Rainbow Dash laid on her side, curled up on the grass of Sunset's grave.
She had screamed and shouted herself hoarse. Her fists were cold and bruised from her unplanned assault on the almost-frozen earth. Her eyes were ruddy and raw, and no matter how many times she rubbed or wiped them, they were always wet.
Her cheeks, lips, and chin were wet. Her sleeves were soaked in tears and snot. Her hat was gone with the gentle breeze. She was cold. Everything ached.
Rainbow was spent.
"I'm sorry, Sunset," Rainbow mumbled into the cold grass. "I really hope that..." She lifted her head, gazing sadly at the haphazard pile of mementos. "Please, don't let me—." Dash closed her eyes with a grimace.
"I'm sorry, Sunset. Please forgive me. Please." Dash allowed her heavy head to gently fall back to the ground. "Please." Idly, as though she were waiting for a response, Rainbow Dash began plucking blades of grass. Each pluck was like the hand of a clock. Her ideal clock. One that ticked when she wanted it to. Four. Five. Six—.
Rainbow Dash grabbed a fistful of grass and pulled. Gently opening her hand, she watched as each blade drifted to the ground.
Her lucky guitar pick fell free from the grooves it carved into her palm.
Rainbow stared at it, hand hovering in hesitation. That stupid piece of plastic looked just as heavy as it was when Rainbow gave it up to Sunset.
'C'mon girl, don't be a wimp.' Steeling herself, she gently picked it up and reverently slipped it into her pocket, snugly pressed against her wallet.
Dash took a deep breath.
"Screw everything."
She just needed to get on with the rest of her day. Sunset's problems weren't gonna solve themselves. Not anymore.
To her credit, it took only a few seconds to work up the will to stand. Once back on her feet, she looked down at the tributes on the grave. After a brief moment of thought, she resumed her task of picking them up. She didn't have a way to properly carry them, but she did have a case on her bike. Until then, a makeshift satchel formed out of her hoodie would have to do. Sure, she'd be a bit cold for a while, but that was fine. She was overdue for some suffering, anyway.
If Sunset wanted to send this junk back, then the least that Rainbow could do was deliver.
She tied the wet sleeves together and cradled the package in her arms. With the gifts safely wrapped up, Rainbow Dash began to walk away, but stopped. Just like every other day since the burial, she turned back, hesitating to leave Sunset behind.
"I..." She forgot what she was going to say when she rode in that morning—oh. Right. "Twilight's still pretty stressed. Her visits keep getting shorter. I mean, it's not like she has many people to talk to anymore, but... still. But she probably told you more than she told me." Dash paused for a moment. "I still haven't found out who killed you. I haven't even found Anon-a-Miss. Was I always this dumb? Was this how I always looked to you?" Rainbow Dash stopped to breathe, as though waiting for a response. "...I'm sorry, Sunset, I'm pretty bad company right now. I should go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
A proper goodbye given, she began her trek back, running through the list of people she needed to return the tributes to. She'd probably start with Applejack. With how hard Applejack's been working since the news, Dash generally knew where the farmer would be at any given point of the day. She could also drop off Apple Bloom's card, too. She could give the pictures to Pinkie. They'd never get lost, then. Sure, they were just prints of pics that they all had, but these prints were kinda special. Probably. Sweetie Belle would have to get her card back directly and...
Dash blinked.
'How am I going to get these back to everybody else without pissing them off?' The girls would be easy: just pass it over and explain what happened. They'd seen enough to know it was true. But what about the others? Snips and Snails might buy it at face value, but everybody else? Hm...
Screw it, it was magic. What else could she possibly say? They've been around Sunset long enough to know that's a real answer. If they have a problem accepting the truth, then let them wallow in denial. With a firm nod, Rainbow had a plan.
From the corner of her eye, she saw that one of the tomb-things were open. An old guy was struggling to move some sacks off of a probably-just-as-old truck.
...She could probably spare a couple minutes.
Rainbow Dash veered off course towards the old man and the truck.
"Hey," Dash called. "Need a hand?"
"Huh?" The man grunted as he dragged another sack off of the truck's bed, lifting it onto his shoulder. "Oh nah, missy, but thanks for the offer."
But Dash was already moving. She idly noted that the tomb was actually a work shed, judging by the tools and machines stored inside. She eased her package onto the side of the path and was behind the truck before he could protest any further. "With the others inside, right?"
