Author's Note

:)

DISCLAIMER: This story includes references to depression, depressing thoughts, insecurities, anxiety, self-harm, blood, and thoughts based around all of these concepts. If you do not want to read a story with slight references to these, I would urge you to click off.

AN: I didn't think I would finish another chapter in such a short time span, but here I am once again~ Maybe it's because I've been sleep deprived, but hey~ At least I'm making some serious progress on my story~ This chapter has not been edited simply because I am so tired right now, but I will edit it in the upcoming days~

Balloons are Meant to Pop

Chapter XV: Balloons are Meant to Pop

Unsurprisingly, the thing Rarity and Fluttershy ended up settling on is the Rarity Treat from the menu, the purple-haired woman seemingly proud that she has an option named after herself. We also got a hefty discount due to Rarity’s reputation around the spa, being one of their ‘favorite customers.’ What’s even more surprising is that Fluttershy has been here almost as long as Rarity, but she doesn’ have her own menu item or something dedicated to her. I suppose that could be due to Fluttershy’s nature and maybe she denied such a privilege, but it still strikes me as odd.

Walking into the back of the spa, a large open room with multiple lounging areas, a hot tub and steam chamber is in front of us, making it feel a little daunting at first. There are also private rooms off to the sides of the main area, but those seem to be reserved for more private treatments like massages. The Rarity Treat actually covers five different things, two of which I have already forgotten. The three I do remember are a lower back massage, a pedicure and a manicure. I’ve never had any of those except for the massage and that was given to me by Sunset a while ago…

“You go on ahead, darling~ We’ll catch up~” Rarity tells Fluttershy with a small wave, one of her hands grabbing my shoulder. With a small nod, Fluttershy follows the spa worker towards the steam room, apparently being one of the things we’re doing today. I guess that is one of the two things I forgot about… Locking my eyes with Rarity’s gaze, she smiles at me as best as she can, looking me up and down. “So, Sunset didn’t want to show, huh?” she asks me slowly.

“Unfortunately, she had an extra long shift at her internship today, so she couldn’t make it. I’d be surprised if I can even get a word in before she falls asleep tonight~” Rarity laughs at my joke, clearly amused.

“I know what you mean, darling~ AJ is quite the same way. She works herself way too hard most days.” Before I can say anything, Rarity’s face momentarily shows a melancholy expression as her eyes look to the floor, but she simply locks her eyes with mine again, presenting a smile.

“Applejack didn’t want to come?” I ask her, cutting her off from whatever she was about to say. The usually composed fashionista dawns a sad smile before she lets go of my shoulder, sighing quietly to herself.

“Oh, you know how she is. Her family reunion is coming up soon and she doesn’t really like the spa. It’s been hard to talk to her at all recently, but I’m sure she’s just busy.” Her sad smile doesn’t disappear by the time she turns away from me, taking a deep breath to compose herself. Quickly, Rarity rummages through her purse, looking for something. “Although, that is not the reason I stopped you here.” Taking out a small bag with some purple material sticking out of the top, Rarity hands me the bag, an accomplished look coming to her. “It wasn’t easy, mind you, but I stayed up all night and managed to fix it as well as I could~ You may notice some stitch marks, but I think it should be as good as new~”

Upon hearing Rarity’s words, I quickly grab the bag and look inside. Even the thought of her managing to fix it makes me so excited for some unknown reason. That feeling only increases in my chest when I see the fully intact scarf, as beautiful as it was the day I got it~ My heart beats faster, grabbing the soft material and feeling it once more. Even though it’s only been a few days, my hands have missed this feeling for what feels like ages. The scarf Sunset gave me so long ago… It’s back together and with me~ The luster of the fabric brings back so many memories automatically, my eyes involuntarily making tears form. It was so long ago that I was given this gift… The person I love gave it to me herself and I can’t help but love it with all my heart. Just having it back makes me feel so nice, having this constant reminder of Sunset and her meaning in my life~ It is the first gift she ever gave me~

Bringing the scarf closer, I can’t help but rub my cheek against it for old time’s sake, a couple of my tears sliding down my face despite the biggest smile I could have written across my face. The thought of how ridiculous I may look crosses my mind for only a second, but I don’t let my mind dwell on it. I don’t care who may see. It’s just… really nice to have it back and for it to be in one piece. “Darling?” Rarity speaks quietly, trying to get my attention. “Are you alright?”

