//------------------------------// // Hope // Story: A SciTwi Shimmer Christmas // by pabrony //------------------------------// A few days later, Sunny was lounging on the couch watching television after we ate breakfast. I strolled into the living room and flopped onto her lap. “Oof! Aren't we affectionate this morning,” she said as I nuzzled the top of my head against her chin. “Yeah, well, we haven't had much cuddle time the last few days with you being sick as a dog,” I replied. “I HEARD THAT!” Spike shouted from the other room, causing both of us to laugh at his response. “So what are you watching?” I asked as I pulled her arms around me. “Academy Of Rock,” she replied. “I thought it would help get me ready mentally for the concert tomorrow afternoon.” “Is it working?” “Eh, a little. Not much.” “Hey, since you brought it up, I wanted to ask if you're feeling up to playing in the concert,” I asked. “Of course. Why wouldn't I be?” she asked. “Well, you've had the stomach flu the last few days and I just don't want you to push yourself too hard,” I replied. For whatever reason, she began to giggle. “Have you ever known me to push myself too hard?” “Well, that one time when we used up all our tickets on that ring toss game-” “Oh yeah. That was so strenuous,” she interrupted mockingly. “You sent a ring through some kid's banana split that was over twenty feet away.” “Yeah but that was because Applejack scared the life out of me right when I was gonna throw it.” I was about to offer my rebuttal but stopped when she began shaking her head, which in turn shook the couch. Confused, I sat up and looked at her. “Are you sure your okay?” “Yeah. Why?” “That's the third time today you've just randomly shaken your head for no reason.” “It’s not random. My bangs need a trim and I'm just getting them out of my face,” she explained. “I was gonna ask Rarity to give them a quick trim tomorrow before the concert.” I laid back down on her torso and wrapped her arms back around myself. “How about when we pony up for the children? Are you going to have enough strength to hold that form for an hour?” “Twilight, I will be okay,” she replied, sounding slightly annoyed. “Don't push the issue. I'm fine.” She pulled her arms from my hands and shimmied out from underneath me. “Where are you going?” “I have to go to the bathroom, alright?” she snapped before leaving the room. I just sat there, hurt, after seeing her disappear down the hallway. What in the world is wrong with her? I wondered. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. It's nothing to get that upset about. I was shaken from my thoughts a few minutes later when Sunny sat down next to me and put her arm around me. “Babe, I’m sorry. I don't know what in the world came over me. You’re just looking out for my safety and I appreciate that. Do you forgive me?” A pair of tears ran down my cheeks as I turned and hugged her tightly. “Yes, Sunny. I love you and I'll always forgive you.” The next day, Sunny and I arrived at the children's hospital for the “Hope For The Holidays” charity concert. However, the area that was set aside for the concert was void of any electronic equipment and our fellow band members. “Um, where is everyone?” Sunny wondered aloud. “Better still, where is our equipment?” I responded. We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and headed for the front desk to see if the receptionist knew anything. Along the way, we both got a text from Rainbow Dash. Staff changed locations on us. Meet in lobby “They could've told us ahead of time,” I grumbled as a growl escaped from Sunny's lips. We got up with Rainbow Dash and the others in the main lobby a few minutes later. They all shared the same look on their face as Sunny and I did. “Before you say anything, we just found out right before I texted you,” Rainbow said, putting her hands up in front of her. “What's with the hands?” Sunny asked. “The last time one of our concerts was moved to a different place, you lost your temper and chased me around for nearly ten minutes,” Rainbow reminded her. Sunny slumped her shoulders, let out a loud sigh and apologized. “So where are we being downsized to?” “Actually, they're putting us in a larger area,” Applejack interjected. “Larger?!” Sunny and I asked simultaneously. "Yep," Pinkie said, her eyes aglow. Here we go... I thought nervously. Following a deep breath, Pinkie began her explanation, "There's lotsa children that wanna see us play and where we were gonna play is too small because there's not enough room for all the children that wanna see us play so they had to move it somewhere bigger so that all the children could watch us play." We all had a laugh at the receptionist who shook her head after Pinkie finished up her spiel, lightening the mood slightly. That is until the event coordinator showed up. