaces in between acting as shady shortcuts to cut through the block. The massive population of people scurried around the streets like an army of ants scuttling around a city-themed ant farm, leaning towards the side of stoicism and business. A department store Santa Claus rang the bell at the entrance, signaling people to donate their money into the charity pot while giving a jolly "Ho, ho ho!" from the bottom of his big potbelly.
Another painful reminder of what she lost before she could've had.
A merry Christmas with her friends at Applejack's Christmas party.
She ignored the Santa Claus and his ringing bell while she passed him.
Just after she passed the false icon of Christmas, she stopped in her path when something in the department store window display caught her eye.
In that window, there was an arrangement of store mannequins promoting the clothing and/or accessories they sold at this store.
One of the mannequins wore a scarf, colored in stripes of pink, red, orange, yellow, cyan, indigo, violet, white, repeating the same pattern after the latter color.
The colors that one represented their now severed friendship ties.
The last reminder of what she had to endure.
Sunset hugged the jacket tighter by hems of her shoulders.
She allowed her legs to continue carrying her to where she needed to go.
Algebra class just couldn't go any faster for Rainbow Dash.
Even with the sharp eyes and sharp ears of Ms. Harshwhinny, she wasn't safe from the other students' condescending glances and their mocking smiles. Rainbow Dash grumbled at them and shrunk into her seat while she actually tried to use Ms. Harshwhinny's "professional" droning on as an excuse to drown out the whispers and snickers at her.
It still wasn't enough.
From her peripheral vision, she saw a few students giggling at yet another humiliating "Anon-a-Miss" post.
Maybe the subject of that post was on her and her dropping grades.
The thought alone made her growled.
That traitorous Sunset, Rainbow Dash thought deep down, exposing my D grade all over MyStable.
When at last the giggles couldn't stop, Ms. Harshwhinny turned and slammed her ruler against the desk, snapping everyone to her attention.
"Is there something funny you would like to share to the class?" she asked the giggling students in a stricter tone.
"No, ma'am. There isn't anything funny, ma'am," a student said hastily. Ms. Harshwhinny had a reputation for keeping her students on the straight and narrow, even if it meant using her cold stare and authoritative tone to keep them in line.
"Good, let's keep it that way," the teacher spoke. "Now, if you would all turn to page 63 in your books..."
Everyone, even Rainbow Dash did so as Ms. Harshwhinny continued her lecture.
For once, she was glad to let her teacher keep the ignorant students away from MyStable for the time being.
But that still didn't make her happy.
The cold began to seep into Sunset's skin.
It was becoming so frigid in the afternoon, working her jaw movements became a chore for her.
She lost all sensation on her face, her fingers, and her toes. Her breathing became labored and shivering. Her body temperature was steadily declining to a degree where walking in the middle of this dreary day in December would mean a slow but painless passing. Sunset never believed how bitter the brisk air felt on her body, yet it felt so comforting to her at the same time.
Perhaps this is what the old crystal ponies felt when they traversed the blizzards of the Far North, or when Clover the Clever, Private Pansy, and Smart Cookie felt when the windigoes encased the entire cavern in ice (prior to their demise by the warmth of their hearts). In the course of a few hours, Sunset would be the latest addition to a death by hypothermia, and nobody in this world or in her home world would even miss her.
With that disconcerting thought, Sunset continued to press forward towards the outskirts of the city.
Rarity did very little to disguise herself from getting mobbed by the students.
It wasn't the best decision for her to walk through the halls to her next class, wearing a disguise that only fabulous actresses would use to blend in with the crowd. That jacket and her big-rimmed hat only made her stand out from the crowd like a sore thumb. That only made it worse for her as the students haggled her with their phones, the camera functions going snap! snap! snap! along with the tap! tap! tap! of their keyboards as they sent her pics onto MyStable.