“Sorry. I just… Thank you so much, Rarity. You don’t know how much this means to me~” Instinctively, my arms wrap around the purple-haired woman without my smile leaving my face. A part of me is still shocked she could have fixed what was left of my scarf, but she really did it~ Something so special to me that was torn to shreds is practically just like I left it, except for a couple stitch marks. They’re barely visible due to the similarly colored fabric that Rarity used to fix the material.

“I would say it was no problem, but the truth is that it was quite difficult to fix it. From now on, don’t go skating with pieces of clothing you don’t mind ripping. I swear that scarf was begging to be put down before you came to me.” Rarity hugs me back gently, patting my back with one of her hands. “I would also suggest not bringing it into the steam room with us. I swear if I have to bring that poor thing’s life back from death’s door again, you’ll have hell to pay.” Ending our embrace, Rarity smiles at me and gently slides her finger across the scarf, turning away from me to walk in the direction Fluttershy went.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” I tell her with a happy sigh, looking down at the scarf once more. I don’t intend on letting it get destroyed again.

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I didn’t expect for the visit to the spa to last that long… We stayed there for hours just to get everything done with the treatments I bought. If I had known it would have taken that long, I probably would have left halfway through. I suppose it did help with a bit of my stress, though… Not much… There’s still so much to do and I’m not even sure how I will be able to do half of it. Rarity wasn’t joking when she said a spa day since the only light out now is the moon, shining down on the world around me… I guess the day hasn’t been wasted, but… a part of me feels a bit guilty that it’s already over. Hell. I thought I would be home sooner than Sunset, but she is probably already back in bed. I was hoping to have at least one small conversation with her before tomorrow, but I guess that was wishful thinking.

Walking further down the sidewalk, a small buzz catches my attention, searching my pocket for my phone. Once again, it’s a text, alerting me to someone’s attempt to contact me. That’s practically the only notification I do get other than alarms. “Huh, Rainbow,” I whisper to myself, seeing the icon on my screen. The picture I set her contact to is simply a photo of her eating a hot dog back when I first started working for Fancy Pants. I think it was the first time she and I ever had lunch on that roof together actually… Shaking my head, I slowly tap the notification, bringing me to our text conversation instantly. Despite her usually small text patterns, I’m greeted by a big message this time, taking up half of the screen easily.

“Hey, Dagi. Thanks again for the pep talk we had earlier today. I was feeling really lost and I’m glad you were there to help me see straight. I just wanted to let you know two things before I hit the sack. First, I went ahead and quit my team, but I still want to be somewhat active in sports, so I’m going to look at different things. My mom agreed to help me with that. Secondly, I had some free time today, so I thought I’d do ya a solid like you did for me. I went over to your apartment today and I changed most of the locks with Sunset’s permission.” She… changed our locks…? She really didn’t have to do that, especially with everything she’s dealt with recently. Before I can even react to her previous message, Rainbow starts typing to me again. “If you tell anyone else this, I will deny it, but I did sorta need my dad’s help to learn how to change a lock. Turns out, it’s a lot more complicated than I thought. Especially when you’re only changing the lock and not the whole doorknob.” Rainbow’s text ends with a smiling emoji followed by a thumbs up, making me feel slightly confused… “Sunset already took all your stuff back to your place when she got off work, so I suppose I won’t be saying goodnight to you in person. Have a good night, Dagi~”

Stopping in my tracks, I can’t help but reread Rainbow’s messages, making sure I got everything correct. Rainbow Dash… She does so much to appease people or make them happy, despite her own interests. No matter what, she sticks by you till the very end, making you feel a little guilty for putting her through so much trouble. She really didn’t have to do that, but if you try to argue with her, she’ll just refute it by saying she wanted to. I guess I do that to Sunset as well, but still. Turning around, I walk in the opposite direction of Rainbow’s house, smiling to myself. Instantly, my fingers type in a response, shaking my head slightly. “Thank you, Dash~ Get some rest.”

