//------------------------------//
// Chapter 33: Never Good 
// Story: Thomas & Equestria Girls: Welcome to Canterlot High 
// by LPFanFic 
//------------------------------//


Thomas & Equestria Girls:
Welcome To Canterlot High



Chapter 33: Never Good.

One afternoon, Emily was happily puffing down Thomas' branchline carrying truck loads of vegetables and flowers to Maithwaite. 

Every summer, each station from across the Island of Sodor decorates their platforms for the festival of flowers. Winner of the festival will receive a yellow sign reading 'Best Dressed Station', as well as a celebratory party. Passengers waiting for their trains got to look at the various flowers on display and try freshly grown goods straight from the farmlands. Emily arrived at Maithwaite, greeted by the stationmaster as she chuffs in and brakes by the platform. The station had a few flowers on display already, but more was ordered due to some complications. The flowers they had out mysteriously began wilting. Their petals would chip off, the stems were flaccid, and its color turned darker and grayer.

Workmen went to unload the vegetables and flowers from the trucks. But upon peaking inside, the flowers and vegetables were all completely wilted as well. 

Petals laid everywhere and piled up inside the crates. Mold grew all over pumpkins, tomatoes, cauliflowers, eggplants, carrots, and cabbages. The brittle flowers drooped against each other on the brim of snapping off. The Stationmaster and workmen were in shock. They asked Emily why she brought them here like this. Emily was just as surprised. She tried explaining they weren't like that when they left. The Stationmaster was worried. How were they going to decorate Maithwaite if they didn't have any fresh flowers or vegetables? Emily wanted to help and thought about going back to get more. The Stationmaster promised her she could help when they need it but allowed her to leave and finish her other jobs instead. Not feeling very useful, Emily blew her whistle and chuffed slowly away with her her spoiled train.

Hiding behind the building, Discord over sees Emily about to leave the station. Unlike everyone there, he knew why the flowers and vegetables were withering away. He's been going around trying to undo the damage being done from the corruption, and keeping Sodor stable as long as possible until another engine is running the Magic Railroad. Discord snaps his fingers. 

Emily was almost out of the station until the Stationmaster got a glimpse at one of the trucks passing by the platform. He shouted for Emily to stop and blew his whistle to get her attention. Emily brakes and reverses back to the platform. Inspecting the trucks, him and the workman saw all the vegetables and flowers fully reinvigorated and beaming with new life. It was a miracle. No petal chipped off, no stem drooped over, and all the food was clean of any mold. Not knowing how or why, but happy and relieved regardless, the workmen uncoupled Emily from the train and thanked her for bringing them to Maithwaite. Despite how happy she was, Emily was very suspicious. Puzzled, she chuffed away and left them with the rest of the load.

The Stationmaster went over to one of the crates sitting on the platform and inspected them, now growing suspicious himself. Then something even more odd occurred. Inside the crate, a large Venus flytrap the size of the Stationmaster himself slithered out from the collection of flowers. Its jaw was pulled back over the stem but then clamped into place upon emergence and lunged at the Stationmaster. The Venus flytrap roared and began snapping at him. The Stationmaster shouted and fells on his rear. Discord snickered quietly all the while. He was having a good show but knew he couldn't leave things as is just yet. So, he snapped his fingers again and the Venus flytrap disappears. Then Discord vanished in a white flash. The Stationmaster passed out from fear and confusion.







The next morning, Emily rolled out from her berth at Tidmouth Sheds. The air was cool and pleasant. The sun shined from the distance and its warm heat beamed down on the Island. Emily looked to her right and saw each berth was still empty. It had been two days since they left to look for Thomas after he went missing on his mission to find Lady. Now it seems the rest of the Steam Team have gone missing too. Emily was worried. How long were they going to be gone for? When will they come back? Were they lost? Did they turn into Husks? Emily didn't know what was going on as her imagination went wild.

