The soft singing of birds outside his window drifted into Quiver’s awareness as he awoke in his bed, sore but contented after the events of the previous evening. He silently thanked Sour for insisting that he grab a quick shower, and then wondered if he’d be thanking her for anything else as familiar smells caught his attention.
He emerged from his bedroom and made his way towards the kitchen, where he found his cousin at work on a pot of oatmeal and a skillet of hay bacon. Sour turned to him and smiled. “Hey, good timing. We’re a few minutes away from eating.”
“You made breakfast?”
“You made dinner. And got to be a big hero and bore your soul to your friends and ponies you barely knew. I figured that deserved a decent meal at least.”
Quiver smiled. “Thanks Sour.”
She let out a small laugh. “Don’t thank me yet, I’m hardly a master chef. Besides, I’m probably going to make too much.”
A grin crossed the stallion’s face. “You’ve got an active lifestyle, and I don’t eat nearly as much as I should. I think we’ll manage.”
Quiver made his way out of the kitchen towards the living room, with every intention of opening a window to allow some fresh air to flow inside. As he did so, his thoughts went back to the previous evening. A part of him was surprised at how the night had gone, particularly at how he’d slept as contentedly as he had. The cynic in him, sounding just a little bit too much like his father, said it was just exhaustion, but he couldn’t help but reflect on how peaceful he felt. It was like a weight had been lifted from his back, after finally opening up about his brother.
He wasn’t about to start going on about him to everypony he met, of course. His family’s business wasn’t the concern of some random pony on the street. But ponies he trusted, that he viewed as friends? They could know. And they did.
He didn’t have a perfect life, not by any means. But he did have a good one, he reasoned as he opened a window. And if this was as good as things got, then he could be satisfied with that.
And then he heard something.
“T’was a blessed day, when she called me friend.
That word lifted my spirits, and gave me joy without end.
Whom am I to thank, who’d cause my soul to mend?
She who would run with the sun.”
His eyes went wide as he heard those words. He remembered them. He’d written them, long ago, and intended them for only one other. And the voice speaking them…
“A treasured heart, that’s her gift to share.
Among those cruel souls, she made known her care.
You’ll find few finer, upon this I would swear.
She who would run with the sun.”
He rushed to his front door, and opened it, silently hoping that his ears weren’t playing tricks and that this wasn’t some cruel joke. The sight before him said otherwise.
“Though wounded by monsters, she would stand tall and brave.
In places of cruelty, paths of kindness she’d pave.
Faced with a monster, she’d name them as nave.
She who would run with the sun.”
She hardly looked any different from how he remembered her. A bit more muscle and tone to her frame, but he failed to see that as a bad thing. Amber coat, her mane short and sporty and her tail long and loose, both still crimson and yellow, with those beautiful wings tucked to her sides.
“She’s ever at my side, when push comes to shove.
Her spirit’s like an eagle, her heart like a dove.
Who is this fair maiden? The one whom I love.
She who would run with the sun.”
She opened her eyes, those beautiful cyan eyes, and they lit up with surprise. Not only her own, but the reflection of his as he dared to say the only word he could. “Runnie?”
A nervous smile spread across Sunrunner’s face. “Hey Quivs. Long time no see.”