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Knocking on the door of our apartment, I can’t help but smile. The first time I knocked on this door was to drop off a gift I wasn’t even sure would help me find happiness. Turns out, it made my life so much better, despite every setback. Just knocking on this door made my life so much happier and gave me a friend that I could never replace. A person I’d never want to lose. I mean, she’s the reason I look forward to the end of the day, just to see her warm smiles and to hold her one more time. Now that our locks are changed, maybe she and I can just lounge around on the couch until we fall asleep~ If it wasn’t for that one night, it could be a movie night…

It’s fine, Adagio. At least you can still hold her tonight. Everything will be alright… I have to keep believing that. For her sake. She needs to know that… Why does it sound like an excuse…? Within a few moments, the door is unlocked and opened, the light of our apartment spilling out into the world outside. Looking up, I smile at the woman in front of me, but it quickly fades as soon as our eyes connect… Inside those eyes is a cold and melancholic tone, her mouth morphed into a slight frown instead of her usual warm smile. Why is she… looking at me like this…? “Hey, Adagio,” she whispers, gesturing for me to come inside. What is going on here…? Did I disturb her?

Carefully walking inside the living room, I can’t help but notice all the glass from before is cleaned up, nowhere to be seen. Maybe that’s why…? “I’m sorry I couldn’t help clean up,” I say as kindly as I can, slowly taking off my jacket. Without saying another word, Sunset walks towards the couch and sits down, leaning on one of the arms before picking up a plastic cup. Every moment, her calm yet downtrodden demeanor makes me feel more worried… “Did I wake you…?”

“No,” Sunset responds without looking at me, taking a small sip from her drink. Sunset is wearing pajamas, but due to her drink, it looks like she’s been in here for a while… “How did your day go?” Her quiet words can barely be heard, worrying me more than anything else. Did something happen while I was gone…?

“It went alright. Rarity, Fluttershy and I spent all our time in the spa,” I say without taking my eyes off of her, sitting on the other side of the couch. Pressing my hand on the cushion between both of us, I can’t help but feel… disconnected from her. What could she possibly be thinking about? Did I do something…? Her eyes say so much yet so little at the same time… She’s usually so open with me about what’s bothering her, but she’s sitting here trying to act like casual conversation will hide anything that’s behind those eyes. She was so happy last night, and now she’s distant…? What happened…?

“Rarity told me about that,” Sunset says in the same quiet voice that she’s had ever since I walked in. A long pause in our conversation fills the space between us, making her feel so far away… A heavy breath exits her lips before she turns to me, her eyes displaying some form of hurt in them… Sunset… What’s wrong? “Rarity also told me something else. Something that I think we should… talk about.”

Raising my eyebrow, I lean forward slightly, reaching over to Sunset’s hand, only for her to pull away. What did I do…? What caused Sunset to feel like this…? Just seeing the hurt in her eyes pains me in a way I’d rather not bear… “What do you want to talk about…?” Even though I tried to ask my question in the kindest way I could, Sunset still looks uncomfortable, breaking our eye contact momentarily to think to herself. Her hand slowly rests her cup on a small table next to the couch, shaking her head slightly as if she is rejecting a certain thought.

“She told me that she fixed your scarf. She assumed I had known about such an incident, but she was surprised to hear my confusion.” Instantly, my eyes widen upon hearing her statement, looking down at the scarf around my neck for a moment. “It was one of the first times I had talked to Rarity in a long time, which made it even harder when I heard about this whole ordeal.” I didn’t expect Rarity to talk about this with her… Maybe because I assumed she would keep it a secret, knowing how much the scarf meant to both me and Sunset. Maybe I should have told her to keep it to herself…

“I… I would have told you-”

“And normally, Adagio… I wouldn’t be mad or sad about something small like your scarf being torn. Even if I was the one who gave it to you. But the reason why I bring it up now is because of what you said in the mall.” An almost shaky breath leaves Sunset’s mouth before she reconnects her gaze with my own, ready to speak once more. “You told me that you didn’t wear your scarf because you left it here. Which means that… you lied to me.” Leaning forward, Sunset’s sad expression now shows a slight annoyance, her hands resting in her lap. “I like to think that I am here for you whenever you need me to be, which kind of made it hurt to hear from Rarity that you lied about the scarf I gave you… I can even overlook small lies like that as well, but…” Standing up from her seated position, Sunset walks to the opposite side of the room before looking at me again, crossing her arms slowly. “That’s not the only small thing, is it?”

