Songs of Innocence

Chapter 62: Eating Crow

Fluttershy's cottage, still many moons later

The next day, it was sweltering.

["Sleepy House Over Yonder" from No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle]

The filly came back again, desperate to hear more as it seemed that the tales of Innocent Sun only ramped up in their insanity as they continued. The filly burst through the door, skidding to a stop, only to jump onto Fluttershy's couch.

The mare giggled softly as walked into the room and she saw her. "I'm glad you're excited, Avalonia."

(Writer's note: yes, the filly's name is Avalonia. From now on, I'll refer to her by that name in these flash-forwards)

She sat down next to her, and fanned herself to try to ease the hot summer air that permeated the house through its open windows. It sent her mind to memories of Sun's first summer in Ponyville, and she thought that there wasn't a more fitting place to pick the story back up from yesterday.

"You know, I'm not really sure how I could describe the next part of this story. Sun wasn't plagued with uncertainty, nor was she on an invisible path created for her by fate. It was sort of like if you graduated from high school, and you just don't quite know what to do next. With nothing to do, she often lost herself watching the clouds go by in the skies above. She had more friends than ever before, and she'd graduated from the school of self-growth... But what now?"

Avalonia shrugged in reply.

"The summer days went by in a blur, and Sun learned to enjoy being with Death Drive and Cozy Glow. They might seem incompatible - Sun was an excitable dog, and Death Drive was a prim cat - but something drew them together. For Sun, Death Drive took some getting used to, but there was one day in particular that made them both deeply respect each other... and you'll never guess what it was."

A Ponyville market, many moons ago

Sun, Death Drive, and Cozy were walking around looking for a place to sit and eat some lunch. There were a handful of benches just outside the market for people to sit and eat, but all of them were taken. Death Drive and Cozy were giving into the idea of just bringing the food home and eating it there, but suddenly, Sun's face lit up, a lightbulb turning on above her head. She dashed towards a bench with a colorful assortment of creatures sitting at it, which Cozy recognized to be students from the School of Friendship that both she and Sun knew.

Sun recognized Gallus, Smolder and Silverstream, but also sitting with them were a bulky yak named Yona, a laid-back earth pony named Sandbar, and a small changeling named Ocellus. They all glanced at her, not quite knowing what to think about her. Cozy was met with even more silent judgement, being given only dirty looks from the students.

"Hey, guys!" Sun said, smiling in an attempt to ease them. "I'm surprised to see you all here." Met with a full second of uncomfortable silence, Sun decided she might as well address the elephant in the room. "Uh, so... I know that the last time we saw each other was... you know... But the thing is, me and my friends have nowhere else to sit. You don't mind if I..."

"I'm fine with it as long as you can explain why they're here." Gallus replied.

"Oh, I actually have something for that." Sun grinned, and put her food down on the table. She summoned a gigantic book, filled with Sun's writings. The students winced at the sight of it. She opened it, and began to explain. "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream. A dr--"