"Er, yeah, but honestly you don't have to—."
"Are you joking? I wouldn't want you to throw your back out or something, old man."
"Gee, thanks," he deadpanned, quickly unamused. "Just stack it inside with the rest of the ice-melt. Kids these days..." Heh. Score one for Dash. At least now she could say that she did something right that day.
They worked in relative silence for about thirty seconds.
"Hey, miss," the old man began, "thanks again for helping me out here. We needed to stock up on this stuff before the freeze next week, and uh..." He chuckled. "Well, I guess I don't trust the other guys to do it."
"Hey, it's no big!" Dash replied with some amount of deliberate cheer. "It's not like I could just leave you hangin'."
"Well ain't you a model citizen." The old man grinned. "Say, I feel like I've seen you somewhere." Dash hefted another sack down onto the stack and smirked confidently at the old-timer, belatedly remembering how much of a gross mess that she was. What an image that must have been.
"Yeah, I get that a lot." She kept up her momentum, pacing back to the truck. With the pace she was moving at, this guy would be set in no time. She grunted, hefting another heavy sack onto her shoulder. "Having the best hair in the world makes me hard to forget."
"Ha, I bet!" the man laughed. Awesome. He hefted one sack of his own. "But no really, I think I've seen you recently."
Recently? She'd never seen that guy before. When would—?
Oh. He worked there.
Her slowly rising mood effectively killed, Rainbow Dash's face fell from humor to bland interest.
"Yeah," she sighed, "I visit a friend."
"Mm. It's good of you to come. I'm glad your friend still has you to keep them company—Oh!" He started a new stack in the pile. There were only a few sacks left to go. "I remember now. Would you happen to know Miss Sunny Song?"
Sunny who? Didn't know, didn't care. "Nope." Only two left. She grabbed one and he got the other.
"Darn," he sighed, carrying his load into the tool-tomb. "She left a lot of things at the grave she was visiting, and I don't think they'd survive the day. Lotta paper and stuff. I'd pack it up myself, but policy says 'that's a termination.'"
"Mhm." With a sigh, she heaved the last sack onto the pile. Rolling her shoulders, she idly looked around. 'Is this where old tools go to die?'
"Ah..." the old guy sighed in relief. She could almost hear the bones in his back creak as he stretched. "Well thanks again for the help, miss. That was kind of you."
"Eh, don't worry about it," Rainbow Dash shrugged. "All in a day's work. Catch you around, old-timer." Rainbow stepped out of the shed, the old man following behind and shutting the door behind him. As she returned to her makeshift pack, Rainbow had a thought. "Hey, uh..." Rainbow Dash picked up her package. "My friend's grave..."
To her credit, she almost didn't hesitate. Those words still felt alien to her. Not incorrect, but wrong.
"Hm? Ah, is it due for some cleaning?"
"Uh, no, not anymore, but..." Rainbow idly rolled her shoulder. "Uh, how long have you been here?"
He finally managed to slam the tailgate to the old truck shut. "I've been around since about seven-thirty the morn'. Why?"
"Oh, well..." C'mon Dash, just talk to the guy. "...There was a mess on my friend's grave that wasn't there yesterday. There was stuff everywhere and I was wondering if you knew when it showed up."
"Was it Sunset Shimmer's grave?"
Rainbow Dash blinked. "Uh, yeah, actually."
"That's what I was talking about. Miss Sunny left that there this morning. I found her there around quarter-to-eight, so she probably came in before me."
She cocked her head in confusion. "Um, what?"
"Yeah, Miss Sunny Song was visiting Miss Sunset Shimmer this morning. Maybe even last night, to be honest."
"Wait, wait." Rainbow raked her fingers through her messy hair. "You're saying that this 'Sunny Song' person left all that stuff behind? Like, the pictures and cards and stuff?"
"Uh, yeah. I think so, anyway."
Rainbow's face twisted and turned as she mulled over the information—.
She dropped her package.
'Somebody robbed Sunset's grave?!' Dash's heart was racing, pounding, burning with righteous fury and goosebumps rose under cold sweat. Why? Wait—how?! The grass was pristine! Rainbow began pacing, muttering incoherently to herself, ignorant of the old man's growing concern.
The only way those things could've gotten out was through digging or—.
