//------------------------------// // City Border // Story: You Can't Help Who You Love // by Feather Flyer //------------------------------// The 'Midnight bus' stopped at the corner of Rein Street and let out its passengers. The people on the bus stepped off into the cool night air and scrambled. It was extremely late and all anyone could think of was getting home to get some sleep. As the passengers fled like fugitives on the run, one girl stomped down the steps leading off the transportation. She was the last to get off and as soon as her two feet were on the ground, the 'Midnight bus' pulled off before even closing its narrow double doors. The girl didn't even notice how fast it ditched her. She was too focused on looking at the phone in her right hand. She frowned at the screen. The girl rolled her thumb and scrolled through the text messages she sent. Checking her notifications, all it said was No Reply. She sighed and pocketed her cellular device. Looking up, she started to walk slowly. In her left hand she gripped her guitar case handle as she moved forward. It had been a long day for her. Looking at the phone one more time she groaned and put her phone away for the billionth time. She had been waiting for an answer since 10:30. Right when she was about to put it back in her pocket, the phone buzzed and she looked looked at the screen eagerly...Only to be met by a very rude and hurtful message. To: Shimmer From: SugarBelleMuffins I'm deleting you from my contacts. Try to call me or text me again and I'm calling the police to arrest you for harassment and assault. The poor girl nearly dropped her phone when she read that. "Arrest me?? For assault and harassment?!" Shimmer whispered in a shrill voice. She placed a thumb on the screen and tapped away furiously on her phone. What do you mean? Is this some kind of joke?? Shimmer was just about to press Send when something told her to stop. Her stomach flipped around and she gulped. Sugar Belle was a silly person, she knew that. Sometimes, the girl would send fake emergency messages and Shimmer would be all worried. Only to find out later that the 'emergency' was that she ran out of flour for baking. But Sugar Belle had never sent a threatening message to her that she'd call the police. And nothing was funny about that. Though it was the first time this has ever happened, she better not send the message. If what Sugar Belle is saying is true, she would be sleeping in a cell that night. Shimmer deleted the message and put her phone back in her pocket. The girl sighed shakily. What had caused Sugar Belle to send such a text? What had she meant by the accusation of assault and harassment? Well, the harassment part she kinda understood. It was nearly twelve in the morning and Sugar Belle was surely to be in bed trying to sleep. Her shift would have ended about half an hour ago at the coffee shop. Shimmer sheepishly added to her thoughts that she had sent fifty messages to her all saying 'Hi. What's up?' Maybe the girl was just sleepy and didn't want to see another bothersome message from her... "Yeah. That's it," she whispered, feeling much better. "She's just really sleepy." Feeling fully convinced by this (there was no reason for her to think her friend would get the cops on her, one of the accusations being false) she happily walked down the dark street. It had been a long day for the girl. She went all the way from Pointeville, which is where she went to school and lived, to Canterlot for her weekly guitar lessons with Mr. Melody. It took an hour for her to get there by bus. After her lesson with Mr. Melody, she went to the library to do homework and study. She eventually got kicked out at nine so the library could close. Shimmer then went to eat at a restaurant for dinner. Usually she went straight home and made herself something but she was feeling a bit tired and decided to treat herself to burger and fries. After her two hour dinner break she got on the 'Midnight bus' and came to the edge of Pointeville. Shimmer walked along the city border. To her right was Pointeville; her left, Canterlot. Shimmer lived on the edge of the former. A breeze drifted in her direction and she shivered. Pulling up the collar of her black jacket she sighed. She wished she had worn warmer clothes that day. It had been cooler than what the forecast predicted and she had had goosebumps on her arms all day. She wore a light blue short sleeve shirt with a sheer undershirt underneath. She wore tight jeans and black boots with brown upward arrows on them, much like what her jacket had on the sleeves. Shimmer tugged at the half jacket and frowned. If it were longer it would have sufficed. While pulling at her shirt and rubbing her free hand on her arm to create more heat (which didn't really work) she kept walking. Not quite paying attention to where she was going she tripped on the uneven sidewalk and stumbled forward, crashing into something. Her guitar landed on the ground with a loud twang! and she let out a loud shriek. Shimmer fell beside her guitar and scraped her elbow. The girl hit her head on the concrete sidewalk and she groaned. "...My guitar..." she murmured. Shimmer got to her knees, trying her best to ignore the severe pain in her head. She needed to check that her guitar was not damaged. But as soon as she reached her hand out to unlatch the case, all the blood rushed forward and she cried out in pain. A warm liquid came flowing from her nose; no doubt it was blood. She had gotten up too fast. A hand placed itself on her shoulder and not too long after, someone spoke. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see where I was going. Are you--" Shimmer turned to the person who was speaking and froze. Kneeling down beside her was a fiery-haired girl with light orange skin and blue-green eyes. She wore a black leather jacket and an orchid colored shirt. Her skirt was orange with stripes of complimentary colors running across it. The girl had riding boots that went up to her knee. They were black with purple flames climbing up them. Shimmer and the other girl were speechless. The same eyes... Shimmer thought as she looked into her turquoise orbs. The same nose...and mouth and lips... Her own eyes looked down at the features she noted. Same hair...same skin...same... Shimmer swallowed hard. Same everything.