Saying Goodbye

Chapters

The Book without a Friend
The Silly Bear
Wee Little Pig
Meaning of Friend
Sticks and Tails
The Rabbit Hole
What Was Once Lost
There for a Friend
Return
A Mother's Bond
Rainbow of Stripes
Saying Goodbye
The Child in the Window

The Book without a Friend

The scorching summer sun beat down on Sunset Shimmer making her feel like she was going to melt away. Still, she tried to put her complaints aside and enjoy her summer vacation. As she rounded a corner of one of the local neighborhoods she noticed what looked like a flea market in front of one of the homes. The idea of a personal sale at one’s home still intrigued her and peaked her interest. From the most worthless of things to a rare unique or valuable item sold for more or less than what it was worth. One never really knew what one would find in these yard and garage sales. The humans had an interesting saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The human world was interesting.

Sunset made her way to the mini bazaar and began inspecting the trinkets for sale. A mass gathering of clothes ranging from clothes for infants to teens was lined along ropes attached to the front of the house and a tree in the yard. None of which fit her or were her style. A collection of old music albums sat in a box along with an array of electronic items to the right side of the driveway. Most appeared to be older than the dirt in the yard and hardly in working order despite the sign that claimed that everything was in excellent condition.

She passed the boxes of jewelry and buckets of toys with nothing catching her eye until she came across two book shelves full and overflowing with books. Her eyes went wide at the promise of wonders of knowledge before being shot down at the collection of poor quality literature or books that appeared to have been a dog’s chew toy. Before she left the condemned shelves a single book caught her eye. It was the only one out of the lot that was in not just good condition but excellent condition, save for the heavy layer of dust. She removed it from the shelf to find something very strange.

The book was nothing special, in more ways than one. The spine was a simple brown color and the cover was solid white with brown lining the edges. There were no words much less illustrations to adorn the hardback book. A quick flip through the pages revealed a mass of emptiness from beginning to end. Sunset gave a disappointed huff and reached out to return the blank book to its place but stopped short. She held it inches from the shelf finding herself unable to release the silent book. Intrigue built in her mind as she pondered the fact that a book could be so empty.

She looked it over again and began to feel sorry for the poor thing. There really was no explanation for such a feeling but the blank cover and pages along with the blanket of dust made this simple tome appear abandoned. For all she was worth, she could not return the book. There was no reason to take it but something tugged at her mind to hold on to it. Why? It was blank. Empty. It would be pointless to own a book unless she could read it or write in it. She continued to question herself even as she walked up to the homeowner to make her purchase. Maybe she could write in it. But what?

“How much for this? I didn’t see a tag.”

The man stared at the dusty book in confusion as though he had never seen it before. Not surprising as his yard and driveway were so full of stuff he likely forgot what he even had placed out.

“Um…” he said, visibly showing his brain trying to work out an answer and figure out why some teenage girl would want a blank book. “Five dollars?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow at the price given that a blank book that had been abandoned really would not go for that much at all. “How about three? It’s got nothing in it and you obviously haven’t seen it in years.”

The man began to sweat at the clever teen before him and relented to the lowered price. “Alright, three.”

Sunset handed the man the money and made her way out of the labyrinth of discarded possessions and back to the side of the road. She looked over the empty book several more times before tucking it under her arm and returning home. The whole way home she continued to think about the book under her arm. Was it just faded? Was it really so old that the pictures and words had faded away? If so, why did the rest of the book not show any sign of age?

When she made it home she went to a closet for a dust cloth and began wiping away the blanket of dust, much to her relief. She went to her room and placed the book on her bed before removing her shirt which had been covered with the dust of the book and put on a clean one. She used the dusty shirt to finish wiping off the dust that had accumulated on her hands and arms out of ease of access before tossing the shirt into the clothes hamper.

Now clean from the filth, she picked up her pod player and popped the earbuds into her ears and let the music wash its way through her ears. She flopped down onto her bed to relax but the thought of the empty book continued to prod at her mind. She rolled her head to the side to look at the book and rolled back to stare at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and tried to forget about the book until later but the thoughts continued to prod like a gentle call.

Finally she could not take it anymore. She hit the pause on her player and yanked the earbuds out of her ears. She sat up and grabbed the book and stared at it with irritated frustration.

“What do you want from me? Why do you have to be so quiet? Say something!”

Sunset sat and stared at the blank book for a second pondering the fact that she had just yelled at a book as though it were alive. She dropped it back on the bed and fell back to stare at the ceiling again. She gave a frustrated huff and closed her eyes to try and calm herself down.

“I just yelled at a book…And now I’m talking to myself.”

Once more she rolled her head over to look at the barren book on her bed. She felt…sorry. She rolled onto her side and picked the book up once more to stare at that blank cover. The white void seemed to stare back at her as the sensation of longing permeated from within those silent pages. She set it back down, gently this time, and stood to ponder her thoughts.

What was this book? It was blank with nothing to its name, much less a name in and of itself, yet each time Sunset looked at it she felt like something…someone…was calling to her. She had a fondness for books but it was more for the knowledge than anything else. Of course this could not even compare to Twilight Sparkle’s love for books. But this book was different beyond the empty silence.

There was a feeling of loneliness that she felt from the quiet book, one she knew all too well. Her mind drifted to the friends she now had. They had helped her out of her pit of despair after her attempted coup of Equestria and had held out their hands in friendship. Perhaps there was really nothing to the book on her bed. Perhaps she was the lonely one. The last few weeks of school had kept them all pretty busy and they hardly had any time to spend together. Maybe some time with her friends is what she needed.

She walked over to the desk in her room and grabbed her cell phone then tapped the contacts list to find a very short list. The fact of the list being so short, a mere five names, caused a knot to form in her stomach. She tapped the first name on the list and waited for the call to be answered.

“Hello?” came the drawl of the receiver.

“Hey, Applejack. I was wondering-”

“Sorry sugar cube, I’m a might bit busy right now. Gonna have some family visiting and we’re all working to fix up the place right now. I’ll have to talk later.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Sunset said as the call ended.

She felt the weight of the words more than they were intended. Applejack had a rather large extended family and with all her work on the farm she likely needed any time she could get away from the work now and then and catch up with relatives she had not seen in while. A vastly different situation from Sunset. She tapped the next name on the list hoping for some relief.

“Fluttershy,” she said as it picked up. “I-”

“Oh my goodness,” Fluttershy said amongst an array of sounds in the background. “Sunset? Sorry, but I – Oh please! Ahh! Now’s not a good time. Oh no!” A crash echoed in the background. “We’re trying to clean out the kennels at the shelter right now – No stop, please. I’m sorry if I didn’t tell you. Oh…”

“No, no. It’s alright. You did tell me. I just…forgot. Sorry to bother you.”

She hit the end call and watched the screen return to the contact list. She hesitated a second before moving down the list. Each time resulted in more disappointment.

“Sorry, Sunset. I have like a bunch of birthday parties to help out with. But we’ll totally hang out another time.”

“The team’s prepping for a tournament out of town so I’ve got a lot of practicing to do. You understand right?”

“Oh dear me. I’m sorry darling but my parents decided to take a last minute trip and…well…I’m sure I’ve told you how they get. Maybe next time.”

As the last call ended, Sunset stared at the contact list almost hoping that another name would appear. She stared long enough for the screen to go dark and even a half minute afterwards before finally giving up. She set her phone down and turned back to the book on the bed.

“Well, it looks like it’s just you and me. And…I’m talking to a book again...and myself.”

Sunset walked back over to the bed and sat down, staring at the floor. She understood that she did not have many friends still and the friends she did have had their own things to do. It was not like they could just drop what they were doing just to hang out with her and ease her boredom. She could not fault them. But her friends had also not really kept her in the loop all that well with things that were going on, last minute stuff or not. She was still getting to know them. For some reason, she felt abandoned as much as she felt lost.

“Is that how you felt?” she said as she turned to the silent book once more, not even questioning herself this time.

But something different caught her attention and caused her to do a double take. She rubbed her eyes, pinched her arm, and even slapped herself in the face to ensure she was not dreaming. Sure enough the book was now different. Set on the front cover was a picture amidst the span of white. It was simple but actually spoke to her.

There was no color to the mysterious illustration which depicted a cartoonish bear sitting on a log. A few blades of colorless grass sat at the ends of the log to indicate the ground. The lonely bear appeared to sag a bit as it sat on the log as though it too were sad and lonely. Its features were simple with no visible fur and rounded paws. Its forepaws were set in its lap as though waiting.

Sunset turned the book over several times to find everything else about it on the outside was the same emptiness. When she opened it up she found a few words adorning the first page which read: “Our tale begins with a bear…”

With that, reality seemed to shift as everything went white.

The Silly Bear

Sunset opened her eyes to find herself on the edge of an expansive forest. The ground felt soft beneath her feet and the breeze gently brushed against her bare arms. She examined herself first to see she was not hurt and still wearing what she had on in her room. She looked around at her surroundings to find the most wonderful scene.

Just below the hill that she stood on was a beautiful forest of tall trees with lush green leaves. The grass that covered the ground was equally lush, giving the appearance of a soft carpet spread across the ground. A warm sun shined down and gave the feeling of a warm embrace. Everything was beautiful.

Sunset felt a small tear begin to form in her eye as the land she was now in dug up memories of her original home in Equestria. Her days as a filly and the fun she once had. Rolling in the grass and flowers of meadows, exploring forests and caves, watching in awe at the many animals that ran, flew, and swam. Her old mentor, Princess Celestia, whom she eventually betrayed. She squinted her eyes shut and shook her head as she rubbed her eyes, trying to return to the present and reality. When her eyes opened again, she was still in the land of beauty.

She thought back for a moment to try and figure out what had happened. Nothing made sense. A strange blank book that seemed to magically gain a picture and a few words. Then a daze, leaving her standing in a land of beauty, peace, and tranquility. Another look around made her think that the land was made from the mind of a child. The simplicity and peacefulness of it all. The wonder and vastness of the world beyond. Seeing it all, Sunset could hardly fight the urge to play as she did as a filly and roll in the grass or attempt to climb the trees. Where was she?

She decided to pinch her arm and even give herself another slap on the face in a vain effort to remove the obvious dream. But the world remained, calling to her. Frustration built at not knowing what was happening and she raised a foot to stomp out her frustration. But she stopped. She looked down at the ground below and gently lowered her foot. For reasons beyond her understanding, at least now, she could not bring herself to stomp on the grass that she stood on. To harm that soft carpet that bore her. Why?

Giving a sigh, Sunset decided to wander the forest below. Perhaps she could find something, maybe someone, to help explain what was happening. She only took a single step before stopping. A sensation arose within that something was behind her. She turned to see a large tree with a wooden door and a window with a wooden frame. Curiosity got the best of her and she went to investigate.

She peeked through the window to find an empty blackness inside. She went to the door to enter but again found herself stopped. She held her hand mere inches from the door handle, unable to proceed further. It appeared to be a home, but it was more than simple impoliteness of barging in that stopped her. A gentle tug came from the back of her mind that she should leave the tree home be. It was not her home. More than that, it felt…special.

Sunset quickly turned and proceeded down the hill to the forest below. Something was different about the tree on the hill, beyond the outer appearance. Hopefully she would return when the owner did.

As she wandered down the hill she found a pathway through the trees. The wonderful scene around her caused her to spin a few times to try and take it all in. A large smile crossed her face as she looked in awe, feeling like a little filly once again. The wonder shifted to curiosity as she came across another tree home. This one was not as tall as the others that surrounded it but was still much wider than the others.

The door had a rectangular wooden frame around it and sat on the side of the tree that the pathway passed. Just above the door was a wooden plank with the words “Mr. Sanders” written on it. To the top left corner of the door was a bell with a string hanging from it and another small sign which read, “Ring Also.” Shock struck Sunset at what sat just in front of the entrance of the stout tree.

Sitting on a log was the bear she had seen appear on the cover of the blank book. It was yellow with rounded paws and almost appeared as a stuffed animal. The bear sat on the log staring up into the sky rather unaware of the girl who had wandered upon the home. Stranger still was that the bear seemed to be humming.

Sunset put her hand to her face and shook her head at the sight. “Now I know I’m dreaming.”

The strange bear ceased his humming and turned to Sunset, looking with curiosity. Half expecting the dream to shift into a nightmare at this point, Sunset was surprised when the bear spoke with a low and gentle voice.

“Hallo there,” the bear called. “Who are you? And are you going on an adventure?”

“Umm,” Sunset said, still taken aback at the whole experience. She hesitated to answer but gave in to the still obvious dream. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. And, why would you ask if I was going on an adventure?”

“Well, you have on big boots.”

Sunset looked down at her feet, having all but forgotten that she had left her boots on since she got home. “Oh, yeah. But what does that have to do with adventuring.”

“When one puts on their big boots, it means they are going on an adventure,” the bear said with what sounded like excitement in the voice.

“Oh, well…I guess I am on some weird adventure. Who are you?”

“Oh!” the bear said, hopping down from the log. “I am Winnie-the-Pooh. But you can call me Pooh.”

Sunset looked over at the door and the plank with the name “Sanders” then back at the bear. “But, your door says ‘Mr. Sanders.’”

The bear looked over at the door. “Yes, it does.”

Sunset put her hand to her face again and shook her head. None of this made since. But since it did not seem that she was going to get out of this, she decided to play along and see the dream through to the end. Besides, Pooh was kind of adorable, in a stuffed teddy bear kind of way.

She was about to say more when Pooh placed his, assuming Pooh was a he, paw on his tummy and stared at it. “It seems I am feeling a bit eleven-o-clockish. Time for a little something.”

He turned and sort of waddled over to his tree home and disappeared within. Sunset followed and found him searching through a set of cabinets and pushing aside several empty pots.

“Bother,” he said finally. “No more honey.” Pooh walked over to the small table and chair in the house and sat down, looking rather glum. “I could ask Rabbit for more, but I can’t seem to find him anywhere. Or anyone else.” He held his tummy again. “Bother.”

“What do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“Just that,” Pooh said.

“That?”

“Yes.”

Sunset resisted the urge to facepalm this time. Looking at Pooh, she could see that he did seem awfully upset, beyond his hunger. She felt sorry for the strange bear and worked her way into the house, having to crouch to navigate the small space. She made her way over to Pooh and put an arm around him.

“I guess I’m on an adventure so why not adventure with me,” she said. Pooh looked with curiosity, but mostly that same simple look he seemed to have. “We’ll adventure to find your friends.”

Pooh smiled at the idea then immediately went back to his empty belly.

“We’ll have to find you something to eat first,” Sunset said with a giggle.

Pooh hopped down from the chair and made his way for the door with Sunset following. “Then let us find some honey.”

The two wandered the woods for some time before Pooh stopped under a very large tree. He peered up, bending backwards a bit and nearly fell over. Sunset looked up to see what he was looking at and saw a large hole high in the tree and heard a low buzzing sound coming from above.

“Seems to be a bee hive,” she said. “Better keep moving and be careful Pooh.”

“Yes,” said Pooh, “And the buzzing of the bees means they are making honey. Which I love.”

He started walking up to the tree but Sunset grabbed him and pulled him back, turning him around to face him. “Wait, are you sure this is a good idea? You could get hurt.”

Pooh thought for a second before speaking. “You are right. Then we shall be clever.”

“What?”

“Do you have a balloon?”

“I don’t follow.”

“You don’t have to. You stay down here.”

Sunset sighed as she set the bear down. Still odd. “What do you need a balloon for?”

“I shall use the balloon to reach the honey at the top. But the bees are clever themselves. So we need a balloon that looks like the sky. I shall look like a rain cloud.”

Sunset was about to object to the ridiculousness of it all but decided to just roll with it. She thought for a second and decided to check inside on of her boots given her lack of pockets. Sure enough she found a few uninflated balloons hidden inside.

“Balloon emergency, eh Pinkie?”

That girl always managed to get the strangest of things hidden away in the strangest of places. It would only help that Sunset was stuck in a bizarre dream world with a weird little bear. She shrugged and held out the balloons.

“So, which one do you need?”

Pooh examined the balloons, making a face like he was thinking very carefully. Doubtful. Finally he said, “The blue one. It looks most like the sky and help make me look like a cloud beneath.”

Sunset thought for a second about what to do about the other balloons then decided to hide them back in her boot. No sense in wasting Pinkie’s senseless hiding spot, in case of balloon emergency. That and she had nowhere else to put them. As she began blowing the balloon up, Pooh wandered over to a nearby mud puddle and began rolling about. Sunset watched in bemusement at the sight until he returned and simply stared at her and the half inflated balloon, waiting patiently. She struggled to not facepalm as she finished inflating the balloon.

