//------------------------------// // Epilogue - Reunion With The Quill // Story: Scars of the Sun // by EchoWing //------------------------------// The early morning sun hardly bothered Sunrunner as she narrowed in on her destination. Ponyville was thankfully easy to get to from Canterlot, given that you could see either settlement from the other without little trouble, but that hardly made her task easier as she landed in the town square. She had an address, true, but she’d never been to this town, and getting around was going to be far easier said than done. Especially given the town lacked street signs. Sunrunner had to wonder about that. Granted, if the place was small enough, ponies wouldn’t need street signs to navigate it, but still, it certainly looked big enough from the sky. She spied a building that resembled a gingerbread house, a plump-looking middle-aged mare in the shop window turning a sign from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’ and decided to try her luck. She went up to the door and entered as a bell chimed to signal her arrival. The mare turned back to her in surprise. “Oh! Good morning, and welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! You’re a fast one!” The pegasus smiled politely. “More like a lucky one, ma’am.” “Well, no matter, we’re happy to have you. Passing through town?” “Trying to find a resident, actually. I have his address, but this is my first time in Ponyville.” “And you need directions?” Sunrunner nodded and gestured towards one of the fresh baked goods out and ready for customers. “And I’d like a bagel too, please.” If she was going to take up the mare’s time, she should at least buy something while she was doing so. “Of course, dearie.” Money and food were exchanged, then the elder mare glanced over her guest’s destination. “Oh, I know the stallion who lives there! He comes by here twice a week or so for baked goods. Muffins, usually. What’s your business with Quiver, by the…?” She stopped when she saw the expression on Sunrunner’s face and smiled. “Nevermind, I think I know what’s going on.” She then wrote out some directions and passed them on. “These should get you there in a jiffy. And good luck!” “Thanks, ma’am!” Sunrunner then exited the shop, took a bite of her bagel, then took flight to try and find where she was going. Thanks to her updated information, it took very little time indeed to find where she was going, just long enough to finish off her food and come in for a landing. It was a modest little place, one that couldn’t have had more than two bedrooms. She wondered idly if both were occupied, partly because she wondered if Quiver could afford a place like this on his own, and partly because a tiny part of her still wondered if he’d moved on and left her behind. It didn’t seem like him, but still, ponies can change. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. She was about to knock on the door, but paused. What if Quiver had changed? What if he’d forgotten her, or thought that she’d abandoned him and just put her out of his mind? What if… No. She came all this way, and regardless of how things turned out, she was going to see it through. Steel yourself, Runnie. Remember that poem he wrote. She then closed her eyes, and began to recite it. “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.” “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.” “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’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.” When she finally opened her eyes, she stood in surprise at the stallion before her. He carried himself a little taller, and looked more at ease than she’d ever seen him, and perhaps a little better physically, but the important things were no different from how she remembered them. The same slightly messy brown mane, a little tamer with age but hardly any different. The same earthy brown eyes, deep with intensity and pain, but not so deep that she couldn’t see herself reflected in them. And his voice… “Runnie?” It was Quiver Quill. And he hadn’t changed a bit. A nervous smile spread across her face. “Hey Quivs. Long time no see.”