Fluttershy didn't have it any better either. All day long she was teased and taunted for her singing video to which they labeled it a fail on her part. The rest of the student body weren't prudent enough to know or recognize that Fluttershy was one of the more sensitive students in their school, so she spent the next hour or so outside, crying as she read those mean comments on her phone, with the sad comfort of Pinkie Pie's embrace in her arms. Both of them didn't even dare to go back into the school for the rest of the day.
This had been the lowest day for not only the Rainbooms, but for the rest of Canterlot High as well.
All except for three certain little middle schoolers who met in private in the school library, away from prying ears and eyes.
They shared in their triumph over driving Sunset Shimmer away, and their worries over what they may have brought with their account.
"And then Ah saw Sunset run out of the building without any winter gear on," Apple Bloom reported to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "Ah've never seen that much tears run down someone's face before."
"You know what that means, don't you?" Scootaloo rhetorically asked. "That means our plan was a success!"
"That's great and all, but are you sure this was a success?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I mean, the entire school is grabbing each other by the throats and it's getting worser and worser by the minute! Don't you think it's time we took this down before it turns into a real bloodbath?"
"We can't do that now! People will think something's up!" Apple Bloom argued.
"That's right," Scootaloo agreed. "As long as it keeps Sunset from our sisters, then we've gotta keep the school thinking it was her who sent those secrets out. It's the only way we can guarantee that she won't take our sisters away from us again."
"All I'm saying is that everyone is arguing with each other from the lunch room to the outside track field," Sweetie Belle expressed her concerns. "I mean, what if someone goes too far and does something that they'll regret in the next life? I don't wanna play the guilty party just because we started an Internet trend that's going out of control in the next week."
"Sweetie Belle, this is only a temporary matter," Scootaloo pointed out to the curly-haired girl. "All we gotta do is wait it out a few days until vacation starts, click a few buttons, and then presto! 'Anon-a-Miss' will be taken down, Sunset Shimmer is history, and everything will be back the way it was and take this secret down to our grave."
Sweetie Belle slumped, crossing her arms. "I don't know. I'm still saying there's a better way for this."
"Sweetie Belle, it's only for a couple of days," Apple Bloom assured. "If Sunset Shimmer doesn't come back by then, we'll take the account down."
The curly-haired girl genuinely felt bad for dragging her sister down, but she hated getting into trouble over it. With a sigh, she said, "Okay, but I'm not sure how Rarity is going to feel about it. When she gets sad, worked up, or depressed, it's kinda hard for me to talk to her about it."
The final bell tolled in the hallways, and the school day was officially over.
Sunset figured that school was done and over with.
It didn't matter. She wasn't ever going back there anyway.
As she walked to the outskirts of Canterlot City, along the side of the main highway stretching on for miles, she could tell that the night was swiftly approaching. Vehicles of different shapes, sizes, and models passed through the highway, their front lights automatically switched on, signifying the steady transition to the darkening grey of the late afternoon, none of them paying any mind to the girl walking alone and with very little protection against the cold.
Sunset could feel the cold beginning to take its toll on her body. Even when she did hug herself with her thermal jacket, her body was beginning to slow down from the cold. Sunset figured this was the early stages of hypothermia. She remembered the symptoms from her health class. Her body temperature drops dangerously low, her reaction time slows down, her muscles grow heavy and weak, she experiences the hallucinations, and finally, she closes her eyes to never wake up again.
She was preparing herself for the big chill.
She stopped only once in her walk to look back at the city a few miles behind her.
The lights from those buildings bathed the city in its glow in the coming darkness, a comfort she will never again experience.
Shivering in her breathing, holding the urge to cry inwardly, Sunset continued onwards and onwards into nowhere.
The snow beneath her feet seemed shallow at first, but to Sunset's weakening state, she felt like she was knee high in the cold white powder. It only made it harder for her to continue onwards anymore. Falling to her knees, Sunset flopped herself on her back against the snow and laid there, staring up at the dark clouds above. The only sounds there was to bring her comfort was the sound of the snow crunching under her weight, the sounds of the cars passing by, the little pitter-patter of snowflakes on her leather jacket, and her own breathing.
