//------------------------------//
// Picnic Parties and Strange Feelings 
// Story: Star Wars: The Fall of Friendship 
// by King Camelot 
//------------------------------//

Eight Years Later...

Sunset Shimmer took a big swig of the soda she was drinking. She was enjoying watching Rainbow Dash and Applejack duking it out over who was better at arm wrestling, their little arguments never got old. On her other side, Twilight and Fluttershy were taking care of her animals that she brought with her. Rarity, however, found something a little irritating from all of the animals being there, so she decided to speak up, "Fluttershy, darling. I understand animals are your speciality, but did you really have to bring all of them?"

Fluttershy continued to pet Angel as she responded, "I'm really sorry, they just get really lonely when I'm not there. Besides, they don't get to go outside very often, and I thought that I'd give them a little treat."

Rarity sighed, "Oh, alright. But there is such a thing as restraint, darling. Maybe only bring a few animals at a time, then bring the others on the next visit." Noticing that her throat was a little dry, she turned to Pinkie, "Pinkie, could you be a dear and pass me some of that iced tea?"

Pinkie, who was seen stuffing her face with sweets nearby the picnic basket, quickly nodded and tossed her a can of iced tea. Rarity delicately opened up the can and began to drink, holding her pinkie out the entire time. And after that, Pinkie returned to her picnic basket, scarfing down every sweet that was within her range of sight. Sunset noticed this and gave a quiet laugh, it was like Pinkie to do that. Ever since she'd known that hyper party-teen, she could be found chomping away at any kind of candy there was to find, when she was not planning for the next party of course. 

Shifting her attention back to the Arm wrestling match, Sunset had just managed to see Applejack bring her arm down on Rainbow Dash's, thus winning the match. Leaving Rainbow to gripe to herself about her crushing defeat, Applejack turned to address Sunset, "So Sunset, how ya'll feelin?" Sunset was confused with the answer, she hasn't been sick in the past few weeks, she also wasn't going through any negative mood swings or emotions. So what was Applejack getting at? Playing along for now, she simply said she was doing alright.

"Ah see. Well, ya know, it's just been a whole year since you changed from bein' that 'power hungry demon lady', no offense," Applejack quickly added. Sunset giggled and told her for what she thought was the hundredth time that she didn't take offense to what she said, "Whew, an' ah was just wonderin' how all that was processin' for ya."  

Sunset didn't know how she felt about that, "Well, I guess I just lost track of time since that day. I guess today doesn't mean anything special to me, since I know that that Sunset is gone."

Applejack nodded, "Ah understand. But ya sure ya'll wanna tell that to Twilight? Seems ta' me like she went through a lot of effort to make this here speech for ya."

Sunset turned around to notice that Twilight was getting up, she was holding her soda as if to make a toast. Once she was sure she had everybody's attention, she took a deep breath and began, "My friends, today is a wondrous occasion for all of us. It is the 1-year anniversary of the day you all were shown the true power of the bonds of Friendship. I, unfortunately, can not enjoy this occasion as much as you all can, for I was unlucky enough to not be around during this momentous time, and to not be able to understand this powerful feeling. But even though I couldn't then, I can now, and I want to congratulate and thank all of you for opening up to me, and sharing that incredible magic that is Friendship." There was a pause for breath, and a round of applause from the audience. Sunset was impressed, that was a nice and meaningful speech that Twilight made. 

Twilight gently waved the applause down and continued, "Yes, thank you. Thank you all. However, that's not the only reason why we're all here today. Today, we wish to show our appreciation to a special friend in the audience. A friend who, in the beginning, was not the best of people. A friend who has grown so much since that fateful day 1 year ago, who has taught me and everyone else time and time again, that no matter how strong the Darkness is, the Magic of Friendship will always find a way to prevail. I hold this toast, to Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset Shimmer!", everyone said in union, before taking a sip from their drinks. 

Sunset was honored, and surprised at the same time. She couldn't believe it had been only a year since Twilight and her friends put a stop to her plans and showed her the Magic of Friendship, it felt much longer than that, to be honest. Since then, she and her friends had been through many adventures, learning new things about Friendship and helping others see it along the way. The evil and cruel Sunset Shimmer that she used to be only seemed like a bad dream to her at this point. A part of her liked to believe that version of her never truly existed. But she knew better, knowing that at one point, that was the person she used to be, and the aftermath of what she did and who she hurt would never truly go away. But she also knew that she had lots of friends to help her through it, and that they would always be there for her when she needed it. And as long as they were there for her, as long as they stood by her side no matter what, it didn't matter who she was in the past, and who thought that way about her now. She loved her friends with all her heart, and she knew that they felt the same way. She wished they could stay like this forever.





