Its All in the Eyes

by IamSquillium

First published 27th of December, 2013

A stallion with a peculiar talent meets a heart-broken mare and they fall madly in love and blahblahblah it's just a cheesy love story. Maybe some clop at the end if you guys want it.

Shining Heart has an odd talent. He can feel the emotions of other ponies when he looks into their eyes. After bumping into Sunset Rains, a heart-broken mare, they both fall madly in love. (gross cooties) But is that enough to save them when a huge mistake is made, and what is with these ponies cutie marks? Also someone's ex is being a not so awesome pony.
Okay the last chapter is fixed and back up! I am officially done.
Except a cover image. I'll probably make one of those.

The Sunset Mare

EVERY GOD DAMNED DAY

Every day since my stupid little cutie mark appeared I’ve been “blessed” with this “wonderful gift." You see, every pony has a special talent, and mine is seeing other pony’s souls. You know how they say that eyes are the windows to the soul? Well that’s true, and every time I look into someone’s eyes I see every single emotion, every feeling they have. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it can be fun (it sure makes mares easier to figure out), but other times…not so much. Any time a pony is in pain - any time they are sad, hurt, heart-broken – I know. I could live with that, but no, apparently that’s not good enough for the world; so my little “talent” has a catch. Not only can I see what they’re feeling, but I can feel it too.

So this is the story of a heartbroken mare and a freaking stupid talent that has recently taken the number one spot on my “Reasons I’m an Asshole” list.
I guess I’ll start at the beginning…

It was a day like any other, and it started out the same as any other. I woke up to the sound of Satan himself reverberating from the alarm clock on my dresser. I got, walk over, punched that glorious button on the top of the stupid device, turned around, and promptly fell muzzle-first back into bed. A while later I woke up to my sister banging on my door. Late…again. I don’t know why my work even bothers with me at this point, but hey its money, I’m not gonna’ complain. After my glorious Ke$ha shower (during which I almost choked on the cloud of cologne permeating throughout my room) I galloped down the street, trying not to notice the eyes of the other ponies begging me to take a trip into their lives. Instinctively looking down to avoid eye contact, I barreled down the street, praying today wasn’t the day I would be fired. It was because of this blind charging that I slammed into the poor little mare stumbling home after a night at the bar, half drunk and sobbing.

“SON OF A BI-” was all I got out before she slammed down on top of me after being tossed into the air by the blow, effectively knocking me breathless. At first she tried to apologize, but quickly realized that she was unable to form a coherent sentence. Looking up from my dazed state, my eyes met hers…
And everything changed.

Sure there was the obvious feeling of guilt and embarrassment from running into me – although it was completely my fault, – but there was something else too. Something…shit. I now realized why the poor mare was crying, and why she deserved to be drunk off her ass like this. Only last night her stallion-friend of four years had dumped her after revealing that he had been having an affair off and on for five months with some chick named…Trixie? I didn’t know who that was, but she certainly sounded like a bitch. Then again, my eyes were still locked with this mystery mare’s, so that could be her feelings influencing me. That’s when it occurred to me that we had probably been sitting there for a minute now and people were starting to stare.

“I-I am s-ss-so s-sorry sir,” the mare finally managed to get out as she broke our gaze, sliding off of me and pathetically attempting to walk away.

“No,” I reassured her, “it was my fault. I should have been watching where I was going.”

Now that I was really looking, I started to realize just how beautiful the mare before me was. She had long red, orange, and gold hair which curled around slightly at the ends, though it was currently sticking up in odd clumps from our collision and her previous night out. She had the most gorgeous fur, a pure golden-orange coat which immediately reminded me of one of Celestia’s sunsets. She was a Pegasus, and her wings looked magnificent as she tried shaking the mud off of her. The one thing I could not help but notice was that she had no cutie mark.

“Here, let me get that.” I offered, lighting up my horn and using a quick removal spell to take care of the mud plastered on her coat, and doing the same for myself. She nodded appreciatively, though she still looked a bit downtrodden, and started to leave before noticing my cutie mark.

“Wait a second,” she racked her brain thoughtfully. “Aren’t you that unicorn that has the weird connection to people’s souls or something. Broken Heart or something like that right?” she asked, leaning to the side to get a better look at the half-heart cutie mark on my flank. Suddenly, her face flushed as she realized that we had locked eyes, and she looked down in embarrassment. “You know, don’t you?” she mumbled, so quiet I almost did not hear her.

“I’m so, so sorry.” I answered, trying to explain the circumstances to her. “I didn’t mean to do it, it just kind of happens. I wasn’t trying to invade your personal space or anything.”

That was one of the big problems with my gift; I couldn’t control it. If I made eye contact with someone then I was going to get a big steaming bowl of emotion, whether I wanted it or not. Also, having someone else inside your head is weird for most ponies, and I often feel like I’m invading their one sanctuary from the judgment of the world.

“That’s alright; I know it’s not really something you can turn on and off. I’m just sorry you had to…experience? that. Why were you in such a hurry anyway?” she asked questioningly.

The blood drained from my face as I realized how late I was by now. Scrambling to turn around, I attempted explaining myself to the mare before I ran away. I probably didn’t manage to get much out, and I felt bad about just abandoning her like that, but I was LATE! I never even looked back as I sprinted to the grocery store where I worked.

I was greeted at the door by a very angry and very impatient boss.

“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN MR. HEART!” he screamed at me as I dashed to the doors. “YOUR SHIFT STARTED TWENTY MINUTES AGO.”

“I’m so sorry boss” I said in a desperate attempt to save my hide, looking down to avoid his eyes. “I slept in a bit late and then crashed into some poor mare on the way here and…” I trailed off as I raised my eyes and felt the fury of my boss. “I’ll start immediately and work late today, I swear!”

“Don’t bother,” he spat out as he turned to go back into the store. “You can consider yourself done at this establishment. We have standards to uphold, and they are not met when workers show up late for two weeks in a row. I expect your uniform dropped off at the store by Monday.”

I could say nothing as he walked back inside, leaving me out in the middle of the road. “Well this is just fucking PERFECT” I thought to myself as a angrily stomped away from the hell I’d called a job. “Not only have I gotten fired, but I also made a major ass of myself to some innocent mare who was emotionally unstable enough as it was. I can’t believe I’m such an idiot.” I was so consumed in my thoughts as I stormed away that I would have run into a beautiful golden-orange mare had she not stepped aside and turned to walk with me. After realizing that I was no longer alone, I lifted my head and looked into the eyes of the same mare who I had plowed over before. Great. Pity.

“I heard what happened.” she stated with downcast eyes. “When you ran off like that, I figured something was wrong so I followed you to see if I could help out. Sorry your boss is so rude”

“Nah, I deserved it. I’ve been late more times than I can count.” I responded, not really in the mood to talk about it. “Anyway, I never did catch your name Miss…”

“Sunset, Sunset Rains.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful mare” I commented, trying to lift her spirits. Even without my ability, I could tell she was still very upset about her current circumstances. Her cheeks flushed red at this, and she started to smile a bit. It was the most amazing smile I’d ever seen, one of those smiles that just makes you feel like everything is going to be alright. Seeing it, I didn’t want to leave her. “Do you mind if I walk you home, as an apology for earlier that is?” I inquired hopefully, praying she would say yes. She looked at me a little confused, carefully avoiding eye contact, but eventually nodded in agreement. As we walked, I learned everything I could about her and tried to comfort her as much as possible. She was an only child, and her parents were working most of the time so she was often alone. The one thing that had made her happy was her stallion-friend, and now that he was gone…

She threw herself into me, crying against my chest. I could do nothing but stand there and hold her close, stroking her mane and waiting out the tears. She cried for what seemed like hours, but as horrible as it sounds, I never wanted that moment to end. The feeling of her pressed close to me, our hearts beating in time with one another, I never wanted to let go. I wanted to just stand there and hug the pain away. “You know,” I whispered, “A mare as beautiful as you should never have a reason to cry. Maybe you were better off without him.”

I heard a slight laugh as the sounds of her tears stopped for a moment, and she looked up with that adorable little smile back on her face. “You’re too sweet, really” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Thank you so much for staying with me today. I means a lot to know that someone out there cares.”

We walked the rest of the way home in silence, neither one of us knowing what to say. When we finally reached her house, only a few blocks from mine, she said goodbye and kissed me on the cheek, shyly backing away and looking down when I suddenly tensed up. Without another word she trotted into her house and left me standing there, mouth agape, with the stupidest grin on my face. I was so amazed I never even noticed she had gone inside without me saying goodbye. I walked the rest of the way home happily, though a little sad that I hadn’t been able to tell her goodbye. I didn’t even bother avoiding eye contact with others because I knew that nothing could possibly ruin my good mood now. It wasn’t until I got home and my sister asked me if I’d gotten off work early that I remembered I’d been fired. Eventually, I managed to convince her (with the promise of my famous homemade cupcakes) to keep my unemployment secret from my parents. With that out of the way, I happily trotted up the stairs and plopped down on my bed, losing myself in thought.

It wasn’t until much later that night that I heard the tapping at my window. Thinking it was the wind, I just ignored it at first, but when the tapping persisted I heaved myself out of bed and went to check it out. Though no one was there, there was a note taped to the bottom of my window sill. I opened it and read.

Dear Shining,
I just wanted to thank you once again for everything you did for me today. I had a lot of fun with you and was wondering if you wanted to do it again sometime…as friends of course. (Oh who am I kidding all you have to do is look in my eyes and you’ll know). I guess what I’m asking is, later down the road; would you like to maybe go on a date? It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, just a movie or something I don’t know. Sorry if this is kind of sudden and weird or if you don’t like me back I just thought I felt something today and maybe you shared the same feelings. I feel like I’m just making a fool out of myself so I’ll just stop writing now.
Love (In a Completely Friendish way),
Sunset Rains

P.S. You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed!!!

Shining fell back on his bed with an even bigger grin than before and felt that maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

Author's Notes:

Yay first chapter of anything I have ever written in my life. I know this is kind of dull, but please stick with me. If you have any tips for improvements please feel free to let me know

The First Date

A few months later I was standing in front of my mirror getting the last few things in order. Now I don’t like to brag, but DAMN I’D DO ME. Alright maybe that’s a bit too far, but you get the point. I have a pure white coat and a rainbow mane similar to Rainbow Dash’s, but with Hot Barbie Pink added in. Normally at this point I’d have to defend my sexual orientation, (I get a lot of rainbow jokes), but this entire story is about how I fell in love with a mare so I’ll leave the matter be. Anyway, I was hovering somewhere in the middle of fit and unfit, perfectly average. After adjusting my bow tie (bow ties are cool), I walked downstairs and ran outside, waving to my parents as I went. This was going to be the first date, so I wanted to arrive at Sunset’s a bit early. I had been looking forward to this for a long time, and though we hung out a lot she had only given me clearance to formally date her that past weekend. Needless to say, I was ready.

She, however, was not. I really don’t think I will ever know why mares take so long to get ready for something. You know, after all of this time being able to see everything in a ponies mind, you’d think I could figure out a simple mare. This is far from the truth. I don’t think I will ever be able to truly comprehend the thought process of the opposite gender; they are too complex for our basic pony minds to grasp. And so I waited, like I will always wait, for the mare of the hour to grace me with her presence. When she did, my jaw dropped so low you could fit one of Pinkie Pie’s “Super Mega Deluxe Funerific Party Cupcakes” in it. Whatever it is that takes so long, it is definitely worth it. Sunset looked amazing. Her hair was pulled back in a simple braid, but the way the three colors of her main crossed and fused made her hair seem as though it was on fire. She had put makeup on, specially made for her by Rarity, and her eyeliner made her emerald green irises seem so large they could pull me in and I’d never escape.

I probably stuttered something incoherent for a while before I finally managed a “y-you l-look uh-uh…wow”

Sunset giggled a bit at this before trotting up to me and giving me a big hug. After we broke the hug she asked where exactly I was planning on taking her.

“Ahahah,” I said teasingly, giving her a wink. “Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise now would you?” To this she put on her best pouty face and gave me that sad look which could melt even the Arctic ice caps which held Sombra. It was all I could do to not give in then and there, ruining the surprise I had been working on for three months now. “That’s not even fair.” I said, avoiding the heart-wrenching stare. “You know I want this to be a surprise, so please just let me have this. You made me wait five months for this after all. I should be able to have a LITTLE fun with this.”

Sighing inwardly and knowing I was right, she let the matter go. “Fine, but this better be good or I’ll walk away then and there.” she stated with a touch of laughter in her voice. We both knew that she’d never be able to hold up her end of that threat.

“If you would kindly allow me to escort you to our destination, Madame, I would find myself duly honored” I stated with as much gusto as possible, trying to imitate the wealthy ponies of Canterlot. All I got in response was a playful smack to the muzzle. “Shut up Romeo.” giggled Sunset through her laughter.

Still chuckling, we both made our way out of her house and towards a more private and quiet corner of Ponyville, tucked away from the usual bustling streets. Turning down a dirt road, I saw Sunset looking over at me inquisitively. I just smiled and kept walking towards the distant sounds of running water now audible above the noise from the street behind us. As we approached my intended destination, Sunset gasped. I had discovered this particular location when I was just a filly, wandering about chasing squirrels. There was a cool mountain spring running through the area (sourced on the mountain which Spike, Twilight Sparkle’s baby dragon, would later claim as his own in a fit of greed). It was in this spot that the water cascaded down from a sizable height, creating a misty waterfall which threw rainbows into the air. The rich ground had caused many zapapple trees to spring up, forming a grove that seemed to enclose us in our own private world. I had timed our date perfectly, with the help of Granny Smith, so that the rainbow fruit would appear while we were here. The blooming wildflowers, combined with the rainbows of the waterfall, created a breathtaking technicolored landscape. Set up in the shade of one of the trees was a picnic basket filled with everything we would possibly need for the evening. It was only an hour or two until sunset, so I had packed some candles in case we stayed past dark. Sunset’s parents knew what I was up to, so we had the whole night ahead of us. At the stomp of my hoof Octavia, whom I’d hired specifically for the occasion, started playing, filling the clearing with beautiful music.

