//------------------------------//
// Getting Through 
// Story: A Ray of Sunlight 
// by BChunter426 
//------------------------------//

Twilight entered the living room after Sunset dropped her off. Her parents were sitting on the couch watching TV. She waved to them with a grin.
    "Hey hon, how was your night?" Velvet asked. 
    "It was great! We had so much fun!" She sat in the arm chair to talk with her parents. 
    Spike came bounding in from the other room at the sound of her voice. The pup yipped and tried to hop onto her lap before Twilight picked him up and was assaulted with puppy kisses. 
     "Did everyone enjoy the snow soccer idea?" Her father smiled.
    Twilight was brought back to Sunset's outburst. "Yeah, it was definitely a hit. Everyone had a lot of fun."
    "I told you everyone would love it." He said returning his attention to the screen as he recounted the creation of the idea.
    Velvet thought she saw a look she recognized cross her daughter's face. She focused her attention on Twilight to see her already looking in her direction. Velvet and Twilight proceeded to have a silent conversation that only a parent and child can have.
    Velvet raised her eyebrows. "Is everything alright hon?"
    Twilight gave a weak shrug and twitched the corner her mouth. "I dunno, something weird kinda happened."
    Velvet's brow furrowed. "Do you want to talk about it?"
    Twilight nodded.
    Velvet looked from the television to Nightlight. "Once the show ends we'll talk."
    Twilight nodded again with a slight smile. She stroked Spike’s head, who yawned. It had been a while since she'd had a one-on-one talk with her mom. She was happy with the way she and her mother had grown closer in the last few months. It was funny to think that  this time last year she wouldn't have believed she'd be asking her mother for relationship advice about her girlfriend.
    The show ended a few minutes later. Before Nightlight could start another episode Velvet placed a hand on his knee. 
    "Twilight and I are going to step out for a bit."
    "Is everything alright?" He looked between the two women in front of him.
    "Yeah, just some girl talk." She said reassuringly.
    "Alright, I'll be out here if you need me." 
    Velvet walked with Twilight to the master bedroom. Once inside they both sat on the bed.
    "So tell me what happened."
    Twilight hesitated, trying to figure out where to start. She told her mom about the date leading up to when Sunset went to retrieve the ball.
    "When she had the ball, the guy from our Psych class started saying something to her. I couldn't make it out because we were too far away. I could tell she was getting upset though." Twilight paused, remembering how shocked she'd been for the next part. "Then all of a sudden she turned and shoved him."
    Velvet's eyes widened at this revelation. It seemed very out of character for the Sunset she'd come to know. 
    "He and his friends left by time the rest of us got over there. She said he was being a jerk, but I don't know." She trailed off. "That might have been what happened, but I just feel like something else is going on."
    "What do you mean?" 
    "Well, like she said, she's been getting dirty looks and the occasional comment, but it just seems like something bigger is going on. I try to talk to her, but whenever I bring it up she shuts the conversation down or changes the subject. I'm worried that she is being bullied by that Adagio girl, but she won't talk to me. What should I do?"
    Velvet smiled knowingly at her daughter. "Be patient with her. I've found that usually if something is bothering someone, they want to talk about it. Sometimes it takes time for them to be comfortable enough to bring it up. I know it can be hard to watch them hurt from what they're keeping to themselves. Sometimes the best thing to do is just be there for them and let them know you're there if they want to talk."
    Twilight chewed her nail in thought. "But what if it gets really bad and they still won't talk to you or anyone else that can help?”
    "That's something different altogether. Sometimes you have to make them talk. I've had to basically lock your father in a room until he talks to me. He's pretty good most of the time, but there are times that he keeps something bottled up inside because he doesn't think I need to be bothered with his problems."
    "Sunset does the same thing. But I want to hear her problems! I might not be able to help but she won't have to deal with them alone."
    Velvet chuckled. "You're a lot like me, you want to share your feelings and Sunset seems like the 'go it alone' type. It can be frustrating when someone you love won't let you in or help, but everyone is different. You'll find the right way for you both to communicate with each other. You're both still young and figuring these things out though."
    Twilight took this all in and was silent for a moment. After some time passed Velvet spoke up. 
    "Did any of this help?"
    Twilight hugged her mother tightly. "It did. Thank you, Mom." 
    Velvet returned the hug. "You're welcome sweetie." She kissed the top of her daughter's head.
    Twilight thanked her mom again and wished her a good night. She left the room to do the same with her father. She went to sleep feeling calmer about the events of the day.


The next couple weeks of school passed at a snails pace for Sunset Shimmer. The notes had been building in number steadily every day. Sunset got so sick of seeing the pile at the bottom of her locker that she stopped using it. Opting instead to carry all of her books and folders in her backpack. She didn't have a lot, but the weight was still substantial.
    The day after this choice, Sunset found her friends gathered around Rainbow's locker. Her backpack hit the floor with a heavy thud, startling Fluttershy bad enough that she momentarily latched onto Rarity's arm. She stretched her back with a groan before sitting next to Twilight. Her friends exchanged worried glances.
    "You alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
    "Yeah, fine." Sunset replied.
    "Um, why is your bag so... heavy? It looks like you have your whole life in there." Rarity pressed.
    "You're not far off actually." Sunset rubbed her shoulder where the straps rested.
    "Wait do you have all of your supplies in there?" Twilight asked.
