Sunny Delight lay on her back, a hoof outstretched in front of her face, staring up at the little bear-shaped keychain that had once meant so much to her. Once upon a time it had held the promise of happiness and love. Now it only brought sadness as she thought back on the better times she’d had with the one who’d given it to her.
Hail Slick.
Nowadays the name was painful to think about. Sunny didn’t know what had changed with the nervous, awkwardly cute stallion she’d enjoyed that week in Neighagra with. She didn’t want to think she’d she'd been wrong about him that whole time, and that he'd been playing her like a fool, but she had to face facts about how he had treated her.
Sunny assumed he'd be eager to visit her in Ponyville, meet her friends, talk over lunch... enjoy each other's company like they did. Instead several weeks passed where he never even replied to her letters. When he finally did arrive, she could see there was something different about him, something wrong. It was in the way he walked, and the way he spoke. In place of his shyness was a brash and headstrong attitude, and the nervous stutter had vanished from his voice in favor of chuckle that bordered on a sneer.
At first she thought it was all an act to impress her with newfound confidence, and she would have kept thinking that if his demeaning words weren't directed solely at her. He would say the most hurtful things like they were just simple facts,
"You shouldn't eat so many sugary sweets. You're already getting pudgy around your waist, any more and you might burst."
"You've got this little twitch in your eye when you look at me, and it's really annoying. Can you just... not stare at me so much? Maybe look at the floor instead? That'd be great.
"Why are you always asking me to do stuff with you? You're lucky I'm willing to be with you at all. You're lucky any stallion would choose to love you."
A few times it was too much for her, and she called him out on it, but he always had the same response.
"Sunny wait I-... I didn't mean it like that. I'm just worried about you. ... I love you."
She'd be upset for a little while. Then she'd tell herself he really was just looking out for her but didn't know how to say it in a nice way. They'd make up, and everything would settle back down. And eventually the whole cycle would start again.
Being around him was exhausting anyway, like he drained the life out of her.
But then... there were those moments, those few precious moments when Hail would come to her looking absolutely exhausted. He'd look at her like she was the most wonderful thing in his life, and tell her he just needed to be with her for a while. It was so rare for Sunny to hear him say that he needed her. They'd collapse on the couch together and just cuddle. There were no mean words, no biting remarks... just the two of them leaning into each other's embrace.
Sunny began drawing a picture of Hail with moments like that, seeing him more as a pony that was going through a rough time and couldn't help lashing out at her. He never told her what was going on in his life, blatantly refused to. But Sunny convinced herself that Hail was worth trying to be with, despite how mean he could be. She could be the comfort he needed to be that pony she met in Neighagra again.
She wished she had been right. She wished she'd been enough for him.
She wished she'd never gotten on that train to Manehatten to surprise him, congratulate him on his new job.
She wished she'd never him in bed with that other mare, and wished beaten the living Tartarus out of him when she had. She wished she'd done anything but fall to her knees and ask him 'why'.
Sunny wished she hadn't let him use and lie to her like he did, wished she'd never met him!
She wished...
She wished...
“I wish I had you back.” Sunny whispered, clutching the bear charm to her chest before falling off into an uneasy sleep.
Sunny rolled over on the disheveled covers. She wasn't sure why she slept so much these days, but she didn't feel like doing anything else. She also didn’t know how long she’d been laying there; the window blinds were always closed, maintaining her perpetual darkness. It was her stomach’s growling that told her, be it morning or evening, it was time for food.
Groaning, she dragged herself off her bed and shambled over to the window. As she peeked through the blinds, a piercing light hit her eyes, telling her it was still daytime.
After rubbing the spots out of her vision, she grabbed a small bag of bits and left the house, discarding the bear keychain among the other random junk covering the small table near her door.
Outside she realized it was still bright and early, not much later than when she’d have normally woken up, and somehow she felt like she needed another ten hours in bed. "Go through the motions." she told herself, "Just keep walking, one hoof in front of the other."
She kept walking. That was good enough for her right now. The sun was warm on her back, and the sounds and smells of Ponyville surrounded her as she trudged through the streets, but it didn't do anything for her. It all seemed so meaningless now, so hollow.
It wasn't until a pair of familiar voices called her name that she even bothered to look up.
"Like, oh my gosh. Sunny D! We haven't seen you in like... two whole days!"
"I know, right? Like, you totally need to get out more."