They had spent the next half-hour talking about how to spend the rest of the day. Pinkie had offered that they throw a party to celebrate Sunset's anniversary, but Sunset politely declined, saying she wanted to spend this day low-key. Rarity had offered to get them all appointments to go to the local spa. Both Rainbow and Applejack groaned at this idea, the idea of the spa not boding well with the two tomboyish girls, and Sunset agreed that today would not be the day to get a back massage. Applejack wanted to go to her place and work around with the animals that helped with the labor, and that sounded kinda fun (especially for Fluttershy), but it was ultimately decided that they would all go over to Sunset's place and hang out. Order some pizza, play some video games, watch a movie, you know, normal stuff, and maybe practice that new song that she wrote while they were at it. Everyone agreed to this idea and made plans to come over to her house somewhere during the evening.

Fluttershy wasn't paying attention. After they had decided not to check out Applejack's farm animals, she kinda left the conversation. So she went back to caring for Angel Bunny. Angel Bunny was enjoying Fluttershy's homemade Carrot Cake for Bunnies, made with special ingredients that would make the cake suitable for animal consumption. It was one of his favorite dishes. Knowing that she had just made the little bunny happy, Fluttershy smiled with delight.

Angel was three quarters through his cake when suddenly, his ears perked up. Slowly rising from his carrot cake, he pointed his head in a certain direction. Fluttershy noticed this and started to look worried, "What's wrong, Angel?" But Angel paid no attention to her, as if she wasn't there. Then all of a sudden, Angel jumped out of her lap and took off as fast as his little bunny feet could take him.

"Angel?! Where are you going?! Come back, Angel! Come back!" Fluttershy cried towards the running bunny. But Angel payed no attention to her cries and continued to run. Fluttershy then quickly got up from her lap, and ran to pursue her best animal friend. Sunset and the others began to notice that Fluttershy was running away, and quickly ran after her.

Rainbow was the first to catch up, what with her mach speed abilities, and looked to get answers from her childhood friend, "Hey Flutters, what's goin' on? Why'd you take off like that?"

Fluttershy was now beginning to lose energy, and she was starting to slow down, "Angel! *huff* Ran away! *puff* Need to find him! *Whew*" And with those words, she completely broke down and began to take the plunge. 

Rainbow, using her magically enhanced reflexes, managed to grab hold of the timid animal girl before her face ended up full of grass and dirt. While Rainbow was caring for Fluttershy, Angel disappeared behind a bend, and was seen no more. As Rainbow Dash continued to help her friend take deep breaths in and out, the others managed to meet up with them 20 yards or so from the picnic spot. All of them were exhausted, and they also wanted some answers.

Fluttershy, who looked like she had the wind knocked out of her, tried to speak, but was quickly silenced by Rainbow, "Save your breath, Fluttershy. Or else maybe you'll die of suffocation." Once she was sure that she was in a comfortable position, Rainbow Dash got herself up, and explained the situation to her friends.

"Oh my! Darling, that's horrible!" was Rarity's response.

"A'm really sorry that happened to ya, sugarcube." spoke AppleJack.

Pinkie was downright upset, "That's worse than having a real meanie pants named Vader chop your hand off and tell you that he's your daddy, when you were told that he was the one who killed your daddy!"

There was an audible screech, as everyone had stopped comforting Fluttershy and began to face Pinkie Pie. Their faces had a look of perplexity and confusion, as the environment had completely changed from spirit dampening to weird awkwardness.

Twilight was the first to speak up, "That's an... oddly specific scenario."

Rainbow Dash agreed, "Yeah, where the heck did you come up with that idea?!"

Pinkie just shrugged, "Nowhere. It's just a hunch." and with a little *squee*, she winked towards the audience.

Sunset regained her focus, and continued with the task at hand, "Regardless, Angel is still missing. We have to find him at all costs."

Fluttershy nodded, "Oh poor Angel. He might be lost, or scared, or trapped somewhere where he can't get out!" She started crying, with the her remaining animal friends being the one to calm her down this time.

Applejack stepped up, "Alright everybody, lets's all split up and look around the school. He can't have gone that far."

Everyone shouted in agreement. Angel was not the nicest of animals, but he was still Fluttershy's friend, and they were going to do everything within their power to ensure that he was brought back safely. Gathering around in a circle, every person and animal stuck in a hand or a paw in the middle. And all at once, they all shouted, "For Angel!", and swung their arms in the air. After that, they all went in separate directions and started to search for their carrot-loving friend.