I can’t help but feel my throat become dry, trying to think of what I should say… What is there to be said? Another excuse or apology? “What do you mean…?” I ask her, trying to understand the question she just asked me.

“There are other small lies, aren’t there? Like your hallucinations you conveniently never brought up…” My eyes widen once more, my breathing becoming disjointed and hard to do with accuracy. My hallucinations…? How…?

“How do you know about that…?” I’m barely able to ask, my dry mouth making it hard to form the right words without losing my composure.

“While we were at Twilight’s house, Spike talked. You asked for us to tell you that you weren’t hallucinating again. What really worries me is the ‘again’ part of it,” Sunset whispers, her eyes not leaving mine in this worrying dance of words. Why did I have to say that…? I don’t even remember saying it, considering I was more concerned about the dog, rather than what was leaving my mouth.

“I didn’t think they were that important…”

“Damn it, Adagio… You had a serious head injury half a year ago and the doctors told both you AND me to look out for anything wrong. You didn’t think that was important? Or did you just not trust me with that information?” Sunset asks harshly, her words flying out of her mouth before she tries to calm herself down. Her hands rub her face up and down in irritation, sighing at her own thoughts. “How many hallucinations have you had? What were they about?” she asks in a more demanding tone, clearly wanting the true answer.

“It’s only happened a few times… It started recently. They’re about…” My mouth hesitates to finish my statement, my mind instantly flashing images of her to the forefront of my thoughts. Just the thought of her evil eyes staring back at me is enough to make me shiver, but am I really going to share this with Sunset…? Do I really have a choice? “They’re about me… The evil version of me, back when I was a siren. Well, when I was a powerful siren anyway…” I break our gaze, finding it hard to look Sunset in the eye and tell her this… Something so personal and oddly… terrifying. I don't even know why she’s been appearing, so how am I supposed to explain it to her? “She talks to me… Tells me things like how pathetic it is to want friends and happiness instead of power…”

“Do you really believe that?” Sunset quietly asks me, not moving from her spot leaning against the wall. Looking back at Sunset’s eyes, her gaze is now filled with worry and hurt, an expression of concern on her face.

“Of course not. I love this life I have now. I’m not sure why I started hallucinating her… She just appears and tries to taunt me, that’s all…” A long painful silence follows my words, both of us staying still with the sound of some wind outside being the only thing we can hear. Our eyes don’t move from each other as I try to find the words that would be appropriate to say… Every time I come close to forming the right sentence, my thought fractures into a million pieces. Just seeing Sunset like this is enough to make me want to cry, yet I’m frozen in my place… It would be so easy to blame something else for this, but I know that it wouldn’t be the right thing to do. I caused this…

After a long pause, Sunset clears her throat and closes her eyes, her expression still full of conflicting tones. “Tell me honestly, Adagio. Have you also lied about your feelings? How you have felt within the past few days?” Instantly, a lump in my throat forms when I hear her question. I’ve lied more times than I can count this week… When it comes to my feelings at least. But it was just so that she could stay happy. I didn’t want to burden her with any of the things I’ve been feeling, especially since she’s been having such a hard time… It wasn’t out of malice or to deliberately hurt her. I just wanted to keep her smile on her face as long as possible just in case something ruined her day… “I thought so,” she whispers, taking my silence as an answer itself. “I had a feeling that you were hiding some of your feelings away… But I didn’t say anything because I figured it couldn’t have been that big, right? She would trust me, right?” Sunset states with a couple tears sliding down her cheeks, her frustration being clear from her words.

“I’m sorr-”

“No. You’re not. You catch me cutting myself ONE time and you withhold every negative part of your life from me. You think you’re protecting me when I fucking told you that you could trust me,” she quickly lets out, her glare full of hurt and anger. “I want to be a part of your life too, Adagio! I don’t want you to just go with whatever I say or do just to keep me happy. You do so much to keep me happy, but I’m not allowed the same courtesy when it comes to the woman I love?” Getting off her spot on the wall, Sunset’s tears fall faster, finally unable to keep herself from crying. “You know what? Forget it. Keep your life a secret,” she’s barely able to state in a whisper, quickly walking down the hallway. A loud slam accompanies the bedroom door shutting, silence following the aftermath… Why did it have to go like this…?