Sunset stood there dumbstruck. Now it was her turn to be speechless. “Y-you set all of this up yourself?” she finally managed to ask. I simply smiled and helped her over to the tree with the picnic basket, unfolding a large blanket with my magic as I did so. Still using my magic, I set everything in the basket out on the blanket. There were drinks, sandwiches, deserts, and even one of Pinkie’s “Super Mega Deluxe Funerific Party Cupcakes!.” After setting it all out, I smiled over at Sunset inquisitively, silently asking her what she wanted to do first. Obviously we could eat, but there were many other things offered to us in our little corner of Ponyville. We could swim in the pool formed by the waterfall, climb the rocks and trees, really anything she wanted to do was fine with me. I just wanted to be with her, to know that she was near and she was mine. That’s why I could only smile as she jumped across the blanket and tackled me onto my back, holding me close in a hug.

“So I’m guessing you like it?” I asked jokingly, knowing the answer but wanting to hear her admit it. She leaned even closer, whispering into my ear. “You are absolutely, unbelievable, annoyingly perfect. This is all so wonderful. Thank you for managing to keep this a secret, it was definitely worth it for the surprise.”

As she nuzzled into my neck, I lost track of everything. We could have been there for hours, even days; it didn’t matter to me. I wanted to sit there forever, lost in the roar of the waterfall and the lovely music of Octavia’s cello, just holding Sunset close to me and feeling her pressed up against me. It wasn’t a sexual desire, just the joy of knowing that someone is there and that they care for you. It was the type of feeling that made me forget every trouble, every doubt, every fear I’d ever had as I lost myself in the feeling of her embrace. As she looked up and our eyes met, the peace and joy and love of the moment swept over me and I was lost in those beautiful eyes. It wasn’t until it began getting dark that Sunset finally broke away from me, the blush on her cheeks contrasting beautifully with her coat. Looking up, I saw the sky on fire with the colors of Celestia’s sunset and remembered a certain tree looming over us.

“You might want to get away from this tree for a second” I whispered in her ear, pulling her back to me as we scooted away. She looked at me confused for a moment before noticing the storm clouds gathering above us. Right on cue, the rainbows of the waterfall cast by the last rays of the sun shot up towards the clouds only to fly back down, striking the tree we had just moved from. The light burst forth and spread throughout the clearing, bouncing from tree to tree and surrounding us in rainbow light. The wildflowers seemed alive and time seemed to stand still as I gazed down at Sunset, her eyes alive with filly-like wonder at the spectacle before us. In that moment, with the rainbows reflecting in her eyes and coat, I saw just how amazing she was. As the lights faded and the air stilled, I found myself still staring at the beautiful mare in front of me, unable to avert my eyes. Noticing my stare, she whispered shyly, “If you don’t close your mouth soon a parasprite might fly into it.”

I forced my jaw shut, a rush of blood warming my cheeks. “Sorry,” I mumbled, “it’s just that…well…um never mind.” I looked away embarrassed, but she brought my muzzle back up with her forehoof.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed.” she said in a hushed tone that confused me. “This has all just been so…incredible”
Her head was tilting a bit…

“and I really enjoyed everything so far tonight”
She leaned just a bit closer than usual, and her forehoof began moving away from my chin as her other one reached around my back and pulled us together.

“and you really do look quite charming in a bowtie”
Thank Celestia for bow ties. They are definitely cool.

“and I never did properly thank you for waiting so long for our date and bringing me to such a beautiful place”
We were now muzzle to muzzle

“so I figure now is as good a time as any to”

And with one last look into her eyes I knew that this was what she wanted. I reached around her, pulling her close and cutting off her sentence as our lips met. At first it was simple, soft and gentle, but as she got more into our kiss I felt her tongue, as if asking permission to move our kiss along. I obliged somewhat hesitantly, as I had never kissed like this before, but she sensed my inexperience and gently coached me through it. She tasted so sweet that I could have kissed her forever. She moved closer, her body craving the feel of my coat on hers, and gently pushed my tongue back into my mouth, quickly followed by her own. I gave her the dominance she craved and she kissed me, not lustfully but sweetly. Time once again seemed to stand still as we locked ourselves in our first kiss, and we each found a feeling of peace in the other. After a while, we were interrupted by another pony gently clearing her throat behind us. Breaking our kiss and looking up embarrassed we saw Octavia, a clear blush on her face, gently poking the ground with her hoof.

“Sorry to, um…interrupt Mr. Heart, but I have nothing left in my repertoire and was wondering if you and Miss Rains would um, like some…privacy?”

I chuckled, slightly embarrassed at having forgotten about the gray mare who most likely had to watch that…educational experience. “Why yes Miss Melody. Thank you for your help tonight. Sunset and I are quite grateful.”
We watched Octavia as she packed everything up and quickly made her way back up the road to Ponyville where she was staying that night before heading to Canterlot the next morning. The minute she was out of sight we both fell on our backs, laughing at the awkward situation we had just created. I looked over at Sunset, lying on her back laughing without a care in the world. She has the cutest laugh, one of those high pitched squeaks that instantly make anypony look adorable, but I didn’t hear it nearly as often as I should. She had been struggling with her parents and her ex causing trouble. It was nice to see her happy again, and it made me even happier to know that I had helped her see some joy in her life again. After a while Sunset looked up and noticed the new fruit hanging on the trees.

“Woah, are those zapapples,” she exclaimed, never having seen them outside of Sweet Apple Acres. “Did you plan this just for me?”

I just nodded, and her smile grew even wider. “Well we shouldn’t let all this fruit go to waste. Let’s get it before it vanishes.” she said, leaping up and spreading her wings to fly up to the fruit. As she took to the air I followed her, using a fairly simple levitation spell to fly alongside her. When she got to the top of the tree to pick the fruit, however, she stopped and stared out at the landscape in front of her. I had never tried flying here before, so I was just as surprised by the view as she was. Beyond the grove of trees was a large expanse of plains overgrown with wildflowers that now shone in the bright light of Luna’s moon. The sight of the moonlight shining off the river as it rushed away from our clearing was just as breathtaking, and both of us hovered for a while just looking. Then Sunset turned to me, still in awe.

“You know, I just can’t seem to figure you out Shining. You’re a curious little pony.”

“Guess you’ll have to stick around then won’t you” I said, winking at her as I moved down to pick some of the fruit from the top of the tree. She followed, chuckling a bit, and after we gathered as much fruit as we could carry we flew down and ate it, along with the food I had laid out earlier. After eating our fill, Sunset looked around and spotted the little pool by the waterfall.
“Hey Shining, how do you feel about a little swim before we call it a night?” she asked, blushing a bit. I was a bit shocked, but smiled and nodded in agreement. I watched in wonder as she stood up and spread her wings, taking to the skies once more. She was just a flash of the sunset against the backdrop of the night as she dived down into the pool, hardly making a splash as she dived in smoothly. Surfacing, she looked over to me, waiting for me to praise her little display. I just rolled my eyes and trotted over to the pool, feigning a graceful dive before using my magic to teleport right next to her and splashing her with a cannonball. This earned me another laugh and a playful smack to the back of the head.
“What did you think of my beautiful form?” I asked jokingly in reference to my psudo-dive. “Well, you had no idea what to do with your tongue but I’m sure with some practice you can improve!” Sunset lectured, turning the tables on my little joke abruptly. Slightly taken aback, I mumbled, “Well it’s not my fault it was my first time.”

“Hold on,” Sunset was shocked. “That was you’re first time?”

“Well yeah, I mean with my little ability it makes it kind of hard to get close to others. Most ponies don’t like other ponies fishing around in their heads.”

“I don’t mind. In fact, how about we play a game. Does that sound fun to you?

“Whatever you want, I guess” I answered, a bit confused as to what kind of game she was thinking about. She grabbed me by the shoulders and looked right into my eyes, and I felt the familiar influx of emotion and thought, but there was something new in this batch of feelings.

“Alright, tell me how I feel!” she demanded, smiling a bit to herself.

“Well,” I began hesitantly, “There’s some curiosity, some elation, some wonder, and some satisfaction to name a few, but there’s one in here that I’m not quite sure on and it’s really strong. In fact, it almost...seems to…me…” I trailed off as I noticed a change in her gaze, and suddenly I realized what it was she was feeling. Lust. She had a wicked grin on her face, and it only grew bigger as she slowly advanced toward me in the water. I tried to move, but my body seemed frozen. I made an attempt to teleport back onto land at least, but Sunset quickly reached out and grabbed onto my horn when she noticed the aura radiating from it, effectively diverting my attention from the spell.

“Ahahah, can’t have you running away on me now can I. How about you just get comfortable and let me show you a thing or two about ‘first times’” whispered Sunset in a sultry tone.

I had never seen this side of her before, and I was terrified. I did the only logical thing I could think of. I sank. I stopped kicking and started to slip underwater. Sunset, surprised by my sudden action, let go of my horn and I immediately teleported to land. As she looked around to find me again, I dashed behind a tree, barely poking my head around the trunk to watch her. She looked…confused? Not finding me anywhere, she called out.

“Shining. Shining I am so sorry about that I just figured, from your whole first time thing…oh I don’t know please don’t hate me I just thought that was what you wanted in sorry if I came on too fast or freaked you out.”
I said nothing. I was still trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. Maybe he had been giving her some false signs on accident, making her think that he wanted to take their relationship to…that level.

“Shining I can see that rainbow mane behind the tree. Please just come out and talk to me I promise I won’t do anything like that again. Won’t you at least come out?” she whimpered, making the most pathetic noise I had ever heard. Looking up from my silent meditation, I noticed that Sunset was now on the land looking patiently toward the tree I was hidden behind. Sighing, I walked out and faced her. She walked to me slowly, silently asking if it was okay to approach me. I nodded slightly, and she rushed forward to hug me, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m so sorry it’s just that my last stallionfriend, well, he always wanted to do things like that with me and I’d never been with any other stallions before so I thought that was just natural and I-”

I cut her off then, pressing my forehoof gently against her muzzle. “I know you didn’t mean to do that to me, and I probably should have warned you. It just that, well, I guess I’ve never been too comfortable in my own body despite all the joking about it. When you started to…you know… I just freaked out a bit.”

I could feel the shock in her eyes as she registered what I’d said. “But why? I mean you’re easily the best looking stallion in Ponyville. You have absolutely nothing to worry about!”

“I know,” I’d heard this a million times before, “It’s just that there was some bullying back when I was a filly and I guess I never got over it. I was hoping I’d be fine, but apparently not. I’m really sorry, but do you mind if we just take things slow for now?” My answer was Sunset hugging me tighter, and I knew that it was alright with her. “Thank you, so much. I- well I-” every piece of me was screaming to just shut up, that this was a horrible thing to say on a first date, but I pushed everything down and spat it out anyway. “Sunset Rains, I-I think I’m in love with you…in a totally not friendish way too.” I whispered, blushing. She looked up, and didn’t need to say anything as our eyes met and she leaned back in for another kiss.

Author's Notes:

Well this is super cheesy and disgusting and not at all how I had planned the story when I started. At least the next chapter is going to have something a bit more fun, if not darker. Obviously I've pretty much screwed plot at this point, but there will be two major conflicts to overcome, as well as some rather sensitive material from my personal life. This is your last chance to jump off this train wreck. You have been warned.

Complications

It had been a LONG two years, four months, two weeks, three days, and seven hours since we had parted ways after that first date, and as I walked to the door of the house I’d been seeking, it was a very different type of nervousness that pervaded my thoughts. As I knocked on the door, looking around carefully to make sure Sunset was nowhere to be seen, I mulled over the endless possibilities of that night. When the door opened I stepped in, looking back one more time to make sure Sunset had not followed me, and with a sigh accepted the consequences this night would surely have.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“NO! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME I AM SO DONE WITH YOU DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I HATE YOU RIGHT NOW! JUST GO AWAY!”

I was dumbstruck. I had gone to her house for something very important, but when she opened the door all I got was a smack to the face, and it definitely wasn’t playful.

“Sunset what’s wrong. Did I do something?” I begged of her, trying to avoid the punches still being thrown in my direction. I was starting to get worried.

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! YOU’RE JUST GOING TO SIT THERE AND ACT LIKE YOU’RE COMPLETELY INNOCENT HUH! I KNOW ABOUT YOU AND RARITY YOU FUCKING ASS, AND I AM NOT GOING TO LET YOU FUCKING CHEAT ON ME! GET OUT. NOW!”

I tried to explain the situation. If I could just get her to calm down, this would all work out; I could still do this. All hope vanished, however, when Sunset’s wing slammed into my side, taking me by surprise and making me stumble backwards onto the front porch. Sunset slammed the door, and before I could move it made contact with my muzzle which was still slightly over the threshold. I felt my bones snap and blood poured out of my nose, but I didn’t care. I could still hear Sunset’s cries from the other side of the door, and I could not let it end like this.

“Sunset please, just let me explain. That’s all I’m asking. Don’t throw me out like this, it’s all just a big misunderstanding!” I called through the door.

“Leave now. I call the cops in two minutes.” I heard the faint reply as Sunset struggled to speak through her tears. This reply was followed by the sound of retreating hoofsteps as Sunset went upstairs. It was too late to do anything now. It would only make her hate me more. Even with my fucking stupid talent I couldn’t save our relationship. I knew exactly how she felt, and I couldn’t even use my head long enough to prove to her that I loved her. I really was the biggest ass in Equestria.

As I fell to the ground, tears and blood rushing down my muzzle, all I could think of was the beautiful mare who I’d just destroyed, the same mare who I’d promised myself I could never hurt, the mare I had LOVED with every fiber of my being. I don’t know when it got dark or when I fell asleep, still bleeding and crying. All I remember that night is thinking of that beautiful mare and looking at the ring I’d gotten custom made from Rarity only a week before as I slowly slipped out of consciousness.

I was awoken by a very different kind of muzzle against me. Looking up I saw Sunset’s father, Storm, holding a shotgun. I tried to say something, but I was quickly interrupted by the gruff voice behind the trigger. “I don’t want to hear a single goddamned word son. You get off my property and don’t ever step near my daughter again, you hear?” A look into his eyes told me all I needed to know. Defeated and out of options, I slinked off into the night, desperately trying to find a reason to go on.

