Author's Note

Ah, you've made to chapter three of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature fanfic no less on the grounds that a previous chapter has dealt with heavy subject matters proven to be unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated; suffice to say, this was by far a strong note for many readers complete and therefore you were all given an option to skip ahead to this chapter: whether or not you had taken this offer, it was only up to you to do so nothing more.

As always, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic belongs to me so I will say this line one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you enjoy this chapter now more than the others and still have the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for future chapters later; henceforth, I will leave you with but one saying only: thank you very much.

Superfluid

A sky full of silver linings were soon etched about, swirling over the earth in its broken patterns as patches of some blue were breaking dawn without a care. A flock of birds in various sizes and shades soon soared so serenely, not even gravity dared to pull any of them down towards the solid plane of existence. A small civilization was starting to carry on with its own lives and times, living and breathing around their happy little abodes topped off with so much hay. All pedestrians were being greeted with an abundance of some calm gentle breezes currently surfing across from the grassy knolls and to parts unknown. Aside from the town itself were a nearby forestry with a road as its guide and smoky mountains raging with growth and erosion from the trying times therein. As far as any lifeform was concerned, the smells of moistures were more than enough to provide a sigh of relief and reprieve, courtesy of the brilliant green.

Out of the many traversing about in this here environment, there was one whom was standing out and about as the dense atmosphere before themselves being sniffed away. Not much whatsoever could ever be said about this particular individual if at all, save for some attire: an elongated tattered gray cloak covering much of its owner’s form.

Residing before the lonely individual was an enormous building residing in the very outskirts of the town presently. It’d reached high as at least three stories tall with a pair of stone chimneys stretching upward as they were isolated. The very roofing possessed a style similar to the likes of many residences within the adjacent town but of wood. Hanging over from the very entrance was a big red circle with several pink hearts, sequestered by a big white cross. Surrounding it already were such countless windowpanes made of the same material and shape but in various sizes. All which had remained out there were but a pair of olive doors resting underneath an awning up in front of the trail.

“There we are again…” the observer cerebrated after taking in a long drag of oxygen from the very surroundings.

Almost immediately, the drab individual soon traversed through the partition afore, greeted by a sight cuts above than whatever stones could’ve been thrown. All of the ceilings were painted in a brownish shading style; many all separated into intersecting but otherwise equal lines with domed lanterns in the mixture. Every single wall within the room the lonely observer had entered were but a lighter hue than the brilliant green left behind in the outside world abaft therein. The beige flooring underneath was interspersed with some set of teal carpeting that had looked like it’d been purchased at a bargain prior to being cleansed. Every geometric corner nearby the entrance was occupied by a potted plant with an abundance of leaves so spacious to cover all the many kinds of footwear. It could also be seen by the drab individual that many others were sitting on olive colored chairs, either being amongst the well–adjusted or under the weather.

Of the many within eyesight, the lone observer came across a single woman from the corner of the rightmost area. Her skin was of a pale peachy bleachy scheme, wearing her hair in a mixture of brilliant scarlet and light vermilion. The ginger woman’s eyes were a light arctic blue, having already matched the few accents of her plain white sweater. As far as the drab individual could see, her territory was a round kiosk of a brassy base and plum drapes abaft of her.

It didn’t take long for the lone observer to walk up to the ginger woman, prompting the latter to speak listlessly, “how can I help you today…?”

“My name is Lemon Hearts…” the drab individual struggled to make an introduction right away, “I have a meeting with Doctor Sevenfold today at 1:30…”

“He’ll be right with you shortly…” she’d spoke.

It didn’t take long for the lone observer to find a vacant spot to rest easily, soon joining the small crowd of like–minded inhabitants instantly. Only the empty spaces between Lemon Hearts and the others had kept the flow of tranquility in check as the former looked on so dispirited. To the common viewers, the attire chosen would’ve stood out amongst the crowd; nevertheless, nobody else had dared to mind in the least. As the drab occupant reviewed the internal environment in question, some snuffles quickly escaped into the atmosphere straightaway.

Lemon Hearts grew weary before a masculine voice reached the vicinity almost immediately, “miss Lemon Hearts…?”

“Yes… you called for me…?” the titular traveler talked tersely, taking the time to tower up again as the listener turned to find the source of the new voice, “I’m here now, Doctor…!”

Out within the cold distance was a light skinned man standing on the opposite side of the area, bearing a rather different form from the ginger woman. Unlike her sizeable and colorfully lukewarm tresses, he was currently wearing some thin locks of jet black narrowly crawling out from the owner’s scalp. The lonely doctor had bore eyes of two separate but equally significant colors: on one side, the left one was a light lime; on the opposite, a dark lemon. As far as the drab individual could see, even his attire was also simplistic to a fault: an elongated snow white overcoat allowed both arms free movement.

