It wasn't cold.
The thought gave Sunset Shimmer a uniquely pleasant feeling. She had hoped that things would get better, but 'hoping' had a notably different spelling than 'happening'.
Sunny smiled. Sure, she had only relearned how to read on that very day—a few hours prior, in fact—but now that it had mostly come back to her, she was confident enough in her literacy for the metaphor to hold true.
There were a number of things that Sunset had relearned in the library. Reading, of course, was an experience. It took some time and practice to return to some acceptable form of literacy. Even then, it still took her a moment or so to recognize writing when she saw it.
Ah, but words! The written word was such a wonderful thing. Any number of ideas could be communicated through them, no matter how real or how silly they might be. The written word was somehow so different from the words that she had been (mostly) speaking throughout the day. Relearning each word produced a special rush of information and brief pulses of clarity—a veritable beating heart in her mind. Beyond just that, some words written gave her special feelings.
Simple words, like 'a' or 'the' or 'and' and similarly simple nouns, verbs, and adjectives... They took her somewhere. Somewhere else. Somewhere surrounded by several other simple minds, awkwardly and remorsefully butchering every simple spelling, but being encouraged for every failure and praised for every success, ultimately becoming better for it. What a life that must have been.
Then there were the more specific words. They were seemingly random, but sometimes with a theme. 'Magic' was special. Seeing the word filled Sunset with a sense of wanting, needing, envy, accomplishment, superiority, and a permeating sense of being. It stunned her, how much a single word could move her.
'Friend' had initially filled Sunset with fear, then longing. 'Friends' gave birth to hope, but then dread. 'Friendship' brought her resentment, then joy, then resentment again, but different somehow. The word 'family'... Sunset felt nothing.
No, not quite. Rather, she felt an uncomfortable lack of anything.
The more words that Sunny learned, the more real that Sunset felt. Yet, with her dawning reality...
"Oh, oh!" Twilight Sparkle whisper-giggle-shouted. Sunset blinked. "And that part at the science fair? I thought it was really dumb, but now..."
Ah, Sunset was making herself sad while Twilight Sparkle spoke to her with passion and warmth. Appropriately grounded, Sunny's smile was revived.
Sunny inhaled. "Y-yeah. There'sh a f-f-few of those." She blinked. "Oh. Rright. Did it help your p-project?"
"Huh?" Twilight adjusted her glasses again, causing a strange twitch in Sunset's thoughts. "Oh, not at all. But it was nice to have a little break from my constant—uh," Twilight cut herself off. "Uh... Yeah, I mean—no, but yes. This is nice."
Sunset breathed deeply and smiled. Somehow, books had such a nostalgic smell. "Shorry I c-c-couldn't help morrre."
"Oh, uh, it's no problem, heh, ha, uh." Twilight cleared her throat again. "So, uh, you liked that book, right?" Sunny took a breath to answer, but Twilight cut her off. "Oh, of course you did! I mean, you told me yourself that you—I'm sorry!" Twilight's eyes were drawn quickly to the bit of couch between them. "I didn't mean to—uh, what I meant was—." Ah, Twilight was tumbling again.
Keeping the breath she took before, Sunny reached out and poked Twilight's arm. Twilight flinched, but slowly, tentatively met Sunny's gaze.
"I l-liked it," Sunny smiled in a way that she hoped was reassuring. "Why?"
"Oh, uh, well," Twilight adjusted her glasses. Why did that look so strange? "It's just, that was a pretty technical book. Abstract, yes, but pretty reliant on less-than-common knowledge. I was just wondering if, uh," Twilight pinched the sleeve of her sweater, "well, I never saw you at any science fairs, or conventions, or open conferences, or—or ever really, but..." Twilight adjusted her once-loosened grip on her bag. "A-are you a scientist, by chance? Or, rather, are you focusing a science? Or uh..."
Oh.
That was a tough one.