Sir Topham Hatt pulled up in his car and got out. His heart sank upon seeing the empty berths as well. He hadn't had any time to visit his engines after sending them off on their search party. All of the commotion going on in his Railway kept him extremely busy. Miraculously, however, things have been pretty slow these past days. Almost like something was maintaining some kind of balance and order. With that, Sir Topham Hatt had some time to check on his engines and see if they were successful in finding Thomas. He half expected them to all be in their sheds. Now none of them were here. The only engine left was Emily. He walked towards her, still lost in thought over what could've happened to her friends.

"Sir!" She gasped noticing him.

"Emily? Wha-what happened to all my engines? Haven't they returned yet from finding Thomas?"

"No, Sir. I don't know why they're not back."

Sir Topham Hatt turned away and placed a hand on his forehead. "This is not good at all. With the railway in complete disorder and now my engines gone missing, this could set us back months."

"Well, you see-"

He turned back to her. "Do you know where they are, Emily? Where did they go to look first?"

"They went to look around the Kirk Ronan Branchline."

Sir Topham Hatt shook his head. "Oh. Deer, oh, deer, oh deer. Whatever could’ve happened to them?"

Emily hesitated in her response. Toby had asked Emily to tell Sir Topham Hatt all about the Magic Railroad's corruption, Thomas' important job, and where they really went to look for him. Since no engine has returned yet, now felt like the appropriate time to let Sir Topham Hatt know what's really going on with the railway. Even if it would mean getting in trouble, their safety was more important than worrying about being punished.

"Sir. There's something I need to tell you."

And so, Emily told Sir Topham Hatt everything. Though she didn't know fully what was going on with the Magic Railroad, nor did she understand the concept of Gold Dust, she explained everything they knew about it. Everything from the Magic Railroad, it's corruption, and Lady gone missing along with her magic, causing all the accidents and turning engines into Husks. She explained Thomas' mission from Mr. Conductor, her friends going into the Magic Railroad, and the ever-looming danger they faced of getting lost or running into Diesel 10, revealed to have never left Sodor and the cause of all this.

At first, he was concerned and eager to find out what happened to his engines. But upon learning everything, Sir Topham Hatt grew even more deeply concerned, and also furious.

Emily winced. "You're not mad. Are you?"

Sir Topham Hatt kept his composure but was still fuming. How could they keep this from him? Engines crashing, Husks, and leaving the Island to look for Lady without consulting him or asking permission. All of this went on and he had no idea what was going on and why. On top of that, Diesel 10 had been residing on Sodor all along and he never knew any of that either. Now his engines were somewhere in the Magic Railroad with Diesel 10, lost and afraid, no doubt jumping from world to world on an endless search. After pinching the bridge of his noes, Sir Topham Hatt spoke.

"Are you telling me, that my engines have been keeping secrets all this time and just now decide to tell me after all the damage Diesel 10’s caused?!"

"We didn't say anything because we were worried you wouldn’t let Thomas travel the Magic Railroad."

"Well, they were right to think so," He said with placing his first on his hips. "What was Mr. Conductor thinking sending poor Thomas on this quest? And now all of my engines have gone after him. They're probably lost in some other world as far as we know, with Diesel 10 on the loose of all engines."

Emily didn't like the sounds of it either.

"What even is a Husk?" He asked. “What’s that got to do with anything?

"A Husk is what's left over from an engine, after they've been stripped away of their being. That's what happened to Duck."

She went into more detail about Husks based on what Henry saw and what Edward described. She told him that Henry found Duck parked by Welllsworth covered in rust and falling apart. Sir Topham Hatt stroked his chin.

"Hmm. That doesn't sound right. Duck seemed perfectly fine when I saw him."

"He was? What do you mean?"

"Harold managed to find him yesterday and brought Duck to the Steamworks for a check up. He was in excellent condition too."

Emily was confused.

Sir Topham Hatt explained further. According to Sir, Duck was found and brought to the Steamworks after Harold the Helicopter spotted him parked by a siding on Wellsworth. When Sir Topham Hatt paid Duck a visit, he was up and about and feeling grand. He didn't look at all like how Henry described.

Emily was surprised. However, she didn't know that Harold was also suppose to tell Sir Topham Hatt about the Magic Railroad and how Duck got turned into a Husk. Because of all the accidents popping up on the railway, it sounded like neither of them could meet up, so Harold couldn't explain where his engines went. And now, Duck was as good as new too. How did he end up back to normal again?