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I would be lying if I said I didn’t look like crap… Getting barely any sleep on a couch isn’t the best way to look great in the morning, especially due to… last night… Sunset never came out of our room as far as I know of. Every second that passes by, I can’t help but feel even worse, the words shared last night being the only things passing through my mind. I could hear her cries for a couple hours after our fight… My mind keeps trying to think of some good reason why I kept lying, but all of them just sound like more excuses to keep me from owning up to my actions… The truth is that I lied over and over to try and keep her happy without giving her a choice in the matter. Of course she would feel upset…

Combing my hair down, I try my best to smile in the mirror, but it almost feels pointless. Trying to act like everything is okay is technically what got me in this mess to begin with. It’s going to be hell to try and go about my day when all I can think about is the image of her crying face, storming off to our room… Why did I have to be such an asshole…? I caused all of it… Great way to try and prove you’re worthy of her, Adagio… Every time I think I’m actually a good fit for her, another ten reasons prove why I shouldn’t have confessed my love to her to begin with. She would have been happier otherwise, right…? None of this friendship drama would have happened and now this situation wouldn’t happen. Who knows? Maybe I’m responsible for the break-in too… All it takes is one person who doesn’t like me to do something like that to our home and let’s face it. I am on a lot of bad sides…

A heavy sigh leaves my lips as I walk outside the bathroom, my eyes briefly lingering on the bedroom door. I don’t know how I can make it up to her… or if I can. I hope so? Maybe she and I can try to talk more tonight and I can apologize… Sunset isn’t the type of person to not listen to someone after she’s had the chance to cool down. Just the thought of something like us ending over my own stupidity is… too hard to bear. No. I’m sure we can… Just don’t think about that possibility. Pulling on one of my t-shirts with ease, my hand reaches for my coat, trying desperately to not let my walls break. It’s just the beginning of the day… It wouldn’t look great if I end up crying right now. I just have to bottle these feelings up until later…

Slipping my feet into my boots, my hand grabs a pencil and a small notebook from my purse. Usually, I use this to take notes on students of mine to see what they need to work on, but now? I think I need to use it for a better reason… Quickly, my hand scribbles in words on the blank piece of paper, trying my best to smile while tears fight to form in my eyes. “Hey, Sunset. I hope you got some sleep last night? I have to go to work now and then I’ll be meeting someone for the rest of the day, but I should be back by seven.” My fingers hesitate for a moment, my breathing halting as I try to think of the right words… “I’m really sorry about last night. I know I didn’t give you much choice and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, but I realize that my actions inevitably did that either way… I really do mean it when I say I love you, Sunset. You mean the whole world to me and that feeling has only grown stronger as time has gone on. I really hope we can talk more tonight. I’m sorry, Sunset. You deserve to be treated fairly.” A tear slowly falls down my cheek as my fingers scribble in the last few words. For some reason, my lips mouth the words that I write instinctually. I can’t quite help it… “I’ll miss you. With love, Adagio.”

Ripping the piece of paper from the notebook, I quickly walk over to the bedroom door down the hallway, quietly slipping it underneath the door with a solemn smile on my face. If she is still asleep, I hope she gets enough of it… Tomorrow is the Apple Family reunion, so I just hope she can get enough rest. And I hope we can try to fix things before tomorrow…

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Looking at my map with a raised eyebrow, a part of me just gets more confused as I try to find my way to the shop. In no way do I feel in the mood to do this today, but this is the last day I have available before the reunion tomorrow. My mind can’t stop thinking about Sunset and how she must be feeling today… In a way, I think that sort of affected my work since there were numerous mistakes I didn’t catch onto right away.