Sunny knew this pair of outlandish outfits with ponies attached. Turf and Surf were their names, the dynamic valley-filly duo that were and always have been (in their own words) 'Like, the hottest most fashion savvy mares in all of Ponyville. Rarity like, doesn't know what she's talking about. Our outfits aren't outdated! She's just jealous because she's fat.'
"Hey gals." Sunny greeted them drearily, trying to form a smile. They were her friends after all, the first two friends she made after moving to Ponyville actually. The pair flicked between trends that went out of style decades ago; disco one month, goth culture the next. But while outfits were discarded as soon as they were bored with them, they never discarded her.
Even if right now, she wouldn't mind it.
"Okay Sunny D, hold onto your socks, 'cause I'm like, about to totally knock them off!"
"Ugh, Surf she isn't even wearing socks."
"Oh mi-gawd Turf, shuddup. I'm like, trying to cheer her up over here." Surf snorted. "So like I was saying, we met these three guys today and they're like, totally cute. We're gonna bring them on a date. You totally have to come!"
Sunny sighed. "Girls I can't. I just... I really don't want to do this again."
To anyone else the pair would have been overly indignant over being snubbed, but for Sunny they were just disappointed, pleading her to change her mind even.
"Aw like, come on Sunny. You gotta give somepony a chance!"
"Yeah. We promise it won't be like the last triple date!"
"Or the one before that-"
"Or the one before that-"
"Or the one before that!" they finished together, joined at the cheek and giving Sunny their saddest puppy eyes.
Sunny sighed and finally relented. "Fine. I'll be there."
As her friends cheered, Sunny turned to leave, largely ignoring their assurances that this time would be different, and that she wouldn't regret coming.
One hoof in front of the other. One hoof in front of the other.
The next thing Sunny knew, she was standing in the entrance to Sugarcube Corner. The bakery and its cheery atmosphere was just enough to make her focus on her way to the counter. Mrs. Cake was manning the counter this morning, and greeted Sunny with a smile as she walked up.
"Well hello there deary. How're you feeling today?"
Sunny gave a small shake of her head. "I'm alright I guess. Just not great. I'd really like to buy some of your glazed donuts. Maybe some tea too."
"Coming right up. And don't worry about paying for these ones, it's on me." Mrs. Cake told her. Sunny was about to object, and tell her she had plenty of bits, but the mare quickly shushed her. "Up-up-bup! I insist. Wouldn't want you to run out of bits before you and your girl friends go to the movies tonight!" she added slyly.
"I... I don't think I'll be going with them." Sunny mumbled.
"Aw Sunny Delight, I know how upset you must be. But you can't let one bad relationship take the rest of your social life down with it. Do try and feel better dear."
Sunny groaned and picked up her pastries, quickly making her way to an unoccupied table. She'd had quite enough 'meeting new ponies' and 'trying to cheer up'. More than that she was tired of everypony constantly trying to force her to feel better. It was thanks to Pinkie that nearly all of Ponyville had gotten involved. It was her own fault for crying on her shoulder, Sunny supposed. She should have made Pinkie promise not to tell anypony.
As helpful as everyone was trying to be, Sunny didn’t want their help.
She felt betrayed, abandoned, and crushed. Being overwhelmed by friends trying to help her... just wasn't helping.
She was tired of trying to forget, and it was still too painful for her to even think about finding somepony to fill the gap in her heart. All she wanted right now was to get something to eat, and be left alone while she felt sorry for herself. Surely that wasn’t too much to ask for.
[>>]
“Just look at what that meanie mean-pants did!”
Apparently... yes. Wallowing in self-pity was too much to ask for.
Sunny Delight only looked up briefly enough to see the small-framed, greyscale unicorn Pinkie Pie was talking to. She didn't recognize him from Ponyville; first day in town and already caught up to speed. Knowing Pinkie, she was probably forming some hare-brained scheme on using this random stallion to make her happy again.
“Hey Sunny!” Pinkie greeted, suddenly appearating at her table with the grey stallion.
“I know my ideas to cheer you up haven’t worked out too well the last couple dozen times. But that’s why I brought somepony new to help!" Pinkie said with a cheek-stretching, winning smile. "Sunny D, this is Stark Shade, he’s new in town! And since your other friends are running out of ways to make you happy, maybe you can be friends with him and he can make you happy! Do you two wanna be friends with Starky? Huh huh huh? It’ll make you feel better about you-know-whooo-ooo.”