Inhale. "Pr-probably? S-sort of, mayybe." Sunny shrugged, as she had no other real answers. "Shcience is exc-c-citing. Sh-sht-shtim-sht..." An annoyed line drew itself upon Sunset's brow. "...R-refreshing."
Sunset collected herself for a brief moment, then she inhaled. "I th-think I used to be an experrt..." Out. Sunny let her head fall as she dug deep into her own mind, hoping to find just a small piece of herself to fill in the gaps that the question had left.
Alas, her mental scan bore no fruit. Even her search prior shed little light on her personal mystery, and what it did reveal was bleak. Sunny glanced at the newspaper, neatly folded upon the table, and shook her head in disappointment.
"...Uh, 'used to be?'"
Sunny's gaze met Twilight's as she nodded. In. "F-f-forgot mosht of it, though," Sunset sadly sighed, losing the will to keep the breath.
"Wha—'forgot'?" Twilight spluttered incredulously. After blinking away her confusion, Twilight narrowed her eyes in... suspicion? "You 'forgot' science? The culmination of generations of human curiosity? No way."
Sunset felt a chill. What did she do? She quickly took a breath and spoke shortly. "Yesh. Way. Ac-tually, more than th-that, I thinkk."
"Oh, uh, so what kind of expert were you?"
Sunny shook her head, suddenly unsure. Inhale. "I." A pause. "I?" Sunset looked away. "I d-don't know. It'sh just, I kn-kn-know so much. I used to knoww sho much, but after I woke up, I just... I remember sometimes, but...!" Sunny stopped. She wouldn't say anything else about things she didn't know for sure. Doing anything else would probably just make Twilight more upset.
That was unacceptable.
"I, I wasn't..." Twilight moved to touch her glasses—the feeling of wrongness caused Sunset to blink—before she apparently thought better of it. "I'm sorry, but..." Twilight stopped. Sunny watched on in confusion as Twilight's eyes slowly widened. "Oh, no, Sunny..." Twilight whispered.
Sunny's concerns had suddenly changed direction.
In. "T-Twilight, w-wha—?"
"I'm sorry!" Twilight breathed, hands drifting up to her mouth. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to—you don't..." Twilight sniffed as tears gathered in her eyes. "You don't need to—uh." Twilight's mouth moved, but only unsure false-starts. "You... I'm sorry. Forget I even asked."
Sunny's spinning concern blended with confusion. What just happened? Did she miss something? What was she even asking in the first place? 'Probably something about my memories.' It seemed as though Twilight had reached a conclusion of her own.
Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't the truth, that's for sure. Sunny breathed in, ready to correct her...
"O-okay." Out.
That was it, then. Sunny hoped that whatever Twilight was thinking about was at least close enough.
'The truth might just confuse her even more, anyway.'
Sunny sat quietly, watching Twilight fidget uncontrollably, before reaching out once more to poke her leg. Twilight's teary eyes met hers, but looked away. She took off her glasses—.
'That.'
In. "Wwhy do you wear glassesh?" Out.
"H-huh?" Twilight finished wiping her eyes and looked back up, squinting at her. "Oh, well," she took a watery breath and put her glasses back on. "I'm, uh, I'm nearsighted. I could barely see you without them."
'But Twilight Sparkle doesn't wear glasses.' Hm. She breathed out, taking a moment to think of how explain that to Twilight. Sunny's face fell neutral as she dedicated all of her efforts into thinking. After another awkward moment or two, she took a breath.
She stopped.
There was no rush, no pulse, no shock nor jolt beyond the realization that the thought was completely natural. She didn't even realize that she thought it at first. Were there other times that she did that? Oh gosh.
Oh gosh!
She knew Twilight Sparkle! Blue eyes widened and Sunny smiled in glee. Watermelody had told 'Sunny' that she knew Sunset Shimmer, which was exciting, but kind of... detached. Unconfirmed. That was almost like a fairy tale. A really sad and angry fairy tale that you know was true.