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience about the last-minute change of venue," he apologized as he shook our hands. "We did a head count of the patients and their families that would be attending and realized that the room we picked out was going to be too small." "It's no biggie," Rainbow said calmly. "NO BIGGIE?!" Sunny snapped. "Really, Dash?" I latched onto Sunny before she could make a fool of herself. "Easy, sweetheart. It's just a miscommunication. Nothing to get upset about." "How about we go get a quick practice run with the new set so we're not looking like a bunch of chickens with our-" "Please do not finish that thought, Applejack. This isn't the appropriate building to be quoting that particular cliché," Rarity interrupted. The rest of us not only agreed with Applejack's idea but also echoed Rarity's sentiment. The event coordinator then led us to the room that all our gear had been moved to. When finally arrived a few minutes later, Sunny lost it. "Are you kidding me?! My freaking webcam is gone!" she shouted. "Actually, we moved it to the side of the stage," the coordinator said. "We thought it would have a better angle to show your performance, Mrs. Shimmer." "The whole reason I wanted it opposite from the stage was so the whole band could be seen at once,” Sunny continued angrily. “Just because it’s being streamed on my Twitch channel doesn't mean I want the focus to be on me. This is a team effort and I promised my followers they would be seeing the whole band perform.” “Sunny, we can-” “No, Twilight. There’s not enough time to fix it before the concert starts,” she said, interrupting me. “The whole point of the webcam was to get more donations. This is a charity concert, you know.” The rest of us desperately tried to settle her down but the more we tried, the angrier she got. So we all backed off and gave her space to calm down. As she began calming down, I noticed the strange pulse from the other night began to appear from her geode. “Do you guys see that?” I whispered to the girls. “See what?” asked Applejack. “The pulsing glow from Sunny's geode.” “Um, Twilight, Sunset's geode isn't glowing,” Fluttershy said. I looked back and saw the glow from the necklace, plain as day. I am not going crazy, I thought. That gem is glowing and it has got to have something to do with her behavior. About two hours later, the patients began filing in. The children ranged from preschoolers to some of the freshman class from CHS. Some recovering from surgery to others wearing masks because they were being treated for some form of immunodeficiency disease. The girls and I donned masks and sterile gloves and made our way through the crowd of children and their families, shaking their hands and hugging some of them. Once we finished the pre-concert meet-and-greet, we removed the masks and gloves and took our places on the stage. Although we could be heard from the back row, we still had microphones so that we could be heard on Sunny's channel. The webcam wasn't in the best location, but it was improvised enough to capture all of us on camera. “Welcome everyone to the first annual Hope For The Holidays charity concert benefiting the Canterlot City Children's Hospital,” I said cheerfully. “We’re being broadcast on the local news station and around the world on Sunset Shimmer's Twitch channel. “We’ve got plenty in store. From songs to surprises; including a performance from a special guest singer. So without further ado, let's get this party started.” We began the concert by ponying-up and playing a special rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” We then moved onto “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Deck The Halls”. We took a small break to talk to the crowd for a few minutes and read off a few donations that the news channel had received and also from Sunny's Twitch channel. “Before we begin our next song, we’d like to invite a special guest onto the stage,” Applejack said, motioning toward the audience. A young girl about age seven was then wheeled to the stage by a nurse. “This here is Gentle Hayseed,” Applejack introduced. “With her parent’s permission, we’ve been allowed to tell y’all why she’s here. “Gentle has stage three leukemia and she’s got the voice of an angel. Because of folks from the Give-A-Miracle Foundation, she’s gonna be singing alongside Sunset Shimmer during the next song, Winter Wonderland.” When Sunny knelt down to hug the little girl, a smile so bright appeared on the girl’s face that it could've melted the snow outside. Sunny picked her up and I noticed that she was beginning to glow again. This time it wasn't her geode, but her entire body. What the heck is going on? I wondered as the glow began pulsing again. I discreetly shook the thoughts from my head as the next song began. The first verse went smoothly, Sunset's voice harmonizing with Gentle's angelic tone. Sunny set her guitar to the side to dance with the small girl. As the two of them danced, Sunny began to glow and levitate, making the small girl giggle with excitement and nearly lose her tone. But by the second verse, things changed in a flash. Her glow deteriorated quickly, as if it were being snuffed out from within. Her eyes drooped and her body sagged before she crashed back onto the stage so suddenly that Gentle let out a small, weak scream as Sunny held onto her. The rest of us immediately stopped playing and rushed to their aid. Applejack helped Gentle off of Sunny's chest and carried her to the wheelchair. “What’s happening to Sunset Shimmer?” Gentle asked as we tended to Sunny. “We don't know, sugarcube,” Applejack said, holding the younger girls hand. “But Ah promise that you’ll be the first to know.” “Sunny! Are you okay?” I asked frantically as I scooped her up in my arms. She nodded weakly as she fought to keep conscious. “I… I think I pushed… myself too… too hard.” I cried as I held her tight as she finally lost consciousness.