Like Silent Raindrops
By King_Again
He remembers seeing her standing there on the tall bridge, waiting for the perfect moment to jump. He remembers her getting up on the ledge, ready to end all of it, and he was quick to act to pull her away. He sees her eyes shining with tears perfectly and remembers the sobs of her pain. However, he had made sure not to talk. Not to open his mouth, and helped her get somewhere else for the night. But he never spoke a word to her.
Now, he’s watching her slowly move towards a building he knows she hates to go near, and he knows he should be getting to class in the same building, and he waits for a few good moments before moving and entering. He finds people whispering among themselves about her, and his hand shakes. If they had seen what he had, they would not be whispering these things. They would be whispering about how they should be making sure she’s okay, not about how she stole their secrets and have gone back to her old self.
In fact, he doesn’t know her old self because he had transferred to Canterlot High a few months ago. Fairly new here, and all he can hear is how she’s hated. He closes his eyes, and moves towards his first block class and catches a glimpse of the girl, and closes his eyes. The image of her crying flashes in his lime-green eyes and he opens his eyes to see nothing but emptiness by her locker.
Silently, he wonders if she’ll be okay.
During first block, he hears her name being called on the P.A. and everyone beings whispering about how it’s probably time for her to be kicked out, and he feels his blood boiling upwards for something they don’t know what happened. He barely hears the teacher saying it’s time for a test.
At lunch, she sees him standing by a few people, not speaking, only listening. It’s Sunset’s turn to wonder what’s he doing here. She may not remember what his name was, or if she even got it, or what his voice sounded like. But she’ll always remember his looks. He has the same lime-green eyes and the black hair with red streaks.
She silently wonders if he’s going to approach her to ask if she’s okay.
“I thought we said we did not want you here?”
Sunset looked back to see Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, and Rarity standing there. All of them look pissed off to see her sitting down at the usual table and Sunset shrugs. “I got here first. I always do. If you hate me so much, go sit somewhere else.”
Rainbow slams her hand down onto the table, and Sunset does not flinch. “I remember saying you cannot come back around here to this table--” here she pointed at the table, “--so get out of here. This is our table.”
“No.” replied Sunset, looking away. “You know, there is plenty of other table you can use.”
Fluttershy shifts and plays with her hair before gulping down her fears to speak up, “U-Umm, Rainbow? Maybe we should leave her alone. She did get here first, after all. We don’t always have to sit here.”
The boy gazes towards the gang, and frowns slightly before marching over and tapping on Rarity’s shoulder. Her eyes gazes on him and she smiles weakly before mumbling how she was sorry for causing a scene. The boy closed his eyes before reopening them, shaking his head before making a gesture for them to leave.
When Rainbow catches him making the gesture, she growls and almost yells about how this’ll be done in a moment. His lime-green eyes instantly hardens and he makes an angry gesture at her, almost shoving her out of the way to stand in front of Sunset, using his arms to shield her away.
The Rainbooms and almost everyone else has one good look at him.
“…Are… are you serious?” Rainbow asks, her voice cracking slightly. “You’re really going to defend Anon-A-Miss? You know, the very person who’s stealing secrets? Your own secrets are on the page because of her. Everyone is making fun of you for them... whatever your name is.”
He knows for everything he’s not the page because no one knows his name.
“Hang on there, RD.” Apple Jack stopped her friend. “Maybe we should get going. The scene is big as enough as it is anyways.”
Rarity nods, “AJ is right, darling.”
Before Sunset could even get a word out, he leaves.
This makes it twice he’s saved her from something and he leaves before she could get word out. Sunset slowly moved her gaze back at her food, and then quickly shot a look at the doors. He had left through them, and it would be easy to go looking for him, but there’s a risk to being caught by others.
She’s not taking the risk.
He’s at Sugar Cube corner when he sees the Rainbooms again. He quickly gets what he wants and moves to leave until Rainbow Dash pushes him against a wall, and looks at him with hate. He can see the blazing anger in her eyes and thinks for a moment about how much trouble she would get in for this.
