It's always nice to meet up with some old friends from time to time, especially if it's been either months or years since you've seen them. The moment where you meet up with the individual that you haven't seen in a while can be quite a heartwarming sight, especially when ya manage to get a chance to catch up to see how that person in doing, and what they've been up too since you've last seen them. Whether it'd be a childhood friend, or a lover who's been away on either business or serving their country, it's always nice to reunite with an old acquaintance. However, there are times where a reunion with someone you haven't seen for a long time can take a dark turn that you wouldn't least expect it. And one teenager is about to see this for herself when an old friend pops up out of nowhere...............................................

The sound of the school bell echoes through the streets , as hundreds of students began to make their way out of the large building. With the Friday afternoon commencing, the students and staff of Canterlot High rejoiced as it officially marked the start of the weekend. After a long week , many of the various individuals were happy to know that they had two days to kick back, relax, and sleep in after working hard all week.

One student in particular was just as excited to start the weekend, having made a promise to her younger sibling to meet up with her at the local outdoor mall downtown for their after school window shopping session. The young fashionista was ready to start out her weekend with a bang, as she patiently waited for her younger sibling to exit the school as well. The purple haired teen took a second to take in the fresh air.

With winter just around the corner,the teen was happy, as soon she wouldn't have to worry about the summer heat any longer. And also to be able to wear and show off her new winter coat that she's been working on for months inside her makeshift boutique. As the teen continued to collect her thoughts, she felt a slight jolt as someone bumped into her from behind.

"Ow!!!!!!" She cried out. " I say, why don't you watch where your going ?!"

" I'm sorry miss" The person replied. " I didn't see you ....................wait, Rarity?!" The young fashionista instantly turned around after hearing the mysterious person call her by her name . And she was instantly surprised to find a handsome looking young man whom was all to familiar to her.

"Eduardo?!" Rarity said, there was a short silent for a moment , until big smiles formed on their faces before they collected each other into a friendly embrace.

" Oh my god darling!" Rarity said happily. " I can't believe it's really you!"

"Kudos darling" Eduardo replied as the hug soon ended. " It's been so long since we've last seen each other in person"

"It sure has Eduardo" Rarity said. " Hows college and your internship going darling? More importantly , what brings you back in town?"

"CSU's going great darling" Eduardo answered. " I've actually started to receive quite a lot of clients lately during my internship, and I've recently been working alongside a few of the well known fashion designers in the city. And to answer your followup question Rarity, I'm currently working with my latest client here in town and thought it'd be fun to visit CHS for old times sake"

"That's great Eduardo" Rarity said. " I'm happy things are going great for you, and that your back in town " The fashionista then took a short glimpse at her old friends pectoral area. " Hehe, I see you've been outgrowing your chest hair darling"

"hehe yeah I did" He replied with a blush. " My mom has been bugging me to shave it already, but after my boyfriend pointed out that it made me look very manly, I decided to keep it as is. Even though it tends to get a bit itchy from time to time"

"LOL , well Jimmy did always say that he loved guys with bodyhair" Rarity said. " And your pretty much his type of man darling"

"Your telling me" Eduardo replied with a chuckle. " Ever since the chest hair came in, the kinky little cuties been using my pecs as pillows"

"Well can you really blame him?" Rarity said earning another chuckle from her friend.

"Your telling me darling " Eduardo replied, and went a step forward by doing a little pec flex. " You know, I was actually planning on visiting Sugarcube Cafe. Would you maybe like to tag along? Plus it'll be a great opportunity for us to catch up with each other"

" Oh that would be wonderful darling" Rarity said as she accepted her friends offer. " And it's also the perfect timing as well, Mr and Mrs Cake just brought back your favorite seasonal items"

"You mean?.....................

