Pancakes for Breakfast
Twilight’s body on top of hers. Her taste. Her scent. Her heartbeat. Twilight moans, makes that face she makes as Sunset moves her hands up her lover’s sides, gently raising her shirt.
A popping sound. The cold tile slams into her.
Twilight’s body on top of hers. She can taste blood. She can smell the acrid bite of gunpowder. Her ears are ringing. Twilight is silent, her eyes closed. Sunset sees the shooter. Smoking gun in hand, staring, backing up then turning and running into the crowd.
That’s me.
A few people yell. Someone tries to grab her. Then she’s gone.
Frantically, Sunset rolls her lover over, runs her blood-slicked hands up Twilight’s side, moving her shirt out of the way to see the damage. The bullet hole is black, there’s some yellow inside. Red is running out across the white tile.
“Apply pressure,” she tells herself, pushing on the wound. “That’s what they always say. Apply pressure.” She has to stay calm, find some way to focus. Then, her mind catching up with the fact that there are other people around, she raises her voice.
“Help! Anybody! Help, oh, God…!”
Sunset Shimmer jackknifed awake, gagging and coughing, the taste of bile flooding her mouth.
After changing into a T-shirt and sweats, Sunset padded downstairs with her blanket and the clothes she’d slept in. Once she’d resigned herself to sleep, however reluctantly, she’d meant to shower first. But somehow, she’d just ended up in bed, fully clothed. As she reached the top of the stairs, the rest of the previous night’s memory clicked in, including why she’d wanted the shower. Wishing to God she’d remembered before she came into view, she slipped on a mask of neutrality and descended the stairs.
“Before anybody asks,” she announced, “I did not have a childish accident.”
There were a few nods.
“I woke up sick, too,” Fluttershy said softly. “I, um, made some ginger and chamomile tea. With some Saint Joan’s wort. I hope that’s okay.”
Sunset smiled a little. “There any left?”
“She made lots,” Rainbow nodded. “There’s about half a pot left.”
“Sign me up.”
Sunset made her way down to the basement and jammed the laundry into the washer. Dumped however much detergent. Turned the damned thing on. Went back upstairs. Passed everybody again on her way to the upstairs bathroom. Took a shower.
Scrubbed her hands and nails with a back scrubber until all the red was finally gone.
Knelt in the shower and silently wept, letting the water carry away the tears.
After spending half the day and most of the night worrying about whether Twilight was going to survive, it looked like everyone else had slept through the day, too. The sky was almost dark and thunder was rumbling in the distance as the other girls yawned and made small talk, conversing about anything but what was on their minds.
Well, except for Pinkie, who had taken it upon herself to fix breakfast for everyone. And looked like she had been up for hours. And had somehow been refreshed by whatever sleep she’d gotten.
Not for the first time, Sunset tried to hate Pinkie Pie for being such a naturally energetic, cheerful person, and failed miserably.
“Morning!” Pinkie chirped as Sunset came downstairs again. “Or evening! Whichever. Anyway, I made everybody breakie!”
Then again, Sunset mused, today might be the day of success.
Sunset poured herself a large glass of yellowish tea and obediently sat down while she sipped the stuff.
Twilight would have insisted on calling it an ‘herbal infusion,’ she thought. She would have corrected Fluttershy in a heartbeat, pointing out that ‘tea’ was a specific plant commonly used in infusions. She’d probably have known when the stuff was discovered, and its traditional medicinal uses, and everything. She’d have…
“Hey,” Rainbow said. “You okay?”
“Not even remotely.”
Rainbow squeezed Sunset’s shoulder. Despite herself, Sunset smiled a little as she put her own hand over her friend’s blue one and squeezed back.
The plate Pinkie Pie put in front of her was the same as she was handing everyone else: bacon, eggs with cheese, English muffins dripping in butter, and a huge stack of pancakes covered in syrup and jelly.
Sunset looked at it blankly. “Pinkie, if I try to eat this, I promise you I am going to throw up again.”
“Can you just try a little?”
Sunset looked up at her friend with tired eyes. “All over you.”
Pinkie blinked. “How about just an English muffin.”
Sunset considered this. “No butter.”
“Deal.”
“Fine.”
After a dry muffin washed down with the rest of her infusion, Sunset found that she could, in fact, eat. Like everyone else in the room, she hadn’t eaten since the previous afternoon. To her surprise, she quickly found herself staring at an empty plate, her stomach more or less mollified.