Had Storm looked around a bit more, he would have seen the ring still sitting on the porch. He also would have seen the note folded up beside it with the words “The best of luck with your proposal Shining – Rarity” written in an unmistakable loopy script. Unfortunately, he was a bit preoccupied with his own thoughts. It was only a week or two ago that I had gone to him asking for his daughters hand in marriage, and he was a bit confused as to why his daughter was currently sobbing in her room upstairs. All he did was turn around and walk back inside, still troubled by the circumstances that had led to his daughter’s hatred of her recently ex-stallionfriend.

I, on the other hand, had finally made it back to my house after wandering through many back alleys and bars, desperately trying to drown out the thoughts running through my head. I saw the looks as other ponies saw me, covered in tears and blood from my recently broken muzzle, but no one made a move to help me. By the time I made it to my room I had passed the point of feeling and I collapsed, exhausted and numb, onto my bed.

I would later learn that sometime in the night a certain draconequus named Discord came by and saw a lovely ring on the front porch of a certain house. He took a liking to that ring and, though he was “reformed,” decided to take it for himself. To wore that ring when the mood suited him, and he intended to keep it forever. Unfortunately, a small white bunny by the name of Angel decided he wanted to sell that ring to pay for his strippers, so he stole it from the draconequus when he stole Angel’s favorite spot on the couch one time. The ring was sold back to an unknowing Rarity, who had taken a liking to the elegance and beauty of the design, and it has stayed in her care since that time.

However, when I woke up the next morning I was completely clueless. I couldn’t remember too much from that night. The fight, Sunset’s father, and the first few bars were the only things I could bring to mind. The rest was lost. It wasn’t until I reached up to rub my eyes that I felt the pain radiating from my broken muzzle. Looking around, I could see blood everywhere and realized just how big of a mess I was. I jumped into the shower and got the blood off my coat and mane so that I could at least face my parents, as they were sure to be worried about me. I had gone out with the hopes of proposing to Sunset and come back drunk, bloody, and crying.

When I went downstairs, however, I remembered a certain fact that tore at my already broken heart. I lived alone in a house I’d bought for me and Sunset. This realization hit me like a tidal wave, and as I thought of all the hopes and dreams I’d ruined I broke down into tears once more, crying myself back to sleep.

It was due to this sleep that I did not hear the desperate pounding on the door or the shouts as Sunset called out to me. She had gone out that morning, still heartbroken and slightly furious, to get the mail and noticed a small, folded note which had been left on her porch. Reading it, her jaw dropped and she realized how big of a mistake she had made. She had rushed over to my house to say how sorry she was and beg me to take her back, but I would never answer the door. She slinked away, worried about what I might have done the night before but determined to find a way to make it up to me.

Some time around nightfall, I woke up. Still morose and angry at myself, I decided to head to a bar again and see if I could drown out the aching in my chest with the burn of alcohol. It was on my way there that I heard a familiar voice coming from an alleyway, and I almost dashed to it, but something held me back. There was a certain…fear in that voice, and I was stopped dead in my tracks as I realized what I was hearing.

“P-Pl-Please…j-just please s-stop. I-I’m begging you. Y-You c-c-c-can’t do this.” The words were almost a sob.

“Shut up you bitch. Maybe this will teach you not to break up with me. Tonight you’re my little whore, whether you want it or not.”

There was something about the way Sunset was begging, as if… The realization struck me and I dashed into the alleyway, my blood boiling as I took in the scene in front of me.

Sunset had her forehoofs tied behind her and was bound snuggly so that she could not move. Her ex boyfriend stood behind her, forcing her into the wall as he mercilessly slammed into her. There were tears running down Sunset’s face, and she was begging for him to stop. He paid no heed to her pleas, and began beating her when she struggled. My rage boiled to the surface, and my horn lit up as my fury clouded my mind. My eyes whited out, and the alleyway flashed, blinding all of us momentarily. When the light faded, only Sunset and I remained. To this day I don’t know what spell I used or what I did to that scumbag, but no one has been able to find him and I can only hope for the worst.

Sunset, no longer held up by her rapist, collapsed. I ran to her, holding her close in my forehoofs and using my magic to untie her. She cried into my chest for hours and I just held her, thanking Celestia she was safe and with me again. As I held her I remembered a spell, locked away in one of the medical books I had retrieved for Dr. Whooves when I worked for him. Lighting my horn once more, I cast the spell, praying it would take hold quickly. I got my wish, and as the spell worked through the body of my sunset mare, healing her wounds and releasing the melatonin stored in her system, she gently drifted into a calming sleep.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she looked up, into my eyes, and the rush of feelings hit me. It was worse than anything I had ever felt before. It was completely indescribable; the purest desolation and destruction of any being. The embarrasement, fear, hatred, sadness, helplessness, pain, and horror of her experience flooded through me, breaking me down and destroying me, but I wished I could take it all. I wished I could drain all of those feelings from her, have her forget everything from this night. I yearned to erase the whole ordeal from her memory, but there was nothing I could do. In that moment, as she shared her most vulnerable secret with me, I promised myself I would protect her. I swore that nothing would ever harm her again. With a final breath, she whispered two words, as if she could sense my feelings too. “Thank you”

And that’s what brings us here, to the upstairs room of my house, as I wait for Sunset to awake. I carried her back here after that whole…ordeal, and I’ve been waiting here with her since. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen next, but I hope that whatever it is we can face it together.

Author's Notes:

So like I said, the rating of this story will probably have to increase due to the more sensitive material in this segment. I think this has been a bit therapeutic at least writing about my own and similar experiences. I'm sorry if I upset anyone with that segment of the story,but i had to get it out somehow. That will be the last of the delicate matters, and the story should be a bit happier for the final chapter. Thanks for putting up with my crap for this long :D

Changes

EVERY DAY

Every day since my sunset mare appeared I’ve been blessed with this wonderful gift. You see, every pony has a special somepony, and mine is the most beautiful and lovely mare in all of Equestria. You know how they say that love can conquer anything? Well that’s true, and every time I look into her eyes I know that I’m the cause of every good emotion, every amazing feeling she has. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes our love is a struggle (mares are impossible to figure out), but other times…it’s like I can fly. Any time she is in pain - any time she is sad, hurt, heart-broken – I know. I can’t live with that, and luckily, that’s alright with the world; because it gave my little “talent” a catch. Not only do I get to sense her thoughts and feelings, but I also get to heal them and take them as my own too.

So this is the story of a heartbroken mare and a freaking amazing talent that has recently taken the number one spot on my “Reasons I’m in Love” list.

I guess I’ll start at the beginning…

It was a day unlike any other, but it started out the same. Well, I mean besides the passed out, half-drunk, recently traumatized mare lying in my bed; the aching, burning fear in my heart; and the fact that I may or may not have just killed someone. Alright it was anything but normal. As the beautiful mare’s eyes started to open, I suddenly sat bolt upright.

“Wha-what happened?” she questioned, looking right at me and springing up. “AND WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE?!”

“Shhh, you’re probably still in shock. Just lay back down Sunset everything is going to be alright. You’re safe now, I promise.” I whispered soothingly, trying to coax her back down onto the bed, still concerned she might be injured.

“THE HELL IT IS!” she screamed at me, making me take a step back at her obvious rage. “WHAT DID YOU DO? DID YOU FUCKING KIDNAP ME? I SWEAR WHEN MY FATHER FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS HE WILL…” she trailed off, looking at me curiously as I began to smile, tears starting to form as I pieced everything together.

“What do you remember from the last few days Sunset?” I asked, praying for the answer that would set me free.

“Oh I don’t know, is it you being a complete prick and cheating on me, or something else.”

I launched forward, grabbing her in a huge hug as I cried into her shoulder. I didn’t know how it happened; all I knew was that she didn’t remember anything from the previous night, and that was all that mattered to me. She, on the other hand, was more confused than ever.

“Alright, time to explain Shining. What the hell is going on?”

I pulled away from her enough to see her face, but she still refused to look at me. Sighing, I started my explanation. “Well Sunset, do you remember when I went to Carousel Boutique last week to see Rarity?” Her face turned to a scowl at the mention of the name, but she nodded. “Well that was definitely not what you think it was. Rarity was helping me prepare a little surprise for you, one which I have been planning a long time. Because I, Shining Hearts, wanted to ask you, Sunset Rains, to…to…wait what where’d it go.” I began frantically searching, for the ring I’d reached out for with my magic was not there.

“Really. You think this is funny? After all of this you’re still trying to pull some grand joke. That’s it, I’m definitely leaving. Later asshole”

Abandoning the search for my lost ring, I sped to the door, desperately trying to block her path. She rushed forward, trying to get out before I could make it, but I caught the door in my magic and locked it. Spinning toward me furiously, she gave me a stare that could have broken even Fluttershy’s, but in doing so our eyes locked. I felt the usual flood of thought and emotion brought on by my talent, but something was off about it. Sunset’s glare softened into a look of shock, and her eyes widened. For what seemed like hours we both stared, hovering in our own world as the real one was erased from our minds. When the connection broke, Sunset started panicking.

“WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT WHAT JUST HAPPENED EXPLAIN THIS TO ME NOW!” Sunset was in full panic mode, but I didn’t know why. There was certainly no panic in what I’d detected just now.

“Sunset what’s wrong, we just locked eyes. It has happened a million times before.” I stated, still confused.

“No, but,” she was backing away, “But I FELT that. It was like…Like I don’t know. I just all of a sudden felt this like…desperation(?), like I had to stop something from getting away. Like I had to explain something before it was too late.”

I gasped at the realization. If what she said was true, then…no it was impossible. Wasn’t it? WASN’T IT. Now it was my turn to freak out. I had to be sure. “Sunset, look dead in my eyes and tell me how you feel.”

She looked a bit questioning, but did as she was instructed. Her eyes widened once more, and she attempted to speak.

“It’s weird, there’s like a really strong feeling of what I think is distrust, but it’s not mine. What is it?”

My suspicions were confirmed. I didn’t know how she did it, but she was somehow tapping into MY feelings, like she had reversed my talent and used it against me.

“Strange, isn’t it.” I said, grinning at her. “Odd to be in someone else’s head?”

She backed up a bit, her face lighting up with shock. “But I can’t be doing that!” she said. “Only you can do that right. RIGHT!”

Chuckling a bit, I answered the only way I knew how. “I have no idea whatsoever!”

“So all of that…stuff I just felt? Was that from you?”

“Yep,” I stated nonchalantly, “every little bit of it. Do you believe me about Rarity now?”

She launched forward, hugging me this time, and cried into my chest. We stood there a long time, and it wasn’t until her curiosity got the best of her that Sunset stopped crying and pulled away from me.

“So why do I feel like I’m missing something. You’ve been kind of avoiding something, but I felt it when…that happened. Why were you asking what I remembered?” she questioned curiously.

I wasn’t looking forward to this at all, but I had an idea. I knew she wasn’t ready to remember her end of the event from the night before, but she could at least take the bits of thought and feeling out of my head. I just prayed it wouldn’t break the wall that seemed to be holding back the memory of her ex’s attack.

Sighing, I once more asked her to look into my eyes. “Be careful, and promise me that, no matter what you see, you will remember that I’m here for you and I will never let anything, I repeat, ANYTHING, like this happen to you ever again. Can you promise me that?” Sunset was getting nervous, but she nodded in agreement and hugged me closer before raising her eyes once more to mine.

I could feel the changes in her as she saw the events played out before her from my point of view. She felt, and saw, as I heard her voice in the alley, as I rushed to save her, as I blanked out and cast the spell, and as I carried her home, praying she was still alive and begging that she would not have to experience her pain ever again. I cringed a bit at that, knowing that I was willingly opening her up to her emotions once more, but when we broke eye contact she did not cry. A hardened look came to her eyes, and her jaw set. She nuzzled closer to me, leaving a small kiss on my cheek.

“Thank you Shining. Just… thank you.”

We were both at a loss for words, so we just held each other, happy to be together once more. Looking up, I caught a glimpse of us in the mirror and gasped.

“Sunset” I stated in shock, “what happened to your cutie mark?”

Looking back, Sunset knew what I was talking about. The teardrop cutie mark had flipped, and there was now a familiar looking half heart on the other side, forming a full multicolored rainbow heart. Curious, I looked back and saw that there was now and upside-down raindrop completing my heart, but mine was colored like a sunset, swirling into a flaming, burning heart of desire. Aside from the coloring, mine and Sunset’s were completely identical. Suddenly feeling brave, I turned to her and got down on my haunches.

“Screw the ring. I’m sure it will turn up some day, but I can’t wait that long. Sunset Rains, I promise to love you now and forever, for all of my days, and I swear I will protect you from all the harm of this world. I would be ever so honored if, from this day forward, you would be mine, to have and to hold, to love and to be loved. Sunset Rains, will you marry me?”

The silence seemed to last forever.

“Nah” she said before walking out the door, leaving me there crestfallen and crushed. How could I have been so stupid? Of course she would never marry me. I didn’t know why I’d even thought I deserved her.

“HAHA SIKE” came a yell from the doorway as a flash of fire barreled toward me, materializing into Sunset who hugged me to the ground. She simply grinned and looked into my eyes before our lips met in a kiss once more and, for once, I knew everything would be alright.

Author's Notes:

So that's it. I actually did this. I'm sorry/ glad you suffered through this for me. "BUT WHAT COMES NEXT SQUILL?" Oh, well thanks for asking anon. That depends on the readers of course. I could clop this, or leave it alone depending on the reaction I get. So if you want some steamy pony on pony action, feel free to tell me. I'll probably do it as a separate fic to avoid making this one mature, but it can be done. That's all I got for now, but an additional chapter might be added at some point to explain the sudden Sunset mind-reading and cutie mark and what exactly happened to Sunset's ex

I'm Not Even Sorry

Some random point in Time and Space

A strange light shown through the author’s window. It was only visible for a second or two, just long enough for a strange pink-haired person to crawl through on all fours, before it vanished. The author, awoken by this sudden flash of light, looked around to see a very confused, and admittedly very cute, girl standing in his room. Obviously alarmed by the sudden presence of a person in his locked room, he jumped out of bed and ran to the machete on his wall. With a weapon secured, he turned to observe the odd girl.

“Um…Hi?” he stated dumbly.

“WOOOAAAHHHH, I have hands!!!!”

“Well yeah, most people do.” he commented sarcastically, quickly deciding that the girl was not a threat and dropping his weapon.

