Hibiscus’ house was cool, which was a relief. Sunset Shimmer waited in the parlour as Hibiscus no doubt was trying to coerce Graham into saying the right things and behaving in the right way. Earlier, Hibiscus had called her a bigot, accusing her of unicorn superiourity. Sunset couldn’t wait to be out of Granther’s Polder.
She thought about her day so far as she waited, she thought about the fire, the meeting with the strange zebra stallion named Mother Malady, she thought about the curious little fetish hanging around her neck. It had a powerful aura of harmonious energy about it and Sunset could feel a sunny warmth radiating from it.
For the moment, Sunset’s biggest concern was Zoysia and the fillies. They would need a caretaker, a helper, somepony to help look after them. She hoped that Graham would do so, but Sunset was aware that he might be hesitant around the unicorns. Resting, closing her eyes for a moment, Sunset Shimmer thought about Princess Celestia and the white alicorn’s many offerings of advice. Try to trust in the good to be found in ponies.
Princess Celestia believed that all ponies were good, she insisted on this point, but some were less good than they could be, and some worked very, very hard to prove her wrong, but she maintained that all ponies were good. Sunset Shimmer had certainly worked to prove Princess Celestia wrong, and it was still something she suffered a twinge of painful regret about from time to time.
There was a distinct lack of forgiveness in this town and the ponies here clung to the old ways, the old hatreds, and by Princess Celestia’s standards, Sunset reasoned that they were far less good than they could be. Most of them weren’t even trying to be good, by the way things felt. She thought about Blackwater, his family, and shuddered when she thought of the incest that had taken place.
The door opened, interrupting Sunset Shimmer’s thoughts. She looked up and saw Graham Cracker once more. He looked nervous, scared, he was trembling as he peered at her. Sunset felt bad for him—he was like his son, Zoysia, a soft, sensitive type and it appeared that Hibiscus had given him a good browbeating.
“You wanted to see me?” Graham asked in a voice that was little more than a scratchy whisper. He stood just inside of the door, shaking, his ears quivering and jerking.
Sunset Shimmer soundproofed the room with her magic, an effortless act, and then gave Graham a warm, sincere smile. “I have some good news for you, Graham. I think you’ll be happy about it. I also need to talk to you about something very important.”
“Good news would be welcome at this point.” Graham, timid, took a few steps forward, his barrel almost heaving, and he eased himself into a high backed chair, his eyes darting towards the door.
“She can’t hear us in here,” Sunset said. Even as she spoke, Graham appeared to relax a little. “You look like you could use some good news. Now, Graham, before I say anything, take a few deep breaths and try and calm down.” Sunset saw him close his eyes and do as she had requested.
A grandfather clock in the corner ticked, the big brass pendulum swinging back and forth, moving as seconds passed, those seconds became minutes, and the day grew ever shorter with each swing.
“First off, Graham, Zoysia isn’t in trouble… but he is in love—”
“W-w-w-what?” Graham stuttered.
“Zoysia has a filly that he is very much in love with—”
“B-b-b-b-brook,” Graham stammered.
“Yes, Zoysia is in love with Brook.” Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath, hoping that Graham would follow her example, held it until the count of ten, then let it out in a slow huff. “Graham, you are going to be a grandfather—”
Sunset Shimmer was interrupted by the loud thump caused by Graham hitting the floor. She gasped, feeling a moment of alarm and panic. It wasn’t often that stallions fainted. She slipped down off of the sofa where she was sitting and went to his side to see if he was okay.
After checking him over, she worked to revive him.
“Hi there,” Sunset said as Graham’s eyelids began to flutter. “You feeling okay?” She set him down into a chair and then held him up as he began to recover. His incredulous wide eyed stare amused her a great deal.
“You are going to be a grandfather… be happy.” Sunset made sure that Graham was sitting up on his own before she went and returned to the couch, where she sat down. She smoothed out her tail, smiled, and hoped for some kind of reply.
Graham only sat in the chair and stared at her.
“Here’s the deal, Graham. Your son needs your help. Zoysia and Brook are going to have a foal together. Brook has family members that were rescued from the fire… foals, Graham, foals that need a caretaker. Good foals, although one of them is going to have special needs.”
“What do you want from me?” Graham asked.
“Why, I want you to be their caretaker. Rill, Pond, and Darkwater could all use your help. And I know for certain that you are a good stallion, so I can count on you to help them, can’t I?” Sunset Shimmer gave Graham a meaningful look.
“They’re unicorns, they won’t listen to me.” Graham shook his head.
Sunset dismissed his words with a wave of her hoof. “They’re foals. They’re ponies. Graham, here is your chance to do some good. Make the world a better place. Be a good pony… set an example for your son, who just so happens to love a little unicorn lass with a blind, wonderful, heartwarming love. She’s carrying his foal.”
“But I…” Graham continued to shake his head. “I dunno… I—”
Sunset’s smile faded and she leaned forwards. “Let me be blunt. I want to keep them together. They can be a family. They can be happy. You can help me, you can help them, and I can get you away from Hibiscus. I will help you get established. I will get you away from this horrible place full of horrible ponies… or… you can be a horrible pony and you can stay here with the horrible ponies as this place festers, rots, and decays from within, until it collapses upon itself and sinks into the alicorn forsaken swamps.”
Graham blinked in shock.
