//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 : A Short Stay At Sunsets // Story: Never Let Me Go // by Argenti Luna //------------------------------// Twilight, bags in hand raised her fist and knocked on the door of Sunset’s apartment, “Sunset it’s me.” “Coming!” Sunset called back with excitement in her voice. The door swung open revealing Sunset Shimmer dressed in a violet turtleneck jumper with blue jeans. Her hair was tied back behind her ears but left loose to flow down across her back. She stood there with a smile inviting her purple-haired friend into the small apartment. “Sorry if it looks different, I moved some of the furniture round to make it easier for us to just hang out,” Sunset added, taking Twilight’s bags from her and placing them on the countertop in her kitchen area. Twilight stepped into the room scoping it out, it indeed looked different. The amp and guitar had been moved to the other side of the room with the table being pushed directly in front of the tv with the couch nestled alongside, with a few blankets hanging over the back. The aspiring scientist took a few more steps as she was guided towards the couch walking past a large mirror giving her a good look at herself. Her fringe was sitting just above her glasses as her hair flowed freely behind her, she was wearing a sweater that hung below her shoulders showing off her yellow and heart patterned pyjama top hidden underneath. “Oh have you eaten lunch yet? I know it’s not that late into the afternoon, but I thought I’d check since I haven’t,” Twilight’s thoughts turned to her empty stomach, “I’ve not eaten anything, no.” “I don’t have much since I was only really planning on making something nice for dinner, so are you alright with sandwiches,” Sunset asked an embarrassed look on her face. “There’s nothing wrong with sandwiches,” Twilight cheerily beamed, as Sunsets face dropped into a frown. The room fell silent as Sunset sheepishly went to work making the pair a sandwich in her kitchen unaware as to the peering eyes of the bookworm, “Sunset is everything okay, you’ve gone quiet and frowned, my book on social interactions says I should take notice of this and check you are okay.” Sunset turned to her friend laughing, “You’ve got a book on talking to people.” “Well if there’s something I don’t know, I read a book on it,” Twilight answered proudly. Sunset laughed harder wiping a tear of water from her eye, “Never change you big nerd.” Twilight puffed up her cheeks in a frown which only made Sunset laugh harder, “Hey, you’ve a whole shelf full of books on stuff people should know like rules of the road so don’t judge me.” Sunset tipped an invisible hat in Twilights direction, “Yeah you got me, I didn’t know it, so I bought a book on it.” Twilight stuck her tongue out through her smiling lips, a proud look on her face that caused Sunset to retaliate by sticking out her own. Sunset sat on the couch besides Twilight handing her the plated sandwich, “Thank you,” Twilight replied, eagerly biting into the combination of bread and cheese. Sunset simply nodded with a smile reaching forward across the table and turning on her video game console, “So I’m gonna put the game on and let you play through the tutorial, so you know what’s what.” “That’ll explain everything right?” “It’ll explain everything you need, and I can always fill in the blanks,” Sunset replied as she took a bite out of her sandwich. Sunset watched eagerly as her friend began playing the game watching carefully for any sign that she was or wasn’t enjoying it. “This is pretty fun,” Twilight said causing Sunset to breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you said that because I didn’t plan a backup,” She said laughing awkwardly as she collected the now empty plates and placed them in the sink. “I like how you have to think before you do anything, evaluate the situation, it’s more enjoyable than the one Rainbow was describing the other day where you just point and shoot.” “Well this is a different genre; it’s called a tactical role-playing game with turn-based tactics.” “I think I’d like to keep playing this game with you if you don’t mind?” Twilight instantly asked catching Sunset by surprise. “Of course, I’m more than happy to play it through with you, just be warned the later missions are really tricky I’m stuck on chapter 12,” Sunset added her cheeks turning slightly red in embarrassment. “Well with our brains working together I’m sure this game will be a breeze,” Twilight said imitating Rainbow Dash and raising her fist in the air. Sunset sat watching her friend as she played through the beginning missions, taking completely different approaches than she had, “You know you’re doing this different to me.” Twilight stopped, “Wait am I playing wrong?” “No, no, no don’t worry. You are playing fine, amazing even, I took my team up the right side and it was a real challenge, but your tactic is working amazingly.” Twilight blushed at the praise, “Thank you.” Sunsets eyes were lit up in amazement, watching her friend complete the mission far more smoothly than she had, although she didn’t get into as many fights which meant her team lacked