"At worst, Duck claims to have no idea how he ended up at Wellsworth, which is rather odd now that I think about it. But he was perfectly healthy, so I sent him back to work. Not that I don't believe you, Emily, but are you sure Duck was a Husk at one point?"

"I don’t get it. Henry told us he was a Husk."

"Right. And you all knew this too and still said nothing about it?"

"Not until Henry showed up, Sir. That's why they agreed to go after Thomas. I know it seems bad, but-"

"But nothing," He said, firmly. "Mr. Conductor is a good friend, but these are my engines. They are my responsibility. What you do and whatever happens is of up most concern to me, Emily."

"I know," Emily said, shamefaced.

"He doesn't go around telling them what to do without my say. Not one of my engines should've ever gone in there unless told otherwise. Ow, why couldn't he just tell me this himself instead of putting my engines at risk?"

"Because Diesel 10's been using Gold Dust to hurt us all. Our railway is in serious danger," She said urgently.

"Hmm. That it is."

"It sounded like there wasn't much time to explain. Some engine had to look for Lady, and Thomas has been in the Magic Railroad before."

"But the others haven't though. They don't know where they're going," he said worrisome. "If Percy or any of you had just told me what was really going on, we could've figured out a solution together."

"And Thomas would've been forced to come back, which would’ve destroyed our home," She said, bluntly.

Emily knew the urgency of the situation and tried convincing Sir Topham Hatt of Thomas' and everyone's reasons for going behind his back, firing back at Sir Topham Hatt for wanting to pull Thomas away from his mission.

Cross over Emily’s back talking, Sir Topham Hatt then stood and pondered for a while. He didn't know much about the Magic Railroad. He only knew about it through tales passed on from stranger to stranger. He wasn't sure if it was safe or dangerous with its current condition. This began to worry Sir Topham Hatt even more. Regardless, now that he knew partially the whole story, he felt the need do something to save his engines and railway.

"Soon our whole world will fall apart unless Thomas and the others bring Lady back to the Railroad," Emily commented.

"Hmm. Well, we best do something about that then," He said walking over to Emily's cab.

"Sir? What are you doing?"

Sir Topham Hatt climbed on board Emily's cab.

"Come along, Emily, we're going to the Magic Railroad."

"We are? What for?"

"To find our friends and set things right, of course. If they're in danger than we need to rescue them. Now, off we go."

Emily wasn't sure what he had planned. She blew her whistle, and reluctantly drove out of her berth and onto the turntable, setting out to Kirk Ronan Branchline.







Emily and Sir Topham Hatt stopped by a water tower and coal chute to refuel in preparation for any long journey they may find themselves on. He stopped at a few stations to inform them that he's off on important business and is leaving every Stationmaster and Conductor in charge. Afterwards, they went back on their search. It took a long time to find the Magic Buffers. But eventually, they reach the Buffers, still stationed in its mossy glory at the end of the siding. Emily chuffs onto the siding and inspects the buffers hesitantly.

"Could this be it?" Sir Topham Hatt asked Emily.

"I guess it is."

An eerie wind breezed pass the buffers. Emily wasn't so sure what to do now. She had never known about the Magic Buffers upon her arrival to Sodor and was still a little behind on how it works. How do they work even?

"Right then. Let's not waste any time," Sir Topham Hatt said leaning back inside her cab.

"We are going to help Thomas and the others after finding them, right Sir?"

"Emily," He said strictly. "We're not discussing this now. We'll worry about that afterwards. Right now, we need to find them before anything else bad happens."

Trying to remain confident, Emily built up speed and charged towards the Magic Buffers. A spiralling gold portal opens up, reverberating train whistles and signal lights switching blare off the surrounding area. Emily and Sir Topham Hatt braced for impact as they found themselves passing through the portal and chuffing along the tracks of the Magic Railroad. Meanwhile high above, Discord was watching them from behind some trees.

"Interesting," He grinned, then teleported away.

