Songs of Innocence

Chapter 15: Cat Got Your Tongue?

Fluttershy's cottage, many moons later

"Sun's limbs were being pulled in every direction, but never enough to pull them off. Her desire to find out who she was pulled at her left arm, and Avalonia's desire to teach her about the dark arts pulled at her right. Twilight's desire to teach her the magic of friendship pulled at her left leg, and Sun's own desire to tell me how she truly felt about me pulled at her right. But now, there was a fifth desire that began to form, and pulled on her-"

Fluttershy stopped as she noticed the filly was giving her an odd look.

"Uh, it was pulling on her head. What did you think I was going to say? What else would it be pulling on...? A-anyways, that fifth desire was something quite unexpected, and it dragged her from the world of magic and adventure she'd found herself in, back into the bleak, crushing reality of everyday life."

Twilight's castle, many moons ago

"Twilight!" Sun said as she burst through the doors of the castle's entrance. "I need money, and really really quickly! I hate to beg, but PLEASE, you gotta give me some of your bits! You're a princess, right?! Doesn't that mean you have, like, a ton?"

["DND (Do Not Destroy)" from No More Heroes]

"Sun, what happened?" Twilight asked, a little less concerned about Sun than usual, but still concerned nonetheless because of Sun's subtle panicking. "Don't you have a job?" 

"I-I don't! The thing is, all the bits I have, I got from before I came t'Ponyville. But now, I've almost completely run out, and I need to be able to pay rent and stuff!"

"...But you don't have a job?" the princess replied coldly.

"Yeah, no... B-but just this once, you gotta help me, man! I swear, I'll get a job next time I need bits, but this is really bad! My rent's due in a week!"

"What are you even spending the bits on? Even with what happened last night, you look... uh... worse for wear, more than usual." Twilight dodged the plea once again.

Suddenly, Sun got an idea. Maybe if she told Twilight what happened to her after her battle last night, she'll pity her, and give her bits. Yeah, that'll work, won't it? Actually, it might just make her look more pathetic, but hopefully it'll just be the former.

"Okay, here's the thing, right?" Sun began. As soon as she said that, Twilight levitated some chairs towards her for both of them to sit on, because she knew she was in for a long story. "Last night, after that fight, I didn't go home immediately. I don't know what it was that possessed me - it sure wasn't Avalonia - but I decided to do something I've never done before: I decided to go get a drink."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Uh, are you old enough to drink?"

"Not the point. Anyways, I was enjoying it. A LOT. Like, way too much. I swear, I only had, like, two drinks, but it was probably, like, twenty-five.

"Oh, is that what you spent the last of your bits on?" Spike chimed in, joining the conversation after appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"No, actually, but also yes. The guy said I should stop buying drinks, so I thought it was 'cause I was running out of money. So, I was like, 'Oh, great, I'm seriously broke!' and then this cat guy - who, may I add, was beautiful - appeared, sayin' I could earn money by offing a guy called Helter-somethin'."

"You didn't say yes, right? PLEASE tell me you didn't say yes." Twilight said, half-expecting Sun to admit that she did.

"Considered it, but I think he was just messin' with me, 'cause I gave him a look, and he proceeded to offer me somethin' completely different. And before I say what that is, just know, if you saw him, you'd wanna do whatever he says too, okay? Alright, so what he wanted me to do is..."

Back in the future, at Fluttershy's cottage (again)

"Even the very thought of it makes me sick... I don't even want to think about it or I might faint, so I'm going to have to skip it."

Back in the past, at Twilight's castle

"...So, going off what he said before I completely blacked out, I think he might legally own my life now. So, there I am, on the floor of my house, drenched in fruit punch - which I don't even like, by the way - and all my bits are gone... and so is he. I'm thinking about offing him if I ever see him again. So, what do you say, Twilight? Can I please have some bits after telling you that whole three-act play?"

Twilight and Spike's jaws were on the floor, and they weren't leaving anytime soon. Twilight was neither pitying of Sun nor thought of her to be pathetic. Instead, she was just completely disgusted. She probably would've been less disturbed if she'd heard Sun tell her she'd eaten Celestia alive. In fact, something that only disturbed her further was the fact that Avalonia had to helplessly watch it all as it happened. Maybe that was why she was staying completely silent right now. And on top of all of that, Twilight was dumbfounded as to how Sun could explain it all so casually, let alone without gagging at the sheer vileness she was describing.

"H-h-how did you... Why did you agree to that...?" Twilight asked, feeling the last of her soul leave her body. 

"Simple answer: I was tired. Wasn't thinking right, but... I knew the consequences. Just wish it didn't add to my list of ever-growing problems." she explained in a tone way too casual, as if the story was simply an anecdote about an everyday mistake she'd made.

Twilight couldn't think of a way to solve her friend's financial problem. She could only stare into her, thinking about how tricked she felt. She was deceived by Sun's innocent demeanor, thinking she was just an odd unicorn trying to make her way through life as she tried to remember who she was. But no. She was deeply disturbed, and had no problems hiding it. This was her personal student? The one pony she'd entrust her secrets to? The one who bears the 7th Element of Harmony?

Of course, no creature is perfect - everyone has flaws. Twilight knew a lot of ponies who used to be villains, but reformed into better people. But after what she heard what Sun had done, and what she had done to her, she was starting to think that Sun was one step away from becoming a villain. She had all the qualifications - having a dark power, feeling as though she's "different" from others, and... I don't even wanna write about what the last thing is, but it happened last night, and that's all you need to know - but she just wasn't actually evil, and didn't seem like she was going to become evil at all. She was just... this bizarre, lawful-neutral pony.

"How many bits do you need, Sun?"