The search had continued for about a half-hour or so, and still no one had found any trace of the missing white hare. Sunset peaked in the bushes, no dice. She had a look of disappointment as she found no sign of what she was looking for. Grabbing out a small checklist, she crossed off the gardens of Canterlot High School. Grabbing her walky-talky, she checked in with the others, "Sunset speaking. Repeat, Sunset speaking. Does anyone read me?"

There was a static sound for a second, she wondered whether or not they had gotten her message. However, the static began to clear, and one by one, the others sounded off, they could read her loud and clear. Sunset gave her report, "No sign of him in the school gardens. Any sign of him at your posts?"

Static once more, but soon after, the others tuned in and gave their reports:

"Applejack speakin'. He's not over at the sports area. Over an' Out!"

"Rainbow Dash speaking. No sign of him on the roof. Over and Out!"

"Fluttershy speaking. The animals haven't seen him at the school petting zoo anywhere. Over and Out."

"Rarity speaking. I don't see him anywhere at the theater. Over and Out, Darling!"

"Pinkie Pie speaking! He's not anywhere in the bathrooms! And why would he go there anyway? This place stinks like baby crocodile ate a bad cupcake! Euch!"

Sunset responded back, "Pinkie, I know that it's tough in there, but keep looking. We have to find him!"

Pinkie replied back, "Okie Dokie Lokie! Operation: Fallen Angel will continue! Over and Out!"

Sunset then tuned into the final member of the search, Twilight, do you read me? Have you found him?

Twilight didn't pick up. Sunset tried again, nothing. Strange, it wasn't like her to not answer like this. The Twilight she knew would pick up immediately. Then after a second or two, she sounded off and gave her report, Twilight speaking. I've found him! He was last seen heading towards the forest nearby the school!" 

Sunset almost gave a small jump, "That's fantastic! Start heading over there, I'll inform the others and meet you there. Over and Out!" Signaling the others, she told them to meet up at Angel's last known position, at edge of that forest nearby the school Twilight was talking about. The others gave their recognition, and signed off. Slowly getting up from her kneeling position, she started to walk towards the patch of trees nearby.

They had to find Angel. It wasn't like him to just bolt like that for no reason. Okay, maybe it was. But he would make it obvious to why he ran away, like he was upset or angry. But not now, he just bolted for no reason. And for the first time for that evening, Sunset began to feel angry. 

They were going to have the perfect day, and it got messed up with this. They were going to practice their newest song, maybe write to her friends back in Equestria, and then finish off the day with a sleepover with pizza, video games (Rainbow had to beat AJ's high score, after all), movies, and scary stories. 

But then Angel decides to run off, and then they're spending the entire day looking for him. Sunset was honestly a little pissed off about this, and she was sure Fluttershy would want a long explanation from him about this. He was probably off looking for carrots again, and the forest was full of them. This was getting worse by the minute! Oh, well.

After a bit of a hike, Sunset reached the outskirts of the woods. The forest was thick, dark, and scary. Students would only go in there to dare each other to make it to the center of the forest and test their bravery.  Every time someone got farther, they would take an arrow from the shooting range, and place it into a nearby tree. The current student to make it farthest was Rainbow Dash, who went in 30 yards into the forest, no one ever dared to go farther than that. But there was also a lot of wild fruits and vegetables that grew in there, especially carrots, so it would seem like the perfect spot for Angel to bolt off towards. Sunset silently prayed that he didn't go far in there. She looked around, the others were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they were late, or they were already in the forest looking for Angel. Well, there was only one way to find out. Breathing in and out, she walked into the cloak of trees.

All light had vanished from the place, save for a few beams poking through the trees. This forest was scary, and she didn't like it. The faster she found that stupid bunny and got out of here, the better. There were trees everywhere, so tall, that they almost looked like they reached the sky. She could hear the chirping of birds, the hooves of deer nearby, and the soothing sway of the trees. The farther she went in, the more that she felt more comfortable with her surroundings. At least the sound of animals was some form of comfort, as it indicated she was not alone in here.

After walking for a while, she stumbled upon a root of the tree. Trying to hold onto the tree for balance, her hand was pierced by something long, and sharp. She cringed at the blood oozing from her palm. Ripping off a piece her shirt, she wrapped the cut and stopped the bleeding. Turning around to see what had stabbed her, she saw that it was that arrow that marked how far students got. Had she really gone farther than any other student at CHS? She couldn't really believe it.

"Huh, well what do ya know? I might as well take it with me, give me something to brag about to Rainbow Dash." And with that, she yanked out the arrow, and continued forward.