"Magic," Rainbow breathed. But still, why? There wasn't really anything all that special in there but Sunset's body and—, "the journal!" Rainbow's eyes flicked around in panic. Twilight said something about the magical tome and the portal. This was another magical incident! She—oh gosh, she needed to round up the girls!
But... no, they needed Twilight, too, but she wouldn't be around until next week at the earliest. If she even came back. Oh, but maybe Sunset—.
'Damn it, Dash, Sunset's dead!'
Okay. Twilight. She just needed to get Twilight.
So she needed the book. She needed to track this 'Sunny Song' down.
"What's she look like."
The guy blinked. "Who, Sun—?"
Rainbow Dash rounded on him. "What's Sunny look like?!"
He threw his hands up between them. "S-she looks—what're you on about?"
"Just answer me, will ya'?!"
"Back up a little, kid!" Back up she did, but in confusion rather than fear. "What's your problem, anyway? I thought you said you didn't know her."
"I don't—," Dash growled in frustration. "Did she say where she was going?"
"Listen, kid," he crossed his arms, expression stern. "I appreciate you helping me, really I do, so I'll do you the favor of not kicking you out for trespassing. But you need to settle down and tell me what's going on right now, or I'm not telling you anything."
"'Settle down?'" Was he joking?! "'Settle down?!' I, what... This—What's-her-face stole Sunset's diary and you want me to 'settle down'?!"
"Stole her—," His hands flew up to the head in shock and confusion. "What in the heck are you talking about?!"
"S-she stole a book and—!" Didn't this guy get how serious this was? "I-Twilight left it with all the things I left and then they were everywhere but..." Wait, what could she even say to make this guy understand? "I... She's the only one who'd know where and... I need to find her and... uh... uh...!" Dash paced with intensity, racking her brain for any possible solution.
She found none.
"I..." Another failing battle. Rainbow Dash has proven herself to be a failure once again. As if being stupidly gullible wasn't enough, she was just too useless to follow the one trail that was left for her. Rainbow Dash tried not to let her frustrated tears slip. She tried so hard, but still one or two did escape.
She turned away, hoping that the old man wouldn't notice. He probably did, judging by his sigh.
"Look miss, if it's really that important..." He coughed lightly into his fist. "I, uh... You don't seem like a bad person, and it seems pretty important. I don't even have much I could tell you, anyway." Rainbow Dash tried to peek at him over her shoulder, keeping as much as her face hidden as possible. "She looks like Sunset Shimmer. I've briefly seen a picture that I think was her, but another girl also told me they looked pretty alike."
"Sh-she looks like Sunset?" Rainbow's confusion mixed with the frustration on her brow. "What—wait, somebody else said that?"
"Yeah," he slipped his hands into his pocket. "She must've been pretty close to Miss Sunset Shimmer, too, judging by her reaction."
"What do you mean?"
"She lost it. Almost... no exactly like if she'd seen a ghost."
Did one of the other girls visit and not say anything? No way. "The other girl, what'd she look like."
"Hmm..." he hummed in thought, and Rainbow began to tap her foot impatiently. If he noticed, he made no sign of it. "About your height, I think. Pink skin, green hair. She seemed pretty slim, I think, but winter clothes and all. Oh!" He snapped his fingers. "Her name was Watermelody."
"Watermelody? Watermelody..." That name sounded familiar. Oh, that's right. She's a Wondercolt. "What was Watermelody doing out here?" She wondered aloud. The old man shot her a look. With a blink, Rainbow remembered where she was. "Oh, uh, I mean was she meeting Sunny here or..." Wait, no. She was shocked to see her, too, so probably not.
"No. Well, yes. She was driving for the taxi company that I called."
"She what?" Wait. Wait! That's it! That's the plan! She turned and ran without allowing the man to respond. "Thanks, old man, gotta run!" Rainbow Dash called over her shoulder as she sprinted down the path. He was trying to say something to her, but she was moving too fast and way too busy to hear it.
Plan in mind, she pulled out and unlocked her phone. Opening her contacts, she quickly navigated her messenger.
>You: Watermelodys # pls
The response was a little less immediate than usual. She probably just woke up.
>Pinks: [Watermelody.VCF]
Rainbow wasted no time. With deft fingers, she downloaded the attachment and imported the data onto her contact's list. With her other hand, she pulled her bike away from the Canter City Gardens gate.
>You: Thx get the grls. Magic emergency.
>Pinks: Uh oh. K. My hous @ 5?