Technically I know a lot of this city already, but the exact store names don’t stick out to me. I’ve never heard of a Sugarcube Corner before, but I’ve probably seen it. I’ve always stuck to myself and didn’t really pay much attention to each store, just the landmarks that would help me get home. This bakery should be close to this part of town, since the map says it’s only a couple blocks away from the coffee shop Sunset and I went to all that time ago. That coffee shop… I really hope Sunset and I can go back there soon… Shaking my head, I trace my finger along the map with a small frown, analyzing exactly where I’ve gone before. I’ve already gone past the Museum of Astrology shop and the fortune teller place, so I guess it should be somewhere around here. Putting the map back into my back, I quicken my pace down the sidewalk, looking around my environment with no luck. I mean, I know it’s not going to stick out to me like a sore thumb, but I thought it would be more recognizable with a name like that. Maybe with frosting decorations or something, but I guess I’m just wishing for this to be easier than it will be. Honestly, this will probably go… horribly… I haven’t seen Pinkie Pie ever since Valentine’s Day, but she didn’t see me there, so the last time we formally met was the Battle of the Bands. Back when I was… her… I know how she sees me. She’s scared of me and was clear with her wishes that she didn’t want to talk to me. Now here I am, trying to find the bakery she works at just to talk to her. I guess I’m breaking her wish in that way, but I promised myself that I would try to make things right between me and all of Sunset’s friends…

It’s hard to imagine that anything will go well today, especially since I royally fucked up with Sunset last night… I thought that things would go horribly with Fluttershy, but I was pleasantly surprised, so maybe there’s just a little bit of hope there…? A part of me wants to believe that everything will be alright, but my luck isn’t exactly the best. What will I even do to try and get in Pinkie’s good graces? Of course I will apologize, but will that be enough…? I don’t think so… Shaking my head, I look around the intersection I come up to, trying to find the store that I’m supposed to go to. I only have one shot to get a good impression before the reunion, so I have to make this count. Quickly, a building across the street with pink canopies catches my eye. Looking closer at the building’s windows, the logo for Sugarcube Corner is faintly painted on them so that people can look through them easily. Fucking finally. I either have an outdated map or I’m just really bad at directions. Then again, I’ve been pretty bad at a lot of things in my life…

Taking a deep breath, I quickly cross the road, looking inside the window carefully. Lots of patrons inside eat their treats while talking to people they know, some customers even play on a laptop while they enjoy whatever they bought. I guess this place has free WiFi, but that doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t use the internet all that often… Brushing any wild hairs out of my face, I quietly walk over to the doors, pushing them open and being greeted with the sound of people talking and a cash register. Despite the store’s small size, it makes up for it with a welcoming atmosphere and quite a few open tables to sit people at. This wouldn’t be the best design for a pandemic, but it works in pretty much any other instance. Walking past the many tables, I make my way to the counter, seeing a familiar face behind the register. “Mr. Cake? You work here?” I ask in surprise, finally stopping right in front of the man. His eyes move from the register up to me and a look of surprise comes over him too.

“Adagio! My, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you~ How are things? Is the music studio still up and running?” he asks me excitedly, seemingly happy to catch up with me even though we only worked together for a short while. He only volunteered at the studio for a short time whereas I worked directly for Fancy Pants.

“Yeah, but we’ve had to shut down our afternoon classes since it wasn’t profitable,” I respond with a smile, nodding slowly. “Though, I’m just surprised to see you here in general. Some of the kids miss your lessons,” I lie with a straight face, trying to keep our conversation up for a little while longer before I have to meet Pinkie.

“That sure is flattering! I will have to think about volunteering again~ Also, my wife and I own this establishment! It’s our own little bakery that we’ve run for close to fifteen years now~ Do you like it?” Fifteen years of running a bakery, huh? Impressive. I guess I should have known he owns an establishment like this. His name is Mr. Cake for God’s sake. If that isn’t the biggest case of fate, I don’t know what is.

“It has a certain flair. You must be proud of it.”

“Oh, me and the missus are very proud of it~ We worked hard to make it a reality and all.” A prideful smile comes to his face as he looks around his bakery before his eyes return to me. “Anyway, what brings you in today? Want to try our Pumpkin Pound Cake Surprise?” he asks me, pointing to the special of the week on the menu board above him.

“I’m going to have to pass, unfortunately. I came here to meet a… past acquaintance.” For a moment, I hesitate to say the actual name of the woman I’m looking for, but I take a deep breath and compose myself quickly so as to avoid any awkward interaction. “Does Pinkie Pie work here?”

“Oh? You know Pinkie?” The surprise on his face tells me that Pinkie Pie never really talked to him about Adagio Dazzle. That means he might point me in her direction, not knowing how much she probably doesn’t want to see me. Still, a promise is a promise… “Yeah, she works here, but she left to see her family a couple days ago and she won’t be back until tomorrow. How urgent is this?”

