A Sunset On the Horizon

"You ready to go boating?" Anon asked

He let out a huge sneeze and started shivering

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fi-" he said letting out another sneeze

Sunset got uncomfortably close to him, placing her head to his heart. She then started placing her hands on various parts of his body, pinching them slightly. Her skin was so warm, it felt great against his cold and clammy body. Her eyes fluttered back and forth quickly.

"S-Sunset what are you doing?"

"You are not alright. You have caught a cold."

She wacked him lightly on the nose

"This is exactly why I told you not to go swimming."

He rolled his eyes

"Yeah, whatever mom" he said sarcastically

He sneezed again, getting chills up and down his spine

"The last thing you need is boating. You need rest."

She picked him up effortlessly in her arms

"H-hey! What are you doing?"

She didn't reply, instead taking him inside the tent and putting him in the sleeping bag. Despite it being a tent that comfortably fit two, she climbed in beside him and hugged him tight. That amazing warmth returned.

"You need to stay here and have some rest. I won't take no for an answer."

"Sunset, you know just plain warmth won't heal a cold right?"

In response, she hugged him a bit tighter, burying her face into his back. He couldn't help but smile. She was such a sweetheart. He stopped fighting and curled up right next to her. It was so comfy. It was like having a heated blanket, only this one was beautiful and he were madly in love with her. He turned to face her to see her head slightly down and blushing.

"Hey, Sunset?"

"Yes?"

Anon's heart began to thump and he could feel the butterflies fluttering all over his stomach.

"Put your face up for me."

She looked slightly confused, but obliged. With one fell swoop, he kissed her right on the lips. It felt amazing. The lips were so life like it was near impossible to tell them apart. Sunset's face went a deep shade of red.

"Y-you kissed me!"

"That's right. We are a couple after all, aren't we?"

"W-well. I suppose you're right."

Sunset looked down and from the corner of her eye you could see she was unbuttoning her blouse, exposing a bit of her supple chest and the corners of her red lace bra.

"Wait what are you doing?"

"W-well... we are a couple like you said s-so I guess we should-"

"Too soon, Sunny!"

She quickly buttoned up her blouse again and hid her face under the blanket, embarrassed beyond words. Anon giggled and rubbed his hand through her hair.

"I love you so much."

She pressed her face to his chest

"I love you too." she said in a muffled, quiet voice

They both laid there for a long while, Sunset taking periodic breaks to empty her heat sink. Anon began to develop a pretty intense cough and became quite hot. Sunset sat by the sleeping bag, dousing his head with a wet cloth.

"That's one intense cough. I think we should head back tomorrow." she suggested

"Come on. We stay a litt-"

He flew into a fit of coughing again. Sunset had a 'I'm not amused' look on her face.

"Ok, ok, fine. What should we do in the meantime then?" he asked

"I have no idea."

"I've got the perfect one. The classic camp tradition of spooky stories!"

Sunset got a worried look on her face

"S-spooky stories?"

"You aren't scared are you?"

"Pshh. As if."

"Let's start with a classic then. This is a story my mom told me when I was little. It's an old Native American story called the Wendigo."

Sunset sat intrigued as he spun his yarn. Half way through the story she was already on the edge of her seat in terror. She hugged him the entire way through, her arms locking tighter and tight with each paragraph that passed. As he told the conclusion, Sunny let out a little squeal of terror.

"What was that about not being scared?" he chuckled "I didn't catch that earlier."

"I'm so not!" she huffed "I'm totally fine!"

"Well then I guess you wouldn't mind if I did anoth-"

"T-that won't be necessary!"

He laughed

"You're the best, Sunset."

"Oh, hush."

The sky was beginning to grow dark and fire was slowly starting to dim

"Can I ask you something?" Sunset asked

"Sure."

"You said that that was a story your mom told you. What was she like?"

He stayed silent for a bit. Even after all this time, it was still painful to talk about.

"She was incredible. Beautiful. Very calm and measured, even when she was at her angriest. She had the most amazing red hair. A lot like yours, without the yellow of course."

She rested her head on Anon's shoulder

"If I may ask... what exactly happened to her?"

He bit his lip, staying quiet

"If it's too painful, you don't have to say anything."

"No. It's alright. You remember that injury I told you about? The one you healed?"

"Yes. You said something about an accident in the hanger bay."

"Yes. You see, I was playing in the bay and one of the doors nearly crushed my arm in half. The reason I wasn't was because my mom dove into save me. And she dove a bit too far, getting caught under the door."

Sunset put her hand to her mouth and gasped

"That's horrible. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. The wounds have mostly healed. It's still painful though. You know something?"

"What?"

