SUNSET SHIMMER LEADS PINKIE PIE TOWARD THE ART INSTALLATIONS.…
The giant balloon of Star Swirl the Bearded looms overhead, tethered to the ground by a big rope in the midst of the art.
“These installations were specially commissioned for the Starswirl festival! Why not get a well-rounded dose of culture while we’re here?” Sunset stops to look at an intricate web of brightly colored strings. She nods, appreciating it. Pinkie Pie rises up behind her shoulder, squinting.
“But what does it mean?” Pinkie asks.
Sunset considers. “Art is about whatever it makes you feel. This makes me feel as if we’re all connected.” Pinkie’s perturbed, trying to see it from different angles. Sunset moves on to futuristic neon goggles that sit on a pedestal.
“Care to try the Starswirl virtual-reality experience?” a festival worker asks.
“Um, only definitely!”
Sunset pulls on the goggles, and suddenly—
“I’m flying over Starswirl!” She spreads her arms. “This is amazing and also kind of dizzying! Pinkie, you gotta try this!”
Nearby, Pinkie is assessing a stack of pink and green boxes. “Hold on, Sunset, I think I’m getting the hang of this whole art thing.” Her eyes narrow. “Hmm, yes. When you don’t believe in yourself, you put yourself in a box.” She wipes away a tear, and then… another festival worker clears away the boxes. They were just boxes, not art!
Pinkie coughs and moves along. “I mean, nothing, I knew that wasn’t art!” In her rush, she trips over the rope tethering the Star Swirl balloon to the ground. It hooks Pinkie’s ankle and pulls her into the air. Panicking, Pinkie waggles her arms for help. She grabs Sunset Shimmer, who’s still in virtual-reality land.
“This is amazing! If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I was really, really… really… Is that a breeze?” Sunset lifts her goggles. “FLYING! Pinkie, what happened?!”
“ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS APPRECIATE ART!” Pinkie wails. Then she takes a look around. “Hey, at least the view’s pretty good from up here.”
Sunset also looks down—she’s got a point! “There’s the main stage!” But the balloon floats right over it. “And there it goes. Along with our chance of seeing PostCrush.”
Pinkie gulps. “Look at the bright side. At least we’ve got a good view of… the trees.” Sunset groans, but Pinkie doubles down.
“Honestly, I feel bad for our friends back at Starswirl, missing out on all these trees. What are they doing? Seeing cool bands, eating spicy-melon shaved ice, making memories to last a lifetime—boring! I’ll take the trees, thank you very much. Right, Sunset? Oh look, an actual sunset!”
Sunset’s boiling. She lets out a scream that echoes through the forest.
It’s nighttime when the balloon finally descends, popping against a treetop. The distant roar of a crowd and music is drowned out by the whooshing air blowing out of the balloon, right into Sunset’s face as she struggles to untangle herself from the ropes. Pinkie giggles nervously. “Well, not quite a perfect night.”
“Not perfect? You totally ruined it! PostCrush is playing right now, and we’re not going to get to see them! I wish I could do this day over again.” Sunset huffs as she trudges off into the woods, back toward the campground.
Pinkie Pie runs to catch up with her. “I wish we could do it over again, too.”
Sunset shakes her head. “Not we. Me. As in, if I could do this day over, I’d do it without you.”
At a loss, Pinkie slows down. Sunset walks ahead. “I guess I’ll see you back at the RV, then?”
Sunset shrugs. “Whatever.”
Sunset looks over her shoulder, a little guilty, but shakes it off and keeps walking, muttering to herself, “All I wanted was one perfect day.”
She doesn’t see it, but a pulse of purple energy ripples past her. When she finally reaches the RV, she looks back at the trees and sighs, “Tomorrow’s a new day.”
