//------------------------------// // I Will Be There // Story: I'll Be There for the Highs and Lows // by MASTERMIND360 //------------------------------// The first thing Sunset felt when she woke up was a thick blanket keeping her warm, and her head resting on a soft pillow. The room was filled with light, courtesy of the sunrise through the windows. She was confused as she slowly sat up, one moment ago she was sitting in a chair next to Diamond Tiara's bed, and now she's back in her own bed. She was supposed to make sure Diamond slept well without any night terrors. "Morning," she turned to see Diamond sitting up, looking a little tired but still wearing a smile on her face. "Morning, kid," Sunset greeted back, then looked around her bed. "How did I...?" "The nurse found you sleeping in this chair next to me," Diamond explained. "I was barely awake when she came. Apparently, you're such a heavy sleeper that she had to carry you back to your bed." Sunset blushed at the reason behind it and nervously laughed. "Oh, I see. When you stay up all night, you tend to be a heavy sleeper and wake up very late." Diamond gave a nod in agreement. "Yeah, that must've sucked." Sunset sighed, "That's right. I tend to play video games at night, I was never an morning person." "I could imagine how hard it was to wake up every day for school," Diamond said. "Oh it was hard at first," Sunset smiled. "But I've grown used to it." Diamond yawned again and layed back. "Even if I'm still as tired as you were, I really want to go home." "That entirely depends on our current health conditions, so I'm not certain we could leave just yet," said Sunset. "And besides, we just got here." Diamond raised her eyebrow. "It wouldn't hurt to ask," Sunset understood what she said. "Okay, I'll call them." It didn't took long for the nurse to return right after Sunset called her over. And since the call came from their room, she had the doctor come as well to inform them of their fractures. The doctor hummed as he closely examined their charts, containing notes of their injuries and treatments, then he gazed back at then with a reassuring smile, "It may take you both from six to eight weeks to recover, but you two will be ready to leave by sundown." They're both relieved and glad to hear the good part of the news. "Thank you, doctor." Sunset said gratefully. "Your welcome dear," The doctor replied. "Is there anything else you need?" Sunset gazed back at Diamond as she answered, "Maybe some waffles would help." She said with her usual tone whenever she asked for things, not the Diamond Tiara who was miserable inside just this morning. "You know," Diamond began, putting down her fork next to her tray and looked back at Sunset. "Usually it takes longer than until sundown to leave here, but since they knew who my parents were, I could tell they called in the best doctors they could find. They fixed us up really well, so we get to leave early. And since they thought you're a friend of my parents or something, I could guess you got the same special treatment that I did." The thought of her parents made her feel uncomfortable. Leaving an uneasy feeling in her stomach. "But then again, it's one of those things I'm grateful to them for, it's one of therare times they showed they cared about me," she said quietly as she lowered her head. "I shouldn't feel this way, I should feel grateful." Sunset instantly sense the sudden sadness written in her face. "What do you mean by that?" Hearing the question she realized a very sensitive topic almost came to light. "NOTHING!" after flinching at her own volume," Sorry, I didn't mean to scream at you," she muttered the words. "I just had some things on my mind." Frowning Sunset looked at Diamond as she ate the waffles, a thick silence grew between them that would remain unbroken for the time being. For now. Diamond tried to focus on her breakfast in a attempt to forget about the topic by munching on her waffles, zoning out she accidentally knocked her juice and spilled on her left hand. "Ugh, damn!" She hissed at her mess. As much as Sunset would have instinctively called her out for her language, she saw how Diamond wasn't taking this well. Especially since she was used to having servants taking care of things for her, which made it much difficult for her to do things without them, and so does making up to everyone on her own. Diamond looked at the juice in disgust,as it spread across the table also spilling some on her sleeve. But that disgusted look soon faded away when she noticed Sunset who just stood next to her with a roll of paper towels. "Here, take this," Diamond accepted and wiped off the juice on her hand. Also adjusting her sleeve to her elbow to make sure it didn't stained the rest of her outfit. Sunset assisted in cleaning up and wiped Diamond's food tray with another paper towel,and placing it on a small table. At least Diamond hadn't made a big mess on her waffles. Diamond finished up and watched as Sunset sorted out her tray. Things may look bad but at least she wasn't alone, and she's grateful for that. But the sight of Sunset's injury made her feel horrible, she almost died to protect her. And despite that, she still lend her a helping hand and being more than happy to be her mentor and friend. But honestly, Diamond would never forgive herself if something happened to Sunset in that incident. And that might be the biggest punishment she'd ever faced for her past misdeeds. "Are you okay?" Sunset asked, snapping Diamond out of her thoughts. Diamond lazily shook her head, "No, I'm not. And it's not because of this, it's just," she hesitate for a moment. "I wished I could've been nice from the start. Then things could've been different." Sunset listened attentively as she stuffed the wet tissues into the nearby bin. "I understand you, kid," she responded. "But we can't change the past, we can only move on." "Easy for you to say," Diamond mumbled so that Sunset couldn't hear her. "If this ended differently then I imagined, I don't know how to move on." Even though Sunset couldn't hear her mumbling, she could still sense that there's something wrong. "Look kid," she said with a soft tone. "I don't mean to pry, but if there's something