Linkin Pony Recharge: Chasing the Sun

by Kaciekk

Chapter XXVIII

There were memories. For some reason, being in that snug bed made me remember. I was halfway between sleep and wake. What was this? They were memories, but very hazy. They were not complete pictures, as almost they were in words. As if they were in third person. I could recall what they were about, but could not truly replay them.

I know why I remember the fireplace now. It was raining, just like today. I had been caught in the rain outside. SugarPine brought me in by the fire, a blanket wrapped tight.

There was a moment of me playing with Cedar. We were hide-and-seeking. I hid in a cupboard (hard to imagine I was that small). My friend could not find me, and I was left in there for quite some time. I reemerged, crying, wondering if they had forgot me. SugarPine reassured that they would never forget me.

My vision focused in like a telescope lense. I searched for shapes I recognized. A humming tickled my ears. I realized the humming was the constant patter of rain. A glowing yellow shield shrouded me, droplets being deflected off of it. I turned and there she was.

“So what now?” I pondered, but not in an offensive tone. I spoke as if I was genuinely curious of what the filly had to offer.

The filly pointed her luminous horn. There was a house past the barrier and sheets of rain. The shield began to move as she walked. I opened the door when the spell molded around the wall.

Inside was cozy and warm; a relief from the chilly outside. The smell of a freshly made stew filled the air. It was... SugarPine's house.

I looked to the filly. “I don't get it. Why am I here?”

She gestured a black hoof. I saw a little figure race across the long floor. The beige Earth-pony jumped onto the couch. A light blue cold entered from the hallway.

“This doesn't make sense. If that's me, shouldn't I be seeing this from that perspective? Even if I am older, I should have some memory of it, right?”

Of course, she did not answer me or ever look at me.

Cedar beckoned the smaller pony to leap to the couch. GentleSketch seemed timid to try the stunt. It was a dare. But surely a small Unicorn could not do the same thing a larger Earth-pony could.

GentleSketch rand and lept, but his tiny legs couldn't fully grasp the couch. He lipped and plopped onto the floor. Cedar peered over the edge to see the sobbing colt. SugarPine had entered from the kitchen to investigate. She seemed so much younger. While she still wore her glasses, her hair was less faded shade. Does nine year really change a pony that much?

“I'm sorry, Mama,”Cedar said to her. “I made him try to jump up here.”

The mare leaned down to the blue colt. “GentleSketch, are you okay? Are you hurt?” SugarPine asked.

He shook his head.

SugarPine lifted him up by his underarm. “Alright. It's okay. You're okay.” GentlekSketch rubbed his eye. Gosh, was I that much of a wimp? I still am, aren't I?

“Why don't we all come have some lunch?”

As they paced through the room, as if on queue, the door swung open. I stepped aside, clearing the way, like I was really there. SugarPine halted, a hoof halfway in gait. “HeartFelt.”

I expected to see my mother younger, but I was... dissatisfied. She looked... older. Her eyes were puffy and dark, and her expression bleak. Drenched green facial fur plastered on her face make her features more defined. Didn't she has a shield spell, Or did she just get tired of using it?
“Oh darling, you're soaking,” SugarPine observed. My mother did not seem to acknowlage her. “Why don't you place your things down and come get a towel.” The mare swirled around. “Boys, why don't you go to the dining room, we'll meet you there."
SugarPine proceed to the bathroom. “HeartFelt, come get a towel.”
My mother's body language was averse. Her limp tail dragged across the floor, leaving a pool. SugarPine placed a towel around the Unicorn's shoulders.
“You need to dry off, I don't want you to get sick,” She told her friend.
Mom sighed.
“What's wrong, darling?" SugarPine quizzed as she grabbed another towel. “Why were you out in the rain anyway?”
“I was just coming back and it started raining. I should have just stayed..." The mint green mare finally spoke.
“Oh no, dear you shouldn't be working in the rain. You already work so much.”
“It's not enough.”
“I don't understand why you insist on working so much. You already help around home, and you take care of the boys. You know you don't have to pay me back.
“But.. I don't want to take advantage of your kindness.”
“Oh, don't worry, you're not.”
“That's the thing.”
You're so kind you wouldn't know if you're being played.”
“HeartFelt, I know you never would do that to me. You don't have to pay me to prove it.”
“Well, somepony has to,” Mom scowled. This was out of character for her. I've never seen her take out frustration on another pony. She may express her struggle, but she would not ever burden another.
She continued, “You've been taking care of my son and me for a while now, and I can't seem to keep up with things.”
“What do you-” SugarPine was cut off.
“You don't need me around. I've been acting like shit. You shouldn't be so gracious. I need to leave. I've overstayed my welcome.”
“Leave? Where would you go?”
“I want to find my husband. We should have never been separated in the first place. I don't understand why all of this happened. It was a misleading plan: it was all blurred.”
“Are you taking GentleSketch?”
My mother shook her head. “I don't think I can. I can't put him through that dilemma. It's not worth it. Anyway, you have proven you are more capable to take care of him than I. I'll come back for him once I work everything out with my husband. We have to be suited to take care of our son.”
The Unicorn took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Just... don't tell Sketch just yet. I don't even know when I'm leaving.”
SugarPine bowed her head respectively. “Alright.”
Things were fading. The image of SugarPine's sympathetic face was firmly painted in my head. I must have been transiting from a session of REM. But I quickly, or at least my mind made it quick, to enter the next. All of this made like it was the same dream, only the information lost at the setting change.
I was in an apartment. Was it my own? No, it was of family friends. I saw SweetHooves sitting on her couch. My mother was there too. I could tell this was not in the far past by the mares' appearances.
A look of worry crossed SweetHooves' face. She had become a worrisome pony, but loosened up over the years. Only something distressing could make her act this way.
“I just don't understand. It's just...” SweetHooves paused, her forehooves put together. “I know I keep bringing this up and... I need to stop... but I just can't stop thinking. I'm sorry, I'm annoying you.”
“No, no,” Mom protested. “If you need to talk it out, you can. I'm here. I'll listen.”
“I know. I just overthink things. You're calm.”
“The way I process situations is different than you. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you," Mom expressed, intelligently. “Go on.”
“I just don’t get why aren’t back yet, you know?