Sunny just buried her head in her hooves. Normally she enjoyed Pinkie’s cheerful voice, but now it was just grating on her ears and her nerves, and her bluntness didn’t help either.
She knew Pinkie was only trying to help... again, but this was literally the last thing she wanted right now. She tried to tell her, but Pinkie had always been a bit too fast for her. The party pony's mind was already working way ahead of her, specifically on 'new best friend milkshakes' phase. Pinkie bolted off to the kitchen faster than Sunny could blink, leaving her alone with an equally confused Stark Shade.
The grey unicorn seemed nice enough, really. Messy white mane, soft eyes, and a gentle demeanor… almost like Fluttershy in stallion form.
It reminded her all too much of Hail Slick when they first met.
“So…” he began.
“Go away.” Sunny told him before returning her face to the table. If her best friends weren't any help, she doubted a random stallion would be any help.
“Are you okay?” he asked, taking a seat across from her.
Planning on being persistent it seemed.
She brought her eyes up enough to level a glare at him, and took a bit of pleasure in seeing him recoil the way he did. She began thinking of ways to scare him off; she found the thought of growling at him like a rabid dog particularly silly. She supposed actually doing that would be mean though. Better to just explain she didn't want anyone else to pity her.
“Pinkie told you about my ex-coltfirend, yes? And she’s come up with another half-baked scheme to cheer me up that somehow involves you.”
He nodded slightly to both questions, though they were slightly rhetorical.
“Pinkie Pie…” Sunny couldn’t help but groan, for anyone new to Ponyville, Pinkie was... a little odd. “She means well, I know she does. But she just doesn’t understand what it feels like to have your heart ripped out and stomped on! Fun can’t fix that kind of thing.”
No amount of ‘suddenly single’ parties, or ‘let’s eat ice cream till we forget the pain and can’t feel our faces anymore’ extravaganzas were going to make her feel any better. But parties were what Pinkie knew, and she used them to make ponies smile. She just couldn’t understand that sometimes there are problems a party can’t solve.
“I’m sorry, I… I know what that feels like too, like there's a giant gap that's been ripped in your soul. And I know it hurts.” Stark told her softly.
Sunny Delight looked up at him again, surprised. That was... exactly what she was feeling. He understood?
“I’d really like to help if you’ll let me.” he offered.
Sunny shook her head no, but gave an apologetic smile. “At least you gave me a choice." she told him. "Pinkie has been pestering me about it constantly ever since I made the mistake of telling her. Somehow the girls were even worse, setting me up with blind dates to ‘get me out on the market again’. They just don’t understand. Hail Slick was perfect. I can’t just replace him, even after… after…” Sunny found her words getting caught in her throat, it was difficult for her to even say.
She felt a hoof slide on top of hers and give a soft squeeze.
“Shh… it’s okay.” Stark whispered, and she let out a few shuddering breaths she didn’t realize she was holding in. It was only when she was calm again that he dared to ask a tiny voice, “What was he like anyway?”
Sunny blinked, eyes shifting to the floor when they opened again. What was he like when she’d first met him… or after? It seemed like two completely different questions depending on which one you chose. She hated thinking about the latter, so she went with the first.
“We... we met at Neighagra Falls.”
…
“…then on the last night we went out to dinner together like we had been all week,” she got to her favorite part, “and he asked if I would be his marefriend. And of course, I said yes!” Sunny said with an audible squeal.
But… that of course was where her personal fairytale turned grim.
“Of course it was too good to be true. We were together for almost half a year. He got a job that payed a lot of money, but required him to move to Manehatten. ‘It’s so I can treat you right’ and ‘have a good life together’ he says.” Sunny did her best dopey impression of Hail, “He told me in his letters that I’ll be the only one he’ll ever love. So why would I worry? It was only when I came for a surprise visit that I found out that ‘the only one’ didn’t include ploughing this runway model that happens to live next door to him!”
The image flared into her mind: an open doorway, the bedroom with Hail and the mare who she didn’t even know the name of, both curled up under the sheets together. She was shocked, the other mare looked terrified... Hail just stared back at her blankly as though he’d done nothing wrong.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. And when I asked him why… he wasn’t even sorry! Said some stupid line about keeping all his options open, and that it wasn’t a big deal! It was a big deal to me!” Sunny yelled, and noticed she was attracting quite a bit of attention from the other ponies in the store.