The sky seemed to get darker.
Good. This was how she wanted to go out.
Sunset continued to breathe, her eyes feeling tired from exerting her unprotected self into the early December evening.
She didn't know how long she was lying there in the snow.
She didn't care, either way.
She enjoyed watching the clouds roll on by while they perspired the beautiful crystalline flakes slowly piling up on her clothing.
She found fondness watching the gust of breath escaping her mouth, like she was a fireless little dragon.
She took comfort the numbness that overtook her body, the closest thing to warmth that she would feel for the final time.
"So this is it, huh? I never thought it would end this way. Abandoning my teacher for my arrogance, turning the school on each other, and having to live alone on this world. I never karma could be such a real witch here." Sunset looked deep into the clouds as her breathing was slowing down. "If there is someone up there, if you can hear me... if there was one thing I could have for Christmas, it's to have a friend who actually cares about me. Someone who wouldn't leave my side because of my past mistakes. Someone who is more than willing to listen to me and be there when my friends didn't."
While she made her final wish, her life as a unicorn played out before her eyes. This particular scene reminded her of when she was a unicorn filly living in Canterlot, the first year that she was tutored under Princess Celestia's watchful eye. It was her first Hearth's Warming as her student, and she as a filly played out in the snow with her teacher after having finished her assignments ahead of schedule. They two of them pranced about in the snow, initiating in a snowball fight using magic or hooves, making snowponies from the snowy ground up by their hooves, and sledding down the nearest hill where it was safer for them and away from the pony civilization.
There was one time when she and Celestia crashed during one sled riding down a slope where they were flat on their backs, laughing it all off and staring into the sky as the pegasus ponies' gray clouds sprinkled snow onto them. They laid in that snow for about fifteen minutes, pondering to each other, exchanging philosophies of ponies old and their own. Hot chocolate was provided for them afterwards while they warmed up near the fire. Optional toppings of whipped cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate shavings, or marshmallows were also provided by the castle's gracious maid. Sunset remembered putting in one of everything first, and she remembered how she guzzled down that hot, creamy drink in about three gulps, ending up with a mustache of chocolate and cream. Needless to say, Celestia, being so playful with her subjects, particularly the younger ones, also took part in this harmless tomfoolery, ending up with more of a chcolate mustache that painted her muzzle brown, making the two laugh the evening off the night before Hearth's Warming.
A warm tear dripped onto Sunset's face and froze halfway down.
She missed that.
She missed all of it.
She wanted to go back home.
She wanted to see the mare with whom she considered her mother.
She wanted to take part in those winter activities again.
She wanted to drink that comforting hot chocolate again.
But she couldn't go back, not by choice anyway.
She could never show her face around Celestia again, not after their last fight.
She could never face herself before the high school again where all of this started.
Now here, all alone and in the growing comfort of the snowfall, she could end it all.
In the sky, she could see Princess Celestia's face looking at her with a gentle maternal smile.
"Princess. I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry for abandoning you... for being so stubborn and reckless..." Sunset's mind was a flutter in thoughts and apologies of regret and sorrow, making her sob silently to herself. "I have no right to be your student anymore... but if there's just one thing I would want... it would to go back to Canterlot... and see your face again after all this time... just so I could tell you how sorry I am."
Celestia's face disappeared.
The next face she saw was of a familiar lavender-skinned girl.
"Princess Twilight. I wish I could see you again... I wanna know why you haven't opened up the mirror back to Equestria... but I wish I could've written to you about it first. Maybe then... I would've gone back to Equestria with you... and then I would've made better friends there than I did here. I guess I did blow it for myself, huh?"
As Princess Twilight's human face disappeared, there in her place was the maternal face of the school's principal.
"Principal Celestia. You may not be the same person from Equestria... but at least you believed in second chances, too. I wish I could thank you for that."
The face of Principal Celestia disappeared as her eyelids drooped shut.
"I guess this is it, then. I'm finally going to die right here in this world..."
Sunset's eyes closed, and a final puff of air escaped her lungs.
