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// Meaning of Friend 
// Story: Saying Goodbye 
// by TheTrueDragoon 
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	Sunset sat at the dining table of her home and stared out the window, watching the sky shift from the morning orange to blue.  In front of her, her bowl of cereal grew soggy in the milk as she stirred it with her spoon.  But her thoughts were far from the simple morning meal.  In her mind she pondered her return to the dream world to see Pooh and Piglet once more.  Questions sped through her head about how to return and what would happen if, or hopefully when, she returned.
A shake of her head and she snapped back to her present location and returned to her meal, practically drinking the bits of former sweetened corn cereal.  She raised the bowl and downed the leftover milk and finished her glass of orange juice.  As she place her dishes into the kitchen sink her thoughts began to drift back to Pooh’s world.  Excitement built in her at the thought of returning and the new adventures that awaited.
A smile was plastered across her face as she followed her daily morning routine.  Once again, she felt like a filly once more.  Like a small child excited to go somewhere new or return to somewhere they loved.  She was so giddy in fact that she practically bounced as she moved about her home.  She even put her clothes on wrong twice as she rushed to dress.
Finally dressed, she looked over at the book on her night stand, her smile making her feel as though her face would stretch or freeze.  But she did not care.  She wanted to see Pooh again.  She picked up the book and looked at the front cover and the image of the forlorn bear.
“Don’t worry,” she said, “I won’t leave you alone for long.”
Her thoughts stopped and she looked over at her closet and her boots which sat right outside.  As impossible as it seemed, she felt her smile get larger.  She inwardly scolded herself at nearly forgetting her boots.
“Big boots for an adventure.  Right, Pooh?”
She slipped the boots on her feet and looked back at the book.  She was ready.  She stared at the book as the time ticked by.  Her face began to relax from her excitement as she simply stood in her room staring at the cover.  She opened the book and read through her adventure so far.  But as she reached the standing conclusion, nothing happened.
She closed the book and turned it over several times as though looking for a secret button or switch.  Perhaps something new to trigger the transportation the way the cover picture had done before.  But still, her room remained.
Her eager smile was now replaced by a frown of worry as she continued to turn the book over and flip through the pages.  Nothing.  Her face contorted and she felt like she was going to cry.  Still nothing.  No matter what she tried, she continued to stand in the middle of her room and stare at the book.
Sunset gave a worried giggle, forcing a smile back onto her face.  “It’s just not ready yet.  In its own time, right?  Yeah.  I’ve just got to wait patiently.”
She sat on her bed and place the book next to her.  She placed her hands in her lap and looked around and occasionally at the book.  Still nothing.  Her hands began to fidget, tap her legs, or wring about one another.  She twiddled her thumbs and tapped her feet.  But still, she remained in her room on her bed.
A look at the clock revealed that she had spent a full thirty minutes simply waiting for something to happen.  She looked at the book again as her face twisted into a scowl.  Silent as before.  She picked up the book and placed it in her lap.  She stared at it, willing things to change.  But still, nothing was different.  She felt her face twist more as she picked up the book.
“Do something!”
Nothing.
“You can’t just leave me like this!  You can’t just speak then go quiet again!  Don’t tease me like this!”
Sunset opened the book once more and flipped through the pages.  She stopped and felt her scowl begin to fade away into a frown of sorrow when she came to the part when she first found the circle of trees.  She read over the story and stopped at the question Pooh had asked her.
“Are you my friend?”
Sunset flipped over to the next moment with the trees and saw that same question.
“Are you my friend?”
She felt a tear drop from her eye at the question.  The first time, she had not thought much of the question with all of the silliness of a dream world.  The second time, she had questioned her answer but still gave a half-hearted answer.  Now she had a question of her own.  What was a friend?
She gently closed the book and held it close.  She felt her eyes water and her tears slowly drip down her face.  She spoke softly.
“I’m sorry.  Please let me go back.  I…I just want to know what a friend is.”
Still nothing happened.
“Please.  I want to be your friend, but I don’t know how.”
With a final desperate attempt, she opened the book to the latest page detailing her departure.  And her message to Pooh as she walked through the door.  She stared at the image of Pooh on the page opposite the words.  The bear stood waiting, patient and silent.  A tear dripped from Sunset’s eyes and landed on his face.
“Please,” she repeated as a few more tears dotted the page.
She turned the page to what stood as the first blank page in the book.  She closed her eyes as she pleaded, feeling the tears stream down her face and drip onto the pages.  When she opened her eyes, the world was white.