“I’m sorry mister Shade.” She said, lowering her voice and slouching over again. “I didn’t mean to dump all my problems on you. It just sort of… all spilled out at once.”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind, really. Keeping things bottled up is hard.” Stark said as he just smiled back reassuringly. Sunny honestly hadn’t expected for him to be so patient with her, thinking he’d have backed off at this point. She felt it was more than she deserved.
“I thought Hail and I had something special. I just can’t believe he’d just use me and then leave for somepony else who’s richer, more successful… prettier. And he lied right to my face the whole time. I don’t even know what I did wrong.”
“But shouldn’t that make it easier to get over him then?” Stark asked. “He sounds like such a scumbag. Charming… but a scumbag.”
Maybe it was the brutal honesty, but he was sounding a little too much like Pinkie now. A little too much like her friends.
“That’s what everypony keeps saying.” She told him, “But it feels like a big chunk of me isn’t there with him gone, like it was ripped right out. It just... it hurts so much to think he's not there anymore. Maybe he wasn't great to me... but he was mine.” Nopony could understand. Not even Stark.
Sunny felt a hoof under her chin, and found her eyes looking into Stark’s. “You want to know what I do after a bad breakup?” he asked.
Sunny wanted to sigh and roll her eyes. Was this all anypony had to bother her with? She’d heard it a thousand times from a thousand different places.
“As long as it has nothing to do with parties.”
“Well actually, and I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I think Pinkie Pie had the right idea,”
Sunny frowned at this, but chose to let him finish.
“at least to start out with. And your friends too, but they were just jumping way ahead. You see, treating the pain of a breakup is a lot like treating any other kind of physical wound, at least in theory.
“What I mean is, if something hurts really bad you’d use some kind of painkillers in order to make it bearable, right? And for break-ups, your painkiller of choice is anything that gets your mind off it; salty or sugary food, being with friends, buying something you’ve always wanted, whatever makes you feel good. That’s what Pinkie was trying to do, it’s just that she never moved on to the second step.
“You see the thing about any painkiller, physical or psychological, is that it doesn’t actually heal you, and if you keep using it, you’ll still be hurt on the inside. So sooner or later you have to confront the source of the problem and deal with it for good. And I don’t mean find the guy who hurt you and punch his lights out, as satisfying as it would be to watch...”
Surprisingly, Sunny found herself actually interested in what Stark was telling her. The parallels didn't match perfectly, but it made a little sense. She even had to stifle a giggle when the image of Hail being punched over the horizon by a giant boxing glove popped into her head.
“But anyway, I find that the best way to work out any pain is to just talk about how you feel. Psychiatrists are great for this, and it’s probably why they get paid so much.” Stark continued, “Being able to just vent your frustration and pain will leave you feeling like a weight’s been lifted off your back. Also, being able to think about what your ex actually meant to you, or what you saw in him, and then put those things into perspective will help you to move past him.”
“Perspective?” Sunny asked.
“Yeah, like…” Stark tapped his chin and thought for a second, “Name something nice he did for you, just off the top of your head.”
Now it was Sunny Delight’s turn to think. She wanted to use an example of something from outside of their first meeting in Neighagra, but after a few seconds, nothing sprang to mind.
“Well,” she settled on the bear charm. “When he took me out to dinner to ask me to be his marefriend, he stopped me before I left for home, and gave me this keychain in the shape of a teddybear with a heart on it. He pulled out a charm necklace that had one just like it, next to a photo of his parents and one of his baby teeth.” She smiled and felt herself tearing up at the memory. He showed her he considered her as close as family, somepony he loved. “I thought it was so sweet of him and I just- I just-“
"I fell for it. Hard."
Sunny felt Stark’s hoof on hers again, and it helped her to breathe calmly again.
“And now, try to remember a time when he wasn’t so nice. Some time when he let you down.”
Sunny frowned, thinking back over the last few months and everything she hated about Hail. It was easy to do, but she noticed it didn't hurt as much now.
“Everything changed when I met him again, after Neighagra.” She told him, “I can’t count how many times he said he’d meet me and never showed up, made plans and then dropped them over nothing. It was like he was a totally different stallion. All those times when hanging out with his friends at this sleezy bar was more important than spending time with me. Sometimes I don't think he even knew them. Or how about when-“
“Okay, I um… I think I get the idea.” Stark stopped her, his eyes glancing around for anypony getting too interested in their conversation. “But you see what I mean, right? Whenever you think back on how happy he made you, try to put it in perspective, and ask yourself if it was worth the pain he caused later on. You might even realize how awesome you are for getting through it.”