After tying the balloon to a string, also stashed with the balloons, she watched in amazement as it rose and floated. Definitely a dream. Pooh held the string tight, squatted a few times, then jumped up and began floating upwards. And they say Pinkie defies logic.

Sunset watched as the mud covered bear floated high up to the top before hanging just outside of the hole. He held out his paw to the hole, just out of reach. But before he could move closer, the bees began buzzing about and surrounded the “rain cloud.”

“Pooh be careful!” Sunset called.

Her fears were realized as a pop sound came from above and the balloon began to quickly deflate. Pooh began a quick descent before the balloon lost all air, sending him tumbling down. He bounced a few times on some loose tree branches as Sunset scrambled to stay beneath him. She barely managed to keep below the falling bear and caught him, sending the two tumbling to the ground. She rose and began running to escape the likely angry bees. Fortunately, the swarm never pursued.

After a short run, Sunset slowed to a stop and set Pooh down. “Great. Now I’m covered in mud,” she said as she tried wiping off her arms and clothes. She looked at the mud covered bear in frustration. “Pooh! You could have been hurt!”

“But I wasn’t,” Pooh said, rather unaware of her growing anger.

“Yes, but…ugh…I guess I did help out so partly my fault. Sorry.”

“We are both well.”

Sunset could not help but smile at the odd little bear. “Well, we should clean off this mud then see about finding you some honey.”

“Yes.”

After a short search, they found a brook and began washing, leaving Sunset to endure damp clothes for a bit. They continued wandering until they came across a mass clearing of trees. The trees were set in a large circle and the ground seemed softer than anywhere else Sunset had seen so far. She looked upon the sight in awe and wonder. She turned to speak to Pooh who was silent and still.

“Pooh?”

“He is not here,” the bear said.

“Who?”

“A very special friend. He must be doing nothing, or something. You never know with nothings and somethings.”

Sunset stared in confusion as Pooh began walking up to the circle of trees and gave a gleeful gasp. She hurried up to find him sitting against a tree and dipping a paw into a clay pot. With each dip, he drew out a paw full of golden honey and licked it clean. She smiled at the simple sight and sat next to him, staring up through the circle at the wide blue sky.

All around, things seemed perfect. An unobstructed view of the sky. The brush of the wind against her arms and through her hair. The sound of birds singing. All around, things seemed magical.

“Hey, Pooh,” she said, still looking at the sky.

“Yes?” he said, still eating away at the honey.

“Do you think I could meet this friend of yours sometime?”

“Perhaps.”

If all of this was just a dream, perhaps she could stick around for a little longer. As odd as he was, Winnie-the-Pooh was good company. And, she had to admit, the ordeal with the bees did provide with some fun.

She felt a brush against her side and saw Pooh set close to her with the empty honey pot set where he had been earlier. He stared straight ahead at the circle of trees. “Are you my friend?” he asked.

Sunset was not sure how to answer. She had only just met the odd bear. But he did seem rather lonely with all of his other friends missing. “Sure,” she said.

“That’s good,” he said as he nestled closer. “Things are always better with a friend.”
She gave in to the urge to put an arm around the little bear and hugged him slightly. She would help him find his other friends so he would not be so alone. And who knows what strange excitement she would have with this silly bear on the way?

Wee Little Pig

Sunset blinked her eyes at the bright light that shined directly at her and put her hands to her eyes to rub them. It took her a second to realize that she had fallen asleep and she squinted her eyes tight before slowly opening them. But instead of finding herself sprawled on her bed, or her floor for all she hoped, she found herself in the midst of a circle of trees, sitting against one such tree. When did she fall asleep and how long did she sleep?

She was about to move when she noticed the weight on her lap. Laying across her lap, sound asleep, was Pooh. His arms were crossed and tucked under his head and he gave a soft and gentle snore with each breath. It was rather adorable to see. The childish urge came over her to grab him up in a big hug. But she repressed it, letting the yellow bear sleep a little longer.

She looked up at the sky and thought about everything that had happened so far. It was all so strange, the dream of a child. She wanted to go home and be done with it all. But, as she took a look back at the bear sleeping on her lap, she wanted to see more. Back home, she had been alone. Not entirely the fault of her friends but it still resulted in loneliness. Here, she had a friend who would quicker sleep on your lap than leave you alone. Who knows what other kinds of friends this one had?

Pooh stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked around before finding Sunset. “Good morning Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset repressed the urge to squee at the sleepy face of the yellow bear and his silly smile. “Good morning Pooh. Is it morning?”

Pooh looked up at the sky then at his tummy. “It seems to be.”

Sunset put her hand to her mouth to hide a giggle. Always hungry apparently. Pooh rolled over and stood on all fours before standing up straight. He wandered over to where he had found the honey pot earlier to find a second pot waiting for him.

“Just a little something before we go,” he said as he opened it and began digging in.

Sunset watched as Pooh happily lapped up his honey covered paw after each dip. The whole sight seemed so simple and peaceful. She felt like she could just sit for hours and watch him eat.

The feeling faded as a growl rumbled in her own stomach. She tucked in her legs and wrapped her arms around them. It was strange to feel hungry in a place that was supposed to be a dream. She looked down at her feet as she thought. What was this place?

She heard movement and turned to see Pooh standing next to her, holding his pot of honey. He held it out to her and waited patiently as she stared in curiosity.

“You seem to need a little something. Things are best when shared with a friend.”

“Thanks,” she said as she relaxed and took the pot. Pure honey would make for a strange breakfast but she was hungry and there did not appear to be anything else to eat. She looked inside and prepared to scoop out the golden sweet when she saw a wooden spoon set inside.

Relieved she would not have to dip her hand in, she took a small spoonful and gave a taste. The sweet taste struck her taste buds like a shower of joy. All thoughts of a healthy meal were thrown out as she stuffed the spoon in her mouth and downed the delicious mass. She quickly scooped out and ate several more spoonfuls before she realized what she was doing.

She looked over at Pooh, the spoon sticking out of her mouth and embarrassment blushing her face. She slurped up the remains on the spoon and politely put it back in the pot before setting the pot down. All the while, she stared at Pooh, her face growing redder each second, as he simply stared back. On his face was that same simple, patient face he had. No judgement as he waited for his friend to finish.

“Sorry. It was just so good.”

“I know.”

Still an odd bear. Pooh took the honey pot and peered inside before plunging a paw in a scooping out one more mass of honey and lapping it up. No sense in being wasteful it seemed. He then walked back over to where the pot hat been found and placed it next to the first. Sunset stood and brushed herself off and righted her skirt as Pooh made his way back and stood before her, still waiting patiently.

Sunset smiled. “Well. I guess we ought to get back to our adventure and find your friends.”

“Yes,” said Pooh.

The two wandered side-by-side down the small hill and back into the woods. For a while, nothing changed as they walked down a path through the trees. Pooh softly hummed as Sunset continued to drink in the wonderful scene around them. Eventually, they came across another larger tree with a small door and a couple of windows set into it.

It stood taller than Pooh’s tree home, by a small bit, though it was a little thinner. But it was still smaller than the tree home on the hill that Sunset had first seen. To one side was a broken wooden sign that read, “Trespassers W.” It did not take Sunset long to guess what the sign might have said once though it was odd to find such a sign in a place like this. Perhaps something that a child might see wandering the woods and thus was included in such a child-like dream land.

“I know this place,” said Pooh.

Sunset looked down at Pooh then back at the tree home. Before she could ask about the place, she heard a sound and turned to see a bush move as something slipped away. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked over to investigate. She moved part of the bush aside to find a very small creature hiding within.

The creature was pink and appeared like a small, young pig. It stood on two legs which were rounded much like Pooh’s paws, giving the appearance of a toy. It peered up at Sunset in a mix of fear and curiosity, seeming to relax as it looked at the girl.

“Oh!” it said. “Hallo. You don’t seem to be a Heffalump.”

“Well hello to you,” Sunset said as the small pig shuffled out from behind the bush. “Um…What’s a Heffalump?”

“Oh, a terrifying creature. One you don’t want to meet.” Before giving much more of an explanation, the pig turned and saw Pooh. At the sight of the yellow bear, the pig’s expression changed to one of sheer joy and relief. “Oh! Hallo Pooh! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Pooh looked at the pig and gave that same smile. “Hallo Piglet! I finally found you.”

“So,” said Sunset, “Your name is Piglet.”

Piglet looked at Sunset and stayed quiet, seeming unsure if she could be trusted or not. This left Pooh to answer.

“Yes. He is a good friend of mine.”

Sunset smiled at being able to find one of Pooh’s friends. It had not taken very long so maybe they could find all of the others just as quickly. Being a dream, it would probably go that way. Especially in a child’s dream.

A thought crossed her mind. “Hey, is Piglet the friend you were talking about earlier? At that circle of trees.”

Piglet looked at Sunset then at Pooh, rather confused. Pooh thought for a second before answering. “No. That friend is different.”

Sunset decided not to push anymore to be polite and changed the subject back to what Piglet had mentioned earlier. “So, what’s a Heffalump?”

“A frightening creature,” said Piglet. “I saw one once. Or perhaps it wasn’t.”

The urge to facepalm struck Sunset again at the vague answer. But the sight of the small pig was just so cute there was no way she could be upset at him.

“Oh!” said Pooh, causing the others to turn and Piglet to jump a hair off the ground. “Perhaps a Heffalump is responsible for our friends being missing.”

“You think?” asked Piglet.

“Perhaps,” said Pooh.

Sunset could not help but smile at the two. They truly were good friends seeing as how Piglet’s earlier fear was all but wiped away as he spoke with Pooh. She decided to entertain Pooh’s thought. “Okay, so what if it is a Heffalump?”

Pooh thought for a second before answering. “Then we shall catch it.”

“How?” asked Piglet.

Pooh went back to thinking as though he had not thought that far ahead. The three were silent as Pooh thought, allowing Sunset to have her own thought. “Well, there are three of us and maybe only one Heffalump. Sounds like good odds to me.”

While Piglet only looked confused, Pooh seemed to get an idea. “Yes. We shall find the Heffalump and say, ‘Aha!’”

“Aha?” asked Piglet as he tilted his head. Sunset could only agree.

“Yes,” continued Pooh. “That will let the Heffalump know we have caught him. Then he will tell us where our friends are.”

Sunset smiled at the simplicity of the idea. A simple idea from the mind of a child in line with the land made up by a child. Just say, “I caught you!” and you win the game. The thought brought back memories of her fillyhood and playing such simple games with Princess Celestia on occasion. For once, in such a long time, she was having fun. And her old childish imagination was returning.

“Well,” she said, returning from her musings, “we better start looking.”

The others agreed and the three started wandering with Pooh leading by just a hair and Piglet close behind. Through the trees, over rocks, and seemingly all over. All the while, Sunset tried her best to suppress her smile and giggles as she followed the two who wandered in circles. A part of her wanted to end the nonsense but this “adventure” was just too much fun. She hardly cared when she noticed that they were returning to Piglet’s home.

When they did return to Piglet’s home, the little pig looked around rather baffled. “Pooh, I think we went in a circle.”

Pooh looked around, again with that same expression he had. “Yes. We have.”

Piglet continued to look around, occasionally turning and allowing Sunset to see the worry on his face. She walked over to Piglet and knelt down, placing a hand over his little shoulders. “That’s okay. It just means that a Heffalump didn’t take your friends. We’ll look again later. I’m sure we’ll find them.”

Piglet looked up, visibly fighting the urge to cry but rather relieved with what Sunset had said. His initial fear and distrust of her had completely vanished as he wrapped his little arms around her legs as best he could in a hug. “Thank you.”

Sunset hesitated for just a second at the sudden affection before returning the hug. The appearance of the Pooh and Piglet were like that of a pair of stuffed animals given to a child, brought to life by the child’s imagination and cherished as real friends. Sunset had had her share of stuffed toys as a filly and recalled the love she once had for them. But such love eventually faded as she grew older. And the number of friends she had, even throughout her life, were few. Six to be exact and she was still learning how to be a friend.

But in such a short time here, in this dream world from a book, she seemed to have made two friends who gave her the love one would expect from a lifetime of knowing them. A love she had hardly known through her life. Though they appeared as toys brought to life in a child’s dream or imagination, at the moment, they were just as real as anything else.

Her thoughts of leaving and ending the bizarre dream vanished. She no longer wanted to leave. She had to stay. She wanted to stay. But her mind called her back to the reality of things. No matter how real they seemed, this was still a dream. But, if it was a dream, she would cherish this experience regardless of how long it lasted.

“You’re welcome,” she said before releasing Piglet.

He took two steps back before peering around, prompting Sunset to turn to see what he was looking at. Once again, she tried to hide a giggle as she saw Pooh holding his tummy. Time for “a little something” it seemed.

“Sunset,” the bear said. “I am feeling a bit eleven o’clockish. Time for a little something.”

Of course.

“Oh.”

Sunset turned back as she heard Piglet. The little pig hurried into his home and emerged a minute later pushing a honey pot nearly as big as he was. Sunset stood and went over to help him by picking up the honey pot and nearly causing him to fall over.

“I’ve got it,” she said.

Piglet steadied himself and looked at her, then at Pooh, then back at her. “Umm…That is for Pooh. I don’t remember where or when I got it but he can have it.” He looked back at Pooh. “I have things to do so…perhaps another time.”

“Of course,” said Pooh. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” said Piglet. He looked back at Sunset. “Goodbye,” he said before going into his home.

For a moment, it felt like the smile on Sunset’s face would never fade. She walked over to Pooh and handed him the honey pot.

“So now what?” she asked.

Pooh said nothing. Nor did he open the honey pot. Instead, he held the pot in one arm and reached out to her with the other, taking her by the hand. He started walking, leading Sunset back the way towards the circle of trees, releasing her after a moment and leaving her to follow. She did not complain. She could not. She only smiled more.

Finally back at the trees, Pooh did as he did before. He stood and stared for a moment and repeated, “He’s not here.”

“Doing nothing again, or something?”

“Perhaps.”

The two made their way back to where they had sat before. The two previous honey pots were still in their place but sitting on a nearby flat rock was a plate with some biscuits, a couple of small jars, and a spoon. Sunset investigated to find the jars held jelly in one and honey in the other.

“A little something for you Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset looked to see Pooh sitting down at the previous spot, waiting patiently for her with the honey pot still unopened. Shrugging and giving in to her own “eleven o’clockish” feeling, Sunset took the plate and sat down next to Pooh. As she began scooping and spreading some jelly on one biscuit Pooh opened his honey pot and dug in.

Time hardly mattered as they sat and ate their meal. Not much mattered at the moment. They ate slow, enjoying each bite and savoring the taste of their respective foods. After what felt like an hour or so, the meals were finished and the two simply sat in silence for a moment, staring ahead or at the sky and leaving Sunset to return to her musings.

Where had the food come from? Was this special friend of Pooh’s leaving it for them but always unable to stay? Or was it just part of the dream? Like that of a child who plays, goes to eat, and returns to play without ever leaving their imagination.

“Sunset Shimmer?” said Pooh.

“Yes?”

“Are you my friend?”

Sunset looked at Pooh. She hesitated to answer for a moment, a little confused as to why Pooh would ask the question again. Did he not believe her before? Did she even believe herself before? She looked back at the sky and internally repeated the question. A simple question. But one she did not truly know the answer to. What did it truly mean to be a friend?

“Of course,” she said finally, wincing internally at her own lack of conviction. Before, she had given into the dream. Now, she truly wanted to know herself.

“That’s good,” said Pooh, nestling closer as he had before as Sunset’s internal debate went unnoticed.

Again, Sunset put an arm around him and hugged him slightly. She found herself questioning her friendship with the odd bear. She said she was his friend but she hardly knew what that meant. She had her other friends. But how much of a friend were each of them to her? Or, more importantly, she to them.

She looked down at Pooh, only now noticing the he had returned the hug she gave. Perhaps this odd bear could help her figure out what it meant to be a friend.

Meaning of Friend

Sunset sat at the dining table of her home and stared out the window, watching the sky shift from the morning orange to blue. In front of her, her bowl of cereal grew soggy in the milk as she stirred it with her spoon. But her thoughts were far from the simple morning meal. In her mind she pondered her return to the dream world to see Pooh and Piglet once more. Questions sped through her head about how to return and what would happen if, or hopefully when, she returned.

A shake of her head and she snapped back to her present location and returned to her meal, practically drinking the bits of former sweetened corn cereal. She raised the bowl and downed the leftover milk and finished her glass of orange juice. As she place her dishes into the kitchen sink her thoughts began to drift back to Pooh’s world. Excitement built in her at the thought of returning and the new adventures that awaited.