But this time, Sunset Shimmer told herself that she knew Twilight Sparkle!
Yet this Twilight Sparkle was wrong.
Sunny froze. What did that even mean? She knew Twilight Sparkle! Or did she? Come to think of it, Twilight Sparkle didn't know her. Was there another Twilight Sparkle? That didn't sound right, either. Or did it? Was that even possible? That didn't feel possible.
Or maybe it did?
...Right, so maybe she wasn't one to judge what's 'impossible', but just because one thing can happen doesn't mean that anything can happen.
Probably.
Maybe?
Forget it. 'Oh wait, I already did.' Sunset wanted to let out an almost-familiar bitter chuckle, but apparently she had lost her breath. She instead settled to sag bonelessly into the couch and softly flex her diaphragm as though she were.
"S-Sunny!" Oh, hello, Twilight. "Are you okay? S-should I call my brother or, or, uh, uh—!"
Sunny lazily raised her arm, then her hand, then wiggled her fingers. In. "I jusht realized. I d-donn't actually know yyou."
Twilight blinked. "Uh, what?" She tilted her head, brow raised in confusion. "Y-you don't?" Twilight adjusted her glasses. "But I thought..." After a brief pause, Twilight shook away whatever thoughts were plaguing her. She started, stopped, then shakily continued to extend her hand.
"M-my name is Twilight Sparkle."
Sunset stared at the hand, unsure of what she was supposed to—oh! Social greetings! She could do that, probably. Sunny, with less accuracy than optimal, stuck her hand into Twilight's and commanded her fingers to wrap around the scientist's hand.
Sunny breathed in. "I kn-know that," Sunny chuckled. 'Ooooh, Twilight is warm...' Still holding, Sunset's fingers quivered in joy.
"O-oh? Wait, but I never..." Twilight, clearly uncomfortable about something, pulled away from the hoofshake. Sunny slowly shook her head. She breathed in.
"I w-want to know you better, T-T-Twilight Shparkle." This Twilight Sparkle might be wrong somehow, but she wanted to know how. After all, Sunset was pretty wrong herself, but she made it work well enough.
Well, apparently not, if she really thought about it.
But still!
If she could learn more about herself through Twilight Sparkle, then she'd do so happily. Even if she didn't make any progress on her own 'personal project', she'd still have a good time.
The quiet, classical tunes of the librarian's radio quickly faded in the wake of Spike's happy panting as the pup was fawned over by said librarian, Sandy Brook. Technically, the puppy wasn't allowed in the library, but Sandy would make an exception as long as she was 'keeping a close eye on him.' The little guy was still cute enough for the rules to freely bend around him.
'What a charmer.' Shining Armor chuckled to himself.
After thirty minutes, he knew that Twilight did indeed get sidetracked again. After one hour, he knew that she'd just discovered something and that she wouldn't check the time until her stomach screamed in neglect.
As Shining navigated through the shelves, he caught the distinctive tone of his sister's voice.
His sister's voice.
But Spike was... 'Oh! Did she run into a friend?' Twilight had never talked about her friends before, so the social aspect of her life was always a mystery to him. Well, not for much longer! He quietly followed the nearby chatter, but his smile quickly fell when he heard how anxious Twilight sounded.
Then he heard the other, creepier voice.
"...to know you better, T-T-Twilight Shparkle," it croaked. Shining Armor frowned.
Ew.
Oh boy, he didn't expect to have to be that kind of big brother so soon.
Steeling himself, he discreetly peeked around a bookshelf. From his position, he spotted the head and shoulders of Twilight from behind the couch. She looked flustered, nervous, anxious. She was out of her element, and really, really confused for some reason. A mass of red and gold turned to reveal a head, a face—.
