//------------------------------// // Portent of Pony // Story: Leap of Faith // by J3sterking //------------------------------// "Rainbow, please, we can talk about this later, I just--" "This is so awesome!" Rainbow said, grinning ear to ear. Sunset winced, watching Applejack slow down as she neared the two. "Please just calm down a moment--" "You're a frikkin' unicorn! How--how does that even work?" Rainbow took a step back, eyeing Sunset head to toe. "You don't look like one. Were you turned into a human, like in The Last Unicorn?" "No! Well...kinda...please just calm down before you blurt that out to the entire neighborhood, rather than just Applejack," Sunset said exasperatedly. Rainbow paused, then turned to Applejack. "Sugarcube, are you feelin' alright?" Applejack asked, looking at Sunset with concern in her eyes. "I'll explain later," Sunset sighed, waving it off. "But seriously...how did she do that? There's no way she could know." "Pinkie just guesses things right sometimes," Rainbow said with a shrug. "Uh," Applejack drawled slowly. "Am I...am I hearing this right?" "I'll. Explain. Later," Sunset said through gritted teeth. "Ugh...why'd I have to go and be honest? Dammit." "So...you're a unicorn?" Rainbow asked. Sunset glared at her. "You don't have to explain!" Rainbow said, holding up her hands. "Just like...yes or no. Are you or are you not a magical unicorn who tutored under the goddess of the sun?" Sunset sighed, eyes closed. "Yes," she admitted. "Awesome!" Rainbow said, punching her fists into the air. "Do you have magic? Can you show me? Can you glow in the dark?" "No, I can't--well, kinda?" Sunset admitted. "But I can't do any magic over here. I'm not a unicorn on this side of the M--portal." "Oh. Gotcha. Still, though, that's frikkin' awesome." "You...believe me?" Sunset asked slowly, staring at Rainbow skeptically. "You're not that kind of crazy," Rainbow said with a shrug. "We should probably keep walking if we want to reach Fluttershy's any time soon, by the way." Sunset started walking, saying, "I'm not crazy." "Sunset, no one who's wholly sane tries jumping off a building," Rainbow said flatly. "Well, I--" Sunset winced. "I don't actually have a counter-argument for that right this minute, so I'll get back to you later." "Uh-huh. Sure you will," Rainbow said. "I don't think you're hallucinating magical pony worlds, though. Anyone who talks to you could tell that." Applejack reached over, putting a hand on Sunset's forehead. "She don't feel feverish," she said slowly. Rainbow slapped her hand away, saying, "My point is, you don't sound crazy, and I don't believe you're lying or pranking me for an instant." "'Once you rule out the impossible, whatever is left must be the truth'," Sunset quoted slowly. Rainbow blinked then nodded. "Well, yeah, that," she said. "To be honest, it doesn't even sound that unbelievable. Like, sure, magic is kinda hard to explain, but if you're from another world, that world might have magic." "A lot of it," Sunset agreed. She turned, looking at Applejack. "And you?" Applejack shrugged. "I dunno? It's really hard to wrap my head around, but there's a lot of things I can't really explain. Maybe it is, maybe it ain't." "Hmm," Sunset mused. "Somehow, I think Mom and Aunt would accept this a lot less easily." "Eh..." Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "You...they don't know?" Sunset hesitated. "I never felt like telling them," she said. "I was pretty much just using them for free room and board. Abusing their charity." "But you do love them," Rainbow pressed. "Yeah, despite my best efforts," Sunset chuckled. "I..." She paused. "We're almost at Fluttershy's, and...I don't want to talk about this right now." "Okay. You don't have to talk about it all, really," Rainbow said. "I'm really curious, but you don't have to if you don't want to." "Thanks for understanding," Sunset said. "And...can I ask you not to bring it up in front of Fluttershy?" "Absolutely," Rainbow said, miming the action of zipping her lips. "Thanks," Sunset said again. She reached up, knocking on the door to Fluttershy's house. The door opened, and Fluttershy peaked out. "Oh, hi girls," she said, then paused. "Rainbow Dash, are you with Applejack?" "Yup," Rainbow said. "Do you have a minute? There's something we need to talk about." "Is it...a bad kind of talk?" "Good kind." "Oh, that's great. Come on in," Fluttershy said, moving aside. "Is, uh..." Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "Please tell me Zephyr is out." "He's out," Fluttershy said, making Rainbow Dash sigh in relief. "Thank God," she said. "What? You saying you don't actually like him?" Sunset snickered. "Yes," Rainbow said emphatically. "Good God, yes, I despise that man." "Now, Rainbow," Fluttershy admonished. "He's got a good heart, even if he is...abrasive." "I don't think she understands that she is also abrasive," Applejack pointed out. "Hey!" Rainbow said, glaring at her. Fluttershy giggled. "You two really are friends again, huh? How did that happen?" She gasped. "Oh! Sunset, did you help them make up?" "Not...exactly," Sunset admitted. "Let's sit down, and I'll...explain." Fluttershy lead them past various animals to the living room, where Sunset explained one final time what had happened. Fluttershy didn't say anything until Sunset was done, when she let out a long breath. "So," she said, "you're...gathering up all our old friends?" "We