"Oh yeah darling" Rarity said slyly . " Pumpkin spice cinnamon Frappucino, and Jack-O-lantern shaped sugar cookies"

"Hell yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Eduardo said excitedly. " Best time for me to be in town for the week"

"Amen darling" Rarity replied. " Lets not waste anytime shall we? As my friend Pinkie would say, Onward to coffee and goodies!!!" Eduardo nodded, and soon the two friends began their trek towards the towns best hangout spot. " BTW hows Chloe doing?" Hearing this caused the man to groan slightly.

"Ugh! Don't even mention that little demon" He replied annoyed. " Sometimes I wish I was an only child"

"Hehe younger siblings do have the tendency to tease darling" Rarity reassured. " But deep down, I'm sure Chloe loves you"

"If your little sister wrote "My brother is gay LITERALLY" on your backpack in permanent marker" He said. " You'd think differently darling" Rarity couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the mans response as they continued down the road towards Sugarcube corner, but what they didn't know, is that a few students who were exiting the building happened to catch a glimpse of the conversation between the element of generosity and her old friend. But for some odd reason, a few of them had looks of both confusion and concern written on em.

Meanwhile

We find the 6 members of this worlds elements of harmony , minus Rarity, walking down the street together, consisting of Pinkie pie, Rainbow dash, Twilight sparkle also known as Sci twi by non other than Pinkie, reformed villain Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, and Fluttershy. Like the other students, the group was relieved that the school day was over and that they have the whole weekend to relax and hang out with each other.

"Thank goodness for the weekend" Applejack said all relieved.

"You said it AJ" Rainbow dash replied. " Thank god I don't have to worry about pulling an all nighter studying, I really hope I did well on the history test today"

"The star athlete on the show actually caring about a test?" Twilight said with a sly grin. " Who are you and what have you done with Rainbow dash?" This caused the other members of the group to chuckle slightly at the science lovers response.

"Haha very funny Sci twi" Dash said slightly annoyed. " If ya'll must know, my old man made a bet with me and Scoots that, if we did good on our tests for the rest of the year, he'll pay for our tickets for next years superbowl. And me and Scootaloo have been cramming nonstop for those two tickets, it's gonna be the tits!"

"Well considering that ya hired Poindexter aka the smartest kid in school" Fluttershy replied.

"*cough* Second smartest person in school" Twilight jumped in.

" Oh, hehe sorry twilight" Fluttershy giggled. " There's no doubt in my mind you and Scoots will have those two tickets in hand in no time Dashie"

"I sure hope so Shy" Dash replied. " Anyways, moving off topic. We still have some time before we have to go home, what do you guys wanna do?"

"Hmmmmmm, not really sure partner" Applejack replied. " It's a little late to go to sugarcube corner"

"It's never too late for coffee and goodies AJ" Pinkie said in her usual tone.

"Need I remind you that you weren't able to fall asleep for 2 hours the last time you drank coffee in the afternoon Pinks?" Sunset replied.

“Good point” Pinkie said a bit embarrassed as she was reminded of the time that she had a hard time trying to fall asleep after ordering a second Frappuccino that day during one of their hangout sessions. But just as the group was about to continue discussing about what they were gonna spend the next hour doing, Sweetie belle soon walked up to the group with a look of annoyance written all over her face. “Hey guys”

“Howdy there Sweetie belle” Applejack greeted. “ What brings ya’ll here? If your looking for my sister and Scoots, they went home already”

“Actually I came to find you guys” Sweetie belle answered. “Have any of you seen Rarity? We were supposed to meet up at the outdoor mall after school , but she wasn’t waiting near the entrance like we planned”

“Hmmmmmmm” Applejack pondered for a moment, until she remembered something. “ Oh yeah, Rarity texted me not too long ago actually, she said that she bumped into an old friend earlier and they went to go catch up with each other over at Sugarcube Cafe” Hearing this caused the freshman to let out an annoyed groan.

“OMG are you serious?!” She replied. “ Of all the times for her to bump into an old friend, why did it have to be when she promised a sisterly outing after school?!”