—Layer of ice and snow on the ground, undisturbed. Body: young girl, mid teens, fully dressed in season appropriate clothes, no hat. Red and yellow hair, long. Amber skin, blue eyes. Mark: red and yellow sunburst. Prone on back. Signs of extreme physical trauma. Right arm clearly broken. Both legs clearly broken. Reddish brown liquid around mouth—.
Sunset Shimmer: dead on arrival.
Shining Armor's heart froze at the sight. His eyes were lying to him. There was no damn way. But it couldn't... It had to be somebody else. Maybe her sister or something.
Sunset Shimmer: no known next of kin.
"What," Shining breathed, but louder than he intended. Twilight Sparkle must have heard him, as her head spun in his direction. He didn't bother with trying to hide, and stepped out into the open.
Twily looked relieved. And was she about to cry?
"Shiny!" she whisper-shouted, a forgivable sin for the bookworm. "What're you doing here? Where's Spike?"
It was time to play it cool. He approached the couch, rounding Twilight's side. "Oh, he's just getting reacquainted with Sandy." He placed a quietly protective hand on his sister's shoulder. He also took a glance at the dead girl's lookalike that was casually conforming to the couch. "A friend of yours?" The pale girl was staring at him. She was smiling, but it seemed... unnatural.
"Hm? O-oh uh, we just met." Twilight cringed. "Not—not that I wouldn't like that!" She backpedaled wildly. "I just—I can't make that decision...! Uh," Twilight fidgeted, and Shining squeezed her shoulder.
The girl breathed in deeply. That was easily a full set of lungs.
"Twilllight," she quietly slurred. "W-we're friends." She released the rest of her breath in a quiet sigh. A breathing condition? No, she wasn't struggling to breathe.
"Really?"
The girl inhaled. "R-really." The girl exhaled.
Something was definitely up. Twilight seemed happy, though.
"Yes!" She leaned into his hand as she quietly clapped hers in glee. "Yes, yes, yes! Yes, I'd like that. Thank you, Sunny!"
Shining Armor strangled his own breathing, took care not to squeeze Twilight's shoulder too tightly, took care not to indicate that something was wrong.
He took a deep breath.
"So, Twily," Shining hummed nonchalantly, gaining her attention, "congrats on getting that cleared up. Mind introducing your big brother to your new friend?"
"Oh! Yes, of course." Twilight cleared her throat, the same way she did for all of her presentations. She gestured between her brother and her new friend. "Sunny, this is Shining Armor, my brother. Shining Armor, this is Sunny."
"So, is 'Sunny' a nickname or something?"
'Sunny's' eyes snapped to his as her face took a slight turn towards neutral.
He squeezed Twilight's shoulder. She didn't seem to notice or mind.
Sunny breathed in. "Yesh." Her brow furrowed as her gaze, as well as her head, began to drift slowly off course. "No? Yesh and nno."
Shining produced an easy chuckle. "Well which is it then?" he probed.
But then Twilight, in an uncharacteristically bold move, cut in.
"Hey, uh, Shiny, can we talk?" Twilight put her hand on his and nodded towards the shelves off to the side. "Over there. Please?" Shining glanced again towards 'Sunny' and found that she didn't seem to mind or care.
"Sure."
Twilight got up from the couch. That seemed to catch Sunny's attention.
In. "T-Tw-Twil—."
"Oh, um," Twilight adjusted her glasses again, "I'll be right back. Uh," she passed Sunny the small book that she was carrying. "Hold onto this for me, please?"
"...Ohkay." Sunny's arm stiffly lifted and awkwardly grasped the book. As Shining Armor was led away, he saw the girl adjust her hold on the book as she brought it close to her chest.
Protected by distance, Twilight spoke.
"I think something's wrong with Sunny."
He heaved a sigh of utter relief. Thank everything that his sister had some instinct.
"Yeah, I can tell. Think it's drugs? Need an escape plan?"
