//------------------------------// // BONUS CHAPTER: How Do You Heal A Broken Heart? (original with comments) // Story: Spirit Of Love: Dark Sunset II // by pabrony //------------------------------// "Fluttershy?" Sunset said groggily. "You're still here?" Fluttershy got up from the armchair she was uncomfortably resting in at the time. She slowly walked over to the couch and sat down on the edge of one of the cushions. She reached over and brushed Sunset's matted hair from her face before replying. "After you poured your heart out earlier, I didn't feel right leaving you here alone. I wanted to be here if you woke up so that you'd have someone here to talk to." Sunset's eyes welled up slightly at the sound of Fluttershy's soft, gentle voice. She sat up and put her arms around Fluttershy and began to cry once again. "Thank you so much. These last two weeks have been terrible. I'm close... *sniff* close to..." "Shhh. I'm here for you and the others are going to be there when you need them." "I... feel so... guilty over what... *sniff* ...happened." "I told you earlier. There's no way you could've known someone would be that careless to drink and drive. It's not your fault." Sunset buried her face into Fluttershy's shoulder as she once again began to break down. Fluttershy gently wrapped her arms around her so as not to cause Sunset any additional pain from her broken ribs. "Why? Why me? Why did I have to survive?" Sunset sobbed. Her words were muffled due to the fact her face was still up against Fluttershy's body. "I don't know. I promise that everything will turn out okay. It's going to hurt for a while but I'll help you through it." Fluttershy texted Sunset before leaving for school to let her know that she was going to stop by to pick her up. There was something going on and it didn't sit well with Fluttershy. After not receiving a return text like normal, Fluttershy quickly threw her school clothes on and didn't even brush her hair. She ran out the door almost forgetting her purse. "Sunset, answer the phone," Fluttershy begged as she called her friend. After seemingly setting a land speed record to get to Sunset's apartment, she ran to the door and began pounding on it frantically. With no answer, Fluttershy turned the doorknob to see if she had locked the door. Surprisingly it wasn't. "Sunset?" Fluttershy called as she slowly made her way through Sunset's place. "Sunset it's time for... NO! Oh no! Oh my gosh!" Fluttershy screamed at the sight she was looking at in Sunset's bedroom. She ran as fast she could to back to her car to get her phone to call the ambulance. Fluttershy walked through the hallway of CHS in a zombie-like trance. She was staring straight ahead and not really paying attention to anything as she walked. She got to the music room to meet with her friends but rather than socialize, she went to one of the corners and pulled out a photograph of the seven friends. Sunset and Twilight were in the front row, Rarity, Pinkie and herself were in the middle row and Rainbow Dash and Applejack were in the back row. A stray tear rolled down each cheek as she removed a pink gel pen from her backpack. Rarity, confused by Fluttershy's odd behavior, set her keytar down and walked over to see what the pink haired girl was doing. Fluttershy had drawn a heart around Sunset and Twilight and underneath wrote the following: SS + TS: Together Forever "Um, what are you doing, darling?" asked Rarity. "And where's Sunset?" "Sunset's gone," Fluttershy whispered in a monotone voice. "Gone? What do you mean?" Rainbow asked from across the room. "She's just... gone." "Fluttershy, what happened?" Rainbow asked, picking up on the fact that something was wrong. "Where is Sunset?" "She left..." "You mean back to Equestria?" Rarity asked, setting a hand on Fluttershy's back. "No. She's... she's... I saw her... why did she do it?" Fluttershy mumbled cryptically as more tears began flowing down her cheeks. "Do what?" Pinkie asked. "There was... oh no! Sunset! Why? Why did you did this?! You could've called me!" Fluttershy cried out. "Uh, are y'all sayin' what Ah think yer sayin'?" "She didn't..." Rarity said in shock. "Don't worry the paramedics will be here soon, Sunset," Fluttershy continued before standing up and walking out of the room, still in a daze. Fluttershy slowly walked up a narrow gravel path, attempting to hold back her tears. It was the first time she had walked this path since Sunset's funeral a month prior in an attempt to overcome her grief. There were almost no sounds around her aside from the occasional breeze that made the blades of grass dance and the obvious shuffling of gravel under her feet. After a few minutes she reached her destination. In front of her stood a marble headstone. It was marked: Sunset Shimmer Beloved friend. May you finally find peace. "Um, hi Sunset," she said softly. "It's me. I, uh, was in the neighborhood and, um, thought I should stop to say hi." She knelt down on the ground, sat on her heels and placed her hands in her lap before continuing. "I guess you're wondering how I'm doing since the, um, day. It's taking a little longer than I expected but I'm almost over the sight of you... *gulp* ...in your bed. The counselor I'm seeing said I'm making progress but I still wake up at night crying because I wasn't there for you more than I was." Fluttershy took a moment to wipe her eyes before she resumed her conversation with Sunset. "We all really miss you. Rainbow Dash wants to rename the band in memory of you and Twilight but we can't think of a name. Rarity has made a dress that has a red and gold pattern similar to your hair and is sparkles beautifully in the light. It's currently her best seller.  Applejack has been the rock for all of us to lean on. I guess it's because she knows what we're going through. Pinkie's throwing a birthday party for you on your birthday next week. She knows you won't be there but still insists on having it. "The memorials on you and Twilight's lockers are still there. I wish you could've seen how beautiful they are. Principal Celestia said it's a way to remember you girls. She's also going to be naming the school library as "The TwiSet Memorial Library" after the two of you. Pinkie Pie picked out the name, if you can't tell. "Anyway, now onto how I've been. I'm feeling guilty about not walking home with you that afternoon. I should've known by how you were acting that day. Staring off into space and not really talking to anyone. Excuse me..." Fluttershy wiped her eyes again and pulled a tissue from her skirt to blow her nose as her emotions slowly began taking over. "I... I never told you this but while I stayed with you after Twilight passed, I, um, started to develop feelings for you. Strong feelings. The same feelings you had for Twilight. I think that's one of the reasons why I've taken this so hard. I feel bad about having these feelings toward you because, I don't know, I feel like I took advantage of your situation to find love. I'm really sorry, Sunset. I hope you can forgive me.” Fluttershy paused again to wipe her eyes and nose. The fact she hadn't broken down into a full blown meltdown yet had surprised her but she knew it was coming soon. “I just wish I had told you about how I felt. I… *sniff* I… I can't help but think that… *sniff* ...you might not have done what you did if I… if I…” Fluttershy's head was now buried in her hands and she wept at her fallen friend's grave. She couldn't put together any words as the guilt returned to her mind. Guilt from not being there for Sunset that fateful day. Guilt from developing a crush on her while she was helping Sunset through her depression. Guilt from not sharing her feelings with Sunset. “I… I don't know why…*sniff* ...these feelings developed. I… *sniff* I feel as though I betrayed you and Twilight. It hurts so much when I… *sniff* ...think about it. I am so, so sorry, Sunset.” After a few minutes of crying, there was a light pressure on her right shoulder, causing Fluttershy to lift her head to see who had their hand on her. However, when she looked, she found that there was no one there. She sniffled a few more times and wiped her eyes, still confused as to what was happening. The wind suddenly picked up and began circling around her in a vortex; the radius getting tighter by the second. It wasn't a normal breeze and Fluttershy could tell there was something almost magical about it when she thought she heard a voice singing. “Sunset?” she asked quietly.