//------------------------------// // The fourth wall. // Story: The Final Sunset // by Wonder //------------------------------// “Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Huh huh huh?” The pink blur asked enthusiastically. “Uh, sure. I wasn't expecting the parties to start until later.” “Not the Summer Sun celebration party silly.” The pink pony patted Sunset's mane. “Your welcome party!” Sunset looked at the pony, puzzled. “Welcome party? I'm only here for the night.” “Don't worry about that. You see, I saw you when you first got here remember? You were all 'Hello' and I was all 'gasp' remember? Y'see I've never seen you before and if I've never saw you befor-” “Wait? When did I meet you earlier? The only time I've seen you is when you were going through town with all.. this” The orange mare gestured at the party. Pinkie looked at Sunset distractedly, as if trying to remember what she ate last week. “OH! That's right! I was thinking about Twilight, my bad.” “Who's Twili-” Sunset went to ask but was cut off by Pinkie. “Don't you worry about that. It's not important now.” She looked at the party pony expecting more but Pinkie just hopped off with a grin on her face. “Well that was weird, huh, Spike?” “Yeah, wasn't expecting some- wow, they have crystal cakes!” Spike ran off into the crowd of ponies. Sunset rolled her eyes as the dragon left. “You never could focus could you?” She muttered, smiling to herself. She looked around the party seeing if there were any ponies she could recognised. Immediately her attention was drawn to an alabaster pony with a elegant purple mane. Rarity stood amongst the crowd, talking quietly with Fluttershy. Sunset approached the two calmly. “Hey Rarity. Glad to see a familiar face here.” “Oh darling, there you are. I was just telling Fluttershy about you. We still have a lot to catch up on. I was just curious. How does one such as myself- uh, I mean yourself, get to be in the service of the princess?” “It's not that difficult. All you have to do is-” “Sunset! Over here!” A voice cried over the crowd. Applejack pushed through the mass and appeared before them. “Glad you made it.” “Thanks, um, I'm sorry but what was your name again? I seem to have forgotten.” “No need to apologise, sugarcube. Mah name is Applejack. Just don't be forgetin' that again now, hehe.” Applejack winked. Rarity looked at Sunset, ignoring Applejack. “Sorry dear, I didn't quite catch that last part. Something about the princess.” “Oh, it wasn't anything important. This is a beautiful party, did you by any chance have anything to do with the decorations.” Sunset changed the subject. “Why I do adore Pinkie's parties, I find the décor a bit... coarse. I prefer a more eloquent scene.” She looked from Sunset to Applejack, giving the farm pony a small glare.“ Excuse me girls, I just need a bit of fresh air.” “What was that about?” Sunset turned to Applejack. “Don't ya worry yourself about her. She's a great gal but she can sometimes be a bit stuck-up. I remember once she was helpin' me set up for a festival down at mah farm and she almost called the whole thing off cause she couldn't find any cerulean ribbons. What the hay is cerulean?! She always wants things to be perfect.” “That sounds a bit extreme doesn't it?” “Yeah but that's just Rarity. She only wants to help others.” Applejack smiled to herself. “If ah were ever in any trouble, she would be one of the first ponies ah would go to.” “One of? Who would be the first?” Now she was curious. The orange pony thought to herself for a bit before deciding. “Rainbow Dash. She's alwa-” “Did someone say my name?!” The cyan pegasus appeared in a flash, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. “Oh... it’s you.” She said flatly. “Rainbow Dash!” Applejack said frowning. “Were you spying on us?” “N-no! I just happened to be... partying near you, and I heard my name. Yeah, that's what happened.” Rainbow Dash declared, looking at everything but the work horse, trying to look as innocent as possible. “I told you already R.D, she's not going to get you in trouble for the clouds. She probably only said that to get you doing your job. You know... like you're supposed to be doing in the first place.” She turned to Sunset. “Isn't that right?” Sunset looked guiltily at the pegasus. “Oh.. yeah. Sorry about that.” She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. “To tell you the truth, I don't even know the Wonderbolts.” “Wait! So you... lied?” It was at this moment that Pinkie Pie chose to break the fourth wall, jumping out of a nearby bookshelf, scattering its contents. “Wow, she pranked you good Dashy.” She giggled to herself before proceeding to jump into a nearby cup. Sunset trotted over to the cup and saw that it was empty. “How did she do that?” She asked, genuinely concerned. Did she use some sort of teleportation spell? No she couldn't, she's an earth pony. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “We gave up trying to find out long ago, it's better if you just roll with it.” She chuckled. “I have to admit, I never thought for a second you were pranking me. Nice one... but next time, make sure to go easy on me.” She flew off to talk with a nearby colt. “Ah'm glad you two made up so quickly. So what did you actually say to her anyway? She didn't tell me the full story.” “It's kind of embarrassing. I'll tell you about it later.” Sunset blushed. “Ah'm gonna hold you to that.” Applejack smirked. “So anyway, now that you’re done with all that official business, what are your plans now?” “Well I was intending to head back home to Canterlot...” “What? And miss all the fun. This only happens once a year, why would ya want to miss it?” “I see it every year, everyday in fact.” She looked at the ground. “It just doesn't seem that important.” “Not important? How can you say that?” Applejack sighed. “It isn't just about the raisin' of the sun, sugarcube. It’s about what the day represents. About how we can all unite under one banner and strive towards a single goal, together...” Applejack smiled, and reached her hoof out to Sunset's chin, making the unicorn look her in the eye. “You'll see what ah mean tomorrow, as we watch the sun rise. Watch how all the ponies react and make sure yah think about what ah told ya.” Applejack suddenly became jovial. “Now enough with all this talkin', this is your party, so have a bit of fun.” Pinkie Pie fell from the ceiling, holding a tray of cupcakes. “Now that's what I'm talking about!” She squealed excitedly. She hoofed a cupcake to the two ponies, a wide grin on her face. Applejack smirked at the pink pony. “How do you always know the best times to appear?” “I don't! I just do what the author tell me to do.” She giggled before bouncing off again. “What is she talking about?” A nearby pegasus asked Sunset. “I have no idea.”