Fever Enigmatic

"Conjuring" Summer said shortly. "So is she your Special Somepony?"she asked brightly, changing the subject back. Two ponies could play the game of asking awkward questions.

Sunset Stroll snorts, letting an apple bounce off his nose. "Heavens, no. We've known each other for all of a day." And there's a litany of other reasons too. He adds silently, bending down to pick up the apple and contemplate his next thought. "If we'd like to keep escalating this: Why are you here?"

"I'm here for plenty of reasons." Sunset Stroll says in an even, cheery tone, tacitly agreeing that the time for apple tossing was over. He moves closer to Summer, so he doesn't have to raise his voice, and continues in the same light-hearted tone, "A bridge broke. My family doesn't know what to do with me. I miss an old friend, and this is the only place I stand a snowball's chance in Tartarus of finding them. But you...I've seen your work. Winter has medical-grade prosthetics, and there's no way anyone but you built them. With skills like that, you can take on the world. Nothing could be withheld from you. So why haven't you left us all in the dust?" His final statements are neither light-hearted nor accusatory, instead sounding simply inquisitive.

Summer tensed up a bit as Sunset brought up Winter, but relaxed at the mention of prosthetic. She sat down on the grass with a thump. "Well, it's kind of hard when every body else in the outside world outruns you. Here, I have some purpose, but out there..." She shivered under a cold breeze and conjured a cloak for herself. "Almost nothing I do stays around. Winter's...things are probably the best work I've ever done, and I know I'll never be able to do it again."

After their brief joust, Sunset hadn't been expecting Summer to open up so quickly. He regards her with surprise and confusion for a second before sitting down beside her, speaking carefully. "If I may...you seem rather purposeless to me." He pauses awkwardly, forming a new train of thought in his head. It seems foreign...yet somehow familiar.

Summer bit her lip once more. "Just because you have a talent or a cutie mark doesn't mean it tells you what to do with it" she said absently.

Sunset looks up at the stars, absently realizing that he should be quite happy Summer hadn't blown up at his foot-in-mouth moment there. What he was about to do felt...odd, false of him, but it was better than anything he had do offer. "A...friend once gave me some advice. He told me that in a pack of timberwolves, the beta has one right, that cannot be denied: the right to challenge the alpha for leadership." He pauses, contemplating how he could start so off-topic. "...his philosophy was...to fight, with hoof and tooth, all the way to the top, past anyone who got in his way. But the odd thing was, he didn't expect to win. He knew he was trying to change a slow, complacent, broken, world. He...he told me that really, the fight was the fun part, and that if he ever succeeded, he probably wouldn't know what to do with himself." He sighs, hoping it sounds nostalgic and not frustrated. You're an actor, now act! It's not even a stretch for you! "I think you should take his advice, at least a little. Fight with everything you've got for what you want out of life. You might like it." He says, laying a foreleg across Summer's shoulders and squeezing lightly.

Summer also looed up, not wanting to look him in the eye. "Is this 'friend' you?" she asked flatly.

"No." Sunset says immediately, his voice oddly flat. "He was not, and I doubt I'll ever be half the stallion he became."

Sunset quietly rolls his eyes. "Well as far as my friend's advice goes, what do you think?" It was odd that he could refer to Marelowe merely as a friend so easily. Maybe this wasn't a bad story to offer people, if they started pressing him for details.

Summer Wishes shrugged. "That may work for him, but I don't know if it suits me." Rather abruptly, she stood. "I think I'll go back inside now." she said absently.

Sunset sighs, as quietly as he can. "Bear it in mind. Are you headed back to the clinic, or you house?"

"The clinic, of course." With that, she turned to go back to that location.

Upon returning to the clinic, things were quiet as Marvel watched over Winter and Birthday Cake dozed in and out of sleep.  Upon finding a comfortable spot, eyes were closed for a short rest.  Upon morning, Bitter Medicin returned to the clinic with her usual "cheerful" mood.  She began looking over various reports.  

Elsewhere, Fairy Charmer awoke to a sunny day and possible questions in her mind about the recent revelation.

OOC:

Misfortune was never meant for mornings.

Luckily, the other ponies in the room seemed to agree, having permitted her to wake up at her own pace. She got up off the floor, checked on Winter, and suddenly registered the presence of Bittir Medicin. She elected to leave her be for now, seeing the reports she was reading (Which she hoped would include the one she had added for Winter) and began brewong coffee...

Sunset Stroll woke up blearily, which was unusual for him. It was probably the late night. Someday he would have to accept that he wasn't in his twenties anymore. But at least he had an all-purpose remedy. He staggers over to a mirror, and closes his eyes. "It's...Showtime!" He says, popping his eyes open with a grin. Boom, light head gone, bang, everything in focus. He would never understand how exactly that worked, but he appreciated that it always did. He takes a hearty swig of water, shrugs into his vest and cape, and makes his way downstairs, picking out the ingredients for french toast and tea in the kitchen. After a moment of deliberance, he triples his normal serving size, expecting to make toast for most of the clinic.