"You remind me a lot of her."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You would've liked her"

"I'm glad."

Anon just stared at the side of tent for a while, eyes glazed

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking is all."

"About what?"

He shook his head, brushing his eyes

"Don't worry about it. We're supposed to be having fun right now. So let's have fun instead."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"So what now?"

He checked his watch. Nearly 9:30.

"I think now is the time for sleep"

Sunny got out from under the covers and sat crisscross

"I'll watch over you all night."

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, love."

"Goodnight."

Even with all the coughing, sleep came relatively quickly. Something about Sunset's watchful gaze just put him right at ease. The next he awoke, he heard the birds singing and the wind rustling. He gave a great big stretch and yawned, turning to Sunset with one eye open.

"Morning suns-"

Something was seriously wrong. Sunset's head hung down and she was completely motionless. Her eyes were empty and devoid of life. Anon got a rush of fear.

"Sunset?"

he shook her gently

"Sunset. Sunset come on."

Tears began to well in his eyes

"Sunset this isn't funny. Say something."

He shook her harder

"Sunset damn it! I demand you wake up!"

She made a little jolt accompanied by whirling sounds. Her eyes regained their life.

"Are you ok? What was that?"

She spoke with the same monotone voice she had when he found her

"Error. Error. Operating system malfunction progressing. Approximate lifetime remaining: 72 hours and 62 minutes. Seek assistance immediately "

His heart stopped and he felt his blood ran cold. That was only three days.

"Sunset?"

Her voice returned to normal

"Yes?"

"What's going on? What was that?"

"The error within my OS is starting to progress. If we don't see a mechanic soon it will completely consume me."

"What's the error?"

"I'm not authorized to say."

We're getting you to a mechanic now. I don't care if it costs me soul, we're going to get you fixed."

The two of them quickly packed up in silence and teleported back to the ship, wasting no time going to the ships top mechanic, Applejack. She'd served on the ship for a full twenty five years, being a mechanic for another twenty before then. She could fix damn near anything. She was also a close friend of Anon's, knowing him since he was young. If there was a solution to this, she'd have it.

They went to the engine room in the lower corner of the ship. No matter how many times he saw it always blew his mind. Beyond the thick steel walls and the even thicker glass was the ships neutron fuel core. It was essentially a mini neutron star powering the entire ship. The only reason the gravity of the thing didn't just crush the ship was because, through a complicated process, the gravity was dispersed throughout the ship. It was also the reason why everyone wasn't floating around in the ship.

Aj sat welding a new plate to one of the pipes, sweat running down her arms. She turned to see him.

"Well blow me down and call me Nancy. If it ain't Anon. With a lady friend too it seems. It's been ages. What brings ya down 'ere?"

"I need your help. Something is very wrong with my android and there's a system lock preventing her from telling me what the issue is."

Aj lifted an eyebrow

"Yer sayin' that's an android? And yuh stole it?"

Anon explained everything of how he to possess her as fast as he could. Aj sat there thinking for a moment.

"Fine. I'll help y'all. But ya gotta keep it hush hush, understand?"

"Completely."

They both followed Aj to her personal workroom and Sunset sat on the work table.

"Alright, Sunset." Applejack said "I'm gonna need to put you in sleep mode for a while."

she nodded, laying her back on the table and closing her eyes

"Alright."

"I'll see you when we fix this, ok Sunset?" Anon said

"I'll see you then."

AJ flipped a switch and Sunset was out. After hooking her up to various wires, tubes and cords, she began her work. She was at it for an entire six hours, all of which Anon didn't leave the work room even once. He fell into a nap before Aj nudged him awake.

"Anon. Wake up."

"Ugh. What?" he said, rubbing his head

"I figured out the issue Sunset was talking about."

"What is it?"

"I found out why she was just left under that bridge." she said "Thing is, it's not a glitch within her OS at all. The issue stems from the fact that having an android this complex is extremely taxing on the power core. Meaning she burns through one in a week that would last a normal android around 50-60 years. She was deemed defective and just tossed aside."

"Alright. What can we do?"

Aj sat down beside him, lighting a cigarette

"Unfortunately the news isn't very rosy."

Anon steeled himself

"Just give it to me straight."

"With every power core that's used, the overall performance suffers. Basic wear and tear that compounds over time." she explained "This means the more cores she goes through, the less functional she'll become until eventually she stops working altogether."

"How many cores do we have until that happens?"

She pauses for a long while

"She has none left. Her shut downs like that one you described in the tent will become more frequent and longer lasting until... well you know..."

He swore he could hear the sound of his own heart breaking like glass. Sunset had a mere 66 hours left of life.