    "Yep, my classes are so spread out that this just made sense. Now I don't have to go to my locker between classes." She lied. "Before you ask, everything's fine. I just thought I'd give this a try for convenience's sake."
    Sunset gave a quick glance toward Twilight. She knew she just wanted to help and that's why she'd been trying to figure out what was going on. Sunset just didn't want to burden her with her own problems. She was dealing with it, this would die down eventually and no one would be the wiser. She just had to hold out a bit longer.
    The group of girls talked about their weekends and how their classes were going. Rarity would finally be getting on the machines today while Fluttershy was starting to really enjoy her yoga class. 
    "It's nice learning something new and  staying healthy all at once." The shy girl smiled. 
    "I still can't believe they offered yoga as a phys ed alternative." Twilight said.
    "I know, and since I took an extra PE credit I'll be able to skip it my senior year."
    "Well all I know is that i'm officially ready for summer break." Rainbow groaned.
    "Yeah, but you were ready for summer break after the first day of the school year." Applejack chided.
    "Can I help it if school is super boring?"
    Twilight gasped. "You take that back. School is not boring! You learn so much while you're in school, plus you get to see your friends every day."
    "I'll agree with you on that last part, but it's hard to be excited about school when there's way more fun things I could be doing."
    Sunset smiled at the back and forth unfolding in front of her. Each one trying to convince the other of their side. The bell rang and Sunset's stomach dropped. She said goodbye to Twilight and walked to class with Pinkie. After the first day of class the teacher didn’t allow more than one person per drawing table. Since it was a full class there was always a new person sitting next to her and Pinkie. While most of them had been cold and uninterested, Pinkie was able to break down some of their walls and start making some friends in the class. Though she had noticed none had sat with them twice in a row.
    The teacher was giving a brief lecture on the next art style they would be practicing. Sunset seized this opportunity to check the handwriting of the girl sitting next to Pinkie. Sunset had been doing this for the last week or so in each of her classes, hoping to figure out who was leaving the notes. 
    As she walked behind the girl, she studied the loops and tilt of the letters being scrawled onto the page. The handwriting looked a little familiar so she read over the page hoping to find a word used in one of the notes.
    "Can I help you?" 
    The annoyed girl's question brought Sunset back to the present. She stammered something close to an apology and continued to the pencil sharpener.
    "What a freak." She grumbled just loud enough for Sunset to hear.
    She was acutely aware of several pairs of eyes following her every move. She returned to her seat and put her hood up to hide herself.
    "You alright there, Sunset?" Pinkie asked her gloomy friend.
    "Yeah, just kinda tired." 
    Pinkie rummaged in her bag. "Chocolate covered coffee bean?" She said while opening the bag and grabbing a few.
    Sunset couldn't help but smile at her friend's cheerfulness. "No thanks, I appreciate the offer though."
    "Suit yourself." She tossed the small handful into her mouth.
    "Are you sure you should be eating that many?"
    "What do you mean?" She asked.
    "Never mind." She chuckled.
    Once the lecture ended, the class was given time to work on the current projects. Sunset took the basket from the cubby she'd been assigned and brought out the paper with the Phoenix she had been working on. The mythical creature was floating above a pile of ash, having just been reborn. She worked on the final outline of the wings before moving on to choosing the colors she wanted to use.
    "That's going to look amazing!" Pinkie said from next to her.
    "Thanks! I'm really excited for this drawing. I kind of see myself in it."
    Pinkie looked over the drawing. "Where? I don't see you."
    Sunset smiled at her friend. "Not literally, just as a metaphor. I'm kind of rising from the ashes of my past and being reborn as who I'm trying to be now."
    "Whoa, that's deep."
    Sunset blushed. "That sounded way cheesier out loud."
    "I think it's great that you have a way to express yourself!" Pinkie beamed. "Keep it up."
    "Thanks Pinkie." Sunset smiled broadly.
    Sunset was feeling in higher spirits when the bell rang. That is until she picked up her over-full bag. She grunted as she hefted the full weight onto her back. The rest of the day passed with the usual amount of grimaces and whispers as she walked by. Her guitar class was a welcome respite. Everyone was preoccupied with learning chords and reading music that they hardly gave her a second thought. She was fine with this arrangement since it meant she was able to focus on her songwriting and talking with Vinyl some more. 
    The end of day bell mercifully rang just as Sunset's brain felt fit to burst with new science facts. Her bag seemed to grow heavier throughout the day. As she hefted the bag she thought she heard threads giving out. She reached behind her reflexively but didn't notice anything with the quick blind inspection.
     I'll have to check on that when I get home. She thought to herself.
    She walked Twilight to her bus stop, doing her best to hide the aches she felt in her back and shoulders.
    Twilight was unconvinced. "Sunset, if you need to, you can use my locker. It's a little more central so you wouldn't have to go so far between classes."
    She kissed Twilight's cheek. "Thanks babe, I'll think about it."
    Twilight nodded and entered the bus as Sunset walked to her car.
    Sunset's back was screaming at her when she finally threw herself onto her bed. 
    "I might need to come up with a new idea. Maybe I’ll take Twilight up in her offer." She said to the empty room. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "This will pass, and you'll be able to be a regular high schooler."
    She repeated this mantra in her mind several more times, attempting to make herself believe it. Her eyes pricked with tears as she drifted into an uneasy nap.