“Good evening, you’re awfully early today…” the bright doctor greeted Lemon Hearts almost instantaneously.

The drab individual had moved towards his side and said to him, “I do what I can just to see you, Doctor…”

“So how is life treating you, Lemon: any new developments since last time…?” asked the bright doctor as he’d started to lead the way for the eponymous observer soon enough, “I’ve been looking forward to hearing your progress…”

“Not much, if at all…” the drab individual spoke.

It wasn’t long until the volume of people had begun to go lower than Lemon Hearts had bothered to notice, taking note of the closed but otherwise benign atmosphere around themselves as they were guided by a series of lights above. Standing around the twosome were a line of doorways, each of them closed off to both parties as they’d walked past them; on a few occasions, the drab individual couldn’t resist listening to the sounds of moans and groans within them. Presently, Lemon Hearts had noticed the flooring underneath both of their feet had changed into the blank tiling out in the midst of the trek throughout the hallway, having left the lobby behind themselves in pursuit of new destination.

It wasn’t long until the twosome were greeted by the sight of a different door, mostly ligneous save for some acrylic glass; of them, the bright doctor had reached into his rightmost pocket to pull out a silver key and insert it into the knob gently, speaking to the lone follower abaft him, “my office, as usual…”

Surely, Lemon Hearts was treated to the sights of the new environment he’d currently entered almost instantaneously. Both were surrounded by wide wintergreen walls wearing out the willows within along flowers, posters, and words too. A windowpane on the leftmost side bore the scenery of the town the drab individual had escaped from not too long ago. Lying next to Lemon Hearts was some dark blue furniture: a long couch near a bookcase and a chair aligned to a desk. Yonder overhead were a series of simple coils burning brightly at once, serving as a source of illumination and heat.

“It’s just the same as always, even after all these years; I guess I’d make myself comfortable…” the drab individual had said whilst watching him take a seat behind the desk, doing so likewise, “this seat feels weird: it’s different from last time…”

“Repairs, ma’am; nothing more…” the bright doctor replied instantaneously, noticing a jet black glove over Lemon Hearts’ right hand.

The drab individual rested it and the opposite hand onto the lap completely before speaking, “nothing that seems to amaze me anymore…”

“I’m aware of the reason this pertains to your choice of attire today; you don’t have to do this…” he’d said to Lemon Hearts without any hesitation whatsoever, not that the latter minded overall, “you’re safe in the hospital, Lemon…”

“For how long?!” the drab individual cried.

The bright doctor reached underneath the chestnut desk and pulled out a box of tissues whilst saying, “there, there, now…”

“It must have been real nice to see how everyone else is carrying on with their lives even after everything that happen, but me…” Lemon Hearts wept before revealing the face underneath the timberwolf cloak, half of which was chalky and riddled with scars for him to see, “even after all the surgeries, I still look like a comic–book villain, or at least to the neighbors at Canterlot…”

“But you’re not a villain…” the bright doctor said.

Some liquid escaped from both of the scarred client’s raspberry eyes as she’d wept, “even so, I can’t help myself but to think what had led up to it; even in Equestria, people die for all kinds of reasons: old age, suicide, illness… I guess this basically could’ve been considered a kind of terminal illness: in our world today, the number one most terrifying cause of death is death by fire; even now, some people would prefer cremation in the event of any death. I know some people been through it; after all, I heard about what Applejack did to her grandmother’s remains: apparently, she said is was because someone made a clone of Granny Smith, may she rest in peace, yet how is that even possible…? I’ve heard of societies and programs where such a thing is advocated: granted, it’s just as different as using magic to make copies of yourself and even then, there are still some risks inherent with this method; come to think of it, why make a clone of anyone, let alone her of all people? Last time I heard, she was already into old age so copying her wouldn’t do anyone any good whatsoever, but back on target: it would’ve been preferable if I’d not been able to survive knowing what it’s like to survive such a horror as being nearly burnt to death; I know that Twilight was almost killed in such a way and I’m stuck wondering why.”

“You know, you weren’t the first person to bring up Twilight Sparkle; I had some clientele go and mention her name here and there…” he said, pulling out thin paper layering from the thick cardboard within to give Lemon Hearts, “tell me more about your relationship with her: what were your thoughts about her, interests, hobbies, memories, and the like; how do you feel…?”

“Well, for starters, we’d both grew up in Canterlot together with four others like us: Lyra, Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Moondancer; we’d also had another gal like her in our crew named Sunset Shimmer but she’d disappeared a long time ago…” the scarred client had begun to speak, taking the tissues provided to wipe away both wet eyes and then blew her nose into it at once.

