Songs of Innocence

Chapter 98: Let's Dance, Boys!

Fluttershy's cottage, many moons later

The sun began to make its way downward to dip into the horizon. Just as the sun was going to set, Fluttershy had to tell the filly the end of Sun's tale. Otherwise, Avalonia would never get any sleep. And fortunately for the old mare, she remembered the climax of Sun's tale to be much too fondly-remembered to be worth hesitating over telling. Sure, Sun did die at the end of it all, but... Sun was the happiest she'd ever been right before that. Tragedies happen. At least Sun was at her happiest before one struck. Everyone was, too. It almost felt hard to end the story, like telling it had been Fluttershy's own journey. But regardless, Sun's story had to be fully remembered.

"Sun's story..." Fluttershy began, "...is a cautionary tale. But... it's a cautionary tale about all of life, the good and the bad. In not even a year's time, she had life sympathetically comfort her, and deeply hurt her. Yet, no matter how bad things got, she always tried to focus on the good things, and at the end of the day, she always found a reason to smile again. She would always be the shining beacon of hope that Celestia saw in her ancestor so long ago. Although her light may flicker, or be obscured by something, it would never fade. Now... everything that happened to Sun isn't something that everycreature goes through in their life, but I'd say that her story is one about growing up. When she first came into town, she found herself lost in a strange new world. Yes, she did lose herself at times, but that was only because she was a person. She wasn't perfect. She made mistakes, just like you and me. But she never gave up. In her mind, she had no reason to! She had things and people worth protecting, and that was why she would fight until the very end to protect them all... And did we heed her lesson? Well... let's see, why don't we?"

Canterlot, many moons ago

The stars had come out early for tonight, as the Mane Five, Sun, Death Drive, Cozy, and Sun's plus-one Gilda checked into their two separate, although equally-expensive suites of the lovely Llamrei Hotel. It may not have been the guest room of Canterlot's royal castle, but it was arguably even more luxurious. It was a shame they would only be staying there for the night.

["Rei II" from Neon Genesis Evangelion]

Sun was busy helping Cozy into her gala dress, making sure that she looked her best, as if they had to meet some kind of standard for how they looked. Usually Sun wouldn't care to dress the part, let alone make sure Cozy did, but she wanted to look good for a night like this. After all, it was Death Drive's dream to go to the gala. Speaking of her...

Death Drive noticed how Sun had been acting towards Cozy, and how it was almost... motherly. So, she decided to make a comment about it. "Y'know, I've never seen Cozy's mother before... Are you sure you aren't-"

"Just put your dress on." Sun denied her playful proposition, giving her a snide, yet equally playful side-eye that shut up the pale unicorn.

...

Gilda then broke the stunned, flustered silence, as she walked into the room from the bathroom, having changed into her gala dress. Sun was immediately bewitched by how the dress seemed to have transformed Gilda from a rough tomboy into a short-feathered griffon princess of old. "Gilda, you're... Wow!" Sun said, although she was kind of at a loss for words. Not only was she in love with how Rarity brought her dress design to life... but also because she was in love with how it made Gilda look! She couldn't put her hoof on it, but Gilda made her feel a lovely feeling she didn't feel like comprehending. Gilda just looked enchanting in her eyes. "Wait 'til everyone at the gala sees you..." Sun snickered.