Sunny remembered trying to tell herself things would be better now that it was over, though she never described herself as 'awesome'. Looking back she could only see the mistakes she made.
“I know some ponies who would have stayed and taken the abuse." Stark told her, "You’re really brave Sunny Delight.”
This came as a shock. Brave? He thought she was brave? She fell in love with somepony she thought was nice after one week on vacation, only for that pony to abuse and cheat on her. And he thought she was brave. She couldn't believe he was serious.
And somehow she found herself smiling anyway.
“Thank you.” she whispered.
Stark smiled back. “I know you’re going to be okay, just give it some time.” he told her. “And when you’re feel confident, you can move on to step three, and find someone new. You might run into ponies like Hail again, no denying the possibility, but as long as you don’t give up on yourself, you can always get back up, and keep trying.”
“That’s all there is to it, just believe in yourself and keep trying?” Sunny asked doubtfully. There was no way it was that easy. And even if it was, what kind of pony could handle being rejected over and over, hoping to find the right one? They’d explode! Or melt! Or, y’know… something equally dramatic.
“Well okay… maybe not all there is to it.” Stark admitted, “I think I’m oversimplifying. But I believe in you. I mean, I’m still wondering why this Hail Slick would give up someone so...”
“Boring? Whiny?” Sunny offered.
“Wonderful.”
Sunny found herself blushing, and vaguely wondered if he was trying to be her 'step three'.
“And cute.” he added with a laugh, and she felt her blushing intensify.
Definitely definitely trying to be her step three.
But at least he was talking some sense. Maybe she shouldn't let this whole thing keep her down like it had. Stark said she was brave, awesome... cute. Even if he was just trying to butter her up, but that at least meant she was worth buttering up.
It didn't make a lot of sense to her, but maybe it really was just as simple as he’d made it sound. Don't shut yourself away because you're afraid of the jerks. If you run into one, make sure you can walk away; it's nothing against you if you do. As long as you can catch get back on your hooves and keep going thing will be okay.
“You know what Stark, you might be right.” Sunny decided as she pulled herself up. “No more kicking myself over this.” She said, wincing when her back made a bunch of little popping noises. But it only accentuated Stark’s point, and she felt better already.
It was at that point that Pinkie Pie came back to them with a tray of milkshakes impossibly balanced on top of her poofy mane. And she looked delighted to see she was no longer a lump of miserableness.
“Sunny! Are you feeling better?” she gasped in excitement. “Did Starky help you like he said he would?”
Seeing her made Sunny remember another important thing: don't push away your friends.
“You know what Pinkie, I really am feeling better.” Sunny told her, which only made Pinkie’s smile grow. “Thank you Stark. And thank you for not giving up on me Pinkie.”
“Woo-hoo!” Pinkie jumped for joy while somehow keeping the shakes balanced on her head, “I knew it would work. New friend making prevails over being down in the dumps once again!” she declared victoriously. “Ooh and that reminds me, your milkshakes! And don’t go anywhere, I need to get my camera to commemorate this moment!”
With that, Pinkie set the drinks on the table and zipped upstairs.
Things were going well. Sunny was amazed to admit it, but she was feeling… good. Better than good even, she felt like she could do anything! She laughed alongside Stark as they toasted their glasses, and even the brainfreeze she got from drinking hers too fast couldn’t dampen her spirits.
She couldn’t explain it, but for weeks she’d felt as though all the life had been forcibly sucked out of her, and she was only now starting to recover. She was sure Turf and Surf would be glad to hear it, and while Pinkie snapped their picture for her wall, Sunny felt an idea bloom.
“So mister Shade, my friends were planning to take me out on a sort of triple-dinner-date tonight, another attempt to set me up with some stallions they know from work. Would you like to join us, and maybe be my ‘step three’ for the evening to show them I'm better now?”
“I’d be happy to.” Stark told her with a smile, “Just let me know where and when.”
Sunny giggled. She was going to feel like a total secret agent when she and Stark put on a show for them. And hey, maybe Stark would turn out to be a nice pony. She owed it to him to at least give him a chance. In fact, she owed it to herself too.
For the first time in quite a long while, Sunny D felt as though everything would turn out okay for her.
