The Eight Month Love Letter

Do you like snowflakes?

Seeing you is like snowflakes, like whispers in the wind. Sunset reread the line for the fourth time. The letter had turned up tucked between the pages of her geography book during third class period. For the most part the piece of paper was blank, a few sentences written in delicate cursive putting a pause to the white perfection. At the very top were the words Winter Snowflakes, underlined, followed by the catchy line of blank verse. Only then did the real letter begin.

My precious Sunset,

There's sunshine in your hair. I know others have told you this before. You probably get letters every day, yet I like to think that I was the first to notice… not this year, not even last, but back when you first came to Canterlot High. Back then everyone feared you. Not me. I could see the sadness you held inside, and it was very much like mine.

There was so much I wanted to tell you back then, there's so much I want to tell you now, but do you want to hear? I was scared and missed my chance, maybe forever. I still dream I haven't, but dare not hope. That is why I've split the rest of this letter into four fragments—one for each season—and hid them throughout the school. If you reach the end of my letter by the Fall Formal, I'll know it's more than a dream or passing fancy.

The text ended abruptly, as if sliced in half with a knife. Sunset skimmed through it again, then turned the note around. There was a single line of text on the back: Your Reflection#23137. Sunset scratched her ear.

“Hey, Sunny,” Rainbow Dash said, leaning on her desk. “What's up?”

“Hey, Rainbow.” Sunset looked up. “Nothing much. Trying to survive the next two hours of boredom.”

“Tell me about it! Cranky Doodle is just the worst! He goes on and on and on and…hey is that a discord account?” Rainbow Glanced at the note. “I thought you had one.”

“I do.” Sunset quickly out the letter in her backpack. “A friend gave me theirs.” Only now did it dawn on her that she knew absolutely nothing about the sender. Were they male, were they female? Were they even in the same class? At this point everything was possible. “So, what did you need me for?”

“Oh, right.” A glint of guilt flashed in Rainbow's eyes as she looked away. “You see, thing is I might made a small mess in the gym… It totally wasn't my fault.”

“Of course.” Sunset smirked as she put the rest of her books in the backpack.

“I might have made a small mess and…” Rainbow repeated, a guilty smile covering her face just as the words tailed off.

“Okay.” Sunset found it difficult not to chuckle. “I'll help you clean up after class.” Not like I have anything much to do. She glanced at the window. It was snowing as it had been the entire morning. Sunset didn't like snow, she didn't like winter altogether. It always made her feel alone.

“Great!” Rainbow Dash gave her friend a pat on the back. “See you in gym after class!” She dashed out, disappearing down the hallway.

Two classes later, Sunset was sitting patiently in a very messy, yet suspiciously empty, gym. Streaks of multicolored paint were all over the floor, walls and ceiling, attempting to from a vague resemblance of a rainbow. Sunset didn't need any guesses as to who had caused all this, just as she didn't need to guess why the person in question wasn't here.

“No problem, I'll help you clean after class, Dash,” Sunset sighed. Why do I fall for this each time? She could have taken up Twilight and Rarity on their offer to go to the movies, but instead she had promised to help out with Rainbow’s situation. So much for a fun evening. “Well, best get started.”

Sunset pulled up her sleeves, then went to the janitor's closet for some buckets, mops, and paint thinner. With a bit of luck and a lot of effort she could probably get the floor cleaned up before midnight. The ceiling was a different matter—that she would leave Rainbow to deal with on her own.

Ten minutes were enough to prove Sunset wrong. The paint, seemingly fresh, had hardened to the extent that simple mopping wouldn't do a thing. Even with paint thinner she'd have to spend hours to scrub it off.

Spending a Friday night scrubbing paint off a gym floor, Sunset thought. Yep, sounds like winter. Sunset looked at the mop then at her backpack. Two options started floating in her mind. She could clean up as she promised, or she could go home and leave it for that point in time when Rainbow would actually be here. Both options sounded equally unappealing. Or maybe…

Sunset grabbed her backpack and took the love letter. Unprotected by any book, the piece of paper was folded in several places with pencil scratches on one side. Sunset hardly even noticed, flipping it over to see the discord user name. Your Reflection She tapped it in, followed by the five digit code, then pressed send. The response was almost immediate. A new user popped up on her friends list, bearing the icon of a crescent moon.

Hello, Sunset. Reflection messaged. Sunset's heartbeat hastened. Without a moment's thought she tapped on the headphone icon, initiating a call. Soon enough the call was accepted.

“Hello,” Sunset said. “I got your letter.”

Can’t talk :(

“Oh.” Sunset’s excitement faded away. It would have been nice for me to hear you.

I can listen to you. I love listening to you speak.

“Heh, okay, though won't it be a bit one-sided?” Argh! Why did I have to make such a lame joke? “Sorry. That was stupid. It’s the first time I'm the only one talking.”

You’re fine. Set text to speech if you want. That way you can do things while we talk.

“That actually sounds useful.” Sunset opened the settings section. “What voice do you want me to give you?”

Whatever you prefer ;)

“Ah, no hint to who you are, then?”

Why ruin the mystery?