A smile was plastered across her face as she followed her daily morning routine. Once again, she felt like a filly once more. Like a small child excited to go somewhere new or return to somewhere they loved. She was so giddy in fact that she practically bounced as she moved about her home. She even put her clothes on wrong twice as she rushed to dress.

Finally dressed, she looked over at the book on her night stand, her smile making her feel as though her face would stretch or freeze. But she did not care. She wanted to see Pooh again. She picked up the book and looked at the front cover and the image of the forlorn bear.

“Don’t worry,” she said, “I won’t leave you alone for long.”

Her thoughts stopped and she looked over at her closet and her boots which sat right outside. As impossible as it seemed, she felt her smile get larger. She inwardly scolded herself at nearly forgetting her boots.

“Big boots for an adventure. Right, Pooh?”

She slipped the boots on her feet and looked back at the book. She was ready. She stared at the book as the time ticked by. Her face began to relax from her excitement as she simply stood in her room staring at the cover. She opened the book and read through her adventure so far. But as she reached the standing conclusion, nothing happened.

She closed the book and turned it over several times as though looking for a secret button or switch. Perhaps something new to trigger the transportation the way the cover picture had done before. But still, her room remained.

Her eager smile was now replaced by a frown of worry as she continued to turn the book over and flip through the pages. Nothing. Her face contorted and she felt like she was going to cry. Still nothing. No matter what she tried, she continued to stand in the middle of her room and stare at the book.

Sunset gave a worried giggle, forcing a smile back onto her face. “It’s just not ready yet. In its own time, right? Yeah. I’ve just got to wait patiently.”

She sat on her bed and place the book next to her. She placed her hands in her lap and looked around and occasionally at the book. Still nothing. Her hands began to fidget, tap her legs, or wring about one another. She twiddled her thumbs and tapped her feet. But still, she remained in her room on her bed.

A look at the clock revealed that she had spent a full thirty minutes simply waiting for something to happen. She looked at the book again as her face twisted into a scowl. Silent as before. She picked up the book and placed it in her lap. She stared at it, willing things to change. But still, nothing was different. She felt her face twist more as she picked up the book.

“Do something!”

Nothing.

“You can’t just leave me like this! You can’t just speak then go quiet again! Don’t tease me like this!”

Sunset opened the book once more and flipped through the pages. She stopped and felt her scowl begin to fade away into a frown of sorrow when she came to the part when she first found the circle of trees. She read over the story and stopped at the question Pooh had asked her.

“Are you my friend?”

Sunset flipped over to the next moment with the trees and saw that same question.

“Are you my friend?”

She felt a tear drop from her eye at the question. The first time, she had not thought much of the question with all of the silliness of a dream world. The second time, she had questioned her answer but still gave a half-hearted answer. Now she had a question of her own. What was a friend?

She gently closed the book and held it close. She felt her eyes water and her tears slowly drip down her face. She spoke softly.

“I’m sorry. Please let me go back. I…I just want to know what a friend is.”

Still nothing happened.

“Please. I want to be your friend, but I don’t know how.”

With a final desperate attempt, she opened the book to the latest page detailing her departure. And her message to Pooh as she walked through the door. She stared at the image of Pooh on the page opposite the words. The bear stood waiting, patient and silent. A tear dripped from Sunset’s eyes and landed on his face.

“Please,” she repeated as a few more tears dotted the page.

She turned the page to what stood as the first blank page in the book. She closed her eyes as she pleaded, feeling the tears stream down her face and drip onto the pages. When she opened her eyes, the world was white.

Everything was dark following the blinding white. Sunset stumbled around and finally saw light shining in from what appeared to be a window. She made her way towards it, tripping and stepping on unseen objects on the floor. When she reached the window, she looked out to see the wondrous sight of the woods where Pooh lived. She fumbled around in the dark to find the door nearby.

She stepped out of the door into the warm and soothing light of the sun. She was back. A smile filled her face and her eyes watered with tears of joy. Her legs felt weak and buckled. But she stood, letting her legs buckle into one another and weakly support her. But the support did not last as she slumped and sat on the grass below. The soft carpet of green gently bore her as the wind brushed against her body and calmed her. She was back.

In a quick bout of curiosity, Sunest turned back to where she had come from to see the tree home she had seen when she had first arrived and when she left. The special home was as dark as before and the door had closed behind her. A few questions arose, old and new, regarding the tree home. But Sunset pushed them aside for now. She looked out at the vast forest and mustered the strength to stand. She needed to see Pooh.

As she stood, her legs felt like jelly. But she pushed herself to move forward in an awkward stumbling walk before speeding up. As she moved down the hill she sped up and felt her feet drag a few times as they moved. She practically stumbled the whole way down, narrowly avoiding a few falls along the way, before nearly charging into the midst of the trees.

As she passed into the forest she began to run. Her face contorted into a bittersweet smile and she struggled to maintain her vision as tear swelled in her eyes. She was going to see him again.

Finally, she skidded to a halt as she rounded a small bend and came upon the stout bear’s home. Pooh sat on the log in front of his tree home and stared into space as he softly hummed. Sunset took a few steps forward, hoping that he would remember her and forgive her for leaving so abruptly. As Pooh turned his head towards her she steeled herself.

“Hallo, Sunset Shimmer.”

The sound of her name brought the smile on Sunset’s face to full. She dragged her feet as she took a couple of steps forward, holding a hand up to her chest, before she rushed up and grabbed Pooh in a large hug.

“Pooh. I’m sorry I left like that and stayed gone so long.”

She set the bear down and brushed away the tears in her eyes. But Pooh simply stared at her in that simple manner of his. He was not angry or upset. Just Pooh.

“No need to apologize Sunset Shimmer. That is how things go sometimes. Besides, you were not gone that long.”

Sunset held back more tears. “Thank you.”

Pooh took ahold of her hand and began leading her further into the woods. “Come now. We have a new day ahead.”

Sunset let the little bear lead her, feeling like the stuffed animal dragged around by the child. She found herself wondering about the world once again. She repeated the questions she had to herself once more as she pondered. Was she dreaming it all up or was there some magic that made this whole world a reality? In the end, it hardly mattered. An adventure was an adventure. Friends were friends.

Friend. The word reminded her of the question she had no answer to. What did it mean to be a friend? What did it mean to love? She looked down at the yellow bear who lead her by the hand. He knew. He would not say, but he would show her.

“Hey Pooh?” It was time for Sunset to ask her own question.

“Yes?”

“Are you my friend?”

Pooh never stopped nor did he slow down. “Of course.”

“Hey Pooh?”

“Yes?”

“Will you always be my friend?”

“Always.”

Sunset felt her eyes water again and brushed them with her free hand. A smile was now plastered across her face once more. She still did not quite know what it meant to be a friend, but she was sure Pooh would show her. He was simple and did not speak more than he needed to. But his actions had spoken volumes.

“Hey Pooh?” She had just one last question.

“Yes?”

“That friend you have talked about. Are you still his friend.”

This time Pooh stopped and he stood silent a moment. He stared straight ahead. When he finally spoke, his words were…unsettling. As though he was sad. “He said goodbye.”

“Pooh?”

“I can’t find him.”

Sunset knelt down beside him and put an arm around him. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find him.”

Pooh looked at her, his face as simple as always. But for some reason, it seemed to show a level of emotion he had not shown before. Sunset could almost feel the sorrow that permeated from his simple look. She smiled to try and cheer him up as best she could and held out her hand to him.

“Come on. Let’s go get Piglet and get back to our adventure to find all of your friends.”

Pooh smiled and took hold of her hand. They continued on towards Piglet’s home side by side. On the way, Sunset could only think to what Pooh had said. Who was this special friend of his that had brought on such sadness at his mention? It could have been the child who once owned the animals. But what happened when he said goodbye? Whatever the case, she would stand by Pooh and not allow him to go through that sadness again.

As they drew closer to Piglet’s home, Sunset focused her mind on the next adventure. She would help Pooh find his special friend. But until then, she would not leave his side.

Sticks and Tails

Sunset looked down at the gently flowing brook below the simple wooden bridge she was on and listened to the gentle bubbling of the water. To her right was Pooh and her left was Piglet, each staring at the water below in silence. Pooh hung on the rail of the bridge while little Piglet simply peered through the bars of the rail. Pooh had brought her here after they gave Piglet a quick visit earlier and had seemed pretty eager to show her the area but had yet to say for what reason.

“Hey Pooh?” she asked. “Was there something you wanted to show me or do here?”

Pooh was quiet for a moment before straightening up as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh yes. I remember.”

He walked off the bridge and stooped down, gathering up a few sticks. When he returned, he held them out to Sunset. She stared in confusion a moment unsure exactly what the bear was doing. She hesitated as she tried to work out how to react, whether she should admire the sticks he found or if he wanted her to have them.

“Take one,” he said.

She did and Pooh gave one to Piglet. With each of them having a stick of their own, Pooh explained himself.

“We will drop the sticks over one side of the bridge and see which one comes out the other side first.”

Once again, Sunset stared in confusion at the idea. She never pegged Pooh for the competitive type as she could imagine that he would not want to upset a friend. Not to mention, each stick was rather similar. So much so that it would be difficult to tell whose stick was whose. Regardless, she shrugged and went along with the idea.

They walked over to the upstream side and each held out their sticks. With a countdown from three, they let go and watched the sticks lightly splash in the water before surfacing. They gently flowed with the current of the brook until they passed under the bridge. The three walked over to the other side and patiently waited to see which stick would emerge first.

As she suspected, Sunset watched as Piglet’s stick lead the way with her stick bringing up the rear. That was assuming she recalled each stick correctly. The little pig’s short arms had given him an advantage to fall closer downstream while her own longer arms had the opposite effect. Still, she tried to play along with the game to congratulate Piglet.

“Looks like your stick came out first Piglet. Great job.”

She was surprised when Piglet looked up in confusion at her congratulations and Pooh simply walked off the bridge to gather more sticks. Sunset all but scratched her head at the lack of excitement for Piglet’s win on consoling of Sunset on her loss. This was a game, right?

Pooh returned with three more sticks and they continued to play. During the second round, a fourth stick joined in and threw off a determination of the stick that emerged first. A few other times the sticks would take an extended time to emerge and a couple of times they never emerged, likely having gotten caught on something under the bridge. Regardless, they never seemed to emerge in the same order or fashion as before.

As they continued, Sunset noticed how all semblance of a competition was non-existent. Each time, they would drop their sticks and simply take note of which one emerged first. There seemed to be no winners or losers. Just three friends playing a simple game of whatever they found. It was simple and truly more enjoyable than anything else.

To be at the mercy of the current seemed to be how life worked. Each toss of the sticks proved that time and again. No amount of skill or technique could influence the outcome. It was almost like watching various lives, each having to flow down the same current towards the same end.

Another round put Sunset’s philosophic thoughts aside as an odd stick emerged alongside the others. It twisted as it flowed down the brook and acted like anything but a stick. One end appeared to have a tuft of hair while the other had a small nail embedded into it.

The three stared in curiosity at the new object as Sunset worked out what it was and Pooh spoke. “I know that.”

Sunset hurried off the bridge and reached out to grab the “stick” before it got too far down the way. Being careful not to prick herself on the nail, she looked the object over to see that it was indeed a tail of some sort. One made of cloth and likely belonging to another stuffed animal-like character like Pooh or Piglet. Perhaps another friend.

She looked over at Pooh and Piglet who were walking off the bridge. “Does this belong to one of your friends?”

“I think so. I’m not sure,” said Piglet.

“Yes,” said Pooh.

Sunset pushed down frustration at the simple answers with little detail and smiled at the two. “Well, let’s go find your friend.”

The two nodded and the three began their search, wandering along the brook with Sunset in the lead. She figured if the tail had fallen in the water, the best place to begin was upstream. Perhaps the friend was still close or wandering down trying to catch the tail.

After a few minutes of walking, they came upon what Sunset assumed was the friend. It looked like a large, gray, stuffed donkey with rounded ends on its feet much like Pooh and Piglet with a line of black hair running from its head down its neck. It wandered slowly around in a circle with its head hanging in a rather glum way, hardly seeming to know where it was going. A quick peek at the backside revealed it to be missing a tail, making it the likely owner of the one Sunset held.

Before she could ask the new friend about the tail, Pooh called over to it. “Hallo Eeyore!”

The donkey looked over at the three without much of an expression and said in a low and gloomy tone, “Hallo Pooh. Hallo Piglet. And who are you?”

Sunset smiled, internally hoping to cheer his mood. “My name is Sunset Shimmer and,” she held out the tail, “I think you lost this.”

Eeyore did not really react much at first but then proceeded to turn in circle to the right as though trying to see his behind. After a slow turn, he turned the opposite way then made a final turn back the right. He stopped, either having given up or realizing his tail was indeed gone, it was hard to tell, and turned back to Sunset and the others. He looked at the tail a moment before giving a slow nod.

“Yes. That does seem to be my tail. I thought something seemed off. Didn’t quite feel like myself and this is why.”

Sunset smiled. “Well we can’t let you go missing a part of yourself now can we?”

“Yes,” said Eeyore. “You understand right Sunset Shimmer. That seems familiar. Don’t know why.”

Sunset looked at the tail a second then at Eeyore, trying to figure out how she was supposed to reattach the tail. It seemed odd to use a nail to attach a tail on one that appeared to be a large stuffed animal. As she pondered her options, Eeyore slowly looked up to her.

“Just nail it back in. That’s how he did it before. But I don’t blame you for not wanting to. Probably would fall off again.”

The mention of “he” struck Sunset. She had no way of knowing who Eeyore was talking about. He could be referring to Pooh or perhaps another friend. For a moment, she even considered that it may be the friend Pooh had mentioned she never met. But, she pushed the thought aside for now and searched around for a rock or stick to pound the nail given her lack of a hammer. Of course, the idea of hammering a nail into the backside of a friend of talking stuffed animal seemed…mean.

But an ideas struck her and she nearly slapped her forehead for not thinking of it before. She reached into a pocket of her jacket and pulled out a small plastic sewing case that Rarity had given her. Under Rarity’s insistence, she had kept the kit on her but never really had a need for it.

“A little something for a fashion emergency, darling,” she had told Sunset. “You’re going to want to have this with you at all times. You never know when a rip or tear needs a quick fix.”

Sunset smiled, only now appreciating the generous thought, and nearly laughed that she had been helped by two of her friends without them even realizing it. Or without her realizing it until now. Perhaps it was not just the work of this dream world that gave her exactly what she needed at times like this.

She removed the nail from the tail and opened the kit, trying to recall the short sewing lesson Rarity had given her when she gave her the kit. It took a few tries to get the needle threaded but finally she got it. She got down behind Eeyore and started going through the motions she had been shown. After a few minutes of sewing, and resewing, the tail was attached and looked fairly decent.

Sunset was hardly surprised when Eeyore looked back and gave the reattached tail a few swishes. But she was surprised when she saw the gray donkey give a smile that seemed rather out of place given the gloomy attitude he had had earlier. Not quite as cheerful as what Pinkie would have seemingly all the time, but a grateful smile that gave Sunset a real warm feeling.

“Well look at that. Good as new.” He looked at Sunset with that warm smile. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“So Eeyore,” Sunset said as the gray donkey slowly began walking away. “Where do you live? If you don’t mind me asking that is.”

He stopped and looked back, his smile having returned to the sort of frown he had earlier. “Just around here. I was trying to rebuild my home when I noticed I wasn’t quite myself. It will probably take me a while to finish.”

Sunset walked up a put a hand on his back. “We could help you. Then it wouldn’t take so long.”

“I suppose,” said Eeyore.

They followed Eeyore, as slow as he went, but hardly went far, having only wandered around a bush next to the brook. There they saw a pile of sticks with a couple standing on one end and leaning against each other. Eeyore went to the pile and took another stick in his mouth and attempted to stand it up only to release it and watch it fall.

As the donkey continued to repeat his futile effort, Sunset pondered the sight. She had assumed that all of the friends would live in tree homes given that she had seen three so far. But clearly that conclusion was all but true. But it seemed odd to see Eeyore attempting to stand sticks up. Did he really live here amongst a pile of sticks?

She turned to Pooh for an answer. “Hey, Pooh. Do you know what Eeyore’s home is supposed to look like?”

“Yes,” said Pooh.

“Well then, let’s help him out then.”

The three began to help, clearing the pile out to make room and stacking the sticks into a triangular shape. It did not take long to see how the home was supposed to look and she began to question the simplicity of it all. Just a stack of sticks that, once finished, reminded her of a simple tent shape made of wood. The sticks were long enough that the space provided just enough room for Eeyore to squeeze into, which he tested out by backing in before walking out again.