Rainbow Dash glanced at her watch, belatedly realizing that she had a clock on her phone. That would give her five hours and some change.
Perfect.
>You: Sure gtg
Rainbow Dash hopped onto her bike.
>Pinks: <3 u Dashie!
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but knew better than to remain silent. 'Pinkie's trying. She's failing, but she's trying.' Dash tapped out her reply.
>You: Thnx
Good enough.
Not waiting for any response. Rainbow Dash called Watermelody. The dial tone rang.
And rang...
...And went to voicemail. Rainbow hung up and immediately tried again.
It rang...
...And rang—.
"Hello?"
Finally.
"Hey, Watermelody? It's Dash."
"Rainbow Dash?" Great, she sounded nervous. "Uh, what's up? And how did you get—?"
"I heard you had a weird ride from the Canter Gardens this morning." A pause. Was she still there? "Did you give—?"
"I swear if this is a prank I'm gonna—!"
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash adjusted her seat. "Melody, stop. This isn't some stupid prank." Rainbow Dash sighed harshly as she raked her fingers through her hair. "I'm, uh, trying to track Su—uh, Sunny? Her."
"And I'm trying to forget about her, the freak." A beat passed. "I took her to Golden Oaks, It's only a couple of miles from the cemetery."
"Awesome, thanks."
"Don't mention it. Or her. Or either of them, really."
Rainbow frowned. "Yeah, sure. Bye."
Watermelody hung up first. Jerk. Was she always like that?
Whatever, not important. Muttering under her breath, Rainbow looked up the Golden Oaks—cursing as she realized that it was a library, of all things—and plotted her course. With her phone mounted onto her handlebars, she took to the streets, hoping that her hunt wouldn't end in failure. Just like every other hunt ever since Sunset—.
'Okay, stop.' She needed to stop living in the past, there were still things that she needed to do now. She was gonna find whoever took that book. With any luck, Sunny Song would be connected to Sunset's murder.
Right. Things were starting to look up.
The relaxing tunes playing over the Donut Joe's radio did absolutely nothing to calm Shining Armor's nerves. They certainly did nothing for Spike, who opted to tuck himself into Twilight's backpack.
Between the awkward car ride and the awkward lunch, Shining would say that the plan wasn't going very well. He tried to get the girl talking, but between her apparent condition and unwillingness—or inability, he supposed—to disclose any further information about herself, he hasn't learned more beyond 'Science is fun,' 'I like dogs,' and 'I don't think dogs like me.'
"Mmm!" Twilight hummed in delight from her seat beside Shining. "Are you sure you don't want any hash-browns or, uh, anything? Donuts and coffee aren't the only thing this place is good for."
A deep inhale. "Mnno. I'mm ghood. Th-thanksh, though." A soft, but long exhale. With subtly trembling hands, Sunny gently lifted her steaming-hot, absolutely freshly brewed cup of black-as-coal coffee. She took a deep sip.
She didn't even blow on it! Shining Armor watched the event in equal parts admiration, respect, and fear. Judging by the look on her face, she liked her coffee fresh out of a friggin' volcano.
"So Sunny," Shining began with artificial composure, "what's your full name?" Twilight watched Sunny from across the table in rapt attention.
She inhaled. Seriously, why does she do that? "S-Sunny Shong." She exhaled.
Shining blinked. "Sunny Shong?"
Sunny blinked. Soft in. "S-S-Shunny S-Song."
Shining smirked and opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by Twilight smacking his arm.
"Ha, ha!" Twilight chuckled in an excessively forced manner, drawing a couple of looks from some of the other customers. "Oh Shiny, you're such a kidder! So uh," Twilight poked her hash-browns a little, before continuing, "what kind of foods do you like?"
Sunny's gaze drifted to the ceiling in thought. After a moment, she inhaled. "Shweet things, I th-think. C-cupcakesh. Hm... Hey...?"
Shining and Twilight both raised a brow. "Uh," Twilight spoke in confusion, "hey what?"
"Hm, fries and burgersh," Sunny continued on, ignoring Twilight. She paused, but she didn't do that breathe-out thing. "With ch-cheese. Oh, I l-like cheese!"
Twilight blinked and cringed hard. "Oh, uh, really? That's... great." She awkwardly sipped her hot hot cocoa, before immediately regretting her decision.
Shining Armor chuckled, stepping in for Twilight as she devoured her ice water to soothe her burned tongue. "So, you like sweet stuff."