Cute. Sunset selected a female voice. As long as the caller wanted to keep the mystery alive she might as well indulge in her fantasy. It sounded right. Boys were straightforward, rarely going through such lengths.

“Done. Try typing something,” Sunset said.

“Hello.” The artificial female voice echoed in the gym. It sounded completely unnatural, but had its own charm of sorts, like a robotic schoolgirl character from an anime show. “Can you hear me?”

“Sure can.” Sunset beamed. “Well, nice to ‘hear’ you, although I'd have preferred to hear your actual voice.”

“Maybe later, when you've read my letter.”

“You like being mysterious, don't you?” Sunset sat on the floor. “That's cheating, you know. I love mysteries. Can you at least give me a hint?”

“Isn't it also cheating being a pony princess?” The robotic voice responded without change in intonation. “I've already given you a hint. If you find me interesting enough you'll find the rest. If not, I'm not good enough for you and it wouldn't matter anyway.”

“That's a bit self-deprecating, don't you think?”

“It's just math. If I can't manage to keep your intent for a few days how would I keep your interest for more?”

That’s actually a good question. If Sunset couldn't be bothered to reveal the identity of her mysterious admirer, would it be worth it? This wasn't the first love letter she had received. Right now she could barely remember the names of last year's senders if she tried. They were all friends, of course, but Sunset knew they had all wanted to be something more. Reflection seemed no different.

“I liked your letter,” Sunset went on. “The first part, at least. I didn't know anyone was interested in me back when I arrived. From what I remember back then I was just the new girl. Did we talk? I mean before the…”

“We used to, then you stopped.” The voice paused.

“Did I do something bad to you?” Guilt reared its ugly head, making Sunset’s stomach churn.

“Let's talk about something else. What are you doing right now?”

“Heh. That's easy. I'm sitting in the a gym after Rainbow Dash tried to go all Picasso on it,” Sunset snorted. How in Tartarus did she manage to paint the ceiling purple?! “You?”

“Homework.”

“Oh, so you're one of those?” Sunset snickered. One of the nerd crowd. Good. I like nerds. “Doing homework on a Friday evening. That says a lot.”

“Or I just wanted to finish it today so I can spend the weekend chatting with you?”

Silence followed. Sunset picked up the phone. The text was on the screen, written in small green letters. It was the most terrible cliché in the history of small talk, but it worked. For some reason it felt more than a clever phrase, emotion was pouring out of the pixels. You’re sweet, Sunset thought, as she moved the phone closer to her face.

“I… hid the second fragment… in the gym,” the computer voice said. Reflection had deliberately added several sets of ellipses to indicate her hesitation. “Do you want any more hints?”

“It’s fine. I'll start searching in a bit.” You tease! “Why did you place it here anyway?”

“Well… I hoped to spend some time moving you about school. You sound like you're having a tough time, so…”

“Annoyed, rather.” Sunset stood up. “Right now I'm not sure what is worse: that Rainbow painted the entire gym, or that she did such a terrible job.”

“Not everyone is born an artist.”

“I know. I'm looking at proof.” Sunset crossed her arms. “I mean how do you mess up a rainbow?! That takes a particular talent.”

The last time Rainbow Dash had attempted to be creative in art class, her teacher had taken her “painting” and gone with it directly to principal Celestia. After an hour long conversation it had been decided that she would be given a passing grade on the condition that she never ever visits the class again or attempts to draw until the end of the school year. Rainbow had taken the news with a shrug, believing it a natural result of her awesomeness. Sunset had made the mistake to ask about the painting in question. Reality had never seen the same since. For weeks each time Sunset saw Rainbow she had to fight not to burst in uncontrollable laughter. Compared to that the splashes of paint throughout the gym were a colossal improvement.

“I wish I could help you clean up,” Reflection said.

“There's nothing stopping you.” Sunset smirked out of habit.

“Heh. Not before you read my letter.”

“Boo!” Sunset said in mock disapproval. In truth it would have been disappointing if her unknown admirer had agreed. The first letter fragment had been like an invitation to a dance of mystery and romance, to which Sunset had responded upon adding Reflection to her discord friends. From here on she wanted to enjoy it. “I bet it's on one of the basketball boards.”

“Ha ha ha. Nope.” The computer laughter sounded cringy, though still managed to get the point across. “How long will it take you to clean up?”

“This mess?” Sunset glanced about. “All night if I'm lucky. More likely I'll have to phone vice-principal Luna to spend the weekend here.”

“Oh. I'm sorry.”

“Hey, not your fault.” It’s not like Rainbow Dash is bothered by getting me to clean up for her. “It’s winter. Though if we keep chatting like this I won't get anything done. You okay if we talk while I clean? There'll be weird background noises.”

“I have my headphones on.” There was a slight pause. “And I enjoy listening to you.”

Headphones, Sunset thought. That meant Reflection was living with people, probably his parents. More relevant, though, he had fallen for her hard. From a five minute chat it was difficult to say if Reflection was shy or a tease, but he knew how to maintain the interest.

“What do I call you?” Sunset took the phone neck strap from her backpack.