“Easy there sugarcube” Applejack said. “ I’m sure she remembers your little hangout session, she just wants to catch up with her old buddy real quick. I guarantee that she’ll be right at that mall waiting for ya the second she and her old friend part ways for the day”

“I sure hope so AJ” Sweetie belle replied, her annoyed expression still visible. “ Did she at least say who she was meeting with? Cause she has a ton of old acquaintance that she hasn’t seen since middle school”

Applejack scratched her chin for a bit as she tried to remember the name of the individual Rarity was meeting with. “ Hmmmmm it’s on the tip of my tongue, I think she texted and said that his name was………….Eduardo or something?” Suddenly , Sweetie belles eyes grew wide in shock. A cold shiver ran down her spine at the name that just came out of the farmgirls mouth, almost as if she was familiar with it . The others noticed the sudden shift in behavior at the freshman, while wondering what was the matter? “ Sweetie belle, are ya’ll ok?”

“No, no, no it can’t be” Sweetie belle said to herself. “ Is it really happening again? no there's no way, the doctor said she was cured, that's impossible, but is it, is it possible, or is it not, or maybe, just maybe………………..”

“Sweetie belle whats wrong?” Fluttershy said trying to calm down the panicking teen. “ You’re acting like you just seen a ghost”

“Yeah what’s going on with you all of a sudden?” Sunset jumped in.

“Where did Rarity say she was going?” Sweetie belle asked frantically.

“Like I said, sugarcube corner” Applejack replied.

“Guys , we need to get over there , right now” Sweetie belle said.

“Huh?” Dash began. “ But why do we……………………”

“I’ll explain on the way, please just follow me!!!!!!!” Sweetie belle called out, and then ushered the group to follow her. Though feeling slightly confused at the freshman’s sudden change in behavior, they never the less did what she said and followed her to Sugarcube Cafe, all while hoping that nothing bad happened to their fashionista friend or her childhood friend as well.

30 minutes later

Inside Sugarcube cafe, we find the element of generosity alongside her buddy Eduardo sitting comfortably in their booth, which he himself picked out, the two friends could be seen chilling and chatting amongst themselves as they reminisced about their past together. But what they didn't know is that Sweetie belle and the others could be seen surveying the two of em. Each of them had looks of concern written on their faces, the same one Sweetie belle had earlier. After a minute, the fashionista looked back to find her friends and younger sister a few meters away from their respected booth.

"Darlings what a surprise, I wasn't expecting you guys to drop by" She said. " And it's a good timing too, guys, allow me to introduce you all to my old friend, Eduardo"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Rainbooms" Eduardo greeted. " Or should I say, the superheroes of Canterot High?"

"Hehe, I wouldn't call ourselves superheroes darling" Rarity replied. " Oh you remember my little sister do ya?"

"How can I forget?" He said. " How are you Sweetie belle? Man your growing into a lovely young lady, your gonna be as beautiful as your sister here"

"Oh stop" Rarity said with a blush. " She might be as beautiful as yours truly, but her cooking skills could use some work though, especially after the infamous pancake incident" The duo shared a good laugh at the fashionista's response, Sweetie belle however, didn't reply back at Rarity's or Eduardo's responses and just looked more and more concerned.

"Jesus, you weren't kidding Sweets" Rainbow dash whispered.

"Ditto" Pinkie replied. "So....................who's gonna be the one to tell her?"

"Tell me what?" Rarity asked.

"I'll do it" Applejack whispered. " Me and Rarity go way back as well, so it's only fair that I do it ya'll" The others including Sweetie belle nodded in approval as the element of honesty stepped forward. She took a deep breath before finally speaking up. " Rarity........................how long have ya'll known Eduardo?"

"Why since 7th grade of course AJ" Rarity responded. " We've been pen pals with each other ever since he went off to college, I would have introduced you guys to him sooner. But he's been extremely busy with his studies and internship, but you six are in luck today as he's in town for the week to assist his latest client"

"I see, I see" Applejack said. " ...............Rarity, if ya'll don't mind me asking, are you feeling alright sugarcube?"