Looking her over, he started to notice something familiar about her. The hair, the balloons on her shirt, the way she talked…

“Oh, you’re a cosplayer, that makes sense I guess, but how did you get in my bedroom? I definitely had my door and window locked.”

“Well isn’t it obvious silly, I just utilized the flow of potential and kinetic energies in the time vortex to power a teleportation device, setting the receptors to the location of the last known internet port used to update your story, and deatomized myself so I could travel super duper fast through time and space, re-rendering my form when I arrived at this location. If the cloaking shield is working you should be seeing a homosapien form though!” she stated matter-of-factly, as if this should be common knowledge to the author.

“Hey, narrator, explain!” yelled the author to no one in particular

She teleported to the place where your story was uploaded onto the internet. I don’t know man, she never seems to follow the laws of Physics.

“Thanks dude, that makes a lot more sense.” Turning to who he now realized was Pinkie Pie, the author asked, “So what brings you to the human world?”

“Me and my friends think it would be super duper funerific if you kept writing your story and put us in it. Plus fimfiction user Nightlight thinks you should keep the story going too.”

“Is that really all you wanted? You had me break the fourth wall just so you could tell me to keep writing this story?”

“Well duh”

“Um, alright. Why not. Thanks for the motivation Pinkie, I’ll start writing tomorrow”

“OkeyDokeyLokey!” said Pinkie as she skipped back toward the wall, an interdimensional portal opening once more.

“OH WAIT PINKIE! I've always wanted to ask. Did Cupcakes by SergeantSprinkles actually happen?” asked the author, not really sure he wanted to know the answer.

Pinkie just grinned and stepped through the portal, never to be seen again in this world.

“Man I really hope the narrator doesn’t make my readers suffer through this event!” he said as he watched Pinkie leave. “This would be really weird to read!”

I did.

Author's Notes:

Okay maybe I'm a little sorry. A real chapter will be up soon. (Like tonight)

A Proposal

“So you’re sure you guys can handle this?”

“The birds have been practicing for weeks now. Haven’t you little guys?”

Some chirps of agreement.

“And you Dash”

“Are you kidding me. Ten. Seconds. Flat.”

“Well alright, let’s do this! She’ll be here any minute now, so go get in place”

I was in a familiar little meadow on the edge of Ponyville, and today was the day. I had invited Sunset back to the spot where we’d had our first date so long ago, but this time I had something much better in store for her. I watched as the six ponies who’d volunteered to help me snuck off, some to the sky, some to the bushes, and one curiously sticking sideways out from behind a tree. How Pinkie constantly managed to defy the laws of physics I would never know, I’d just learned to roll with it. Once I ensured that the final details were in order I trotted over and laid down on a blanket under the shade of a very special tree.

As I predicted, Sunset was just a little late, but before long the sound of hoofsteps met my ears. Praying that everything would go well, I jumped up and galloped toward the approaching mare. She was just as beautiful as ever, her mane shimmering in the light breeze blowing through the clearing and making her look like she was on fire. I ran to her, hugging her and kissing her lightly on the cheek. That was as far as we had gone after her…incident. She was still very fragile, though she always tried to hide it from me, and shied away from physical contact. I’d tried to distract her for the last few days, and it seemed to be helping.

“I’m so glad you made it Sunset. I have something really fun planned!”

“Alright, but you better not have tried to bake anything this time. I was sick for a week after that little ‘cupcake experiment’ of yours.” She replied, shuddering at the memory of my failed attempts at baking.

“Don’t worry, no baked goods of any kind this time. I promise!”

“Alright.” She sighed, genuinely relieved that she wouldn’t have to suffer through any baked goods. “So what is this super awesome surprise I had to meet you out here for?”

My grin widened as I clopped my hooves together. I immediately saw a rainbow blur dash into the sky, grabbing every cloud in sight and arranging them as I had requested. Right on cue, a choir of birds began singing. Up in the sky, the message formed just as the sun began its decent toward the horizon. I leaned in close to her and whispered into her ear.
“Why don’t you look up and find out!”

With a confused look she turned to the sky and gasped at what she saw. Rainbow Dash had taken all the clouds she could find and arranged them to spell out “Marry Me?” Apparently she’d had some extras, because underneath the message was a fairly accurate cloud sculpture of me on my haunches with a ring. Leave it to Dash. In the glow of setting sun the words seemed to blaze in the sky, imitating Sunset’s mane. As she turned to look at me, I copied Dash’s sculpture, getting down on my haunches as a few birds carried a ring out from a nearby bush. (Still not sure where the other one went.)

As Sunset looked at me, I saw the faintest smile on her lips.

“Didn’t we already do this…like four days ago?” she asked sarcastically.

“Yes, but if you recall you said ‘No’ to that proposal so I thought I’d try again. Plus this time I actually have a ring, so it seems more official!” I stated with a laugh.

“Hmmm, and what happens if I say ‘No’ again?”

“I’ll ask again and again until you finally say yes, so you might as well get it over with. Sunset Rains, you know I love you. Will you marry me?”

Sunset pondered this for a moment before looking back at me with amusement.
“No”

"Sunset Rains, will you marry me?”

“Still no”

“Sunset Rains, will you please marry me?”

“No”

“Sunset Rains, will you not marry me?”

“No…Wait I mean yes. Yes. I SAID YES, WIPE THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE!!!”

She lurched forward, tackling me into the grass and landing on top of me. I just grinned up at her, laughing that she had fallen for that so easily. I grabbed onto her, rolling so that I was on top of her, before whispering in her ear.
“Looks like we’re really getting married, since you actually agreed to it this time. Now will you let me put the ring on or are you going to be stubborn about this?”

She crossed her hooves defiantly, preventing me from slipping the ring onto her forehooves. Instead of forcing her to uncross, I leaned forward and looked into her eyes. The strange connection that appeared after her ordeal had not gone away, so I knew she was getting everything I felt.

“Ugh fine. Stupid emotion crap keeps messing with my head.” She muttered before allowing me to slip the ring onto her leg, securing it slightly above her hoof.

“There. Now was that so hard?” I asked, letting her jump up to look at the golden band around her leg and get used to its weight.

“Yes, but this shouldn’t be!” she exclaimed, dragging me up by the hoof and pulling me in for a kiss.

I was shocked at first. She hadn’t kissed me since the ordeal in the alley, and I could tell that she was still a bit uncomfortable getting close to anyone. I silently reassured her, pulling her a bit closer and letting her take control. She wrapped her forehooves around me, holding me close as she got more into our kiss. Despite her efforts, I could still feel her hesitation as she kissed me. After only a few seconds she pulled back, giving me a shy smile. The small look we shared confirmed my suspicions.

“You know Sunset, we can move at your pace if you want. You don’t have to just jump back in after everything that happened. I certainly won’t mind.” I reassured her.

“I know, I wanted to do that…more or less.” She sighed. “I just don’t want that one moment in my life to define me. I want to show that asshole that I’m not going to give up just like that. I mean, it’s all in the past anyway, there’s nothing I could ever do to change it even if I wanted to. It’s time to just…move on.”

I smiled at her. “You’re a brave little pony Sunset. I’m glad you’re mine now.”

“Oh please,” she whispered, wrapping me in yet another hug. “I’ve been yours since the day we met!”

As we walked away from the clearing, we watched the sun finish setting. Dash and Fluttershy had already taken off to Fluttershy’s cabin, but Dash had been kind enough to leave us one last message in the sky.

Gross. PDA.

Author's Notes:

Woooo motivation. Everybody is all happy and no one is dead yet isn't that wonderful.
Oh wait. Why is there a yet
Because I've thought of my final ending, that's why. I've already cried over the draft trying to proofread it, but don't worry you still have four chapters until then.

Questions and Answers

Author's Notes:

I apologize in advance for my horrible rhyming. There's a reason I'm not a poet. Also I suck at keeping Twilight in character.
This chapter doesn't really answer much, but the next two scenes needed to be in a chapter of their own, so I'm splitting it anyway
Also, I have the rest of the story more or less mapped out. You have about two more chapters of happiness before shit gets real

I knocked hesitantly on the door, not sure if I wanted to bother a princess of Equestria with my personal problems. Sunset stood by my side, urging me to at least try to talk with her. It was true that I was a bit nervous about our visit, but the desire for answers burned brighter than my doubts.

Ever since the day Sunset and I had formed the peculiar bond which allowed her to mirror my abilities, we had been connected to say the least. We now bore identical cutie marks, and as I had never heard of a cutie mark changing even the slightest I knew this was somehow significant. Though she did not know it yet, we had similar experiences in our past as well. We could both see into one another’s thoughts and feelings, and most importantly, we were both going to have the same last name soon.

The wedding was approaching quickly and we couldn’t have been more excited. We’d spent the last few weeks getting everything in order, from music for the ceremony and reception to flowers and decorations. Unfortunately, this had given us little time to figure out why we were suddenly so closely connected, and it was a mystery which we wanted solved.

As the hoofsteps echoed from behind the wooden door of Twilight’s tree home, Sunset and I exchanged glances. I found that Sunset was having some of the same misgivings I was, but that she too wanted answers. When the door swung open to reveal the lavender alicorn, we were both greeted with confusion.

“Um…hello. Are you here to look at some books!” Twilight asked hopefully. She didn’t get many ponies who liked to read, so she was always excited when they came by to check out books from the library.

“Actually, I’m Shining Hearts and this is Sunset Rains. I was the pony asking about anything which would be powerful enough to change someponies cutie mark. We had an appointment set up for today if I remember correctly.” The panic started to show on Twilight’s face as she remembered agreeing to meet us.

“Oh no. This is not good. Not good at all. SPIKE, SPIKE WHERE ARE YOU!” she shouted up the stairs. “YOU FORGOT TO ADD THAT APPOINTMENT TO THE CALENDAR LAST WEEK!” As she yelled this I noticed she had begun pacing around the desk in the center of the library. I could faintly hear her mumbling something about moving appointments and parties so, fearing another apocalyptic freakout like the time she was visited by her future self, I stepped in.

“We could reschedule this if you’d like. We’re in no hurry, and we’d hate to be a bother. I’m sure you have plenty of royal duties to deal with as it is without us taking up your time.”

“No, it’s alright. I promised I would try to help you, and I’m going to keep that promise.” she replied, pulling up three chairs with her magic. “So, why don’t you start by explaining what’s wrong.”

I nodded and launched into my story. I told her about the misunderstanding with Rarity and the attack of Sunset. When I told her about the spell I used on Sunset’s ex, Twilight put a hoof to her chin, deep in thought.

“So you don’t know what spell you used? Do you remember anything from the spell?”

“No,” I admitted apologetically, “I can’t seem to remember anything that happened when I cast the spell. It’s all just a giant blur.”

Lost in thought, Twilight stood up and used her magic to pull a number of books off the shelves, still asking questions.

“And Sunset, you don’t remember anything from that night at all? It’s like it was completely wiped from your mind?”

“Yeah,” she answered, “all I know is what I saw from Shining’s point of view.”

“But how is that possible? And how did your cutie marks change? And most importantly how can she now see into your mind???” she asked me.

“Well we were kind of hoping you could answer that. Do you have any idea at all what could have done this?”

“No idea, but there has to be something in one of these books!”

It was then that a pink mare suddenly appeared from a portal which had sprung up underneath the staircase. Bouncing over to a nearby bookcase, she pulled out a book and hopped over to Twilight.

“Guardian Spells: A Magic Lost to Time.” she stated simply.

“Wah…Pinkie where did you find that? And how did you get here?”

“It was under G silly” sang the pink mare as she bounced back through the portal, leaving the three of us dumbstruck. After a while, Twilight snapped out of her trance and opened the book, quickly leafing through it.

“THAT’S IT!” she exclaimed suddenly, making us jump. “Right here, it says, ‘A guardian spell can only be performed by a unicorn who is connected in some significant way to the pony under attack. There must be a significant and long-standing bond between two ponies to spark a guardian spell. This spell will unlock untold power in unicorns, and has been reported to completely obliterate any threat against a pony under said unicorn’s protection. According to ancient legend, these spells are capable of intertwining two pony’s destinies permanently, and in some cases have fused the cutie marks of the guardian and their protected.’”

“That sounds exactly like what you did Shining!” Sunset exclaimed, blushing a bit as she realized the extent of the spell I’d used. “So I guess you’re my protector now, aren’t you!”

Twilight, however, was not convinced. “But it says here you must have a long-lasting and significant bond with somepony in order to trigger a guardian spell. Have you know her that long?” she asked me.

“Well, we’ve been together a few years now, but it sounds like there has to be something a lot more permanent than that.” I answered, looking over at Sunset. “It just sounds like we’d have to know each other since we were fillies in order to trigger that kind of magic.”

Twilight sighed. “I think you’re right, but I also think Pinkie was onto something when she came here and showed me this book. She doesn’t bend space and time for just anything, you know. Maybe you should go see Zecora ask her about it. I’m sure she has something that could help you!”

Sunset and I nodded and took the book from Twilight. After thanking her and saying our goodbyes, we started the long walk to Zecora’s hut. Considering the nature of the Everfree, we were pleasantly surprised when we didn’t run into too much trouble. We got lost a few times, but Sunset was able to find the path again by flying up above the tree line. We arrived at the zebra’s hut only an hour after leaving Twilight, and this time we were sure we would find some answers.

Our knock on the door was answered swiftly by the sound of hooves moving about. When the door swung open, the zebra looked at us knowingly.

“Are these ponies I see at my door Sunset and Shining, I’ve not seen you before?” she asked in her usual rhymes. I smiled and nodded, a bit curious how she knew about us already.

“The dear princess Twilight sent letters ahead, while you journeyed this path, of your plight I have read. Come in, my ponies, and I shall then see, if I can solve what your troubles might be.”

As we entered her hut, I looked around with curiosity. I had never been to her home before, and all the herbs and potions from her native land seemed strangely exciting to me. “So I’m guessing that Twilight told you everything then?” I asked.

“Yes, she told me many tales of you, and for your quest I have made a nice brew!” Zecora stated as she pulled a murky white potion off a nearby shelf. “This brew will show what once had been, and from that you may know of your new connection” (Author’s Note: Zecora dialogue sucks)

“What does that mean? Like, we’re going to see our past?” we asked in unison.