“It’s pretty urgent… I kinda needed to talk to her before tomorrow. She and I are going to the same event and I wanted to… straighten out some details before then.” A conflicted look comes over Mr. Cake, his eyes breaking away from me as he looks down at the counter and the register. Pulling out his phone, he looks at the time and sighs quietly before directing his gaze to the door behind him, presumably to the kitchen area of the bakery.

“I suppose I could help you out here and let you video call Pinkie, but I need to tell my wife to man the register if you will.” Nervously scratching his head, he holds his hand out as a gesture to wait before he walks into the door behind him, presumably going to talk to his wife. This is going to be… a very awkward call…

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Mr. Cake and I decided to go to a park to call Pinkie so that I would have some form of privacy with her, while still being close enough to give him his phone back once we’re done. A part of me is still questioning why he decided to let me call her on his phone instead of just giving me her contact details, but I’m also a little glad about this turn of events. Pinkie is less likely to hang up my call or just ignore it if it’s from a random number or if she knows it’s from me, but since it’s from her employer, maybe she’ll feel a little compelled to stick around and hear me out. I never thought having a past with a volunteer of the music studio would actually help me try to reach out to Pinkie Pie, but here I am.

Walking over to a bench in the middle of the park, I can’t help but feel blessed that we’re the only ones here. If there were a bunch of people here, I would feel worried about what may ensue, given I don’t know how Pinkie will react to this surprise call. It’s unfortunate that she and I couldn’t meet in person since she can just hang up at any time on a call, but I suppose I’ll just have to make due with what I have. If everything goes well here, then the only thing I will have left to worry about is tonight… and whatever may result from a talk with Sunset.

After I sit down on the bench, Mr. Cake pulls out his phone again, a nervous expression dawning on his face. He looks conflicted, almost like he’s not sure if he should be doing this, but he’s already decided to help me. Maybe him letting me use his phone rather than give me Pinkie’s contact details is his way of making sure nothing will go wrong just in case Pinkie doesn’t want to talk to me. If so, that’s a smart move on his part. I probably would have planned something similar myself, so I can’t help but admire the intelligence it takes to come up with something like this. Of course, if it isn’t a plan, then I’m more of applauding something that is merely coincidental. Either way, there’s no reason to actually voice any of this to him. “I’ll call her and tell her that someone wanted to talk to her first before I hand you the phone,” he timidly states, his finger hitting a button on the phone before trying to compose himself, brushing his hair to the side. His eyes look at the screen without any change for a while before the ringing finally stops. “Hiya, Pinkie Pie~” Mr. Cake says in his cheerful voice, giving a small wave to the phone’s camera.

“Oh! Hi, Mr. Cake! I didn’t expect to get a call from you today~” an excited woman’s voice responds to the man with the energy of a blown up balloon. “Did you get my postcards yet?” I don’t know why, but a part of me finds it a little odd to hear that Pinkie had sent postcards to her employer. Nonetheless from a trip that only lasted a few days, but I suppose that fits Pinkie Pie’s style. Back when I observed Sunset and her friends in Canterlot High, I knew Pinkie was random and unpredictable, but I didn’t deem her a major threat since she usually needed the organization of her friends to keep her contained and focused on a single goal. Maybe that’s why I saw Sunset and Twilight as the biggest obstacles. And why I blamed Sunset for my downfall…

“No, not yet unfortunately. Still checking the mail everyday~” Mr. Cake’s genuine smile turns into a nervous one as he scratches the back of his head, still looking at the camera. “The reason why I called was because I have someone here who wants to talk to you and all.She said that you two needed to talk before tomorrow and that it was urgent.”

“Ooh! Who is it? Is it Rainbow Dash? Or Twilight? Oh! Wait! Don’t tell me! I want to be surprised~” the excited voice once again replies to Mr. Cake’s statement, clearly anticipating whoever might want to talk to her. Something tells me that excitement will die as soon as she finds out it’s me. Mr. Cake’s smile fades for a moment, chuckling slightly at Pinkie’s words.