exp she was still doing a fine job. She turned to look at the book worm whose eyes were glued on the screen her tongue sticking out as she concentrated. Sunset stared at her for a minute her cheeks turning slightly red. “I think you’re amazing.” “What?” Twilight asked in confusion. Sunset shook herself from the daze, “Oh my bad, I was just saying your amazing at this game.” “Oh.” “Oh?” Sunset pursued. “It’s nothing I was just lost in thoughts.” A few hours had passed, and the two friends were still sat on the couch playing the game, between the pair of them they had managed to catch up to Sunsets progress through the game finding themselves on chapter 12. “This is the big one, I’m stuck here,” Sunset cautioned as she tossed a bit of scrap paper they’d been taking notes on to the side of the room. “If we work together we can do this,” Twilight said in an attempt to comfort her flame-haired friend. “Now if we don’t beat the three mini-bosses we’re gonna have to deal with way, way more troops by the time the actual boss gets here on turn 11.” “We have to do all that in 11 turns,” Twilight cried surveying the map to figure out a strategy. “Yeah, it gets pretty intense from here on out according to what I’ve read online.” “We’ll have to split the team up,” Twilight deduced separating her team into three groups. “Yeah but the bosses have different weaknesses and strengths meaning balance won't kill them in time. Also, the guy in the middle on the dragon is like really strong, we’ll need half our team or more to beat him. “Paper,” Twilight called being instantly slid a piece of paper by Sunset. The two girls went to work figuring out all the stats of the enemies and the strengths and weaknesses of their units putting their minds together to try and find the perfect strategy. They planned everything from where they’d move, to where they expected to the opposing army to move against them. Once they were finished they got to work playing through the mission their battle plan working perfectly, Thanks to Sunset’s tip about how to reduce the number of reinforcements the pair found it easy to conclude the mission and deal with the boss of the map easily. The two high-fived in celebration cheering as they jumped around the room, it wasn’t until after the pair were worn out that Sunset’s stomach began to grumble. “Oh man, it’s actually kinda I better get started on dinner before its really too late.” Her eyes were drawn to the room noticing the piles of scrap paper scattered across the desk and along the floor, “But maybe we should clean up first.” Twilight looked around the room her cheeks flushing crimson in embarrassment, “My bad, I kinda got carried away.” “I think we both did,” Sunset laughed picking up a few pieces of paper and popping them into the recycling bin. “I suppose we make a pretty good team,” Twilight said with a smile. “We make a great team,” Sunset confirmed, her cheeks turning red too, but she was blushing. Twilight smiled back she scrunched up the paper and tried to throw it into the bin, missing completely and hitting Sunset on the head. “Oh it’s on Sparkle,” Sunset said deviously as she lunged for some of the scrap paper, screwing it into a ball and throwing one back at her friend. The two girls spent the next moment of their lives diving around the room giggling like children as they threw balls of screwed up paper at each other. Sunset quickly learnt that Twilight couldn’t throw straight finding that none of the projectiles heading her way was actually making contact, Sunset chuckled to herself going out of her way to make sure the balls she was throwing herself missed a little more than they would normally. Sunset watched as Twilight dipped behind the couch, the sound of rustling paper reaching her ears. A sly grin took over the flame-haired girls face as she slowly crept over towards the couch slowly sticking her head over the top to catch Twilight off guard. As her eyes locked onto the bookworm she noticed something, she wasn’t collecting more balls, she was staring right back at her, with several balls already in her hand. Sunset gulped as the sudden barrage of paper pelted against her face knocking her back over the couch for protection only to see her nerdy friend stand up continuously emptying her hands of the paper balls. “No fair, no fair, you’re way to close,” Sunset giggled as she blindly waved her hands to try and shield herself. “This is the only way I can hit you,” Twilight contested her voice cracking with laughter. “Cheeeeaaater,” Sunset screamed in tease struggling to get her words out as she laughed. “Fine, fine,” Twilight replied as she halted her fire, her eyes widening as she took the chance to look around the room. Sunset laughed finally getting up to her feet, looking around the room as her friend did, “There is paper everywhere.” “I’m sorry,” Twilight stuttered her eyes getting wetter as her thoughts turned against her making her believe her friend would be furious. “Nah don’t worry about it, I’m just as much to blame, you mind picking them up while I start dinner?” “You’re cooking for me?” “Well, of course, I’m not gonna let my friend starve.” A smile