//------------------------------// // Never Gonna Make You Cry // Story: Don't Tell Me You're Too Blind To See // by Shaud //------------------------------// The party. Sunset felt ready to puke as she listened to voicemail after voicemail from Pinkie. They went from happily inviting her back to practically begging her to answer. Some were downright angry, and sent a shiver up her spine. Fluttershy had sent a text emoji of two people hugging, which was... oddly sweet. Rarity's calls were apologetic on Applejack's behalf, which annoyed her. They annoyed her even more when she noticed Applejack and Rainbow hadn't left any messages. Applejack had tried to call, and that was something at least... The ones that scared her the most, though, were Shimmer's. Sunset felt her stomach churn as she listened to Shimmer's voice. She had been hopeful, then worried, then... Angry. "I stood her up." Sunset whispered to herself. "I..." Her eyes burned, and she shut them tightly. Anger and resentment burned within her as she remembered, in painful detail, how the events from the day before had panned out. She had fallen asleep without setting an alarm or anything, and had completely missed the party. The party she was supposed to take Shimmer to. After the events of the day before, her friends' utter rejection of her situation, she hadn't really wanted to go anymore, anyways. But she hadn't told anyone of that... She wanted to blame Applejack, and most of her did. But there was also a small part of her that didn't want to blame anyone except herself. Her self hatred wasn't a new reaction of any kind, but the return to it so quickly... Hurt. Sunset resisted the urge to throw her phone as she tried to calm her mind. Her thoughts jumped around, and she rubbed her temples. You've really done it this time, haven't you? Sunset cringed at the voice in her mind. With her self-hatred, of course, came the return of the negative thoughts she had before. After the Fall Formal they had left, along with her 'alter-ego' and she hadn't counted on them coming back. Of course, it made sense that they would, in a time when she had screwed up and her friends had left. I'm screwed. Sunset about jumped out of her skin when the phone in her hand rang. She took a moment to calm herself before she stared at the ID. Rarity. With a sign Sunset decided she couldn't hide from her friends forever. She could skip school, but that would only make the others try to find her. While her heart begged her to talk to Shimmer, her brain reminded her that school was the best option. Besides, she had no way to get to Crystal Prep on her own. "...Hello?" Shimmer had been very worried about Sunset. It was rare that Sunset didn't return a call or text within an hour, but a day? That was unheard of. Of course she was still angry. Whether she had been forgotten or not she simply didn't know, because Sunset wouldn't respond. Had something bad happened? Fear crept through her as she wondered if Sunset's friends had managed to talk Sunset out of seeing her any more. Sunset had been worried, but... Shimmer scowled at her phone. "You okay?" Sparky's question startled her out of her thoughts. "O-oh, um, yeah. Just... Sunset..." Sparky shifted uncomfortably. "Oh... Your, um...?" Sparky had taken the news considerable well, all things considered. She still was skeptical about the magic thing, and Shimmer falling in love with her dimensional counter-part was weird, sure. But Sparky trusted Shimmer. Kind of had to, since they were the only friends they had. "Yeah." Shimmer glanced at her phone. "We were supposed to go to a party yesterday, but she never responded." "Ouch." Sparky winced sympathetically. A moment passed and her eyes lit up. "You said she goes to Canterlot though, right? Let's go visit her! I mean, then I can check out those weird events and stuff, too." "What, skip school?" Shimmer raised a brow. Sparky looked around them to make sure no one was looking and then pulled a slip of paper out of her bag. "Don't tell anyone, but... Principal Cinch gave me this slip. It say so long as it's for my project, I can leave school whenever I want. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to have it, though." Shimmer's eyes widened as she stared at the official-looking document. "Thi-this... How long have you had this?" Sparky grinned sheepishly. "A while... Now, do you want to stalk your girlfriend or not?" Shimmer scoffed at the phrase, but looked at the paper. She wanted to talked to Sunset, and if Sparky had a free pass... "I... Yeah, okay." What could be the harm in visiting her?