Sunny nodded.
"Right. But yet," Shining tapped his own steaming mug, "you drink your coffee black."
Sunny nodded again with a wide smile. In. "It'sh how I firsht d-drank it. I like itt."
He nods. "You ever try chewing the beans? Like, whole, unbrewed coffee beans."
Sunny froze. 'Wha?' he could see her silently mouth.
"Yeah, you just pop one in and eat it. Ugh, it's so gross, but so good. I do it all the time."
Sunny's face matched Twilight's as it twisted in confused disgust. In. "Ew. Wwha?"
"Yeah, try it sometime—it's terrible." Shining Armor took a bite out of his sandwich. He covered his mouth as he resumed talking, as though it would annoy Twilight any less. "It's also a pretty good pick-me-up when you don't have time to brew."
Sunny smiled the cringing smile of somebody who just saw Spike playing in mud. "That'sh g-grossh. I'll try th-that." Out.
"Nice, my condolences in advance," Shining chuckled. "But you know, the only other people I see drinking black coffee are the older guys at work." He dons a thoughtful expression. "Come to think of it, how old are you, anyway?" Twilight looked mortified.
"S-Shiny!" Twilight struck Shining Armor again. He feigned quiet agony. "Y-you shouldn't ask that!"
"Why the heck not?!" He threw an exaggerated shrug. "If you don't ask questions how're you gonna get answers?"
"Just don't ask!"
"But Twily," Shiny whined as hard as he could, "I wanna know, though!" Twilight looked about ready to strangle him.
"S-stop!" She hissed as quietly-loud as she could. "Shiny, you...!" Twilight buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. Nice.
Seeing the lull in activity, he saw Sunny twitching softly in her side of the booth. Was that... was she laughing? Judging by the way Sunny was grinning like a goofball, probably.
Sunny took a breath. "I'm t-t-t-twenty-four, I thi-inkk." Sunny breathed out.
Pffft!
"Wow, you age like wine!" Shining laughed. Well, elusive that she is, she's got a sense of humor, if a bit weird. Unfortunately, that could mean that she was still way too suspicious of him.
"T-twenty four?" Oh right, Twilight probably didn't pick up on the joke. "B-but, you don't look any older than me!"
In. "Reallly?" Twilight nodded frantically. Sunny tilted her head back in thought. "Oh," she eventually said, as though she grabbed the wrong pair of shoes, "I guesh I'mm actually shixteen."
Twilight looked dumbfounded. The expression was enough to put Shining into a laughing fit. Shiny's guffaws were enough to bring her back to reality. With an offhanded poke to Shining's ribs, Twilight cleared her throat.
Sunny seemed pretty pleased with the display.
"So, uh, I guess you're still in school then, huh?" Twilight began, seizing Shining's attention.
Sunny began to nod, stopped in thought, then shook her head instead. Seeing the siblings' confused expressions, she took a breath.
"I used t-to. I don't annymorrre." Out.
"Oh, you graduated early?"
In. "No..." she trailed off, her breath leaving with her statement. She stared at the table deep in thought. Suddenly, she smiled and twitched. But it wasn't quite a happy smile. No that was... yes that was the same smile that he saw in the library.
Inhale. "Not r-really," she began, smiling that secretive smirk. "I guessh I d-d-dropped out."
Twilight Sparkle gaped. She chuckled once, then twice, but after seeing nobody else laughing, fell into a shocked silence once more.
Shining Armor was frozen. She freakin' knew.
'This is not a coincidence.'
Shining Armor quickly glanced around the diner, just in case this was some kind of elaborate joke. When he returned his attention to Sunny Song, he found her observing him and accidentally made eye contact. Shining blinked.
Sunny didn't.
'Crap.' He tried to smile at her to diffuse the growing discomfort of the awkwardness, the perfect out to any eye contact.
She smiled that same smile back, but she also kept staring.
It was less than a second longer, but Shining began feeling an uncomfortable sensation growing in the pit of his stomach. It was a sickening feeling, as though he were stepping alone into a dark alley.
Shining picked up his sandwich as an excuse to escape the deadlock, despite the fact that his appetite grew nonexistent.
"No..." Twilight breathed, regaining her voice. "No! 'D-dropped out'?!" Twilight took off her glasses. Sunny stopped smiling. "How—no! Sunny, no! I..." Tears unimpeded began streaming down Twilight's face. "I, Sunny... Why, Sunny?" Twilight whimpered. "Is-is this a joke? Are you—you're messing with me, right?"