Then the front door got kicked in, and the pony who stepped through was at the same time the stallion she never thought she'd see again, and the stallion she never wanted to see again. Sunny’s mind went into a state of mild shock upon seeing him here, not knowing whether to scream every bit of her hate at him or to run away in tears, yet wanting to do both at the same time.
“Sunny, I know you’re here!” Hail Slick yelled, quickly drawing everyone’s attention. His eyes scanned the room until they locked onto her, and he rudely shoved Pinkie aside to march straight up to her. “Sunny, I’ve changed my mind. I want you back.”
Again Sunny felt her mind lurch. What was that just now?
She scowled at him. Less than an hour ago she would have practically leapt back into his hooves. But this was a very different Sunny Delight he was dealing with now. “I don’t think so. I’m my own mare now. I don’t need you anymore, so go back to that slut in Manehattan.”
“Are you still mad about that? Come on babe, I’ve heard what everypony’s been sayin’, you’re a wreck without me, you need me. Now I came all the way here, offering to take you back and you’re saying no? What gives?” Hail Slick said, and Sunny felt herself boil.
“What gives-“ She got up and punched his chest. “-is that we are done! You’re not the same stallion I met in Neighagra Falls. I am done with the grief you’ve given me all this time, and I’m done with you! Now get out of my town.”
Celestia, it felt good! Why hadn’t she done this months ago? What was stopping her, and keeping her so… weak back then? Well it didn’t matter, because this was happening now. She wasn’t going to take his abuse any more. This was her time to shine!
But just as she was getting her second wind, Stark stepped in, standing protectively beside her even though she was totally killing it.
“You need to leave Hail Slick.” Stark said, a tenseness in his voice that was all but absent while he’d spoken with her.
The two regarded each other with cold glares for a moment. Sunny looked back and forth between them.
Hail finally broke the silence when he asked with a snarl. “And who are you supposed to be? Punk?”
“His name is Stark Shade. My new coltfriend.” Sunny told him spitefully, working every angle she could get against him, and it felt awesome. She wasn’t going to let anypony swoop in and rescue her. This was her fight more than anypony else’s, and she’d finish it herself.
Or at least she really wished these two would let her finish it herself. But rather than turning his attention to her like she wanted, Hail just continued to sneer at Stark like she wasn’t even there.
“So, trying to take what’s mine, are you?”
Sunny scoffed indignantly, “I am not yours-“
But Stark cut her off, quickly holding her back with a gentle hoof, his eyes never leaving Hail Slick. “I’ve got this.” He told her before speaking to Hail, “Shall we take this outside?”
“After you.”
The small crowd of onlookers gasped, and frankly, she was getting a little sick of all this. She had just decided to be empowered dang it! She wanted to use that assertiveness now!
As Stark Shade and Hail Slick made their way to the door, Sunny was quick to follow them. Along with most of those who’d been there to witness the challenge.
Stark and Hail had gone into a side alley behind Sugarcube Corner, and while most ponies were eager to see what happened between them, knowing it would likely end in an absolutely vicious slap-fight like in the hardcore action flicks, none of them wanted to get too close either. Even with the daylight outside, it was too dark to see much of anything in the ally. From the street it was just two blobs standing there.
Sunny Delight however, was not your normal everyday pony. While the others crowded around just outside the alleyway, a safe distance from the ensuing action, she’d used her mad ninja stealth skills to get above them undetected!
Okay... so in reality, there was a stack of crates that allowed her to climb up to the rooftops, and neither stallion bothered to look up.
Sunny had only missed about a minute of the confrontation by the time she arrived, but what she saw surprised her. Instead of a fight like most expected, the two had begun to talk.
They spoke concisely, a simple question followed by a simple answer, and always accentuating certain words. Listening in, Sunny heard them talking about where they were from and what they were doing in Ponyville, or what each of them wanted her for. Something about their calm demeanor put her on edge; they looked ready to tear each other's throats out just a minute ago, but now...
Their speech patterns only changed after Hail brought up Neighagara, and Stark tilted his head in confusion.
“Do you still have that bear necklace?” Stark asked. It was a simple question this time, no fluctuating tones in the words, and no odd phrasing.
“The what?” Hail asked back.
“The charm necklace with your family's picture, and your baby tooth, and the bear with the little heart on it. Sunny has the bear matching one you gave to her. Did you at least keep yours, you know… for sentimental value?”
