//------------------------------// // VI - Dissonance // Story: Last Light // by Scampy //------------------------------// “But...” Rainbow Dash stared at her phone. “Who, then? Why? Why make it look like Sunset?” “I don’t know,” Applejack said. “I’m as confused as you, but...” She looked over at Sunset’s motionless body. “There’s more important things to focus on right now.” The entire room fell silent, and Sunset felt as though her heart had stopped beating. Beside her, the monitor’s rhythmic tones fluctuated a bit. Her eyes darted around the room, unsure of what to make of the situation. As looks of regret consumed the faces of the other girls, Sunset expected a rush of resentment, but instead, she was overwhelmed by something she couldn’t explain. It was as though she was saddened by the grief of her former friends in spite of everything they did to her. That didn’t make sense, Sunset told herself. Why should she feel sorry for them? This was all their fault! It was because of them that she had been so isolated and despised by her peers. It was because of them that she had reached such depths of despair. It was because of them that she had entered that parking garage with the intent to die. They should feel bad. They deserved to feel bad! And yet, Sunset hated to see them like this. Her mind was just as torn as it had been when she thought of Rarity and Rainbow Dash after her fall, cradling her body and pleading for her to live, to hold on, to not give up. Since then, Rainbow Dash had followed her to the hospital and stayed up all night with her. After all the spite and cruelty Sunset had been subjected to since Anon-a-miss began posting, that had been the first kind thing anyone had done for her. Sunset was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was startled by Fluttershy’s soft voice. “Rainbow Dash, have they... Have they told you anything? About Sunset?” “About her? Like how?” Rainbow Dash didn’t look up from the floor as she replied. “I mean...” Fluttershy seemed to wince with every word. “Will she be o-okay?” Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh. “I don’t know,” she said. “When they brought her in, she was in the emergency room for a long time. I think they had to do some kind of surgery, but I don’t know much else.” “So nobody’s even talked to you?” Applejack asked. “Not about anything important,” Rainbow Dash said. “When I first asked about Sunset, the people in the ER weren’t sure who I meant. I guess she didn’t have an ID with her, because they were calling her ‘Jane Doe’ until I said I was her classmate and gave them her name.” She looked over at the machines and monitors wired to Sunset’s unconscious body. “Still, whatever the situation is, I can’t imagine it’s good news...” “That... No, that’s not right,” Fluttershy said. “Sunset’s going to pull through. She’s strong, she’ll be—” “You weren’t there, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash snapped. Sunset could see her red eyes brimming with tears. “You didn’t see her fall... You didn’t see the look she gave me before she stepped off that ledge... There was j-just nothing. She didn’t even say anything.” Rainbow Dash tensed up. “And the sound of her hitting the ground...” Her demeanor broke down further as Applejack put an arm around her. “I can h-hear it, guys,” she whimpered. “I can see h-h-her eyes. They were still open, even after she... she...” Sunset sat in silence, listening to Rainbow Dash’s cries. She wanted to smile at her friends and reassure them that it was all okay. She wanted to scream in their faces, to berate them with bitter words and watch them break apart. She wanted to turn away, to call out to Luna to take her from this place. She wanted to shut her eyes, plug her ears, and pretend this was all a nightmare. All this, Sunset wanted. And yet, she did nothing but look on, an apparition in the shadows. Rainbow Dash’s sobbing was interrupted by a nurse entering the room again. She was not the same one that had led Applejack and Fluttershy to the room, and Sunset found herself reflexively stepping aside as she entered. “Hi girls,” the nurse said. “It was good of you to come visit your friend.” When the three girls didn’t respond, she continued. “I don’t suppose any of you have contact information for Ms. Shimmer’s family?” “Uhm...” Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack. “Sunset lives on her own, ma’am,” Applejack said. The nurse cocked her head. “Is that right? Unusual, for someone her age.” “It’s... complicated,” Rainbow Dash said. “Well, it’s not my place to pry, but if you find anything out, please inform someone on staff,” the nurse said. “We had no records of Ms. Shimmer before last night, so we’re working a little blind, as far as medical history.” “Sorry we aren’t much help,” Fluttershy spoke softly. “It’s alright, dear.” The nurse smiled at her. “As I said, your being here is very kind. You’d be shocked by the number of patients who never receive visitors.” Applejack glanced over at Sunset’s silent form. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking... Is she gonna be alright?” “I’ll be honest,” the nurse sighed. “She was suffering from hemorrhagic shock when she first arrived, and her blood pressure being so low for so long is dangerous. That’s to say nothing of the damage to the rest of her body.” “Oh...” Applejack lowered her head. “Don’t give up on her, sweetie,” the nurse said. “Most people who fall as far as she did don’t even make it this far. She may not be in the clear yet, but I’d say the worst is over.” Applejack struggled to smile. “Okay. I appreciate your time, ma’am.” “Well I’m not leaving just yet. I have to check her vitals.” The nurse pulled in a small cart from the hallway. She took a blood pressure gauge and lightly pulled the sheets up around Sunset’s left arm. As she did, rows upon rows of scar tissue revealed themselves. “Oh my...” The nurse whispered. She paused to write something on her clipboard. “She must have been doing this for—goodness, I can’t even tell how long.” Rainbow Dash stared at the floor. Fluttershy gasped and turned away. Applejack looked on, stunned. “What... What do you mean?” Applejack stuttered. “There are so many cuts in so many stages of healing,” the nurse said. “Some look like they’re nearly healed, and others seem to be from as early as yesterday.” “So...” Applejack said, “She’s been, uhm... Hurting herself... For a long time? Not just recently?” “Looks that way,” the nurse said. She shook her head as she removed the blood pressure gauge. “Poor girl. It’s awful what depression leads people to do.” Applejack leaned against the wall, her eyes affixed to Sunset’s arm. “This whole time...” The nurse finished writing down Sunset’s vitals and collected her things. “I have other patients to check on, but I’ll be in every couple of hours,” she said. “And again, thank you for being here.” Once the nurse was gone, Applejack spoke up again. “Girls... Even if she wakes up, I don’t think we can fix this.” Sunset felt her heart twisting and churning as different emotions battled for control. From what the nurse had said, it sounded like her prognosis was pretty grim. Sunset was studied enough to know that shock and low blood pressure could cause serious internal damage. Despite what she had told Luna about giving up, Sunset felt a tinge of dread. The other girls being here did nothing to ease her mind. Why were they sticking around? How dare they act so shocked and surprised when they saw the scars? What right did they have to even know about that? When Sunset turned to glare at them, her anger evaporated once more. Rainbow Dash had resumed staring at Sunset’s body, her bloodshot eyes full of sorrow. Beside her, Fluttershy could not even bring herself to look at Sunset, and was crying softly with her head in her hands. Between them, Applejack had slumped down to the floor. She kept looking at Sunset’s arm, and her face was wracked with anguish. Sunset felt a pit in her stomach. How were these the same people who had so callously tossed her aside? It was likely her own fault, she thought. After all, she had treated them horribly for years. Of course they would be suspicious of her. And yet, now it was Sunset who was suspicious of their shift in attitude. As Sunset watched Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack crying in the corner of the hospital room, she remembered what Luna had said about emotions being fleeting things. She took a deep breath and crossed the tiny room. The three girls shared in their grief, and Sunset—intangible as she was—stayed with them.