After all, he can’t recall doing anything to her.
Instead of getting help, her friends crosses their arms and looks at him with wondering eyes, while he can see past those types of eyes and knows their mad at him for stopping them.
“Why do you care for Sunset Shimmer?” Rainbow asks him. “She has done nothing but share each private secret on the internet where the whole school can see. Yet, you seem to not care about it. How?”
He, finally, answers. “Because I know something you all don’t.”
They blinked in confusion.
“Err... mind saying that in words, partner?” Apple Jack asks.
He told them in sign language.
“Why should I?” He signs, his eyes blazing with his own anger. “You all would call me crazy, yeah? Why should I waste my time on telling you people something you’ll throw out the window.”
Rainbow lets him go with a confused look, and he walks away without a second glance back. He knows they’re still looking back at him. He wants to shout, use his voice, but he knows it won’t work. He’s gotten used to being without a voice for a long while and he just wants to see this play out.
He wants to see the Rainbooms and Anon-A-Miss pay.
“Hang on!”
He looks back to see the shy girl running up to him, panting slightly from having to run. She looks up at him, her hair falling in front of her eyes and she pushes her hair away slightly, looking shy to be near him. “I know sign language. What do you mean by you know something?”
“I saw her,” signs the boy, “--She looked depressed. I watched her until she needed my help before getting her somewhere to stay the night. I never told my name because... she would not be able to understand me at all.”
Fluttershy nods. “Okay... but...” her faces goes serious. “What did you see?”
The one word he signs makes her blood run cold.
“Bridge.”
He goes into story mod by telling her everything at the bridge and makes her swear she will not tell a living soul for he knows what could come out of this. Fluttershy is unsure but she agrees and begins signing her own words for him to understand.
“I want to help her,” Fluttershy signs, “--Just like you, I don’t think she’s Anon-A-Miss.”
“I see.”
Fluttershy shifts. “May I know one more thing?”
“Sure. One.”
“What’s your name?”
The boy takes a moment to process her question before realizing what’s she asking for, and goes a bit bright at it before nodding slowly and moved to sign out his name for her.
“Sound Silence.”
Sound’s Silence
Sound has always been quiet. He has been since his childhood, and every teacher he’s had has learned he won’t make a sound, answering in sign language that he’s learned by taking lessons with his father. However, his mother curses about him because he’s named Sound Silence in hopes he’ll become an artist or... something when he’s older. But he never speaks a word, and his father says it doesn’t matter what he becomes because they’ll love him anyways for the choices he’s making.
His mother disagrees.
That’s fine, his mother’s approval doesn’t matter to him. All Sound wants is something to help him out with life in general because he sees people being mad left and right, and he wonders if that will happen to him. His mother still doesn’t have a clue what’s going on in her son’s life because she doesn’t care enough to ask. When Sound’s younger brother was born, he got everything from their mother.
Until cancer took him.
Sound doesn’t think he’s ever felt that lonely before in his life. He remembers seeing his brother’s warm smile, and how he took up sign language just to speak with his older brother. They talked about worries in it, and how his brother hated how mother didn’t give Sound any affection. Sound thinks his brother would’ve been proud that he saved someone from committing suicide.
When he first entered Canterlot High, he remembers seeing the Vice-Principal first, and remembers the way his eyes widen at the fact that she was almost cute. Then, another stole his heart, and he shook that weird moment off. He keeps hearing about how her eyes are beautiful.
Everyone falls apart during the two weeks before Winter Break, and it carries on until the last week of school. Sound looks into this and finds a MyStable account labeled Anon-A-Miss, and right there and then, he knows this is tearing everyone apart from their friends. Silently, he wonders if there’s a way to find who’s behind it.
He’s about to see the principals about this when he finds a girl being beat up by some students. He sees the fiery red-and-yellow hair, and his eyes harden. How could they do such a thing?
Sound has always hated violence, after all.
He finds her on the bridge one night, and his first move before she jumps is grabbing her collar and pulling her back before her legs jump off. She shits the ground with a small sound, and Sound wraps his arms around her while she cries. She keeps mumbling words that honestly sound like she was ready to die off... to kill the pain.