picked at the corners of Twilights mouth as she breathed a sigh of relief, they were still friends. Twilight quickly got to pick up the mess of paper. Her eyes drifting across the room every now and then to glance at her friend stood over in the kitchen. The bookworm dropped the final piece of paper into the recycling bin before walking over to her flame-haired friend. “Any way I can help?” “Yeah would you mind chopping that pepper while I fry up this Quorn.” “Quorn, I didn’t realise you were a vegetarian.” “Yeah I hope that’s not an issue, I’ve tried meat, I just get chills from eating it, like it tastes good, but god do I feel guilty.” “No it’s okay, I understand where you’re coming from, well kinda.” Sunset chuckled sliding the freshly cut pepper into the pan, “It’s fine we demons gotta stick together.” “That’s not funny,” Twilight whined her cheeks puffin out in embarrassment. “Hey, you got way less trouble for it than I did, should consider yourself lucky,” Sunset replied weakly smiling. Twilight smiled as she watched Sunset begin to wrap the contents of the pan up in tortillas. The two sat down sharing a meal together as Sunset flicked on a movie to keep their eyes busy as they chatted. Sunset’s eyes felt heavy as she sat in the darkroom, the glow of the tv illuminating her face, she looked to her side where her friend Twilight was laying on the couch resting beside her, her mind in a deep slumber. She looked up at the clock her eyes wearily widening in shock as she realised just how late it was. She yawned removing her headphones from her head and laying them onto the table in front of her, Sunset turned off the TV taking another look at her guest, she rolled her eyes, softly smiling at the bookworms sleeping state. Sunset reached her arms forward removing twilights glasses and placing them onto the table, she clambered up the steps towards her bed and pulled the blanket from it. She huffed and puffed as she heaved it down towards the couch and draping it over her sleeping friend before laying down beside her. “Goodnight Twilight,” The flame-haired girl said with a smile “Fluttershy, do you plan on getting up today?” Her mother’s voice calmly called from the sleeping girl's bedroom door. Fluttershy slowly stirred groggily opening her eyes, “Hmm what?” “It’s One o’clock, you’ve been asleep half the day.” Fluttershy sat up a look of regret staining her face, “I’m sorry,” “Nonsense Fluttershy, if anyone deserves to sleep in today it's you, however, your older brother does not,” She huffed turning around her posture becoming much firmer, “ZEPHYR! If you’re gonna be all night playing those damm video games and keeping me awake, you can bet I’m gonna do the same to you. Now get up!.” Fluttershy winced at the sound of the yelling voice, she never liked it when anyone would get upset and yell. Fluttershy’s mother took a deep breath turning back to Fluttershy her precious attitude returning to her face, “So how come you were up so late, Not sleeping well?” “Well no,” Fluttershy replied a small blush coming to her cheeks, “I was talking with Rainbow Dash.” “Aww she’s sweet, she and Rarity came round this morning to check on you before heading to Applejacks.” “You should have woken me.” “You’re still recovering, I’d rather you get the sleep you need so you can recover faster.” The motherly figure said, a warm smile gracing her lips. “I guess,” Fluttershy replied slightly disheartened. “Oh that reminds me, Rarity left a message telling you to check your voicemail.” Fluttershy nodded grabbing her phone and loading up the audio message, sticking it on speaker for both her and her mother to hear. “Hello darling, Rarity here,” it began with Fluttershy faintly hearing Rainbow Dash call her own name from the background, “Yes and Rainbow Dash, we tried to visit you earlier, but we’d rather not disturb you while you’re sleeping. Please ring me back to let me know you’re alright and whether or not you’ll be able to join us for the yearly golden road trip that we always do at Applejacks farm, it would be a real shame for you to miss it but we all understand if you’re not strong enough to accompany us. Well hope you feel better and remember to call me back when you get this. Ciao.” Fluttershy could hear Rainbow and Pinkie shouting goodbye in the background as Rarity had ended the audio message, Fluttershy frowned for a moment before a small smile perked at her lips. “Can I go Mom?” She asked quickly in an attempt to hide her desperation. “Well, how do you feel?” “I feel fine just got a bit of a cold, nothing major,” Fluttershy confidently answered. “Well you can go, but someone has to come and fetch you and walk you back, that way I know at least one of your friends is keeping an eye on you.” “O-okay,” Fluttershy replied. Smiling to herself she grabbed her phone and began to dial back the fashion lover. “Hello, hello.” Rarity’s voice echoed through the phone “Erm hello, Rarity,” “Fluttershy is that you? It’s so good to hear from you, how are you feeling?” “I’m doing good.” Fluttershy replied, “Am I too late?” “Too late for what darling?” “The falling leaves, at Applejacks farm.” “Well a few are beginning to