The bright doctor looked at the windowpane on his right side then back at Lemon Hearts to say, “it sounds like your friendship was bound to happen; how did you all actually meet the first time…?”

“Well, we were all attending this school for the gifted ever since we were kids together; as a matter of fact, aside from Sunset, we’d been assigned to the same class: in fact, I remember having my entire head shoved inside of a flask this one time when I was just little…” the scarred client said before bursting out with a brief laugh.

This earned a slight chuckle from him as he said to Lemon Hearts, “sounds like to me it was a big one, wasn’t it…?”

“Actually, it was very small; to be honest, I’d thought I was going to be stuck like this forever…” the scarred client had explained, dropping back to a somber gaze as the visage was before then and there, “if anything, I never imagined I would’ve died with that thing around my head, let alone have people talk about it; now, it seems they can’t resist talking about my burns. Even after the war had ended, I’m still haunted by my own wounds, especially when I look myself in the mirror: all those scars, the hair that I’d lost, the fact I’d almost lost my legs in the fire; no amount of money could convince me to stay in the city any longer. The only times I’ve ever came back was to see Twilight again and even then I still can’t help myself but to cry knowing what we both have in common; as far as I see it, she’s the lucky one for having a family and home to fall back on, especially seeing that her scars are on her bathing suit area, nothing more. Even though I too had a home in Canterlot, I couldn’t resist following after her the day the princess sent her away; I can remember the day one of her eventual friends and comrades threw that party at the Library and long before the Celebration no less…”

“The Summer Sun Celebration…?” the bright doctor sputtered calmly just as Lemon Hearts had nodded.

The scarred client kept on talking to him, “of course, I couldn’t resist being nearby her: she was like family to me; aside from being a hero, I worried about the classmates she’s been running with during the program. I remember that there have been at least three guys in her class whom spelled nothing but trouble since then and I think that ginger Krill is the worst of the bunch, always leering at women and getting into shouting matches with men; he may not have struck me as a rapist yet he kept giving off these bad vibrations here and there. Anyways, I still remember that day when Twilight Sparkle attended one of her classmates’ funeral: it’s no secret that it was Swain of all people since he was in active military, not that it’d mattered since the explosion; it’s probably safe to say since that bombing, everything seemed to go downhill for all of us. Even though nothing much had happened, I could first remember the day I’d heard the news about the Library burning down to the ground; all that I’d been thinking at the time was the memory of her being so tied down to this place since her arrival, I couldn’t help myself but to think that she’d died in that fire!”

“And yet she didn’t; many of us knew what happened next: even after all that pain and suffering, Twilight lived…” the bright doctor had said in return, still mindful of both Lemon Hearts’ emotions and presence overall so to speak, “of course, you, of all people knew this story well enough to know what happened next…”

“Mm–hmm, apparently, I’d met up with her parents the morning after the fire: they were asking me if I’d seen her last time; of course, it would make sense since I couldn’t resist staying here in Canterlot for that long…” the scarred client answered him clearly with but a mirthless laugh no less.

The bright doctor remained wary of Lemon Hearts’ teardrops and then said to the latter, “how often did you travel to and from here since Twilight moved…?”

“At least over a dozen times; as a matter of fact, the first time I’d moved was the day before the Celebration: it was a part of my job as an event planner…”the scarred client explained it to him straightaway, pointing to the scenery proximate to themselves, “usually my territory is in the capital but ever since then, I took my days off from work just to see her again when I can. It was a well–paid career, an important one at that: after all, it’d helped kept a roof over my head when my parents were still there; of course, all of that had changed the day of that fateful wedding.”

“What happened…?” the bright doctor inquired.

