Songs of Innocence

Chapter 59: Vigrid

Fluttershy's cottage, many moons later

"As time began to fade away for Sun, she laid in a puddle of her own tears, her damaged ego cradled by her mind as she fled into escapism. It was like she was in a waking dream. The line between her thoughts and reality had no definition, and the world became twisted into something it was not. With no will of her own left to control herself, she became a shadow of herself - a horrible reflection of what she was inside. Her eyes saw only a dim light on a backdrop of darkness and evil. She was a testament to the imperfectness in every person on the planet. She was lost, and couldn't move. Her visions were simultaneously nothing but mundane, yet bordering on sounding like the ramblings of a madpony who had glimpsed the eldritch beings beyond the stars. What happened to her brings a tear to my eyes. But there's a reason I'm telling you all this, and what that is... Well, you'll just have to be patient."

The Caves of Melpomene, many moons ago

"I just don't understand." Fluttershy discreetly said to Cozy. "Why would Sun leave right now?"

"You aren't mad at her?" Cozy asked in reply.

Fluttershy didn't respond immediately, as she began to wonder why she wasn't feeling mad about what Sun had done like everypony else was. It was a confusing complex feeling that she was feeling. She felt like she was mad, but the anger just wasn't there. Everypony was silently seething over Sun, and even though Fluttershy agreed that she was acting selfishly, neither she or Cozy ever once felt the same growing resentment that their friends did.

Celaeno sighed, and wordlessly told the ponies to follow her as she ventured deeper into the cave to find her sister. They all followed... except for Applejack. She was frozen, locked in place by overwhelming emotion. She was one of, if not the, most mature member of the Mane Five, but even she couldn't help but feel saddened and angered by how Sun acted, and thinking about it drove her to tears. 

Rarity attempted to comfort her as the earth pony struggled to speak to her. "Ah... Ah never knew she could- could be so... awful. Ah just... After everything she's been through... she's still the same pony she was when she came to Ponyville... Nopony's ever been this horrible to us."

"There, there." Rarity said. "No one knew that she would do that. I'm actually as appalled as you are. She was acting like a complete foal!"

"No, ya don't understand, Rarity! Ah... Ah know somethin' about Sun that you don't. As angry as ah am with her, ah'll respect her wishes, so I won't tell you what exactly happened. But ah'll tell you that it was when we went to her hometown, and... Well, it must've filled her with a lot of hatred an' anger, and ah'm starting to think that's a part of why she... acted the way she did just now."

"Oh... I see."

"Ah'm usually the one who understands her an' makes her feel better when somethin' bad happens... Ah thought she was just a good person who was dealt a bad hand... But then, she just turns around and... and...!" Applejack burst into tears, and gave up entirely on trying to talk.

Rarity internally scoffed. "That Sun! What was she thinking?! We'd better find Aello soon so that I can tell that MARE what she did to my friend!" She looked to Applejack with nothing but sympathy in her eyes, and the two followed their friends further into the cave.

Up ahead, Cozy left Fluttershy's side so that she could ask Celaeno a question. "Miss Celaeno?" the filly asked, hovering right beside the parrot, "I'm just curious... Are there more parrots like you?"

Celaeno lightly chuckled at the question. "More parrots like me? Are you joking? Of course not - I'm one of a kind." she quipped.

"Um, I meant 'are there more anthropomorphic parrots like you and Aello?'"