Sound’s heart breaks at the thought of the meaning of the words.
He takes her somewhere to spend the night before heading off.
The next day, he sees her at lunch and before school, and watches her defend herself at the table before moving in and telling the Rainbooms to head off with silent gestures. He leaves before she could get a word out to him, and he knows a part of him wishes to stay but he can’t. He doesn’t like people knowing his secret of not being able to speak.
Sound is forced to share it when he got pinned outside of Sugar Cube Corner to the Rainbooms when they asked about why he defended Sunset, and he signs it all out. Sound is about to leave when Fluttershy comes running up to him, and his heart beats silently before she tells him she knows sign language.
It ends with him telling her his name.
“Sound Silence.” He signs, his lime-green eyes holding nothing.
Fluttershy takes a moment before smiling softly. “I like your name.” she signs. “My name is Fluttershy.”
“I know, you and the other Rainbooms are quite the hit around the school. Everyone knows your name.” Sound smiles weakly while signing.
“How... how can we help Sunset?”
Sound frowns, “By being there for her, you can be with her at all times when you have time, I will stay away. I always know when to step in. But I do not know her well... you do.”
Fluttershy gave an even deeper frown, “No. You need to be with her too. I can introduce you to her. Please, Sound. Just give her a chance at knowing her. You know what she tried to do, and I think knowing her savior will do her some good.”
“... Will you be there?” Sound nervously signs, heating up.
“O-Of course I will. I am Sunset’s friend,” Fluttershy giggles while signing but she also blushes.
She leaves after a few more moments, and Sound makes his way back home. In his mind, he’s wondering how this will play out as Fluttershy has confidence that this will work when he doesn’t know Sunset, and barely knows Fluttershy herself.
What if they forget about him?
A silent tear rolls down his face, and he sobs silently. He doesn’t want to be forgotten because he’s never had any real friends because they all forgot about him. Sound knows what it feels like, and doesn’t want to go through that anymore. Not again.
But he has faith they won’t forget him.
Sound doesn’t often see people close like this. He watches as Fluttershy goes full blown with her apologies to Sunset, and hopes Sunset can forgiver her, which happens. Then, he’s introduced to Sunset herself and he watches as she waves shyly, and all he could do was wave back before Fluttershy says he’s mute. His hopes about her never finding out are gone, and he knew it would happen some day.
He knows Sunset knows it was him at the bridge to help her, and she hugs him before mumbling a thanks under her breath, and he awkwardly pats her back. Sound was never good with hugs.
Not since then...
“He says you were at a bridge,” Fluttershy said, looking down at her lap. “Is that true? Were you at a bridge, ready to jump off?”
Sunset ran a hand through her hair, “Flutters, it was not like that, I wasn’t thinking right. Yeah, he saved me, and I’m glad he did because I know I have to get to the bottom of this. Whoever is doing this, isn’t going to be let off easily.”
“Yes, that is true,” Sound signs, and the girls look at him. “They cannot get off that easily. How else are they going to take their punishment?”
“Punishment... I really do not think that word means anything anymore to anyone.” Sunset sighs. “They just care about fighting now. Now that their secrets are online.”
Sound shifts awkwardly. “Mine are not up.”
“Does anyone even know you?” Sunset asks, a bit too harsh and she quickly takes it back, “Sorry, I hope that didn’t sound as mean as I thought it did.”
Sound merely shakes his head. It didn’t. “No, because I know you would never mean something like that. Your the new you, not the old one. Even if I do not know the old Sunset Shimmer, I think I like this one really well, and have no interests in knowing the old you. What you did in the past doesn’t matter, it’s what you are now and what you’ll become.” Sound signs, looking away.
Fluttershy agrees and goes on about how they’ll get to the bottom of whoever it is, and everyone would make amends in the very end, knowing they’ve overcome another challenge... in the worst way possible. Sound silently wonders how long it is until the Rainbooms notice Fluttershy with them.
...And what they’ll do.