Sunset’s laughter didn’t stop for several minutes as Applejack had to spend all that time trying to console her little sister; the blonde girl didn’t resent her redheaded… where they still friends after what happened? Still, she just couldn’t get mad at Sunset for what she had done considering the role the youngest member of the house did, but the look that Apple Bloom had in her face as she watched the revived girl was enough to send the older girl into overprotective sister mode.
Due to Sunset’s prank, all the members of the house, including their friends had come barreling down into the kitchen to know exactly the reason behind such scream. Looking at the grinning redhead in the kitchen was all the answer the older girls needed; of course, peace was not found once Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo saw the girl they had spent so much time incriminating and cyber-bullying.
Three terrified young girls were now holding each other as the victim of their actions stood looking at them with a smirk so big that just made them fear for their own life this time. While they felt happy that Sunset was alive, all the fear and guilt they had been absorbing for the last couple of days were being released, so much in fact that their sisters weren’t capable of calming them down.
“Geez, you girls look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” Sunset could almost hear Pinkie Pie’s eyes rolling around at her lame pun “well, excuse me Princess of Humor, I didn’t have a lot of time to work on my material,” it was playful and just right for an interaction between the two girls, just enough to make them believe everything was alright and they once again friends, but they knew better, they were just acting as if nothing happened.
Pinkie wasn’t dumb, sure, she was hyper active and her mind worked a thousand miles per hour and couldn’t concentrate in the same way than others, but she was not dumb in the slightless; she saw the changes on Sunset and saw raw edges that haven’t been there before, that alongside the amount of acid that came out of Sunset’s mouth was all the proof she needed to know that Sunset’s impromptu visit to the other side had left huge scars on her, no matter how much she wanted to downplay it.
Even now, Pinkie saw how much Sunset kept her distance from others and she was worried; before, sure, Sunset had been a little shy and also had self-esteem problems due to her fall from grace, but she alongside the girls had been working on them; going shopping together, spending nights on sleepovers, the redhead had been rebuilding herself, but she was still pretty fragile. Then came the great betrayal as Rarity had named after Sunset’s… even looking at the girl in front of her, Pinkie couldn’t help but shiver in pain and sadness just remembering when they saw Sunset for the last time; with her eyes closed in peace as they put her on the ground.
It has been days since Pinkie’s hair had regained their usual bounciness, well, usual for the other girls, but her family had been surprised at seeing the change in hairstyle. Maud had been the first one to know the reason; just like always, there was no way to keep the truth from her older sister. She understood and didn’t admonish Pinkie, she knew that the pink haired girl was doing that by herself already, she just was there when Pinkie needed to cry which had been a lot. She hasn’t cried, truly cried since she was a small girl.
The experience had truly changed her, alongside the school; now everyone was quiet and morose, quietly passing by as friends tried to rebuild friendships that they had willingly or not destroyed due to a web page. She haven’t found the desire to make one of her custom parties to make everyone happy, after all, how could she do that when she was still battling with her own demons? She was in no mood for parties, not right now at least, but seeing Sunset had woken up something in her; maybe not her usual Pinkie-ness, but something else, something warm and she was happy, just not in the usual bubbly way.
“Alright kiddo, ya had yer fun, now ya need to put something in yer stomach, heavens know ya need some food on yer body,” Granny Smith took Pinkie form her ruminations and she watched the revived girl drop the smirk and truly smile at the old matriarch of the Apple Family. The woman didn’t seem in awe or even scared at the return of Sunset, she even seemed friendly to her, a sentiment that seemed to be returned by the young girl.
“I suppose you’re right, I am starving; one thing they definitely don’t have down there is good eating places,” Sunset said joking, even though those words only worked as knives that struck Pinkie in the heart. Maybe it was a joke, but it was a permanent reminded that for a week, they didn’t have her at their sides, that they had thrown her aside without even blinking; Pinkie had to take a deep breath to regain control over her emotions. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Pinkie didn’t need to turn around to know that it had been Fluttershy; the quiet girl had also fought against her own guilt and while both of them weren’t exactly over it, the return of Sunset could help them heal that pain.
“Goodness gracious, ya truly look as if ya stepped out of the grave girl, come with me, ya need a change of clothes or yer going to smell like it.”
“What’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Ya were buried in those that’s the problem, now come here,” Pinkie saw the redhead shrug her shoulders at them before going upstairs with Granny so she decided to come with them to see what would happen; she wasn’t the only one since besides the CMC girls they all went upstairs with them.
Staying behind for a second, Pinkie took a look at the source of all the pain that had encircled the school and found herself in awe; not that they girls had done it, but that Sunset, besides the small joke of being a spirit of revenge, she didn’t raise her voice, nor had she sought any true revenge at the girls. Sure, the day was still young, but Pinkie was proud of the girl and how she didn’t try to get revenge on the trio.
Going upstairs, Pinkie saw the room that they all went in and was awed; this was a place she haven’t seen yet, even taking in consideration all the sleepovers that they had in AJ’s house. It had a double bed and it was clear that it had belonged to a couple; the pictures showed that she was correct and it was one of the few times Pinkie had seen pictures of her friend’s parents. Pinkie had found out that the Pie family seemed to be linked to the Apple clan much to the surprise and delight of Applejack and her, it was just a shame that she could never meet Buttercup and Bright Mac.
“Well, here ya go, Ah think it is the perfect size for ya,” Granny said while taking off a trench coat from the closet; it was slightly worn down, probably due to usage, but by the look in Sunset’s face, the girl liked it, but before they could do anything, they heard the sound of a motor vehicle getting closer.
All the girls went down and were surprised to find Pixel and Violet on a car, which was even stranger, was the fact that they were not accompanied by Trixie.
“Girls, we need your help Trixie is… I don’t, she went crazy, and she has been scribbling gibberish on the walls of her room and… oh my god! Sunset!?” the redhead didn’t even react to Violet’s outburst and simply took the cellphone from her hands which was showing a picture; at this point, the other girls gathered around to discover that it was a photo of Trixie’s room, with dozens of symbols in them.
“Bloody hell, not even one day back and you all are already messing around?” Sunset screamed while pointing downwards, so Pinkie was sure that she was talking about demons in general; while putting the trench coat on, Sunset cracked her neck and took out a cigarette from her skirt’s pocket and she ignited it with a zippo; the pink haired girl was surprised that she used the tool instead of summoning a flame “well, seems like there is no rest for the wicked,” and once again, the crazy grin was back on Sunset’s face and Pinkie knew that life will never be the same again, much to her delight.