Chuffing along the dark passage of the Magic Railroad, Emily and Sir Topham Hatt inspected the tracks and the thorny tunnel surrounding them. This was their first time in the Magic Railroad. They didn't know why, but somehow this gloomy desecrated line isn't what they image the Railroad is suppose to be. Nothing here screamed magic at all. Emily was amazed, curious, and a little dismayed. If the Magic Railroad really is falling apart, then this must be a stage in it's descension into nothingness. Sir Topham Hatt has worked on his railway for a long time, but to hear all this time a Magical Railroad that bridged other worlds to theirs was right under his nose this whole time boggled him. With all the chaos and disorder on Sodor and the look of this Railway, he now at the very least understood the urgency Mr. Conductor pressed when sending Thomas to go look for Lady.

Soon, they came across a set of switches; one pointing left and the other pointing right. Emily came to a stop just before the points.

"Oh, no!"

"What is it?"

"There's points in front of us. Both going in two different directions."

Neither of them knew what to do now. Which direction do they go down? Unbeknownst to any of them, Discord flashes behind Emily's tender and peaks in their direction. Then he flew up and slithers slowly over her tender pass the coal and floated behind Sir Topham Hatt in Emily's cab.

"Now where do we go?" He asked.

Discord smirked and leaned in close to his ear.

"Why not try going right."

Startled, Sir Topham Hatt turns around only to see nothing. Where did that voice come from? His heart skipped a beat. He though him and Emily were the only ones in here. Was someone else with them?

"Sir?" Emily asked. "Everything alright?"

"Uh, just fine, Emily."

He turns back around and held onto the side of her cab. The voice appears again as Discord lingers over Sir Topham Hatt from side to side filling his head with thoughts.

"Right is always the right direction to go, wouldn't you say?"

Growing concerned, he looks over his shoulder and still finds nothing. Looking a head of him again, Discord reappears and floats behind Sir Topham Hatt again.

"I mean, who doesn't love being right all the time, am I right?"

Sir Topham Hatt was perplexed. Why was there a voice telling him where to go? He wondered if he was either going mad or if the voice was trying to tell him something, unaware of the smirking Discord still lingering close by while he contemplated, tapping the side of her cab with his fingers.

"Um, Emily, I think we'd ought to go right."

"You sure?"

"Err… Yes. Right is the right direction."

"Okay. If you say so, Sir."

Emily blew her whistle and went down the tracks heading to the right. Discord remained floating in the air, smiling and chuckling to himself as he watched Emily chuffing down the tracks leading them towards Canterlot High.







Sunset Shimmer sprinted down the streets as fast as she could. After writing to Princess Twilight about the Genie, she surmised that the creature they might be thinking of could very well be Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony. If this was in deed Discord, Sunset had to get to Thomas fast. Now that she had an idea of who they were up against, she became even more worried for Thomas and berated herself for leaving him all alone, knowing Discord could pop in at this very moment and torment him. 

She hurried and arrived at her complex as she skids across the sidewalk, hopped up the concrete steps and barged through the door.

"Thomas?!" She called.

Sunset panted as she closed the door behind her and placed her satchel aside. Thomas was startled at first but said nothing as she continued calling his name urgently. She finds him sitting on the living room couch with his arms sternly crossed. He was looking rather angry.

"Thomas," She ran over and crouched in front of him. "Did he show up? Was he here?"

He turned his head a way. "Yes."

"Well? What did he do?"

Thomas didn't make eye contact with her. He gritted his teeth, then spoke.

"He just showed me things with his magic and told me to stop redeeming Diesel 10. He even turned your room into a beach at one point."

Sunset felt relieved but was confused over his demeanor. Why was Thomas acting so distant?

"Did you find out his name at least?"

"I did." He still wouldn't look at her. "He said his name was Discord, or something."

Sunset's eyes widened and her jaw hung open. She knelt on one knee, leaned up and grabbed both of Thomas' shoulders anxiously.

"Thomas, listen to me. Discord is very dangerous. You can't trust anything he tells you. I don't know what happened between you two, but if he's really behind everything then we're in serious trouble."