With all of the sticks used, Eeyore looked over the work and gave a slow nod before turning to the others. “That’s it. It’s perfect. Thank you. You really have done too much to help.”

Sunset felt her face blush slightly. “Nonsense.”

“Well,” Eeyore said, “I guess I’ll just make things comfortable the way it was again before it falls over again. Just how things go.”

Sunset was about to offer more help but decided against it as Eeyore slowly backed into his home and laid down. Such a simple life he lived. He may have been a bit pessimistic but overall he really did not complain when things happened. He seemed to just go with whatever happened and let life take care of itself. She smiled at the thought. A lot of lessons in simplicity this time.

A small, low rumble broke the silence that had settled and Sunset turned to see Pooh holding his stomach. He looked up to her. “It appears I’m feeling a bit eleven o’clockish and am in need of a little something.”

Sunset put her hand to her mouth as she let out a short giggle. She held her hand out to Pooh who took hold and another to Piglet. “Let’s go then and get something to eat.”

They wandered back to the bridge and crossed before making their way back down through the woods. Piglet diverted them back to his home to eat there, having just what he wanted there waiting for him. They said goodbye for now and Sunset and Pooh continued on. With the morning starting to fade, Sunset wondered what other friends she would meet. Each seemed so different and she seemed to learn something new with each one she met.

She smiled. Another day, another friend found, and more adventure ahead. She could not wait.

The Rabbit Hole

As Sunset and Pooh wandered through the woods, Sunset could feel her stomach build in its grumbling. Her stomach muscles tightened and pulled as it groaned and growled. She put a hand over her belly and held it in a vain attempt to silence the groans of hunger. And yet, despite the embarrassment building from the noisy tummy, Pooh seemed to ignore it. Whether out of kind respect and understanding or that simple mind of his that was just unbothered, Sunset could not tell.

The bear seemed to have his own troubles with a moaning tummy. Sunset could see the discomfort and heard a few soft moans on occasion from his empty stomach. But Pooh pushed on, seemingly determined to satiate his hunger.

They turned a corner of trees and came across a small mound with a hole dug into the side and a tree set on top. Pooh stopped and seemed to eye the mound of earth a moment before walking up and peering into the hole.

“Hallo!” he called.

Only silence replied.

“I say, hallo!” he called again. “Is anyone there?”

“No,” came a voice from the hole.

“Are you sure?” asked Pooh.

“Yes. There is nobody here.”

Sunset could hardly contain herself at the silliness, leaving her hunger all but forgotten about. Although she could not tell who was really inside, she knew it had to be another friend of Pooh. She walked up to try and help coax the friend out.

“I wonder if you might be Rabbit,” said Pooh to the hole. “I haven’t been able to find him but I know he lives in a hole much like this one.”

“Well it must be another hole that he lives in,” the hole replied. “Perhaps he has gone to find Pooh.”

“But this is Pooh.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. And a new friend, Sunset Shimmer.”

A shuffling noise came from inside then a small brown rabbit, one about the size of Pooh, poked its head out and looked at Pooh and Sunset. Sunset was rather surprised to see an actual rabbit rather than a stuffed animal like the others have been. Although, this could be a different character. No telling with the land being what it was.

“Oh!” said the rabbit. “It is you Pooh. I’ve been wondering where you were.” He looked at Sunset. “You must be Sunset Shimmer.”

“Yes,” she replied with a smile. “And are you Rabbit?”

“Of course. Sorry about all of that earlier. I needed to be cautious with everyone going missing.” He looked around. “Have you seen the others anywhere?”

“Yes,” said Pooh. “Piglet and Eeyore.”

“We’ve been trying to find all of the friends,” said Sunset. “I’m glad we found you.”

“Well,” said Rabbit, “they should be found soon.” He looked at Pooh who was once again holding his hungry tummy. “Although I think we should get you something to eat, Pooh. Are you hungry as well Sunset Shimmer?”

On cue a soft grumble came from Sunset’s own aching tummy. She involuntarily grabbed it and gave an embarrassed smile. “Um…Yes, please. If you don’t mind.”

Rabbit turned back to his hole. “Well then, come on in.” But before he disappeared inside, he stopped, as though thinking, and turned back, looking Sunset over. “I suppose you could not fit inside. And Pooh would still be a bit of a squeeze.”

He began to ponder and Sunset felt her stomach tighten and give another moan. “We could eat out here. That’s fine with me if it’s fine with you. How about it Pooh?”

Pooh still held his tummy. “Yes. That is fine.”

Rabbit thought for a second before perking up. “A picnic! Of course. We shall go on a picnic.”

“That sounds wonderful,” said Sunset, feeling rather excited at the thought.

“Then I shall gather what we need,” said Rabbit and disappeared back into the hole.

With Rabbit inside, Pooh turned to Sunset, appearing more worried than excited. “What about the others? Shall we get Piglet and Eeyore?”

“Actually, that sounds great,” said Sunset, now rather excited about the whole idea. “A small picnic to celebrate finding another friend.”

But Pooh still did not seem so excited. He looked down at the ground. “But then, what of the friends we haven’t found yet? I don’t want them to feel left out.”

Sunset could not help but smile at the thought. The little bear really did care about all of his friends, even when he could not quite remember them all. “Alright then,” she said, “We’ll just have some lunch right here. Once we find all of the friends, we’ll have a big picnic with everyone. How does that sound?”

Pooh looked up and gave a small smile. “Yes. That sounds good.”

Their attention turned to Rabbit who reappeared from his hole pushing a blanket and a wicker picnic basket. “Well then, I think we’re all set to go.”

“Hey Rabbit,” said Sunset, “could we just eat right here? Just a simple lunch. We’ll save the picnic until we find all of your friends.”

Rabbit thought for a moment, almost appearing a bit frustrated at the idea. “I suppose.” He looked at Sunset and Pooh. “You really must think of things earlier. It makes things difficult to change plans like that.”

“Of course,” Sunset said, giving an apologetic smile.

The three laid out the blanket and opened the basket, releasing the tantalizing smell of the food within. It was a rather simple meal. A few different leafy vegetables for Rabbit, a jar of honey for Pooh, and three simple sandwiches for Sunset. Everything from the food inside to extra cloth napkins were included in the wicker basket. Anything the three could want or need was included.

“I’m impressed with how well prepared you are Rabbit,” Sunset said after finishing her first sandwich.

“Of course,” he replied as he dotted his mouth with a napkin. “One must always think of things and have a proper plan.”

Pooh turned to Sunset, paw covered in honey. “Rabbit is very clever,” he said as he licked off the honey. “It is because he has a brain.”

Sunset tilted her head as she tried to figure out what Pooh was talking about. Of course a real rabbit would have a brain compared to a stuffed teddy bear. She scratched her head as she thought then shook it. What was she talking about? This was an imaginary world. She had to be overthinking things. But she could not help but wonder.

“Don’t you have a brain Pooh?”

Pooh looked at her and left Rabbit to answer. “Of course Pooh has no brain. It’s why he’s not clever at all.” Rabbit stopped his badgering and thought for a moment. “Although he was almost always with him so I guess he would not need one.”

Once more, Sunset was left to guess about who “he” was. It was obvious the connection, the child who imagined the world and played with the different friends. But it still left her wondering who “he” was exactly. And it only made things difficult that all of the friends, even Pooh who seemed to be the closest friend, could only remember vague bits.

She allowed the thought to linger but never brought it up. She was likely to not get much as usual anyways. Instead, she went back to the meal and enjoyed the company of Pooh and Rabbit.

As the meal went by, the thought of the one who once was friends with Pooh and the others continued to prod at Sunset’s mind. Finally, her curiosity got the best of her.

“Rabbit?” she asked, trying to be as polite as possible. “You mentioned “him.” Who was he and what was he like.” Rabbit looked at her rather confused as did Pooh. “Pooh doesn’t seem to remember very well and we’ve been trying to find him. I was hoping that if we could jog Pooh’s memory a bit, maybe it would make it easier to find him.”

Rabbit thought for a minute before speaking. “Hmm…” he said. “Well…he was very clever. More clever than Pooh of course who has no brain.” Not letting that go for now it seems. “He did seem to know just what to do. I…I don’t really remember much else.”

Rabbit’s ears seem to droop a bit at the thought. Pooh himself seemed saddened along with Rabbit. With the mood shifting to sorrow, Sunset put on her bravest smile and tried to cheer them up.

“Don’t worry,” she said, putting a hand on a shoulder of the two friends. “I’m sure once we find him you’ll remember everything about him.”

Pooh looked at her and was already perking up. Rabbit regarded Sunset and gave what she assumed was a smile. “You seem a lot like him Sunset Shimmer.”

The statement caught Sunset off guard a bit. She thought back to when they had helped Eeyore and remember him being reminded of something by her. Could he have been reminded of the boy by her just like Rabbit just now? Eeyore had mentioned “him” as well so it was not entirely out of the question.

Sunset put the thought aside once more. It was possible she was right but, by the same token, she could also be seriously overthinking. And understanding the relation of the boy and the imaginary friends was hardly helping to find him. At least for now.

As the three finished their respective foods and began wrapping up their lunch, they politely gathered up the used napkins and plates and cups and everything else that Rabbit had packed in the basket. They placed the items to be cleaned back into the basket and neatly folded the blanket and placed it on top. Sunset helped Rabbit get the basket back into his hole and tried to offer to help clean up more. He declined but appreciated the offer.

With everything cleaned up, Sunset and Pooh said their goodbyes to Rabbit and thanked him for the meal. Rabbit went into his home to finish cleaning and Sunset and Pooh continued on their way through the woods. As the two continued their search through the woods, Sunset continued to think back to some of the conversation during lunch.

“Hey Pooh?” she asked, wanting more to discard the curiosity rather than satisfy it.

“Yes?”

“Rabbit said you didn’t have a brain. Does Piglet have one?”

Pooh thought for a moment before answering. “I don’t think so. At least, that is what Eeyore has said once.”

“So he’s not very clever either?”

“Well, he is a small animal. Perhaps he is clever, but not as clever as Rabbit of course.”

“Of course,” Sunset said with a small giggle. The talk of brains and cleverness was rather silly. An odd look into the mind of whatever child imagined the friends and the world.

“Hey Pooh?” she asked once more, curious about one more thing.

“Yes?”

“Is your special friend clever?”

Once again, Pooh thought for a moment. But instead of his regular lack of recall, he answered readily. “Oh yes. Very clever indeed.”

Sunset could hear the cheer in his voice at being able to remember something about the mystery child. Whatever other questions she had now were pushed aside for later. She would let him have this moment of happiness.

“Hey Pooh,” she said.

“Yes?”

“I think it’s okay that you don’t have a brain.”

He looked at her in curiosity. “Why is that?”

She held out her hand to which he reached out to hold. “Because I think you have a very big heart,” she said with a smile.

Pooh smiled at her then looked forward at wherever they were going. “I think I quite like that.”

What Was Once Lost

The forest path that Sunset and Pooh wandered along twisted and turned in every which way, leaving the two rather lost as to where they were. Minutes past by and grew into a half hour of wandering in the uncharted part of the woods. Yet despite their lost state, Sunset could only gaze about in wonder at the beauty of the trees and other foliage that covered the land.

Each twist and turn revealed more wonders and new paths to explore. Sunset was once again reminded of her time as a filly and the vast unknown of the world. The time when everything was brand new and she thrilled at the thought of seeing or learning something new. And now, like then, she found herself upset at the numerous things to see and explore when there was only so much time given each day or in a moment to satiate such desire to learn and see. So much to see and do, and so little time given.

As before, Pooh was filled with awe at the world around him. Such wonder caused Sunset to greatly question how familiar Pooh was with the woods he lived in. His eyes showed less the thrill of recalling something forgotten or rediscovering something lost and more the true awe of finding and seeing something brand new for the first time. While he readily remembered his friends, the world about him seemed almost as new and unexplored to him as it did Sunset.

Was he just unfamiliar with this part of the woods? It would be possible that during the time when all was well in this world that not every part of the world of imagination had been explored. Many parts left vast and unknown as the child created more to it but never had the time to have adventures in the new parts he imagined. Perhaps Sunset and Pooh had stumbled upon such an area.

And yet, the world itself really was not quite as large as it may have seen initially. Or perhaps that was how it seemed. But the amount that Sunset had seen so far only seemed so large. It seemed odd to imagine that a few of the areas were unexplored given how close they were to some of the friends’ homes.

Could it be that this imagination land was constantly changing? A variable world with an untold number of possible paths to take? It would make sense that a child would constantly recreate the world they imagined. Either having forgotten how it was previous or just for something new. Did the world really change so much?

Sunset thought back to all of the exploring she and Pooh had done up to now. The land did not seem to change, even in the short time she had been here. Nor did it change after her brief time away during the night. But was that because she remembered everything that she had seen during the first day?

She stopped for a moment and looked down at herself then at Pooh who was eying a tree, rather intrigued. No, things had changed. Or at least, one thing had changed. The child who had once played with Pooh and the friends was missing and now Sunset had begun to make herself a part of the world. Whatever had caused the boy and the friends to go missing may have had some effect on the world, but Sunset’s presence defiantly did.

Sunset found herself starting to wrap her arms around her body as feelings of guilt began to bleed out. She had begun her bizarre adventure giving little thought to this land imagined by a child, believing it to be merely a dream of sorts. She had little desire to think of Pooh and the others as little more than figments of her own imagination. The thought had prodded the back of her mind that this world was not hers and she had treated it as such.

But as she had come to know the world and meet the inhabitants, she began to cherish them as her own friends. She cared for them and desired their affection in kind. She had quickly made this world her own sanctuary, a way to rid herself of loneliness. Even if the loneliness was not the fault of her real world friends. All out of her own selfishness.

That was what she had done. She had given no care to a world she had found, one lost and needing to be returned to the one who had created it. She had treated this world the way she had treated the used blank book, as a discarded item of little worth. Afterwards, she had stolen it and made it her own. She had come to desire what the world had to offer and had such taken it away from who it belonged to. This world was not hers. And she had not treated it with the care it deserved. How truly selfish.

Sunset was driven from her thoughts by a warm hug from a pair of yellow arms. She looked at Pooh, who stood right at eye level, then down at herself to see she had dropped to her knees and was now sitting on the forest floor. Her vision was partially blurred but she could not bring herself to wipe away the tears that now filled her eyes. Instead, she only huddled closer and gave in to the hug from Pooh. Neither spoke as no words were necessary.

Sunset was caught between smiling and feeling blessed by the care and possibility of forgiveness from the small bear and crying out in guilt for not treating this world and its inhabitants with proper care. Caught between joy and sorrow, she only sat and let Pooh hold her as she wanted to hold the stuffed bear that he was, or was based on. The hug both warmed and burned her in the conflicting emotions. What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to feel?

Time passed. Exactly how long, Sunset could not tell. Minutes. Hours. It was impossible to tell in her state. As she opened her eyes once more, she found her arms wrapped tightly around Pooh who held her just as tight. And now, the world was nothing less than a blur as tears had stained her face.

Finally, she released Pooh who, in turn, released her. She continued to sit on the forest floor and stared at the blurred image of the yellow bear, unable to speak or even move. A blurred paw reached out and brushed away some of her tears as Pooh softly spoke.

“I do hope you alright Sunset Shimmer. I don’t like to see my friends sad, but I suppose we all must cry sometimes.”

For whatever reason, Sunset smiled. She could not speak, having no words to say at the moment, and simply struggled to wipe away the tears that had stained her face and flooded her eyes. The tears still burned and soothed as her emotions still clashed, though more gently now. With her cheeks finally dry and the tears wiped from her eyes, at least for now, she stood and took hold of Pooh’s outstretched paw.

As they continued down the forest path, Sunset could not bring herself to let go of the bear’s paw. She felt as though should she release the paw she would fall into a deep chasm. Instead, she gripped the paw tight but gentle. The smile on her face seemed to twitch and the muscles strained and started to become sore. Outwardly, she appeared calm. Inwardly, her stomach twisted and she fought to keep the smile she wore. And she could not bring herself to even think about the floodgates that held her emotions at bay.

After a bit, the two passed by the circle of trees. While Pooh casually began moving towards the trees he was held back as Sunset stopped, unable to look upon the special place. Pooh looked back at her while Sunset only looked down. After a gentle tug by Pooh, Sunset looked at him with her false smile. Though she spoke no words, she still spoke softly to him.

“Not right now. Not this time.”