fall but Granny Smith reckons the big event won’t happen for a few hours from now when the wind picks up, why should we be expecting you?” “Well that’s the thing,” Fluttershy said awkwardly, “My mother says it’s not safe for me to go unless someone comes and picks me up and then makes sure I get back home.” “I Just want to make sure she’s safe,” Honey loudly added to ensure Rarity heard her. “That makes perfect sense, just give me one minute.” The line went quiet as distant voices could barely be made out from the other end of the phone. A few minutes passed and Fluttershy looked awkwardly at her mother. “I guess they can’t manage it,” Fluttershy said the awkward expression turning to sadness. A loud noise came from the other end of the phone as Rarity pulled the phone to her ears, “Sorry for taking so long I had to round those here up to let them know, Rainbow Dash has offered to come and fetch you and she promises she’ll keep an eye on you while you’re here and make sure you get home safely so you don’t miss out and your mother's mind can be at ease.” “That’s strangely responsible of her,” Fluttershy said a look of genuine surprise on her face. “I think she still feels guilty, maybe hoping this will make up for it,” Rarity added. “But is that good enough for you and your mother?” “That’s fine by me Rarity thank you for being so understanding of this overprotective mother,” Honey joked. “It’s perfectly fine to be worried after what happened, we’ve all had it on our mind and wouldn’t want to put Fluttershy back in harm’s way.” “Thank you for being so understanding.” Honey warmly smiled. “Well our athletic friend has just gone dashing away, so I’d assume she’ll arrive relatively shortly.” “Guess I’ll see you soon,” Fluttershy awkwardly replied feeling like she needed to end the call to give her a chance to get ready. “See you soon darling, oh and flamenco,” Rarity squeezed in as a clicking sound came from the phone alerting the room that she’d put the phone down. “Flamenco?” Honey asked raising an eyebrow in confusion, causing her daughters to face to glow a crimson red. “I’ve no idea, you know what Rarity can be like,” Fluttershy replied attempting to defuse the situation. “Yes, she certainly likes to be dramatic,” Honey chuckled to herself as she walked out the room. Fluttershy watched as her bedroom door slowly began to slide shut, the quiet clicking of the latch echoing through Fluttershy's ears. The shy girl stared at her door for a moment as she waited for the sound of footsteps to dwindle away leaving her in complete silence as the door acted as barrier between her and the rest of the world. She took a moment to recount what had happened, recalling how Rainbow Dash could turn up at any point. She looked down at herself realising she was wearing her yellow duck print pyjamas, a sudden urge to change out of them came over her body as she crawled out of bed and began changing into more suitable and comfortable clothes. Fluttershy who had finally managed to squeeze her head through the turtleneck sweater knelt down at the side of her bed to feed her pet rabbit. The girl's phone buzzed in her pocket spooking both herself and Angel Bunny, Shy rolled her eyes pulling out her phone to see a text from Rainbow Dash. *I’m bout 15 mins away make sure you’ve eaten* Fluttershy smiled, while she hated being the centre of attention, it felt nice to know she had friends who cared for her. “Fluttershy! Your friend is here,” Zephyrs voice echoed down the hallways as Fluttershy hastily shovelled the last few mouthfuls of cereal into her mouth. “You ready Shy, don’t wanna rush you but we don’t wanna be too late,” Rainbow Dash called as she knocked on her shy friend's door. While typically Rainbow Dash would just barge into a room since she loved being at the centre of attention she knew she’d have to tone it down around her friend especially after what had happened. “You can come in,” Her friend meekly replied. Rainbow stuck her head around the corner spying Fluttershy stood in front of her mirror as she zipped up a leaf green jacket she wore with blue jeans and a lavender scarf, for a small moment Rainbow Dash felt a flutter for Fluttershy. “I’m ready to go don’t worry,” Fluttershy responded walking towards her friend and leading her down the hallway. As they approached the front door Fluttershy’s mother intercepted them placing a hat onto her daughters head. “Now remember girls, stay wrapped up, don’t do anything silly,” Honey locked eyes with Rainbow Dash her tone becoming firm, “Don’t do anything silly, you all stay as a group and you all behave.” “You can count on me,” Rainbow Dash confidently said removing any evidence of nerves by wiping the sweat from her brow. Honey smiled, “And remember to have fun.” “We will mom, and don’t worry I’ll be back before you know it.” Honey waved the two girls off as they headed out of the front door and on their way, with Zephyr surprisingly joining in the send-off. “I’m surprised you’re letting her go,” Zephyr remarked. “You’d be surprised how caring her friends can be.” “Even Rainbow?” He snickered. “Even Rainbow,” Honey confirmed a small smirk picking at her lips.