"I—w-what?" Twilight spluttered. Maybe not. "No! Shiny, no I meant, uh..." She shook her head. "It's just, she's so smart." He raised a brow. "We just had a conversation about different interpretations of quantum mechanics."
"Uh huh." People talk about a lot of things while they're high out of their mind.
"It was a real conversation. It was fun! She knows her stuff—well, used to know. And even a little physics and chemistry and—."
"So, why are we here and not making her feel special over there?"
"It's just..." Twilight adjusted her glasses and brought her whisper even lower. "I think she was in an accident."
"What?" Shining Armor blinked. "What do you mean?" His face fell serious. "Should I make a call?"
"Maybe? Oh, no no." Twilight shook her head. "I meant, not today but recently. She moves like... I don't know, like she doesn't even know how to move. And she says that she used to know a lot of stuff, but she forgot." Twilight adjusted her hair. "You don't just forget science."
"I did." He remembered the books and tests, but not the science. Thanks a lot, Crystal Prep.
"Yeah, but—!" Twilight clutched the hem of her sweater. "She said she forgot. I thought she was just, uh, being humble or something! So I just kind of tried to tease her a little bit. But she got so sad and talked about how she didn't know anything or remember anything or—!"
"Shh, Twily, shhh," Shining lightly grasped her shoulders, giving her a slight squeeze. "Easy, Twilight, relax."
"She got so worked up," Twilight mumbled towards the ground, crossing her arms. "She thinks she was an expert at a science, but doesn't know. And with her obvious problems... I don't know what to do."
"Why do anything? Do you believe her?" He glanced over, watching as Sunny's body flopped onto the couch cushions. He sure as heck didn't.
"I..." Twilight pulled away, her brow furrowed in thought. "I don't know. I probably shouldn't, but I want to believe her and I want to do something, but... Oh." She adjusted her sweater. "You know how I go to science events, right?"
"Of course."
"And sometimes I get invited?"
Shining smiled. "I'm always there, Twilight."
"Well, uh..." Twilight adjusted her glasses. "She knew my name—,"
"—And get this, guys. Some of the collectors picked up a book. Apparently, our little jumper sent the book—the whole book!—back and forth between her and a couple of pen-pals. One 'Princess Celestia' and one 'Twilight Sparkle'."
"—so I think she was at one or something." Twilight shuffled her feet. "I can't remember if I introduced myself. I don't think I did. We were talking for so long though..." Twilight blinked. "Oh gosh, I made you wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... uh, how long...?"
"Oh, only an hour and a half," he dismissed.
"Oh no..." Twilight buried her face in her hands. Yep, usual response: total mortification. It was a good thing he lied, or she might have been distraught.
"Okay, I get it. You like her. She seems pretty interesting—."
"Shiny, she needs help. And she's so much nicer than most other people..." What was that supposed to mean? "What if nobody else were around to help her?"
"I'm sure that she's already got somebody looking out for her. She probably doesn't even need that much help." That said, he didn't really want to let her go either, not without learning what her connection to Sunset Shimmer was—there was no way that there wasn't any connection—but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable either, or she might not talk...
Shining Armor nodded. "Okay, so how about we make sure she's fine?" Shining suggested, gaining Twilight's curiosity. "We'll invite her out to lunch with us. Then we can feed her, make sure she's fine, and even drop her off at her house if we need to. It's about that time, anyway."
"Really? It is?" Twilight checked her phone. "Wow, it is!" She looked decidedly more excited now. "Could we really? You wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not," Shining chuckled. "Lunch with my little sister and her new friend? What's wrong with that?"
"Well, nothing, but—," Twilight blinked. "Okay. Okay! I'll go ask her!" And with that, Twilight rushed back onto the couch, whispering in excitement to the girl who was still pulling herself upright.
"Yep, uh huh, good talk, Twilight. Glad we cleared all that up." Shining Armor sighed as he, too, walked his way over, though at a much more relaxed pace.
"...wondering if you would like to have lunch with us." Twilight smiled, unsure.