Pooh understood and they continued on their way. As they did, Sunset continued to look at the ground ahead. The circle of trees was not her special spot. It was special to the child, Pooh’s special friend. She no longer deserved to even look upon it.

More time passed and Sunset and Pooh found themselves at the base of a hill. As Sunset looked up, she saw the abandoned tree home that had brought her to the world. Though another relic of the lost child, and another place she did not deserve to even see let alone enter, it seemed to stand as her only gateway in and out of the world.

“Just for a second,” she said softly to herself.

Pooh looked up at her, curious as to what she meant, but was met by Sunset’s false smile. The two walked up to the home and stood for a moment, staring at the door. Just beyond would be her room.

This time, it was Pooh’s turn to hold back Sunset. She took a single step forward and felt the tug as Pooh’s paw gripped her hand. She gently tugged and loosened her grip, trying softly to tell him to let go. But the bear held fast. A look upon his face showed a deep worry, and perhaps even fear.

Sunset placed her other hand on his paw and tried to maintain the false smile. “Pooh…I...”

She was at a loss for words. There was nothing to say. Nothing that could be said. But one word came to mind and speaking the word bit down upon Sunset and caused the false smile to fall away. The single word seemed to not only wound her, but harm the very world she was in. More so, it harmed the one who looked upon her.

“Goodbye.”

With that, she was released from Pooh’s grip and quickly turned to the door. She could not look back and could say nothing more. She opened the door to the darkened home and swiftly entered, closing the doorway behind her.

She was back in her room sitting on her bed as before as though she had never left. But a glance about at her clock and the window showed that the day was half spent. In her lap was the book, opened to the latest entry of the adventures from the world of imagination with Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends. All else, was normal. As though it had waited patiently for her to return.

But upon her face was grief and sorrow. Tears flowed freely from her eyes and rained upon the pages of the book as they streamed down her face. She quickly closed the book, both not wanting to stain the pages with her tears and not wanting to see her second parting with the yellow bear.

She held the book in front of her, fighting to know what to do now. A part of her wished to hold it close, to return to the wonderful world. Another wanted to run and hide in shame. And so she sat for several seconds looking upon the cover that bore the image of a forlorn bear sitting on a log.

In the end, she set the book on her nightstand, hands shaking and threatening to lose their grip and drop the book. She slowly removed her boots from her feet, held them out, then tossed them violently into her closet. With a wail of grief, she pulled her legs in and tucked her head between her knees as she let loose all emotion that had built up in those final moments in the land of imagination.

What had she done? Why did she abandon Pooh and the others? So much more to do and other friends to find and she had run away from it all. If the world was not real, why did she cherish it as though it was? If it was real, had she really stolen it from the child that had imagined it? If she had stolen it, did she really deserve to see it at all?

Nothing made sense anymore. She was torn apart by emotion generated by a world created by a child’s imagination and her personal selfishness to be with others who simply could not be there for her. The emotions beat against her like an ocean against a ship caught in a storm. In the end, her own selfish desires to not be alone had ruined a wonderful land and the lives of those who called it home. Was there any reason to feel this way? The questions only tore at her more.

Sunset Shimmer. A girl who wanted nothing more than to be the friend she had once shunned away, had now ruined her chances at learning what the word “friend” even meant.

There for a Friend

Sunset rolled in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Strands of hair partially obscured her vision but she did nothing to clear them away. She simply lay stretched out and stared at the blank white ceiling above.

After a few minutes of simply lying in bed, she finally rolled over and sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her closet in front of her. She looked around and saw her covers a complete mess but all else fairly normal. Her shoes in her closet were knocked over by her boots that lay on top of the pairs of footwear and she could see a pair of light marks on the wall from where she had thrown her boots. On the floor in front of her were the clothes she had worn the day before.

She looked to her right at the nightstand and the book that sat upon it. The brown rimmed, white covered book sat almost undisturbed amidst the signs of chaos. She took a second look at her bed, closet, and floor, wondering what had prompted her to throw such a tantrum. But a second look at the book on her nightstand brought back the memories of the world of imagination, Winnie-the-Pooh, and her final parting with the dream.

Feeling tears begin to build up at the thought of her emotional parting, she quickly looked away from the book and left her room for the bathroom. Before leaving the bathroom, she took a moment to look herself over in the mirror. Her pajamas had numerous creases from their former chaotic state, having been righted after relieving herself, and her hair appeared to have been through a hurricane. Her face was the worst of it all. Her eyes were red and blood shot and her cheeks were red from rubbing. Seeing her state, she recalled the emotional turmoil and the conflicting emotions that plagued her following her leaving the dream world.

She did nothing more to attempt to fix herself and simply returned to her room. She kept her sight from the nightstand, not wanting to dredge up the painful memories, and went about preparing for the day. At least, to the extent that her motivation allowed.

She tossed the clothes from the previous day into her clothes hamper and replaced her pajamas with a simple t-shirt and a pair of lounge pants. Her pajamas were simply tossed onto the pillow, which appeared to have been used as a punching bag, and she left her bed as is. She stood for a moment in the center of the room, staring at the floor and her bare feet and wondering what to do.

Hardly any time had passed when a thump came from her window. She turned to the window, curious and confused, and tried to process what had just happened. Another thump came a few seconds later which prompted her to investigate. As she reached the window, she jumped as something slammed into her window and produced another thump. She fumbled a second to open the window and was met with something fairly soft hitting her in the face.

Sunset managed to catch whatever it was that hit her and found herself holding a small grey colored sack that felt like it held small beads inside. Half expecting to get hit again, she was surprised when a voice called to her. Pinkie Pie’s voice.

“Hey Sunset!”

Sunset looked down, still holding the odd sack. “Pinkie? What…What are you doing here?”

Pinkie took in a massive breath and began a long explanation. “Well, I had some free time and wanted to see how you were doing since you sounded so bummed when you called the other day so I decided to come see you and then I got this idea to get your attention with the cliché of throwing rocks at your friend’s window but I didn’t want to break your window so I decided to throw something different and so I grabbed some bean bags that were shaped like rocks because I thought that would be funny and would fit the cliché without hurting your window but I’m sorry I hit you,” she gave a massive gasp and continued her talking without hardly any hint of having paused, “but here I am so, HI!”

Of course only Pinkie could pull off talking so much in one breath. Despite that, Sunset felt a smile form at the gesture of a friend coming to see her. She could use the company and the comfort.

“I’ll be right down,” Sunset said, giving the bean bag a short toss back down before closing the window.

She quickly left her room, still avoiding the book on her nightstand, and went to the door. But confusion returned the moment she opened the door when she saw not just Pinkie but all of her friends waiting for her. The six friends stared at each other for a second in equal confusion. The others likely confused at Sunset’s chaotic hair and lazy attire.

“I brought our friends!” Pinkie exclaimed, seemingly unaffected by the air of confusion that surrounded the others.

Following Pinkie’s outburst, Rarity was the first to say or do anything. “Sunset, darling, what happened to your hair? And why are you wearing such drab attire on such a lovely summer day? And your poor face.”

“Are you feeling alright, sugar cube?” Applejack asked.

“Well…I...” Sunset tried to speak but was instantly interrupted by Rarity.

“Ah, ah, ah. Not a word darling until we fix you up proper.”

No one was given a chance to speak or object as Rarity forced her way in and forced Sunset upstairs, quickly closing the two inside Sunset’s room and leaving the others alone. For the next hour or so, Rarity helped Sunset straighten her room and herself. She picked out new clothes, complaining about Sunset’s taste in style, then pushed her into the bathroom to tidy up her hair and face.

Through the ordeal Rarity explained that Pinkie had called them all together to try to cheer Sunset up when they had found some free time. She had mentioned how Sunset felt down when she called and Pinkie wanted everyone to get together at least for a little bit, given how much time they had spent together near the end of the school year. For Rarity, her parents were taking their usual long time to prepare for their trip so she was able to make time to visit.

It was about two hours later, due mostly to Sunset’s reluctance and general mood, when the two returned to the others who had made their way to the living room and settled in. With the six friends gathered again, the other five gave Sunset a respectful moment to compose herself. The whole time, Sunset simply fidgeted in awkward silence, bothered by the chosen outfit and the reason for her down mood.

Rainbow finally spoke up when the silence went on longer than she could take. “So what gives girl? What’s got you so out of it?”

“Now Rainbow,” piped up Fluttershy, as soft but as gentle as ever. “Sunset is clearly distraught and we ought to let her tell us in her own time.”

“Hate to admit it,” said Applejack, “but Rainbow is only saying what we’re all thinking. What’s wrong sugar cube?”

“Were you just super-duper lonely?” Pinkie said as she jumped over and sat down next to Sunset, giving a massive hug. “You sounded super-duper lonely when you called the other day. It’s no fun being alone.”

“Darling you should have said something if that’s it.” Rarity reached out and took Sunset’s hands to help comfort her further. “I’m sure one of us could have found some time to spend a day with you.”

Sunset smiled a bit at the gestures of kindness but then let the smile slip away and she looked down, watching and feeling Pinkie’s hug and Rarity’s grip loosen. “It’s not that. Well...Not entirely.”

Sunset went silent again as she struggled to figure out how to explain everything. Loneliness certainly would have made her feel pretty down but she doubted it would be enough to make her feel as she did now. To feel, horrible. But how did she explain about Pooh and the world of imagination? But one thing did come to mind.

“Hey guys?”

“What’s up?”

“What is it, darling?”

“What is it?”

“Whatcha need?”

“What’s on your mind, sugar cube?”

“Are you my friends?”

Her friends were silent. Each probably questioning why their friend would ask such a question. Sunset could not look up. Instead she stared down at her lap, hands clenched tightly together. And for Sunset, she asked the same thing of herself. Was she their friend?

A hand reached out and quickly took hold of hers. Rainbow’s hand. “Don’t talk crazy now. Of course we’re your friends.”

“Darling, it seems rather petty to question our friendship when we all got a little busy. We can’t always be together to-”

“That’s not why I asked!”

The room was drowned in silence, save for the occasional snivel from Sunset. While the others looked on, she buried her face in her hands. Once again, she had said something that had hurt a friend, now five in this case, and it had only hurt her just as much if not more.

“I’m sorry,” she finally managed amid sobs. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She repeated her apology amid her sobbing and placed her head between her knees. “I’m sorry.”

The others quickly moved to comfort Sunset as she continued to repeat her apology. Everything that was happening made as much sense as when she had left Pooh for the second time. She thought she understood friendship, thought she knew how to be a friend. But in reality, she did not know anything at all.

But how was she supposed to feel right now? She was hurt, sad, confused, angry, even scared. So many emotions that clashed together and made her feel worse. How was she supposed to feel? What was she supposed to do?

As she continued to repeat her apology, she wondered exactly who she was apologizing to. Her friends who she had just yelled at? Pooh whose world she had shattered? Herself for lying about understanding concepts that she knew nothing about? All at once or no one in particular?

But all of her emotions, all of her questions, seemed to wash away at the feel of the others gathered around her. Their group hug warmed her. Each emotion seemed to be replaced with joy. Each question seemed irrelevant.

Finally, she raised her head, her face still wet with tears. She brushed her eyes enough to see and saw the others smiling. Why? What made them seem to go out of their way to be there for her, comfort her? What reason did they have to show any affection towards her? There was no way they knew, much less understood, what was going on with her. And yet, there they were, ready to help however they could. Even if it was something small and simple that they could do.

As she looked over each face, nothing mattered. Much like she felt when they had accepted her despite her actions to attempt her takeover of Equestria. They simply pushed everything aside and welcomed her with open arms even though she did not deserve it. But what drove it?

Pooh had done the same thing. No matter what she said or did, he had stayed by her side. He had not forgotten her when she was forced to leave during her first parting. He had comforted her when she had started to feel bad. He seemed to have gone out of his way to ensure he was there for her, whatever she needed.

“Listen, sugar cube, no matter what’s going on, you can be sure we’ll be there for you.”

The others smiled and nodded in agreement. Each smile warmed Sunset’s heart and set her mind at ease. Her fear was washed away and all of her pain was gone.

Was this friendship? Was this what it meant to be a friend? It was hard to define exactly what it was but Sunset felt like she understood more now than before. Each of her friends cared for her. They seemed to feel her pain as though it was their own and suffered at the sight of her suffering. Without thought for themselves, they had offered to share her pain and fears with her, to ease her burden.

The tears that flowed down Sunset’s cheeks now felt cool and soothing. Tears of joy rather than those of pain or fear. With a silent request, they gathered for another hug.

“Thank you,” Sunset said softly.

Return

It was hard to smile today. Hard to feel any semblance of joy or bliss. She wanted to smile. She wanted to feel anticipation about returning to that wonderful world. She was no longer torn with the grief she had felt before but, at the moment, she felt no better now than she did then. She wanted to smile.

Instead, she was full of apprehension. Full of fear. Full of grief. Full of regret.

What would happen when she returned? If she returned. Would the world be as it was? Waiting for her with open arms, willing to forgive her, to accept her. Would she be shunned? Forced to never again see that dream world of wonder. How would he react?

Would the world even be there?

For several minutes, Sunset stared at the cover of book and the image of Pooh. She thought she had resolve. Thought she had managed to give in to her humility, to go back and ask for forgiveness even if she had to crawl on her knees. That was how she felt. But she was still afraid to lose everything she had already thrown out. She had made a mistake and it had cost her friendship.

She wanted it all back. Wanted to mend whatever wounds she had caused. To fix everything. But could she? This was a world made out of the mind of a child. Both simple and complex all at once. She had no way to predict anything.

Sunset thought about her other friends. Once more, they had helped to bring her out of the pit of despair. They had shown her friendship. But this time, they did not know how they had helped her or the reason for her despairing state. She had not told them.

When they had come over, her friends had done so to be there for a lonely friend. What they had found was a friend bereaved over her own doubts, fears, and mistakes. They had spent the day with her and had helped to cheer her from her dark mood. But she had not told them of the world of imagination, of Winnie-the-Pooh. She could not.

She had let them in but had opened her broken heart to them only so much. They knew of her troubles to understand friendship and her loneliness. They knew of the stress she had been under lately to find her place in the world she lived in. They knew of her struggle to know and understand her very self.

But what of Pooh? The mistakes she had made in Pooh’s world had been her own. Her friends had not been involved. They had been her mistakes and hers to amend. It was she who needed forgiveness from Pooh.

Besides, would they even believe her if they heard about the world? They had seen stranger things perhaps. But for now, Sunset needed to make amends before anything else.

She looked herself over one last time to make sure she was ready and mentally steeled herself. Finally, she opened the book, turning straight to her last parting with Pooh.

Though afraid that nothing would happen, the world went white.

The gentle breeze. The warm sun. The soft grass. Lush greens and the vast open world. Everything was still here. Still the same.

Sunset cast her gaze all about to see the world as she had left it, save for the lacking presence of Pooh. She had hoped to return and find the little bear waiting for her, but the thought was short lived the moment the white receded and the world came into view. She had hoped to pick up right where she had left off. But like her first parting, she had returned with time having passed.

All around, everything seemed relatively normal. The world seemingly unchanged. And yet, even as she looked the world over, things felt…different. She turned around to find the tree home of the child behind her. The window was still as dark as before. The home, just as empty and barren. At least one thing that was the same.

As she turned back to the forest, her senses continued to feel off. The line of tress below the hill seemed far off and almost appeared to step away as she stared. She looked down and felt the ground pull away from her, even as she reached down to touch the grass. Even the grass felt as though it cringed away as she brushed her hand across the natural carpet. The sun did not warm her as it once did and even the wind seemed to twist around her to avoid her.

Was it because of her? Had her actions affected the world so much that it cringed away? Was it truly hurt by what she had said and done? Or was she still pushing it all away? Was she still rejecting the world of imagination? Whether out of denial of the existence of such or out of guilt for stealing it away.

But, standing here would change nothing or fix anything.

Sunset steeled herself and charged straight down the hill into the withdrawing forest. Even as she ran, the path seemed to stretch and the trees kept their distance. But regardless of the distance between her and the world, guilt and regret were forefront in her mind. Numerous apologies ran through her mind as she ran through every conceivable in inconceivable scenario.

The path to Pooh’s home seemed to stretch for miles as the forest maintained its distance from her. It did not twist and turn as it did before. The trees, though distant, huddled together as though hiding the wonder that she had once beheld. But finally, the stout tree home came into view.

Tears of mixed emotions filled Sunset’s eyes and she charged ahead. But the world’s hurt continued to show as the pathway ahead seemed to close in, to block her from seeing Pooh. But still, she ran.