“Yes, the past is what this seeks, it only waits for what one speaks. A spell we need, to finish the brew, and something closely held to you”

“So I just need to cast a spell and drop something valuable in there and we can see what caused, or didn’t cause, the guardian spell?” I asked, double checking so I wouldn’t somehow mess things up. Zecora nodded (mainly because the author was too lazy to make more rhymes) and SILENTLY held a book up for Shining to read from, pointing with her hoof at the words he needed to say. As he dropped his and Sunset’s engagement rings into the potion, he spoke the words aloud.

“With all the love stored in my heart; take me back now to the start; and show me all that ever was; each union, split, and bitter part”.

A burst of light filled the room, and the potion fizzed and bubbled as the spell took effect. Zecora, looking pleased, poured the now clear liquid into two nearby glasses and handed them to me and Sunset.

“The potion is ready in this cup, now take a journey and drink it up” Zecora rhymed happily. Sunset and I looked at each other with ‘Oh what the hell’ expressions before downing the drinks. We were out cold in less than a second.

A Shining Memory

Author's Notes:

The fecal matter is about to hit the industrial sized, spinning cooling device.

So I debated putting this chapter in for a long time, but I decided I had to do this for myself. It's time to move on, and this helped me deal with what happened. Please, for the love of whoever is up there, if you know me personally and you find this story do not bring this up to me and do not judge me for this. It's all in the past, but I don't need more reminders that it happened.

Also next chapter is going to suck too.

Have fun kiddos

The world around us came into sharper focus, and a familiar schoolhouse loomed into view. There were fillies running around in the playground outside, enjoying the sun. Classes had obviously let out recently, and a weekend greeted the children as they played. Sunset glanced over to me in confusion.

“Isn’t that…you?” she asked, gesturing toward a young filly standing toward the back of the playground talking to somepony. “He has the same mane and coat, but I don’t see his cutie mark.”

“No,” I responded. “That’s definitely me. I didn’t get my cutie mark for quite a while. We must be pretty far in the past. Where are you though?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I got out of school early for something. What day is it anyway?”

We both looked around, trying to find some clue as to what time period we had landed in. We were obviously meant to see something from my past, but I had no idea what that could be. The only possible thing that happened around this time was…

I froze. Panic seized me and tears threatened to escape as I realized why this day was so familiar. I had been burying it for so long, tucking it into the deepest recesses of my consciousness, that I had almost managed to forget about it. I shot a glance at Sunset who was still looking for clues about when and where we were. We had to leave; I couldn’t possibly let her see this day played out. There are secrets that were meant to fall away and become lost in time; secrets that I could never face; secrets that could completely destroy me, and I could not let even Sunset see those secrets. I ran to her, trying to distract her.

“I don’t know about you, but I can’t find anything here worth looking at. Maybe we should just move on and look for wherever you are today” I said, flinching when my voice raised a bit too much. I slung my forehoof over her, urging her away from the playground. Looking back I saw my past self talking to the filly that has haunted my dreams for years. There wasn’t much time.

“Dear, are you alright?” asked Sunset, concerned by my sudden strange behaviour. “You seem a bit off.”

“Oh I’m great. Just peachy. But maybe we should go find your past self. I don’t remember anything happening to me today, so it must be something that happened to you which is connecting us.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked, pulling my muzzle toward her, gently bringing my eyes to hers. I snapped mine shut, blocking her from my mind. I couldn’t let her see the lies, the fears. Her voice rang out in the darkness.

“Hey where are past you and that brown filly going?”

My eyes flew open and I followed her gaze, watching as I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. My past self was walking toward a small patch of woods nearby, followed closely by a brown unicorn with a camera.

“Oh nowhere, just walking home probably” I stated nervously. Sunset was unconvinced.

“Your house is the other way. I wonder what you’re doing.”

I reached for her, but she was already gone, following my past self as he slunk off towards the woods. I dashed after her, trying to divert her from the path, but she was already set on her mark. She was going to see what was going on and I could never stop her.

“Sunset, please” I begged, “do not follow them. There are some things you can never know, things that are better left in the past. If you honestly care about me you will not follow them!” She looked at me for a moment and I looked back, giving in to her stare. The connection flared and I felt her desire to go. She had to know, even if it killed her.

“You really don’t want me to see this do you?” she asked, maintaining our connection.

“No, I don’t. But you really want to see this, no matter what, don’t you? I countered.

She gave me an apologetic look. “I have to know Shining. You can feel it can’t you.”

I sighed. My mind was screaming at me to run, to draw her away from what was happening in the woods only a hundred yards away, but the rest of my being was crumbling under her stare, urging me to give in.

“Sunset, I will let you go, but promise me one thing. No matter what happens in that forest, know that I love you. Just remember that. This is all I’m asking. Just don’t forget that I love you! Can you promise me that?” The tears were openly streaming down my muzzle as I forced the words out.

Sunset approached me cautiously before wrapping me closely in a hug.

“Shining, I will always love you, no matter what. I promise I will never forget that” she whispered before pulling away.

“Let’s get this over with then,” I mumbled, desperately trying to choke back my tears as we began to walk toward the forest.

*#(LATER)#*

As the brown pony and I came into view, Sunset and I hesitated. She could tell by the way I was acting that this was not going to be good, and I was still afraid to relive this moment. The voice of my past self reached our ears, and I winced as they were spoken.

“So why’d ya bring me out here Kicker?” I asked in an innocent, high pitched voice, speaking the words with my past self. Sunset looked over at me in confusion as the tears once again poured out of my eyes, but she quickly looked back at the two fillies as Kicker jumped onto me, toppling me up against a tree with my forehooves and hind legs spread.

I remained looking at the ground, praying that this visit to the past would end.

With my past self forced against a tree, Kicker snatched up his camera and took aim between my hind legs. I realized what he was doing and struggled, but he used his magic to levitate some chains he had hidden nearby and secured me to the tree. The tears rolled down my muzzle as he invaded my most private areas, taking as many pictures as possible.

“So Shining. What do you say these get sent to everypony in Ponyville” he commented snidely after taking the pictures he wanted.

“What are you talking about Kick. Quit messing around and delete those pictures!” I answered, my voice raising as I began to panic. “This isn’t funny!”

“No, you’re right, it isn’t funny. That’s why I’m not laughing. If you want these pictures gone, you’re going to have to work for it.” He replied triumphantly.

It took me a while to catch on to what he was saying.

“Dude, we’ve talked about this. I…I just don’t swing that way alright.” I was in a full panic now, and it was showing as I tried to escape my bonds. “Look, I’ve got nothing against you, but we’re just friends and that’s all we can ever be.”

“Oh, we’ll be more than that if you want these pictures gone buddy.” Kicker stated, stepping a bit closer to me. “although I’m sure a certain mare would LOVE to see these.”

“YOU WOULDN’T DARE!” I screamed, my fury boiling to the surface. “LET ME OUT NOW KICKER!”

He just looked at me, considering.

“Nah.”

“Please Kicker, I’m begging you don’t go through with this. Just let me out now and we can forget this ever happened.” I was pleading now.

“Look, I’m the one in control now. Either you go through with this, or everypony in Ponyville gets a nice set of pictures in the mail tomorrow.” He said with a satisfied grin.

I stared at him for a long time, weighing my options. I knew I really only had one choice, but I was still intent on finding a way out of his trap.

“Well, last chance” Kicker said, his horn lighting up in an obvious threat. “If you don’t do this, I send the pictures to my house and you’ll never be able to stop me!”

With tears rolling down both of our muzzles, I whispered the answer along with past self, the answer which would haunt me until the day I died.

“Fine, but please…please just delete them”

Sunset, who had been standing the entire time frozen in place, broke out of her trance as the world around us blurred. Rushing over to where I had fallen to the ground in tears, she held me as the world around us turned to black. The last thing we saw was my past self, eyes closed and tears streaming down his muzzle as Kicker stood up on his hind legs, using the tree I was chained to as support, and reached down between his legs as he thrust toward me.

Sunset and I were in a world of darkness for a few moments before our surroundings materialized once more, this time on top of a cloud. We both gasped as we realized when and where we were.

“Well it looks like this stupid potion is targeting me!” I spat bitterly, trying once again to stop the tears that came rushing to me.

“What do you mean, this is my memory Shining” Sunset said, looking at me with confusion.

Then the realization hit us.

“You mean”

“No, it couldn’t have been”

We looked at each other bewildered.

“IT WAS YOU” we shouted simultaneously, just as a rainbow-maned unicorn levitated onto the cloud we were sitting on.

Connections

We scarcely heard him land. We were both locked onto each other’s eyes, dumbstruck. Of course we both knew what was about to happen, but we’d never made the connection, we’d never realized who had been here on this cloud that day. Sunset and I broke our gaze as we looked over at a younger version of myself. I was about sixteen on this day, and though six years had passed since then it still felt like yesterday as I watched myself.

I, well he, was a wreck. Tears were streaming down his face, mixing with the blood that flowed from a recent cut. His entire world was crashing down, and the few thoughts I could remember having this day could be seen on his face. I watched horrified as he stumbled over to the edge of the cloud, tripping just before the edge. A strange sound came from his throat, something between a sob and a scream. The tears still flowed freely, and only seemed to increase as he sat there, looking down at the ground so far below. I turned to Sunset, forcing my eyes away from the sight.

“Look, Sunset, we both know what’s going to happen here. We can leave now if you want.” I was almost pleading with her. “We still have plenty of time before…well you know.” I choked back tears as the memories of this day hit me once more. I had to stay strong, if not for myself then for Sunset. I had to be there to comfort her.

Sunset, however was sitting perfectly still, transfixed on my past self. There were tears in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

“No. We are not leaving this cloud Shining. After all this time…I THOUGHT YOU HAD DIED!” Her rage was boiling over in earnest, her eyes blazing as she seemed to glare at me. “I SPENT YEARS TRYING TO TELL MYSELF THAT I’D DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE! THEY WOULDN’T EVEN LET ME SEE YOU AFTER IT HAPPENED YOU KNOW! I HAD TO ASSUME THEY’DE BURIED YOU! I NEVER EVEN KNEW YOUR FUCKING NAME SHINING, I JUST KNEW THAT YOU WERE DEAD! HOW COULD YOU NEVER TELL ME?”

Quickly abandoning any hope of holding my tears in, I tried to choke out an explanation. “I-I never even k-knew it was you.” I cried. “I always wondered, but no one seemed to know. They just said someone had dropped me at the hospital and run.”

She wasn’t satisfied, but she was calming down a bit.

“I…I know. I’m sorry, it’s just, well, I” she sighed, lowering her gaze as she tried to apologize. “I guess I just always blamed myself for the whole thing. I mean, you seemed pretty dead when I got you to the hospital. That’s why I ran too. I was so afraid someone would think I’d done it to you, I just…panicked.”

I practically leapt over the cloud to get to her, pulling her into a tight embrace as my tears finally ran dry. She hugged me back, pulling me as close as she could and wishing she would never have to let go. In the silence of the sky, Sunset and I lost ourselves in a world were none of this had happened, where neither of us had been assaulted, where there was no pain. As we embraced, I could feel her heart beating against my chest, and I swore to myself I would be with her for as long as that beat continued. I promised myself that I would somehow make up for all the pain I’d caused her; but for now I’d have to settle with just helping her through today.

As I heard a distinct mumbling from the edge of the cloud grow louder, I gently released Sunset. It was going to happen soon, and there was no way to avoid it. The potion we’d taken was a one way ticket. There was no way to get back to our bodies except waiting and watching.

“Sunset” I whispered soothingly. “You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to, but I think I need to do this for myself.”

I stood up, walking over to the stallion mumbling incoherently on the edge of the cloud. I knew there was no way to change the past, but I had to do something. As I lit up my horn, I prayed that something would happen, anything that would let me get through to my younger self. There was a flash of light, and I was surprised when my younger self looked over in my direction.

I was not, however, nearly as surprised as he was.

As he jumped backwards, I stared curiously behind me to see what had startled him. All that was there was Sunset, watching me intently. Looking back, my past self was staring directly at me.

“W-Who are y-you?” he stuttered, shocked by the sudden appearance of another pony on the cloud.

“Wait, you can see me?” I asked, my eyes widening as I realized that he could only be talking to me.

“Yeah. Now who are you?” he asked again, a bit more forcibly as the anger started to rise within him.

“I’m…” your future self who used a potion to come back in time and some random spell to suddenly turn myself visible so that I could talk to you? “Someone who wants to help”

“Well I don’t want your help, so get out of here!” he spat, throwing an accusing stare at me. “Besides, no one could help me even if they tried…”

As he tried to turn away from me, a bit of anger boiled to the surface. I grabbed min by the shoulder, yanking him away from the edge of the cloud and throwing him down toward the center.

“WHAT THE HELL MAN” he screamed as he tried to fight me off. “GET OFF OF ME.”

“YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE, DO NOT GET TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” I shouted in response, pinning him down as he struggled against me. I waited until he stopped resisting before I continued in a calmer voice. “I’m just here to talk. I know why you came up here, and I’m not going to let you go through with this. Understood!”

If looks could kill, I’d be dead. “Trust me dude, you have no idea what’s up here” my past self replied, wiggling one forehoof out of my grip so he could tap it to his forehead.

“Oh really” I challenged.

“Yeah.”

Looking over at Sunset, who had still made no movements since I’d left her, I leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

“Your name is Shining Heart. You came up here today to end it. You don’t think anyone loves you. You think you’re worthless. You’re pissed because your friend technically took your virginity, and you don’t think you’ll ever be able to find a girl who will take you in after that. Your dad has been ignoring you for months, and the only time you see him is when he’s drinking at the kitchen table. You’ve been down, and I mean really down, for a very long time but you hide it. You bury all the bullshit under a fake grin and you choose to help others with their problems instead of facing your own. But you messed up. Big time. You got too involved, and now you think you’ve found the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, but the problem is you’re too afraid to tell her. That’s why you’re up here, and you know what. You’re wrong.”

I got up, stretching a bit and looked at him with a challenge in my eyes. He stared back, completely paralyzed with confusion. That’s when we made eye contact.

I guess I’d never realized at the time how much of a mess I was. I was used to some pretty crazy emotions, but past me was a trainwreck. I couldn’t even begin to describe it; the pain and fear of rejection, the emptiness from an impassive drunk of a father, the horror from the memories of the past…it was all too much.