Thomas finally looks at her, but with a nasty glare.

"So, does that mean you really didn't turn into a raging monster and had to be stopped by having magic turn you back to 'normal'?"

Sunset let's go of Thomas and stared at him perplexedly.

"What's gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

She sat with both knees on the ground, firmly placing her fists on her hips.

"Okay. What did he tell you?"

He didn't answer.

"Thomas! What did he say about me?!" She asked again, fed up with his grimace.

Frowning, Thomas sighed then got up and walked over to the TV set. He looked at the video game box he and Sunset would play with. 'Was that not real either?' Thomas thought. Was Sunset really not genuinely nice? Was she only being friendly because of the Elements of Harmony? How could that be true? Everything they did, everything they've shared between each other. How could all that have come from some magical artifact that disciplined her into behaving better? It didn't come from her. She never learned her mistakes. She was forced to see them as so.

Sunset approached him tentatively. What was going though his head? What did Discord say to him? Thomas said he was told to stop redeeming Diesel 10. What did that have to do with her? She had a good idea, but was too afraid to assume.

"Thomas?"

Looking over his shoulder, eyes filled with pessimism, he turns around to face her and explained everything.

Discord showed up to talk about Diesel 10 and his concerns for Thomas' pursuit to help him change for the good. Knowing Thomas wasn't going to back down, and convinced by Sunset Shimmer's own redemption story regardless of whatever Diesel 10 does to him, Discord tried to convince Thomas otherwise by showing him events of Sunset's past that played out slightly different then how she described it. Though none of it phased him at first knowing Sunset was a good person now. However, what got him to cave was seeing Princess Twilight and her friends using the Element of Magic to transform a demonized Sunset Shimmer into her human self again. They stripped her of any magic, and seemingly turned her into someone completely different than the person was moments before the fateful rainbow tornado zapped away any evil contained in her, including the snide persona she proudly sported.

'The most powerful weapons in all of ponydom', made more sense to Thomas now than it did when learning what the Elements of Harmony were. Sunset didn't know what to think. Discord had completely warped his mind. He was convinced Diesel 10 cannot be redeemed anymore, not unless magic is used to force him to; magic he believes turned Sunset into a good person against her will. Sunset Shimmer; the only reason he still believed there was a chance for him. Being changed through magic convinced Thomas that the only way Diesel 10 will ever be really useful is by using the elements on him.

"Thomas. You don't actually believe any of that, do you?" Sunset asked, worrisome.

He hid his hand in his pockets and darted around random spots on the floor, contemplating everything he knew in light of recent events.

"But… I thought you didn't care about what I did? What about everything you said? You told me everyone makes mistakes even if we don't realize it a first. How we can all make room for our better selves? Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, well, that was before I realized Diesel 10 can't be good. Before I knew you didn't actually learn from your mistake."

Sunset was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

Thomas shuts his eyes, taking in a breather, then opened them again.

"It's not the crown stealing, hypnotizing, or monster transformation that I'm mad at. You told me you redeemed yourself after realizing what you were doing, Sunset."

"W-what are you talking about? I did reform myself."

"No, the Elements of Harmony did. That pony Twilight and the others used its magic to turn you into a different person because you were out of control."

"That's not how the Elements work."

"Oh c'mon, Sunset. You were mean to others and took joy in how badly you treated people. You were even ready to take over an entire world. Then your friends zap you with a rainbow tornado, and now all of a sudden you're a good person?"

Sunset glared at him and grew more cross.

"They saved me from making a mistake I was going to regret. The magic I tapped into was too much for me to handle, and it turned into the very thing I didn't expect to become. The Elements only wiped away the darkness that corrupted me."

He turned away and tuned her out her.

“I let magic, power, and ambition turn me into a monster. That was my mistake. But Twilight Sparkle saved me by showing me there was another way."

Thomas looked over his shoulder. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"The Magic of Friendship."

Thomas grew cross and looked away again with his back still facing her.  Sunset felt rather offended. 