After a while, she started calling out people's names. She called for her friends names, Angel's name, or the name of anyone else she knew, just in case she wasn't the only one brave enough to be in here. But so far, nothing. She tried to contact the others with her walky-talky, but all she was getting was static. She was either too far from them, or there was no signal in here, she guessed it didn't matter. For the time being, she was alone in here. That was okay with her, she was starting to enjoy the quiet. The silent greenery had become soothing and comfortable in its own way.

Snap! Rustle! Snap!

Sunset suddenly became alert. She quickly turned around, trying to find where the sound had come from. She found that the noise was coming from the bushes to her left. Something or Someone was in here with her after all. Now that quiet, calming feeling she once had was instinctively replaced with fear and paranoia. Her mind started to play tricks on her, making her believe that something with hostile intent was within those bushes. Sunset readied the arrow she had in her hand, it wouldn't do much against her supposed hunter, but at least it was something. The noise was getting louder, Sunset moved into an improvised fighting position, her mind desperately telling her legs to run away, pedal to the medal. But her nerves were shot and her legs refused to move. The noise was getting louder, the predator was almost here. The bushes suddenly burst open to reveal...

... Angel Bunny with a carrot in his mouth.

Sunset leaped backward, an audible scream breaking the silence of the forest. She then felt pain, as her behind landed on a rock half buried in the dirt. Rubbing the sore area, she slowly got up from her sitting position, preparing to chew out the bunny on his behavior, upon realizing that she had just found what she was looking for, "Angel, there you are! What the hell is wrong with you? You gave Fluttershy and everyone else a heart attack!"

Angel gave a look of urgency, and pointed to a certain direction. It was apparent that he wanted Sunset to follow him somewhere. But Sunset wasn't listening, she was done with this whole experience and wanted to go home as quickly as possible, "Well, whatever. You're safe and that's what matters. Just let me call the others and we can get out of this crazy place." She reached for her walky-talky, to give everybody else the good news. Only to find that...

Sunset shouted something that would make parents cover their children's ears, as she found out that the thing she landed on wasn't a rock. Her walky-talky was crushed, the antenna was bent badly, and the buttons were all but smashed. And to make things worse, she suddenly realized she was lost. She had gone farther into the woods that anyone else before, so nothing was familiar to her. Even the footprints that she made had managed to disappear. "Well, that's just great," Sunset thought to herself, "Not only am I lost, but I have no way to contact the others." This was starting to become one of the worst days of her life. 

She wanted to scream, she wanted to yell at Angel, she wanted to cry, she wanted to do all three of these things at once. But she knew that she couldn't, griping about her predicament would not make it go away. After taking a deep breath, she turned to talk to Angel, "Okay, you screwy rabbit, let's just keep walking and hope that we find a way out." She then grabbed him by the chest, and attempted to put him in her pocket. 

But Angel was still trying to fight back, he was now trying to wriggle his way out of her grip and get her to follow him to this place he wanted to go. But Sunset would have none of it, "Come on, Angel. We have to get home! Fluttershy has been worried sick about you all evening! Angel, enough is enough! It's time to go..."

She suddenly stopped, as she started to feel this weird feeling within her. She couldn't exactly describe the feeling, but whatever it was, it was strong. She checked her small amulet, the one that allowed her to tap into the Magic of Friendship. It wasn't glowing, which was strange, whenever she had a feeling like this, the amulet would glow. So why not now?

And yet, this feeling, it wasn't like the Magic of Friendship. It was something stronger, much stronger. She had never felt this kind of strength before, even when she and her friends were in their "Pony Forms". This kind of strength was completely different, almost as if there was a presence inside her, urging her to follow the rabbit.

She stared at Angel, who she had realized she had set back down on the dirt surface below them. That bunny was still urging her to follow him, pointing a small clearing a few miles into the forest. Could he feel this strange power as well? Well, regardless if he did or didn't, both he and this presence wanted her to go to that clearing. There was a second, more familiar voice in her head, telling her to ignore this feeling and walk away. Her better judgement had told her that strange, powerful feelings that didn't involve the Magic of Friendship, were always a bad sign, and that she should pretend that she never found it. But the strange presence was stronger, it easily dwarfed the second voice, telling her to follow it, and discover her destiny.

(Stop Music)

So, against her better judgement, she decided to follow Angel Bunny, "Alright Angel, you win. We'll take a quick peek at what you want to show me. But after that, we go straight home. Deal?" Angel gave a quick nod, holding his paw out for her to shake. Sunset took the hand, er-pawshake, and began to follow Angel deeper into the forest.