He broke the connection first, standing up gently and trying to back away. He made it halfway to the edge of the cloud before I snapped out of my trance.

“Please stop trying to be stupid.” I stated blankly, watching him out of the corner of my eye. “I know you’re not a stupid kid.”

“Really, and what else do you know about me, because I’m not gonna lie you’re starting to creep me out. Just who exactly are you?”

I sighed. “Would you believe me if I told you I’m you from the future?”

“No”

I couldn’t help chuckling a bit. “Well then I’m just a concerned party making sure you don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

He stopped inching toward the edge for a moment to look at me curiously. “Alright, that definitely helped me be less creeped out by you.”

I watched him closely as he began inching away once more. I knew what he was trying to do, just like I knew any attempt to grab at him again would make him jump off the cloud immediately. The only way to save him now was by talking.

“So tell me, future me. Why exactly do you think this is a mistake?” he asked sarcastically, giving me the perfect opportunity to get him talking.

“Oh please, I don’t think it’s a mistake, I know it is!” I replied, giving him another challenging look.

“Oh really, and why is that?”

“Because, all of those stupid fears are based off of nothing. You’re so young Shining. Do you really think that life has to be this hard. That it won’t get better!”

“It all looks like shit to me, but go ahead, wow me. What gets better old man?”

Damn past me was an arrogant little shit.

“Well, what do you want to know?” I asked, not really sure where to begin.

“Why don’t you start with dad’s drinking. I’m sure that gets a lot better!”

“Well, something happens, today in fact, and dad finally comes to his senses. He almost loses something he really loves, and from that day forward he tries to find help. He’s been sober for five years now, and he’s the best dad anyone could ask for. He never stopped caring about you Shining, he just got caught up in work and never realized how miserable he was until it was almost too late.”

He paused for a moment, slightly taken aback, before continuing. “Alright, and what happens with this girl. Is she the one?”

I winced a bit at that. “No, she’s not. Some day when she’s drunk she will ask you to take her all the way. You won’t. She’ll get mad and ditch you. A few months afterward she’ll come back to you and let you take her on a few dates. You’ll be happy, genuinely happy for once in your life, but she’ll tell you something that is going to destroy you. You’ll stop trusting everyone and you’ll swear to give up on mares forever, but you will fail miserably.”

I looked back to check on Sunset, but found to my surprise that while I was talking she had moved up next to me, looking at me in wonder. I smiled at her before turning back to my past self.

“You’ll never be able to swear of mares for good Shining. One day you’re going to run into the most beautiful, most wonderful mare in all of Equestria, and she’s going to take you in. She’s going to fix pieces of you that you never even knew needed fixing. She’s going to fill you with more joy and more love than you thought possible. She’ll be with you forever, and you’ll never be able to repay her for that Shining, no matter how hard you try.”

I had begun to talk to my present self more than my past self. As I finished, I felt Sunset move closer to me, nuzzling into my neck.

Looking back at my past self, I saw that the tears were once again flowing, but this time the tears were accompanied with rage.

“HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW THAT!” he screamed, making me jump back a bit. “HOW DARE YOU…EXIST? WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M FEELING! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S IN MY MIND! HELL, I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT I’M FEELING ANYMORE! NOTHING MAKES SENSE AND…”

I saw what he was about to do only a second before it happened. As he turned and dashed to the edge of the cloud, I followed. Before he could throw himself over the edge I grabbed him by the barrel and pulled him back, oblivious to his screams.

“SHINING!” I shouted, getting his attention as he tried to escape my grasp. “If you remember anything from today, I need you to remember this. Soon, sooner than you think in fact, you are going to figure it out. You are going to find words for how you feel and you’re going to work through all of this.”

“Shining”

“So if I let go now, will you cooperate? There’s just one last thing you have to know.”

“Shining”

“HELL NO” he screamed in defiance

“Shining I really think you should-”

“I’m not letting go until you do” I challenged. He continued to struggle for a moment before realizing it was useless.

“Fine, you get to say one more thing, but then swear you’ll leave me alone!”

“Shining, seriously you need to look!” Sunset yelled, finally drawing my attention. I looked to where she was pointing and saw a young mare the color of a sunset flying up toward the cloud we were on. Getting the picture, I turned back to my past self.

“Shining, soon you’re going to meet a mare that will set your heart and soul on fire, and when you do,” I looked over at my sunset mare, her mane flaming in the breeze, and she smiled at me; a smile that took away every worry and filled me to the brim with joy. I took a deep breath before turning back to him. “You burn with her.”

As I released his hoof, I watched him absorb the words. My horn lit up, and I once more vanished from his sight. He stood dumbfounded for a few moments before shaking his head, trying to clear it. He then turned his back to Sunset and I, looking carefully at the edge of the cloud we stood on.

“Dumb ass. You don’t know anything!” I heard him mutter as he took three deliberate steps forward, standing on the brink of the cloud once more. I considered running to him and pulling him back, but I knew this was no longer my fight. He closed his eyes and took a single step forward, walking out into the open sky, beginning the fall that would free him from this world…

Or at least it would have if a fiery blur hadn’t come cascading into him, throwing his back toward the center of the cloud. I turned to Sunset as her past self materialized on the cloud, looking curiously at the stallion she’d just slammed into.

“Looks like we have a nasty habit of slamming into each other.” I joked with her, watching the blush on her cheeks light her on fire.

“I-I’m sorry about earlier Shining. I just…kinda lost it. I shouldn’t have treated you like that”

I caught her in a quick kiss before whispering to her. “You have nothing to be sorry for Sunset.”

She smiled as she turned back to watch her past self fly over to the half conscious stallion she’d just hit, poking him a few times with a forehoof to make sure he was still alive at least.

“Helloooooo” she cooed, bringing my past self out of his daze. “Are you alright, you almost stepped off a cloud there buddy!”

“Yeah, that was the intention” he muttered, pulling himself back up.

A look of worry crossed her face as the younger Sunset helped him up.

“But why would you try to walk off a cloud? Were you trying out a new spell or…” she stopped suddenly as she noticed the matted fur under his eyes, clear marks that he’d been crying. Finally putting the pieces together, she took a more comforting tone as she flew a bit closer to him.

“Um, are you alright Mr…”

“Heart, Shining Heart” he answered glumly, trying to ward her off.

“That’s a nice name. I’m Sunset Rains. I just heard someone yelling up here on this cloud, and I came to check it out.” She glanced around. “Um, are you alone? I thought I heard someone else.”

She turned back to him, or at least where he used to be. She spotted him a bit farther away, standing once more on the edge of the cloud.

“SHINING” she squeaked, flying over to him as fast as she could.

“Just…Just leave me alone” he managed to choke out through the tears that poured down his face. “I just…Just leave. Leave me like everyone else!”

She put a forehoof on his shoulder, turning him to face her.

“What’s wrong!” she asked as more of a demand than a question. Shining couldn’t quite figure out why, but all of a sudden he just didn’t care. He didn’t care that this mare was a complete stranger. He didn’t care what she thought of him. He just had to talk to someone, anyone, and so he did. He told her everything; every fear, doubt, regret, hope, and shortcoming he’d ever known. His words flowed on and on; minutes passed and still Sunset stood there listening and comforting. He would have gone on forever, but he was interrupted after about five minutes by something he’d never expected.

As Sunset leaned in, Shining was still rambling on. It was not until her lips were only a few inches away that Shining faltered off, his heart pounding as he looked into her eyes.

“You know Shining…” she whispered soothingly, still moving closer and closer while looking deep into his eyes, “No matter how bad it seems, no matter how unloved you feel, no matter how many nights you just wished you were dead, just remember that there is someone out there that cares for you”

“Oh really, and who is that” Shining spat, still not getting the idea.

“Me.” she whispered simply before moving in and meeting his lips with her own.

At first, Shining just stood there, eyes wide and completely in shock, but after a few moments his eyes closed, leaking tears as he brought himself up to pull Sunset into a hug. As we, a strange light began emanating from past Shining’s flank. It slowly grew brighter and brighter, nearly blinding us before it suddenly vanished. Left in its place was a simple half-heart cutie mark.

The two kissing ponies, somewhat startled by the sudden light, broke there kiss as they looked back at Shining’s flank.

“Oh cool Shining, you got your cutie mark. I wonder what it means?”

“I have no idea!” he stated in shock, looking up to meet her gaze.

He froze, a look of panic spreading across his face.

“Shining, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I-I…I don’t…” he stuttered, backing away from Sunset as she stared in confusion, then panic.

“SHINING!” she shouted, watching him slowly backing away from her. “YOU’RE GOING TO STEP OFF…”

But it was too late. With a sudden look of horror, Shining’s retreating hoof missed the edge of the cloud and threw him off balance. He looked in terror at Sunset as he slipped off the cloud, falling quickly toward the ground below.

With a yell Sunset followed him, spreading her wings and flying after the stallion as he fell. The future Sunset and I walked to the edge of the cloud, grimly watching as past Sunset caught up to Shining and desperately tried to pull him back up. We watched as his weight overwhelmed the pegasus and pulled her down with him. They both landed with a sickening thud on the ground below, unmoving. Sunset and I nodded at each other before flying down to them, landing nearby to wait for one of the ponies to wake up.

Sunset stirred first, shaking her head to clear her mind. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright, looking around for the stallion she’d been chasing. She flung herself to his side when she located him, shaking as she called out his name. When he did not answer, the tears started to flow down her cheeks. She fell on his chest and sobbed, praying that this was all just some nightmare. As she cried, the same light from earlier gathered around her, enveloping her flank and blinding all of us. When the light faded a single raindrop remained. I looked over at my sunset’s flank, finally realizing the actual significance of her cutie mark.

“So it never was a raindrop” I whispered in her ear. “Your cutie mark. It’s a teardrop.”

She blushed and answered sheepishly, trying to avoid my gaze.

“Yeah, my name usually throws people off. I usually don’t mention it to people since…well I didn’t know what I know now.”

A sound from the past Sunset drew our attention once more, and we looked over to see her suddenly sit up.

“Wait a second.” We heard her mutter. “That sounds like…”

She sprang into action, putting a forehoof against Shining’s neck. The steady beat of a pulse confirmed her suspicions, and she suddenly stood. Scooping Shining’s limp body up, she spread her wings once more.

“I’ll be damned if you’re going to die on me Shining” we heard her mutter before she took to the skies, flying to Ponyville’s hospital.

We would have followed her, but a strange dark mist was forming around us. Sunset and I looked at each other, knowing that the potion was about to work its magic again. Sighing, I held her close and prayed that the next memory would be a bit more pleasant.

Author's Notes:

WOOO. I've been working on this one for a while, mainly because dialogue sucks. So sorry this story is suddenly getting really weird and sad, I swear I didn't plan that when I started the story. The next chapter should, but don't hold me to this, contain a wedding :D

Realities

I woke with a jolt, nearly toppling my chair as I flew upright. Beside me, I saw that Sunset was already awake. We were back in Zecora’s cabin, and it seemed that the potion had finally worn off.

“My pony folk, at last you rise. Of what you dreamed, I can’t surmise. I hope you both found what you sought, and that confusion lingers not.” The familiar voice rhymed.

Sunset and I looked at one another to confirm that we both remembered our little trip before turning back to the zebra.

“Yes, we found out exactly what we needed. Thank you” I told Zecora. “I hope we haven’t been too much trouble for you.”

“No need at all to make amends, for all are welcome who are friends!” Zecora rhymed happily, going about her work. Sunset and I had a lot to discuss, so we quickly thanked her once more and said our goodbyes before leaving the zebra in peace. The walk back toward Ponyville was a bit awkward at first, and a heavy silence stood between us as we walked. Finally, Sunset broke and asked the question that had been on my mind since I’d woken up.

“So, are we going to actually talk about this or are we just going to pretend nothing happened?”

I grinned at her, happy she was willing to talk. “Well, there’s quite a bit to talk about. Where do we even start?”

Sunset looked down for a while as we walked on, thinking about everything she’d seen and heard while under the potion’s spell. There were obviously some delicate subjects, so she opted for the less intimidating memory.

“So… what ever happened to you and Kicker? I mean…after…that” she asked with a bit of a frown creasing her muzzle.

I sighed. “Well, I forgave him.”

Sunset stared quizzically at me for a moment before responding. “You forgave him. Just like that.”

“Yeah,” I chuckled a bit, realizing how weird it sounded finally saying my thoughts out loud. “he was one of my best friends as a colt, and even though it made things…awkward to say the least, I couldn’t hold it against him forever. I just decided that I wouldn’t let it rule my life, so I forgave him and moved on.”

“And the pictures?”

I blushed a bit. “Safe enough that I don’t have to worry about them. That spell he used at the beginning was a transfer spell. He sent one copy to his home computer, but he promised not to keep them and I trust him. I personally smashed his camera for him.”

“Oh, alright. I guess that makes me feel a bit better. I’m just sorry that you had to go throu-” I silenced her, pulling her in close and letting her snuggle up against me as we walked.

“Really Sunset, it’s alright. I guess I was just, I don’t know…afraid!”

That caught her interest, and she gave me a confused look.

“It’s just that…well I was worried that…Oh never mind it’s stupid forget I even said anything.” I looked away from her searching gaze, trying not to let her see the worry in my eyes.

She stopped walking.

“Shining, do you really think after everything that’s happened you can’t tell me this? What’s bothering you?”

I stared in shock for a few moments, confused by the sudden ferocity in her eyes. There was a strange force in them that I’d never seen before, and I knew that she meant what she said. Sighing, I asked a question that had been plaguing my heart since I had first figured out where the potion had taken us.

“Sunset, you don’t…mind, do you?”

“Mind what?” she was genuinely confused.

“Well, no matter what you’ll never truly be my first time, and…I just don’t feel right not being able to say that. I mean sure I never technically…let go…but it still just feels like a lie when I say I’m still pure. Kicker took something from me that day that I can never earn back, no matter how had I try, and I just figured that if I wasn’t a virgin then you wouldn’t want to be with me and-”

I was cut off abruptly as Sunset’s lips met mine, effectively preventing me from making any more noise. She waited a while before breaking the kiss, making sure I would stay quiet.

“Shining, none of that matters to me. I’m just glad you care enough about me to be concerned. I’ll always love you, no matter what happened in your past.”