“What are you talking abou-“ Hail began, but stopped short. His expression wavered for a second. “You’re worrying about that right now?! I could cream you, and you’re asking about that?!” he yelled.
“I am. What happened to you at Neighagra Falls? Sunny said you were the practically the perfect gentlecolt before. Why’d you change like that?” Stark took a step forward.
“I really liked Sunny Delight, so I did what I had to get her to like me. Lots of guys do that.” Hail said defensively.
Sunny frowned from her vantage point, mentally slapping herself yet again. She 'd worked out that much a long time ago, but ignored it anyway, hoping he'd just... get better.
The argument below continued, Stark ever advancing on Hail, and the larger stallion surprisingly giving ground.
“I think Sunny would like to see you again. And you’ve got some serious explaining to do. And in case you don’t get my meaning... you’re going to find the real Hail Slick and let him go.”
"What?" Sunny must have heard wrong.
She turned her eyes downward again, and Hail looked terrified. “I don’t like your tone ‘Stark Shade’.” He said, clearly trying to keep an air of intimidation. “Nopony tells me what to do, and you really don’t want my friends to hear about this.”
Stark got inches from Hail’s face and said through his teeth in a way that Sunny had to strain to hear. “You listen to me. Sunny met the love of her life in Neighagra, and she’s going to get him back. So you can either do as I say, or I can get the guards involved and let them sort this out.”
“You wouldn’t.” Hail gasped, “Even someone like you ain’t dumb enough. They’d screw us both. My friends would have to…”
He whispered something after that, something Sunny couldn’t hear.
“Some things are more important than you or me, and I don’t give a damn about anyone that would hurt others like this just to get by. Last chance… where is he?” Stark whispered.
It was at this point that Sunny realized that this was about more than just her problems. Something big was going on.
Hail had obviously had enough threats. His punch came like a flash of lightning, yet Stark was able to evade it, if only barely. It was the second swing that hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to double over in pain.
Hail to grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the nearest wall, and from her vantage point Sunny saw a sickly green light on the top of his forehead. A curved black horn protruded from the flames, and her eyes went wide, recognizing what he really was.
"Changeling." she breathed.
Their earlier words instantly made sense now. This Hail was a changeling. But the real one… the Hail she had met in Neighagra and fallen in love with was still out there somewhere, maybe even in danger! All this time...
“None of us are gonna miss a boat-rockin’ nobody like you.” the fake Hail below hissed at Stark.
Sunny knew she had to act fast. She wasn't sure what was going on, but whoever this Stark Shade character was, he did know. He might be the only one that could help her find the real Hail Slick! Her Hail Slick.
She was about to jump down and help him, she'd land on the changeling and flatten him if she had to. But Stark was faster, and hit the fake pegasus in the face with a blinding flash of light from his own horn.
Sunny rubbed her eyes, the aftershadow of the flash still blurring her vision. When it cleared, Stark had wrestled Hail’s hooves off his neck and was watching as he blindly flailed around trying to find him again.
Panicked shouts were coming from the ponies watching, wondering what was going on in the darkened passage.
Sunny watched as Stark hit Hail with another spell that made him limply fall to the ground. Then he turned and yelled, “Changeling! Hail’s a Changeling! Somepony get help!”
It wasn't that surprising he'd call for help, even when he had the changeling down and out. But what happened next threw her completely for a loop.
A wave of red embers pulsed off of Stark. Underneath was the same black shell, same blue eyes, same gleaming white fangs. Stark Shade had been a changeling too!
Sunny pushed herself back from the edge again as he began throwing more and more of those loud, blinding orbs at the walls. While Stark-... while the other changeling was doing some elaborate something-or-other below, Sunny could only feel lost. Just what in the name of Celestia was going on?!
She scrambled to put the pieces together in her head. Hail was a pony she met at Neighagra and had a really good time with. But at some point a changeling had taken his place. But where was he now? Was he even still alive?
Sunny Delight shuddered at the thought.
And how did Stark fit into all of this? He was a changeling too, but… trying to foil another, different changeling? And why? Changelings… how did they even work?!
A pair of guards arrived on the scene below her, taking the fake Hail Slick in to custody. Stark had fled. But Sunny's mind was still reeling. It was so much to figure out, and she barely had enough to work with. All she was sure of was that Hail Slick, the real one… something had happened to him. She wanted to know... and she was determined to find out.