Sunny looked utterly heartbroken. Inhale. "T-Twilight, I... n-no, I just... pleash don't..." Sunny tried to lean across the table, reaching out to Twilight, but the table was too wide to reach. Twilight quickly took Sunny's hands in one of her own, the other desperately trying to wipe the tears as they came. "Dhon't cry, T-Twi-Twil-light, I, I, I..." Sunny's entire body trembled, but her eyes were dry. "It... I wwas jhoking, Twilight. I'm s-shorry. It w-wasn't funny. P-pleash stop..."
Shining intervened. He placed a gentle hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Hey, Twily," he spoke, voice low, "relax. It was a joke, okay? That's all. You okay?"
"I'm..." Twilight sniffed wetly, "I'm, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I... I didn't get it, I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin—to make a, a..." She took several deep breaths, pulling the air towards her with her free hand then pushing it away—the method that Cadance taught her, if he remembered correctly—but only got herself a calmer by a fraction.
"Hey, Twily, why don't you head on over to the restroom?" Sunny's distressed gaze snapped to Shining. "Get yourself cleaned up, hm? We'll be here, okay? Trust me."
"I... okay." She reluctantly let go of Sunny's hand. "Okay. I'll, uh... I'll be right back. Yeah, I'll be right back." Quickly, Twilight slipped out of the booth and rushed over to the restrooms. From her backpack, Spike twisted himself free of his synthetic cloth sanctuary and rushed after the girl.
Okay, Twilight's gone. He's probably got about five minutes.
Time for business.
"What are you doing here, Sunny?" He maintained his low tone, as to remain difficult to hear. However, he made sure that his voice was firm.
Practically laying on the table, she breathed in. "Waht?"
"I said, 'what. Are. You. Doing. Here?'" Shining Armor pushed. "I know you have some kind of connection to Sunset Shimmer."
She seemed to perk up at that. "You kn-knew Sunset Shimmer?"
"Did you?" She nodded her head frantically, but thought about it.
Inhale. "N-no. But I want to know m-more, and—."
"Right, but who are you. Are you a relative or what? You look just like her."
"I-I, uh. How d-did you kn-knoww that wwe look the same?" Out.
Okay, he was getting nowhere. "I was the responder on the scene where Sunset Shimmer's body was found. I know what she looks like. I also know that a friggin' doppleganger popping up two weeks after her death is not a coincidence. So that's who I am. Now who are you?"
She stopped for a moment, before her eyes widened. In. "You're a guard?"
"What?" Where do you find these people? "I'm a cop. C.P.D."
"Th-then, y-y-y—," her brow furrowed and she grunted in frustration, '—you-r people knew mme!"
"What are you even talking about right now."
She breathed in. Out. In again. "Help me, pleashe. I'm S-S-Sunset Shimmer. I'm d-dead. I w-want to know who I am."
He blinked.
He blinked again.
"Bullshit," he spat in anger. He was not going to be made fun of by this freak. "Now I know you've been trying to piss me off."
In. "N-no! It'sh t-true! I, I can, uh." She was so obviously grasping at straws. It was taking all of his energy to remain seated. "I-I look jusht like her, and I'm d-dead."
"You don't look too dead to me."
"I-I can prove it!" Stiff but shaky arms pushed her body upright. She held her hand on her chest, over her heart. "I don't h-have a heart b-b-beat."
"I'm not touching you to find out." She looked at him, shocked. What was she expecting? He wasn't friggin' stupid.
"I-I don't..." she breathed in. "I don't n-need to breathe."
"Then how are you talking right now?"
She gaped. She couldn't have not seen that coming. "I nheed to breathe in before I t-t-talk."
"Uh huh." Despite his skepticism, Shining blinked. She did do that. And never when she wasn't talking.
This chick was good. How could he blow her cover once and for all though...
Ah.
He got an idea.
"So first off," he began, "there's no way you should even be able to take in air. Second," he raised two fingers, "there's no reason for you to eat or drink. Now, third—and this is a big one here—there's no way you should even be able to do anything, let alone talk about anything, because even if you somehow survived the fall, you could sure bet that you'd be dead and unmoving now. Do you know why?"
Sunny Song shook her head, visibly confused.