Everything was dark following the blinding white.  Sunset stumbled around and finally saw light shining in from what appeared to be a window.  She made her way towards it, tripping and stepping on unseen objects on the floor.  When she reached the window, she looked out to see the wondrous sight of the woods where Pooh lived.  She fumbled around in the dark to find the door nearby.
She stepped out of the door into the warm and soothing light of the sun.  She was back.  A smile filled her face and her eyes watered with tears of joy.  Her legs felt weak and buckled.  But she stood, letting her legs buckle into one another and weakly support her.  But the support did not last as she slumped and sat on the grass below.  The soft carpet of green gently bore her as the wind brushed against her body and calmed her.  She was back.
In a quick bout of curiosity, Sunest turned back to where she had come from to see the tree home she had seen when she had first arrived and when she left.  The special home was as dark as before and the door had closed behind her.  A few questions arose, old and new, regarding the tree home.  But Sunset pushed them aside for now.  She looked out at the vast forest and mustered the strength to stand.  She needed to see Pooh.
As she stood, her legs felt like jelly.  But she pushed herself to move forward in an awkward stumbling walk before speeding up.  As she moved down the hill she sped up and felt her feet drag a few times as they moved.  She practically stumbled the whole way down, narrowly avoiding a few falls along the way, before nearly charging into the midst of the trees.
As she passed into the forest she began to run.  Her face contorted into a bittersweet smile and she struggled to maintain her vision as tear swelled in her eyes.  She was going to see him again.
Finally, she skidded to a halt as she rounded a small bend and came upon the stout bear’s home.  Pooh sat on the log in front of his tree home and stared into space as he softly hummed.  Sunset took a few steps forward, hoping that he would remember her and forgive her for leaving so abruptly.  As Pooh turned his head towards her she steeled herself.
“Hallo, Sunset Shimmer.”
The sound of her name brought the smile on Sunset’s face to full.  She dragged her feet as she took a couple of steps forward, holding a hand up to her chest, before she rushed up and grabbed Pooh in a large hug.
“Pooh.  I’m sorry I left like that and stayed gone so long.”
She set the bear down and brushed away the tears in her eyes.  But Pooh simply stared at her in that simple manner of his.  He was not angry or upset.  Just Pooh.
“No need to apologize Sunset Shimmer.  That is how things go sometimes.  Besides, you were not gone that long.”
Sunset held back more tears.  “Thank you.”
Pooh took ahold of her hand and began leading her further into the woods.  “Come now.  We have a new day ahead.”
Sunset let the little bear lead her, feeling like the stuffed animal dragged around by the child.  She found herself wondering about the world once again.  She repeated the questions she had to herself once more as she pondered.  Was she dreaming it all up or was there some magic that made this whole world a reality?  In the end, it hardly mattered.  An adventure was an adventure.  Friends were friends.
Friend.  The word reminded her of the question she had no answer to.  What did it mean to be a friend?  What did it mean to love?  She looked down at the yellow bear who lead her by the hand.  He knew.  He would not say, but he would show her.
“Hey Pooh?”  It was time for Sunset to ask her own question.
“Yes?”
“Are you my friend?”
Pooh never stopped nor did he slow down.  “Of course.”
“Hey Pooh?”
“Yes?”
“Will you always be my friend?”
“Always.”
Sunset felt her eyes water again and brushed them with her free hand.  A smile was now plastered across her face once more.  She still did not quite know what it meant to be a friend, but she was sure Pooh would show her.  He was simple and did not speak more than he needed to.  But his actions had spoken volumes.
“Hey Pooh?”  She had just one last question.
“Yes?”
“That friend you have talked about.  Are you still his friend.”
This time Pooh stopped and he stood silent a moment.  He stared straight ahead.  When he finally spoke, his words were…unsettling.  As though he was sad.  “He said goodbye.”
“Pooh?”
“I can’t find him.”
Sunset knelt down beside him and put an arm around him.  “Don’t worry.  I’m sure we’ll find him.”
Pooh looked at her, his face as simple as always.  But for some reason, it seemed to show a level of emotion he had not shown before.  Sunset could almost feel the sorrow that permeated from his simple look.  She smiled to try and cheer him up as best she could and held out her hand to him.
“Come on.  Let’s go get Piglet and get back to our adventure to find all of your friends.”
Pooh smiled and took hold of her hand.  They continued on towards Piglet’s home side by side.  On the way, Sunset could only think to what Pooh had said.  Who was this special friend of his that had brought on such sadness at his mention?  It could have been the child who once owned the animals.  But what happened when he said goodbye?  Whatever the case, she would stand by Pooh and not allow him to go through that sadness again.
As they drew closer to Piglet’s home, Sunset focused her mind on the next adventure.  She would help Pooh find his special friend.  But until then, she would not leave his side.