We gave each other the dumbest smiles imaginable before continuing the long walk back to Ponyville. We both knew what was coming up next, but neither of us knew how to start.

“So, how much do you remember from the uh…other memory?” I finally managed to ask. “You seemed a little out of it for a while up there.”

Sunset slowed to a light trot, her hooves moving much more than necessary for the distance she was covering.

“Well, uh, I remember everything actually. Or at least I think I remember everything. I remember your little…speech to yourself, if that’s what you’re asking.” She looked down in embarrassment at those last words, and I felt the heat in my cheeks grow.

“Yeah, sorry you had to hear that. I just had to stall so you could get there, you know. It was nothing…really…”

But I knew I wasn’t fooling her. She was way too smart. We both knew I’d meant every word I had said up on that cloud, and we both knew I wasn’t just talking to my past self either.

“Look, Sunset, there’s a lot of crap in my past, and some day it might just catch up with me. Back then, I genuinely wanted to end it. I thought no one cared, that no one ever would care. I know now that I was wrong. I can’t say that I’m all 100% better now, but I’m better than I used to be and I owe it all to you. I guess…” I was lost for words. “I guess just thank you. You deserve so much better than me, but I promise if you stay with me I will try my hardest to-”

“OH JUST SHUT UP!”

I jumped back, frightened by her sudden shout. I looked over expecting fury, but as our eyes met all I could feel was amusement.

“We’re getting married, Shining Heart, and you sound like you’re trying to talk me out of it. You aren’t getting cold hooves are you dear” she questioned mockingly.

“I-I” gave up trying to find a decent answer and shook my head, grinning at the ground. “You are unbelievable Sunset Rains.”

She walked back to me, putting a wing over my back and pulling me closer as we continued on our way.

“I love you Shiny”

“I love you too hot stuff”

Sunset grinned and kicked at my hoof with her own, protesting against my chosen nickname for her.

“Hey!” I called. “You try thinking of a pet name for Sunset”

She rolled her eyes and nuzzled into my neck. “How about Radiance and Light of my Life” she whispered into my ear.

“Catchy” I said, chuckling as we wound our way through the forest, heading back home once more.

<)*SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE OF PONYVILLE*(>

A burst of light illuminated a small field on the outskirts of Ponyville, quickly fading to reveal a stallion precariously balanced on his hind legs. Suddenly devoid of his support, he toppled forward and landed in a heap on the ground.

“I swear to Celestia, I’m going to skin that bitch!” he muttered under his breath as he got to his hooves and headed toward the town. “Even if it kills me!”

Author's Notes:

WOOOO, almost done guys. Thank you to the absurd number of people who actually read this far.

Coming up next: "Chapter 11: Time for a Wedding" (or something like that), the final chapter of this trainwreck I call a story. Should be nice and long and probably will take a while since I'm feeling lazy. (Or it will show up tomorrow you just never know)

Chapter 11: Time for a Wedding

Author's Notes:

HAHAHAHAHA fuck me. I'm so sorry

Finally the big day had arrived. The cake was ordered, the flowers delivered, the guests seated in their chairs, and the band at the ready. As the sun crossed closer to the horizon, the band started to play its canon, the sound of music filling the clearing. After all the months I’d been waiting for this moment, I found that I still couldn’t quite contain my excitement. It almost seemed surreal as my mare stepped out in the back of the clearing accompanied by her father and started to walk down the aisle of chairs. The ponies gathered for the ceremony gasped as they got their first look at Sunset in her stunning white gown. My smile could only grow wider as I watched her walk toward me, her mane and veil billowing in the light breeze that seemed to persist eternally in the clearing.

The altar was set at the base of the tree where, so long ago, Sunset and I had our first date. The same tree where I’d proposed to her. Now, it was the tree where Sunset would finally be mine forever. The very thought brought a bigger grin to my face as I patiently waited for the mare of my dreams to reach the altar. For what seemed like centuries I could only watch as she walked forward, and my stomach filled with butterflies as I realized just how much I needed her to be with me. When she finally reached me and I took her hand, I couldn’t help but meet her eye.

The world around us faded, and we were left in a sea of black as our minds connected. I felt the flood of joy and peace flood over me, threatening to drown me in the best way imaginable. The hope for the future, the certainty of her commitment, and the love in her heart. The love that strove to outshine the stars, the love that burned brighter than the sun and flowed swifter than a river. The love that, in itself, seemed to live and pulse in the very essence of our souls. In that moment, as Sunset and I met eyes, the butterflies seemed to take flight within me, lifting me up past the troubles of this world and taking me out beyond the skies. My nerves faded, and I knew that this was what Sunset truly wanted…what I truly wanted. To be together.

Sunset and I faintly heard the voice of the minister through the darkness, and we snapped back to attention as we realized he was addressing us.

“Mr. Shining Heart and Ms. Sunset Rains, please proceed to the alter” he asked in a nervous voice. Looking around, we realized that we must have been lost in our own little world for a while. Sunset’s father had already taken his seat and the bride’s mares were nervously hoofing at the ground. Coughing a bit, Sunset and I turned to face the minister, walking up the platform to meet him in front of the alter.

“Mares and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of two ponies. Their love is undeniable, their loyalty unquestionable. They share a bond the likes of which many could only dream.” He paused for a moment, eyeing our matching cutie marks, before continuing. “Marriage is a special bond. It is a way of saying that you will always be there for one another, that you will see past their flaws and even come to love them. It is a way of showing an eternal commitment to the pony you care about the most in this world. It transcends even death, and reaches beyond the grasp of our minds. It is a lifelong commitment, and one which should not be taken lightly. It is therefore my duty to ask; Sunset and Shining, do you promise to love one another until the end of your days and beyond?”

We grinned at one another.

“Absolutely!” we answered in unison.

The minister nodded curtly at us, motioning for the ring bearer to come up. The minister took the two “rings” in his hooves before continuing.

“In that case, I would like to present you with the signs of your promise.” He stated before handing Sunset a small ring and me a delicate golden tiara.

While marriage between two ponies of different types was certainly acceptable in Equestria, it was not exactly common. Due to the stereotypical working differences of the three species, many ponies chose to marry others of the same type. This presented a problem when Sunset and I had picked out our permanent wedding bands, as a unicorn typically wore theirs on their horn and a Pegasus normally wore a headband of some sort. We had finally agreed to use our customary types, but had gotten them custom-made to match one another. Mine was a simple gold band studded all the way around with small gemstones while hers was a golden tiara, the band studded with gemstones and the crown intricately wrapped around a large diamond.

“These signs of marriage are proof of your love. They serve to show the value and delicacy of the love we celebrate today. As they are exchanged, the call to mind the full and faithful exchange of trust and loyalty between two loving ponies. Mr. Heart and Ms. Rains, if you will!”

We both grinned as we put our “rings” on one another, Sunset sliding mine over my horn and me placing hers gently on her head. We turned back to face the minister as he continued.

“Now, all of you here are gathered because you have in some way impacted the lives of these two ponies, but none so much as their parents. Therefore I ask of you, the parents of the bride, do you give your daughter’s hoof in marriage to this stallion?”

I held my breath, doubt creeping into my mind for a reason I couldn’t explain. “We do!” they stated in unison as they fought through the tears pouring down their muzzles.

The minister nodded. “And do you, Mr. and Mrs. Heart, give your son’s hoof in marriage to this mare?”

“We do!” they managed to choke out. I let out a sigh of relief upon hearing these words.

“In that case, I see no reason why this marriage is deemed unacceptable in the eyes of Celestia. If there is any pony who can show just cause why these two ponies should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace!” he paused comically for effect after speaking these words, and was greeted with silence.

“Well in that case, I would ask the groom to rep-”

“HOW’S THIS FOR JUST CAUSE BITCH!” came a shout from near the back of the clearing. Sunset and I whipped around, along with the rest of the gasping congregation, as the voice echoed around in the ring of trees.

There he was, a ghost from the past, furiously standing in the back of the clearing with malice in his eyes. While seeing Sunset’s ex was certainly enough of a shock, there was another detail that was even more alarming.

The flash of light speeding toward my chest.

Everything about the spell spoke of evil intent. It flashed a bright red as it darted toward me, and it seemed to seethe with darkness. Time seemed to slow as it got closer and closer, radiating its deathly glow onto the faces of the ponies gathered below. Before I could even bring myself to form a counter-spell, a shout drew my attention. I watched in horror as a sunset blur darted in front of me, facing the spell with its forelegs spread wide open.

“SUNSET DON’T-”

But it was too late. I watched in shock as the spell collided, throwing her off her hooves and past me where she crumpled in a pile on the platform. There were screams and shouts, but the fell on my deaf ears. In this moment there were only two ponies in the world who mattered to me, and I was determined to drop that number to one.

As my rage bubbled over, my horn lit up and I was brought up off the ground. Sunset’s ex stared in horror as I flew higher, my eyes beginning to white out in a magic more powerful than anything he’d seen before. He tried to run, but I caught him in an unknown spell, holding him tight where he stood. I could faintly hear my voice boom out in a scream full of hatred.

“YOU’RE NOT RUNNING THIS TIME! HOW DID YOU GET HERE!”

“You zapped me here Shining, remember. I showed up outside Ponyville a few days ago, but three years in the future” he whimpered, desperately trying to break away from me.

“OF COURSE. WELL TRUST ME DICK, I WON’T MAKE THAT MISTAKE TWICE. YOU’RE DONE RUINING LIVES THIS TIME!”

And with that I lit my horn once more in a spell that flowed through my mind from seemingly nowhere. There was a flash that blinded every pony gathered and which could be seen from the Canterlot towers. By the time the light faded, all that remained of Sunset’s ex was a pile of smoldering ash.

The force of the spell threw me backwards against the base of the zapapple tree where I lay slumped before remembering the other pony I needed to check on. Barely thinking, I rushed over to where Sunset lay in a heap on the platform. By now, most of the ponies had fled and were on their way back to Ponyville. The rest of the ponies were desperately trying to flag down help.

“SUNSET, SUNSET DON’T YOU DARE BE DEAD!” I pleaded as I skid to my haunches next to her, rolling her onto her back when I heard her moan under her breath.

“Sunset, are you alright, does anything hurt? Sunset please answer me!” I begged.

Her nose twitched a bit and her eyes shot open as she let out a bone-chilling scream of agony.

“SHINING PLEASE HELP IT…OH CELESTIA IT HURTS PLEASE!!!!!”

As quickly as I could I flared my horn, draining the last of my magic as I cast the same spell which I’d used so long ago in another incident involving her ex. I sighed in relief as Sunset’s cries slowly died down, but I knew she was too injured for the spell to heal her. Small bolts of deathly electric energy passed between her limbs, proving that the spell she’d taken was still working inside her.

“There Sunset, is that better?” I asked, my voice cracking on the last syllable as I tried to choke back my tears. I wasn’t blind, and I could tell that the spell was slowly killing her. Mine could only hold it back for so long, but at least it was numbing her.

“Yes Shining. I-I can’t feel a thing. T-thank you.” She desperately tried to smile, but it was in vain. Letting out a huge sigh, she asked, “Shining, I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

I knew that she’d see right through my lie, but that didn’t stop me. “No Sunset, you’re not. There help on the way, and they’re gonna’ fix you up. They’ll take away all the pain, I promise!” I looked into her eyes, unable to tear them away from hers. She saw right through me.

“Shining, I can…feel it. It’s like a clock, ticking away inside of me. There’s…” she stopped the tears starting to pour down her muzzle as she choked out the words. “There’s not much time left…”

I looked around desperately. One of the ponies left seemed to have sent someone to get help, and they were all backed away from Sunset and I, giving us our space. I turned back to her, tears threatening to form in my eyes as I realized it was too late. When I did, I felt Sunset’s forehoof gently brush against my cheek.

“It’s alright to cry you know” she said, smiling weakly up at me as she desperately tried to smile. The sight broke something in me, and the dam holding back my tears broke. They fell like rain onto Sunset’s heaving chest.

“Sunset, why’d you have to do it” I pleaded, looking into her eyes through the tears and finding my answer.

“Because, I knew I couldn’t live without you Shining. I couldn’t stand to lose you, especially not on our wed-” She was cut short as a stronger blast of magic rocked through her, making her cry out in pain. I held her closer as she screamed, pleading to the universe that she wouldn’t have to feel the pain.

When she finally quieted, she looked pleadingly at me. “There’s not much time love.” She whispered as our eyes met. I gasped suddenly as I felt a pain rock through me, but at the same time I saw Sunset’s muscles relax. She stared at me wide-eyed as I tensed against the pain.

“HOLY SHIT SHINING WHAT ARE YOU DOING” she gasped in a louder voice.

“OH CELESTIA I DON’T KNOW!” I replied as I forced the pain under control.

“Did you just freaking do that!” she asked, watching as the pain rocked through me. I realized then what I was feeling as bolts of magical energy started to pass from Sunset to me. “Did you just numb me?”

“It would seem so!” I managed to get out, smiling a bit when she looked at me disbelievingly. She was going to say something, but was distracted when she saw a rainbow fly up from the waterfall behind me.

“Shining it’s starting!” she gasped, making me turn to watch the clouds suddenly appear to obscure the setting sun. The rainbow flew into the clouds before flashing back out as lightning. We’d planned our ceremony so that our kiss would match up with the zapapple’s appearance, but obviously our ceremony had gone a bit astray. I turned to her, noticing for the first time just how pale she’d gotten. As I looked into her eyes, I could feel the fear.

“Shh,” I said, placing a hoof on her lips before she could say anything. “You don’t have to be afraid Sunset. I’ll stay here with you through all of it, I swear. Just…Just count with me?” I pleaded as the air filled with the familiar colours which had so long ago set my soul on fire with love. This time there was no joy in them. I could feel the pain draining from my body, and Sunset’s life with it.

“Alright” she nodded weekly, her coat seemingly ablaze in the colors up above.

“Ten” I said, my voice shaking as I looked at her. I could barely believe this was the same pony I had seen so many years ago on our first date, crippled and weak as she was. I could see the fear in her eyes

“Nine” she added with a half-smile, the tears on her cheeks triggering my own.

“Eight” I fought through the tears, gently stroking the tiara on her head as I cried.

“Seven” she was fighting to keep her voice level now, and I could see her fighting against the numbness that was engulfing her limbs.