The house was very quiet, the Rainbooms alternating between looking at one another and messing with their plates.
“Okay, elephant in the room time,” Applejack said. “We still doin’ this?”
“I am,” Sunset said. “It’s not too late for the rest of you.”
“Forget it,” Rainbow shook her head. “We’re in.”
“Beyond question,” Rarity affirmed.
Pinkie nodded. “Lead on, MacDuff.”
Sunset sighed, running her hand through her hair. “You know that’s not the real quote, right?”
“Well, um, I think we all remember the Scottish play,” Fluttershy said. “And the challenge that the main character gave. But let’s also remember, he was a little crazy.”
Rainbow scoffed. “A little.”
“And he destroyed everything he loved before the end,” Fluttershy went on, “including himself. It’s still not too late to stop. Twilight’s alive,” she said, forcing herself to look directly at Sunset. “What’s she going to think of all this?”
There was a pause. Then, Applejack spoke. “Wow. That’s… kind of a low blow, there.”
Fluttershy shook her head sadly. “I don’t care if it is or not,” she said. “I’m right. And you all know I’m right.”
Suddenly, Sunset was standing, her hands balled into fists by her side. “Oh, fuck you!”
The rest of the room stared, aghast, but Sunset went on before they could speak.
“You don’t dare tell me what I know,” she snarled, stepping towards Fluttershy. “You don’t ever get to tell me what I know! Not now, not a hundred years from now!”
“Sunset—” Rarity started.
“No!” Sunset snapped at her. “No, I’m not going to be mollified, condescended to, or reigned in! If that’s why you’re here, then you can just get the fuck out of my house!”
“And you!” Rounding on Fluttershy again, Sunset demanded, “Just who the hell do you think you are, lecturing me? You, with your perfect family and your perfect future and oh, God forbid anybody tells sweet little Fluttershy ‘no!’ What do you know about this? What can you know!? You know exactly SHIT!”
Her voice continued to rise as she went on, “You talk to me when you’ve looked down at the ER and realized your hands still have her blood on them! You don’t even have a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or whatever the fuck you’re into! You don’t know, YOU’LL NEVER KNOW--!”
Sunset blinked. The room was silent. Fluttershy was just standing there, looking at her, struggling against her tears.
“Oh, my God,” Sunset whispered, half-covering her mouth. “Oh, Flutters…” she crossed the room and the two embraced. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, oh, God, oh, sweet Celestia, I’m such a fucking bitch, I’m so sorry…”
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy wept into her shoulder.
“No, no, it’s really not,” she said, stroking her friend’s hair. “I just finished throwing a bunch of hateful, hurtful lies at the single nicest person I ever met, just because she’s my friend and trying to help me. And they were lies, all of them. And there is not a single goddamn thing about that that’s okay. And I am sorry. I really am.”
“It’s alright,” Fluttershy sniffled. “You weren’t in your right mind.”
Sighing, Sunset pulled away just enough to make eye contact.
“I know where you’re going with that,” she said gently. “And it won’t work.”
Fluttershy sniffed again, wiping her eyes. “Then I’m still going with you.”
Sunset slumped a little then. For a moment, Fluttershy dared hope that she had won. Then, Sunset shook her head. “Well then, I guess we’d better head out while she’s still there.”
“Y’know where the crittur is, then?” Applejack asked.
Sunset nodded. “I know where she’ll be. There’s a lake in Canterlot Park, it corresponds with where I was found after I was born. It’s where I would be now, if I were her.”
“Huh. Think she’ll be waitin’ for us?”
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “God, I hope so.”
Sunset grabbed her keys. “Let’s find out.”
It was quickly determined, after Sunset dropped the keys twice trying to open the car door, that she was in no emotional state to drive. Miraculously, Fluttershy did not take the opportunity to re-start her argument, but instead insisted that Sunset travel with her, in her car. Soon, they were a small convoy of assorted vehicles, driving through the rain of a rapidly growing storm.
The sound of windshield wipers, and the raindrops striking the small Tesla, were the only sounds for a time. Then, Sunset spoke.
“So. Owls, huh?”
Fluttershy smiled. “Owls are very friendly creatures.”
Sunset glanced at her. “For you.”
