Songs of Innocence

Chapter 31: Sleepy Interlude

Fluttershy's cottage, many moons later

Finally, Fluttershy was able to stop crying... mostly. 

["Sleepy House Over Yonder" from No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle]

(Writer's note: I've obviously used this song before, but I actually imagine it playing in every one of these flash-forward scenes, and I also think of it to be Sun's theme. Keep that in mind for future chapters, by the way :D)

"That was the story of how Sun and Avalonia died. Of course, Sun lived in the end, but that's not because I was trying to trick you for a cheap plot twist... mostly. She did die at one point, but Avalonia's voice called her back to life, and she found herself in Twilight's arms. She also died metaphorically - she would never be the same afterwards. The next few days were defined by emptiness, and a feeling of meaninglessness that Sun faced after Avalonia's death. She felt there was nothing she could do. In fact, her struggle was so miserable, I'm not sure you would want to hear it. I'd rather remember it by myself, and besides, you should be getting home." 

The filly looked outside, and saw that it was late sunset. She nodded in agreement with the mare, and began to leave.

Fluttershy called out to her as she went out the door. "You'll be back for more tomorrow, right? I actually really want to continue telling the story, i-if you wouldn't mind, and I actually think this next part is even more interesting than the first part I've told you."

The filly nodded, as eager to hear more as Fluttershy was to tell the story. The old pegasus grinned as the filly left, and the comforting silence returned. Fluttershy didn't take long before looking at the book again, flipping to a page with an old photograph of Sun, Applejack, and an amber-colored stallion with body markings similar to Sun. They were all posing for the photo in front of a a sleepy neighborhood. Fluttershy began to wonder about something as she looked into the ponies' smiling faces, filled with excitement.

"Oh, Sun..." she sighed, "If you knew that all this would happen, I wonder... would you still let it happen?"

Fluttershy would spend the next few hours before she went to sleep reminiscing about the next part of the story, which was simply a little too profound for a filly to grasp or, more importantly, care about... mostly. After Sun's "death", it would soon be time for her to rise from the ashes. But before that, she'd need to find the strength to do it. It was time to tell the next part of the story. This was the beginning of Sun's spiral into madness.