The last two days on their crusade to redeem Diesel 10, she kept mentioning magic and friendship and how both worked in similar fashion. Even reminding the Twilight from Canterlot High of the time when she turned into some power crazed maniac. Just how many of them were corrupted by magic? How was friendship magical? Is that what they associate magic as in the Elements? Was she misconstruing a concept as a power source? This confused Thomas greatly. He didn't understand how the two concepts mix together at all and decided to dismiss her argument entirely. Did she even want to be his best friend? Or was it just the friendship aspect of the Magic's affects indulging her in such? 

"So, they did use magic to change you."

Sunset was fed up. "No! You don't get it. Let me explain."

"No, you don't get it. Friendship and magic are not the same."

"Yes, they are."

"Friendship is being nice and having fun with someone you care about. Magic is the amazing whimsical stuff you and the others can do. Its what Lady can make and provide our world with. And from what I just learned, it's also makes someone good against their interests."

Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose and slipped a frustrated groan.

"Call it whatever you want, Sunset. It may instill friendship onto others, but at the end of the day, it's only magic."

She looks at him. "Look, I'm sorry it didn't work out with Diesel 10, but your wrong about me. This is exactly what Discord wants, Thomas. He's tricked you into believing magic changed me against my will. Discord's trying to turn you against me!"

"He didn't trick me into thinking anything," Thomas said, looking at her. "He showed me the truth. Who you really are."

"Why does that even matter now all of a sudden,"

"Because Diesel 10 will never be good unless you use magic to make him so!" Thomas interrupted, hanging his head. "And that's not right. People should be nice because that's the right thing to do."

"But I'm not a good person because of magic. I'm good because I want to be," Sunset was getting upset, she was losing a good friend. "Please, Thomas! Why won't you believe in me anymore?! I am a better person now!"

Thomas fired back, facing her again with his piercing eyes.

"No. You're just like Diesel 10."

She stepped back. His remark struck her hard. Sunset was horrified by what she just heard.

"You were never good!" He shouted. "You're only good because someone or something made you that way! Tell me this right now; If I had met the same Sunset Shimmer who wanted to take over Equestria, and told her what she's doing is a mistake, without using magic, would she listen?"

Sunset's heart raced, her head was light, her limps were stiff and her stomach curled. She was on the verge of tears. How can he be saying such things? She wanted to tune them out but his words stung her harder than anything she felt in a long time.

"Would that Sunset Shimmer, the one you said yourself wouldn’t have been friendly at all had we met then, drop everything she's doing and turn over a new leaf? Huh?! Would she?!"

Finally, it was too much for her to take. Forearms locked, eyes building up tears, Sunset Shimmer spun away from Thomas, and cried. 

Thomas panted slowly, staring angrily at her still. Listening to her crying, however, he gradually transitioned from frustration to concern. Everything he just said to her finally struck him right then and there harder than any dark shadow magic could. He felt terrible. Even more so as he heard Sunset trying to compose her self through her cries only to break down again. His arms fell, slouched over with disgrace, and dejectedly stared at Sunset. Knowing he said too much, he wanted her to stop crying and tried reaching out to her, realizing he crossed the line.

"Sunset?"

Sunset Shimmer knew all too well what kind of person she used to be. She would only ever bring it up to poke fun at it, and never liked talking about her old self for any other reason. The reminder only hurts. To hear Thomas opening old wounds again pushed her into an uncomfortable corner with no escape. He was too convinced she was under the influence of magic, that the kind, friendly person he got to know was nothing but a product of Princess Twilight's magic crown. What hurt her the most was Thomas speaking some truth to his accusation. She never would've realized her evil ways and stopped her pursuit to take over Equestria. Sunset would've never become Thomas' friend back then; back when all she did was drive friendships apart. But Sunset's different now. Why can't Thomas see this?

She finally stopped crying, wiped away her tears, and let her arms fall to her side. Sunset’s head hung low and her fist clenched tightly. She was now seething with anger. Discord had taken Thomas away from her. Whatever the case was now, Thomas made her upset, and Sunset's only response was to lash out at him in return for being so naive and ignorant towards the Magic of Friendship. But she couldn't bring herself to do so; not to her best friend. So, Sunset tried to retain her composure.