Sunny stared blankly at Twilight for a moment before frowning.
Uh oh.
She breathed in. "Sorrry." Twilight's face fell. "I d-don't have anny m-m-money." Twilight blinked.
Nice. Shining Armor intervened. "Don't worry," he grinned, "it'll be our treat." Twilight smiled, hopeful.
In. "Oh, n-no. I couldn't." Sunny croaked. "Th-th-that'sh your money."
"Yep, and I'm spending it on you. What do you say?" Shining insisted. Still, Sunny hesitated. "C'mon, it's still the season for giving, so take the time to get some back. Live a little!" Twilight looked up to her brother in awe.
In. "I..." Sunny paused. "...I don't have anyth-th-thing to give."
"You don't need to. But if you feel that torn up about it, I'm sure you could think of something later."
"I..." Sunny looked down. Sunny looked up. Sunny breathed in, but then out. A pause. Twilight was about to speak, but Shining stopped her with a subtle gesture.
Sunny breathed in. "I... I don't know..." Sunny made eye contact with the quietly eager Twilight Sparkle.
Shining Armor smirked. 'Checkmate.'
"I... Okay."
"Great!" Shining Armor tried not to seem to smug. Nobody could resist that Sparkle Clan Charisma™. "I know just the spot."
"Yes!" Twilight whispered, bouncing in her seat. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"
In. "W-wwhen are we going?"
Shining Armor brought up his right wrist, the one without the watch. "Right around now-o-clock, I'd say."
Sunny blinked, then sort-of-chuckled. "Ha, hehe. Okay." That sounded sarcastic. Or was it? No, that smile was genuine enough. She must be relatively easy to entertain. That was good. Shining Armor turned to lead the way.
"Oh, Shiny!" Twilight called, "I'm going to borrow this book, too."
"Sure. Here," he held out his hand. "I'll take care of that while you girls get your things." She gently passed him the book. Orders received, he started walking towards the desk, but at a slightly slower pace than normal.
He heard Twilight the clearest. "Oh, do you need help getting up?"
He stopped and feigned interest in one of the books on the shelves. From his periphery, he saw Sunny nod.
"Yesh pleashe. And wwalking, too." Twilight's hands went to either her mouth or her glasses, it was hard to tell from that angle.
"Oh wow, that bad?" He cringed, and Twilight did, too. "Oh, I'm sorry! I, uh..." Sunny halted her with a 'wave' of her hand.
"It'sh okay. It's just..." Sunny shrugged her shoulders. "G-gravity and I aren't on s-s-shpeaking terms."
Shining Armor's focus snapped entirely onto Sunny. She looked sad, but her small smirk revealed subtle humor.
Twilight just looked confused. "Um, what?"
Sunny just shook her head. With limbs only somewhat controlled, she slowly, carefully, stiffly wrapped the green blanket around her shoulders. Then her scarf around her throat. Then lifted the newspaper off of the table.
It was the most recent paper. It wasn't headlining anymore, but Sunset Shimmer's followups still made the front page. If he remembered correctly, the most current article briefly notes the status of the C.H.S. and Crystal Prep fall-protection project, before speculating for too long whether the victim's fall was deliberate or accidental.
Shining Armor's jaw clenched. They should just wait for the investigation's results.
"Oh, uh here, let me..." Twilight, at first unsure, rose from the couch and stepped with fake confidence up to the sitting Sunny. Before helping her up, Twilight gently coaxed Sunny's long red and yellow hair—'There is honestly no friggin' way,'—from beneath the blanket and scarf, allowing it to tumble down her back.
"Thanksh."
"Hehe, no problem. Here." She offered her hands, which Sunny took. "Wow, uh, you're really cold," Twilight chuckled.
As Sunny was pulled to her feet and steadied by Twilight's frail frame, Shining Armor resumed his trek to the front desk.