“Do you want to be away from Hibiscus?” Sunset asked. Her eyebrow arched. “You want to have a nice life with your son, don’t you? Are you willing to do a bit of work? You’re not so cold hearted and calloused that you would turn away a few fillies and a disabled colt, would you?” Sunset cracked her fetlocks and her eyes narrowed. “Do you want to spend the rest of your days in this swamp?”
“No… Nutmeg’s dream was to move away from here and away from Hibiscus,” Graham blurted out in a voice that sounded as though it was an inch away from tears.
“Clock is ticking, Mister Cracker. Zoysia, Brook, and the others have a one way ticket out of here and they’re leaving tonight, never to return. Are you going with them and can I count on you to help them, or are you staying here?” Sunset’s voice was a low, soft, gentle whisper.
Graham’s ears stood up. “My son needs me?”
“More than you know. He’s trying to be real grown up about this. It seems as though somepony left an impression on him and he’s trying to be a stallion about this whole thing. He’s been sneaking food off to Brook for a long time now and he wants to be a good dad.” Sunset cocked her eyebrow at Graham. “I wonder where he got it from?”
Graham gulped, fidgeted in his chair, and looked at Sunset. He looked conflicted, almost in pain, and the entirety of his body showed fear. “How will I care for them? How will I make bits? I only completed primary school… I don’t know how—”
“Hush, Graham… do you want to help or not? Yes or no?” Sunset leaned forwards a little more. “I bet it’s Hibiscus that tells you how worthless you are because you didn’t finish school… she makes you feel small, doesn’t she?”
Graham nodded and licked his lips.
“Just yes or no… that is all I need to hear from you. If you say yes, rest assured, you will get the help you need. You have my word.” Sunset Shimmer waited and she watched as Graham’s squirming in his chair intensified.
“Yes… please, help me… help my son… I’ll do anything for my son, even things I think are impossible,” Graham said as he fell back into his chair and closed his eyes.
“You have made a very good choice, Graham.” Sunset Shimmer let out a sigh and thought about Princess Celestia. It seemed there was some good in ponies after all.
Now there was Hibiscus to deal with, but Sunset Shimmer wasn’t in the mood. She had helped Graham pack up a few things into a bag and had demanded that Hibiscus leave them be. The earth pony matron had wisely said nothing, backed off, and let Graham pack his bag in peace.
Now, Graham was getting acquainted with his new family. The run down rotten little shack was crowded, far too crowded, and the floor was bowing. Sunset paced outside of the shack, she had far too many things on her mind and it had been far too long of a day. She was not looking forward to dealing with Hibiscus.
“Minion?”
Lifting her head, she looked at Bucky, whom she had not heard come outside. He was hooded, as always, and there was a worried scowl on the end of his muzzle. She watched as he came closer.
“It’s been a troubling day, hasn’t it, Minion?”
Nodding, Sunset wished she could sit down, but the ground was nothing but slime covered oozing muck. Frogs were croaking, bugs buzzed, and it felt as though the air was boiling around them. Sunset Shimmer was soaked with sweat and she felt itchy. She wondered if she would ever feel clean again.
“Have I ever told you just how proud I am of you?” Bucky asked.
An unwelcome blush made Sunset feel hotter. It was too hot and far too sticky to be blushing. She failed to hold back a grin and she turned away from Bucky and stared off into the swamp.
“This…” Bucky said as he made a gesture, “this is you at your best. You’re making a difference here. We came out here to find out if this place was cursed. We’re still working on that, but in the meantime, you’ve taken it upon yourself to save a few ponies and try to make things better. You are the best student a teacher could ask for.”
“Master, stop.” Sunset’s blush intensified and she let out a giggle, feeling very much like a school filly again.
“You know, if somepony was to ask me which pony I thought truly deserved to be an alicorn—”
“Master, please, stop!” Sunset Shimmer struggled to get the words out as she continued to titter and the fetish hanging from her neck felt both warm and heavy.
“—I would have to tell them that it would be you.” Bucky leaned in a little bit closer. “One day, I will no longer be here. You will be my replacement. It will be you and Twilight Sparkle working together to make the world a better place. You will be the headmaster of the Founder’s Forge. And seeing you shine in the most troubling of situations… like today… I rest easy knowing that everything I’ve planned for is going to be taken care of by you.”
Off in the distance, something roared, and the birds fell silent. Sunset’s ears perked, but other than being alert, she did nothing else to react. If trouble came, she pitied it. She turned and looked at Bucky. “The best part about being your apprentice is being your friend… Bucky… please, don’t talk about how little time you have. I can’t bear it.”
“I’m sorry, Sunset, but I do so worry that I don’t have enough time to set everything right. There is still so much to do.” Bucky heaved a sigh and a sad smile appeared upon the end of his muzzle.
“We’re managing,” Sunset replied.
“I know we are.” Bucky stood there, motionless, and fell silent, only the sound of his breathing could be heard.
“Bucky, I need some advice… Hibiscus is going to be a tough pony to deal with. She called me a bigot… accused me of unicorn supremacy. I’m gonna need to pry some answers out of her. I’m not sure what to do or how to do it. There’s some bad juju here, as the zebras would say. There are a lot of old wounds and they run deep. How do I get her to talk without opening those old wounds? I don’t want to hurt her or make things worse.”
“Minion… I’m sorry… but I do not know…”