"Merry Christmas, everyone... and a Happy New Year, too."
Driving along the highway, there was a simple man.
He was a simple man who lived alone, introverted or a hermit, no one knew.
He was driving home after a long day's work at the department clothing store in Canterlot City. He worked eight full hours plus overtime yesterday, and he worked the same number of hours today. That made sixteen-plus hours he worked this week, only twenty-four-plus more hours to work for the rest of this week.
He drove in a little ordinary and slightly outdated car, painted a gold color with a bit of rust along the rim of the metal plating on his doors. His heater took about ten minutes before actual heat was exhumed each time after he started it. His radio had a bit of a weak receiver, so any radio station he tuned it to ended up with some static on his end. The fuel tank was a guzzler, so he spent more money on gas every couple of weeks than anyone would with their brand-new cars. His car was always having one problem or another, so he brought it to the garage once every month for a costly inspection.
And yet, he loved this car the way it was.
It was better than nothing, he supposed.
The radio reported a news report of cyberbullying and cyber crimes occurring at Canterlot High School. The man, sick of hearing such news, turned the knob left and right for a better station to listen to when he spotted something lying near the road.
Quickly and safely as he could, he signaled right, pulled over to a stop, and parked it at the spot.
He adjusted his mirror to see exactly what it was that was lying in the snow.
His eyes widened. Was that what he thought it was?
He turned on his hazard lights, jumped out of his car, and ran over to the shape.
It was as he feared: the shape that he saw being blanketed by a thin layer of snow was a girl, at a high-school age he figured.
"Hey," the man said, gently nudging the girl. "Hey, are you alright? Speak to me."
The girl said nothing. Nor did she breathe.
The man took two fingers and pressed them against her neck.
No pulse.
The man began to panic.
"Oh no! Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!" The man held his head with both hands as horrifying thoughts flowed through his head. "This is bad! This is really, really bad! She's probably dead by now! No, she's not dead! She's preserved herself in suspended animation! No, no, she's not frozen, she's hypothermic! She may be dead or not, I don't know! I can't leave her out like this! I've gotta get her to a hospital! Yes, a hospital! Maybe they can help her! Yes, of course they can help her! They're the only ones equipped to work with hypothermic patients!"
Scooping up the girl in his arms, the man quickly opened up the passenger side door with his foot, nearly stumbling backwards, and threw her inside. After slamming the door, the man quickly rounded back to his driver's seat, set the car to "D" and quickly drove off into the road. When he found a place where he could make a turn to the other lane, the man swerved across the roads, doubled around the median, and into the left lane where he literally put the pedal to the metal as he drive ten miles over the speed limit.
Every once in a while, the man looked over to the girl. He rested his hand on her cheek.
She was as cold as ice.
The panicking man turned up the heat and the fans all the way up to maximum power.
Even with how high he turned the heat up, it didn't do much to thaw her out.
"Hang in there, kid, we're almost there! Don't you dare give up on me! Don't you dare die on me!" the man begged her.
The man continued his race against time along the highway, back into the city.
It wasn't before long that the speeding car was already inside the city limits. After taking a few drastic twists and turns, the man across the street where the local city hospital was situated in. It was fortunate that the hospital wasn't too busy because there only a few cars parked in the lot near at the main entrance, a lot where the man screeched and squealed his tires before he parked into an empty space.
He turned his car off, jumped out of his vehicle, and scooped up the girl where he used his strength to carry her to the main entrance. He sprinted with the girl through the automatic sliding doors and into the emergency room. Inside, there were a few patients waiting for their check-up or their treatment, a security guard near the door, a desk-bound receptionist and a few working nurses that just noticed the two newer visitors.
"IS THERE A DOCTOR HERE!?" the man yelled at the top of his lungs, tears brimming in his eyes. "PLEASE, THIS GIRL NEEDS HELP! SHE'S FROZEN SOLID AND SHE'S NOT BREATHING! YOU'VE GOTTA SAVE HER!"