"Y-you're rheally warmm..." Twilight's onset of chuckling was notably more forced and uncomfortable. Shining Armor was thankful that the path was within line of sight of the front desk.
'Who the heck is this person.' He thought to himself. Spitting image and within three weeks of the incident. No warning or calls—just showed up. Apparently so impaired that she couldn't effectively move independently.
'I swear, if this gets any spookier, I'm going to scream.'
He walked up to the front desk and quietly knocked for the librarian's attention, eliciting a voice from the back room. "Yes?" In short order, Sandy came out from the back room, tan cheeks flushed and earthy hair mussed, with Spike cradled in her arms. "Oh, hey again, Shiny," she smiled. "Found your bookworm?"
"Hey again," he smiled back. Spike scrambled from Sandy's hands, across the counter, and straight to Shining's arms. "Not this time. Just a nerd and her plus one." He gestured down the path between the shelves towards a struggling Twilight and a trying-as-hard-as-she-could Sunny.
Sandy sighed in relief. "Oh, so she's with you then. That's good."
"How'd she get here in the first place?" Shining asked, giving the excited pup a good scratch behind the ears.
"Oh, some other girl helped her in," Sandy hummed. "Well, carried her in, really. She didn't seem too happy about it either. She just brought her in and dropped her right over there," she gestured towards a bench in the main lobby, "turned around, and left. Poor girl."
"Really?" Crap, maybe there wasn't anybody looking out for her right now. "I'm guessing you helped her around then."
"Yes, I did. She asked for newspapers, but we only had the current as paper. She apparently has no idea what microfilm is."
Shining Armor laughed, but tucked that knowledge away. "I'm telling you, you need to catch up with the times! A smartphone or tablet will save you a lot of headache."
"I'll remember that for if I hear that yours got hacked," was the deadpanned response. "Ever since I left her on the couch, I was worried how she was going to leave. So thanks for saving me the trouble."
"Oh yeah, don't worry. Pulling you out of the fire, just like high-school." He placed the book he was carrying onto the counter before Spike could get too curious. "Twi's gonna borrow this one." He reached into his jacket pocket, drawing forth a card and some coins. "Here's her card, and some change for the newspaper."
"Alright." With deft hands, Sandy began processing the request—it was going to get approved anyway, but 'proper procedures' and etc..
"Oh, and Sandy?"
"Hm?"
"If anybody comes looking for Sunny," he nodded at the pair who had finally arrived at the lobby, "could you let them know that we took her out to lunch and give them my number?"
"Oh yes, of course." With a final keystroke, stamp, and flourish, the book was officially borrowed. "There. Let's try to get this one back without chemical stains." Twilight was mortified, but Shining only laughed.
"That was definitely not our fault."
"Uh huh. Get outta here, Shiny."
"Bye, Miss Sandy Brook!"
"Bye, Twilight. I'll see you again soon, I'm sure."
Inhale. "Bye! Thanksh f-for everything." Exhale.
"Uh, it was no problem, really. Goodbye—er, I mean, come back anytime."
As Shining walked back into the brisk air, he noticed that Spike was trying to burrow into his jacket. "What's up, little guy?"
He then realized that Spike was, for once, silent. But he's usually so...
'...No way.'
Shining called over his shoulder, "Hey, you girls hang out there. I'll come around with the car." Acting as though he were waiting for a response, he turned around to allow the pup to face them.
Spike scrambled out of his arms, immediately ducking behind his leg, the barrier between the pup and Twilight.
No, Twilight's stranger.
No. No way. Was Spike afraid of Sunny?
"Okay, we'll be here!"
"Th-thanksh Sh-Shining Armorrr!"
Spike whimpered.
Shining Armor was gonna scream.
>Gil: sup dash
Rainbow Dash unlocked her phone as she walked up the bleak stone path.
>You: Nm u?