"I am nothing, like Diesel 10. That's the last time I ever wanna hear that comparison again. But you're right about one thing at least." Sunset looks over her shoulders, head low and eyes filled with anger. "I was never good."

Thomas was worried. Sunset went over to the living room couch and sat down in a fetal position with her knees locked under her arms and feet resting on the cushions. She sat there for a minute, blankly staring at the floor before finally speaking up.

"I loved being bad. It made me feel more important than everyone. It gave me power. I could tell people what to do and they'd listen." She closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling. "It was just... so easy. I was convinced I could rule Equestria. I wanted to be princess so badly. But my ambitions were too far from reach. When I put others down, broke them apart and push them around, it brought me closer to what I wanted and so much more."

Gingerly, Thomas goes over and sits on the couch across from her while she continued talking.

"Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity." Her head rose. "Twilight Sparkle. I drove them apart, but she brought them back together. She showed them that the bond they share is stronger than anything a magical element can contain. A bond that united them to prevent my obsessions from getting the better of me. They may have used magic to wipe away the corruption, but it was their friendship that really saved me."

Thomas listened to her, feeling more and more penitent. Sunset explained how she never would've realized what she was doing. Not on her own. It was their friendship, the magic of friendship, that showed her there was more to its power. Something she was too blinded by absolute power to see. She reminisced the moments she felt lost and alone after leaving behind her old ways. Sunset knew next to nothing about friendship. Pushing people away for so long made it difficult for her to make any. Nobody wanted anything to do with her. And this nearly broke Sunset even more than realizing her mistakes. Eventually, with the help of her friends, she was able to over come her insecurities and gained the trust of everyone at CHS, cementing a new-found bond with her friends and fellow students. She found a family.

"They could've easily thrown me aside when all was said and done, for everything I did to them. Just, leave me to be forgotten. But they took me in and helped me become a better person. They showed me the right path so I could embrace my true self. I saw what the old me can become with so much power and I'd give anything to erase those mistakes. Twilight Sparkle and the others gave me that chance, by offering their hand in friendship. After what I've been through, that's all I ever really wanted anymore."

The two sat for a good minute while Sunset gazed at her own reflection in the TV screen across the room. She thought about her friends, what they did for her, what she did to make things better, what they accomplished together, and how far they've come to reach this moment in their lives. They forgave her, they accepted her repentance and plea for change, and they never gave up on her. That's what made them the best group of friends, and why she never wanted any other.

Sunset smiled thinking about her friends and the second chance they gave her, but was reminded of her current situation and became sadder still. Thomas could see this, and it make him feel just as worse.

"… You can always rely on your friends. To be there for you. To forgive. To forget…" Her voice cracked faintly, "’cause I never could’ve."

She laid her head on her arms and faced away from Thomas, looking at Sunset with contrite. Sunset shuts her eyes to stop the tears from leaking. Thomas shifted closer to Sunset and tried reaching his arm out in an attempt to comfort her.

"You should probably get going," Sunset murmured. "Lady needs you. Your home needs you... Your friends,"

"Sunset-"

"Just go."

She buried her face in her arms. Thomas' arm froze in place then arched back, letting it fall on his lap. He knew approaching her wouldn't be appropriate right now, not after everything he said. He leaned against the couch and just sat there, thinking about what she said.

If offering her friendship changed Sunset for the better, how come Diesel 10 didn't accept his when given the chance to fix his mistakes? Why did Sunset Shimmer suddenly go from being evil to good if it wasn't magic that changed her? Magic did change her as far as he was concerned. It forced her into viewing friendship the same way Twilight and the others did. If friendship didn't work on Diesel 10, and it wouldn't work on Sunset in the past, how did it work after she was zapped by magic? What was it that really changed all that? He still didn't understand. He couldn't grasp how friendship and magic coincided. Then he grew a bit cross as Thomas realized the other girls had a part to play in using the elements to change Sunset.