"What?" Rarity replied. " Of course I'm feeling alright. If I wasn't feeling alright, then I wouldn't be sitting here having a conversation with you guys and Eduardo here"

"That's just it sugarcube" Applejack said, there was a short silence before the farmgirl continued. " Rarity, there's no easy way to say this but............................................there's no one there" The room was silent for what felt like an eternity after AJ spilled the truth towards her friend, Rarity was at a loss for words at what one of her closest friends just said to her. The fashionista had no idea why AJ would assume that Eduardo wasn't there when he's literally sitting right in front of her. After a while, she finally responded at her friends claim.

"Pardon my french darling.......................but what the hell are you talking about?!" She replied. " Honestly AJ, I did not expect you to be so rude today, I introduce you to my friend here, and your only response toward him is that he's not here? What's gotten into you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me Rarity" AJ defended. " I know this hard to believe, but I'm telling the truth, and you know the Apple family oath " Never tell a lie" . There's nobody sitting right in front of you sugarcube, your the only one sitting in this booth"

"What are you talking about?!" Eduardo shouted. " I'm standing right in front of you kid!!! Do you need glasses or something? Why would you act like I'm not standing right in front of you?!"

"Exactly!!!" Rarity replied.

"Rarity, who are you talking too?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm talking to Eduardo" Rarity answered. " Didn't you guys hear him?!"

"No we didn't" Sunset said. " Because there's nobody there Rares"

"Shut up Sunset!!!!" Rarity shouted. " I know you weren't the nicest person in the past, but I would never expect this kind of behavior from you, your supposed to be representing the true meaning of friendship in our world, but your seriously going against it right now by insulting my friend!"

"You tell her Rarity" Eduardo cheered.

"Rarity we're not lying" Twilight jumped in. " Sweetie belle told us everything, we know Eduardo's dead, and you found out about it a couple years ago, and the news of his perishing messed with your mental health"

"I'm not dead!!!!!!!" Eduardo replied.

"I know you aren't darling" Rarity defended. "And theres' nothing wrong with my mental health either!!! How can you guys be so selfish? How dare you act like my friend isn't sitting right in front of me, and to even go as far as to say he's dead! If he's "dead" then explain the bite mark taken out of his Jack-O-lantern cookie?"

The others remained silent at the fashionista's claims, until Pinkie broke the ice in a nervous tune. " Rarity.....................you might wanna take a closer look at that cookie if I were you"

"Why? Honestly Pinkie I don't know what's gotten into..............." But as Rarity took a closer look at the sugar cookie that stood in front of Eduardo, a surprised look formed on the fashionista's face as there in front of her was indeed a Jack-O-lantern shaped cookie, but that it was still in tact. No bite taken out of it, there wasn't even a sigh that it's been touched during she and Eduardo's chanting earlier. The teen was in utter confusion, surely she remembers seeing her friend take a bit of one of his favorite seasonal menu items. But the cookie that was in front of her looked to be untouched. "Eduardo...................didn't you take a bite of your cookie earlier darling?"

"What? Of course I did Rarity" Eduardo replied. " You saw me take a bite during our conversation, you witnessed it before your very..................." But before the young man could continue. He looked down at his untouched pastry as a look of pure shock formed as a cold sweat ran down his face . " Wait what? But...........I took a bite out of it, I remember.................wait, no this isn't right, I shouldn't be here, this is a mistake, I remember it, I remember it, I remember.......................................

"The accident"

Suddenly, the young man vanished into thin air right in front of the fashionista's eyes as she watched on with a shocking expression at the sight of her childhood friend mysteriously vanishing right in front of her. The teen started to hyperventilate as her friend was no longer at the spot which he originally sat at. With his uneaten cookie and Frappuccino standing idly at the table, Rarity was at a loss for words as she struggled to process as to what just happened. " Wha, Wha...............What? Eduardo, Eduardo, Eduardo?! Where'd you go, Eduardo!!!!" Rarity suddenly got up and started to feel around the section of the booth where her friend once stood, desperately trying to find a trace of the man. " Eduardo come back, I'm sorry please come back, not again, not, again, not again.............................