She opened her eyes to find herself in the small clearing in front of Pooh’s home. Everything was as she had seen it before, save once more for the lack of Pooh. Sunset cautiously made her way to the door to Pooh’s home and peered through a small window in the side. She reached out her hand to knock, hesitating for what felt like hours.

Her knuckles rapped on the door and she pulled on the string of the bell on the side. But she was met with silence. The echo of the knock quickly faded and the bell ceased its chiming after a short ring.

Nothing. She tried once more and was met with continued silence.

Tears flowed down her cheeks anew and Sunset struggled to keep from dropping to the ground. Her mind was filled with a storm as she tossed about numerous possibilities for where the stout little bear could be. Both positive and negative.

But a single sound brought her back from her near mad thoughts and even seemed to make the world feel a bit closer.

“Hallo!”

Sunset turned to the source of the greeting and saw a brown owl that had to be nearly half her height perched on the log in the center of the clearing.

“And who might you be?” the owl said.

A mix of worry and curiosity surged through her mind. She inwardly pleaded that the owl was another friend of Pooh and hardly cared that she was looking at another real animal rather than another stuffed toy. She hesitated to answer and stuttered when she finally did.

“I…I’m S-Sunset Shimmer.”

The owl tilted his head slightly to the right for a second then gave what Sunset assumed was supposed to be a smile. “Sunset Shimmer. What a delightful name. I am Owl. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Despite the warm greeting, Sunset found it hard to smile or do anything other than stare at Owl. She began to wipe her face of her tears but the disappointment of not finding Pooh hung with her. However good it was to find another friend, she had wanted to find Pooh first. She needed to find him.

She allowed herself a moment to look back at Owl who had tilted his head again. “Are you feeling well Sunset? You seem rather distraught. Are you lost?”

Lost. The word hung in Sunset’s ears before it met with other words that described how she felt. Lost, confused, guilty, angry, terrified, the list went on. Yes, she was lost. To call her distraught at being lost was the understatement of a lifetime.

“Have you seen Pooh?” she asked.

Owl tilted his head the opposite way. “I beg your pardon? You are speaking rather inarticulate. It is not proper for one to mutter when speaking. Could you repeat that?”

“Pooh! Winnie-the-Pooh! Short yellow bear who’s supposed to live here! Have you seen him? Please!”

Guilt and remorse were forefront in her mind once more as she realized she had just yelled, even if it were not out of any form of anger this time. Tears continued to flow down her face as she watched Owl’s head return to its normal position. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

Once more, Sunset recalled her days as a filly. A time when she was very young and had unknowingly wandered away from Princess Celestia during her early days as her student and found herself lost amongst the streets of Canterlot. Once more, she felt like a small filly, lost and crying out to strangers for help.

Something touched her back and returned her senses to her. She was sitting on the ground, having dropped to her knees, and she stared at the ground. She turned her head left to see Owl next to her, one wing wrapped around her and patting her on the back and a smile on his face.

“It is quite alright dear. Distressing times often causes one to act out of place.” He helped her up. “I do know Pooh and believe I know where last I saw him.”

Sunset could hardly suppress her joy and felt a smile cross her face. Owl took flight and landed on a tree down the path, waiting for her to follow. She did and Owl flew from tree to tree, leading the way and waiting patiently for Sunset to catch up before moving to the next tree.

It took some time before the two made their way out of the thicker part of the woods and into an open area. Memories of Pooh continued to flood Sunset’s mind as she stared at the tall tree that they passed where she and Pooh had attempted to procure honey from. The hole at the top still buzzed with the sound of the bee hive, prompting Owl to circle the area at a distance as he led Sunset on.

As the two continued to make their way through the woods, Owl was hardly quiet. He went on about several things from talking about relatives or telling stories of his own life. A few times he stopped as if struggling to recall the details of his tales but gradually went on to finish. Of course, Sunset hardly heard a word. The tales were long and Owl did drone as he spoke. But mostly, she was more focused on Pooh, though the present company did make thing easier.

Eventually, the two made their way out of the woods once more and to another clearing. Sunset moved around a tree to find Owl standing on the ground near a number of trees set in a circle. It was here that the strongest memories of Pooh flooded Sunset’s mind. A special place that Pooh had shared with her that had once been a special place between him and the child that once played with him.

As Sunset made her way to the trees, fighting to hold back her tears and keep from rushing forward, Owl simply stood in silence. Sunset came within a few feet of Owl who gave an odd smile before taking off into the sky. Though silent, she knew what he meant. Pooh was here.

But as she closed in on the trees, she hesitated. Her feet and legs felt like they had frozen and refused to move. Her hands trembled and held them close to her chest. Tears built up in her eyes, held back by a weak floodgate. But finally, she took another step followed by another as she managed to approach.

Within the circle was Pooh. The small yellow bear stared up at the sky with seemingly nothing on his mind and all but oblivious to the girl who had wandered upon him. His musings of nothing ceased finally and he turned to Sunset. But here, Sunset felt a tremor of fear as to how he would react.

“Hallo, Sunset Shimmer,” Pooh said.

The smile on his face brought back the warmth of the world. The grass gently bore her as it had before and the trees seemed to close in comfort her. Pooh waddled his way over and stood in front of Sunset, bearing a smile that said all was right with the world.

An eternity seemed to pass as Sunset was caught up in another emotional storm. Part of her trembled with fear that everything she saw and felt was little more than a ruse, the beginning of a nightmare. She wanted to run away from the inevitable pain of being forced to leave, even if the sendoff was meant to feel kind.

Another part wished nothing more than to apologize for everything and let in the warmth and comfort of the world. To let her sorrow be washed away by forgiveness and be accepted into the world once more. It was this part she gave in to.

With tears streaming down her face, Sunset dropped to her knees as Pooh wrapped his arms around her. Though she apologized profusely amid sobs, Pooh was silent. Yet despite his silence, Sunset had been forgiven.

A Mother's Bond

The warm sun in the sky. The soft grass that carpeted the ground. The vibrant and lively tress all around. The touch of Pooh’s paw within the clasp of her hand. A living world of kindness, care, and love.

As Sunset wandered through the woods, as she had several times thus far, she once more felt like a small filly. The sun warmed her like the embrace of a parent holding their child. The world around smiled like an ever present parent waiting for any opportunity to dote on and comfort their child.

For the past half hour or so, Sunset and Pooh had simply wandered the woods once more as they had before. Hand in hand, or paw in hand as it were, admiring and awing at the world around them. There were still things to do, friends to find. But for the moment, Sunset wished to spend time with the stout little bear.

A gentle breeze brushed its way through her hair as she took a quick look up at the sun. The feeling of being a filly continued to surround her as the breeze felt like a parent gently patting and rubbing the head of their child. A touch that let the child know that they were still there as they smiled down upon them.

The nature of the world was strange. A vast open world with so much to see and do. The way a child would view the world they lived in. The ever present feeling of warmth and comfort all around. The ever present feeling of the watchful parent. The friends made from various animals, real and toy. Evidence of the extensive imagination of a small child.

A world of simplicity, wonder, and love, innate in all children.

Once more, Sunset’s thoughts were brought back to Equestria. She thought to Princess Celestia who had seemed so much like a mother to her during her time as her student. She had always been so kind and gentle. Much like the sun above, which she represented, her presence had been warm and soothing. Sunset recalled the days when she had felt as though she had no fear, no worry, so long as Celestia had been there.

Her hand involuntarily clenched tighter. Celestia had given her so much. But what had she given in return? Naught but heartache.

The thought of a mother figure brought her mind further back to her parents. But here, her thoughts fell short. Like trying to navigate a fog only to end up back at the beginning. For as long as she could recall, she had spent her early life in Equestria with Celestia. But nothing more. Nothing further.

For all she was worth, she could not recall her parents. No faces. No voices. No names. Nothing.

She racked her brain, struggling to think as far back as she could. Thinking to every face and voice she could think of. Colors, smells, sounds, anything to trigger a memory of her parentage. In the end, she felt as though she had run into a wall. An emptiness with nothing further to see.

Why?

Were the memories of her parents so distant that she just could no longer recall them? Even so, why did none of her memories with Celestia ever include visits to or from her parents? Had Celestia ever mentioned them? Had she ever asked about them?

It was as though they did not exist.

Sunset felt a tug on her arm and looked down to the discomforted look of Pooh, realizing she was squeezing tightly on the bear’s paw. She quickly loosened her grip and softly and gently apologized. And yet, the lingering thoughts continued to plague her mind.

Perhaps she had forgotten them. But was it a natural forgetfulness or a more willing erasure?

She was given a moment’s distraction from the sorrowing thoughts when the sound of a rustling bush caught her attention. She and Pooh turned to watch a small bush shake for a bit before something small and brown leaped out from foliage. It landed in front of them, allowing Sunset to register what it was.

Before her was a very small animal, one just shy of Piglet’s height. It stared up at the girl who towered over her, more curious than afraid. It tilted its head and smiled before squeaking in a very excitable manner.

“Hallo!” it said, waving a tiny arm.

The voice, the look, everything about the small animal, a baby kangaroo, she guessed, and another that looked like a stuffed animal, caused Sunset to forget all of her current worries and squeal at how adorable it was. She could not help it. She let go of Pooh’s paw and bent down and smiled at the little one.

“Well hello to you too,” she said, her excitement hardly contained. “What’s your name? My name is Sunset Shimmer.”

“I’m Roo!” the kangaroo said, holding up both tiny arms as if to welcome his new friend. He looked over at Pooh and waved. “Hallo, Pooh!”

“Hallo, Roo,” Pooh said with that same tone of his, though happy nonetheless to see another friend.

Sunset’s smile dropped for a moment as she looked around. It was strange to see such a small animal, and one that appeared to be so young, wandering all alone in the woods. Not that the world seemed to have any actual dangers. Regardless…

She looked back at Roo. “What are you doing out here?”

Roo’s smile almost seemed to grow bigger as he replied. “I was jumping. Watch, watch!” He hoped about a few times then looked back at Sunset. “See? Did you see me jump?”

Sunset smiled at the squeaking Roo and his smile seemed to push all of her worries aside. Once more, she recalled her fillyhood. Times of calling to Celestia to show her how much she had grown or even show her simple things she had thought wonderful or amazing to her young mind. Calling out just to have her teacher watch as she played. And once again, her somber thoughts of her lack of memories of parents outside of Celestia rose to the surface and caused her to cringe internally.

But for Roo’s sake, she smiled only harder. Her sorrow hidden behind a veil of happiness.

The smiles stopped for a small moment as Roo ceased his jumping and looked around, mildly worried. “Where’s Mama?”

Sunset tried to maintain her mask of happiness, if just to keep Roo’s spirits up. “Don’t worry,” she said as she placed a hand gently on Roo’s back. “We’ll help you find your mom. She’s probably close by looking for you.”

Roo looked at Sunset and smiled once more. In a quick moment, he hoped straight towards Sunset to give her a hug. “Thank you!” he said, excited once more.

For a moment, Sunset’s mask was replaced with true happiness. She returned Roo’s hug and allowed her worries and sorrow for herself melt away for the time being. For now, she would help Roo and continue to help Pooh restore the world of imagination. Later, perhaps she could search for her own parents. Maybe she could ask Celestia when she was not exploring an imagination world.

Sunset released Roo and stood, much to Roo’s displeasure as it seemed. His eyes maintained their stare at Sunset’s smile as it fell away from him. His arms were held up, still reaching. Even his smile fell away once more.

She turned to Pooh, looking for advice. But the bear said nothing, silently telling her all she needed to know. She looked back at Roo whose arms were still held high towards her and whose face begged the girl he reached for. Of course.

Sunset bent down and picked up Roo, cradling him in her arms as his smile returned and he hugged her once more. He took a moment to shuffle around, forcing Sunset to struggle to keep from dropping him, until he finally sat on her crossed arms facing out. He took another look around at his perch before looking up at her.

“You don’t have a pouch.”

Sunset smiled and let out a soft giggle at the statement. “No. I’m afraid I don’t.”

Roo said nothing more and instead looked forward to watch the world.

For the next several minutes, the three wandered the woods, searching for Roo’s mother but finding themselves taking in the wonder of the world as they went. Young as he was, it was no surprise that Roo’s eyes were wide with awe as he little head moved back and forth, up and down. Still new to the world, Sunset still found herself in just as much awe as the young one in her arms.

Once more, Sunset’s mind drifted back to her fillyhood. Days wandering Equestria with Celestia, exploring and learning. Walking side-by-side or riding on her mentor’s back as she drank in the sights of the world she lived in. Even now, she recalled her wonderment as vividly as she felt wonderment of the world of imagination she was now in.

And once more, she cringed internally.

How long had she spent her days as a filly guided and cared for by Celestia? What reason was there that the Princess of the Sun was the only parental figure she could recall? She searched for a mother now. But what of her own? Was Celestia all there had been? Or perhaps…

Her thoughts were interrupted as the bushes shook, stopping the trio. Roo shifted in her arms, curious as to the sudden sound and stop. But the three eased as a large brown animal, another stuffed animal-like kangaroo, parted the bushed and hoped out. The kangaroo, Roo’s mother Sunset assumed, gave the three a quick look over and a smile as her eyes lay on little Roo.

“Hallo, Kanga,” said Pooh, with hardly an ounce of surprise in his voice. “We found you.”

“Mama, Mama!” Roo shouted and bounded out of Sunset’s arms and over to give his mother a hug.

Kanga, a mildly humorous name to Sunset and more so given her son’s name, was quick to return the hug. “Roo dear,” she said in a very kind and gentle voice, “where have you been? I was worried.”

Roo stepped back and recounted his journey of jumping through the woods, following something he had seen but did not know, and finding Sunset and Pooh. He then recounted the short journey to find her and the things they saw along the way. Sunset smiled and tried to suppress a giggle as he told about his ride with no pouch.

Kanga looked up at Sunset and Pooh. “Thank you for finding Roo.”

Instead of answering, Sunset was quiet. A forced smile hung on her face and one arm crossed over to hold the other. The sight of a happy mother with her child, it stung her given what she knew of hers. And if Celestia truly was her only paternal figure…

“You’re welcome, Kanga,” Pooh said, easing Sunset of her worries a bit.

“Come now, Roo,” Kanga said, turning back to Roo and holding her pouch open. “It’s time to go.”

Roo’s happy demeanor fell a bit at his mother’s instruction. “One more jump?”

Kanga smiled and let her pouch close. “One more jump.”

Roo smiled once more and turned to Sunset. “Jump with me!”

For whatever reason, the little kangaroo helped lift her spirits once more, letting her smile become sincere. “Okay. One jump.”

Of course, as it is with little ones, one jump turned into several as several minutes passed with Sunset hopping in a small circle next to Roo. Even despite a seemingly constant exchange between Kanga and Roo to only have “one more jump,” Kanga allowed the jumping to stretch on. Even Pooh was soon caught up in the jumping.

And still, Sunset’s mind drifted back to her fillyhood and her requests for Celestia to let her play longer. But for the time being, she hardly cared. For just a little longer, she would be a filly once more.

Finally, after Roo tired, the jumping ceased and he returned to Kanga’s pouch. All said their goodbyes and the kangaroo pair hopped away back into the woods. On their way home perhaps. Once alone, Sunset reached back for Pooh’s paw, keeping her eyes on the parting mother and son.

“Come on Pooh. It’s time we got going too.”

Pooh took her hand in silence and the two continued their walk through the woods. It was likely that Pooh could still sense the unease that still hung on Sunset’s mind. Not only had she still not quite forgiven herself for what she had done but now her mind swam with thoughts of her parentage. But for now, Sunset pushed her recent thoughts to the side.

Those thoughts would be saved for later.

Rainbow of Stripes

Sunset stared up at the warm sun and the surrounding sky, letting the sun warm her. Just above her head was but a small piece of the vast expanse, her own personal sky. The trees surrounding her seemed to envelop her and hold her in an embrace. Another sign of care that embodied the world she was in.

She took another small bite of jam covered toast, another gift from the world to satisfy her and Pooh’s eleven-o-clockish feeling, and slowly munched. Beside her, Pooh casually dipped his paw into another honey pot and lapped up the golden sweet. But Sunset’s eyes remained on the patch of sky that hung over her head.

As she continued to stare and munch absentmindedly, she recalled a particularly unique moment from her fillyhood. One of her earliest.

She had stood atop a hill that overlooked a vast meadow of multicolored flowers. The world beyond had stretched out, the way the imagination world did, with mountains and forests stretching out towards and across the horizon. The sun hung in the sky and filled the world with a warm touch. Behind her had sat Celestia, smiling at the happy filly who danced and jumped as she took in the sights of the world before her.