Finally, Thomas slowly got up. Head hung low in shame, he walked over to the front entrance to leave. He opened the door and stood between its threshold for a moment of hesitation, wondering if he should really leave her like this or stay and try to make up for what he said. Feeling like he's done enough damage, Thomas looked over his shoulder to see Sunset still seated on the couch with her faced buried in her arms. He didn't know what to say. So, he said nothing. Turning to face the front, Thomas closed the door behind him and left Sunset's house.

About to walk off, he instead remained on the steps. His back pressed against the door as he looked to the sky with his head still swirling. 'Why did I say all that?' Thomas thought to himself. He didn't mean to make Sunset upset, but the heat of the moment took control and Thomas began blaring out what was on his mind. The frustration built up from everything he was told from both parties was too much for him to accept. Everything he believed in was pulverized.

Thomas examined Mr. Conductor's whistle, held clutched in his hand. The only thing he had left to believe in was his mission. Save their worlds, save the Magic Railroad, and save Lady. Thomas' eyes shut, his teeth grit and his hand gripped the whistle tight. His eyes open and head rose, determined, fuming, and persistent. He still had a job to do, one he planned on completing one way or another. With this at his forefront now, Thomas then stormed off down the streets back to Canterlot High and on his way to complete his very important job.







All was quiet now. Sunset's feet fell to the floor. She leaned against the couch for a while before wearily getting back up. Walking up to her bedroom, Sunset went over to Ray's tank and crouched down in front of it. He was still asleep, but soon awoke after noticing her and crawled out from his rock hide.

"Hey, Ray."

Dreary at first, he then saw Sunset smiling at him but with water building up in her eyes. She reached in and took him out of his enclosure. Sunset held and petted him gently on the head with her finger. Ray didn't know why she looked so upset. He began waving his claws, trying to reach out for her.

"Ray," She whimpered.

Sunset pulls him close and allows Ray to hug her. She stuttered in her weeping as Ray embraced her nose while licking her cheek. Then Sunset walked over to a window. Letting go as she brought her hand down to about chest level, Ray and Sunset gazed outside to see the sun blocked by clouds left over from this morning's thunder storm with only beams through shining from behind. Sunset stood and watched the skies while petting Ray.

All Sunset ever wanted since meeting Thomas was to get to know him and be his friend, for she saw something in him that made Thomas special. She succeeded too, even becoming his best friend. Since then, the two have been through and shared so much in such a short time. At first, she was worried about telling Thomas her past, fearing he would judge her for what she used to be. But after telling him the first time, she was relieved to learn that Thomas was very accepting. He believed that because she learned from her mistakes, everything from her past didn't define who she is today, that Twilight and her friends only forgave and offered Sunset friendship after coming to said realization.

But now, he's convinced that their friendship was never real, all because he was shown how Sunset was redeemed through the magic of friendship, mistaking it as some kind of magic spell that altered her entirely. He believed Sunset never reformed out of any desire to be good.

The last thing Sunset ever wanted was for Thomas to think badly of her because of her past. She never liked having CHS students treating her this way before and has done all she could to prove she wasn’t a terrible person anymore. And though she succeeded in convincing all her friends, Sunset still worried and carried that fear of losing their trust, and thinking she was nothing but the bad bully she was before. Once again, this fear was now a reality. Thomas was someone near and deer to her who she didn't want to lose to these assumptions. This was exactly what she was afraid of happening to begin with, what she was afraid of losing. Sunset Shimmer had lost a good friend.







Feeling more tears welling up, Sunset looks to the sky, seeing the clouds slowly loom across the sun while continuing to pet Ray and stuttering on her next words.

Sunset Shimmer: "… Like a phoenix burning bright, In the sky."

"I'll show there's another side to me, you can't,"

(Sunset paused, nearly choking up as she brought her fist up to her mouth to hold back her tears. Struggling to keep them at bay, she looked back outside through the window again, skipping a head and continuing on.)

"I may not know w-what the future holds,"

"but hear me when I say."

(The sunshine rays disappear behind the dark clouds, leaving the streets of Canterlot cold, lonely, and miserable again. Not feeling it anymore, she finished off before hanging her head low in sorrow.)

"My past does not define me. 'Cause my past is not today."







To Be Continued.