"Good. Then show me your scalp behind your ear."
'Sunset' blinked. In. "Uhm. W-what?"
"You want to prove you're the dead girl? Lean in, turn your head, and show me your scalp. Then I'll tell you why you're wrong." If she does, then she's dumb. If she doesn't then she's wrong and dumb. Either way, she wasn't going near Twilight again and Shining was going to have something to report.
"Okay." Out. Perfect.
She shifted over to be seated further into the booth, directly across from Shining Armor. After brief hesitation, she shifted her legs onto the seat and leaned her head over the table, and holy crap this was probably a weird image, but it was for the greater good. Trying her best to keep her eyes on him, Sunny brought her arms to her head and twisted it at an awkward angle—'Heh, still trying to keep up this sham.'— and began pulling her hair up and away, leaving as little obstruction between the scalp and Shining's eyes.
Good.
"And you see, this is where your story falls apart. Because I know for a fact that, that..."
Wait.
No way.
"Wait, stop right there." She did, glancing around nervously, as though she were doing something wrong. He stared in disbelief. He looked away and rubbed his eyes and looked back.
Just barely but clearly there, he saw the ridges of red thread in a base-ball stitch pattern running behind her ear towards the back of her head.
No way.
He hesitated, but reached out to further part her hair. She shied away from the touch briefly, and he hesitated in response. They glanced at each other's faces. He read confusion and fear in her eyes.
She could probably read the same in his eyes, too.
He reached out once more and began parting her hair, following the line of stitches. True to his newfound suspicions, they wrapped around the back of her skull in a straight line. If he asked her to turn her head the other way, the stitches should wrap around to the back of her other ear.
He asked. She did. It did.
He leaned back in his seat. Seeing him do so, she followed his action. For one of Shining's precious minutes, they stared at each other.
'She's really good.' He couldn't believe it.
—young girl, mid teens—
'I mean, she's done her research.' There was no way.
—red and yellow hair—
'That, and she must have some resources.' He thought back to every moment that she held her breath.
—amber skin, blue eyes—
That she never blinked in anything other than shock, 'she never blinked in anything other than shock'. That she couldn't walk anything more than a wall-assisted stagger on her own.
—Both legs clearly broken—
The moments that she would just lay still.
This was stupid. She's a fake.
'What kind of person would do this? What kind of person could do this?'
Spike was terrified of her.
Spike loves everyone, but he was terrified of her.
This was a lot. This was too much. This—what is happening? Was he dreaming?
She breathed in. He flinched. "W-what'd you find?" Out.
"Wh—," his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "Uh, what?" he tried again quietly.
In. "Did you ffind it?" Her body gently fell to the side until she was leaning against the wall. "Wwaht where you l-llooking forr?"
"O-oh, um..." he took a sip of his coffee, but burned his tongue.
—drank the freshly poured cup, no pain, no shock—
He instead drank down several gulps of water. "I, uh... Sunset Shimmer, hm." With shaky fingers, he rearranged the cutlery and condiments near his dish of half-eaten sandwich. "She, uh. She had an autopsy and, well, your—uh, her body got... pretty much gouged out and... Well your lungs should be detached and... uh... your brain..."
She breathed in. "D-do you b-b-believe me? I jusht want to know more about mmyself. Pleash help me."
How, what. She couldn't. He couldn't. He could taste his own adrenaline but had nothing to use it on. He took a glance to the left.
He looked again.
Twilight was coming back. He could see her in the reflection of the extra salt-shaker.
"Don't tell Twilight."
"Wha..." He turned back to Sunny. Sunset? Whoever the hell this person was or was supposed to be. "But wwaht about—?"
"Do. Not. Tell. Twilight."
She looked lost. Confused. Her eyes rolled to and fro. She saw Twilight, he was sure. He glanced over. Twilight was getting closer.
"Sunset."
She met his gaze. He did not look away.
She frowned and her gaze grew steel.
She took a deep breath.
"Or w-what."
His heart froze.
"Suns—."
"Hey, uh, hi." Twilight slid back into the booth next to Shining Armor. Her cheeks were still flushed and her eyes were still a little red, but she looked remarkably better.
A lot better than he felt.
"I'm, uh." Twilight cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Sunny. I, uh, I misunderstood and I think I kind of panicked because—well. Uh."
In. "It'sh ohkay, Twilight." She smiled. "You never n-neeed to apo-p-polo—." She took a breath. "...say sorry. You're ffine."
