Broken: Sunset's Return

I followed the mares down the paths. The eerie silence was haunting in the forests, but I had faith in the idea that they would take me to a safe place. Applebloom rambled on and on about this farm though I had my doubts. A wooden structure chain surviving a blast of magic that forever changed Equestria and the world it sat upon? I looked back to Ponyville.

Twilight was dead. It still clung to my chest that this wasn't an accidental catastrophe. More so an attack by an unseen fighter. As we walked, I began to lag behind. My thoughts getting my better half. What if Twilight isn't dead? What if she has been trapped in a limbo type state? I gave a sigh, which caught Diamond Tiara's attention.

She moved back to where I was drifting along. I looked away from the filly. Unable to face her at risk of blurting verbal stupidity and sounding dumb.

"You wish Twilight was still alive don't you?" She asked, the question blindsided me.

"Well, yes. I do...she was the person, er pony I got advice from. I just don't know where to go from here." I grumble, Diamond gives a soft sigh.

"I miss the way things used to be before the disaster. Before the ash. Before I was stuck on my own." She seemed torn between two sides here. Hunting for a scrap of the past, or succumbing to the new landscape around her.

In a way, I could relate. The look she wore on her face was near identical to the one I had when I had to make a choice. Choosing to return to my home world, or staying in the human world. I took the leap, but this poor filly stood on the fence, waiting for a sliver of hope, a dying scrap of her waiting for a hero.

I heard a short ,astonished gasp come from Zecora. Ahead of us sat a mare and two bodies. One of the two ponies lying on the ground had a silver-blue mane and wore a magician's attire. Whist the other was a yellow mare with a blue mane, unfortunately this poor mare was dead. The standing pony was crying above the dying mare. The wounded had bandages, but weren't going to make it. The magician pointed desperately towards us, silently begging for help.

The crying mare spun around to face us. She had a purple coat with a mane of a deep violet, streaked with a beam of green. She looked hopefully at us. Then began begging.

"Please, h-help us. Trixie needs help, but Raindrops died already. Please!"

Zecora looked at us, waiting for our opinion. I nodded, so did Diamond and Applebloom.

"Alright, we shall help her for the night."

"What do you mean the night?" This mare asked nervously.

"We mean that we'll help, if her condition betters, we'll keep caring for her. If it drops, she'll need to be put out of her misery." Applebloom clarified.

I walked up to the unicorn on the ground, lifting her onto my back. She was breathing rather well, but was clearly in pain. I reassured the dying mare by telling her that she'll be fine, just has to make it to the orchard.

"Th-thank you, I'm Trixie..." She whispered, her voice frail.

"Oh, thank you all. I don't want to lose her. I'm Starlight Glimmer and she's Trixie Lulamoon. We just need her to recover, then we'll be on our way." The mare who had been crying, was now gratefully praising our efforts.

"If she recovers, she'll need ta stay with us. Y'all can't just run about like animals." Applebloom said in a firm way.

"Well, then we'll help at the orchard. Trixie has a wide knowledge of magic. She'll help you, and so will I." Starlight announced.

"Can we just get Trixie to the orchard? She won't last if we stay out here yapping." I say, hoping to save the mare on my back. She gave me a weak smile as I said that.

"I like your attitude.... It reminds me...of who...I was." She said in that same depressingly frail voice. I felt like she was an innocent filly even thought she was an adult.

We moved our tails along, leaving the body of Raindrops on the dusty pathway. Starlight and Zecora exchanged a lot of words as we walked. I kept my attention on Trixie. Her heartbeat was like a mellow drum, soothing yet terrifying. Appleblooom and Diamond picked up small objects. I could only assume they were for trade or decoration.

Trixie whispered to me that she'd get in a small nap,and to wake her when we arrived. I told her that I'd make sure she pulled through this. She then asked me something I've never heard someone ask me.

"Promise me that you'll help....me survive?"

I looked at her and uttered the Pinkie Promise phrase.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Thank...you." She drifted to sleep, and all I could hear was her heartbeat.

When we finally arrived I shook Trixie gently to wake her. She lifted her head slightly. She survived the trip here, now we needed to fix up her wounds. I never stopped to ask when she got them, nor did I plan to, it seemed like that would make her either become mad or make her cry. Which I didn't want to see happen.

Applebloom told me to take her to her brother's old room, first door on the left upstairs. I followed the instructions, and laid her gently onto the bed. She looked up at me, and smiled. Clearly she was happy to be here, safe and sound.

"Do you want anything? They'll need to gather the supplies to fix you up." I ask in a calming voice.

"Yes, some...water, please?" She asked softly. I nodded and trotted to the kitchen, and looked for filtered water. I beamed when I found it. Pouring a glass for her, and one for Starlight who sat in the living room with Diamond who was explaining the house rules, she to!d me them as we walked out of Ponyville.

"Here, you could use a little drink." Giving Starlight the glass. She said thanks and continued to listen.

I walked back up to the room Trixie was in. When I entered she was gazing out the window. I set the glass down, and she immediately looked to it. Levitating it to herself with her magic. I looked out the window for a moment. Dark clouds were gathering upon the distant horizon. Trixie set the glass down, half full.

"Thanks for the drink..." She said nicely.

"Anytime. If you need anything, just call for me, or use a magical signal." I said hoping that it would give her some peace knowing that at least one pony here was devoted to helping her. I made a Pinkie Promise, and nobody breaks a Pinkie Promise.

"Excuse me Sunset, but I'll be patching up the pony we just met." Zecora said from the doorway, I waved goodbye to Trixie and went downstairs to see how I could help with the orchard's chores and plants. It was time for me to let my past in the human world go, after all my past is not today.