were going to meet up tomorrow," Rainbow said. "It's gonna be awesome!" "O-kay..." Fluttershy said slowly. "Are you...sure? Some of them might still be mad about it, and...there were some mean words said that Sunset had nothing to do with..." "Well, nothing that mean," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "Applejack and I tend to have the shortest tempers, and if we made up just fine, shouldn't the rest of you get along swimmingly?" "I guess," Fluttershy admitted. "I'm just...nervous. What if we don't get along still?" "It's a leap of faith," Sunset said with a sigh. Fluttershy looked at her in confusion. "You have no idea how many times I've been told that in the past week," Sunset said, holding a hand to her head. "People seem to think it's funny." "We haven't really talked since...last Monday?" Fluttershy frowned, thinking. "I'm sorry, I should have stopped by to say hi." "No worries," Sunset said, holding up a hand. "I"m sure you've been busy, and you don't even know where I live." "How are you doing, anyway?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine," Sunset said. "I've just had my life turned upside down several times over since that moment on the roof. I'm just a little frazzled, is all." "I think anyone would be," Applejack said. "While I can't say I know how you feel, everyone has times when they..." "Realize that they're borderline suicidal?" Sunset said with a smile. "I was gonna say 'need a hand'," Applejack intoned. "I suppose that works, too," Sunset said, still grinning. "Mah point is," Applejack said, her accent momentarily growing thicker with her annoyance, "if you ever need a hand with the stuff that's bothering you, we're all here for you, Sunset." "I thought you didn't know how to feel about me." "Well...uh...you seem nice enough, and yer going through some hard things, so..." Applejack shrugged. "Thanks. The offer is sincerely appreciated, Apple--" Sunset's phone buzzed, and she winced. "Sorry, le'me--" Her eyes widened upon opening it. "Whoops. Sorry, I gotta take this," she said, hurriedly answering. "Hi, Mom, every--everything's fine. I'm with Rainbow Dash, hanging out at Fluttershy's." Rainbow heard the voice she distinctly recognized as Celestia's, speaking in concerned tones. "No, no--everything is fine," Sunset said with painfully forced cheer. "I just lost track of time, that's all. No, you don't need to come and get me--ugh. Rainbow, can you say hi so she knows I'm not making this shit up?" "Hi, Miss Celestia," Rainbow said into the phone. "Everything is fine. We can bring her over." "No, that's not necessary," Celestia said. "Just...call us next time you're staying with a friend this late, okay?" Rainbow looked outside, at the evening sky, and then interrupted Sunset's response with, "She could stay over tonight." "What?" Sunset exclaimed. "Look, here me out," Rainbow said. "It's late, and none of us want to be out after dark, in a car or otherwise. What if we had a sleepover at Fluttershy's?" "Would your parents be fine with that?" Applejack asked, turning to her. "I mean...they're out at the moment, but they wouldn't really mind," Fluttershy said. "Granny Smith would be fine, but...Rainbow, ain't this mite 'spur of the moment'?" "That's how I live!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Didn't you just have trouble with that this mornin'?" Applejack asked. "What about when you punched Gilda?" "I mean--I--look, doesn't this one sound like a good idea? Sunset?" Sunset closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. The tension in the room was palpable, as Sunset sat there without answering for a long moment. "It does sound appealing," she admitted. "Alright," Celestia said. "I'll drive over with your sleep supplies. Where are you?" "Fluttershy's house," Sunset said. "Thanks, Mom." "Don't mention it. I'll be right over. Love you, see in a minute." "Love you, too," Sunset said, before Celestia hung up. Sunset let out an exasperated sigh, falling back onto her chair. "I think you're the one killing me, Rainbow Dash. Don't you ever slow down?" "Why would I do that?" Rainbow said with a shrug. Sunset let out an aggravated sigh. "You should probably both call your families," Fluttershy said, looking to Rainbow and Applejack. "Just so they know." Applejack pulled out her phone, and Rainbow turned slowly to Sunset. "So, uh..." "Just--call your folks," Sunset said, waving her off. "I'm just going to be lying here, questioning my life choices, so...you know. Nothing new." Rainbow chuckled. "You're not mad or anything, right?" "Not mad, just tired." "Okay...I'll, uh, go call my parents. Let them know I'm staying over." Rainbow left the room, and with Applejack in the corner, talking to her grandmother, Sunset was left alone with Fluttershy. "Would you like some tea?" Fluttershy said. "I was just about to brew my own evening cup, I can make enough for you, too." "That would be lovely," Sunset said. Fluttershy started to rise, but Sunset looked up, meeting her eyes. "Why did you not take that money back?" Sunset asked. "I don't understand." Fluttershy stared at her for a second. "It just felt right," she said. "I didn't need it, and it's good to give to others." "That's it? There was no grand reason or anything?" Sunset asked. "No. Does there have to be?" Sunset opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked to the side, thinking, then replied, "No. I guess not."