that's bothering you,then you can talk to me about it at any time." Diamond mulled over her words, thinking she might be right. But Diamond couldn't bring herself to reveal the whole truth. "Well, about what I said earlier," she started, looking back at her childhood. "For my whole life, I've been told what to say and what to do, and Ive had to live up to their expectations. With our wealth, we had everything, especially the best doctors to treat my wounds, but that's not enough." She sobbed as fresh tears fell from her eyes. "All I wanted was a family that loved me. That's the one thing they couldn't give me on a silver platter. I tricked myself into believing that all the things they gave me and the luxury I lived in showed they cared but all I am to them is part of their image." Memories of her parents flooded her mind a she tried to wipe away the endless stream of tears. "I guess that's why I behaved like a brat, I was spoiled. But by the time I realized what I was doing, it was too late, I already lost Silver Spoon. I've been trying to let her know how much she meant to me, to have someone that cared about me. But my attitude got in the way, it always does. And I blew it." Sunset watched with pain and empathy as Diamond sobbed more. Lending her another tissue to blow her nose. it broke her heart no kid should haven't endured this at such a young age. Sunset understood that very well since she experienced this with her own parents before she became Princess Celestia's student. "It doesn't help that I realized it too late, now I'm all alone. But that's not all, and there's a reason why I woke up earlier when the nurse came and picked you up." Well, here goes nothing. If she needs help, she'll have to explain her troubles. "I had a nightmare, Sunset, it was horrible!" Knowing her parents, they would brush her off but looking at her friend, she knew Sunset would listen. "I was sitting in the school parking lot thinking I didn't deserve forgiveness," Diamond choked back a sob at the nightmare replayed. "You came by seeing me struggle you decided to help and took me in from my lowest point and helped me through thick and thin. But the scene changed," she shuttered as the story went on. "The school storage room was on fire, you were next to it, the fire began to spread you as you began screaming in pain for help but I just sat back in the corner feeling scared and useless and watching you burned to death." If hearing her rough childhood wasn't bad enough, this was more than what she heard so far. Sunset couldn't bear seeing her suffered as Diamond continued. "It's all my fault we're here," she continued with her voice shaking, "If I stopped being mean, then I'd still have Silver, you wouldn't had almost died because of me!" She lowered her head in despair. "If you didn't make it out of that mess I wouldn't be able to live with myself." She said quietly, letting her tears fell once more. Sunset tried to reached out to her, she was unexpectedly wrapped into a tight hug from Diamond as she buried her head into Sunset's torso. And let it all out through her tears. The pain that came from her guilt, her suicidal thoughts, the pressure from her parents, and the sadness from losing Silver Spoon. The only thing that could sooth her sorrows was the sound of thumping from Sunset's heartbeat. And followed by an unscathed arm wrapped her on the back. Finally Sunset spoke up, "Kid that was never your fault," she said softly, stroking her hair. "You're never responsible for what happened to both of us. I made my choice when I came back, whoever was left behind back there, they needed help. And when I found out that was you, I knew I had to help you." Diamond sobbed between her words as she looked up. "But...you almost died, and despite that, you still chose to look after me. All because I asked you to." "No, it's because I understood you, and helping you out mattered to me. You've been through a lot. And you needed someone to help you. I knew words don't mean anything but I've been real with you, kid. Especially the talk we had this morning." As much as Diamond wanted to believe it, she couldn't. Sunset sighed and added, "Diamond Tiara, blaming yourself isn't healthy. You have to remember you're not in control of that situation, and you are certainly not responsible for it." She raised her fingers to wipe her eyes away. "I'm really terrified of how it hurt you," she whispered. "Well I'm still here," Sunset replied with a comforting tone. "You can always hold me as much as you want, you'll know that I'm okay." Diamond stared at her for a moment, and after a while, she rest her head and placed her left ear directly to Sunset's heart. And there it was again, that sound. Thump, thump, thump Seeing Sunset being alive should've been perfectly clear she's fine. But hearing her heartbeat is a big reminder to Diamond. A reminder she'll never forget. "Thank you, Sunset..." Diamond yawned as she lay back, it had been two hours since she calmed down. She looked over at the older girl who sat back in her bed while reading a book. "Sunset?" Sunset looked away from her book and turned to Diamond. "Yes, kid?" "I'm tired again, but I don't want to have another nightmare," she said quietly. "Can you please stay with me? You don't have to sit in that chair again, but it's okay if you don't want to." Sunset stood up and approached her. "Of course I will, in fact, you can ask me anything. After all, you needed it." Sunset slid into the bed and scooch over. "What about your arm?" Diamond questioned with a concern look. "I'll be alright, but thanks," Sunset responded as Diamond gently rest rest her head on Sunset's neck. "It just feels nice, that's all," she mumbled in embarrassment. Sunset held her dearly with her left arm. "It's alright, Diamond," she said softly. Diamond yawned again. "Thank you, Sunset." "Your welcome. And never forget that I'm always here for you, and that I'll be with you for the ups and downs, the highs and lows." She whispered as she stroke her hair, soothing her embarrassment. That's the last thing she heard for now when her eyelids shut tight. And shortly followed by a snore. Sunset smiled in tenderness as she too, joined in their peaceful slumber.