“S-six” I held her close, feeling the uneven beating of her heart as my tears wetted her fur.

“Five” her hoof was starting to slip, and her tears were slowing now. She looked at me in desperation as her wings went limp at her sides.

I took a huge gasp of air before I managed to continue.

“F-Four” the lights around us were starting to fade, along with the color in Sunset’s cheeks. She was pale white now, and her heartbeat was barely noticeable in her chest.

“Three” She choked out before leaning up to me. “And you may now kiss the bride” she whispered before her head fell back, her eyes locked on mine.

“T-Two” I stuttered as I leaned my muzzle down toward hers, my tears splashing against her cheek as our eyes met one last time. There was something in them that I couldn’t quite recognize, but there was also something very definite. There was a sense of peace and calm that flowed through her, a sense of acceptance.

“Goodbye, Shiny” was the only response I heard as Sunset’s entire body went limp in my hooves. I leaned down to kiss her, but it fell on unmoving lips. As the last of the pain from the spell slipped out of me, it was replaced my own. I went numb, collapsing and crying onto the silent chest of the one pony I’d loved. As the last of the lights faded around me, I slipped out of consciousness and into a world of blissful blackness.

Epilogue

I woke up in tears that day. It took all of the strength left in my body to force myself out of bed and into the shower where I spent a good hour crying again. My eyes burned as they forced out the salt-water, but I didn’t care. I kept my forehoof firmly barred across my chest, desperately trying to hold myself together. All my friends had told me to just get over it. “Sure it sucks,” they said, “but you can’t let this control your life forever!”

I’d heard that before, and the last time I’d heard it I had taken a nose dive off a cloud. This time, however, there wouldn’t be anyone to save me. The mare who’d saved me last time was six feet under in a pine box, buried under a tree on the outskirts of Ponyville. This time, no one would stop me.

At least that’s what I’d told myself. But every time I went up to the cloud and jumped I’d catch myself. I just couldn’t do it. So I just continued to be here, stuck in this limbo of loathing and hope.

I sighed, turning the knob on the shower even hotter and slumping up against the wall as the heat pulsed over me. It was going to be a long day.

LATER THAT DAY

I walked up to the familiar tombstone, pulling the flowers from my saddlebag and setting them on the mound of dirt that marked the site of my other half. It took all I had not to break down crying right then and there, but I had promised myself that I would make it through this one day. I had to, for her. Even if she would never know I had to at least honor her one last time, the mare who had picked me up and turned my life around. The mare who had let me trust again, who always saw the beauty in me even when I messed up so badly and hurt so many other ponies. I owed her at least this one day.

Tearing my eyes away from the tombstone, I looked around myself. The same tree stood behind the tombstone, gracing the clearing from shade from the scorching summer sun. The waterfall cascaded nearby, sending a cooling mist in my direction, carried by the eternal breeze circling the little meadow. Everything seemed perfectly wrong. The beauty of my surroundings only made the contrast with her grave-marker even more apparent. I had insisted she be buried here in the clearing where everything had gone right and yet so terribly wrong. Her parents hadn’t argued; in fact they had whole-heartedly agreed.

It had been only a year since she’d died in my arms. I could still remember every moment that passed between us, every whispered word, every promise I’d never be able to fulfill. I could still feel her, the way she used to hold me, pulling me tighter and tighter until I couldn’t breathe. The way she would always bump my nose when she tried to kiss me. The way her hair flowed in the wind as she flew with me, the way it shimmered in the moonlight when she’d wake me up in the middle of the night to fly because she couldn’t sleep. All the little things that she’d never do with me again.

I looked once more at the tombstone. It was simple, a white granite stone, but with an inscription that always brought tears to my eyes. I hadn’t been involved in the inscription; it was her parents who had chosen it. They’d found it in some old poetry book, and thought I’d like it. Underneath her name, the stone read,

“Love is a magic all on its own. If your flames come to end us, may my tears douse the fire. But if it should pass that we both are consumed, then at the sunset of life, I’ll burn here with you”

I read over the inscription, letting the words soak into my mind. I had to bite into my lower lip to keep the tears at bay. I thought about the inscription a lot. All the flames of Sunset’s past, and how they’d always caught up to her. Her parents told me once that one of the reasons Sunset had left her ex was because he kept threatening her, but I’d never thought to ask her about it when she was alive. I look back on it now and wish I would have just ended him in that alleyway so many years ago. Actually, there are a lot of things I would have done differently…

I looked up at the little sapling sprouting from behind the tombstone, trying desperately to distract myself from the thoughts racing through my head. It was growing in the shade of the larger tree, almost like magic. I couldn’t help but feel bad for it really. It was going to try so hard to grow, but I knew that one day the larger tree would kill it off. There just wasn’t enough light for it to live where it was. I’d considered taking it out when it first started growing, but I was stopped by a peculiar trait I’d noticed. I had realized early on that it was a zapapple tree like all the others surrounding the clearing, but this one seemed to bear its flowers all year long. It even kept its leaves in winter. I’d asked the Apple family about it, but they couldn’t explain it either, so I let it grow.

It was starting to get dark now, and I knew I couldn’t stay here much longer. If I got caught in the zapapple’s appearance… well there were just too many memories that I wasn’t quite ready to face. There was just one last thing I’d promised myself I’d do. I spun on my hooves and lit up my horn, lifting myself off the ground and flying toward the sun until I spotted a suitable cloud. I flew over and sat on it, watching as the sun dipped ever close to the horizon.

I would never get tired of the sunset. The colors, mixing and mingling made my spirits soar. It was such a beautiful sight, such a powerful statement. My mother told me a story once about the sunset. She said that the sun had loved the moon so much it gave up its life every night to let the moon live. The sunset was its last show of love each lifetime as it passed away, its final farewell to the moon it loved so much. I’d always loved that story. It was so pure, so innocent, that I couldn’t help but smile. Now that story was mine. My beautiful mare had given herself so that I could keep on walking around. She had given everything she had to save me, and all I had left of her was this sky, alive with the colors that would never truly be able to capture all that Sunset was.

I watched in a tortured contentment as the sun dipped closer and closer to the horizon, the flaming sky darkening as the moon rose behind me. Just like my Sunset, this one was going to leave me behind.

I gave up.

The tears burst out like a breaking dam, sliding down my muzzle like a waterfall as I watched the final rays of light fade below me. The cloud I sat on turned black in the night sky, and I was illuminated only by the moon as I stood up on shaky legs. I was nearly blind as I stumbled toward the edge of the cloud, and as I looked down at the ground so far below a familiar numbness spread throughout me.

Down below, I could see one final beam of light strike the base of the waterfall, and I knew I was too late. The beam shattered in the droplets of water thrown up from the pool and burst into a rainbow. The sight brought with it all the memories I had been so desperately trying to avoid. I fell to the ground, pressing my forehooves to my eyes to block out the light below.

I was so busy trying to escape my memories that I almost didn’t notice the odd sensation radiating from my cutie mark. A sudden pain drew my attention, and I looked back to see it pulsating with light. It flashed in a two-beat rhythm, almost like a heartbeat. The pulse seemed to echo through my entire body and past it, into my soul. Every fiber of my being echoed back the beat, screaming for release from something I couldn’t quite grasp.

As I stood there, my entire form rocking from the beat, the light below suddenly shot up and hit the cloud I was standing on. It seemed to pass through the cloud with no second thought, and before I could even cry out it struck my cutie mark.

The shock was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. A strange heat seemed to course through me as the beating in my ears got sharper and louder. I was stunned by the overload of my senses, and barely registered when the light that had struck me bounced back downward, hurtling toward the earth and the zapapple sapling. I was freed from the spell as the light left me, but something in the back of my mind was growing louder and louder, screaming into my mind.

“So, what’s it like on the living side?” a familiar voice asked inside my mind. I froze as I registered the speaker, and took a few seconds before I could make any comprehensible thought.

“Well, uh, you’re in my head so shouldn’t you know?” I inquired.

“Good point Shiny, now let’s just see. OH MY! You seem quite shaken up about my death Dear. I do hope you’re not still blaming yourself.”

My mind went blank as the words ran through it, but only seconds later that emptiness was replaced by rage. “OF COURSE I FUCKING BLAME MYSELF!” I screamed into my mind. “IT MY FAULT YOU’RE DEAD SUNSET!”

“Oh I know it is Shiny. If you hadn’t come along, none of this would have ever happened! I would still be alive and happy, not rotting in the ground. In fact, I’m not sure why I even bothered saving you. You’re so worthless. I should have let you just jump off that cloud all those years ago!” The voice in my head was definitely Sunset’s, and hearing those words coming from her ripped me to pieces. She said it so calmly, so sweetly, that I would never have even guessed they were full of venom. I tried to back up from the words running through my mind, but each step only brought me closer to the edge of the cloud while the words advanced.

“What’s wrong Dear. Can’t stand to face the truth? Well this isn’t something you can run from Shiny. I’m dead and it’s your fault!” The words stung like daggers, and even though I knew it wasn’t real I had to beat the voice, even if it killed me.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!” I screamed into my own mind, slowly losing my grip on what was real. The cloud around me seemed to contort itself, a hole opening up beneath me as my vision blurred from the tears running down my muzzle.

The answer was almost a whisper as I backed away from the growing illusion of the cloud.

“I want you to jump.”

I watched in horror as a form rose up from the cloud before me. At first glance it appeared to be Sunset, but as it drew closer I saw its darkened features and blood-red eyes. I attempted to retreat farther away from the specter, but my hoof found only air. I yelped and stood on the edge of the cloud, mustering all the courage I could to face the image in front of me. Before I could turn to face it, however, I felt a forehoof on my shoulder.

“I said, JUMP!” screamed a bone-chilling voice. Before I could remind myself that it was just an illusion, I took a startled step back. As I lost my balance and slipped of the cloud, all I could see was the red-eyed mare watching with a smirk on her face.

“Have a nice death!” she called after me, chuckling before disintegrating back into the cloud.

The minute she disappeared, my mind freed up and let me focus. I managed to flip myself so I could see the ground approaching, but the sight only made me panic more. It was flying up to meet me too quickly, and I knew I wouldn’t have time to power up a levitation spell. I watched in horror as the details on the ground got more pronounced. It seemed as though the earth was intent on pulling me into an embrace, and it was too late for me to stop it. I closed my eyes and fell as I welcomed death’s release…

“SHINING, WAKE UP SHINING. PLEASE WAKE UP!”

No, that wasn’t right. I was dead. I was 100% dead and I knew it.

I mean, wasn’t I?

My eyes snapped open and I saw that I was on the cloud over the clearing once more. Everything seemed fine until I noticed the darkened hooves on either side of me. I slammed my forehooves to my head, screaming.

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD! NOW!”

I felt a hoof grab my own, pulling it away from my head. I looked up with rage, but the words of hate I’d been planning to use were suddenly choked down when I saw the emerald irises above me. There was only one mare with those eyes, and I’d know them anywhere. I could get lost in them any day, and that’s just what I did. I searched for anything, and thought or feeling that would give me some answers.

“S-Sunset?” I finally managed to choke out.

“Shh, I’m right here Shiny. It’s alright now” came the whispered reply.

There was a moment of stunned silence before I could speak again.

“B-But, you were dead. Like we put you in the ground and had a funeral and everyone was cry-” I was silence by a hoof on my lips.

“Yes, I was definitely dead, but it seems I’m back now.” She paused, looking around the cloud we were on. “Do you mind if we have this conversation on the ground?”

“Uh, yeah, sounds good to me!” I answered in bemusement. I felt myself get lifted gently off the cloud as I was carried down to earth by Sunset. She dropped me on my feet where I wobbled for a minute before steadying myself.

“So uh, any idea what’s going on?” I managed to ask.

“Not really, I mean one second everything was all dark and weird and the next second I’m surrounded by this really bright rainbow and I wake up on top of my own freaking grave during the zapapple sunset.” She looked at me curiously. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“Well… maybe.”

I told her about all the weird things leading up to the zapapple’s appearance; the strange heartbeat in my cutie mark, her voice in my head, the rainbow hitting me, and the reason I was on the cloud in the first place.

“Hold up, I was dead for an ENTIRE YEAR!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock as she received the news.

“Yep”

“And the only reason we have as to why I’m alive is that the zapapples resurrected me?”

“Pretty much!”

Her face opened up into a grin.

“What in the actual fuck is going on with our lives?” she asked in disbelief.

“I’m not really sure,” I answered, letting my own smile break through after so many months of sadness. “but you know what, I’m not gonna’ argue with it. As long as you don’t like, turn into a flesh-eating monster or something I think I’m fine with this.”

“Yeah, I have to say, it’s a lot more fun being alive than dead!” she said as she trotted a bit closer to me. “By the way, what was going on when I got up on that cloud earlier? I kept hearing you screaming at someone, but no one was there, and then you just…collapsed.”

I chuckled nervously. “That was uh…nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, sure. Nothing!” she stated sarcastically as she forced me to look into her eyes. I tried to block her out, but it was useless. I could only watch as her expression switched from confusion to horror to pain, finally landing on a face full of sympathy.

“Shiny, you don’t really believe that it was YOUR fault I died, do you?”

“Well, I uh…” I sighed. “You would never have had to jump in front of that spell if I’d just…well if I’d…” I was stumped, so I just stopped talking and looked at her pleadingly.

“Come here!” she cried, pulling me into a hug and squeezing tighter and tighter, just like she always did. I was so happy that I barely heard her whispering in my ear. “Look, you can’t figure out why you feel guilty because there’s no reason to feel guilty. I made the choice to jump in front of that spell because I wanted you to live, not because I wanted to make you feel miserable. It was my choice, not yours. Why should you feel guilty about what I chose to do!”

By then the tears were flowing freely once more. I thought about wiping them away, but Sunset only pulled me closed when I tried to move, sighing contentedly when I gave in and hugged her back.

“You know I love you, right Shiny” she whispered softly into the night.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Of course. And I love you too Oh Radiance and Light of my Life”

I got a light smack to the back of the head before Sunset pulled me to the ground, rolling on top of me as she did so.

“Now we’re talking” she whispered as she brought her lips up to meet mine.

Author's Notes:

Alright I feel a bit better about this ending. I pretty much rewrote it because a lot of the wording and detail was bothering me. Thank you once again for sticking with this story.