Sunset was excited. She had finished her chores early and Spike said he didn't need her until later in the evening. With finally a bit of freedom, she'd loaded up her saddlebag and was on her way to the great outdoors.
She practically jumped down the stairs to the main foyer and ran past the princess and her assistant.
“Hi, Twilight! Bye, Twilight!”
“Wait just a minute” Twilight called back, causing the unicorn to stop short of the door, “Where are you going?”
“To the park.” Sunset turned around. “To read. This town does have a park, doesn't it?”
“Yes, but, what's wrong with the library? Or anywhere else in the castle?”
“Not enough windows. I like to watch the sun as it crosses the sky. To feel the breeze whisk through my mane.”
The sense of appeal was lost on the princess. “But, there's also dirt, and pollen, and grass stains!... Besides, there are so many distractions at a park. Ponies coming and going. Little fillies playing...” She shook her head, trying to get back on track. “What I like about the library is it's quiet. You don't have to worry about the world around you. You can get lost in your work.”
“I don't want to get lost!” Sunset restrained her outburst, “I want to be mindful of the world about me. To see the changes of the day reminds me that time is fleeting. That I am limited. It forces me to focus on the things that really matter. To stay locked up all the time, to let the world pass you by, one day you will wake up and find you're no longer part of this world.” Her face fell. “That you're all alone.
“Plus,” she said, her voice regaining it's upbeat tone, “this place is just down right gloomy. I'll see you later!” She pranced out the door and bounded down the steps.
“You know,” Spike smiled slyly, “if she hadn't left when she did, you two could have really learned a lot from each other.”
Twilight just huffed and continued her her walk to the library.
“Anything?” she asked, entering the room.
“Translating takes time, Twilight” Moondancer answered, “Especially when you're also dealing with a code.”
“We're working as fast as we can” Starlight said. She tried to sound reassuring. “Just try to relax.”
“I can't” Twilight sighed. She glanced over the Memory Stone scroll. “Not with worrying about Sunset and, now, Wallflower?” She let out an aggravated growl, “This scroll certainly has a big spell infused in it and I can't even activate it to see what it is!”
“Maybe the secret message is the means of doing that” Starlight offered, “Look, Sunburst said he found a way that he can get away from his duties in the Crystal Empire for a few days. Soon, we'll be able to compare notes.”
Twilight only slammed her head against the table with a grunt.
“Does this place seem gloomy to you?”
“What?” Moondancer looked puzzled, “No! Not at all! In fact, it's brighter in here than in most libraries.”
Starlight's expression told a different story. “Yeah, kinda.”
---
Sunset galloped through the small town. She thought for sure she had seen a small park with seating areas days before. Stopping at the town square, she looked around. She barely recognized it without all the vendors and their tents. She couldn't believe it was the same space. Being much more open, she could get a better view of the whole town.
“Still backwater” she grumbled.
“Sunset?”
Sunset's ears perked up. She turned to see a pale blueish-gray mare with a yellow mane running towards her.
“Sunset Shimmer?” the mare stopped short, taking a good look at the pony before her, “Oh my gosh, it is you! I saw you in the market the other day, but I just couldn't believe it.”
“Uhm, hi, Ballad...” Sunset hesitated. The pony looked like Ballad, a fellow classmate, but... older. Furthermore, the pony's excitement unsettled her.
“How've you been?” Ballad continued, with a big smile on her face, “It's been, like, forever since anyone has seen you. One day, you were in school, then poof!, gone without a trace!”
Sunset shuffled. “It's complicated.” She was shocked when Ballad let out a laugh.
“What about you isn't?”
“So, um,” Sunset rubbed the back of her head, “what brings you here?”
“I live here. Have for years.”
“Really? Must be quite the commute.”
Ballad raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
“School...?”
“Oh,” she tittered, “I'm no longer going to Celestia's school. Not for a while now.”
“Ha!” Sunset exclaimed, quite chuffed, “I knew you weren't cut out for it. Actually, it surprises me you lasted this long. Sure, you had promise, but, obviously, you squandered it.”
Ballad frowned. “Sunset, what are you—?”
“I mean, everyone knows your mass-quantity materializing spell was the greatest catastrophe the campus had ever seen. Seriously, what idiot doesn't know the difference between F-L-O-W-E-R and F-L-O-U-R?”
The other pony shrunk back a bit. “Sunset, please don't tell me you're still holding a grudge. That was an accident, and years ago, and I apologized.”
“Years?” Sunset hissed, “What time warp have you been in? You dropped a hundred pounds of flour on me. I finally got all the white dust out of my stuff!”
Ballad did all she could to keep from yelling. “I'm in a time warp? You speak of that incident as if it were yesterday!”
“It was last semester! Gah!” she pinched the bridge of her muzzle, “No wonder you flunked out. You've got the memory of a goldfish!”
Ballad opened her mouth, ready with a rebuttal, but quickly closed it again. She stood straight, adjusting her composure. “You know what, I'm not even going to. You're not worth it. I thought maybe, that after all these years, you had changed, Sunset Shimmer, but, it appears I was wrong. You haven't changed, nor do I think you ever will. Some ponies are just beyond hope.
“Good-bye, Sunset. I hope our paths never cross again.” She turned and trotted away, leaving a very confused Sunset Shimmer in her dust.
“She said years.” Again, that nagging feeling tugged at her. This time, though, it was much stronger. It clenched at her stomach and clawed at her heart. She was missing something, but what? The more she questioned, the more she feared the answer. Too many things seemed wrong. Too many things weren't adding up.