"Rarity!!!!!!" Applejack said as she rushed over, and was quick to wrap her arms around the frantic teen, trying her best to sooth and calm her down. " Shhhhhhhh, Sugarcube , calm down, shhhhhh, it's ok, everything's gonna be ok, we're here"

"I, I , I, I, I don't understand what's going on" Rarity replied as tears started to form. " I don't............................

"I know Rares" Applejack said as she gently rubbed her friends back trying to calm her down as some of the patrons of the cafe surveyed the entire scene. " Everything's gonna be ok, we're here for you"

later that day

Inside one of the patient rooms in the Canterlot city hospital wing, we find non other than Rarity sitting on her bed, her face full of nothing but confusion and terror after what happened earlier. The teen buried her face in her arms as she held herself, the realization that Eduardo wasn't really there, and that she wasn't having a friendly conversation with him, shocked the girl to the core. She had no idea how to respond to this, and with this not being the first time this has happened, the element of generosity just sat in silence, all while unaware that the group alongside Dr Stable were surveying her from the doors window, all with looks of worry written on their faces.

"It's actually happening again?" The man said. " *Sigh* That poor kid, and at such a young age too"

"Wait, doc, you know what's going on with Rarity?" Sunset asked.

"Well" He began. * Yes and no Sunset, My father was actually the one who diagnosed Rarity with bereavement hallucinations. Before he retired a few years ago and left the hospital to me, Miss Rarity here was one of his last patients, he didn't give me the full details. All he told me was that the girl started seeing and talking to hallucinations of her deceased friend, actually ........I think this is something that's best explained by someone who witness it first hand. Why don't you go ahead and tell them Sweetie belle?"

After hearing this, Sweetie belle was hesitant at first to answer, with the fear of reliving the past trauma her sister went through a few years ago. But given that the Rainbooms were practically family, and that they were just as worried towards the element of generosity, it was only fair they knew the truth behind their friends sudden behavior. The younger teen took a deep breath before turning her attention towards the Rainbooms, whom were desperate for an answer. " Ok.............It's like this"

And this is the story Sweetie belle told

Eduardo and Rarity were childhood friends, the pair actually met each other when Rarity was in the 7th grade, and Eduardo was a senior at the time. You see, my sisters class was taking a trip to Canterlot high to welcome the future freshman to the CHS family. Once they arrived, the class was given a tour of the campus, and shown the many afterschool clubs, sports teams, and various other extracurricular activities they had to offer.

During lunch break, my sister just so happened to have taken a seat next to non other than Eduardo and his boyfriend Jimmy. They chatted for a bit and found that they had quite a lot in common with one another, and the pair soon became fast friends. since that day, Rarity and Eduardo started to hang out with each other whenever they can. On occasion's, he along with Jimmy were invited to family dinners and events. Our parents liked having him around too, he was like another member of the family. He also used to babysit me from time to time, hehe even though he was gay, I couldn't help having the biggest crush on him.

Eventually Rarity started the 8th grade while Eduardo graduated and was currently on his first year of Canterlot State University, despite the distance. The two of them still kept their friendship strong, and even became penpals with one another, and Eduardo even promised to come visit whenever he had time off of school. But alas , that would never come I'm afraid after the.............incident. One day during Eduardo's internship, he was tasked with designing new uniforms for the canterlot city construction company. But the day he was assigned this task was a terrible time to be outside as it was practically stormy and windy outside, but Eduardo didn't let a little rain stop him from pursuing his future fashion career.