>Gil: pissed af
fukn cops finally let me go
where u at
Rainbow Dash followed the cold stones, following the path that she had found herself walking often as of late. She brushed the knuckles of her free hand against a cold marble pillar.
>You: Visitin SS
>Gil: call when ur free
well hang
ttyl
bitch
Rainbow couldn't help but smile.
>You: Your paying
Asshat
Rainbow put away her phone, ignoring the brief burst of notifications that vibrated against her leg, and continued on the path. After a few more minutes of walking, she turned down the row of headstones that she knew would bring her right to her destination. Indeed, not one-hundred feet away was...
...What the heck?
She sprinted the remaining distance to the grave, seeing more and more trash flung around the sacred site. Was it more of Sunset's enemies? Resentful families? How did they even find her grave? It was a private burial! But as she got closer, she saw that the clutter wasn't trash, but mementos.
She slowed down.
Notes, cards, letters, pictures, and more fire lilies—most of them seeming to have long been wilted—than she remembered leaving were scattered on her grave. This... They found out where she was buried, and left tributes. That...
That was sweet.
Rainbow Dash decided to clean up the grave a bit before she got to her daily ritual of talking to the air. With care and reverence, she started to pick up each memento. She started with a note. It seemed like it was from Sweetie... Belle...
There was a note decorated with apple stickers. And one in Scootaloo's chicken-scratch handwriting. And a couple of pages of sheet music and a snail shell and a comb and hand wraps and several old playing cards—!
Rainbow Dash dropped to her knees and immediately began seeking out pictures—any pictures!—and found pictures of Sunset and Rarity trying on clothes, and Sunset and Rainbow Dash playing soccer, and Sunset on the farm, and Sunset at the shelter and Sunset their lunch table and at the Sweet Shoppe—.
Rainbow's wide eyes were wet with tears, her heat was pounding harder than it ever had before. Yet, there was the coldest of ice in her veins and yet still she was sweating. She was gasping for air, yet she couldn't breathe. She couldn't breath, couldn't feel, couldn't see—!
She saw it.
'What...!' A shaky had reached out to the headstone. Slower and slower, yet as fast as she could, she reached. Even then, she hovered over her target. She tentatively pinched it between her fingers, as though it might disappear.
It didn't.
In calloused hands and a delicate grasp, Rainbow Dash held her lucky guitar pick.
When she went to her first concert at the tender age of seven, the lead guitarist threw his pick into the crowd. Atop her father's shoulders, she caught it. The guitarist met her eyes and winked. The next day, her dad gave her her first guitar.
She loved that guitar. And she cherished that pick. She swore that when she had her first concert, she would play it with that guitar. She swore that when she became famous, she would do so using that pick.
Then Sunset died. She died because Rainbow wasn't there. She died and Rainbow could have stopped it. If she had been there... If Dash could have somehow made Sunset understand that, if Sunset thought that she were in danger, she still would've been there for her, then maybe Sunset wouldn't have been on that damn roof.
Heck, if she hadn't decided treat the girls to some stupid ice-cream right after school, she probably would've still been there! She could have flown up and caught her, and they could've kicked her killer's ass together!
But she didn't. She wasn't and she didn't. For all that Dash cared, she was no better than whoever killed Sunset.
So, since Rainbow threw away Sunset's life, she gave away her dreams. When she said her goodbyes to Sunset, she gave Sunset her lucky pick.
She put that pick and several of the now-scattered tributes into Sunset's coffin herself.
All of them.
Rainbow Dash looked helplessly at all of the mementos around her. The ground was untouched, disturbingly undisturbed, yet their gifts were expelled from the grave, as though through magic.
That wasn't impossible.
Was this a sign? Was all of their sorrow and grief unwanted?
Did Sunset reject their friendship from beyond the grave?
Did Sunset hate them that much?
Did Sunset hate her that much?
With tears streaming down her face, Rainbow Dash cradled the tiny pick to her heaving chest.
She laid her head on Sunset's grave and screamed.