Anxiety took its hold. Sunset closed her eyes, employing various exercises to control her breathing and slow her heart rate. Her efforts worked and, eventually, she managed to shake off the feeling and continue on her way.
---
Sunset didn't find the park she was looking for. However, just past the edge of town, she did come across an apple orchard. Seeing it as good a place as any, she nestled down under the shade of a large apple tree and began her reading.
Let it not be said that the absence of language is indicative of an absence of communication. If anything, it proves to be quite the opposite. In many cases, it has been proven that friends possess an...
“Ah-hem.”
...ability to communicate at a near-telepathic level. In truth, whole conversations have been conducted...
“Ah-hem” came a sharp voice from above.
Sunset looked up from her book to see a large orange mare in a stetson standing over her. “I'm sorry,” she said courtly, “was this your spot?”
The mare shook her head. “Nope.”
“Do you mind me sitting here?”
“Nope.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Then, how may I help you?”
The mare frowned and pointed to a small pile of discarded apple cores not far from Sunset's side. Sunset gaped at the pile. She remembered munching on some apples as she read, but not that many.
“I don't mind ya on my land and I don't mind ya sittin' under my trees. But, I do mind ya takin' my apples without askin'.”
'Well,' Sunset smirked, 'ain't she country.' Though, something about this earth pony seemed eerily familiar.
“I hope you've got a mind to pay for all of them.”
“Why, of course” Sunset replied with a confident smile she always exhibited when talking to an underling. “Well, not me, personally. Just go to the Castle of Friendship and speak to Princess Twilight. I'm sure you two can work out a compensation. That is, if you've got the nerve to ask the princess to pay for anything.”
The mare raised the brim of her hat up some and eyed the unicorn intently; almost unsure of what to make of her apple thief. “Princess Twilight, huh?”
“You are talking to her guest, after all. Of course, I don't expect you to know who I am, but she is under strict orders from Princess Celestia for me to have some rest and relaxation.”
“Is that so?” the mare smiled, “Well, let me have a talk with ol' Twi and see what's goin' on. In the meantime, yer comin' with me.” She helped Sunset to her feet and lead her along the dirt path that ended at an old farmhouse. The mare opened the door and ushered Sunset into the kitchen. “Now, you sit yerself here a spell while I go fetch the princess. Luckily, she ain't far.”
Sunset took a seat at the kitchen table. She didn't know if it was the apples she ate, or the way the mare talked so casually about the princess, but something was upsetting her stomach. Her ears perked when she heard Twilight's voice.
“Thanks, Applejack, they were right where you'd said they'd be.”
“Glad to be of assistance” replied Applejack. “Uh, if ya got a minute, there's somethin' I need to talk to you about.”
“Sure!”
“She's in the kitchen.”
“She?”
Sunset hunched slightly when she saw Princess Twilight follow the country mare through the door.
“Found her readin' in the orchard” Applejack explained, “Normally wouldn't mind none, except that she's made quite a meal of my apples.”
“What?” Sunset protested at Twilight's glare of disapproval, “Reading boring stuff makes me hungry!”
“She says you'll pay for the apples” Applejack continued, “Is she with you?”
Twilight let out a sigh. “Yes.” She faced her friend, “Can we go outside?”
Applejack raised a curious eyebrow. “Uh, sure...” She opened the door and allowed Twilight to go first.
Sunset rose to follow, but Twilight stopped her with a swift: “You stay there.”
Sunset slumped back into her seat. It was obvious the princess wasn't pleased the situation. However, she was confident that Twilight would be on her side and something would be worked out. In her experience, many ponies would do anything to gift a royal.
With not much else to do, Sunset reopened the book she was reading and continued on the chapter.
Once again, she was interrupted by the presence of the orange mare. Though, this time, Princess Twilight was at her side. Sunset eyed the pair curiously. Despite their greatest attempts to hide it, she noticed a slight air of tension between the two which wasn't there before. She began to wonder just what words were exchanged outside.
“I trust you've come to an agreement?” she said.
“Yep” Twilight smiled.
“Good,” Sunset closed her book, “then you'll just pay for the apples and we'll be on our way.”
“I'm not paying for the apples.”
“Well,” Sunset smiled, “even better.”
“You are.”
The unicorn froze in her tracks. “What?”
“You ate them, you pay fer them.” Applejack explained, though the delivery sounded a little forced, “It's only right.”
Sunset scoffed, but maintained her composure. “Fine. I don't have any Bits on me, but I can write you an IOU.” She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her bag, “What's the market value of apples these days?”
“It ain't the money I'm worried 'bout. It's the principle of the matter.”
Sunset felt her patience beginning to wane. “...and that is...?”
“Ya can't just take stuff an' expect another ta pay fer it. Youngin's gotta learn.”
“Right,” Sunset rolled her eyes, remembering an early lesson Princess Celestia tried to instill. “If you want something, you have to earn it.” 'Still,' the student had always added to herself, 'doesn't mean you can't deserve it either.'
“Glad to see you two are in agreement” Twilight smiled, turning to Applejack. “I'll see to it personally that Sunset Shimmer is here first thing in the morning!”
Sunset didn't like the sound of that. “What?” From what she could tell, the farm-mare wasn't all too happy about it either. Maybe, she could still talk her way out of it.
“So, it's agreed” said Applejack with a nod. “Yer gonna earn them apples. A bushel of apples for a hard day's work.”
“Wait, tomorrow? But tomorrow's Saturday!”
Applejack shrugged, “Work's still gotta be done. Git a good night's sleep. Yer gonna need it.”