While he was inside the company building presenting his uniform design to the boss, one of the machines that handled the large wrecking ball began to shake violently due to the extreme wind, and the chain that held the wrecking ball was old and rusty and was barely hanging on, and the high winds weren't helping it either. Eventually the old chain finally gave way as the Wrecking ball flew into the air towards the direction of the building to which Eduardo stood, and by the time he realized something was coming, it was already too late...................................

Paramedics soon arrived at the scene, but there was little that they could do. I'll spare you the gory details, but when they took a good look at the crushed remains of Eduardo and the companys boss, they were barely even recognizable after the impact. Jimmy was devastated as he heard the news of his longtime boyfriends death, but no one took it harder that my sister. Rarity was devastated at her friends death, she wouldn't come out of her room or eat for days. And each day she prayed to god that it was all a bad dream and that Eduardo was safe and sound. She even checked her phone 24/7 to see if he'll text her , but nothing came. Something else however, started to come to her.

Rarity started to see hallucinations of Eduardo alive and well whenever she was at home or at school, and to make matters worse, she even started having conversations with it as if he's talking to her. And whenever we told her that there was no one there, she would blow up at us for assuming that her friend wasn't there. Eventually we took her to the doctor where Doctor Stables father diagnosed her of having bereavement hallucinations, it took a while , but eventually Rarity was cured of her ailment, with the hallucinations of Eduardo vanishing completely. And whenever she did see Eduardo's face, she was to repeat a mantra the doctor instructed her to say.

After that, we thought that rarity has finally returned to normal, but it seems today proved us wrong, oh so very wrong.

As Sweetie belle finished her story, the entire group was speechless, they had no idea their friend went through much trauma 5 years ago, and that her childhood friend died in a tragic accident. But what made the matter a lot more disturbing is the fact that she started seeing hallucinations of him, as if he was standing right in front of her, alive and well.

"Jesus" Rainbow dash said in utter shock.

"That's the saddest story I ever heard!" Pinkie balled as she blew her nose into a handkerchief that she took out of her pocket.

"Poor Rarity" Fluttershy said trying her hardest to hold back her tears. " I had no idea she was going through so much Sweetie belle"

"Me neither" Sunset replied. " But wait, if the hallucinations started back during 8th grade. Why are they happening again all of a sudden? I thought they would have stopped by now"

"Ailments like this aren't cured as easily Sunset" Doctor stable said. " Even if the patient says that they're feeling better, that doesn't mean that they're 100%. Even if it's been years, that doesn't stop the hallucinations from popping up from time to time. The best the patient can do is repeat the mantra assigned to them and hopefully the hallucinations begin to pop up less and less over time"

"I see" sunset said, and then turned towards the window surveying her friend sitting sadly on the hospital bed. " Is there anything we can at least do for her doc?"

"I'm afraid at this point, it's up to her Sunset" Doctor stable replied. " All we can do is pray for the kid, and hopefully she'll come to turns and accept that Eduardo is gone one of these days"

As the group continued to chat outside, Rarity can be seen continuing to come into turns as to what just transpired an hour go involving the hallucination of her dead friend . And the realization that this wasn't the first time she's encountered the spirit of her dead friend shook the teen to the core, while she missed Eduardo dearly, it was difficult at first for her to accept his death , wishing that he was still here with her. As he was mainly her inspiration to becoming a fashion designer herself. But she knew that she'll have to accept the fact that he was gone, but this was easier said than done , but hopefully one of these days, Rarity will come to turns, like Doctor Stable stated, we can only pray. suddenly Eduardo's silhouette could be seen from the other side of the room. The teen however wasn't fazed or scared, and smiled at the hallucination before repeating the mantra that she was assigned five years ago.

"Goodbye Eduardo, I'll see you tomorrow"

And with that, the silhouette of Eduardo's spirit waved goodbye at the teen as it vanished. And hopefully, this would be the last time.

We can only pray

Author's Note

Reunions can be good sometimes, but ya never know how it will go down when ya meet the person you haven't seen in a long time. It can go bad , or it can go great.

You can only pray