Taking in a deep breath, Lemon Hearts then said to him at once, “I remember being the planner for said event and watching three of my friends, Lyra, Twinkleshine, and Minuette serve as bridesmaids. At that time, I also saw Twilight and her parents there again as well as the man marrying the princess: to think that Shining Armor be the guy to tie the knot with the likes of her, Mi Amore Cadenza, no less, it’s so romantic; yet, it seems that all dreams have to come to an end, or in this case, turning into a living nightmare none of which we could wake from. Just as they were about to kiss, some guy disguised as one of the guests in attendance smuggled an acid bomb into the wedding and threw it at the princess; prior to her bursting into flames, I heard him shout ‘die, falsehearted jade!’ and soon enough, everything went to Tartarus in a heartbeat. Everything started to move slower at first with everyone in attendance: people were pushing and shoving each other to escape in the confusion and I heard some of them screaming in pain; the only people whom weren’t caught up in it were my friends and even then, the emotions were high like a kite in the park. Eventually, I was able to escape the palace and ran off back home to see my parents and tell them everything that happened just recently; afterwards, they’d told me to go and pack up my clothes so we could flee the city and take refuge: at the very least, I’d suggested going to Baltimare since whatever happened to Twilight could happen to us. Of course, look how that turned out for me: before any of us had the time to escape for Baltimare, I remember hearing an explosion closer than I’d expected; sure enough, I’d felt the earth beneath of feet shake before half of the house we were in started to collapse. I barely had only enough time to make it to the entrance until the rest collapsed and I could swear that my parents were still trapped in the wreckage: even with the space around me sinking, all that I could think about was escaping whatever caused the damage; despite this, I felt guilty having to leave them both behind. The sensation of being trapped only started to get worse for the three of us when I had finally caught a glimpse outside: not only was our house completely destroyed, I’d seen flames coming closer to where I was still crawling out; even worse, I’d felt the fabric of my dress snagged onto something as I’d gotten halfway there. Next thing you know, I ended up with the worst pain unimaginable: my skin and my clothes had both caught fire so fast, I could feel some adrenaline shoot up and tell me to escape this wreckage; of course, seeing that I didn’t wear a bra, I had to ditch the dress and climb out which I did…”

“That’s awful: I’d heard stories about people and animals burning to death alongside those whom were fortunate enough to have the flames put out; sounds like to me you had quite the trouble…” the bright doctor exhaled, inadvertently causing his scarred client to burst into more tears again, “sorry about that…”

“It’s okay, doctor… it’s just that ever since that day, I’ve been having a hard time coming back to Canterlot now and then: the fear, the fury, the pain, and the sorrow were just too much for me to bear if at all; in fact, I’d honestly even thought about killing myself often because of it…!” Lemon Hearts sniffled lackadaisically.

Needless to say, he said to his scarred client, “do you still think about, though…?”

“Mm–hmm; of course, I still can’t go and burn myself to death this time…” she’d sighed, staring listlessly at the scenery again, this time all by her lonesome, “sometimes, I stare into my medicine cabinet and think about downing a whole bottle of pills on the spot and head on back to bed. As far as I see it, my life is over: my parents are dead, my house is gone, my looks are crap, my career is over, and I’m probably going to die alone, unmarried, and unmourned; even my friends know this well and they’re all too nice to even say it outright, much less hint it: Twilight especially goes out of her way to not bring it up and everyone still feels sorry for her. I bet if she hadn’t been left to die in that fire on that day, then at the very least even I wouldn’t have to suffer like this; at least she would’ve been able to have a long successful career doing who knows what, a husband of her choosing, and a family to grow but me…? I had to spend my first few months outside the hospital pandering and begging, even though the insurance barely covered my injuries and losses; I had to go all the way out to Baltimare to sell our vacation home just to get out of debt and move on our to Ponyville or Appleloosa. I just wanna die…!”

“How about this: let’s say you did manage to go through with it, even by accident; how do you suppose your friends would feel…?” the bright doctor asked as Lemon Hearts looked straight back at him again.

A full beat of silence overwhelmed the scarred client before she’d mustered up the strength to answer him, “deceived, betrayed, deprived, maltreated, miserable… Twilight especially wouldn’t be the only one probably taking this hard just because her family helped me recover: I also realize how Pepperdance would be devastated if I’d died; after all, she also sees me as family.”

“And why is that; what relationship do you have with them…?” the bright doctor had questioned her patiently so to speak thereof, “you seem to be quite the person when it comes to inspiring the two…”

“Yeah, that’s right… Twilight has this overwhelming obligation to stay in touch with her friends and appreciate them no matter where they are or what they’ve become whilst Pepperdance makes great music alongside me; when one breaks it all down, we’re really no different from sisters…” Lemon Hearts explained before bursting out into laughter.

It took only half a minute for the scarred client to become quiet again only to be followed by a knock on the door and another voice behind themselves speaking, “Doctor Sevenfold, you’re wanted at the pavilion: Peppermint Twist–a–loo has vomited onto the floor…”

“I’ll be right with you, Nurse Tenderheart…!” the aforementioned man reply straightaway before speaking to Lemon Hearts whilst taking a stand, “I’m sorry, miss Lemon, but we have to end this session now: one of our patients is need now; do you wanna come back within two weeks from now…?”

“Yes, sir…” the scarred client chirped, also doing the same before turning around to face the door behind them as she’d covered her face back up.

It wasn’t long until she’d exited the room, greeted by the sight of a bright skinned woman up in white with locks of green and eyes of purple whom was unperturbed by the former’s departure as the latter watched him follow after.