“Just Reflection.”

“Sounds a bit long.” The phone was clipped to the strap. “Do you still hear me okay? I'm trying something.”

“You're fine. And there's nothing wrong in being long. That way I get to hear you more.”

“You're quite the romantic.” Definitely a boy. Sunset felt a minor wave of disappointment pass through her. Pity. You seem sweet. “No chance telling me if you're a boy or girl?”

“No.”

“Okay.” In that case I can still fantasize. “I'll start working now so I will probably stop talking for a bit.”

“No worries.”

“Thanks. Feel free to shout, though. I'll answer. Might be grumbly and snarky, when I do.”

“I will. Giggle.” The text to voice functionality conveyed the message. Hearing “giggle” spoken out was more than weird, but those were the software limitations Sunset had to get used to. “Just one thing before you start. Why clean it?”

“Err?” Sunset looked at her phone. “What do you mean? Did autocorrect mess up?”

“No, sorry. I meant to say, won't it be easier to pain over what Rainbow did? Or maybe I'm just stupid.”

“Hey, no self-deprecation when talking to me, okay?” Why can't anyone see what a massive turn off that is? “It's a great idea. Might get me in a bit of trouble, but hey, it's winter.”

“You don't like winter much.”

“Nope. It's the closest thing to hate I can get to as far as seasons are concerned. It's not the cold, it's just makes me feel isolated and alone somehow…” Sunset stopped. This was a topic she didn't feel comfortable getting into, not yet. “I'll go get some paint.”

In general school policy strictly forbid the use of paint without the explicit permission if the principal. All relevant materials were not allowed on school property and only bought on a case by case basis once principal Celestia had given the go ahead. There was, however, a loophole and its name was Pinkie Pie. In her multiple lockers, scattered all over the building, the the pink menace managed to store a variety of things, most of which were against policy. Attempts had been made to get Pinkie Pie to change her ways, yet after a few months the school board have given up, requesting that Pinkie use them in a responsible fashion. To everyone’s later surprise she did.

After sending a brief text to Pinkie Pie, Sunset got the locations of the “paint lockers” and went to get them. Reflection had remained quiet throughout the process. A bit later he had excused himself, saying he had to go to bed and ended the call. The uncertainty of his gender remained, but the more Sunset thought about it the more convinced Reflection was male. Even so there remained the small sliver of doubt that intrigued her. Even if nothing came out of this she'd enjoy having Reflection as a friend.

It took four hours to paint over Rainbow’s masterpiece. Fixing the ceiling was the most challenging. Unlike Dash, Sunset had the foresight to start with that and not have paint drops splatter over the work on the floor. Not being able to fly or levitate made things difficult, but nothing a few Pinkie ladders couldn't fix. Looking at the result Sunset felt a certain degree of pride. What had been paint vomit hours ago, had now transformed into a winding rainbow twisting and turning throughout the entire gym.

And they said I was wasting my time with modern art. The girl brushed the sweat off her forehead. The paint job would undoubtedly get her in trouble with principal Celestia come Monday, and Rainbow would be certain to claim a major part of the credit, but it was worth it.

Okay, now to take a shower. It was already past ten, so there was no point in rushing home. This wouldn't be the first time Sunset had spent the night at school. Besides, with the central heating on the fritz again, the school was likely much warmer than her home.

On her way to the gym locker room Sunset glanced at her phone. Reflection was still offline. Possibly he was an early to sleep, early to rise type of person—the hallmark of a honour student. Sunset had never shared the practice, even as Princess Celestia’s protégé she'd been a night person, to the extent that her curriculum had to be changed to accommodate her waking up at noon.

I wonder… The desire to type something in the hope of getting a response began to build up. An internal conflict raged for several seconds at in the end Sunset gave in sending a Finished! :D Now off to get a shower. through discord. For almost a minute she stood there, eyes glued on the screen, waiting for an indication that her admirer was writing. There was none. Sleep well, Sunset smiled. She put away her phone and reached to open the locker. Seconds later she stopped. Her heart rate doubled. Tucked in the crack above the door, carefully folded in four, was a white sheet of paper. Sunset felt a shiver pass through her entire body. Trembling, she took the note and unfolded it.

Get a grip, me! It's just a piece of paper. Sunset unfolded it and started reading.

Because you are a dream for me, a winter dream… Just like snowflakes: you shine and glitter in your perfection, yet I'm scared if I come close you'd fly away and I'd melt in tears. I wish I could be as strong as you, but I can't. I'll forever remain the silent one sitting in the corner, hidden by your shadow. I would be easy to say you never noticed me, but you have. We've spoken and that's what makes it so difficult.

Do you like snowflakes? I love them, especially at night. It's very difficult to see a single snowflake among them all, but I can. When I see a snowflake I love I focus on it no matter what. Maybe I'll become your snowflake too? Heh, that sounded awful. I’ll keep it, though. I want you to know what I am. That way I can be sure you reached the end of the letter because you wanted to and not because I browsed online for “10 tricks to make your love letter irresistible.”

If you want to continue reading the next fragment will be waiting for you where the horse’s tears would have touched the melting snow.