“And they love their families.”
“And they see in the dark. And they stay awake all night,” Sunset observed. Then she added, “Watching people’s windows.”
“Why, Sunset,” Fluttershy said contentedly, “I have no idea what you could possibly mean.”
Sunset rolled her eyes and stared out the window. “Yeah. Me neither.”
Several minutes passed.
“Um, Sunset?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I need to ask you something. It might be a little, um, uncomfortable. Like, a lot.”
Sunset slowly took in a deep breath of resignation, and let it out just as slowly. “Hit me,” she said at last.
“I was thinking about, um, where it happened. In the food court. And in her side. Sorry,” she added, glancing at Sunset.
Sunset nodded. “I think I know where you’re heading,” she said in a strained voice, “but go ahead.”
“Well, um, it just occurred to me that, well, that her side was a strange place to shoot somebody when they’re sitting. And if this other girl is someplace where she was found as a baby, that’s, um, a really thoughtful spot…”
Sunset waited as she looked out the window, arms crossed protectively over herself. It was easier than speaking.
Fluttershy’s voice was almost inaudible when she asked, “She wasn’t aiming for Twilight, was she?”
Throat closed, Sunset could only shake her head: no.
A little after that, Fluttershy turned left onto the old gravel road. It was long and winding, and narrow as hell. But it was also a back way into the park that would not be gated closed at night.
They drove the rest of the way in silence.
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Wait, were Sunset and Twilight feeling each other up in public?
Sunset's right, those were all lies thrown at Fluttershy. Her family can't be perfect since Zephyr Breeze is in it.
So, Sunset was found as an orphan by a lake in Equestria? Why does she think her doppleganger will be waiting for them there?
Oho! Now we know exactly why Sunset feels so guilty about this - why she feels it's her fault.
Nicely written.
I like this Fluttershy of yours. She feels like she's got wisdom, an inherent sort of goodness, and inner strength while still reading like Fluttershy. To my eyes, at least.
9072249
No. Sunset’s mind drew parallels between sex and death in her dream, in the process blending memories of lovemaking and violence into something truly horrific.
***
Poor Zephyr, nobody loves him!
***
Sometimes, when everything goes to hell, a person will seek some form of grounding in their personal history; an object from the past that always brought comfort, or a specific activity containing the emotion they need, or someplace of great personal significance. Not quite regression, but drawing upon the past for balance while evaluating the present and future.
Sunset is such a person. In her case, apparently when she was at her worst moments in Equestria, she would go to the place where she was found. Where it all started, as it were. Having observed the similarities between parallel Twilights, Celestias, and so forth, she believes that since that is where she would seek perspective if she had just shot / maybe murdered an innocent person, probably this is where her human-born counterpart would be.
9073304
Thank you. I am of the opinion that Fluttershy is a vastly underestimated character in both worlds. It is a difficult thing to be both strong and gentle. Fluttershy’s gentleness is plainly visible. Her strengths are easy to overlook in most contexts, especially by herself. At least, in my eyes.
9065767
Yay 😁
I guess Human Sunset was trying to kill Pony Sunset?
9074233
Yep.
9073494
Well, yeah, but how does she know her human self was an orphan found near a lake? The parallels between worlds aren't exactly one to one.
9074394
She doesn’t, really. Not 100%. But consider: even though Twilight Sparkle wasn’t Principal Celestia’s prize pupil in this world, she was still a daughter of Twilight Velvet and Night Light, and still under the guidance of Cadence (in a sense).
So with so many parallels in people’s parents’ names, schools vs. kingdoms, and so forth, Sunset’s playing the odds as she perceives them, and trusting her instincts for the rest.
And you’re quite correct, they aren’t exactly one to one. She’s going to be reminded of that little detail in a little while, herself.
9074736
Oh boy.
9075080
Oh, owls are awesome.
Yeah, I was thinking that myself, after Sunset revealed the shooter's identity.
Wort. I can see you've changed it to Saint Joan's for some reason, but it's Saint John's Wort.
9170506
When used in herbalism, the plant has gone by both names for many years. Those who are Wiccan in particular are prone to calling it “Joan” instead of “John,” in honour of Joan of Arc. In this continuity, Fluttershy uses the feminine. It’s a deliberate choice, in her case and therefore in mine.
Also, thanks for spotting the “wort” typo.