"Yeah, Twily, it's all good." Shining really hoped he sounded as confident as he hoped he did. "Don't worry about it."
"Okay... Okay. Good. Thanks, everyone."
"Twily, where's Spike?"
"He's... uh, Spike?" She turned back towards the rest rooms. "What're you doing over there? C'mon, Spike!"
Spike ran back over, and directly into Twilight's backpack.
'I feel you, little buddy. I really feel you right now.'
"Sorry, Sunny, he's usually a lot more friendly."
Sunny(?) took a breath. "It'sh alright. He pr-probably smells someth-thing bad on me."
Shining clenched a fist. Sunny briefly met his eyes.
"S-so! Uh." Twilight sipped her hot cocoa, earning a small bit of whipped cream on her upper lip. "The 'dropout' joke."
In. "Oh. Yeahh." Sunny lifted her coffee to her lips and took a sip. "I hear I f-fell." Shining struggled to remain calm. "Sschool became im-mpossssible. S-sho, yeah. Dr-dr-dropout." It was getting really hard to sit there.
Sunny met his gaze again. She smirked.
That little—that's it the moment that he got a chance, he was gonna—!
"Oh, Sunny that's terrible." Twilight was working herself up again. "Sunny, that joke wasn't funny at all!"
In. "S-sorry. I thought it wwas but I was wronng." Out.
Shining's cellphone rang.
"It's work be right back." He didn't even look at his phone.
"O-oh. Uh okay—Shiny, let me get out first! Gosh!"
"S-sorry, Twily," he called over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a bit."
He could distantly hear them as he marched off.
"I hope he's okay. He looked like he saw a ghost!"
"I-I think he did."
He marched out of the door and ran through the parking lot to his car. The phone stopped ringing, but immediately began again. Throwing himself into the car, and making sure he could still see Twilight through the store window, he screamed.
"Fuck! Sonnova mother—mmmmmmmm!" He gripped his hair, punched his steering wheel, threw his empty thermos into the foot-space—whatever it took to let it out. Every now and then, he would stop to look at the booth with Twilight and her 'friend,' making sure his sister was safe and sound, before starting up again. Today was supposed to be an easy day with Twilight. Today was his break! And then what's-her-face—what even is her face—came in and made it one of the most stressful days that he'd had this month. Life wasn't fair, but damn it why did it have to suck?
Who even was that girl? Coming out of nowhere like that... If Sunset thinks—no, no! That was not Sunset—if 'Sunny' thinks that she could just show up and start causing trouble, then she's got another thing coming.
'I mean, seriously! Impersonating a suicide victim!' That was illegal, tasteless, and wrong on so many different levels. It ground him up that this whoever this was could get away with this for as long as she did. He picked up his phone, ready to make a few calls.
...
He put his phone down. 'Not now, Shining, don't be rash. Get mad right now as much as you want, but act with a clear mind.' Sure, his mind didn't get much clearer as it was at that moment, but it would be a violation of principles if he went and started breaking his own rules now. Calling up the guys could wait. But damn, did he want to do something—.
Oh, his phone was ringing again. During his tantrum, his phone rang several more times, starting again just as the call ended. He'd have to pick that up eventually.
You know what?
Screw it.
He picked up the phone, with his most bored voice. "Hello—?"
"Finally! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to call you?!"
Oooh boy, okay. Not today. "Okay squeaker, you've got ten seconds to try and sell me your elbow grease before I hang up."
"Oh whatever, I'm looking for a girl named Sunny Song. Do you still have her?"
What? "...Uh, sorry, you broke up a little bit. Who are you looking for?"
"A girl named 'Sunny Song.' Red and yellow hair, blue eyes and stuff. Do you have her or not?"
Well then. Isn't that something. An accomplice? I don't know, she sounds pretty pissed. Wait.
"Yeah, she's here. How did you get this number?"
"Seriously? Can't you just tell me where you are?"
"Just humor me, okay?"
"The librarian at the Golden Oaks gave it to me when I asked about Sunny. Can you please tell me where to go, now?"
"Yeah, I'm at Donut Joe's Diner. You know the place?"
"Yeah, thanks, I'm on my way. Do me a favor and don't tell her I'm coming." They hung up.
Hm.
Shining Armor called Sandy's phone. It still sucked, but maybe the day was starting to look up.