As the sun had begun to sink, Sunset had stared in awe and wonder at the yellow and orange glow cast by the sun. She had watched it slowly sink closer to the horizon and began to fret, not wanting the day to end. She had looked back at her mentor, begging her to allow the day to shine forever.

Instead, Celestia had smiled and held out her hooves, closing them together in front of Sunset just as the sun dipped behind the horizon. Sunset had looked with worry and curiosity as Celestia had simply smiled, holding her hooves together. She then held them out to the filly and parted them but a crack to reveal a small light within, making Sunset believe at the time that she had taken the sun straight from the sky.

She motioned Sunset to hold out her hooves as she passed on the pseudo sun, telling her to hold tight. The light passed from Celestia’s hooves to Sunset’s and she had done just what her mentor has said. Tight within her grasp, she held the sun.

“Sunset,” Celestia had said. “Will you do something for me? At the close of each day, will you hold on to the sun for me? Until the dawn of the next day?”

With her hooves still holding the light and a smile across her face larger than any she had ever given up to then or since, she promised. That was the day she received her cutie mark.

“I never did keep that promise very well did I?” Sunset said aloud, not bothering that Pooh should hear. She finished her toast and reached up to the sky, closing her hands over the sun and closing her eyes as she brought them close to her breast. A small tear dripped from an eye as she willed the sun to remain close to her heart.

“Could I try again? To hold on to the sun for you at sunset?”

She reached her hands up and slowly opened her eyes as she moved her hands away from the sun once more.

“Perhaps.”

After Sunset and Pooh finished their lunch, they stood and Sunset took hold of Pooh’s paw once more and they left the circle of trees. As they did, Sunset took a quick look back. For a moment, she wondered if it was still okay to visit such a special spot. Perhaps it was, given that the world continued to treat her with food. More so, and more importantly, she seemed allowed to visit.

It seemed the world really had forgiven her.

The two wandered for a bit, wondering where their feet would take them this time. Around trees, passed bushes, over rocks and logs. No destination. No goal to satisfy. Simply the desire to see the world around them. To be together.

They soon came to a tight gathering of trees with thick bushes packed between the trunks. The leaves gather close above and blocked out the sky and made the area give off a bit of a spooky feeling. The bushes rustled, small shadows danced, and the gentle wind seemed to give a low and soft howling whistle as it passed through. Pooh’s paw tightened in Sunset’s hand and she simply smiled at the little bear.

An odd sound echoed through the trees, causing Pooh to wince slightly.

“Sunset,” Pooh said, “I think there is a Jagular near.”

Sunset smiled and tried to cover a giggle at the silly name. Heffalumps. Jagulars. She was brought back to her fillyhood when she searched for or ran from her own imaginary monsters and the now silly names she gave each.

“Don’t worry,” she said, giving Pooh’s paw a comforting squeeze.

The fears were quickly dispelled as a bush rustled and was followed up by a loud but friendly, “Hallo!”

The two looked around to find the speaker but only saw the surrounding foliage gently shifting as something moved about. With no response, the speaker spoke again.

“Hallo!”

“Hello there!” Sunset called out, wanting to meet the obvious friend.

Another bush rustled and then a larger figure leapt out, one almost as large as Eeyore. It looked much like a tiger, albeit another stuffed animal. It stared up at Sunset with a quizzical look then gave another greeting to each.

“Hallo!”

“Hallo, Tigger,” Pooh said, relieved to see a friendly face rather than the seemingly fearsome Jagular.

Tigger looked at Sunset and repeated his, “Hallo!”

She smiled and gave her own, “Hello.”

For whatever reason, Tigger said nothing more but repeated, “Hallo!” which left Sunset to reply back in kind. The exchange continued for another two silly times as Tigger seemed more curious at the continued exchange rather than upset. And so Sunset ended the silliness.

“My name is Sunset Shimmer. It’s good to meet you Tigger.”

Tigger regarded Sunset for a moment then spoke. “You remind me of someone. What is a Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset smiled and gave a soft giggle. “I’m just a girl.”

Tigger tilted his head a bit then straightened up, seemingly satisfied by the answer. “You know Pooh? That’s good. I like you.” It was a second later that he quickly perked up and began bouncing around in a circle. His entire being exuded excitement. “Hey, Sunset Shimmer. I want to show you something.”

Sunset looked at Pooh who seemed to just go with it, giving her a rather nondescript nod. She smiled and the two allowed Tigger to lead them on to whatever it was he wanted to show them.

It was a bit difficult to follow Tigger to their destination. He bounced around the entire time, leaping back and forth across the forest floor. Occasionally, he would stop to attempt to pounce on Sunset or Pooh’s shadow, or both at the same time. He would chase after random butterflies or other flying insects or stop to listen to sounds, often ones that went unheard by Sunset. At several points, he stopped to ask Sunset where they were going or if they were there yet. Of course, Sunset could only giggle and remind him that he was leading the way.

But the whole time, it was fun to watch Tigger wander and chase things. And once more, Sunset was reminded of her fillyhood and the times she did the very same.

Finally, the three exited into a mass clearing and stared in awe at a massive meadow filled with a rainbow of flowers. The soft grass nearly came up to Sunset’s knees and seemed to dance with the flowers in the wind. The meadow seemed to stretch on out to another forest, likely more of the same, and almost seemed to reach out to the sky above.

With her jaw almost literally to the ground in an awe filled smile, Sunset wondered at the almost pastel canvas in front of her. She wanted to say something, anything, to express her awe. But she was left speechless, naught but a smile.

Of all the times she had been reminded of her fillyhood, now was the time she actually felt like a filly once more. Her hand released Pooh’s paw and she stretched her arms out, as though to take hold of the sight before her. She lifted her head and looked to the sky and the sun above. Just like when she was a filly and asked Celestia to play, she did so now.

As Tigger bounce forth into the meadow, disappearing among the grass, Sunset relaxed and turned to Pooh. Silently, she asked if he wanted to run and play with her. Silently, he responded.

“Go.”

Sunset’s smile grew and turned back to the meadow. Then she gave into her filly self. She ran forward, jumping and leaping among the flowers. She tumbled and rolled in the grass, laughing and crying out in joy. She ran after Tigger who in turned chased her.

Several times, Tigger bounced by and tried to pounce Sunset. A few times, he succeeded, to which Sunset would laugh as she rolled and watched Tigger bounce off. A few times she moved away just in time, only to try chasing him afterwards. A couple of times she caught him then spun a few times before releasing him.

It was all so much fun and the meadow was so beautiful.

The grass felt like a soft blanket against her arms and legs. The flowers felt like velvet and gave off a sweet and soothing smell. The sun was warm and the breeze was like a gentle caress. And Sunset felt like a filly. Running, dancing, playing in the most beautiful meadow she had ever seen. Like those she played in as a filly while Celestia watched or occasionally played with her.

She stopped for just a moment and looked up at the sun again. Another tear passed down her cheek. She did miss Celestia greatly.

While Tigger continued to run and bounce playfully through the meadow, Sunset wandered slowly for a moment. She looked all around, slowly turning to take in the full scene. She looked up to the sun, letting its warmth sooth her like a loving embrace. Until finally, she found a spot in the middle of the meadow.

Here, the grass was shorter, only a few inches perhaps. The flowers were a bit scarcer, dotting the area. But even here, the grass was a soft carpet to bare whoever would walk or sit upon it.

Sunset took a moment to examine the area that was surrounded by the pastel canvas that was the rest of the meadow. A peaceful spot among the flowers to sit and relax. She reached the very center and sat.

It was hard to say how long she sat there in that spot. Perhaps only a few minutes but maybe more. Tigger continued his play, occasionally entering the open space and running and bouncing around Sunset before returning. Finally, Pooh arrived and sat down beside Sunset.

She looked over at the yellow bear who stared ahead in that way of his and smiled.

“Hey, Pooh?”

“Yes?” he said, looking up at her.

Sunset looked back at the open area. “The picnic we want to have when we find all of your friends. Do you want to have it here?”

Pooh looked around himself then back at Sunset. “I would very much like that.”

Tigger burst into the area, slower this time, and settled up next to Sunset. “Have we found everyone yet?” she asked, smiling at the curled up Tigger.

Pooh was hesitant for only a moment. “Yes.”

Of course. There must only be the child left to find. “Maybe he will show up if we have the picnic,” Sunset said.

Pooh nuzzled closer to Sunset. “I think he will.”

Author's Note

To the Reader: An interesting fact is that Tigger was not included in the first Winnie-the-Pooh story by A. A. Milne. Instead, he was introduced in the second book titled The House at Pooh Corner. That said, I did briefly consider leaving him out but decided to have him in the story considering how iconic of a character he is.

Saying Goodbye

Sunset leaned back and stared up at the open sky and warm sun once more as a smile seemed permanently plastered across her face. The grass and flowers of the meadow gently swayed in the breeze, leaving the colors to shift and change all around. To paint and repaint the meadow. Here, in the middle of the natural canvas, was truly the best spot.

Next to her sat Pooh and Piglet on either side. Each were silent as they enjoyed the sights of the world with her. Occasionally, Tigger would bounce his way into the clearing, circle the three, and return to the meadow to play. In front sat two simple presents, a jar and an uninflated red balloon, from Pooh and Piglet respectively. The presents were a little something that Pooh thought of. A way to officially welcome their new friend and thank her for helping them all.

In just a short time from now, the other friends would be arriving with their own contributions to the picnic as well as something else that Rabbit had thought of to thank Sunset as well. For Sunset, she wished she could give something to them in return. To thank them for helping her as much as she helped them. Perhaps more so.

Rabbit arrived first, as seemed expected of him, with Kanga and Roo and Owl following shortly after. Eeyore was last, slowly making his way through the grass that was nearly as tall as he was and grumbling the entire time. With everyone gathered, Kanga set about to bring Tigger in from his playing.

To see all of the friends together, Sunset was overjoyed.

They began by setting out a red and white checkered blanket that Kanga had brought then set about unloading the basket brought by Rabbit. Owl was tasked with attending to the special gift carried in by Kanga, keeping it off to the side for now until later. And all the while, Eeyore occasionally looked to the sky or around and mumbled about some new thing that bothered him or voiced his predictions of some inevitable bad thing soon to occur.

A look at all of the friends around her left Sunset feeling happier than she had been in a long time. Yet, a tinge of regret tugged at her. If only her other friends could be here as well. To share in this.

Perhaps another time.

With the final preparations complete, it was time to eat. There was a variety of food spread about, though each friend seemed to prefer certain kinds. Sunset found herself stifling a giggle at Pooh happily lapping up pawful after sticky pawful of honey from a pot. And to her was given another meal of sandwiches, which she did not mind.

Each friend ate in their own way. Rabbit and Owl were very neat and tidy. Kanga as well, though Roo proved the messy one. Eeyore was slow, munching with deliberate or perhaps cautious bites. Tigger seemed to eat and stare about at whatever caught his eye, having to be reminded of the meal several times by Kanga. Piglet was rather normal. Not fast or slow, nor clean or messy. And Pooh…was Pooh.

All the while, Sunset was sure her smile would never fade.

As they each finished their meal, the friends sat and talked amongst each other as they waited for all to finish. Sunset found it a bit difficult to make conversation still and simply spoke whenever a friend spoke to her. Still, it was lovely to be with each of them together. Feeling more than a group of friends and more like a family.

Although, it was hard to make the comparison to a family. It had been so long since she had felt a true family bond. Another dreadful reminder of the many mistakes she had made in her life.

Finally, Rabbit stood, easily catching Tigger’s attention, and cleared his throat to get everyone else’s attention. The call to attention helped move Sunset’s mind away from her most recent depressing thoughts. With everyone quiet, he made his way over to Sunset, making a few short hops which seemed rather adorable to her.

“Sunset Shimmer,” he said, “we all wanted to thank you for helping us and bringing us back together.” He turned to Owl who allowed Kanga and Eeyore to carry the special gift into the center of the picnic blanket. “This is for you.”

The gift itself was a simple white box, not entirely large but not rather small either. And when Rabbit opened the box, he revealed a simple but lovely cake within. One frosted with white frosting and laced with red.

Though she was happy, even overjoyed a bit, to see such a thoughtful gift, she felt rather saddened once more. She did not feel as though she had helped them as much as they had helped her. And here they were presenting a wonderful cake and she had nothing to give in return.

“I…” she began. “I don’t know what to say. This is very lovely but…” She struggled to find the right words or politely decline if she could. She looked around at them all, managing to smile. “I don’t know how much I’ve managed to help you but you’ve all done so much for me. You could say you’ve changed me. You helped me to become something better than I was before. I should be thanking you and giving all of you something.”

She felt something touch her arm and saw Pooh’s paw resting upon it. “You’ve already given us something Sunset Shimmer. A new friend.”

Sunset looked about at all of the friends who each nodded in agreement. Even Eeyore, who still seemed rather glum, smiled and met the round of approval. She looked back at Pooh and put her arms around him in a hug, feeling him return it in kind.

“Thank you.”

Rabbit turned back to the basket and drew out a shiny knife. A seemingly odd item for such a peaceful place. But, of course, the knife was rounded at the tip and only sharp enough to cut the cake. Still, Sunset found herself sighing in relief at yet another moment when she feared the world to shift to a nightmare.

Perhaps Eeyore had started to get to her.

Rabbit carefully brought the knife over to her, ensuring to keep it away from Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Roo. With Kanga’s help of course. He presented it to her and she used it to cut the cake into the best even slices she could. One for each of the friends. Though Kanga only accepted one on behalf of her and Roo, sharing the slice between the two. While Sunset cut, Rabbit passed out plates and forks.

When Sunset took her first bite, it was as though pure joy simply melted in her mouth and filled her body. As with her first chance to taste Pooh’s honey, she quickly dug in and devoured her slice. And as with her time with the honey, she stopped and stared at the friends in embarrassment, realizing she was licking the remaining crumbs and frosting off the plate. She slowly lowered the plate and tried to smile and hide her shame. But, as before, no one said anything. Save for Roo who tried to imitate her, resulting in Kanga softly telling him to not be messy.

No one said anything. But Pooh smiled.

After finishing her cake, Sunset politely waited for the others to finish theirs. Tigger was the next to finish, though it seemed more was left on his face rather than eaten. This was of course quickly remedied by Kanga who followed up by cleaning up Roo. One by one, the others finished, with Eeyore being last to finish. With the cake eaten, they spent another moment relaxing and talking and letting their meal settle.

Finally, it was time to gather up the picnic. The sun was beginning to set and it was quickly growing time to finish the day. So much time had passed with such good company, but it seemed only a short while. But as they gathered their plates and silverware and honey pots to end the lovely picnic, Pooh offered a final suggestion to Sunset.

“Sunset?”

“Yes Pooh.”

“Could we watch the stars come out? All of us?”

Sunset thought for a moment. To watch the stars blink into the night sky would be a wonderful end to the day. “Of course we can.”

With everyone working together, the cleanup was as quick as the setup. Each friend gathered up what they had brought and Sunset gathered the gifts from Pooh and Piglet. As they began to make their way out of the meadow, Sunset told the others about Pooh’s idea to see the stars come out.

“That would be a wonderful idea my dear,” Owl said. “As we watch them, I could tell you about the different stories associated with each of the various constellations. They are such riveting tales.”

“Yes,” said Rabbit, “that does sound quite nice.”

“Well,” Kanga said, a bit hesitantly, “it would be a bit late for little Roo. But I guess we could have just one late night.”

“Yay!” squeaked Roo.

“I suppose if everyone else wants to,” Eeyore said, just as glum as ever.

Tigger really did not say much. Or perhaps he did. He did charge around the group in several circles, as excited as ever.

Piglet was quiet but looked at Pooh then Susnet. “I would like that.”

As for Pooh, he simply smiled as always.

“Well then,” Rabbit said. “We shall return our picnic items to our homes and return afterwards.”

All agreed and parted ways for the time to their respective homes. All except for Pooh and Sunset. The two had very little and opted to stay for a while longer. They returned back to the center of the meadow and set down Sunset’s presents and Pooh’s leftover honey pot and prepared to simply sit and wait. It hardly mattered how long, so long as they were together.

But as they were just about to sit down, a small voice caught Sunset’s attention. A laugh, as it sounded like. Sunset found herself stuck in a half squat, quietly listening to the giggle that seemed to move about the meadow. She stood and listened, trying to see who might still be around, let alone laughing. But this voice did not belong to any of the friends.

At least, none that she had met.

Sunset turned to Pooh. “Wait here a second. I’m going to be right back.”