“Okay then, well, she’s right here~ She asked for you to stay on the line as long as you can since she really wants to talk to you and all.” Without giving the pink woman a chance to respond, he slowly hands me the phone, making me take a deep breath. This is it. She’s the last of Sunset’s main friend group that I have yet to make amends with. If there is any god in this world, please let this go alright…

Grabbing the phone gently, I aim the camera at my own face, surprised to see the pink woman’s face on the screen. I’ve never video called someone before, so this is a new experience for me. Instantly, the happy expression on Pinkie’s face deflates as her once curly hair goes flat, her eyes never straying from the screen. It seems I still have the same effect on the girl, but I can’t quite blame her for that… “Hey, Pinkie,” I say as kindly as I can, giving a wave like Mr. Cake did before. Pinkie’s mouth opens for a moment, but it promptly closes again as she fidgets with her hands. From the camera angle, it looks like Pinkie’s calling from a computer screen, rather than a phone.

“Hi,” is all the pink woman brings herself to say, her eyes finally looking away from the screen to focus on the room around her. The room she’s in is primarily gray and dark with multiple rocks on shelves in the background which raises more questions than answers.

“I know you probably didn’t expect me to call you today,” I state quietly, still trying to come up with the right words to say. “I just wanted to talk to you today to… try and clear up some things. Especially since we’re both going to the Apple Family reunion tomorrow.” As kind as I try to make my words, I also make sure to say them as honestly as I can to let her know I only want a talk rather than a fight. My past self would have loved to pick fights… “I would understand if you don’t want to, but do you think we could talk? Just person-to-person?” Pinkie’s eyes widen as if she is surprised by my request, trying to not look at the screen, but she eventually nods her head.

“I suppose so,” she whispers, her sad tone not leaving her voice. A silence follows after her statement, both of us seemingly unsure of what to say next. Technically, I know what I need to say, but I’m not quite sure how I will phrase it…

“Before we say anything else, I just want to tell you that… I’m sorry. For all of it.” Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes, finding myself unable to look at Pinkie as the words come out of my mouth. “I know that I hurt you and your friends two years ago. That’s one of my biggest regrets and I wish I could take it back. Especially since I love Sunset with all of my heart and I’ve become good friends with her other friends.” Opening my eyes, I instantly notice Pinkie Pie’s surprised expression with one of her eyebrows raised, confusion being painted all across her face.

“You’re… dating Sunset?” she quietly asks, seemingly hearing this news for the first time. When was the last time she talked with her friends…?

“Yeah. I’ve been dating her for a few months now, actually.” I can’t help but pause to collect my words, taking in another deep breath. “I guess you haven’t been in touch with your friends recently?” I ask as kindly as I can, seeing her flinch slightly to the question.

“No,” Pinkie simply whispers, looking away from the screen once more to try and keep her composure. I can’t help but widen my eyes once I hear a chuckle come from the pink woman on the other side of the call… “But… that’s kind of your fault, huh?” Pinkie says after her chuckle, her eyes reconnecting with mine through our virtual communication. My fault… I always blame myself, but to hear someone else validate that… hurts. “We were all fine before you and Sunset became friends and all,” Pinkie says in a hurt and depressed tone, her body language showing just how uncomfortable she feels with this conversation. “It’s… nice of you to apologize. Thank you for that. But I can’t just immediately turn around and throw a party for you just because you said sorry. Why didn’t you try to talk to me before?” Pinkie’s eyes are full of hurt with a slight bit of anger coming to the surface through her words.

“I… I’m sorry. I haven’t had a lot of time due to work and I owed my time to other people recently. I didn’t really have the chance to say sorry until now.”

“Or you just didn’t wanna,” the pink woman callously responds in an uncharacteristic way. Even she seemed to notice how weird her response was, stopping herself from saying something else. “I’m sorry. I just…” Her eyes carry a deflated tone, pausing her sentence to take a breath. “I don’t really… believe you. I don’t know why you waited so long and all, but yeah… If you do mean it, I guess it’ll be proven soon, but this just seems like some desperate attempt in my opinion…” Pinkie hesitates momentarily, but her hand finally reaches for the mouse, making me widen my eyes.

“Pinkie! Please, wai-” Before the rest of my words can leave my mouth, the call is cut short with a loud beep, returning the phone back to the set background. She hung up on me… I was trying to expect that but… why do things have to go wrong…? Instantly, tears start to flow from my eyes, causing me to close them and sigh quietly. She’s right… It’s all my fault…