She did not know why she had Pooh wait, but he did, or seemed to. Sunset made her way into the taller parts of the meadow while looking all around for whoever was laughing. The laugh seemed to echo all around and some of the grass seemed to move as something passed through. Sunset moved further out, following the laughter and trying to catch up to whoever it was.

She ended up out of the meadow and back into the woods, which were slowly growing darker by the second. She peered around and strained her ears. Finally, she saw something. A shadow behind a tree. Then, she heard the laughter again. Clearer this time.

It was a child.

Before she could clearly make out what she had seen, the child turned and ran off again still laughing playfully. She ran after, finding it strangely difficult to keep up. She ran around twists and turns in the woods, over fallen logs and through bushes. She pushed her legs harder but could gain no ground.

Finally, she realized what was around her as she ran. She recognized the different places they passed by and saw the homes of the different friends. She saw a few places that she and Pooh had been to on her short journey through the woods. Everywhere she had been, and the memories of her time here. The last place caused her to stop. Before her was the special circle of trees.

And hiding just behind one tree was the child.

“Wait!” Sunset called out as the child giggled once more and turned and ran into the center of the trees. She ran up and passed into the circle, panting now from exhaustion. She was forced to stop and catch her breath but looked up to see where the child had gone. But there before her, in the very center, was the child, staring up at the sky as it shifted into a soft orange glow of the evening.

The child turned around and smiled at her. “Hallo.”

The child appeared to be a young boy with yellow hair. He wore a simple green short-sleeve shirt that seemed a tad large and a pair of brown shorts. His feet were bare and bore numerous smudges of dirt. Even his clothes had several spots of dirt covering them.

“Hello,” Sunset finally managed to say with a soft smile, seeing that the child had ended his playful running. “My name is Sunset Shimmer. Who are you?”

The child placed his hand behind him and rocked on his heels as he answered. “My name is Christopher Robin.”

“That’s a lovely name,” Sunset said and was about to say more when a thought crossed her mind. “Say, do you know a small bear named Winnie-the-Pooh?”

Christopher Robin smile grew a bit and he tilted his head slightly as he answered. “Of course. He’s my friend.”

“Oh!” Sunset exclaimed. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She turned around for but a single moment, excitement beginning to overtake her. “I’m sure Pooh would love to…” her voice trailed off and grew quiet when she turned back. Her smile faded and worry began to take over.

Before her now, the young boy had been replaced by an older boy. One not too far younger than herself. His yellow hair was slightly darker and he wore a simple brown suit with a simple black string tie. He stood upright and held an air of discipline about him.

Yet, he still wore the same smile as the younger boy and felt…similar.

“It has been so long since I saw that silly bear. I hope he hasn’t missed me too terribly.”

Sunset stared in shock and confusion. Once more, the world seemed to tease her that it would shift into a nightmare. “Christopher Robin?”

The boy looked straight at her, still smiling. “How is he doing, I wonder.”

The sky above continued its shift into night as the orange hue slowly gave way to darkening blue. A gentle breeze blew by and caused Sunset to look up at the fading bits of daylight. When she looked back at the boy, he had been replaced by a grown man.

Sunset stared in shock and awe at the man who bore brown hair and a fine brown suit. She took a moment to rub her eyes to make sure she was not seeing an illusion of some sort made by the world. But as she pulled her hands away, the man was now elderly. His fine suit was replaced by a worn grey one and his hair was slowly receding and white. He bore himself by a simple cane. But still, he wore the same warm and kind smile.

“Who…Who are you?” Sunset asked, now worried to take her eyes off the man. “What’s going on here?”

The man simply smiled more as he answered. “Child, I think you know the answer to that. Don’t you?”

Sunset clenched her hands tightly into fists, more worried or afraid rather than angry. “Would you…tell me anyways?”

The man was silent a moment, doing no more than smiling the way he had been. He looked up at the sky and the glowing edge of the fading sun’s light. Sunset kept her eyes on him, worried what would happen should her gaze ever falter.

“It’s a wonderful place with wonderful friends, is it not?” the man said. He cast his gaze back at Sunset, his smile fading only slightly. “But we know that some things don’t last forever. Many things in fact.” Sunset remained quiet as the man took a few slow steps forward. “Tell me, child, where are your friends right now?”

Sunset thought a moment, thinking about the homes of the forest friends. Then she thought about where her other friends lived. “Well…I…”

She stopped as the man reached her and placed a hand on her chest. “Right here is where they should be.”

Sunset looked at the hand than back at the man’s warm smile. “I don’t understand.”

“You’ve been so alone lately, haven’t you? But you never should be. True friends are friends you can hold in your heart. And so long as your friends are there, you are never alone.”

Sunset thought to her friends. Thought to all of the kindness they had shown her. And for a moment, she wondered. Was she in their hearts?

Then she thought to Pooh and the others.

“What if…you have to say goodbye?”

The man’s smile grew warmer as he held one of her hands and placed it over her heart. “As I said. So long as your friends are kept in your heart, they are always there for you.”

Sunset looked down at the hand that held hers and placed her other hand over it. A silent tear slid down her face and gently dripped on her hand. She felt her face tighten as she fought back more. “I don’t want to say goodbye.” She quickly reached around the old man and held him in a hug as a scared child holds a parent. “Not to any of them.”

She felt the old man return the hug, gently calming her. “With friends held so closely, do you truly part from them? They will always be with you.” Sunset held tightly, wanting the old man to stay. “Goodbye,” he said.

“Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset opened her eyes to find herself holding herself tight. She looked around to find herself alone within the circle of trees then looked back to see Pooh standing behind her. She rubbed her face and brushed away the tears that had streamed down her cheeks. “Yes, Pooh?” she said through her hands.

“Who were you talking to?” Pooh asked.

Sunset finished wiping her face then looked back into the center of the trees. She was greeted by silence and emptiness. And yet, she smiled. “Just an old friend.”

“Oh,” said Pooh. “It’s always nice to see old friends.”

Sunset turned back to Pooh who stepped forward and held out a paw. She took hold and the two made their way from the circle of trees and back through the woods to the meadow. Left behind, was Sunset’s presents from Pooh and Piglet. Each left with the other empty honey pots still sitting together next to one tree.

It was not as long a walk back to the meadow as it had been from. But it hardly mattered. When they arrived, the others were waiting. Each wore a pleasant smile and waited patiently for Sunset and Pooh to reach their spot, saved by Piglet.

With everyone gathered, they peered up at the now dark blue sky and watched as a small light blinked into existence. It was soon joined by another, then several more, then many more. Soon, the sky was filled with an enchanting swath of shimmering lights.

Roo jumped about with excitement, as did Tigger. Kanga simply smiled at the two, allowing the moment of jubilation. Owl carried on with a tale about an uncle, or perhaps a cousin, who had once tried to fly to a star, or perhaps it was the moon. Eeyore was less glum as usual and smiled at the sight of the sight of the twinkling stars. Rabbit was quiet but did try to hide his awe. Rather poorly that is.

As for Pooh and Piglet, they simply sat next to Sunset, enjoying the sight as much as she.

With night officially arrived, Kanga was first to bid farewell. She gathered up a now sleeping Roo and gently placed him in her pouch. She called for Tigger who followed her out of the meadow and on their way home. Eeyore was next, followed closely by Rabbit and Owl. Each gave their farewell and went their separate ways to their separate homes.

Sunset remained a moment longer with Pooh and Piglet before Piglet was ready to return home himself. Sunset and Pooh both walked with him home and there bid their farewells. Afterwards, the two wandered alone for a while longer.

They wandered here and there. Going this way and that. But this time, they had a direction.

Eventually, they reached the hill with the special tree home. It was different as it was now brightly lit up inside, though not much could be made out still. They walked up silently and stood at the door a moment.

Without a word, Sunset bent down and gave Pooh a hug, who hugged her in kind. Without a word, she walked up to the door and took hold of the handle. There would be only one word as she opened the door. Only one word that she said before her world returned to white. And this time, there was no pain to be felt. No hurt to Pooh, the world, or her.

And Pooh, being Pooh, simply smiled and nodded.

“Goodbye.”

Author's Note

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
- Winnie the Pooh

Thank you very much for reading.

The Child in the Window

As the afternoon sun shined through the branches of the trees a gentle breeze twisted its way around the trunks and through the bushes and grass. Each was like a gentle touch from a parent to their child. The warm sun soothing the body with a warm embrace as the wind provided a gentle caress to remove all fear and worry. Even the shade from the trees gave a sheltering feeling to the two who wandered through the woods.

Sunset watched as Pooh hobbled next to her in that odd way he had. He seemed to have not a care in the world as he softly hummed while they walked. They had no direction or destination. No rhyme or reason for the paths they chose to follow. They simply walked to see where it would lead.

As this world was still new to her, Sunset had decided to go and explore it after their “little something” to satisfy their “eleven o’clockish” feelings. Each turn of a bend, rise and fall of the land, and peek around a tree brought a new scene and new wonders. Once again, the feeling of being a small filly once again arose in Sunset as she drank in the sights and sounds of the woods. Even simple dangers such as fallen logs, thorny bushes, or ditches did nothing to deter her wonder. In fact, it only elicited more excitement.

The only odd part was that each new discovery brought just as much excitement to Sunset’s stout companion as it did her. The yellow bear exuded the same excitement as a child seeing things for the first time. Yet he was the one who was from this world. It was odd to see him as excited as she was.

“Hey Pooh,” Sunset said, deciding to break the silence and satisfy a bit of curiosity. “What are your other friends like?”

Pooh stood still as he thought, showing signs of a more in depth thought process than he had shown before. His face contorted a bit and he started to appear worried, even afraid, as he thought. He pressed both paws against the sides of his head almost like he was trying to squeeze the information from his mind. After a minute of struggle, his arms sagged and his body slumped a bit. He stared at the ground rather downtrodden.

“I…I don’t remember.”

For a minute, Sunset could only stare at the sad bear and sympathize. She had her own problems when it came to knowing about her own friends. Though she knew a bit about them as people, she really did not know them as friends. It was one thing to know a person, pony, or stuffed animal, in Pooh’s case. But another thing entirely to know a friend. And to forget your friends…

Sunset squatted down and place an arm around Pooh. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find them all and you’ll be able to remember them just like when we found Piglet.”

She put on the bravest smile she could to quell the fears of her companion. All the while trying to mask the unsure feelings she held within. Pooh looked at Sunset and smiled. Either he could not read her own sense of worry or the mere thought to try and cheer him up was enough to lift his spirits. But regardless, he smiled and took hold of Sunset’s hand and started leading her on back to their exploration.

Their journey through the woods seemed to last for hours and the forest seemed to stretch on for miles. This kind of thing happened when one was unfamiliar with an area. Of course the child-like imagination that exuded from the land stretched it out to a vast unknown world filled with untold possible discoveries. Truly, this land was made by a child. A child who looks out at the world and sees a vast place filled with new things around every turn.

But after a while, the two came across a familiar sight. Familiar not only to Sunset but to Pooh as well. The empty tree home she had seen when she first arrived. It stood just as empty and dark as before. Pooh seemed not to notice as he walked up to the door a rapped on it a few times and waited patiently for an answer. An answer that never came.

“Pooh,” said Sunset, moving slowly towards the bear. “I don’t think anyone is inside.”

Pooh said nothing. He waited a little longer before rapping a few more times and waiting. Still, the home stood silent.

“Pooh. Nobody is here.”

Sunset began to feel sorry for the little bear. He seemed so excited when he saw the tree home and had moved rather quickly, for Pooh, to get to the door. The fact that he knocked twice said he really wanted to see whoever was supposed to be inside. Could it be?

Sunset thought back to when she first saw the tree and the feeling of it being special she had when she first tried to enter. She thought about the friend Pooh kept talking about who seemed to always “be doing nothing, or something.” The excitement he showed when he saw the tree. Could this be the tree home of Pooh’s friend? She got her answer a moment later.

“He’s not here,” Pooh said, slumping once more and sounding as if ready to cry.

Sunset knelt down a placed an arm around Pooh. She did not know what to say. What to do. She barely knew, if she knew at all, what he was going through with his missing friends. His friends seemed dear to him. But this one seemed far dearer. What made this friend stand out? Different, even special, compared to the rest?

An odd feeling came over her, the kind when one is being watched, and she looked up. In the darkened window she saw what could only be described as the silhouette of a child. It was there for but a second before vanishing in the darkness of the empty home. She blinked a couple of times and rubbed her eyes thinking she had imagined it. Taking a second look, she only saw an empty window.

This would not be the first time she saw something that made no sense, and undoubtedly not the last. But the sight of child brought on a new thought. Could the special friend be the child that once played with Pooh? Could Pooh have been the child’s stuffed toy and this world the result of the child’s imagination? It certainly made sense but the fact that she had only gotten here by means of a blank book only raised more questions.

As she pondered, the door opened. Inside, the home was just as dark and empty as she had seen through the window. Once again, Sunset felt as though the dream would shift into a nightmare at the sight of a door opening on its own. But nothing happened as the two stared at the open door and the empty room within.

Sunset stood, staring at the doorway the whole time, and began to take a step forward. But a small tug on her arm held her in place. She looked back to see Pooh holding her hand with both paws, almost afraid to let go. She turned to him, knelt down and smiled, placing her other hand on his paws.

“Don’t worry. I’m just going to take a quick peek. I’ll be right back. I promise.”

Pooh held fast for a moment before relenting and releasing his grip. Sunset held his paws a moment longer before letting go and turning back to the tree home. She peered into the empty darkness and almost seemed to hear it call to her. She shook her head to dispel the nonsense, not that anything in the world made sense, and took a few slow and cautious steps forward.

When she got to the doorway, she place a hand on the frame and poked her head inside. The darkness hid everything inside. It made the tree seem not so much hollow as abandoned. Strange as she had just seen the child silhouette earlier. And yet, the sensation of abandonment did not seem quite right. There was a reason for the empty home but, for the time being, no real way to tell what reason that would be.

As she was about to retreat back and return to Pooh the world shifted into the familiar white that she had experienced when she first entered the world.

Sunset opened her eyes and looked around to find herself back in her own room. Everything was as it was before as though she had never left. A gentle orange glow shined through the window from the setting sun and the clock on her dresser read that she had likely fallen asleep for just a few hours. Strange as she seemed to be in that world for two days.

The thought of the world brought up her last moment with Pooh. Although a part of her had been relieved to finally awaken from the dream world, panic and worry coursed through her body. Dream or not, she had left Pooh behind…alone.

“No, no, no.” Sunset jumped up from her bed and paced a few times. “I can’t be back. I can’t leave.”

She stopped her pacing and looked back at the book on her bed. She quickly grabbed it up and saw that same sad picture of Pooh on the front cover. She stared at the image for a full minute, taking it in and feeling a knot form in her stomach. Tears began to form in her eyes as she began to shake the book violently and shouted.

“Take me back! I have to go back! I can’t just leave him alone! I promised I would be right back! I promised him!”

Her shaking stopped and she stared at the book cover once more. She held it close to her chest and dropped to her knees, still pleading to return to that magical world.

“Take me back. He needs me. Take me back. Please. I…I need him.”

The room grew darker as the sun set. But still, Sunset sat on the floor holding the book. Finally, she lifted her head and held out the book. Deciding to take one last look, she opened the book to an uplifting sight. Inside, her story so far was told. She saw pictures of her looking out on the woods, meeting Pooh, watching him float on the balloon, meeting Piglet, wandering in circles, and, of course, sitting amidst the circle of trees.

She felt her eyes tear up again, but now more of joy rather than sorrow. There was still much to the book that remained blank and unwritten, but her journey, her adventure, so far was there. She turned to her window and the night sky beyond and gave an embarrassed giggle. She had reacted just like a filly just now. One told to end their play for a time or for the day only to throw a tantrum at having to leave the worlds they created.

She closed the book and stood, placing it gently on her night stand. If that was all it was, then everything would be alright. But as she wiped her eyes of her tears, new worries arose. When she returned, would things return to the way they were when she left? Or would she have to find Pooh and apologize for seemingly abandoning him? Would she have to reintroduce herself if he forgot her? Could she even return at all?

While the last thought brought the biggest worry, she shook her head to dispel such worries. She would return. At least she hoped she would. The book had transported her unwillingly before, perhaps it would do so again. Taking a quick look at the time, she decided to ready herself for bed and return when she could, or when the book decided.

Once ready for bed, she took one last look at the book and the forlorn bear on the cover. She smiled and laid down on her bed and pulled the covers over her. Just before she turned out the lamp on her night stand, she said one last thing.

“Good night Pooh, Piglet. Sorry to leave you so soon and so abruptly. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, she settled in for a night’s rest.